Other schools face the loss of federal funding and their ability to enrol international students if they don't agree to the Trump administration's shifting demands
But Harvard, which was founded in 1636, a century and a half before the nation itself, is taking the lead on defying the White House in federal court and paying a significant price
The Trump administration's latest salvos include asking federal agencies to cancel about USD 100 million in contracts with the Ivy League school. The government already cancelled more than USD 2.6 billion in federal research grants, moved to cut off Harvard's enrolment of international students and threatened its tax-exempt status
Visa interviews for international students admitted to schools nationwide were halted on Tuesday, and Trump said Wednesday that Harvard should reduce its international enrolment from 25 per cent to about 15 per cent
Sustained by a USD 53 billion endowment, the nation's oldest and wealthiest university is testing whether it can be a bulwark against Trump's efforts to limit what it calls antisemitic activism on campus, which Harvard sees as an affront to the freedom to teach and learn nationwide
The Trump administration has demanded Harvard enact broad government and leadership reforms and changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus and stop recognising some student clubs
Dr. Abraham Verghese, the bestselling author and Stanford expert on infectious diseases, will be the principal speaker at the university's 374th commencement. On Wednesday, NBA Hall of Famer and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the "Class Day" speaker, and journalist Christiane Amanpour addressed graduates of Harvard's Kennedy School
Both praised Harvard for standing up to the Trump administration, with Abdul-Jabbar specifically calling out the actions of Harvard President Alan Garber
"When a tyrannical administration tried to bully and threaten Harvard, to revoke their academic freedom and to destroy free speech, Dr. Alan Garber rejected the illegal and immoral pressures," Abdul-Jabbar said to wide applause as he compared Garber's response to Rosa Parks' stand against racist segregation
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