A crushing cancel culture, accusations of plagiarism, protests on campus, lawsuits, Congressional investigations, and big-dollar donors running for the door. Inside the campus turmoil, where the Emperor Charles has no clothes.
Rewrite of an article by JON KELLER Titled Why Harvard University Is Failing at Everything
In the early
days of Claudine Gay's Harvard presidency, she faced a Congressional inquiry on
rising campus antisemitism.
This came amidst turmoil following an attack on
Israel. Gay's responses, including her stance on calls for genocide, sparked
controversy and international criticism.
Despite Harvard's prestigious history,
recent events have exposed flaws in its administration and academic standards.
Grade inflation, leadership controversies, and declining rankings have
tarnished its reputation. Moreover, the campus environment has become tense,
alienating students and alumni.
Harvard's missteps raise questions not just
about its own value, but also about the broader purpose of higher education. As
Harvard grapples with its identity and legacy, it confronts challenges to its
once-unquestioned status.
Harvard, with
its vast endowment of $50.7 billion, faces growing scrutiny and challenges.
Despite its wealth, Harvard's academic progress and leadership have been
questioned. The Allston campus project, initiated 18 years ago, has lagged
behind MIT's biotech advancements in Kendall Square.
This delay has led to a brain drain, with prominent scientists like Stuart Schreiber departing for
better opportunities. Similarly, Harvard's Kennedy School, once known for
producing public-sector leaders, now sees a significant portion of its
graduates entering the private sector. Concerns about government skepticism
among students and controversies over faculty dismissals further tarnish
Harvard's reputation.
Grade inflation
is rampant, with 79% of undergraduates receiving A grades in recent years. The
campus environment fosters political intolerance, with conservative voices
often marginalized. Harvard's handling of the Israel/Hamas conflict has
resulted in legal complaints alleging discrimination and harassment.
Additionally, infrastructure issues, such as heating and housing problems, have
plagued student life.
These
challenges raise questions about Harvard's ability to maintain its academic
excellence and reputation in the face of evolving realities and increasing
criticism.
Students and
parents are increasingly critical of Harvard's campus conditions despite its
immense wealth. Maintenance issues persist, with reports of peeling paint and
disruptive renovations. Graduate students faced water shortages and damaged
property, with Harvard officials offering inadequate compensation.
Harvard Square,
an extension of the campus, suffers from neglect, contrasting with Boston
University's efforts to revitalize its surroundings. The recent loss of major
donors, like Tim Day, reflects dissatisfaction with Harvard's direction,
particularly regarding diversity initiatives and responses to campus issues.
The
university's endowment team's underperformance compounds financial challenges,
prompting calls for reform from CFO Ritu Kalra. Concerns about antisemitism on
campus persist, with Rabbi David Wolpe resigning from an advisory committee due
to perceived inaction. Interim President Alan Garber's appointment of Professor
Derek Penslar to address antisemitism further fuels controversy.
Criticism
extends beyond Jewish concerns, with Professor Danielle Allen condemning
disruptive protests as violations of university norms. Harvard's failure to
address these issues raises doubts about its commitment to campus improvement
and academic excellence.
Harvard is
facing a multitude of challenges, including declining prestige, financial
strain, discontent among students and faculty, and loss of support from alumni
and donors. Despite these issues, there appears to be a lack of recognition
among Harvard's leadership regarding the severity of the situation and how to
address it.
In response to
criticism, former Harvard President Claudine Gay attributed her resignation to
external "demagogues" undermining the university's core values.
However, Harvard's reliance on outside influences is not new, with significant
funding from foreign governments contributing to concerns about intolerance and
free expression on campus.
Transparency
and openness are suggested remedies for Harvard's woes. The university's
communication strategy has been criticized for its lack of engagement,
hindering efforts to address internal and external challenges effectively.
Calls for
change emphasize the need for humility, openness to diverse perspectives, and a
proactive approach to addressing criticism. Harvard's failure to uphold its
founding principles of excellence and truth raises questions about its future
and relevance in academia.
In addition,
Harvard
helped Nazi Germany improve its image in the West
The profound
impact of Nazi policies on German academia during the 1930s, highlighted the
systematic suppression of dissenting voices, particularly targeting Jewish
scholars and those with left-leaning ideologies. It elucidated the coercive
tactics employed by the Nazis to enforce ideological conformity within
universities, such as the expulsion of Jewish faculty and the appointment of
Nazi commissars to enforce compliance.
The account
of Peter Drucker's experience at Frankfurt University poignantly illustrates
the moral dilemmas faced by intellectuals in the face of totalitarianism.
Drucker's decision to leave Germany underscores the chilling effect of Nazi
control over academic institutions and the erosion of academic freedom.
Furthermore,
the contrasting responses of intellectuals like Martin Heidegger demonstrate
the complex interplay between ideology, opportunism, and moral compromise.
Heidegger's collaboration with the Nazi regime exemplifies the betrayal of
intellectual integrity in exchange for personal gain and ideological alignment.
The expulsion
of renowned scholars like Albert Einstein symbolizes the devastating brain
drain inflicted upon German academia by Nazi persecution, leading to the loss
of invaluable intellectual capital and the disruption of scientific progress.
Research into
Harvard's collaboration with Nazi Germany gains significance amid current
debates on campus antisemitism framed as freedom of speech. Historians note
Harvard's historical ties to Nazi Germany, indicating a pattern of reluctance
to condemn evil regimes.
Harvard's
recent controversies, including the resignation of President Claudine Gay and
criticism for her response to calls for genocide against Jewish students, echo
past instances of repressed antisemitism. Notably, Harvard's retention of a
fellowship named after a top Nazi industrialist raises concerns about the
university's response to antisemitism in light of substantial donations from
Mideast regimes.
Harvard's
history includes welcoming a top Nazi official, Ernst Hanfstaengl, in 1934,
highlighting the university's complicity with the Nazi regime. Despite protests
from students, Harvard administrators and alumni embraced Hanfstaengl,
reflecting a pattern of insensitivity to antisemitic sentiments.
The legacy of
Harvard's past leaders, such as A. Lawrence Lowell, who proposed quotas on
Jewish student admissions, underscores the university's history of
discrimination. Medoff suggests that Harvard's actions, like sending delegates
to Nazi-controlled universities, illustrate a troubling pattern of support for
oppressive regimes.
Also, Harvard's
historical entanglements with Nazi Germany raise serious pertinent questions
about its commitment to combating antisemitism and upholding democratic values.
Historian
Stephen Norwood's book, "The Third Reich in the Ivory Tower: Complicity
and Conflict on American Campuses," reveals Harvard's contribution to Nazi
Germany's image rehabilitation efforts in the West. According to Norwood,
Harvard's administration and student leaders provided significant support to
the Hitler regime during its persecution of Jews and military expansion.
Norwood
criticizes Harvard's president at the time, James B. Conant, for not only
remaining silent on antisemitism but actively collaborating with it. Conant
allowed Nazi symbols on campus, including a wreath bearing the swastika placed
in a Harvard chapel by Germany's top diplomat in Boston. Additionally,
Harvard's policies during the 1930s restricted Jewish refugees, particularly
Jewish professors, from seeking refuge at the university.
Conant's
belated condemnation of Nazism after the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938 contrasts
with his earlier actions. Despite Harvard's later rebuttal, Norwood provides
evidence of Conant's efforts to foster friendly relationships with Nazi
university leaders, even as they purged Jewish faculty and promoted antisemitic
racial science.
Norwood's
research also highlights other Harvard affiliates who sympathized with Hitler's
regime, such as Dean Roscoe Pound of Harvard Law School, who praised Hitler's
leadership during a visit to Germany.
Norwood
emphasizes the role of American university presidents during this period,
arguing that Harvard's choices were not inevitable, as demonstrated by the
actions of other institutions like Williams College and British universities,
which took stands against Nazi collaboration.
In
conclusion, Norwood's book calls attention to the university's complicity with
Nazism, urging a reassessment of Harvard’s historical legacy of “Everyone shall
consider as the main end of his life and studies, to know God and Jesus Christ,
which is eternal life,” and its original motto “Veritas”, adopted by Harvard's in
1643, which is Latin for “truth,”!
Source:
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2024/02/27/harvard-failure-2024/