Two depressing items to diges in the apparently unstoppable decline of Harvard University: the headline was composed based on the first, but the second may be even more disturbing. (Incidentally, I feel I should apologize for presenting so many EA posts involving my alma mater —and that of my sister and father, and where my mother was briefly a dean. However, its decay and current crisis mode would be ethics fodder of the same import if I had matriculated from Podunk U.)
First, here is the main substance of the proud announcement I was gifted with over the weekend from Harvard’s interim president. Recall that Harvard’s recent fiasco was seeded by a leadership group and campus culture that prioritized “diversity, equity and inclusion” to such an extent that it elevated an under-qualified, academically devious dean who had been involved in woke debacles during her tenure to be the new university president, primarily on the basis of her career-long obsession with “diversity” (and her color and gender, naturally). Coming under just and vituperative criticism for both engineering Claudine Gay’s ascent and later, after she had proven herself unfit for the job, acting to cover-up the scandal until the pressure by donors and students became too intense, was the Harvard Corporation, an all-Democrat and progressive woke cabal that ironically lacked diversity itself in the areas of world view and thought. Behold the two new members of that body selected in the wake of the criticism:
“…We write to let you know that two accomplished alumni will join the Harvard Corporation in the coming months…
Ken Frazier, a 1978 graduate of Harvard Law School, is former chairman and CEO of Merck & Co… he has had a distinguished career as a practicing lawyer, first in private practice and later as Merck’s general counsel. Known for his dedication to expanding opportunity for others, he recently co-founded OneTen, a nonprofit coalition focused on expanding family-sustaining employment opportunities for people lacking a four-year degree with an emphasis on Black Americans....
…His many honors include the Anti-Defamation League’s Courage Against Hate Award (2020) “for using his platform to speak out on behalf of marginalized communities and serving as an exemplary role model for corporate leadership.”…Joe Bae, a 1994 graduate of Harvard College, is co-CEO of KKR, a global investment firm…he has served on numerous boards, including institutions such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (current vice chair), Phillips Academy Andover (former trustee and chair of nominating and governance committee), the Asia Society, the Hong Kong Ballet, and the Nature Conservancy’s Asia Pacific Council. He is also a co-founder and board member of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), which was established in 2021 to serve the Asian American and Pacific Islander community….Along with his wife, the novelist Janice Y. K. Lee ’94, he led a recent philanthropic drive to support an FAS initiative to expand education and scholarship in Asian American studies.
Frazier is black, and has concentrated on programs and initiatives assisting African Americans. Bae is Asian, and his focus has been substantially in the area of advancing the interests of Asian-Americans. Bae’s appointment is a pretty transparent reaction to Harvard’s losing the lawsuit by Asian-Americans who claimed they had been discriminated against by the school’s affirmative action policies, recent ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.
The message being sent by these appointments is clear: Claudine Gay’s failure will not deter Harvard from continuing to prioritize “diversity” and an obsession with race over pursuing academic excellence and offering a rich educational experience for the most able and qualified applicants.
“Our work is sure to benefit from their leadership qualities, their wide-ranging expertise and experience, and their devotion to higher education and Harvard,” say acting president Garber and Harvard Corporation chair Penny Pritzger in signing off.
Right. Because a dearth of emphasis on “diversity” and an absence of leadership voices supporting a progressive agenda have been weaknesses for Harvard until now.
Now hold on to your heads, gentle readers, before you venture further.
To kick off Black History Month, a Harvard Crimson opinion writer issued a call for the university to subsidize hair care for its African-American students. A sample:
…Considering how hair plays a role in public perception, hair care affordability becomes a question of who can afford to navigate Harvard’s spaces with ease. Given students’ limited control over Cambridge businesses, Harvard should recognize this need within our community, and step in to provide necessary resources for hair care…Hair care affordability should not be a concern for any student — nor should students be stressed over the time it takes to care for their hair. Black students should have access to free or affordable hair services and a community where they can learn the basics of hair styling. Hair care should not be a luxury reserved for Adams House residents; it is a basic request that should be granted to all Black students in the Harvard community.
Ethics Alarms 
Another paraphrase from Thomas More, ”You will give up your soul for hair!”
Perhaps harvard should also reprise the 60’s musical Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical it self and and adapt the anthem
Excerpts from the title song, “Hair”
I let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees,Give a home to the fleas in my hair.A home for fleas, a hive for beesA nest for birds, there ain’t no wordsFor the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of my Hair. …
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair. …Oh say, can you see my eyes? If you canThen my hair’s too short. …
They’ll be ga ga at the Go Go when they see me in my toga,My toga made of blond, brilliantined, biblical hair.My hair like Jesus wore it,Hallelujah, I adore it. …
Excerpts from the title song, “Hair”
I let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees,
Give a home to the fleas in my hair.
A home for fleas, a hive for bees
A nest for birds, there ain’t no words
For the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of my Hair. …
Flow it, show it, long as God can grow it, my hair. …
Oh say, can you see my eyes? If you can
Then my hair’s too short. …
They’ll be ga ga at the Go Go when they see me in my toga,
My toga made of blond, brilliantined, biblical hair.
My hair like Jesus wore it,
Hallelujah, I adore it. …
Interesting… I read the first sentence of the blurbs on both new Harvard Corporation members and wondered why the hell Jack was objecting. Then I read the rest, which seems to have been prioritized in the selection process. Oh.
And I am grateful that I had swallowed that last slurp of coffee before reading that last bit, or I’d be hoping the resulting spit take would merely require cleaning my laptop screen and not shorting out the motherboard.
Yes, I thought that hair op-ed was more appropriate for the Harvard Lampoon. And I read the announcement exactly as you did. Wouldn’t you think, though, that after the last two months, the Harvard Corporation would go out of its way to fill a new vacancy with a distinguished, right-of-center alum with extensive leadership and management experience and a record of success? These appointments are the equivalent of “doubling down,” and Harvard isn’t in a position to double down. Someone should tell the Harvard Corporation that, since it obviously is in the throes of fatal group-think.
“Wouldn’t you think, though, that after the last two months, the Harvard Corporation would go out of its way to fill a new vacancy with a distinguished, right-of-center alum with extensive leadership and management experience and a record of success?”
(Me snickering) Yes, absolutely. Harvard would definitely try to stem the bloodshed. But, under Harvard’s rubric, there are two types of people: the Woke and knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing, drooling Trumpista racists.
jvb
So, are they going to subsidize sunscreen for red-haired students? One of the biggest problems facing the red-haired community is exposure to the sun, which has been made brighter by climate change caused by unrestrained capitalism. Harvard should not turn a blind eye to this unique financial burden imposed on the red-haired community, a burden that was exacerbated by the reductions of industry regulations during the Trump administration.
I was thinking of subsidized lifts for short students and subsidized nose-jobs for honker-challenged students.
Yes, but you have to work in diversity, capitalism, and Trump somehow. Don’t forget winter clothing for people from warm weather climates, dental care for the English, and a gift card that will allow the Massachusetts residents buy extra r’s from people in Kentucky.
A few random thoughts:
If “Black History is American History” (a sentiment I share), shouldn’t February just be called American History month.
“Given students’ limited control over Cambridge businesses, Harvard should recognize this need within our community, and step in to provide necessary resources for hair care” Is there no place in Cambridge where there are black hair stylists? Maybe it should be called Podunk U.
“Hair care affordability should not be a concern for any student — nor should students be stressed over the time it takes to care for their hair.” For the sake of argument, I will accept that proposition.
“Black students should have access to free or affordable hair services and a community where they can learn the basics of hair styling.” Not only does this not follow (access should be free), it is downright condescending. (Are blacks so poor that they can’t afford hair care? Are they so dumb that they have learned the “basics” of styling their own hair?)
To a bigger point, a common complaint held by black hair stylists is that a license is required to be a hair stylist, but the courses required for the license do not touch on black hairstyles. The license provides little benefit for the stylists and is more of an obstacle to entry into the profession.
-Jut
Well, you are never going to get Harvard to come out against occupational licensing. Next, you will want them to endorse free speech and a meritocracy.
“Well, you are never going to get Harvard to come out against occupational licensing.”
Even if you call it “systemic racism”?
-Jut
I am wondering how oppressed the Harvard University minority communities really are. They can’t afford hair care products? Really? That is the basis of racism in Harvard University? Huh. Sounds pretty grim to me.
jvb