• xenomor@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I’m 100% I favor of Harvard standing up to trump. But can anyone explain to me why any public money should be spent on this private institution at all?

    • usrtrv@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      They’re in the form of grants that give research to help society.

      Imagine if the government wants to know the effects of microplastics on the brain. The grant is a way to hire researchers at universities to answer this question.

      The alternative is just employ scientists full time, but that’s expensive. And how do those scientists get trained in the first place? Using grants while in university.

      • xenomor@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I think what I didn’t understand was that the funding is going to research and not the institution itself. I’m good with that. I just hope that these grants are structured in a way that ensures the public has some ownership of the results.

        • usrtrv@sh.itjust.works
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          2 days ago

          Which they are: https://www.grants.gov/learn-grants/grant-reporting

          Grants are an incredible way to advance technology, create educated citizens, and boost the economy. Private industry also benefits since they don’t have to risk their own R&D budget. And in some areas, the private sector will not touch since there’s not a obvious way to make profit. Although they will still use that public research when it suits them.

          The GOP wants you to be ignorant of how everything works and get away with blackmailing institutions they don’t like.

    • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      They may be a private institution, but a lot of the research and education that comes out of it greatly benefits the public good. I dont think it’s inherently bad.