The Trump administration announced it was freezing over $2 billion in grants and contracts after Harvard University said it would not comply with federal demands regarding antisemitism. (Nicholas Pfosi/Reuters)
"That’s exactly what's happening here with Harvard; they're not following anti-discrimination laws, and they're not stopping antisemitism on campus or protecting Jewish students and Israeli students, and so, because of that, there's a big parallel."
Bird noted that Harvard has the nation’s largest endowment at around $50 billion, in addition to billions more in government grants that are conditional.
"One of those conditions for that type of funding is that they're going to follow anti-discrimination-wise," she said, adding that Iowa is relevant and now involved in the case because Iowans’ taxes fund those federal grants, and that if Harvard is allowed to let antisemitism run rampant, other colleges farther west may be able to do so to.
LEGAL EXPERT BACKS TRUMP ADMIN'S CRACKDOWN ON HARVARD: 'ACCOUNTABILITY MUST BE ENFORCED'
President of Harvard University Alan Garber addresses the crowd during the 373rd Commencement at Harvard University. (Getty)
The original IRS policy change banning discrimination went into effect under former President Richard Nixon, but it wasn’t until 1983 that the government — then run by former President Ronald Reagan — won a similar lawsuit.
The Supreme Court ruled there that the public interest in preventing discrimination trumped any related invocation of religious freedom.
Following the Bob Jones case, then-college president Bob Jones III went on national television in 2000 to declare the university was wrong in its prior race-based policies and officially lifted the ban on interracial dating.
On its website, the college explained, "Our sincere desire is to exhibit a truly Christ-like spirit and biblical position in these areas. Today, Bob Jones University enrolls students from all 50 states and nearly 50 countries, representing various ethnicities and cultures."
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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