October 5, 2026

Harvard Community Denounces Federal Administration's Attacks on Day One of Crucial Oral Arguments

BOSTON, October 5, 2026—Harvard researchers, students, faculty, and alumni gathered this morning outside the Moakley Courthouse to warn of the potentially devastating effects—for all of American higher education—should the federal government win two landmark cases having hearings this week.

"At a time when we are fighting authoritarianism, even a moment of having the First Amendment violated is irreparable injury," said Anurima Bhargava, Lead Counsel for Harvard Alumni, Crimson Courage. "There is no such thing as a small Constitutional violation."

Harvard has previously won victories in Harvard v. HHS et al. (over an attempt to halt $2.7 billion in research funding) and Harvard v. DHS (over an attempt to prohibit international students and scholars). Now the federal government is appealing.

The event brought together varied members of the academic community who argued that the government's actions could have dire and wide-reaching consequences for both Harvard and U.S. higher education as a whole.

"We know that if Harvard, with its resources, caves in to this bullying administration, it is game over for the rest of higher education. Harvard must stand up to this administration's baseless and politically driven attacks. And the courts must uphold the law," said Patty Nolan, Crimson Courage Co-Chair and a Cambridge City Councilor. "The attempted politicization of higher education should send chills into every American, regardless of political party."

“These two cases," explained Bhargava, "—in which Harvard is challenging the Trump administration’s slashing of billions in research funds and draconian restrictions on international students and scholars—are the front line against the Trump administration’s relentless and baseless attacks on colleges and universities nationwide." Bhargava, who was formerly head of civil rights enforcement in colleges and universities at the Justice Department, continued, "I am proud of Harvard alumni who signed our amicus brief. We have 11,000 alumni—from every school at Harvard, and graduating in every year from 1950 to 2026—standing up for the freedom and opportunity to learn free from government coercion and control.”

"It strikes at the very heart of what we do," said Professor Kirsten Weld, Professor of History at Harvard and co-President of the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors, referencing the chilling effect on free speech among the faculty. "When the Trump administration attacked Harvard in ways that flagrantly violated the Constitution and the laws of the United States, we, the faculty, stood up and fought back," Weld said. "And we’ll keep on fighting to protect our research and teaching from the federal government’s overreach, unconstitutional coercion, and illegal retaliation."

Professor Walter Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, described as "wasteful and disrespectful" the abrupt but temporary defunding of the Women's Health Initiative, a massive study of over 160,000 people running continuously since 1991 with ongoing research into aging, dementia, cancer, and heart disease. "Every week," he added, "we wonder will be able to continue our research or not? Science is at stake."

"When funding is canceled in this way, even if and when it is returned, the damage is done," said Professor Bill Hanage, Professor of Epidemiology and Co-Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "Scientific knowledge grows and unfolds over much longer timescales than the news cycle. Even brief interruptions are enough to damage it beyond repair. If you were trying to grow a delicate houseplant and stopped watering it for a month, all you would get is a dead plant. In the same way, restricting funding kills research that promises new ways to make longer and better lives." He added, "This not only threatens existing research, but the future."

Karl Molden, a Harvard undergraduate from Vienna, Austria, and co-founder of Students for Freedom, described the fear and uncertainty that he and fellow international students felt when they heard their visas might be cancelled—and the shock when they actually were. "These uncertainties had a significant impact on how international students were feeling on campus and made it very difficult to focus on their studies and exams. Many of these uncertainties remain to this day."

"To the Trump administration, I have this to say: 'Are your attacks against Harvard actually meant to show concern for national security, as you claim? Or do they merely show how frustrated you get when a university does not bend the knee?'" said Daniel Noguer, a Harvard undergraduate and President of Students for Freedom. "I want to see all of Harvard's international students enjoy the right to come here and study what interests them, the right to be an active member of their community, the right to not live in fear that the next year isn't guaranteed, that their parents' sacrifices to get them here were not for nothing."

Ultimately, Nolan stressed the importance of Harvard and all of U.S. higher education to our nation's standing in the world: "'America first' should mean supporting and heralding the incredible achievements of our nation's higher educational institutions, including—but not limited to—Harvard. Attacking Harvard is akin to an attack on America's reputation and standing in the world. America's higher education institutions have given the world innumerable advances in public health and improvements benefitting the entire world. To tear down that sector is to tear down our country."