Trump administration launches more probes into Harvard

The probes are the latest effort from Washington to pressure the Ivy League university into reshaping its policies.  Read more at straitstimes.com.

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration said on March 23 it has launched two new investigations into Harvard University over alleged anti-Semitism on campus and racially discriminatory admissions practices.

The probes, launched by the Department of Education’s civil rights division, are the latest effort from Washington to pressure the Ivy League university into reshaping its policies. 

“If Harvard continues to stonewall as we try to verify its basic compliance with antidiscrimination statutes, we will vigorously hold them to account to ensure students’ rights are protected,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.

If found to be in violation of the law, the department can strip Harvard of its federal funding and render the college ineligible for federal financial aid – steps the administration has threatened in the past.

A spokesperson for Harvard had no immediate comment.

The move comes just days after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the college, accusing its leaders of ignoring anti-Semitic harassment on campus, and a month after the department sued the school over data to support its investigation of racial discrimination in admissions. In its latest probe, the Education Department gave Harvard 20 days to hand over that data or face “enforcement actions.”