While the nation paused to honor fallen heroes on Memorial Day, Drew Gilpin Faust, the first woman to serve as Harvard University president, issued a powerful plea: now is the time to defend democracy, freedom, and individual rights from what she called deeply rooted threats.
Faust warned that the United States is facing a moment where its core values are at risk. In a guest piece for the New York Times, she urged Americans not to remain silent in the face of growing danger to the nation's constitutional foundations.
“We’re not being asked to march into war,” she wrote, “but to stand firm and speak truth when our democratic ideals are under siege. Those who gave their lives for these principles have passed the torch to us. Will we carry it forward?”
She reflected on the Civil War, emphasizing that those who fought and died for the Union were defending a vision of America as a democratic beacon. She paid tribute to historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who fought for justice and equality during one of the country's most divided eras.
Faust connected their legacy to the present, pointing to a disturbing trend: global authoritarianism is on the rise, and she claimed that American leadership, instead of resisting it, seems to admire it.
Though she didn’t name him directly, Faust clearly referenced Donald Trump, suggesting that his administration has endangered the nation’s system of checks and balances.
She expressed concern over the erosion of institutional accountability, citing congressional complacency, defiance of court rulings, and a wave of unlawful executive actions that, in her view, threaten the rule of law.
Faust noted that during Lincoln’s time, the secession of the Southern states was seen as an attack on majority-rule government restrained by constitutional principles. Today, she argued, that system is again vulnerable.
Her warning came amid a heated conflict between Harvard and Trump’s administration. The former president has accused the university of antisemitism and bias against Jewish students, while criticizing its efforts to expand diversity. His administration has also pressured the university to comply with immigration enforcement, while threatening its federal funding.
Recently, Harvard filed lawsuits against federal agencies, accusing them of violating the Constitution by attempting to block international student enrollment. A judge quickly issued a temporary injunction, halting the action.
Another lawsuit earlier this year accused the administration of trying to control academic decisions, and of using federal financial power to exert pressure, including the possibility of withholding nearly $9 billion in funding.
Trump further escalated the feud online, suggesting he might redirect $3 billion in grants from Harvard to trade schools, calling it a “great investment” for the country. As of Monday evening, no formal steps had been taken.
Alan Garber, Harvard’s current president—who is Jewish—fired back, calling Trump’s threats illegal and accusing the administration of trying to influence who the university hires and what it teaches.
As a historian and someone who grew up in the American South, Faust ended her message with a sobering reminder: the sacrifices made during the Civil War shaped the freedoms Americans have today. She urged the current generation not to waste what was earned at such a high price.
“They gave everything to secure a future for this nation,” she wrote. “Now it’s our turn to prove we’re worthy of the freedom they left behind.”
Tags
Political