Harvard University faced backlash after the multi-billion-dollar educational institution sought out millions in coronavirus federal aid. Harvard, along with many other of their colleagues has slowly begun to back away from seeking out federal aid due to the fact they may not necessarily need it. While the federal CARES Act has passed for over two trillion dollars, many colleges across the country are in much more need of it than a wealthy institution like Harvard.
Both public and political pressure towards the university caused them to bow out as they are still making billions off of tuition and having to pay less as most of their staff are not being paid other than teachers and essentials. Harvard has the largest endowment at $40 billion and has announced they will not accept federal aid. While this has cooled off the pressure from many public and political sources, other wealthy colleges are now feeling the pressure to do the same.
Similar Ivy League schools like Yale, Princeton, and Stanford have also rejected the federal aid, but have come under less fire due to the fact that they either did not request it or followed in Harvard’s footsteps. The eight million dollar fund is nothing to these kinds of schools and the fact that Harvard would apply for the aid is absurd. Colleges like Sonoma State with endowments of a large percentage, less than Harvard, not only struggle in times like this but are much more deserving and in need of federal aid.
In a statement on Twitter, Harvard announced they will not be accepting the fund stating, “While we understand any reallocation of these resources is a matter for the Department of Education, we hope that special consideration will be given to Massachusetts institutions that are struggling to serve their communities and meet the needs of their students through these difficult and challenging times.” While Harvard did make good use of helping their neighboring college institutions, they also could be providing aid for them with the incredible lump sum of money they already have. While they may be losing a bit of money with the lack of campus activities, they still have a huge endowment that could be useful to other universities.
Many colleges struggle to refund students for housing and food services, and many sports-oriented schools are not able to sell tickets like they used to. Congress will hopefully pass legislation to block colleges with over $10 billion in an endowment to be able to accept federal funds as they have much more time until there are major repercussions to their Ivy League Institution. Although it is not necessarily fair to wealthy institutions, as of now during a global pandemic, the people in need should come first.
President Trump has thanked these wealthy institutions for not accepting federal aid. However, there has been public outrage due to the fact that they even applied for federal help. They may need help in the long run if the stay at home order continues longer, but as of now, they have both the time and money to be able to help other educational institutions near them which would ultimately improve their reputation they hold so dear. Harvard, along with the many other Ivy League schools that did not accept government aid should set a precedent to other wealthy institutions who have the means to make a difference.
