So let\u2019s start today with the end in mind. Let\u2019s \u201creverse engineer\u201d \u2014 noting the solid engineering schools across the country \u2014 including Harvard \u2014 as we start where we typically end\u2026 with ten questions already in mind\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Saturday Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana removed spouses Ron Sullivan and Stephanie Robinson from their respective dean positions on campus. They were co-faculty dean of Winthrop House. They were also the first African-Americans to serve in this position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan has an extensive, admirable, professional resume \u2014 including roles as an advisor to then Sen. Barack Obama on criminal justice issues and representation of Michael Brown\u2019s family in their suit against the city of Ferguson, Missouri. Sullivan\u2019s past clients have included accused murderers and terrorists, consistent with the constitutional right that any accused of a crime deserves legal representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past year, no less, Sullivan also signed on to serve as part of the legal team representing Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood producer who now stands accused of multiple rape and sexual assault charges. Note that for many, Weinstein is the face behind the commencement of the #MeToo movement. What he is accused of doing is vicious and vile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some students then proceeded to launch a protest, demanding Sullivan\u2019s removal from Harvard’s Winthrop House. One called his presence \u201cdeeply trauma-inducing.\u201d As the New York Times <\/em>wrote, \u201cMany students expressed dismay, saying that his decision to represent a person accused of abusing women disqualified Mr. Sullivan from serving in a role of support and mentorship to students.\u201d The point was that Sullivan\u2019s credibility was not only damaged, but he was now deemed incapable of supporting or serving. He should thus not be allowed to oversee the Harvard house since he chose to represent the accused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note the following two, editorial responses. First, from Reason, <\/em>which leans moderately right: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026 This is a disaster. The administration has endorsed the ridiculous notion that serving as legal counsel for a person accused of sexual misconduct is itself a form of sexual misconduct, or at the very least contributes to sexual harassment on campus. It is no exaggeration to say that Khurana has undermined one of the most important principles of modern, enlightened justice. He should be ashamed of himself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n By caving to the mob, Harvard has shown student-activists that it takes seriously their demands for a kind of broadly-defined safety that includes protection from ideas they don’t like. This outcome will undoubtedly embolden them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And second from The Atlantic, which leans moderately left: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026 Harvard administrators were warned about the unavoidable conflict between upholding an important civic norm<\/em> \u2014 that legal representation for even the most reviled is a service to the community, not a transgression against it \u2014 and giving in to the demands of the undergraduates most aggrieved by their faculty dean\u2019s choice of clients. And rather than infer a responsibility of the extremely privileged to uphold civic norms for the benefit of those in society who most need them, this institution, which purports to educate future leaders, chose to prioritize transient discomfort felt by its most aggrieved students\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 Protecting the norms around the right to counsel is <\/em>orders of magnitude more important <\/em><\/strong>than the \u2018unenlightened or misplaced\u2019 discomfort of some Harvard undergraduates<\/em> \u2014 discomfort rooted in difficulty tolerating moral difference\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The moderate right and left seem to agree. So let\u2019s revisit the question\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are we doing?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR So let\u2019s start today with the end in mind. Let\u2019s \u201creverse engineer\u201d \u2014 noting the solid engineering schools across the country \u2014 including Harvard \u2014 as we start where we typically end\u2026 with ten questions already in mind\u2026 What are we doing? Can we no longer tolerate moral difference? If one person engages in a … <\/p>\n
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