Harvard students urge leadership to bar Trump officials from campus

Students argue the refusal to concede the election undermines civic values

Harvard University students urged senior leadership to closely scrutinise any former Trump officials before inviting them on campus to speak or teach, in an open letter circulating online, arguing that the administration’s refusal to concede the election, and its actions more broadly, run against the university’s civic values.

“Harvard should stand firm with its stated commitments to a just Harvard and a just world, to free and honest inquiry in the unfettered pursuit of truth, the right to vote, a free and independent press, checks and balances, the peaceful transfer of power, and the rule of law with equal justice for all,” reads the undated letter. “We believe that Trump administration officials who failed to live up to that standard have disqualified themselves from being hired by the school as faculty or fellows.”

It asks that the school “fully vet” officials before welcoming them on campus, and share its vetting guidelines with students by the end of the year.

“Academic communities should be bastions of free speech,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox Business News, which broke the news, on Tuesday. 

Harvard told The Independent it is aware of the petition, but “beyond that we have no comment.”

The letter argues that by keeping Trump officials off campus, they’re preserving democratic values.

“We hold a variety of political views, but these actions alarm all of us invested in the future of democracy in the United States and abroad,” it reads. “We worry that in following tradition and inviting members of the Trump administration to Harvard, the school would be legitimizing this subversion of democratic principles that up to now had been universally accepted by both political parties.”

In 2017, the university hosted former Trump administration press secretary Sean Spicer for a fellowship at its Institute of Politics, following his brief half-year tenure, mainly remembered for press conferences filled with dubious claims.

The letter is the latest in a broader conversation about how Trump alumni should be treated once the administration concedes the election. Normally, White House veterans can translate their recent experience into academic posts, cushy political commentary gigs on TV, and high-paying speaking opportunities, but the Trump administration has been anything but normal.

Progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has argued the public should not forget about what happened during the administration, even if the president’s “sycophants” …“try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future.”