More than Harvard, US will lose its dominance in academics

The Donald Trump administration's relentless campaign against Harvard University is a spectacular act of self-sabotage, a political vendetta disguised as policy, one that threatens to unravel decades of academic dominance by the US while achieving little beyond petty ideological victories.

The government's tactics, such as freezing billions of dollars in federal funding; threatening to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status and barring the university from enrolling international students; or instructing the students to transfer to another university "or lose their legal status", are not just punitive measures. They are a self-defeating and reckless gamble with the future of the US.

Let us start with the financial absurdity of the move. International students at Harvard contribute about $384 million annually to the local economy, supporting around 3,910 jobs. In the academic year 2023-24, Harvard's international students accounted for 54.5 percent of the total spending by foreign students studying in Massachusetts's 5th Congressional District. The state sees almost $4 billion a year in foreign students' spending, with Harvard making up around 10 percent of that.

But why is the government going after Harvard? Is it using "anti-semitism" as an excuse to curb Harvard's academic freedom? Forcing Harvard to scrap diversity programs, screen applicants for political loyalty and submit protest records shows a deeper agenda: silencing dissent under the guise of safeguarding national security.

The resulting exodus of talents will haunt the United States for decades. Harvard's 6,800 international students and scholars, hailing from 140 countries and regions, are some of the most talented people in the world. They often become Nobel laureates, tech founders or industry leaders.

Thanks to the US administration's heavy-handed policies, many are now fleeing to Australia, Europe and Asia, where universities are eagerly rolling out scholarships and fast-track visas. One cannot miss the irony here. A government that claims to "put America first" is driving away the very minds that sustain its edge in innovation.

The administration seems to be using "anti-semitism" as a cloak, while its real targets are liberal strongholds. This is not a policy, but a clumsy attempt to dismantle institutions that refuse to bow to ideological diktats.

The courts keep blocking these measures; a federal judge halted the ban on the Student and Exchange Visitor Program within 48 hours. But the damage has already been done. The world now sees the US as a country where education is hostage to political whims, where visas can be revoked over a tweet, where academic freedom lasts only until a president takes offense.

So a government that claims it wants to "make America great again" seems determined to burn down the very institutions that sustain it. The real loser is not Harvard, but the country that till recently led the world in knowledge, innovation and open inquiry.

The US government is targeting various universities, especially liberal ones such as Harvard. It has also instructed certain universities to screen some social media, primarily aimed at turning away students who may have participated in protests against Israel's assault on Gaza.

The US government has also asked its embassies and consular sections worldwide to halt scheduling new interviews for student-visa applicants, as it is considering requiring all foreign students applying to study in the US to undergo social media vetting without directly specifying what they will screen the applicants for.

Scientists, engineers, and future leaders may no longer view the US as the premier destination for higher education. The campuses may remain beautiful, the libraries vast and rich, but without a diverse, international cohort, their vitality will fade.