Connect with us

Boston, MA

Silverglate: Harvard policies in need of an overhaul

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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



Source link

Advertisement

Boston, MA

What we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe

Published

on

What we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe


Court records show that Marrero was the father of three children, the oldest of whom is 17. The youngest two children, twins, are 13 years old; Marrero’s death came days before their 14th birthday.

Records in Middlesex Probate and Family Court also suggest that Marrero faced financial difficulties and personal troubles, stemming in part from a work injury that family members said caused a bout of depression and deteriorating behavior in his personal life.

For nearly a decade, Marrero worked at Dewberry, a Boston engineering consulting firm, court records show, obtaining a job as an architectural design apprentice in 2005. He left the company in 2014, according to a company spokesperson.

Hernan Marrero.Facebook

Throughout that time, he doubled as a bartender on the side, working at Mexican restaurants in Boston and Waltham, court records show.

Advertisement

A knee injury ended Marrero’s career at Dewberry, court records show, and he left the company shortly thereafter.

That injury, according to court documents, was the catalyst for what his wife described as a “major depressive episode,” which she said contributed to the strain in their marriage. The couple, who had been married for more than 20 years, separated in 2022.

Records also show that Marrero struggled with debts to family members and credit card companies. During his divorce proceedings, it was unclear how much money he was taking home in income.

Marrero briefly owned and operated a contracting business, 109 Construction, but the corporation was administratively dissolved in 2024, according to state filings.

Marrero had lived in US since at least 2001, holding legal status. He became a naturalized citizen in March 2021, court records show.

Advertisement

Social media posts suggest he was active in the tight-knit Venezuelan community in Massachusetts. Photos show him cheering on Venezuela at a World Baseball Classic watch party in Brighton earlier this year.

Court records appear to show Marrero’s interest in art and music, owning a Venezuelan guitar, conga drums, and several Venezuelan paintings, as well as homemade winemaking setup.

Marrero’s family could not be reached for comment. A close friend reached by the Globe declined to comment.

Trainor had just completed his shift at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday and was driving home when he responded to a report for a Jeep traveling south in the northbound lanes of Route 1, near the Lynnfield overpass.

Raised in Salem, Trainor began his public safety career as an Essex County correction officer before graduating from the State Police academy in 2023, State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said.

Advertisement

Trainor’s fiancée, Jessica D. Ostrowski, of Georgetown, posted an emotional message to social media Thursday, describing the late trooper as “my absolute best friend.”

“I am beyond proud for the amount of love you have been given by those who loved and cared about you,” she wrote.

Travis Andersen and Jeremiah Manion of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Material from previous Globe coverage was used.


Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Funding scandal-hit Croft schools in Boston to close this summer after all

Published

on

Funding scandal-hit Croft schools in Boston to close this summer after all


Administrators at the Croft School, struggling after allegations of financial fraud, haven’t been able to find a buyer for its Boston locations, which will now close at the end of the school year, parents were told Friday.

Millions of dollars were raised by families and community members to keep the private school open for a few more months while Croft School administrators scrambled to find a buyer. But in Friday’s email, the chief restructuring officer and independent sale advisor said that two parties expressed interest but they ultimately had to pivot toward winding operations down.

“To be clear, the 2025-2026 school year will be completed based on the availability of parent funding. However, without a viable timetable for a transaction, we are faced with this difficult decision,” the email said.

About 350 students had attended the Croft School’s three campuses, two in Boston and one in Providence. Regular tuition starts at $31,000, according to the website.

Advertisement

Millions were raised to keep the private school open for a few more months but the Croft School is looking for a buyer as a long-term fix to its financial problems.

More than 60 families unenrolled from the South End campus over the weekend, the email said.

News of the debt crisis surprised parents in March, when the school’s board revealed in a letter that founding Executive Director Scott Given admitted to fabricating a letter of credit regarding a possible expansion and keeping two sets of books, overstating the school’s revenue while understating its expenses.

The discovery that the school was more than $13 million in debt came after police were alerted to possible fraud. The school has said it’s cooperating with multiple investigations involving Given, who has been suspended.

The private school, with two locations in Boston and one in Providence, requires $5 million to stay open for the rest of the schoolyear.

Advertisement

Given has been sued by at least one Boston parent, accusing him of running a Ponzi scheme. His legal team has said he has no comment.

Parents rallied to save the school, raising enough funds to keep classes going.

The officials in charge of the sale noted “how hard many of you worked to maintain The Croft School as you know it,” but added that the “difficult circumstances, uncertain financials and condensed timeframe made this a trying environment for purchasers to timely make a binding offer for the schools.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Where to watch Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 8

Published

on

Where to watch Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 8


play

Baseball is back and finding what channel your favorite team is playing on has become a little bit more confusing since MLB announced plans to produce and distribute broadcasts for nearly a third of the league.

We’re here to help. Here’s everything you need to know Friday as the Tampa Bay Rays visit the Boston Red Sox.

Advertisement

See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.

What time is Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox?

First pitch between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. (ET) on Friday, May 8.

How to watch Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox on Friday

All times Eastern and accurate as of Friday, May 8, 2026, at 6:33 a.m.

  • Matchup: TB at BOS
  • Date: Friday, May 8
  • Time: 7:10 p.m. (ET)
  • Venue: Fenway Park
  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts
  • TV: NESN, Rays.TV and WMOR
  • Streaming: MLB.TV on Fubo

Watch MLB all season long with Fubo

MLB regional blackout restrictions apply

MLB scores, results

MLB scores for May 8 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:

Advertisement

See scores, results for all of today’s games.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending