Harvard is preparing to spend up to $500 million to settle with the Trump administration -- a move that would signal the most devastating capitulation yet in a growing war against American higher education.

This isn’t about resolving legal disputes or campus management. It’s about letting a vindictive administration rewrite the rules of academia through financial coercion.

Columbia University surrendered. Brown University caved. And now, Donald Trump is using those deals as blueprints to force Harvard to eliminate DEI initiatives, restructure governance to his liking, and open the door to external monitoring of academic life. If Harvard, which is wealthy, prestigious, and historically independent folds, there will be no stopping this federal campaign to gut the core of academic freedom nationwide.

Trump’s agenda is crystal clear, he wants to silence dissent, eradicate diversity, and impose federal control over university classrooms, hiring, and leadership. His demands don’t stop at funding, they go to the heart of what students can learn, what professors can teach, and who is allowed to lead our institutions.

President Alan Garber must defend Harvard’s independence and fight back in court, instead of handing the keys of the university over to Trump’s political machine. The time for vague promises is over. This is the moment that defines whether Harvard will be remembered as a bulwark of democracy or as the institution that broke and took higher education down with it.

Tell President Garber and Harvard’s leadership, no deals with Trump, no external monitors, and no surrender. Click “Start Writing” to send your message now.