Education
Read Harvard’s Response to the Trump Administration
quinn emanuel trial lawyers
April 14, 2025
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Josh Gruenbaum
Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service
General Services Administration
Sean R. Keveney
Acting General Counsel
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Thomas E. Wheeler
Acting General Counsel
U.S. Department of Education
Dear Messrs. Gruenbaum, Keveney, and Wheeler:
KING & SPALDING
We represent Harvard University. We are writing in response to your letter dated April 11,
2025, addressed to Dr. Alan Garber, Harvard’s President, and Penny Pritzker, Senior Fellow of the
Harvard Corporation.
Harvard is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community.
Antisemitism and discrimination of any kind not only are abhorrent and antithetical to Harvard’s
values but also threaten its academic mission.
To that end, Harvard has made, and will continue to make, lasting and robust structural,
policy, and programmatic changes to ensure that the university is a welcoming and supportive
learning environment for all students and continues to abide in all respects with federal law across
its academic programs and operations, while fostering open inquiry in a pluralistic community free
from intimidation and open to challenging orthodoxies, whatever their source.
Over the past 15 months, Harvard has undertaken substantial policy and programmatic
measures. It has made changes to its campus use policies; adopted new accountability procedures;
imposed meaningful discipline for those who violate university policies; enhanced programs
designed to address bias and promote ideological diversity and civil discourse; hired staff to
support these programs and support students; changed partnerships; dedicated resources to combat
hate and bias; and enhanced safety and security measures. As a result, Harvard is in a very different
place today from where it was a year ago. These efforts, and additional measures the university
will be taking against antisemitism, not only are the right thing to do but also are critical to
strengthening Harvard’s community as a place in which everyone can thrive.
It is unfortunate, then, that your letter disregards Harvard’s efforts and instead presents
demands that, in contravention of the First Amendment, invade university freedoms long
In our national memory, George Washington is a mythic figure, cast in metal, carved in stone. His leadership, first as general, then as president, is so intertwined with the roots of this country that it is sometimes hard to separate the man from the idea of America. How does one imagine the living presence of such an icon, much less embody him?
There is a small fraternity of men bold enough to try. At historical parks and commemorations from Virginia to Seattle, these interpreters (their preferred term) transform themselves into Washington. Each has his own approach, but what all their representations seek to capture is a legacy that has endured from his time to ours. If America, at least in part, is an idea, then our national project becomes, like theirs, an act of interpretation, an imperfect attempt to translate some idealized vision into the messy reality of our own time.
— Ezekiel Kweku
“By some strange quirk
of genetics, I have
Washington’s exact
dimensions. Where my
sleeves fall on my wrist,
the size of my chest, the
size of my thighs, where
the breeches fall to my
knees, are all identical.”
John Koopman, 67, often performs
while riding his horse, Bear. He
has portrayed Washington for 20 years.
James Fryer, 70, wears a replica of a general’s uniform that Washington designed himself. He recently completed training to portray Washington for the nonprofit Historic Philadelphia.
“Some people portray George as a marble statue. I don’t do a marble George. I am interested in talking to everyone, even those who yell at me because George was a slave owner. I want to respect them, try to educate them, or maybe even inspire them.”
Vern Frykholm, 77, was moved to bring his interpretation of Washington to Washington State, where he lives, after seeing a 2011 performance in Pennsylvania.
Dean Malissa, 73, signs his personal
correspondence, including emails,
as Washington did: “Your Most Humble
and Obedient Servant.” He became
the Official George Washington
at Mount Vernon in 2004, and held
that role for nearly 20 years.
“I describe him sometimes as just a dude. I look at him and think, I could see myself in the same world, making similar bad decisions or similar good decisions.”
Daniel Cross, 39, portrayed a young Washington at Virginia’s Colonial Williamsburg until last year. He now works with organizations around the country.
Curt Radabaugh, 62, has 13,000 history books in his personal library, including several hundred about Washington. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marines and a retired police officer.
“He’s a mentor, a father
figure, and not only in the
sense that he’s a patriarch
of the country. Because
I grew up without a
father, he kind of became
my surrogate father.”
Brian Hilton, 58, says he researches
Washington’s era every morning before
his children get up and at night after
they go to bed. He is a high school history
teacher near Richmond, Va.
Daniel Shippey, 57, partners on interpretations with his wife, Kelly, who portrays Martha Washington. Kelly researched 18th-century hair techniques to create her husband’s costume hairstyle. They live in Virginia.
“You’re playing the myth of George Washington as well as the historical figure. I make his voice a little firmer and deeper than it probably was in real life. I play him a little funnier than he probably was. In reality, if you came to see him, he probably wouldn’t talk to you as much as I do.”
Doug Thomas, 53, is Washington’s second cousin nine times removed.
John Godzieba, 67, has reenacted
the crossing of the Delaware as
Washington every Christmas for the
past 16 years at Pennsylvania’s
Washington Crossing Historic Park.
“In many ways I don’t look like him. My eye color is wrong. My nose is wrong. My hair color is wrong. I wouldn’t have cast myself in this role.”
Ron Carnegie, 64, has portrayed Washington at Colonial Williamsburg for 20 years.
Ryan Williams, 37, is a veteran who specializes in playing a young Washington during the French and Indian War. He lives in Virginia.
“Some people portray
Washington almost
like a superhero.
I like to bring out that
he has faults. He’s a
person like you or me.”
Michael Grillo, 64, is a historical
tailor who hand-sews his own clothes
for reenactments. He also makes
period props, including two American
battle flags and pewter mugs
engraved with Washington’s crest.
Martin Schoeller is a photographer and director known for his close-up portraits of everyone from world leaders and celebrities to female bodybuilders. For this project, he used a large format camera to photograph 13 historical interpreters of George Washington — many of whom arrived in full uniform — over three days in Virginia and New York City.
Additional reporting by Tenzin D. Tsagong. Interviews have been edited and condensed for length and clarity. Top quotes from Brian Hilton, Daniel Shippey and Daniel Cross.
Produced by Sara Barrett, Danny DeBelius and Sam Whitney. Additional production by Olivia James.
One task the robots can take from us? Cleaning. Especially hard-to-access windows. So when writers Caroline Mullen and Evan Dent found this little guy — whose government name is “EcoVacs Winbot Mini” — they were intrigued. Could he clean the uncleanable? Caroline and Evan put their robot friend to the test at both the Wirecutter office and a high-rise apartment. Is a robo-window cleaner more effective than scrubbing yourself?
new video loaded: School Year Cut Short and Aid Delivery Slowed Amid Fuel Crisis in Cuba
By McKinnon de Kuyper
June 22, 2026
-
Florida32 seconds agoFlorida TODAY: Homes get expensive, license to blush, fuzzy invader
-
Georgia6 minutes agoGeorgia Youth Symphony Orchestra Announces Expanded Artistic Leadership Team for 2026–2027 Season
-
Hawaii13 minutes agoTraffic fatalities in Hawaii ticked up after Memorial Day – The Garden Island
-
Idaho18 minutes agoChina Landslide
-
Illinois25 minutes agoHillsboro grad, Springfield golfer Alex Eickhoff 2nd at state amateur
-
Indiana31 minutes ago
Where to watch Seattle Storm vs Indiana Fever on July 17: TV channel, start time and streaming
-
Iowa36 minutes agoUS House Speaker campaigning in Iowa responds to President’s election fraud claims
-
Kentucky49 minutes agoJune unemployment rate shows slight increase in Kentucky Center for Statistics latest report
