" Alan Dershowitz, attorney and professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, said, "No. It's a tactic to try to force a negotiated settlement. And Harvard cannot win this lawsuit. Ultimately, in the Supreme Court, Harvard has the right to teach the way it wants and to hire who it wants, but it has no right to get federal funding."

Dershowitz compared the situation to historical precedents, stating, "For example, if this were the South in the 1950s and a university were allowing Klansmen to come with masks to harass black students and was teaching white supremacy, no one would object if the federal government said, hey, we're not going to give you federal funding, we're not going to give you a tax exemption."

He further explained that the lawsuit is likely a strategic move to prompt negotiations, saying, "So I think the selection of lawyers is a message to the administration. Sit down and go see it will resolve this."