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A student at Harvard said that “systematic” bias exists at the Ivy League institution after university president Alan Garber admitted the school “went wrong” by letting faculty push personal political and ideological viewpoints on students in the classroom.
Tejas Billa, a sophomore at Harvard, described the climate at one of the country’s top-ranked schools and how some students feel “not welcome” in certain departments and classes in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
“I do absolutely think it’s a systemic issue,” Billa told Fox. “I’d say that President Garber’s comments were really in line with what a lot of the reports and the investigations into them found, which is that there are a lot of political biases.”
Tejas Billa, a sophomore at Harvard, described the climate at Harvard and how some students feel “not welcome” in certain departments and classes. (Getty Images)
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Billa refers to comments that were made by Garber during the “Identity/Crisis Podcast” in mid-December. During the show, Garber addressed concerns about activism in the classroom being driven by faculty.
Garber also acknowledged how professors or faculty members who push their ideals on students can make those students feel cornered or isolated.
“If a professor in a classroom says, this is what I believe about this issue, how many students — some of you probably would be prepared to deal with this, but most people wouldn’t — how many students would actually be willing to go toe to toe against a professor who’s expressed a firm view about a controversial issue,” Garber questioned.
Harvard President Alan Garber has acknowledged issues with viewpoint diversity on campus. (Rick Friedman / AFP via Getty Images)
Billa confirmed Garber’s explanation that conservatives will intentionally avoid taking certain courses, especially social science, because they know they won’t feel comfortable or have the opportunity to voice their opinions.
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The Harvard student noted that those courses typically have a “political bias towards, generally, the left.”
“There’s been a lot of pretty well documented instances of professors rescheduling classes to allow students to attend a left-wing protest,” Billa told Fox News Digital. “That was in the task force report and I think that absolutely has an effect on, you know, the students in the class and what they’re willing to say in the class and at school more broadly.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has been at odds with the Ivy League university since he took office over antisemitism concerns and the liberal bias that Billa and Garber allude to.
President Donald Trump and Harvard have been at odds over DEI and antisemitism since he took office. (Getty Images)
In April of last year, the Trump administration sent a letter to Harvard outlining reforms the school should make regarding DEI, antisemitism, hiring and admissions practices.
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Harvard rejected the demands, leading to a $2.2 billion federal funding freeze last April that lasted until September when an Obama-appointed Massachusetts judge ruled the freeze unconstitutional.
The Trump administration filed for appeal, which was granted, and set the stage for a continued legal battle into 2026.
A Harvard sophomore told Fox News Digital that “systematic” political bias permeates parts of the university, echoing President Alan Garber’s admission that Harvard “went wrong” by allowing faculty to push personal ideological views in the classroom, leaving some students feeling isolated and unwelcome. (Associated Press)
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When asked about whether the legal battle was a distraction for Harvard, Billa said it’s impacting students “a whole ton,” but is a result of uncovered bias that has been kept off the radar.
“I also think that there were a lot of these sorts of instances of political bias, of antisemitism that just kept building until they really reached a breaking point in the last couple of years,” Billa told Fox News Digital. “People realized how bad the situation has gotten and how it’s actually impacting students a whole ton.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Harvard for comment.
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston.