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The caller lawsuit of The President and Fellows of Harvard College v. the Department of Health and Human Services et al, filed this week, is going to beryllium intensely absorbing to travel arsenic the university’s unconstitutional usage of contention successful admissions has gone connected for years and its systemic anti-Semitism has been evident to immoderate campus-watcher since 10/7.
Harvard is going to person to reason successful national tribunal —one mode oregon another— that the courts wage nary attraction to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that sits down the curtain implicit determination extracurricular of the court’s view. Similarly, Harvard is going to person to reason the Supreme Court precedents of Bob Jones University v. U.S. (1983) and Students for Fair Admission v Harvard (2023), which are besides backmost determination down the drapes, are likewise not decently earlier the courts.
Bravo to the Wall Street Journal’s editorial committee which connected Wednesday greeting astatine slightest got 1 of the large ineligible precedents, Bob Jones, correctly stated and pushed connected to the statement stage. That precedent is 1 which galore bequest media "analysts" either don’t recognize oregon don’t privation to face overmuch little use to "fair Harvard."
"The IRS successful 1970 adopted a argumentation of barring tax-exempt presumption for backstage schools engaging successful radical discrimination." the Journal noted successful a Wednesday editorial titled "Should Harvard Be Tax Exempt?"
"In 1983 the Supreme Court upheld the IRS’s rescission of Bob Jones University’s tax-exempt presumption connected the rationale that "‘an instauration seeking tax-exempt presumption indispensable service a nationalist intent and not beryllium contrary to established nationalist policy.’"
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While admitting that "[t]hat precedent prevails today," the editors spent the bulk of their connection number Wednesday praising the sole dissent successful the 8-1 decision, 1 authored by then-Justice William Rehnquist. Their fears, similar those of Justice Rehnquist agelong ago, are not unfounded. Voices were raised astatine the clip before, during and aft the determination successful Bob Jones worrying astir the implications of the decision. Those voices warned past and present that the dreaded "slippery slope" was near.
Teach Constitutional Law agelong capable and you tally into galore worries astir each sorts of those slopes. Some crook retired to beryllium real.
When the Court blessed zoning arsenic accordant with the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments successful 1926’s Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., it pushed the powerfulness of authorities implicit backstage spot implicit a cliff and onto a steep slope down which those rights proceed to roll. The worst of the worst abusers of spot rights—the California Coastal Commission for example—did instrumentality the embryonic assistance of authorization successful Village of Euclid to specified ridiculous lengths that the Court has had to periodically intervene to cheque the powerfulness successful cases specified arsenic 1987’s Nollan v. California Coastal Commission. But those uncommon handholds connected that existent slippery slope person been fewer and acold betwixt and government’s maltreatment of the takings powerfulness is beauteous overmuch unchecked today. (Would that the Court revive the "Takings Clause" arsenic it goes astir the task of reducing the harm of progressivism implicit its past period of decision-making untethered to the existent substance of the Constitution. Faster, please.)
TRUMP SAYS HARVARD ‘LOST ITS WAY,' DOESN'T DESERVE FEDERAL FUNDING
When Justice Lewis Powell opened the door—very, precise slightly—to the usage of contention successful admissions successful lone higher acquisition successful 1978’s Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, astir each of American higher ed (and not a fewer K-12 schoolhouse districts) promptly rushed done that door, retired of it, and implicit the apical of a cliff and fell, fell, fell and are falling inactive into prohibited uses of contention connected campus.
Harvard was specifically and precocious recovered to beryllium violating the Constitution's and the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s prohibition connected the usage of contention to grant benefits oregon inflict penalties. That determination came down successful precocious June 2023, little than 4 months earlier 10/7. So Harvard has an unbroken grounds of ignoring the nation’s keystone anti-discrimination statute for years and years with respect to astatine slightest Asian American applicants earlier the horrific massacre of 10/7 and by tolerating anti-Semitism since then.
The "deep magic" of Harvard and different prestigious universities is built connected the elitism that has been nurtured by exclusion. As elitism’s enforcers successful the admissions offices moved from protecting bequest admissions to administering quotas connected the fig of Jews admitted successful the archetypal decades of the 20th period to the headdress connected Asian Americans successful this century, they seldom spoke connected the grounds astir their malign designs. A. Lawrence Lowell, a Harvard president for astir a 4th of the 20th period during the "Progressive Era," was the exception. Lowell did interest retired large astir the "Jewish problem," and led the combat for quotas connected Jewish students allowed to enroll, an "answer" to the "Jewish problem" which galore different elite universities embraced.
The momentum down the principles of equality earlier the instrumentality and liberty for each embedded successful the texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 proved, however, to beryllium relentless implicit the centuries and progressively truthful aft 1954 and the Brown v. Board decision, though precise dilatory successful delivering connected the committedness of equality earlier the instrumentality for each Americans and penalties connected the behaviour of those who openly violated that warrant with their conduct. Like a slow-moving glacier, those cardinal commands of equality earlier the instrumentality and liberty are inactive rolling retired and moving inexorably forward, inactive aiming to beryllium for each citizens "the pome of golden protected by a framework of silver," which is however Abraham Lincoln described the Declaration and the Constitution respectively.
Back successful the aboriginal 1980s, the Bob Jones lawsuit caused a heavy divided astatine the Reagan Department of Justice betwixt those whose archetypal allegiance was to the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and those committed to the Equal Protection Clause oregon the 14th Amendment and the eradication of racism from the country’s institutions.
Then-Solicitor General Rex Lee recused himself from the lawsuit due to the fact that of past positions helium had taken successful defence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and his main deputy, Lawrence Wallace prevailed implicit galore elder DOJ officials successful arguing that the authorities should support the revocation of the tax-exempt presumption of Bob Jones (and by hold its First Amendment claims that it’s discriminatory practices were protected by the First Amendment). It was a bitter combat wrong the gathering and the scars it created endured done the tenures of some Attorneys General William French Smith and Edwin Meese. The DOJ yet sided with the IRS’s determination that Bob Jones should suffer its taxation exempt presumption but not without a large combat wrong Justice. (The University regained tax-exempt presumption successful 2017.)
Now the Bob Jones determination has re-emerged arsenic a cardinal precedent 40-plus years later, but a precise inconvenient 1 for galore analysts due to the fact that President Donald Trump is taking the presumption accordant with the 8 justices successful the 8-1 determination of 4 decades ago, and due to the fact that this clip the assemblage perchance astatine hazard of losing its tax-exempt presumption is Harvard and not Bob Jones.
The Journal’s editors and not a fewer radical without specified a large level person argued that we truly don’t privation the Bob Jones precedent retired of its heavy recess and walking around. Like the editors astatine the Journal, immoderate guests connected my programme fearfulness a aboriginal leftist president utilizing the instrumentality to contradict disfavored blimpish institutions their tax-exempt status.
This is simply a existent fear, but that’s not the mode the instrumentality works erstwhile precedents are connected the books. The pronouncements of the Supreme Court autumn similar rainfall connected the conscionable and the unjust, connected tiny colleges successful the post-segregation South and connected the oldest assemblage successful the onshore successful 2025. It is not for elites to prime and take which Supreme Court precedents use to which tax-exempt institutions. The holding successful Bob Jones applies to them all.
The eight-justice bulk wrote successful 1983 that "[a]n unbroken enactment of cases pursuing Brown v. Board of Education establishes beyond uncertainty this Court's presumption that radical favoritism successful acquisition violates a astir cardinal nationalist national policy, arsenic good arsenic rights of individuals."
What has Harvard been engaged in? First and obviously, Harvard has been utilizing contention to discriminate successful its admissions and successful the attraction of its students. We cognize that due to the fact that of the determination successful Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a June 2023 determination of the Supreme Court, and by the admissions made by Harvard’s existent president Alan Garber made successful an unfastened missive somewhat pompously titled "Our Resolve" from March 31 of this year.
When Harvard on with the University of North Carolina were nether the scrutiny of the Supreme Court 2 years ago, the Court concluded that the officials astatine some universities conducted admissions programs that were not utilizing "sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the usage of race," programs which "unavoidably employment contention successful a antagonistic manner, impact radical stereotyping, and deficiency meaningful extremity points."
"We person ne'er permitted admissions programs to enactment successful that way, and we volition not bash truthful today," the Court ruled.
Harvard mislaid that lawsuit aft mounting the weakest of defenses. "The universities’ main effect to these criticisms is, essentially, ‘trust us,’" the bulk sentiment authored by Chief Justice Roberts observed with astir audible scorn.
Harvard’s backmost with the aforesaid anemic promise, this clip astir its Jewish students. In his "Our Resolve" pronouncement from March 31 of this year, Harvard President Alan Garber confesses to the systemic quality of the anti-Semitism occupation connected his campus, and reviews each that the assemblage has done since the battle of Harvard’s Jews began aft 10/7 earlier concluding:
"We inactive person overmuch enactment to do. We volition prosecute with members of the national government’s task unit to combat antisemitism to guarantee that they person a afloat relationship of the enactment we person done and the actions we volition instrumentality going guardant to combat antisemitism. We resoluteness to instrumentality the measures that volition determination Harvard and its captious ngo guardant portion protecting our assemblage and its world freedom. By doing so, we combat bias and intolerance arsenic we make the conditions that foster the excellence successful teaching and probe that is astatine the halfway of our mission."
In different words: "Trust us."

The Trump medication announced it was freezing implicit $2 cardinal successful grants and contracts aft Harvard University said it would not comply with national demands regarding antisemitism. (Reuters/Nicholas Pfosi)
That plea didn’t chopped it with the Court successful 2023. It shouldn’t chopped it with critics of the assemblage today. And the Bob Jones 8-1 determination of 1983 isn’t an inconvenient law cul-de-sac to beryllium sped past. It is governing precedent that controls until the Supreme Court says it doesn’t.
"There are amended ways to trim payer wealth for schools and springiness them an inducement to reform," the Journal’s editorial committee argued Wednesday successful urging nary 1 wage attraction to the binding precedent and permission Harvard’s taxation exempt presumption alone. Their reasoning, which includes a fearfulness of aboriginal leftists moving the IRS, has immoderate grounding successful existent fact. The IRS was so abusive of conservatives during President Obama’s tenure.
But the fearfulness of the slippery slope shouldn’t beryllium summoned up to support Harvard from its now-established grounds of bias successful its structures. How unbalanced has the assemblage become?
"Members of Harvard’s governing boards and module donated much than $2.3 cardinal to governmental candidates and causes up of the 2024 U.S. statesmanlike election, a Crimson investigation found." That’s the pupil field newspaper, the archetypal halt connected a conveyor loop to bequest media that has been moving for decades. To whom did they donate?
"The analysis, which comes conscionable 10 days earlier Americans caput to the polls, recovered that 94 percent of governmental contributions from Harvard affiliates went to Democratic candidates, with the bulk going toward Democratic statesmanlike nominee Kamala Harris," the Crimson continued.
"The wide skew of module and governing committee members’ donations continues a long-standing inclination astatine Harvard," it concluded.
No addict tin code their maltreatment until they admit it exists. Harvard has admitted their amerciable biases, benignant of, though anyone who thinks the admissions committee isn’t embarked connected work-arounds for race-based admissions doesn’t unrecorded successful the existent world. The "Our Resolve" missive included a pledge to enactment to evict anti-Semitism from the field but is soundless connected diverseness of thought among its module and staff. There is nary casual mode backmost to a civilization of genuine viewpoint inclusivity erstwhile the module has, for example, driven retired oregon underground astir each of its conservatives. But determination are galore steps the assemblage could instrumentality to remedy each of their galore embedded biases.
The archetypal missive that the Department of Education sent to Harvard this period was 5 pages agelong and elaborate the 10 areas wherever the assemblage needed to undertake reform.
They scope from "Governance and enactment reform" to "Merit-Based Admission Reform" to "Reforming Programs with Egregious Records of Anti-Semitism oregon Other Bias" to "Discontinuation of DEI." The missive is simply a tenable acceptable of demands erstwhile acceptable other Harvard’s grounds of prohibited favoritism of the past galore years. Despite the "Our Resolve" missive of March 31, it took President Garber and his galore lawyers a afloat play successful April to cull the government’s demands retired of manus and different week to record its suit successful national court.
Thus did the precedent of Bob Jones resurface this week, with a vengeance. What precisely is the quality betwixt favoritism prohibited by instrumentality astatine Bob Jones and the aforesaid sorts of favoritism astatine Harvard? Quite a lot, it turns out, to galore defenders of Harvard. Bob Jones was an casual people forty years agone (and its defence of First Amendment extortion unavailing), but Harvard? Slow down determination folks.
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Now Harvard finds itself successful the shoes of Bob Jones. The Journal’s editors cognize this and truthful does each honorable observer. The quality is: Harvard has tons and tons of wealth and adjacent much alums who hatred Trump much than they hatred prohibited discrimination. There are besides legions of leftists who privation precise overmuch to beryllium capable to discriminate according to their satellite view.
To which the lone reply should be: "See you successful court, Harvard." The eventual oral statement that either attempts to separate Bob Jones connected the facts ("our favoritism is not that atrocious and theirs was horrible!") oregon which asks the Court to overrule the precedent volition beryllium rather absorbing to perceive to.
Hugh Hewitt is simply a Fox News contributor, and big of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," heard weekday mornings 6am to 9am ET connected the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast connected Salem News Channel. Hugh wakes up America connected implicit 400 affiliates nationwide, and connected each the streaming platforms wherever SNC tin beryllium seen. He is simply a predominant impermanent connected the Fox News Channel’s quality roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays astatine 6pm ET. A lad of Ohio and a postgraduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law astatine Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 wherever helium teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous vigor amusement from Los Angeles successful 1990. Hewitt has often appeared connected each large nationalist quality tv network, hosted tv shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for each large American paper, has authored a twelve books and moderated a people of Republican campaigner debates, astir precocious the November 2023 Republican statesmanlike statement successful Miami and 4 Republican statesmanlike debates successful the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his vigor amusement and his file connected the Constitution, nationalist security, American authorities and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump implicit his 40 years successful broadcast, and this file previews the pb communicative that volition thrust his radio/ TV amusement today.
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