Amid news that Harvard University and the Trump administration are close to an agreement that would restore federal funding, a new report said the college may be committing a civil rights violation.
The Washington Free Beacon on Monday reported that Harvard appeared to be violating civil rights law by using school resources to promote the Harvard Black Alumni Society and its events, according to legal experts.
The Harvard Black Alumni Society hosted a series of "intimate gatherings" over the Aug. 9 weekend. The alumni group's entire website, which promoted the weekend events, is hosted by the "Harvard.edu" domain.
"I think that the use of the school website, the hosting on the school website, the promotion by the school, is probably enough to render this a Harvard program such that it would fall under the DOJ [Justice Department] guidelines," William Jacobson, a Cornell Law School professor and founder of the Equal Protection Project, told the Free Beacon.
"I think that clearly crosses a line. So I think that Harvard is responsible for things that it promotes and things that it facilitates. So I think this one looks like it's highly likely to be a violation of the Civil Rights Act."
Attorney Anastasia Boden, of the Pacific Legal Foundation, agreed.
"So long as it accepts taxpayer money, Harvard and its affiliated groups have to abide by civil rights law," Boden told the Free Beacon. "That means it can't divvy people up based on race.
"The alumni society can claim it's independent from Harvard, but if the group acts like part of the school — using its domains, getting promotion or funding, anything that suggests it's a Harvard program — it can't discriminate either. It can't dodge civil rights law by picking and choosing when it wants be a part of Harvard."
Over the alumni weekend, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Supreme Court justice and Harvard Law School alumna, attended.
The New York Times reported last week that Harvard and the Trump administration were close to reaching a landmark legal settlement that would stipulate the nation's oldest university pay $500 million in exchange for the government restoring billions in federal funding.
The administration has threatened to withhold federal funding to universities that implement diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and fail to adequately police on-campus antisemitism.
More than 14,000 Harvard students, faculty, alumni, and members of the public signed a letter urging the school to reject any deal with the administration that would sacrifice the university's autonomy, The Harvard Crimson reported.
The letter was sent Wednesday to Harvard President Alan Garber and the Harvard Corporation, the university's highest governing body.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.