Comment by Braxton1980

6 days ago

But the Trump administration wants to punish students who don't conform to pro Israel views/ideology.

The administration wants to revoke visas for non-US citizens who come here under the pretense of education and then instead advocate for terrorist groups that are hostile to the interests of the US and its allies. No, that isn't the same. Why is the US government expected to fund people who want to destroy the US government? Should you be required to pay people who want to kill you?

  • >The administration wants to revoke visas for non-US citizens who come here under the pretense of education and instead advocate for terrorist groups.

    1. You can get an education while advocating for causes

    2. The letter doesn't only say advocating for a terrorist group.

    From the gov demand letter:

    "International Admissions Reform. By August 2025, the University must reform its recruitment, screening, and admissions of international students to prevent admitting students hostile to the American values and institutions inscribed in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, including students supportive of terrorism or anti-Semitism."

    >Why is the US government expected to fund people who want to destroy the US government?

    1. They aren't, Harvard does

    2. Federal grants aren't targeted to specific students so revoking them isn't a targetted punishment

    3. Harvard can still operate without these grants, including bringing in international students who the current admin might disagree with.

    4. The US government gives money to people who want to destroy it all the time. Welfare, social security, etc is given to anti-gov US citizens with no restrictions based on those views.

    5. Although only proposed Trump wanted to set up a fund for January 6th protestors who he pardoned. Some of whom attacked the US capital to disrupt a Democratic election process.

    >Should you be required to pay people who want to kill you?

    No. How is that related to this? You just overly generalized the entire situation in order to produce a question where I'd mostly likely to say "no" as a argument manipulation tactic.

    • > 1. They aren't, Harvard does

      > 2. Federal grants aren't targeted to specific students so revoking them isn't a targetted punishment

      > 3. Harvard can still operate without these grants, including bringing in international students who the current admin might disagree with.

      Harvard funds them with the money it gets from grants. If Harvard wants to fund activist students with their own money out of their endowment, nobody is stopping them from doing that.

      No, they can't unilaterally import foreign students though, the government has to grant them a visa to come here, and it really doesn't seem prudent to grant visas to people who hate our country and everything it stands for. If they believe the US is so evil and awful, they should be quite relieved that they won't need to come here. Maybe Harvard can open a satellite campus in Gaza if they really feel that these are the best students who are most deserving of a Harvard education.

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