Harvard Alumni unite Against Funding Freeze

Over 12,000 graduates rally to support alma mater in legal battle with the Trump management.

In an unprecedented show of solidarity, over 12,000 Harvard University alumni have signed an amicus brief supporting the school’s legal challenge against the Trump administration’s decision to halt over $2.2 billion in federal funding.

Massive Alumni Support

Graduates spanning from the class of 1950 to the class of 2025 have added their names to the legal document, offering additional facts to the court. The brief was officially submitted on Monday.

The signatories represent diverse backgrounds, all connected by their Harvard degrees and a shared concern for the institution’s future. Notable names include comedian Conan O’Brien, author Margaret Atwood, and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy.

The alumni group asserts that their brief is the largest of its kind from a single school in history.

Academic Freedom at Stake

Alumni believe this is a pivotal moment for Harvard, as its defense could set a precedent for other colleges and universities facing similar challenges regarding academic freedom, federal funding, and campus oversight.

Harvard initiated legal action against the Trump administration in April, seeking an expedited decision. Oral arguments are scheduled for July 21.

The brief states, “As alumni, we are deeply alarmed by the Government’s reckless and unlawful attempts to assert control over the core functions of harvard and its fellow institutions of higher education.”

It continues,“The Government’s end goal is to narrow our freedoms to learn,teach,think,and act,and to claim for itself the right to dictate who may enjoy those freedoms. As alumni, we attest that Harvard’s true greatness resides in the ways we share these values and exercise these freedoms.”

Solidarity across Divides

Anurima Bhargava, a Harvard alumna, documentary filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer who helped spearhead the effort, emphasized the solidarity across traditional divides.

“We are educated in part so that we can be safeguarders of liberty and democracy. And that is certainly what we all feel like is an vital stand to take in this time,” Bhargava saeid.

She added, “It’s about our education, not only at Harvard – it goes so far beyond Harvard to ‘what are our abilities in every kind of school and college and university to be able to voice and to think and to learn freely without the kind of interference that we’re seeing from the government.'”

Bhargava noted that some alumni hesitated to sign the brief due to potential retaliation from the administration. According to a 2023 report by the American Association of University Professors, 42% of faculty feel constrained in what they can teach due to political pressures (AAUP).

Antisemitism Claims

Efforts to target Harvard began even before President Donald Trump returned to office, with allies citing crackdowns on antisemitism on campus amid the Israel-Hamas war.However,the administration’s actions encompass a broader agenda.

The brief addresses these concerns: “We unequivocally condemn antisemitism and every other form of discrimination and hate, which have no place at Harvard or anywhere else in our society.Yet charges of antisemitism-particularly without due process and proper bases and findings by the Government-should not be used as a pretext for the illegal and unconstitutional punishment and takeover of an academic institution by the Government.”

The university is currently involved in multiple legal disputes with the Trump administration, which has initiated several investigations into the school.