Rep. Foxx wary of 'murky' Harvard decision to limit official statements: 'Raises concerns'

October 06, 2024

WASHINGTON (TND) — Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., in a statement to The National Desk (TND) Friday said she is concerned by Harvard University’s decision to limit the issues it speaks out on.

Harvard announced Tuesday it will no longer comment on “issues outside its core function,” citing a desire to not become “a government.” The decision follows a report by two university working groups which examined the impact of statements by Harvard and other universities. Working group chairs say they concluded Harvard should refrain from speaking out on an issue that does not affect its operations directly.

Rep. Foxx, the chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, has repeatedly demanded Harvard answer for rampant antisemitism on its campus over the past academic year. She feels the school’s recent move still does little to rectify their silence on the matter.

Harvard’s new policy on institutional voice is a positive step, but the policy’s murky boundaries and Harvard’s decision to sidestep rejecting calls for divestment raises concerns,” Rep. Foxx said. “Harvard’s new policy should also not distract from its ongoing failure to address antisemitism.”

The House Education Committee in May found Harvard had ignored suggestions from its Antisemitism Advisory Group to mitigate prejudice against Jewish students on campus. Rep. Foxx continued to TND, noting the school has yet to apply these changes.

“Nearly six months after its own Antisemitism Advisory Group presented meaningful recommendations on how to combat antisemitism, Harvard has still failed to implement them,” she said.

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TND Friday.

Nico Perrino, the executive vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), told TND Harvard likely made the move to protect itself from negative pressure to make statements on controversial issues which could alienate members of its campus community.

A lot of colleges and universities have decided that they want to get out of this statement-issuing game,” Perrino said. “They try to please everyone, they end up pleasing no one.”

“Our hope here at FIRE is that this produces a domino effect and the adoption of institutional neutrality by Harvard results in other colleges and universities across the country adopting institutional neutrality,” he added.

The remaining seven Ivy League schools did not respond to a request for comment from TND this week seeking their response to Harvard’s decision.

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