Sometimes a Picture Tells an Inadvertent Story
The Harvard Gazette's timeline of the Summers' presidency is both hilarious and ominous in its strenuous assertion that the Summers' years were a period of great renewal and optimism at Harvard, free of blight.
But sometimes, even the most committed propagandist inadvertently reveals a truth. Consider, for example, this photograph and caption that ran with the Gazette's compilation of Summers' greatest hits.
At the freshman barbeque in Annenberg Hall in September 2002,
students gather around Summers to get the former secretary of the
treasury [sic] to sign their one dollar bills.
(Staff file photo Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard News Office)
I could never figure out which was more disturbing: the fact that Harvard students were so anxious to get Summers' signature on their money, or the fact that Summers was always willing to oblige. Did no one see what unfortunate pieces of symbolism both actions were? They certainly evoked what has become all-too-important at Harvard in recent years: celebrity and money.
Harvard has many challenges in the short term. But in the long run, this may be its biggest hurdle: the fact that so many students want to go to Harvard for the most superficial of reasons.
It's fascinating that Summers, who almost surely approved the text and photos used in this Gazette story, wanted this photograph to run.
