Emily Piper-Vallillo

1 week ago | wbur.org | Emily Piper-Vallillo

Harvard University's commencement kicked off Thursday morning under overcast skies, capping a tumultuous time for an institution that has come under sustained attack from the Trump administration. The celebration got underway as a court hearing took place several miles away in a Boston federal courthouse. Harvard sued to block the Trump administration's ban on the university enrolling international students.

2 weeks ago | wbur.org | Emily Piper-Vallillo

Barika Edwards recalls the day a professor draped a brightly colored stole around her shoulders several years ago. She received the fabric sash during a celebration honoring Harvard’s Black graduates. “I will never forget that first moment of being in Sanders Theater, surrounded by over a thousand people, family members and graduates that look exactly like me,” she said.

2 weeks ago | wbur.org | Emily Piper-Vallillo |Carrie Jung

The Trump administration has revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students. The school called the decision "unlawful."The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday it revoked Harvard's certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Harvard of cultivating a "unsafe" campus that fosters antisemitism in a letter to the university.

1 month ago | wbur.org | Emily Piper-Vallillo

A federal judge in Boston will hear arguments at the end of July in the lawsuit Harvard brought against the Trump administration. The nation’s oldest university is suing to halt the federal government's freeze of more than $2 billion in grants and contracts. In a packed Boston courtroom on Monday morning, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs agreed to an expedited schedule, slating oral arguments for July 21.

1 month ago | wbur.org | Emily Piper-Vallillo

When a friend called earlier this month to say her visa had been revoked, a recent Massachusetts university graduate took it lightly at first. “I thought, why would I get anything like that?" she recalled. "I've never done anything wrong.”But she stopped cooking dinner to check. She opened her laptop and found an email from her consulate that said the U.S. Department of State had revoked her visa, too. Another email said her authorization to work in the United States was canceled.