Harvard Faculty Did the Right Thing. The University Should Too.

Harvard’s professors are standing up to President Donald Trump — but they shouldn’t have to go it alone.

On Tuesday, the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over arrests and attempted deportations of students and faculty who expressed pro-Palestine views.

We’re glad to see our professors taking exactly the kind of deliberate, bold, and deeply principled action that the Trump era demands. With this lawsuit, they’ve laid out a blueprint for resisting Trump’s assault on the academy. Now, it’s time for the University — alongside other institutions — to follow it.

The AAUP has a proud history of taking action in support of academic freedom and this lawsuit falls squarely within their purview. However, defending the cause of open expression is a mandate shared by every higher education institution. Harvard should muster an academic vanguard to take it up.

Waiting out the storm is an understandably appealing alternative. After all, Harvard has not yet been hit as hard by the White House’s assault as some of its peers. However, as we’ve written before, obedience offers no guarantee of shelter from attacks on the academy.

And the Trump Administration has long made its overarching intentions chillingly clear. Just days after taking office, Trump signed an executive order instructing universities to “monitor” international students for participation in crime or terrorism. The most recent spate of arrests across the country are only an escalation of his agenda. The question now is not if Harvard and our community will come under direct fire, but when.

Moreover, even if acquiescence could credibly allow Harvard to escape the Trump era unscathed, it’s not clear that the University that would emerge would even be deserving of the name. If Harvard and other higher education institutions allow attacks on open expression or non-citizen community members — two pillars of the academic enterprise — to go unanswered, we sacrifice our mission at the altar of an illusory sense of security.

If there is a cost to bear to hold true to our principles, it’s one worth bearing. Indeed, Harvard is the single university in the country best equipped to pay. However, an insular approach would be both ill-advised and unnecessary — our University need not go it alone.

Instead, resisting the authoritarian assault on academic freedom and democratic norms requires collective action. The AAUP’s lawsuit — co-signed by chapters at Harvard, New York University, Rutgers University, and the Middle East Studies Association — models exactly the kind of cross-institutional collaboration that the moment demands.

Harvard should take legal action in concert with other universities. By standing alongside peer institutions, Harvard can form a united front to protect students and faculty across the country — not just its own. Indeed, this style of approach — last taken up alongside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology against another Trumpian attack on international students — proved hearteningly successful in the past.

At bare minimum, Harvard ought to be ready to stand by its faculty if the Trump administration retaliates against them. Institutional courage means defending those who bear the brunt of political backlash for doing what’s right.

Harvard’s faculty gave us a template for sensible resistance — but they shouldn’t have to take the lead. It’s time for the University to follow suit.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

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