94Ha Viewpoint
On June 9, local time, more than 12,000 Harvard alumni signed a legal statement opposing the suspension of funding to Harvard by the U.S. federal government. The document was submitted to the court on the same day.
The legal statement is called “friend of the court”, which is a legal opinion submitted to the court as a third party in the lawsuit, drawing the court’s attention to important issues related to the case that the parties to the case have not explained to the court or have not yet attracted the attention of the court.
The “friend of the court” signed by Harvard alumni this time is the largest alumni opinion letter from a single school in American history. The opinion letter pointed out that Harvard alumni were shocked by the U.S. federal government’s attempt to “recklessly and illegally” control the core functions of Harvard University and other colleges and universities.
The alumni accused the federal government of completely ignoring the relevant provisions of the Constitution without any due process and legal basis, and taking all available forces to harm Harvard. The alumni criticized the federal government’s ultimate goal of restricting everyone’s freedom to learn, teach, think and act, and letting the federal government decide who can enjoy these freedoms.
The opinion accused the federal government of using intimidation, coercion and blackmail to force Harvard University to meet the government’s political demands, pointing out that the impact of the federal government’s suspension of funding for Harvard University exceeds the school itself, and prevents other Americans from benefiting from Harvard University’s research.
The alumni also strongly condemned various forms of anti-Semitism and discrimination in the opinion, but pointed out that the federal government’s anti-Semitism accusations made in the absence of due process and sufficient evidence should not be used as a reason for the federal government to illegally punish and control educational institutions. The opinion criticized that most of the federal government’s rectification requirements for Harvard have nothing to do with combating anti-Semitism, nor with combating other discrimination issues on campus.
This “friend of the court” collected a total of 12,041 signatures, and the alumni who signed covered students who enrolled in 1950 to just graduated this year. These alumni include well-known talk show host Conan O’Brien, Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, one of the favorites for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and several Democratic senators who graduated from Harvard also signed the opinion.
In addition to Harvard University alumni, 24 American universities including Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology also signed the “friend of the court” to oppose the federal government’s suspension of funding for Harvard. Columbia University, which was also hit hard by the federal government like Harvard University, did not join. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education sent a notice to the non-governmental organization responsible for certifying Columbia University’s eligibility for federal funding, stating that Columbia University violated federal law and should be decertified. After the decertification, Columbia students will not be able to apply for federal student loans or receive federal grants.
The U.S. federal government has suspended $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University and $2.65 billion in funding for Harvard University. Harvard University has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for the suspension of funding, and the first appearance and debate date scheduled by the Massachusetts Federal District Court is July 21.
