• UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      16 hours ago

      Georgetown has been out ahead of this for weeks. But they get no press because they’re (a) not Harvard and (b) not humiliating themselves in compliance rituals like Columbia, so they aren’t as exciting to cover.

      You’ve also got schools down in Texas - A&M and UT particularly - that have already been fully integrated into Governor Abbott’s brand of Lone Star Fascism that there’s little to report. Just a bunch of admins saying, in thick German accents, that everything is normal and there’s nothing to see.

    • foggy@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      I don’t think all the people I was telling understand how much money Harvard has.

      It’s … Way way more than it appears on paper.

      They have, over the last 40 years or so, systematically bought commercial real estate in Boston, left it vacant to devalue the housing property in the neighborhood, then bought houses in the neighborhoods, bulldozed, expanded. They own way more of Allston than people realize. Let’s not even talk about their endowment, which can pay for all students tuition on interest alone.

      Here’s a fun one.

      42.3580140, -71.1385711

      Try and figure out what that building is, who owns it, what it’s for. It’s like 5 acres. In the middle of a major capital city.

      Yeah. Good luck. (P.S. it’s Harvard)

      Now note proximity to Harvard Stadium.

      Harvard runs shit. In broad daylight secrecy. Within a democratic stronghold.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      What’s the point of sitting on a $53B endowment if you’re not going to use it? Losing $9B in contracts to fight fascism is worth every penny.

      • j0ester@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Donald Trump proposed taxing large private university endowments as part of his 2024 election campaign.

        This tax aims to fund the creation of the “American Academy,” a new institution designed to provide free, high-quality educational content. The tax would target excessively large endowments, collecting billions of dollars to support this initiative

        This proposal is part of a broader effort to reshape higher education and address political controversies within universities. The tax on endowment investment income could significantly impact universities with large endowments.

    • Gladaed@feddit.org
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      17 hours ago

      Didn’t require balls, mate. Don’t glorify them doing the bare minimum.

    • Manmoth@lemmy.ml
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      1 day ago

      They have the largest academic endowment in the world. All of their students could go there for free for basically forever but they still collect tuition. Somehow they’re brave because of this though.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        $9B is still a lot of money, plus you know more spite is coming - turnipas ego doesn’t like to be told no