<\/p>\n
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, announced on May 22 that the Trump administration revoked<\/a> Harvard\u2019s Student and Exchange Visitor Program, effectively banning the university from admitting international students. In response, Harvard sued the president. This is yet another drastic step by President Donald Trump to regulate higher education in the United States amid the ongoing legal battle<\/a> over the freezing of Harvard\u2019s federal funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n This type of federal overreach<\/a> is nothing new from the Trump administration. However, this Editorial Board commends Harvard\u2019s rare push back against such a hostile attack on the school. The authoritarian nature of Trump\u2019s abuse of executive power cannot be ignored, and the consequences of his coordinated attack on education must not be minimized.<\/p>\n It seems that one of the president\u2019s motives stems from the rise of anti-intellectualism<\/a>, which refers to the hostility against intellectuals or the pursuit of knowledge. The embrace of anti-intellectualism by many conservatives derives partly from the belief that higher education exclusively serves liberal elites<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Accusations of antisemitism<\/a> and reverse discrimination<\/a> on U.S. campuses have been used by President Trump as justification for his attacks on Harvard. However, history tells<\/a> us that authoritarian regimes often turn to universities as their first targets. These financial penalties<\/a> and hefty demands<\/a> are clearly being used as levers to force schools to address faux allegations of systemic issues within higher education. Predictably, most of Trump\u2019s claims are unfounded<\/a>, and his gross executive overreach has only set a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n