We are Harvard alumni standing up for academic freedom at Harvard and beyond
Higher education and academic freedom are under assault.
Harvard’s bold and principled risk in standing up for a free democratic society has already inspired other universities to do the same.
We hope you are moved to join the Crimson Courage community and to help us in our urgent defense of our alma mater and higher education across the nation. Please also consider an unrestricted donation of any amount to Harvard to signal that you support the University. Your donation will be tagged to Crimson Courage to let Harvard know where you stand.
Recent Events
Harvard Community Denounces Federal Administration's Attacks on Day One of Crucial Oral Arguments
Harvard researchers, students, faculty, and alumni gathered this morning outside the Moakley Courthouse to warn of the potentially devastating effects—for all of American higher education—should the federal government win two landmark cases having hearings this week.
"At a time when we are fighting authoritarianism, even a moment of having the First Amendment violated is irreparable injury," said Anurima Bhargava, Lead Counsel for Harvard Alumni, Crimson Courage. "There is no such thing as a small Constitutional violation."
Harvard has previously won victories in Harvard v. HHS et al. (over an attempt to halt $2.7 billion in research funding) and Harvard v. DHS (over an attempt to prohibit international students and scholars). Now the federal government is appealing.
The event brought together varied members of the academic community who argued that the government's actions could have dire and wide-reaching consequences for both Harvard and U.S. higher education as a whole.
"We know that if Harvard, with its resources, caves in to this bullying administration, it is game over for the rest of higher education. Harvard must stand up to this administration's baseless and politically driven attacks. And the courts must uphold the law," said Patty Nolan, Crimson Courage Co-Chair and a Cambridge City Councilor. "The attempted politicization of higher education should send chills into every American, regardless of political party."
Click to read full statement with comments by
Professor Kirsten Weld, Professor of History at Harvard and co-President of the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors
Professor Walter Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Professor Bill Hanage, Professor of Epidemiology and Co-Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Karl Molden, a Harvard undergraduate from Vienna, Austria, and co-founder of Students for Freedom
Daniel Noguer, a Harvard undergraduate and President of Students for Freedom
Patty Nolan, Crimson Courage Co-Chair and a Cambridge City Councilor
Anurima Bhargava, Lead Counsel for Harvard Alumni, Crimson Courage
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More coverage of the event
Where We Stand
Statement on Accreditation Changes That Pose Danger to Academic Freedom and Student Aid
The Department of Education has proposed a sweeping and highly damaging politicization of the accreditation system that would undermine the quality and innovation of the U.S. higher education system, curtail academic and intellectual freedom, and harm students.
The U.S. higher education system is successful and admired around the world because it offers high-quality education, functions independently of political interference, and fosters innovative and ground-breaking research.
Accreditation in the U.S.—traditionally an apolitical process—plays a large role in that. Accreditors are independent organizations that evaluate a school's academics, admissions, faculty, student outcomes, governance, compliance with federal regulations, and more in order to ensure educational quality and institutional integrity. Importantly, a college or university must be accredited in order to receive federal money for student financial aid.
The accreditation rule changes proposed by the DOE would politicize this powerful gate-keeping function to bring our colleges and universities to heel and would, in the process, undermine the very strengths that make U.S. schools exemplary.
The federal government could exert ideological control over what is taught and researched.
Vague language and requirements that are likely illegal will pressure schools into overcompliance with a politicized agenda.
Safeguards for quality would be undermined.
» Alumni: Read and sign our letter to Harvard
Statement on Proposed Tax Changes Punishing Support for Students
Read full statement and take action
On September 3, 2026, The Treasury and the IRS proposed new regulations that would deny tax-exempt status to any private educational institution that offers any support for minority students, including clubs, athletics, programming, counseling, and scholarships. If adopted, it would take effect June 1, 2027. Coupled with the accreditation threat that could take effect in July 2027, this could effectively hobble Harvard and other universities, constraining independence, chilling academic freedom, and narrowing access to higher education.
The federal government should not use its power over universities' funding to reduce support and opportunities for all students.
Weaponizing the IRS to punish organizations over political disagreements is oppressive, outrageous, and dangerous to our democracy.
Losing tax-exempt status would have devastating consequences.
These regulations would severely reduce opportunities for all students.
Providing support is an investment in educational opportunity and institutional excellence, not discrimination.
Harvard must stand strong and resist this dangerous threat.
Your voice makes a difference: Submit a comment to the IRS rejecting these proposed regulations by November 3.
» By November 3: Submit a comment to the IRS
Campus Developments
A Conversation with President Garber
President Garber held a conversation with the Harvard alumni community, speaking with author Gish Jen during a webinar on September 22. The Alumni Association event lasted one hour and was presented as “off the record, "meant exclusively for the community." Alumni were invited to submit their questions when they registered.
Prior to the event, Crimson Courage sent President Garber a letter (see below) discussing issues we wanted him to address. The letter commended him for his steadfast resistance to the Trump administration's overreaching agenda and raised questions about some Harvard policies that seem to recede from the university's commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Respecting the off-the-record nature of the conversation, our reaction was that President Garber strongly reaffirmed his commitment to academic freedom and to not allowing the government to encroach on Harvard's ability to teach as it sees fit. In April 2025, he stated, “No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.” Some important issues we raised in our letter were not directly addressed, and we will continue to dialogue with the administration to critically reflect on making positive change.
Letter to President Garber: With Appreciation and a Call to Keep Choosing Courage
September 18, 2026
Dear President Garber and the Trustees of the Harvard Corporation,
We thank you for your efforts to defend Harvard and higher education against political attacks that threaten academic freedom and attempt to stamp higher education with the administration’s ideological imprint. We ask that you continue this admirable record, that you act with an unwavering consistency. We are writing on behalf of Crimson Courage, the alumni organization formed one year ago to support Harvard's resistance.
Your refusal to capitulate to many persistent federal demands and your successes in court—and in the court of public opinion—have inspired students, faculty, and alumni across America.
Please do not slow this momentum now.
At the same time, we are increasingly concerned by changes on campus which, taken as a whole, undermine our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The new restrictions banning alumni interviewers from mentioning an applicant's race, ethnicity, religion, or cultural background in their reports are alarming. Of note, our understanding is that peer institutions have not taken this action. This change is the latest in a pattern of distressing actions that include the refusal to fund affinity graduation celebrations, the closure of the Women's Center and Office for BGLTQ Student Life, and more. In addition, Harvard Medical School risks sending the message that a diverse, inclusive community is not an essential part of medical care. These choices fail to support the very students and faculty most in need of these services. Academic freedom depends not just on protecting expression, but on ensuring that everyone has an unfettered opportunity to participate, contribute, and thrive.
President Garber, we urge you to
Continue to refuse to sign any agreements with the Trump administration since no agreement signed would be honored.
Publicly commit to not responding to the DOE's “National Call to Action” (Compact 2.0) and its website posting requirements.
Rescind the guidance to alumni interviewers and issue revised, clear guidance that empowers interviewers to speak freely when recruiting potential students so they can help attract diverse classes in the future.
Publicly reaffirm your commitment to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community and to providing the kinds of support needed by students and faculty from groups who have faced discrimination historically and confront it increasingly at present.
Thank you for your leadership. Please continue to choose courage.
Courage on Campus
Allies at Yale Protest Government Pressure on Higher Education
Stand Up for Yale and sympathetic organizations held an on-campus teach-in, "Democratize Yale," on August 27. Speakers and attendees urged the university to fight Justice Department pressure such as intrusive investigations into admissions practices at Yale College and the schools of Medicine and Law.
Speakers discussed four demands: democratizing University governance; codifying academic freedom; relaxing restrictions on protests; and refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration over the investigation into admissions. Attendees included students, faculty, staff, alumni, and neighbors such as New Haven union members. Read more in the Yale Daily News.
By the way, The Game at Fenway Park on Saturday, November 21, will present a great opportunity for Crimson Courage and Stand Up for Yale to stand together in person!
National News
Judge Blocks Federal Government's Rule Limiting Student Visas
On September 13, a federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked a U.S. Department of Homeland Security rule that would have limited international student and scholar visas to four years. The rule will not be applied while litigation continues.
This move is another attempt by the federal government to dictate to Harvard and other universities who can study and conduct research at their institutions. Because many Ph.D. programs and research projects run longer than four years, the DHS's rule would essentially eliminate U.S. universities from consideration when international students and scholars are considering where to apply.
As President Garber has made clear, losing Harvard's international students and scholars would deal a severe blow to the University because we would no longer attract and develop the most promising students and researchers from throughout the world. As District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV wrote in his scathing opinion, the tens of millions of foreign students who have studied in the U.S. have helped produce “groundbreaking research in science, medicine, and technology, substantial economic growth, and a host of other benefits.”
The case against the rule was brought by multiple plaintiffs, led by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, of which President Garber is a member.
Graphic displays most recent information available (2024) from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
More from Crimson Courage
Watch a Lively Discussion on Academic Freedom and Democracy
Courage Counts: Where We Are and the Way Forward
This engaging Alumni Day discussion featured
Representative Jamie Raskin
Professor Kathryn Sikkink
Professor Randall Kennedy
Professor Alex Keyssar
and more!
» Watch on YouTube
Read Earlier Statements by Crimson Courage
August 19, 2026: On Department of Education’s “National Call to Action”
March 20, 2026: On new legal attack by the federal government curtailing freedom of speech
June 27, 2025: On forced resignation of UVA president, James E. Ryan
February 4, 2025: On dangers of capitulating to the federal government’s billion-dollar threat
See Open Letters to Harvard from Crimson Courage
Click on the date to read each letter from 2025.
November 19: A joint sign-on letter from Crimson Courage and Stand Up for Yale asking both universities to protect academic freedom
October 21: Urging a strong public stance on the “Compact” and protection of academic freedom
August 1: A sign-on letter calling for Harvard to uphold its independence; reject political interference; safeguard academic integrity; refuse punitive financial penalties; protect students, researchers, faculty, and staff; and establish direct, ongoing engagement with the University community. Add your name to the over 17,000 signers—no Harvard affiliation is required. Read and sign.
July 10: Stating deep concern at the shuttering of offices and institutions focused on minority, female, and LGBTQ students in capitulation to the unreasonable demands of the federal government
June 23: Urging the President, Fellows, Alumni Association, and Deans of all 12 Harvard schools to resist compromising our values or integrity in any sort of deal with the federal government
Harvard Wins
Harvard Wins Decisive Victory in Lawsuit
Crimson Courage, the Harvard grass-roots alumni group, applauds US District Judge Allison D. Burroughs’ summary judgment against the cancellation of $2.7 billion of research grants to Harvard.
According to Crimson Courage’s legal adviser, Anurima Bhargava, “This is an unabashed win. This win is not only for academic freedom and civil liberties at Harvard, but also a testament to the courage of the students, faculty, employees and alumni who have spoken truth to power on the behalf of higher education, human rights and civil society.”
In the words of Judge Burroughs, “Now it is the job of the courts to similarly step up, to act to safeguard academic freedom and freedom of speech as required by the Constitution, and to ensure that important research is not improperly subjected to arbitrary and procedurally infirm grant terminations, even if doing so risks the wrath of a government committed to its agenda no matter the cost.”
Academic freedom is not transactional: it is the first principle for free inquiry, civil discourse and the preservation of democracy. We will continue the fight for our constitutional rights for students, faculty, workers and all of society. The battle is just beginning.
» Read the full decision
More than 12,000 Harvard Alumni Sign Amicus Brief in Support of Academic Freedom and Institutional Independence
Update: U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued a summary judgment against the cancellation of funds. The government is appealing this decision, and the next hearing is October 5, 2026, in Boston. See above for more.
On June 9, 2025, in a historic show of solidarity, more than 12,000 Harvard alumni from all 50 U.S. states and countries around the world have submitted the largest known alumni brief in American history: an amicus curiae brief in support of Harvard in President and Fellows of Harvard College v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The lawsuit challenges the Trump Administration’s decision to withhold $2.2 billion in funding as part of its escalating and unlawful campaign of coercion and retaliation against Harvard (Harvard's legal complaint can be found here.).
The amicus brief—drafted by attorneys who are Harvard alumni—is an unprecedented instance of individual Harvard alumni taking legal action together, and includes alumni from all of Harvard’s degree-granting schools. Alumni—across generations, professions, political affiliations, geographies, and backgrounds—speak to their shared commitment to truth, service, academic independence and the central place of education in American life.
» Read the alumni amicus brief as filed
The amicus brief was open for signature by Harvard degree holders from any school or department in the university, irrespective of nationality or citizenship.
» Read the list of Harvard signatories
Join Our Community
By joining the grassroots Crimson Courage community, you gain opportunities to:
Support Harvard’s freedom from government interference;
Endorse academic freedom and freedom of speech;
Oppose federal efforts to suppress voices, censor vital scholarship, and diminish the presence of varied populations and viewpoints;
Improve on-campus communication and mutual respect among people from different backgrounds;
Collaborate with other universities and organizations in advocacy for independent higher education nationally; and
Add your voice to the dialogue surrounding issues of academic independence across the nation.
Support Crimson Courage by joining our email list, volunteering, and/or donating.
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Harvard's Landmark Court Victory: The Decision, Implications, and Ways Forward (Co-hosted with Democracy House)
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