Harvard University president Alan Garber jabbed at the Trump administration’s crackdown on international student enrollment during his remarks at the Ivy League school’s graduation ceremony.
“Members of the Class of 2025, from down the street, across the country and around the world … just as it should be,” he said.
Garber received a one-minute standing ovation at the start of his address, in large part due to his calling for universities to stand “firm” against the Trump administration, which has waged war against Ivy League schools including Harvard and Columbia in recent months.
Garber, who became president of the elite school last August, told graduates they should be willing to “expand our thinking and change our minds in the process.” And said his hope is that they “stay comfortable being uncomfortable.”
That same morning, in a Boston federal court just six miles from the commencement, District Court Judge Allison Burroughs dealt a blow to the Trump administration, slapping a temporary injunction on its plans to restrict the admittance of foreign students or those on a visa.
“I want to maintain the status quo,” Burroughs said from the bench.
“It doesn’t need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it’s worded in such a way that nothing changes,” she said, with Harvard’s lead attorney Ian Gershengorn telling the judge he doesn’t want any “shenanigans” to take place once the order is set.
The Trump administration filed a legal notice before the hearing commenced giving Harvard 30 days to make its case to remain a part of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
