Steny Hoyer talks about Congress and the university’s response to anti-Semitism on campus | News

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Mary.), former No. 2 House Democrat, said “the government should not get into the business of bullying educational institutions” during an interview with The Crimson on Thursday. throwing a jab at the Republican. led efforts to investigate anti-Semitism on Harvard’s campus.

The House Committee on Education and Workforce opened an investigation into Harvard’s response to campus anti-Semitism in December, days after the former university president’s disastrous testimony , Claudine Gay, before the committee.

While Hoyer said politicians have an obligation to denounce hate speech, he said lawmakers should not engage in “intimidation” of colleges and universities.

“We have to be very careful, because I think academic freedom, freedom of speech and academic integrity are very important in our country,” Hoyer said. “It’s not the government’s business.”

A spokesperson for the Education and Workforce Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Hoyer spoke with The Crimson during a visit to Harvard’s campus Thursday, where he spoke at an event hosted by Harvard Chabad, one of the university’s major Jewish centers. Event organizers said the conference was unofficial and closed to the press.

Hoyer’s visit to campus also comes amid heightened tensions on campus as students marked the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.

The Harvard Students’ Palestine Solidarity Committee issued a controversial statement Monday describing Oct. 7 as the day “Gaza broke the Israeli blockade,” prompting Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.) to criticize the University administration for refusing to “convict and discipline” the students behind the CFP statement.

Hoyer said in the interview that it was wrong to use “intimidation” against academic institutions, but acknowledged that Harvard needs to do more to combat anti-Semitism.

“As long as anti-Semitism exists, we won’t do enough,” Hoyer said. “As far as denouncing hate speech, hateful comments, hateful actions, whether it’s a professor, a president or a student, again, you don’t not doing enough if you don’t call out people who promote hatred, promote division.

Harvard spokesman Jason A. Newton declined to comment for this article.

Hoyer also said Harvard, as an elite institution of higher education, is “not immune to criticism.”

Hoyer said there are alternative methods to hold Harvard accountable that don’t involve threatening to withhold federal funding, saying the government spends on education “because an educated population is the best thing for the country.”

“Harvard was held accountable through its president — she resigned,” Hoyer said, referring to Gay. “And no money was withheld.”

“Educational institutions are not immune from criticism or opposition because they are academic institutions,” he added.