Harvard University

With the "Veganuary," more than 500,000 Internet users worldwide give up animal products for a month at the beginning of the year. Data from Harvard University shows that the campaign is very effective: Around 100,000 tons of CO2 and 6 million liters of water can be saved with the initiative.

A study by Harvard University found that the ventilation systems on planes filter out 99% of airborne viruses and "effectively counters the proximity travelers are subject to during flights." Thus the risk of contracting Covid-19 on airplanes is lower than in a grocery store if precautions are being followed, including wearing masks and screening passengers for symptoms.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it had withdrawn visa guidelines that barred international students from the US if all of their classes were to be conducted online this autumn.

The announcement came during a federal district court hearing Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) chalenging the administration's decision, arguing the policy was created unlawfully and that it contradicted previous guidance from federal immigration officials.

59 U.S. universities are backing the lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT against the Trump administration trying to block a directive that would force international students to return to their home countries if all of their classes and coursework were taken remotely.

After Harvard and MIT filed their lawsuit on Wednesday in a federal court in Boston, dozens of other universities, including Duke and Standford and five other Ivy League colleges, submitted a so-call amicus brief.

The Ivy League is the first Division I conference to cancel its fall sports season, postponing football and various other sports until at least January of 2021.

"With the information available to us today regarding the continued spread of the virus, we simply do not believe we can create and maintain an environment for the intercollegiate athletic competition that meets our requirements for safety and acceptable levels of risk," so a statement by the Ivy League presidents.

In a move that was considered to pressure universities to reopen, the Trump administration announced a directive on Monday that would force international students to return to their home countries if all of their classes and coursework were taken remotely.

"It appears that it was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall, without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors, and others," so Lawrence S. Bacow, President of Harvard University.

In response to the directive, Harvard and M.I.T have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, seeking "a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief preventing Defendants from enforcing the policy announced in ICE’s July 6 Directive, or promulgating it as a Final Rule" and "a declaration that the policy announced in the July 6 Directive is unlawful."

On Monday, Harvard University announced its reopening plans for the next academic year. All first-year students are set to attend courses on campus during the fall semester but will be studying remotely in spring so seniors can return before their graduation. Furthermore, the university will only allow up to 40 percent of its undergraduate students on campus, asking the rest of its student body to study remotely while fees and tuition will remain the same.