On mortar boards and crimson gowns, thousands of students were joined by smiling families for more than a century of graduation ceremony. But this year is different.

Harvard President Alan Garber was warmly welcomed by applause and welcomed graduates “from the streets, nationwide and around the world” to welcome applause, stirring up the last words:All over the world - Just as it should. ”

It is a nod to become an international student of Harvard’s fate, subtle but firm, but now it is Donald Trump’s goal: his administration is seeking to revoke Harvard’s ability to recruit students from overseas. This is just one front in a battle between the U.S. president and authoritarian ambitions and the county's oldest, richest and most prestigious universities.

Since taking office four months ago, Trump has used executive power to target Congress, law firms, media organizations, cultural institutions and leading universities. Some resisted, but many surrendered. At Harvard, the man who urged his supporters to "fight, fight, fight" faces a resilient enemy, unlike anyone he had accepted before.

The class speaker at Harvard this year summed up the former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar:

Harvard University was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636, a century ago a century and a half. Its alumni include former Presidents John F Kennedy and Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, tech entrepreneurs Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, actors Matt Damon and Natalie Portman and writers Margaret Atwood.

Now it's in Trump's crosshairs. The government claims its actions aim to address discrimination such as anti-Semitism on campus, especially against white, Asian, male and heterosexual individuals – foreign influences from China, as well as “awakening” or “leftist” ideology in academia.

The government launched an offensive in April, sending a letter to Harvard University asking it to make profound changes in how it works. The list includes an external review of campus perspectives, achieving “diversity of perspectives” identified by the government and potentially ending certain programs.

Garber publicly rejected the demands, noting that they controlled the university to the government and was an unconstitutional attack on academic freedom.

Within hours, the Trump administration announced it would freeze over $2 billion in federal contracts and grants with Harvard University, mainly funding scientific and medical research. Since then, a total of $3 billion has increased. Harvard is fighting cuts in court.

In May, Trump further rotated the screws. He said he is considering granting previously awarded scientific and engineering research grants to trade schools. The White House urged federal agencies to cancel any remaining contracts with Harvard University, worth $100 million.

The government also announced that it would revoke Harvard’s admission capacity and force current foreign students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal immigration status. "Let it be a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a shocking statement.

One-quarter of Harvard students come from outside the United States and acts as a major source of income at Ivy League schools. Critics warn that Trump's actions will represent a spectacular goal to keep the world's best talent away from the United States into the arms of competitors.

Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador Michael McFaul wrote on the alternative: “If Trump’s anti-foreign student policy had been in place decades ago, Oxford Grad Elon Musk would have set up Tesla in the UK, Tsinghua University alumnus Jensen Huang would have set up Nvidia in China or Russia, and Rufferia’s Groumpie, and Mosci grad Incorcia and Mosciia Universitia.

Harvard sued the government and won the emergency obstacle to the lawsuit. This week, the judge said she will expand the order as both parties continue to defeat the order in court.

Trump also uses the tax system as a cudgel. Most universities, including Harvard, are exempt from federal income tax because they are considered charitable organizations operated solely for public education purposes. The government is now threatening Harvard’s tax-free status, which experts say saves hundreds of millions of dollars in schools each year.

Trump's massive spending bill before Congress will significantly increase huge taxes at Harvard and other elite schools, with the profits paid for his massive donation investments. Critics say this will undermine the ability of Harvard and other wealthy schools to provide generous financial aid packages for poor students.

What is the motivation for the White House? Some observers found the hands of JD Vance and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. "I tend to think we should grab the left-wing institutions and put them on the left. We need to be like a sugar-free program, a plan that stands out."

"Harvard has been involved in decades of fanaticism, illegal and illegal race discrimination against American citizens... The Democratic philosophy is currently for foreigners, everything - Americans, no," Miller told Fox News on Thursday.

"Their goal is to intimidate and break American higher education institutions because that's a majority resistance to their authoritarian tendencies," said Jason Johnson, a political scientist at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

“They think that if we can go bankrupt, if we can embarrass Harvard, if we can put Harvard in a weak spot or at least make them bend their knees, then all the other institutions in the U.S. will follow. That’s why they do that.transparent

Johnson warned: “Trump won’t be in his game because he has all the resources of the federal government. No matter what Harvard does, there will be other universities that just see the attack and comply with the attack in advance, which is still a victory for the Trump administration in the end. ”

Other commentators have discovered elements of class war. Last November, Trump won the election, drawing mainly from non-college-educated whites. Now, he is hostile to the ivory towers of America's most elite universities.

Democratic representative Brendan Boyle graduated from Harvard in 2005.

"A beating at Harvard might help some of his people at the base, but I do think most Americans recognize this: a government trying to get a higher education. This should actually worry us all."

The fierce attack on Harvard University is typical of the government, and during the opening week it attempted to overwhelm the opponent with shock and awe. Columbia University has made a comprehensive concession, hoping to withdraw $400 million in withdrawal of federal grants.

But Harvard’s $53 billion donation offers greater capacity to withstand stress and compare to less respected institutions. It refuses to succumb to Trump’s request. Instead, it challenged the government's actions in court and achieved some temporary victories.

Boyle, who recently spoke with Garber of Harvard, said: "I personally say to him that I am proud of Harvard getting up and not getting back from this battle, and unfortunately some other universities have already retreated in standing in this administration.

When asked if he was confident that Harvard would win, Boyle replied: "Harvard has been around for hundreds of years before Donald Trump, and after Donald Trump, it will be within hundreds of years."

Trump has long called himself a fighter. He fought legal battles throughout his business career. From Rosie O'Donnell to Taylor Swift to Bruce Springsteen, he quarreled with celebrities. He has opposed media such as CNN and the New York Times. On the political stage, he hired the entire Republican organization and won the victory. He also launched a fierce campaign against Democrats such as Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

But neither Trump’s first nor second presidential terms found a strong judiciary for many of his unconstitutional actions. This week, federal courts blocked his levy of import laws under the Emergency Force Act. A day later, he won an interim probation from the Court of Appeal, but his signature economic policy remains suspicious.

In the academic community of Harvard University, the rule of law will prevail in its own cases. Professor Emeritus of Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe said: "I think we will win this battle in court. These are open-ended cases.

"In fact, in the federal court in May, in a lot of Trump's struggles with individuals and institutions involved, do you know what his record is? He lost 96% of the record. The percentage of his losses is not very different, depending on the judge appointed by the president, because these are easy legal issues, because these are simple issues in law, because these are simple issues in law.. ”

Tribes believe that companies that hold companies are crucial because Trump is trying to pick universities one by one, as they do to law firms. What is endangered is the position against authoritarianism and hope that courage can be contagious.

"If they can't control the university, they want to disband it because the first idea of ​​the tyrant is to suppress the power of reason and the Castle of Liberty," the tribe said. "That's college. It's a fact since the Middle Ages. Harvard has symbolic significance, making it stick to the craw bug of Donald Trump. Its motto'Veritas"His hell must be stimulated, because truth is his enemy."