FINALLY. One university with the balls to stand up to Trump.
What’s the point of sitting on a $53B endowment if you’re not going to use it? Losing $9B in contracts to fight fascism is worth every penny.
Donald Trump proposed taxing large private university endowments as part of his 2024 election campaign.
This tax aims to fund the creation of the “American Academy,” a new institution designed to provide free, high-quality educational content. The tax would target excessively large endowments, collecting billions of dollars to support this initiative
This proposal is part of a broader effort to reshape higher education and address political controversies within universities. The tax on endowment investment income could significantly impact universities with large endowments.
This just sounds like they’re going to contract PragerU to rebrand their videos and then someone will pocket billions of dollars.
It’s just how he’s going to get around the prohibition on bills of attainder.
They only need to create law that can be arbitrarily enforced and then enforce that law on your enemies.
Who in their right mind is against this?
Georgetown has been out ahead of this for weeks. But they get no press because they’re (a) not Harvard and (b) not humiliating themselves in compliance rituals like Columbia, so they aren’t as exciting to cover.
You’ve also got schools down in Texas - A&M and UT particularly - that have already been fully integrated into Governor Abbott’s brand of Lone Star Fascism that there’s little to report. Just a bunch of admins saying, in thick German accents, that everything is normal and there’s nothing to see.
I don’t think all the people I was telling understand how much money Harvard has.
It’s … Way way more than it appears on paper.
They have, over the last 40 years or so, systematically bought commercial real estate in Boston, left it vacant to devalue the housing property in the neighborhood, then bought houses in the neighborhoods, bulldozed, expanded. They own way more of Allston than people realize. Let’s not even talk about their endowment, which can pay for all students tuition on interest alone.
Here’s a fun one.
42.3580140, -71.1385711
Try and figure out what that building is, who owns it, what it’s for. It’s like 5 acres. In the middle of a major capital city.
Yeah. Good luck. (P.S. it’s Harvard)
Now note proximity to Harvard Stadium.
Harvard runs shit. In broad daylight secrecy. Within a democratic stronghold.
Scott Galloway on YouTube often mentions this on his podcasts. That Harvard and a few others have turned from being a university with money to a private equity fund with some students.
Someone should support them! Poor guys, can’t catch a break!
Maybe Lemmy should run defence on them
So you’re telling me Harvard may be home base for a modern day revolution when it comes. Noted!
They’ll protect themselves first. If that means working with the regime then that’s what they’ll do.
Let me guess and you guys support these billionaires who pocket student money, correct? Just because it looks like it’s fighting another of your imaginary enemies?
Trump is imaginary?
The Government will retaliate. I wonder if all intentional students will now be under a watchful eye
I do not believe someone ever said once “hey wait a minute did I woke up in Harvard? That wasn’t the plan at all?!”
They have the largest academic endowment in the world. All of their students could go there for free for basically forever but they still collect tuition. Somehow they’re brave because of this though.
Harvard has its own issues of course, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that this thing it’s done is the right thing.
If all the universities came together and told Trump to shove those demands up his ass, that would be historic but instead they chose to be cowards like the big tech not realizing that they don’t serve the president but the president should serve them.
Who wants to take bets that Donald was rejected from Harvard in past?
Well they have balls not like other universities
One would hope that the wealthiest university in the country would have the minerals to tell the Trump regime to piss off.
Collectivists supporting billionaires and running defense for them online in 3…2…1
The stunlock intensifies
I don’t agree with Harvard (DEI & Pro-Palestinian protests), but I support them defying this order. They’re a private institution, the government is overstepping here.
I don’t agree with Harvard (DEI & Pro-Palestinian protests), but I support them defying this order.
Wait, so you… both think they should not have DEI programs and should expel pro-palestinian protestors, but you also think they should defy the government order telling them to do what you think they should do?
Yes, because the order is an abuse of power. I don’t agree with their policies, but private institutions shouldn’t be bullied by the government. I support their autonomy.
What dei policies do you object to?
The fact that DEI sounds good in theory but in practice it’s just systematic discrimination. Similar to Affirmative Action but that’s already been settled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
it’s just systematic discrimination
I don’t understand how fixing existing discrimination is in itself discrimination. People are not being oppressed because they aren’t being given special treatment anymore. DEI policies have absolutely nothing to do with quotas or giving protected classes special treatment.
Well, when you discriminate, either positively or negatively, it’s discrimination.
Glad to help clear that up!
But it’s explicitly not discrimination. It’s inclusion. Meaning “in addition to”. No one is left out by it lol.
Despite what they claimed, they were discriminating.
And that claim is based on what? Anecdotes?
Just wanted to stop by and express my disappointment for the down votes. I disagree with you strongly on the policies, but I deeply respect your commitment to actual free speech, and I hope you hold that same energy when it comes to due process rights.
This type of “we must tolerate the intolerant” energy is how Reddit became neo-fascist. First being against DEI and Palestinians is a heinous political position. Second of all people who are against DEI believe it’s racism, if he’s okay with private institutions using what he believes are racist policies, that’s a heinous position.
What you’re basically reading is: “I’m a racist, and I think private institutions should be able to have policies I think are racist”
Yeah that’s a no from me.
Exactly let’s ban a dude for giving his opinion that doesn’t make us fascists at all you see his opinion was wrong
