Boston, MA

Silverglate: Harvard policies in need of an overhaul

Published

10 months ago

January 22, 2024

Silverglate: Harvard policies in need of an overhaul

Karl Marx, despite his failings as an economist, did make a few observations containing a kernel of wisdom. My favorite: “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.”

University of Pennsylvania Professor Alan Charles Kors and I authored, “The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America’s Campuses” in 1998, and the following year we co-founded the civil liberties non-profit The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (www.thefire.org), I considered its description of the trajectory of institutions of higher education to be a true American tragedy. Speech codes were de rigueur, and veritable “kangaroo courts” were established to enforce them.

Currently, Sarah Lawrence College Professor Samuel Abrams and I are working on a sequel, and as I ponder the present situation on our college campuses, I discern farce. The farce is particularly acute at Harvard, where I attended law school – so acute that I have decided to launch a long-shot petition candidacy for the Harvard Board of Overseers, the university’s second most powerful, and only alumni-elected, governing body.

My history as a candidate over the years is not a happy one. I first decided to run in 2009 when I needed 250 alumni signatures to gain a place on the ballot. I easily obtained them. I came very close to winning and believe that I would have landed a seat had the Harvard Alumni Association, which runs the election, not denied me the right to have it disseminate all the candidates’ policy positions to the alumni body. That was a right, the Association informed me, according only to the “official” candidates nominated by the Association.

With little fanfare, the Association then promptly raised the number of nominating signatures to the current 3,238 – Harvard’s version of “candidate suppression.” I am now faced with the daunting task of having to obtain these alumni signatures by Jan. 31. (On Jan. 16, I wrote to Penny Pritzker, senior fellow on Harvard’s governing board, asking her to use her position to extend that deadline by one month.)

I am now taking a stab at getting on the ballot, and this time I think I have a decent shot. The trends set out by Prof. Kors and me in 1998 have now come to fruition, as demonstrated by the woes and dysfunctionality besetting Harvard, including the disastrous aftermath of its recent (and, at six months, shortest-lived) President Claudine Gay’s appearance before the House Committee on Education and the Work Force. When asked a question concerning free speech on Harvard’s campus and the raucous and seemingly antisemitic demonstrations by Palestinian students and their allies, she gave a perfectly acceptable response confirming the demonstrators’ academic freedom rights. However, she appeared unable to explain and elucidate that position.

This inability was well understood by all who had followed her career as Dean of the Faculty: She was Harvard’s leading advocate for the woeful trend toward “diversity, equity, belonging and inclusion,” which, given the restrictive speech codes used to enforce these goals, shreds any notion of academic freedom, as well as intellectual diversity.

As one wag put it succinctly, Harvard – the lead plaintiff in the recent Supreme Court case that shredded affirmative action in college admissions – wants to accept students who all think alike but look quite different from one another.

In addition to these academic goals, I would work toward implementing other salient reforms.

For one thing, I would study the number and roles of Harvard’s administrators, estimated by FIRE to outnumber the faculty three-to-one. I would also give the faculty a larger role in determining university-wide policies aimed at making them more compatible with academic undertakings. (A start in this direction has already been initiated by the creation of The Council on Academic Freedom under the leadership of five senior faculty members.) I would also forbid the punishment of any student or professor whose words are deemed insulting or demeaning to any groups or individuals – that is, I would seek the abolition of “speech codes” and the kangaroo courts that enforce them. (Students need to be educated, not coddled.)

Harvard is now at a crossroads. It can continue to fight what increasingly has become a losing battle for a campus that seeks to train its students in ideological conformity to the diversity mantra, or it can return to its roots exemplified by its motto “veritas’ – the search for truth. I hope that Harvard’s alumni body gives me the opportunity to work for a new beginning for our nation’s oldest university.

Harvey Silverglate is a criminal defense, civil liberties and academic freedom lawyer and author in Cambridge

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Boston, MA

Boston College Football Coach, Players Talk Impact of 1984 Team on 40th Anniversary of Hail Flutie

Published

6 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Boston College Football Coach, Players Talk Impact of 1984 Team on 40th Anniversary of Hail Flutie

Saturday was an important day for the Boston College football program.

Not only did the Eagles secure bowl eligibility with a 41-21 win over the UNC Tar Heels, but it also marked the 40th anniversary of the “Hail Flutie,” a Hail Mary touchdown pass that former quarterback Doug Flutie threw as time expired to give Boston College a 47-45 win over the reigning national champions the Miami Hurricanes.

Members of the 1984 team were in attendance at Alumni Stadium and were honored as a way to mark the milestone.

After the game, Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien as well as quarterback Grayson James and offensive lineman Drew Kendall spoke about the impact of that team and how them being at the game helped them come out with the victory.

“It’s sweet,” said James. “Just being able to know what he’s done, done for this program, just being able to see guys like that come back and support, it’s awesome. It makes us want to put on a show for them and put on a show for the whole BC community, so it definitely got us going knowing that team was there today.”

Kendall emphasized that the season and that team made impacts on the program that are still felt today.

“Obviously they kind of put Boston College on the map,” said Kendall. “They were, I believe, a top five team in the country, No. 2- I’m not 100-percent, but they really put Boston College on the map and what they did has kind of allowed Boston College as a program to thrive. Of course Doug Flutie is the only Heisman at Boston College so hopefully we can get another one day but their toughness and their determination has really rubbed off through the program throughout the years.”

O’Brien shared that he showed film from the Hail Flutie game the day before the Eagles matchup against the Tar Heels as a part of preparation.

“I told them in this room on Friday, I showed them the last drive of the Miami game,” said O’Brien. “That that was a team, quite obviously, that played 60 minutes. They understood what playing 60 minutes was all about and on this screen right behind me, I showed that drive. And then, when you have the ‘84 team here, they were 10-2, ranked fifth in the country, Heisman Trophy winner in the house, you got to play well. It’s kind of in the same vein a little bit as the Red Bandanna Game, like you got to play well in these games. There’s a lot of tradition here at Boston College and for those guys to be here meant a lot to our program and it was important for us to go out there and win.”

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Boston, MA

Injury Updates: Boston College Football vs UNC

Published

15 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Injury Updates: Boston College Football vs UNC

The Boston College Eagles (5-5, 2-4 ACC) football team looks to become bowl eligible as it returns to Alumni Stadium to take on the UNC Tar Heels (6-4, 3-3 ACC).

Both teams are currently dealing with injuries in the program.

Below is a look at the latest injury updates for both teams.

[This story will be updated throughout the game with the latest injury news].

LB Caleb LaVallee | Questionable: Tar Heels linebacker Caleb LaVallee’s status for today’s game has yet to be determined. He has not played since UNC’s Nov. 2 game against FSU. He is dealing with a lower body injury and has been reportedly “monitored” this week.

RB Darwin Barlow | Questionable: Tar Heels running back Darwin Barlow’s status has yet to be revealed. Barlow’s appeared in three games this season, most recently in the team’s Nov. 2 game against FSU.

TE Bryson Nesbit | Out: Tar Heels tight end Bryson Nesbit will miss the game against the Eagles with an injury.

DB Max Tucker | Out: Eagles defensive back Max Tucker will miss the Eagles game against UNC. Tucker exited Boston College’s matchup against No. 13 SMU early in the game and did not return. Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien considered him “day-to-day.”

DB Bryquice Brown | Out: Eagles defensive back Bryquice Brown will miss the Eagles game against UNC. Brown exited Boston College’s matchup against No. 13 SMU and did not return. Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien considered him “day-to-day.”

LB Kam Arnold | Questionable: Eagles linebacker Kam Arnold’s status for today’s game has yet to be revealed. Arnold has missed Boston College’s last three games with an upper body injury.

RB Turbo Richard | Questionable: Eagles running back Turbo Richard’s status for the game has also not been revealed. Like Arnold, Richard has also missed the Eagles last three games as he’s dealing with an ankle injury.

Players Out For Season: LB Owen McGowan, CB Amari Jackson, RB Alex Broome, LB Jaylen Blackwell.

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Boston, MA

Ex-Celtics Guard Offers Blunt Confession About Boston Departure

Published

23 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Ex-Celtics Guard Offers Blunt Confession About Boston Departure

Malcolm Brogdon departed the Boston Celtics two offseasons ago, in surprise fashion, sparking some speculated bad blood between both sides.

During Friday night’s NBA Cup battle, Brogdon, now a member of the Washington Wizards, got his first chance to compete against his old team. Brogdon missed both opportunities last season with the Portland Trail Blazers, the team Boston initially traded the 2023 Sixth Man of the Year to in order to land Jrue Holiday.

“Guys get traded every year,” Brogdon told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I think for teams, a lot of the time it’s not personal, it’s a business decision. For players, it is personal. You’re uprooting your family at the end of the day. You’re moving to a new city, you’re having to adjust to a new situation. But honestly, it was a good trade for them. We’ll both be good in the long run.”

Brogdon made the start against the Celtics, sharing the floor with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser, for the first time since Brogdon was teammates with the crew. The 31-year-old met the challenge posed by the reigning champions and performed well, scoring 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field with 10 rebounds to notch his fourth double-double in his first season with the Wizards.

As frustrating as parting ways with the Celtics in the middle of their championship hunt might’ve been for Brogdon, the nine-year veteran doesn’t plan on letting the past haunt him moving forward. Brogdon’s inherited a leadership role for a Washington team that’s gone 2-12 so far, is 1-6 at home and isn’t expected to compete in the playoffs. And for Brogdon, that’s perfectly fine.

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“Honestly, I’m not even in a position anymore where I even talk about it, man,” Brogdon said of the trade. “I’ve made peace with the situation and moved on. I’m in a good place now.”

Brogdon even gave his former team its flowers and made it known that even though he’s in Washington now, he’s been keeping tabs on Boston.

“They’re a very well-rounded team,” Brogdon said. “The way they’re constructed. And I think the Jay’s together — people have always criticized them over the years: ‘They can’t play together. Their games are too similar.’ I mean, they’ve heard it all and I think they’ve really come together and figured out how to play well and mesh on the court, on both ends. They’ve embraced the defensive side and they’ve then learned how to play together and embrace each other on offense.”

The Wizards — and Brogdon — were Boston’s latest stepping stone as the team continues to embark on its journey toward punching a ticket to Las Vegas in the NBA Cup. The Celtics improved to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in tournament play, securing a plus-14 point differential to put them second to the Atlanta Hawks in the Group C standings.

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