Harvard ‘violently violated’ civil rights law? Not according to Harvard
Harvard University rebuked the Trump administration's finding that the institution violated civil rights law in a newly obtained letter sent last month to the federal government, according to The Washington Post .
In it, Harvard argues that the Trump administration made factual errors, overlooked what changes Harvard had made and the responses the university had given to the federal government, according to the outlet.
The letter, dated Sept. 19, comes after the Trump administration determined in June that the university was in "violent violation" of Title VI , which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin, due to campus antisemitism.
The federal government also threatened to cut all funding from Harvard if it didn't "institute adequate changes immediately."
The same day Harvard sent the September letter to the Trump administration, the federal government placed the institution on heightened cash monitoring status due to growing concerns about the university's financial position and issued Harvard a denial of access letter, accusing the institution of refusing to provide documents and information on its admissions probe.
Spokespeople from Harvard and the Department of Health and Human Services didn't respond immediately to requests for comment.
While a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the university's nearly $3 billion in federal funding cuts last month, the government pressure against the university hasn't let up.
The Trump administration recommended on Monday that Harvard be excluded from federal funding to "protect the public interest," and the U.S. Committee on Education and Workforce also demanded this week that Harvard provide more information as part of its ongoing investigation into campus antisemitism.
President Donald Trump claimed his administration reached a $500 million deal with the university on Tuesday, but quickly reversed course and told reporters that the federal government was "close to finalizing" the agreement.
In the September letter sent by Harvard, the institution denied that a harassment allegation mentioned by the federal government occurred, rejected the accusation that Harvard's physical safety complaints were low because of it being a flawed process and pointed out that a student, who says she experienced an antisemitic hate crime and was mentioned in the federal government's report, has spoken publicly about not using her experience as a reason to attack the institution , according to The Washington Post.
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