Harvard Hits Back At Education Secretary McMahon By Marking Up Her Letter
Harvard University has fired back at U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon after receiving a sharply worded letter accusing the institution of mismanagement, elitism, and failure to uphold federal education standards.
In a surprising move, Harvard responded not with a traditional statement, but by marking up McMahon’s letter with red ink—correcting spelling, punctuation, grammar, and logic flaws—and then sharing the annotated version on social media.
The original letter, dated May 5, 2025, alleged that Harvard had received billions in taxpayer funds while failing to meet academic and ethical responsibilities.
McMahon accused the university of fostering hate, inviting violent foreign students, and rejecting highly qualified applicants based on unclear criteria.
She also criticised the school’s leadership, called out former New York mayors Bill de Blasio and Lori Lightfoot, and singled out Obama appointee Penny Pritzker, labelling her management “catastrophic.”
But Harvard appeared to treat the letter as a poorly written homework assignment.
The university’s markups called out inconsistencies, vague accusations, incomplete sentences, and what it described as “sloppy use of commas.” Annotations like “run-on,” “unclear,” and “conjunction?” filled the margins, while one correction even questioned the use of the word “Democratic,” asking “Democratic or Democrat?”
The public correction quickly went viral, sparking a wave of online reactions. Supporters praised Harvard’s wit and precision, while critics saw the response as disrespectful and evasive.
Neither the Department of Education nor McMahon’s office has issued a follow-up statement as of press time.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
