Everybody get out your tiny violins because Harvard is still in the FO stage of FAFO. The Ivy League stalwart fooled around with rampant antisemitism, and now it’s finding out that President Donald Trump and his administration are serious when they sought to bar international students from attending Harvard.
Last month, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem requested information from Harvard’s international office regarding non-immigrant students at the school and any misconduct that these students may have engaged in. Harvard refused to submit that information.
“Consequences must follow to send a clear signal to Harvard and all universities that want to enjoy the privilege of enrolling foreign students, that the Trump Administration will enforce the law and root out the evils of anti-Americanism and antisemitism in society and campuses,” Noem wrote in a follow-up letter on May 22.
Noem also wrote that her department’s decision to bar international students from Harvard was the direct result of the university’s “refusal to comply with multiple requests to provide the Department of Homeland Security pertinent information while perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas sympathies, and employs racist ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ policies.”
Although a judge issued a temporary restraining order on DHS, the administration is continuing to bear down on Harvard. And most people might not have thought about one consequence of Harvard’s FAFO moment: the effect that barring international students would have on the school’s athletic programs.
The Athletic has considered it, however, and it somehow assigned three reporters to write an article about it last week: “The Trump administration’s move to bar international students from attending Harvard could have wide-ranging implications for the university’s eclectic athletics program.” The report notes that, despite the temporary restraining order, “the school’s athletes may not have much time to decide their next steps, depending on their sport.”
Related: Harvard Pouts As Trump Threatens to Revoke Its Tax-Exempt Status
While it’s easy to feel bad for these students who are caught in the crossfire, the modern landscape of college athletics gives some of these students options. The transfer portal allows student-athletes to transfer to another school. There’s one problem, however, in that some sports’ transfer portal windows have closed for the year.
“Transfer windows have come and gone for sports that have concluded their seasons. For example, the basketball portal period was March 24 to April 22 for men and March 25 to April 23 for women,” The Athletic reports. “Hockey’s transfer window was March 30 to May 13 for men and March 16 to April 29 for women.”
The Athletic counted two men’s basketball players, two women’s basketball players, and “several Canadians” who play hockey at Harvard.
“For many sports still in progress, such as baseball, softball, and lacrosse, NCAA transfer windows will remain open for several weeks,” the report adds.
The NCAA could give those students waivers should they choose to transfer. The most common precedent for a transfer waiver is when a school shuts down a particular sport. The NCAA hasn’t weighed in yet on whether it would grant international student-athletes at Harvard a waiver under these circumstances. Who knows? Maybe the administration will give athletes an exception if they can’t transfer.
I really do feel bad for these hard-working kids who probably aren’t among the international troublemakers at Harvard, but I can’t bring myself to feel any sympathy for the school. Harvard fooled around, and now it’s finding out.
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