Harvard University used to be the symbol of the American promise. It was a place where bright minds from all over the world came to study, debate, and take back home U.S. democratic ideals.
These days, it’s become a battleground in a political war that wants to destroy one of the most effective tools of the U.S. global influence. What kind of world leader sabotages their most admired global institution and why?
Harvard International Students: From Allies to Target
President Donald Trump is making a geopolitical blunder as he continues his crusade against Harvard University. So far, his administration has slashed the school’s funding and tried to limit foreign enrollment to just 15%. It has even prevented the school from hosting international students via the F-1 visa program.
This attack aimed at Harvard international students will hurt the school’s reputation, since nearly 27% of the school’s student body are foreigners. We’re not just talking about how much the school will lose, we’re talking about the soft power the country will give up.
It’s no secret that Harvard international students have gone back to their countries and achieved great things politically. A typical example is the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Trump claims he’s trying to stop the school from producing troublemakers, but results over the years have proven that the school produces global leaders.
Ending Soft Power One Research Grant at a Time
Soft power is a product of shared knowledge, world-class education, and global engagement. U.S. universities like Harvard University embody this and provide America with this type of power to influence the world, yet Trump is ignoring it.
He has frozen more than $2.6 billion in federal grants, preventing the school from carrying out important public health and climate science research. This is a setback for the nation as a whole.
Trump is dismantling American values as he turns academia into a political enemy. If Universities like Harvard can no longer continue their roles as informal national ambassadors, the country is simply saying to the next Ellen Sirleaf: go study in Canada, the U.K., or even China.
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