How Harvard University Helps the U.S. and Why We Shouldn’t Shut Off Foreign Students’ Research, Revisiting Dr. Garber
At least three universities in Hong Kong are inviting international students at Harvard University to join their institutions, following the United States administration’s shock decision last week to ban the prestigious American institution from enrolling foreign students.
Inskeep: In the letter cutting off your ability to host international students, the Department of Homeland Security made a number of accusations, including that Harvard, brazenly refused to provide information that was demanded about international students and that you also “ignored a follow up question about them.” Is either of those statements accurate?
Some people have told us that they feel that way. What is perplexing is the measures that they have taken to address these that don’t even hit the same people that they believe are causing the problems. Why don’t we keep funding research? It hurts Harvard but it hurts the country because research funding is not a gift. The research funding is given to universities and other research institutions to carry out work – research work – that the federal government designates as high-priority work. It is work that they want done. They are paying to have the work done. Shutting off that work does not help the country, even as it punishes Harvard, and it is hard to see the link between that and, say, antisemitism.
With elite U.S. universities in President Trump’s crosshairs, the leader of Harvard University says institutions need to double down on their “commitment to the good of the nation” and be firm in what they stand for.
As evidence of how his university’s work directly benefits the U.S. public, Garber points to recent honors awarded to Harvard faculty by the Breakthrough Prize, known as “The Oscars of Science,” for their work on obesity and diabetes drugs and gene editing, used to correct disease-causing genetic variations.
The Trump-Carter controversy, Harvard’s antisemitism on campus, and a university’s lawsuit-funding comments on the president’s Truth Social
Trump posted on his Truth Social that the home countries of those students are not friendly to the United States, and that they pay nothing toward their student’s education. The president’s post also said his administration wants “to know who those foreign students are.”
Harvard’s ongoing legal battles with the Trump administration, work of major research universities, and the administration’s concerns about antisemitism on campus were all topics discussed by Garber during an interview with Steve Inskeeping of NPR.
Garber: Exactly. We want people to be able to discuss difficult topics with one another, especially when they disagree. We shouldn’t be in an echo chamber. Everyone in the community needs to listen to different opinions. And let me add, that’s one reason why it is so important for us to be able to have international students on our campus. There is so much that they contribute to our environment and they enable everyone else to open their minds.
‘Thou does not want me to go to Harvard’: A counterexample against the ‘Trump lawsuit funding international students’
Garber: To the best of my knowledge, they are not true. I need to add, by the way, that this is clearly the subject of litigation, as you pointed out earlier. We have complied fully in line with the law.
Inskeep: Is that a small example of what you’re trying to do in a large way? You want to allow all sorts of ideas but you also want people to engage with one another civilly.
Inskeep: Is this what you mean when, in the lawsuit, you say that without international students, which is a quarter of your student body, Harvard would not be Harvard?
What would you say to someone in the middle of the country who is listening to us, and not having a stake in this? I did not go to Harvard. I’m not sending my kid to Harvard. I don’t enjoy Harvard very much. This seems to be about people other than those in the picture. And Harvard deserves what they’re getting. In any case, it isn’t important to me. What do you say to a person with an attitude?
Garber: I would ask them to learn a little bit more, not only about Harvard, but about universities like Harvard – that is research universities. At the center of our university is teaching and learning. Research is what makes up so much of the university’s activities. There have been many discoveries at Harvard and other universities that have helped improve the treatment of cancer.
Source: As Trump targets elite schools, Harvard’s president says they should ‘stand firm’
What is the Most Effective Use of the Federal Government’s Funds? A Call to Warn Your Employees, or What Will They Tell Us About It?
The federal government has the power to reallocate funds through the budgeting process. What is the problem he is trying to solve by doing that? Almost all of the federal support that we get goes to research universities in the form of grants and contracts, which is used to pay for work we do at the government’s direction. So in reallocating to some other use, including trade schools, it means that work just won’t be performed. Is the most effective use of federal funding? Do you want to stop spending money on research? I’m less concerned about whether it goes to a trade school or if it goes to some other project, like working on highways. The federal government spends a lot on research, so how much does it get out of it? There is lots of research showing the enormous returns that the American people have received.
It is Garber. Well, they said it I’ve repeated it myself, and I have to believe it. And that is how it’s understood by the other leaders of other universities that I have spoken to. It is a warning. They see this as a message that if you don’t comply with what we’re demanding, these will be the consequences.
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The Case of Wood’s Son, Jake, and his Daughter: Harvard’s President Dies: Job Losses in the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
Corporate America is not a fan of DEI. This move shows a shift from a few years ago when companies were racing to staff up due to George Floyd’s murder. NPR reports on the extent of job losses in this field.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new group backed by the U.S. and Israel, is starting to bring limited quantities of food to Gaza, where hunger is widespread and extreme. The UN and other aid groups are becoming more suspicious of the group. Jake Wood, the executive director, resigned on Sunday because he could not abandon principles of humanity, impartiality and independence.
Years after their son left the U.S. to join ISIS, a Minnesota couple learned they had two young grandsons trapped in a Syrian desert camp. They’re among an estimated 22 U.S. citizens still in the sprawling, primitive camps, including about 17 American children, according to the State Department. When the boys were flown to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, they began a new life in the American Midwest. The full story can be read here.
Source: Harvard’s president speaks out against Trump. And, an analysis of DEI job losses
Brian Mann’s hike through the Andes Mountains: A trip through volcanic rock and groves of cactus in Santiago, Chile
It’s perfect for hiking in Santiago, Chile, where the city’s hills rise above the city. At the center is Cerro San Cristóbal, with breathtaking views of wildflowers, pine forests and the Andes Mountains. NPR’s Brian Mann made the trek, where he ventured through forested hills of volcanic rock and groves of cactus. Check out photos from his journey and listen as he shares his experience from the trail here.
