Harvard

February 23, 2024

Harvard is certainly on a losing streak. If it were a gambler at the MGM casino, it would be tapped out. Fortunately, Harvard has over $50 billion in chips so it won’t be leaving the table any time soon. Harvard, along with the University of North Carolina, lost its affirmative action case at the Supreme Court. This was a case that affected all institutions of higher learning. President Claudine Gay was forced to resign presumably after accusations of plagiarism, but it was probably more for answering a politically-motivated question with a weak, academic and legalistic response. She apparently thought she was debating the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The President of the University of Pennsylvania lost her job as well. Sadly, the question was posed by Elise Stefanik ‘06, who obviously failed or never took ethics and moral reasoning at Harvard. More recently, Harvard administrators have had to deal with faculty and students posting anti-Semitic comments.

Former Harvard President Derek Bok wrote an extensive piece for the alumni recently titled “Why Americans Love to Hate Harvard.” It details Harvard’s missteps, the political environment it finds itself in, the internal forces at play, and some of the issues it needs to address, and how to address them. Harvard, as do many universities, needs to deal with issues of elitism, alumni privilege and legacy, free speech and academic freedom. It is accused of having a liberal bias. It needs to responsibly invest and administer its $50 billion endowment while continuing its capital campaign and supporting financially-strapped students.

Harvard isn’t perfect. It never was, and never will be.  It has always been a lightning rod for major issues. It was at the forefront of the anti-war movement in the 60’s along with Columbia, Cornell and Kent State. It ushered in affirmative action in 1969 at about the same time it offered both men and women the same educational experience. It has had to deal with the push to eliminate energy-related companies from its investment portfolios. As with most institutions, it is an ongoing work in progress. Criticism is healthy as is self-reflection.  What really bothers me, however, are the motives of some of the people that wage these attacks. I do not for one minute believe that all of these critics are well-meaning people.  Many of these people have worked assiduously to tear down almost every institution in America.  They have worked to discredit the media, the judiciary, the Justice Department, the FBI and the CIA, the military, law enforcement, the electoral process, school administrations, libraries, the scientific community, and the NIH and CDC. These people don’t want a democracy. They are hell bent on establishing a theocracy, the latest manifestation of which is the ruling in Alabama by a Q-Anon friendly judge that the destruction of embryos is tantamount to murder. They don’t want to fix Harvard. They want to destroy it and all institutions like it, and replace them with the likes of Liberty College, which gave us the Jerry Falwell sex scandal, Bob Jones University, and Hillsdale College.  Their agenda is not to provide an education that is “fair and balanced.” Their agenda is to replace a liberal education with a religious-based, conservative dogma. Harvard is a liberal university. Being surprised that Harvard is liberal is like being surprised that there was gambling at Rick’s Cafe. Harvard cannot be any more liberal today than it was in the 60’s. It is certainly more diverse. It is better balanced today between men and women; between whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians; between domestic and international students; and between students from different socio-economic backgrounds. I don’t think that Harvard has become more liberal as much as the rest of the country has gotten more conservative. Over the years, we have seen rollbacks of women’s rights, voting rights, and environmental rights. We have seen the rise of Christian Nationalism, and white supremacy.

Harvard should continue to evaluate itself in a thoughtful, sober and deliberative way, keeping in mind that it’s mission is to provide a liberal education, which welcomes all points of view. It should not make changes staring down the twin barrels of a shotgun being aimed at it by MAGA theocrats looking to impose their religious beliefs. I prefer the open source, liberal education that universities like Harvard provide with all of its flaws and imperfections. Liberal institutions like Harvard and its leaders must pass the test.

Paul Chiampa ‘71