Oprah? Really?
Posted on May 31st, 2013 in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
On Time.com, Erika and Nicholas Christakis, who both work at Harvard, think that Oprah is a lousy choice for Harvard’s commencement speaker.
Oprah’s particular brand of celebrity is not a good fit for the values of a university whose motto, Veritas, means truth. Oprah’s passionate advocacy extends, unfortunately, to a hearty embrace of phony science. Critics have taken Oprah to task for years for her energetic shilling on behalf of peddlers of quack medicine. Most notoriously, Oprah’s validation of Jenny McCarthy’s discredited claim that vaccines cause autism has no doubt contributed to much harm through the foolish avoidance of vaccines.
It’s kind of a good point, actually. That anti-vaccine stuff is dangerous, and the peddlers of it have done American society a great disservice.
Of course, there’s another reason that Oprah’s not a great fit for Harvard commencement: She’s such a strikingly unoriginal, predictable, boring choice.
But maybe it’s just one celebrity brand schmoozing another….
7 Responses
5/31/2013 9:14 am
Harvard university whose motto veritas means truth? Are you kidding me? Here is their truth
https://richardbradley.net/shotsinthedark/2012/04/22/who-is-matthew-schoenfeld-2/
They conveniently print this in Boston, I just happen to find out about it on the Internet?
They have yet to look into this and issue me an apology for not contacting me.
To make matter worse, gayle trotter relies on this veritas and adds a sizzle to this whole thing, On beliefnet.com, a site of inspiration and spirituality. Mary Carmichael is so engrossed in this veritas that she affirms that she knows what’s in Supreme Court files without looking at them.
Harvard forgets human nature and only sees its name as the ultimate god. Or should I forgive them for their ignorance on FAMILY LAW with very little rate of return.
5/31/2013 9:26 am
My step son is autistic. We had him tested for mercury, tried gluten free, casein free diet etc. Dr. Hyman tested a boy for food allergies and leaky gut. He found boy was allergic to 31 different foods. Child is doing well.
When this kind of tragedy hits your heart you want to try all you can. With my biological son, I didn’t question contents of vaccinations and went ahead with it. Point is, Jenny and like many other people in my shoe speculate and we tend to research it until we have exhausted our sources. Oprah for what ever she stands for, is human. Look at it as another attempt to solve this awful disorder. I see the sparkle in my sons eyes but not the ability to express it. I would have done the same as Jenny just to be sure.
5/31/2013 2:07 pm
I agree that Oprah’s a hackneyed choice, but Christakis is only belly-aching b/c the sociology department threw him out on his ass this year. He’s going to Yale (which has a surprisingly crappy soc. dept.) and couldn’t get Harvard to put up the least bit of a fight for him.
6/1/2024 9:56 pm
Did you see this? The economy is looking up….some impressive salaries http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/5/28/senior-survey-2013/?page=1
6/2/2024 9:26 am
So the graduates report rampant cheating. Evidently what they learned from the grown ups in charge. It’s too bad the survey does not ask senior to estimate the percentage of harvard administrators or faculty who cheat or have cheated to get to be where they are. There is probably a strong association between what these undergraduates thing about cheating among these adults and their own propensity to cheat…. And what they learned from the recent Hammond-gate is that when adults in powerful positions are caught there are plenty of other adults who come to their defense, they are rarely punished and will in all likelihood be reward in some way… Hammonds will in all likelihood end up as president is a college in the near future… Recommended be the very people who know full well what she did. One can only admire the harvard seniors for their maturity and intelligence in understanding the rules of the game… And for their candor in saying what they see and believe. They will make
6/3/2024 7:41 am
So I agree with Erika Christakis about something. Amazing! But I take this as just another FU against Harvard from someone who has very little perspective on how to navigate an institution as someone with authority and responsibility. Take this recent gem: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2013/5/30/harvard-seniors-christakis/
A sample: “And whether you found the journey a stroll in the park or a slog through a parched desert, or a little of both, the fact that you made it through is what matters.” Not what you learned, just that you managed to survive it. (As if college is something to be survived.)
6/3/2024 7:59 am
Apologies for changing the subject but I’m interested if you’re going to weigh in with a blog post on the Harvard Crimson’s lengthy piece on Harvard Public Affairs & Communications.