Professors from Harvard University have initiated a legal battle against the decision of the U.S. administration to investigate the school’s $8.7 billion federal funds.

The professors at Harvard University in the U.S. filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration regarding the decision to investigate the school’s $8.7 billion federal funds. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the campus branch at Harvard took action regarding the investigation initiated by the Trump administration on grounds of “antisemitism.”

In the lawsuit filed with a federal court in Boston, it was stated that academic research is dependent on federal funds, and phrases such as “Threats are like an ‘existentially drawn weapon’ for a university” were used. The lawsuit emphasized the critical importance of the billions of dollars in grants and accused the Trump administration of attempting to “undermine freedom of speech on campuses.”

THREE UNIVERSITIES UNDER SCRUTINY In the U.S., there has been a recent trend of freezing federal funds to universities, citing reasons such as pro-Palestinian campus protests, and diversity, equality, and inclusivity programs. The administration had announced an investigation into Harvard University’s over $8.7 billion grants from various organizations to ensure that they were being used “in compliance with civil rights laws.” Columbia University, targeted by the Trump administration under its “combatting antisemitism” policy, had declared its decision to comply with the government’s requests to avoid a cut in the school’s $400 million grant. The $175 million federal grant allocated to the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) was suspended last month due to a transgender athlete on the school’s swim team.