What It Means
I've been thinking about the concurrence of two events—the photoshopping of an embarrassing headline out of an admissions office brochure, and the postponement of the lawsuit settlement until after Commencement—and why they bother me so much.
After all, to some of you, such media manipulation might simply be seen as standard operating procedure for any large institution, especially one that is the "best brand in higher education."
At the risk of sounding either naive or self-congratulatory, I'd say that this behavior bothers me because I am idealistic about Harvard.
I believe that officials of the world's greatest university should hold themselves to a higher standard of behavior than the standard operating procedure in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, these recent examples of media manipulation and public dishonesty have become the norm at Harvard over the past four years.
I believe that the university has an obligation to deal with the press in straightforward, candid, and intelligent ways, lest it degrade the values that a university is supposed to stand for, values that are increasingly hard to find made manifest in American society, and consequently increasingly important.
I believe that photoshopping a newspaper headline to eliminate potential embarrassment has a symbolic connotation of Orwellian behavior that we might expect from big business or the federal government—and that if we are not shocked by such behavior from Harvard, then we have truly lost something profound.
I believe that
veritas, though it may be difficult in the short run, would serve Harvard well in the long term. I do not believe that truth has to be sacrificed in the conduct of a large and wealthy institution, and that if any place should stand by that credo, it is Harvard.
I believe that the university has an obligation to treat its alumni like intelligent human beings, integral parts of a worldwide community, rather than pawns to be manipulated and then solicited for money.
I believe that manipulating the media and public opinion may ease the pain of a short-term embarrassment, but over time, contributes to public cynicism regarding Harvard's behavior and the erosion of public support for higher education.
I believe that none of this will matter at Larry Summers' Harvard.
