Jonathan Butcher
The U.S. Department of Education is calling colleges to account for racist and antisemitic incidents on campus—and its move to withhold taxpayer dollars from violators has gotten university officials’ attention.
The University of Michigan just disbanded its multi-year, multi-million-dollar boondoggle in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and Columbia University agreed to align the school with federal guidelines protecting free expression and addressing the harassment of Jewish students.
Next up: Harvard.
Earlier this week, the Education Department, the Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration announced a review of the approximately $9 billion in federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard and local Harvard affiliates like Boston-area hospitals. Federal taxpayers supply more than $255 million in contracts with the university and another $8.7 billion in multi-year grants.
The Conservative Vision of Education
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said, “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from antisemitic discrimination—all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry—has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.”
The Education Department’s review is the latest in a line of consequences it has enacted on schools that have violated civil rights laws, allowed for Jewish students to be verbally and physically abused, and declined to punish students who have damaged property as part of riots.
Previously, McMahon canceled some $400 million in federal money for Columbia due to Columbia students’ actions to wreck campus buildings and threaten or physically harm other students over the last year. To regain federal support, former interim President Katrina Armstrong recently outlined a set of changes to school policy, including the creation of advisory committees on free speech and student discipline.
McMahon’s team, though, has seen enough to not take schools at their word. She says the school must carry out these commitments before funding will be restored.
The message is resonating. » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/harvard-and-dei-expensive-lesson