Christina Lee, Head Photography Editor

Yale University President Maurie McInnis refused to tell the News whether she supports Harvard University’s decision not to cooperate with the Trump administration’s demands.

“We cannot answer hypothetical questions,” she wrote to the News when asked about her opinion on Harvard’s stance. “And I have said in the past that it is my practice to not comment on the actions of other schools because each school faces different circumstances, and I cannot know what they are from the outside, so I think it’s best not to comment on what one school or another does or does not do.”

The Trump administration sent Harvard a list of demands requiring the school make changes at the will of the federal government — such as agreeing to a review of Harvard’s programs and governmental audits of hirings and admissions — for a chance to restore billions in frozen funds. Unlike Columbia University, which acquiesced to similar demands, Harvard repudiated what it called government overreach. Harvard has since sued the Trump administration for cutting its funding.

McInnis’ sparse responses come after her office rescheduled her monthly interview with the News twice, ultimately postponing it indefinitely. The office then requested that immediate questions be sent by email instead of being asked in person.

When pressed by email about whether she will support Harvard’s lawsuit against the Trump administration, McInnis also characterized the question as a hypothetical.

“What we do know is that we will keep advancing our mission and focusing on supporting our community,” she responded. “I also want to encourage students to be ambassadors for higher education. We need that right now: people who will share the purpose and promise of higher education with our critics and with our supporters.”

McInnis did not directly respond to a series of other questions about her response to the Trump administration’s attacks on universities. She did not answer whether she thinks her attempts to lobby lawmakers have been working, whether she is considering making any changes to Yale to avoid funding cuts or whether she opposes the federal government’s attempt to influence the college accreditation process.

“We’ve discussed that I’m working on preserving and upholding Yale’s mission and supporting our community,” she wrote instead. 

McInnis added that she is collaborating with peer institutions and working with the Association of American Universities. Recently, she signed an American Association of Colleges and Universities statement alongside over 360 other university leaders, opposing the Trump administration’s “unprecedented government overreach and political interference” in higher education. 

In response to questions about the reschedulings, McInnis wrote that she is “prioritizing meeting requests from faculty, students, staff, and alumni groups who want to speak with me about their concerns and recommendations. The volume of requests from members of our community has increased this semester, and it is important to me to make as much time as possible to meet with colleagues and students who wish to speak with me about pressing matters.”

The News’ monthly interview with McInnis was originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 22, before the president’s office rescheduled for Thursday, April 24, citing an “urgent meeting.” The office then postponed the rescheduled interview — due to a “busy week” — to an indefinite date in the future, after the News finished production for the academic recess.

McInnis postponed the rescheduled interview on the backdrop of Tuesday night’s protest, at which students erected eight tents and promised to “stay the night” before following administrative warnings to disperse. The protest was organized in opposition to far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Wednesday evening talk at Shabtai, a Jewish intellectual discussion society founded by Yale affiliates.

The only question McInnis responded to directly by email concerned Yale’s dispersal of the Tuesday night pro-Palestinian protest and subsequent revocation of Yalies4Palestine’s club status. McInnis reiterated a message the University spokesperson previously gave the News, emphasizing that the group was “involved in” a protest that violated Yale’s policies. Yalies4Palestine did not organize the protest, but it promoted it on social media.

The federal government was “cautiously encouraged” by how Yale handled the protest, the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism stated in a press release.

The task force cited Yale’s dispersal of the protest, revocation of Yalies4Palestine’s club status and disciplinary action of student protesters as reasons why it was “encouraged.” Yale has referred at least three of those protesters to the Executive Committee for discipline, according to a student who received notice of impending disciplinary action for her participation in last Tuesday’s action.

The task force’s statement added that it “will be keeping an eye on the situation and aftermath.”

Uri Cohen, executive director of the Slifka Center for Jewish Life, wrote that he was in “close contact” with McInnis throughout the protest. They first spoke on Tuesday to “discuss the situation as it was unfolding,” then again later that night when McInnis told Cohen they had cleared Beinecke Plaza, he wrote in an email to the Slifka Center.

“I’ve been in touch with the administration throughout these days to respond in real time to the roller coaster of events,” Cohen wrote. “These actions show decisive and impactful leadership by President Maurie McInnis and her team.”

McInnis has never before canceled or rescheduled an interview with the News.