Harvard students and faculty face the fallout from a showdown with Trump

Harvard has become a symbol of defiance for refusing to cave to the administration’s demands, but on campus, many say the mood is one of frustration and fear.

Town halls warning of layoffs. Medical leaves for mental health. Students readying for deportation. These are the grim signs of a campus under siege. But it’s not just any campus. Harvard University, America’s oldest and wealthiest institute of higher learning, is at a crossroads as it weathers the Trump administration’s attacks.

Outwardly, the university has become a symbol of defiance for refusing to cave to the administration’s demands, but on campus, many say the mood is one of frustration and fear, particularly for international students and faculty. Though reactions to the clash vary, many worry that Harvard will no longer be Harvard if President Donald Trump follows through on his threats.

"Students are unsure whether they can publish, whether they can travel, and wondering whether they can finish their degree,” Jocelyn Viterna, the chair of studies of women, gender and sexuality and a sociology professor at Harvard, said about international students. “I know students are also afraid that they might end up in a Louisiana prison because of something they happen to like once on Facebook.”

Two dozen faculty, students and staff described in interviews this week how their lives have been upended by the showdown. Some faculty are now communicating by Signal, which encrypts and auto-deletes messages, worried that their texts could be shared with the government. Some international students are now walking in groups, for fear of being yanked off the street by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/harvard-university-showdown-trump-administration-rcna202468

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