Harvard is "in violent violation" of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the federal government’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said Monday in a letter threatening to cut all the university's federal funding if changes aren't made.
The task force, which was formed this year under an executive order by President Donald Trump, wrote that the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services had concluded a Title VI investigation into antisemitism at Harvard.
Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.
The letter outlined several violations the school had allegedly committed, including: A majority of Jewish students reported experiencing negative bias or discrimination on campus, a quarter felt physically unsafe, Jewish and Israeli students were assaulted and spat on, and the campus was vandalized with antisemitic stickers.
The letter also highlighted campus protests in the wake of the Israel-Palestinian war, noting that some demonstrators called "for genocide and murder, and denied Jewish and Israeli students access to campus spaces."
The letter accused Harvard of inaction, failing to defend all groups on campus equally, and of conforming to "racial hierarchies."
The government warned that if changes aren’t made, all federal funding will be cut.
My experience with federal grant agreements is that the recipient’s compliance with all federal law is part of the boilerplate. Even if Harvard would have violated Wage and Hour laws, federal grants could be terminated.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1949964916380561552?t=orBgr0Zqgy8539u4D10cvg&s=19
Sophisticated litigants don’t settle for that much unless there is exposure.