The United States’ government is waging an all-out assault on Harvard University. The strategy, so far, has been:
- Cut most of the grants (present and future) for scientific and medical research, so that thousands of Harvard’s scientists, researchers and graduate students have to stop their work indefinitely. That includes research on life-saving medicine, on poorly understood natural phenomena, and on new technology. This also means that the university will have no money from these activities to pay salaries of its employees.
- Eliminate the tax-advantageous status of the university, so that the university is much more expensive to operate.
- Prohibit Harvard from having any international students (undergraduate and graduate) and other researchers, so that large numbers of existing scientific and medical research projects that still have funding will have to cease operation. This destroys the careers of thousands of brilliant people — and not just foreigners. Many US faculty and students are working with and depend upon these expelled researchers, and their work will stop too. It also means that Harvard’s budget for the next academic year will be crushed, since it is far too late to replace the tuition from international undergraduate students for the coming year.
The grounds for this war is that Harvard allegedly does not provide a safe environment for its Jewish students, and that Harvard refuses to let the government determine who it may and may not hire.
Now, maybe you can explain to me what this is really about. I’m confused what crimes these scientific researchers commited that justifies stripping them of their grants and derailing their research. I’m also unclear as to why many apolitical, hard-working young trainees in laboratories across the campus deserve to be ejected from their graduate and post-graduate careers and sent home, delaying or ruining their futures. [Few will be able to transfer to other US schools; with all the government cuts to US science, there’s no money to support them at other locations.] And I don’t really understand how such enormous damage and disruption to the lives and careers of ten thousand-ish scientists, researchers and graduate students at Harvard (including many who are Jewish) will actually improve the atmosphere for Harvard’s Jewish students.
As far as I can see, the government is merely using Jewish students as pawns, pretending to attack Harvard on their behalf while in truth harboring no honest concern for their well-being. The fact that the horrors and nastiness surrounding the Gaza war are being exploited by the government as cover for an assault on academic freedom and scientific research is deeply cynical and exceedingly ugly.
From the outside, where Harvard is highly respected — it is certainly among the top five universities in the world, however you rank them — this must look completely idiotic, as idiotic as France gutting the Sorbonne, or the UK eviscerating Oxford. But keep in mind that Harvard is by no means the only target here. The US government is cutting the country’s world-leading research in science, technology and medicine to the bone. If that’s what you want to do, then ruining Harvard makes perfect sense.
The country that benefits the most from this self-destructive behavior? China, obviously. As a friend of mine said, this isn’t merely like shooting yourself in the foot, it’s like shooting yourself in the head.
I suspect most readers will understand that I cannot blog as usual right now. To write good articles about quantum physics requires concentration and focus. When people’s careers and life’s work are being devastated all around me, that’s simply not possible.
22 Responses
Dear Matt,
a weird situation has arisen where the uneducated and uninterested can finally take a swing at those pesky PhD’s that never agree with Simpleton’s decrees. Like Randy Newman sings “let’s drop the big one, they all hate us anyhow”. I do remember some playground bullies from long ago that would gladly destroy any science that doesn’t immediately translate into new tools or marketable stuff. They won the elections. For the future : I doubt if Simpleton will again need to phone instructions like “find me a few 10^x extra votes”, since it will be taken care of by the goons.
CERN is still a nice place, and we europeans tend to do things a bit differently, if you can live with that, then … welcome!
W.
Well said! As a foreigner one has to pull up the chin as it repeatedly drops to the floor over the amount of harm and self harm that is inflicted, no less to science (and information in general).
“Now, maybe you can explain to me what this is really about.”
One simplistic answer I have read is:
“Trump hates universities because they hinder his crusade. Universities accommodate, and affirm, diversity and internal differences of opinion.”
https://www.dn.se/kultur/sverker-sorlin-trump-hatar-forskningen-for-att-den-hindrar-hans-korstag/
It is a bizarre situation:
“Stockholm’s urban planning office must not work for equality, diversity and inclusion. The US embassy demands this in a letter, with a contract that they expect the city to sign. … – We absolutely do not intend to do that, it is the opposite of everything we stand for. They should withdraw these strange things, says [urban planning council] Jan Valeskog.
It is the embassy that benefits from the city of Stockholm, not the other way around, he believes.
– If the US terminates its relationship with the city planning office, the embassy will have difficulty obtaining a building permit if they want to rebuild, for example. That is their headache, not ours, says Valeskog.”
https://www.dn.se/sverige/usas-ambassad-kraver-lydnad-av-stockholms-stad-bisarrt/
Keep fighting the good fight!
Matt,
I entirely understand and feel the same. I am a retired theoretician (molecules not particles) but plan to present a poster at a JILA symposium next month as a way of protesting, or maybe assuaging, my despair. Fight back!
Your are precisely on point. Idiotic policy
Greetings Professor Strassler.
I too am at a complete loss as to why our government is attempting to extirpate education.
Your friend’s comment using the shoot yourself in the foot analogy, reminded me of a time +/- 129 years ago while attending a state college facing a funding crisis. I recall a bumper sticker (of all things) that said “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”
As an attempt to explain what I think this is really about, I offer this theory: The bumper sticker was significantly more widely distributed than I thought, and several of our current government officials saw it and they thought it was meant as a policy statement.
I realize my theory has some assumptions – can those government officials read, and moreover are they capable of thought? I am gathering information on my assumptions, but some compelling evidence suggests the assumptions may be erroneous.
In short professor, currently, I am unable to adequately explain why this is happening.
Matt: I have left “X” because of Musk. So I will re-write my comment here. You have an impressive resumee, tenure at Rutgers, Visiting Prof at Harvard. Do your plans include going to CERN? I hope that they do. FYI I have all of your blog posts in my laptop. Physics will always be my first love, although I am better at music. Wishing you well. Sue Feingold [compser]
Hot off the press, here is the court order blocking the Administration’s most recent actions against Harvard University: https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/095112974072-68306b031ad1a.pdf.
Continued best wishes to you and your colleagues, Mr. Strassler. The Administration’s actions here and on many related fronts are so blatantly unlawful that even a first-year law student could reach that conclusion. Hopefully, the Constitution and the law will prevail in the end. It may be unpleasant getting to that outcome, but I remain hopeful that the courts will continue to rule in Harvard’s favor until such time as reasonable, well-minded folks (regardless of political party, as many Republicans are appalled, too) are back in leadership positions in Washington, D.C.
Wow. Such vindictive stupidity. The rest of the world will benefit from this forced brain drain. My sympathies for you Matt, the shock of the attack will wear off and then you can get angry, calm, organised and move on.
I firmly believe Trump is going after Harvard and Columbia because they didn’t accept Barron. He’s just that petty.
As a slightly bemused observer from the other side of the world, I have to say, calling this a “war” on Harvard is a bit like calling tariffs a war on George Clooney. He does like Swiss watches and they might get more expensive. But it’s not quite the right messaging if you’re trying to convey to a broad base what the problem is. Nobody outside Harvard, nevermind the USA, can fathom a $51-billion endowment, much less understand why taxing it might jeopardise anybody. Honestly, the worry here is that if Harvard, with that kind of money, can’t survive a haircut, what kind of house of cards are you sitting in over there?
If this were about money only — if, for example, they just gradually raised taxes on Harvard’s endownment — I would not see this as existential.
Sending 20% of the univeristy’s scientific research staff packing, and cutting the vast majority of its scientific research grants to zero, is not a haircut. These things are the lifeblood of Harvard, and the government knows it. And why are they doing it, not over several years, but immediately and with no warning? To do maximal damage.
If Harvard’s endowment were cut from 51 billion to 21 billion, that would hurt, but it would survive. But money is not the point. Without its top researchers doing top research with top students from all over the world, it simply won’t be Harvard anymore, no matter how much money it has in the bank.
In short, your view of Harvard and why it is great at what it does is astonishingly naive.
you were too per-*******-polite.
You are absolutely correct in everything you said!!!
The situation you describe is horrible and will be very harmful for science in USA and the world. As physicists we have learned the convenience of shortening the number of variables. So as an stranger I wonder why Harvard authorities did not take measures to protect Jew students so eliminating the excuse and by the way defending freedom from non academic and irrational antisemitic attitudes.
Matt, thanks for writing this unusual post. The national press is covering the story more like a sporting event than a tragedy. It’s helpful to have you bring the human consequences to the fore. In the long term, the loss of the international students may be the worst piece. Much of our country’s wealth has arisen from work done later in life by these international students. Where will these smart students go? To other countries with a brighter future.
Brother Strassler,beyond the truths you have espoused, there is an underlying evil agenda that Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy, is waging against all that which is good and noble. As an orthodox Jew who is in political circles to vent his anger at anyone who opposeses the Gaza War and pulls the purse strings of US taxpayers dollars to use for Israel’s war machine to destroy the lives of thousands of innocent people, he talks louder than Trump while remaining in the shadows. This a war not just against the educational establishment but as a Christian, this is a war against truth. Because much of the American public desired to elect such wicked men to carry on the work of dismantling the government and seeking to replace the judicial system by their own cronies, it is a difficult task to reverse what the majority voted for. America is on course to become a nation of tyranny, ruled by a demagogue and his friends from hell. We are not political or side with any party as we see them all as corrupt, however we have never been given to defeat because the powers that are for the good are greater than those for the evil. Even though they will have their time for a season. Do not weary for that which is to come shortly will disrupt the current administration. You will soon hear of news that an in individual who is in a position and or circle of influence. Will come forth and remove Trump from his position and send the administration into chaos. Trump will lose his life as a consequence and the righteous will shed no tears but the hypocrites will foam and will seek retribution and blame on the opposition although the commission will be among their own. In the meantime many will suffer without due cause but in the end they will have their voice but not here in mortality and to those who abuse and destroy, their own destruction will have no end. As to science and research along with funding will then again be established. Do not let your heart fail you, your petitions are just and will not go unanswered. WATCH. A friend who sees your sorrows along with many.others Joseph
So sad. So stupid.
I agree fully with your remarks and understand your confusion, which I share. In my opinion I believe that there is an underlying past relationship for which the head of the current administration, Donald Trump, is seeking retribution and that Harvard, the institution, is caught in that crossfire. I consider this to be petulant and quite pitiful. The damage being done here is enormous and depressing.
I totally support you in this. These tactics remind me of what I have read of the state of science in pre-WWII Germany.
There has been a growing mistrust of all science and education in this country over the previous decade or two. There are some who, when faced with research results that clash with their ideologies, would rather deny the results, and eviscerate the research than deal with the results.
This is a very sad state of affairs, and Harvard is the proverbial canary in the coal mine.
That being said… I do very much miss the discussions on QM, QFT, and particle physics.
I do hope the political climate cools to the point that you may continue this fascinating QM/QFT/ParticlePhysics blog.
If you haven’t read it, please get read Hitler’s Gift. Agree 100% with you.
Hi Matt, your position is entirely understandable; absolutely incomprehensible is the stance of those who,for any reason, attack knowledge or its sources. Morally, I stand with you, and once again: Vincit qui patitur.