Trump Wants to Overwhelm Harvard, and It’s Working

The Trump administration has one plan, and it’s working.

Presidential threats of revoking student visas, removing birthright citizenship, freezing financial aid, taxing Harvard’s endowment, halting research, and eliminating diversity programs have sparked concern about the future of higher education within the Harvard community.

President Donald Trump’s constant saturation of the media, overwhelming students and university officials alike, has caused an air of helpless resignation when it comes to hot-button political issues. This “chaos strategy” limits the possibility of a coherent opposition emerging within the Harvard community.

Harvard must stop giving Trump so much power. Instead of focusing on his slurry of outrageous statements, orders, and actions, the University should instead opt to cut through the chaos and actually research the feasibility of his plans. To minimize Trump’s impact, we must not fall victim to the nonsense — we should focus solely on tangible threats.

The sheer volume of Trump’s executive orders creates the illusion that he has more than concepts of a plan for this country. We must first recognize his power is far more limited than it appears.

Take the federal aid freeze. Clearly, Harvard believed some students feared Trump could place their financial aid in jeopardy — Garber’s email responding to the freeze urged students to remain calm and continue attending classes. But in the end, their aid was unaffected.

Other Trump actions follow a similar theme.

Trump cannot simply “take away” the Department of Education — at the very least, he would need Congressional approval. And as we know, Trump seems to prefer the executive pen — he doesn’t like appearing weak. To somehow abolish federal financial aid programs, experts believe Trump would need a concrete plan — another no-go. Pell grants, most recently expanded in the FAFSA Simplification Act signed by Trump himself, are likely here to stay.

Trump also said recently he would revoke the visas of pro-Palestinian protestors, then signed an executive order calling for universities to “monitor” those who speak out. Despite the severity of this statement, international students are protected under the First Amendment and other basic rights, a potential reason why revoking student visas solely for protesting did not end up in the final executive order.

We forget that just because Trump is in the White House, it does not mean that he can do whatever he pleases with our country. We forget that nearly 75 million people did not vote for him, that Republicans only have a three-seat lead in the House, and that according to the latest Gallup poll, his approval rating is 47 percent (1o points behind Biden in 2021).

Trump cannot rewrite the Constitution. He cannot unilaterally end birthright citizenship — a judge froze his attempt.

Additionally, Trump signed an executive order ending “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. The order does not define what exactly is unlawful and lacks clarity, and most of its consequences appear to depend only on whether Harvard can be forced to comply.

As myriad examples make clear, Harvard need neither respond to nor fret about every Trump threat — whether it be due to legality or practicality, much of Trump’s agenda is unlikely to manifest.

But Harvard can’t fall asleep at the wheel.

The important threats are those with some legal feasibility: We should take seriously the possibility of a bill being passed to tax Harvard’s endowment, the enactment of travel bans, the deportation of undocumented students, and the removal of funding for research.

Although Trump’s chaos is overwhelming, we must stay grounded in the fact that the majority of his plans will not be carried out to their full extent. Still, Harvard must identify tangible threats that can and will impact the Harvard community and take a stand against them.

Most importantly, we cannot let the chaos of Trump’s term break us down. It should only make us stronger. Stay informed, organize, speak out, call your representatives, write, and protest.

If the Harvard community stands united, we can make it clear that we won't back down. Together, we can fight back and protect what makes Harvard great.

Sophia R. Mammucari ’28, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Canaday Hall.