Harvard University has announced it will no longer fund community-based events during commencement ceremonies. It has also revamped and renamed its diversity and inclusion office.
The news comes as the Trump administration recently cut $2.2 billion in funding to the Ivy League institution and Harvard filed a lawsuit claiming the decision was unconstitutional.
Harvard will no longer host or fund affinity group celebrations during graduation
The university announced the news in an email sent on Monday to affinity groups. This includes the annual Black Commencement celebration.
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“We stand ready to address questions or concerns you may have during this transition,” the email read.
The U.S. Department of Education had threatened additional funding cuts if graduation celebrations based on race weren’t canceled. Harvard’s email did not specify if it would also stop hosting and funding celebrations for affinity groups for LGBTQ+, Jewish, veteran and disabled students.
In 2024, race-based Commencement events gathered over 1000 people from across Harvard’s community. The university hosted celebrations for Arab, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, first-generation, low-income, and Asian American, Pacific Islander and Desi students.
The Trump administration recently cut $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard for not complying with its demands
Two weeks ago, the Trump administration sent a list of demands to Harvard which included abolishing D.E.I. efforts on campus, appointing an external overseer to monitor the campus community for “viewpoint diversity,” banning international students who are hostile to “American values” and eliminating activist faculty, according to The New York Times.
Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration, claiming that the move was unconstitutional.
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The Trump administration then cut over $2.2 billion in university grants and contracts.
“Harvard remains committed to building a community where individuals who bring a broad array backgrounds, experiences and perspectives come together to learn, grow and thrive, and equally committed to complying with the law,” university spokesperson Jason A. Newton said in a statement, according to The Harvard Crimson.
Newton said the school “is reviewing the FAQs that were issued on February 28 by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.”
* Original Article:
https://blavity.com/harvard-cuts-funding-black-graduation-clash-with-trump