US President on Sunday specified the key concerns he believes amid Harvard University row, stating there is no problem with foreign students but nearly 31 per cent of foreigners come at this institution and they “give them billions of dollars, which is ridiculous”.
“Part of the problem with Harvard is that there are about 31 per cent of foreigners coming to Harvard. We give them billions of dollars, which is ridiculous. We do grants, which we’re probably not going to be doing much grants anymore to Harvard. But they are 31 per cent, but they refuse to tell us who the people are. We want to know who the people,” Trump said.
He mentioned that the density of foreign students admitted at Harvard University is high due to which Americans who want to enroll at the institution are not able to do so.
‘No foreign government contributes money to Harvard’
“Now, a lot of the foreign students we wouldn’t have a problem with, but it shouldn’t be 31 percent. It’s too much because we have Americans that want to go there and to other places, and they can’t go there because you have 31 percent foreign. Now, no foreign government contributes money to Harvard, we do. So why are they doing so many?” he added.
“Then the other thing is they’re very anti-Semitic. Everybody knows they’re anti-Semitic. And that’s got to stop immediately,” he further highlighted his third concern.
Harvard University and the Trump administration have been locked in a months-long dispute, with the administration pressing the university to overhaul its programming, hiring practices, and administrative policies to eliminate what it describes as on-campus antisemitism and so-called “racist diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.”
The administration has also scrutinised foreign students and staff, suspecting their involvement in the heated campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
According to CNN, a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s ban on Friday, following a lawsuit filed by Harvard in federal court.
Harvard contended that the revocation of its certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program was “clear retaliation” for the university’s refusal to comply with the government’s ideologically driven policy demands, CNN reported.
‘Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right’
While talking about his administration’s decision to prevent Harvard University from enrolling foreign students, Trump had said, “Billions of dollars have been paid to Harvard. How ridiculous is that?… And they have USD 52 billion as an endowment… Harvard’s going to have to change its ways.”
The White House, on Thursday, stated, “Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right.” It accused Harvard leadership of turning “their once-great institution into a hot-bed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators.”
