Incompetent morons. You would think that students at Harvard would be able to think of some better words to insult people. I know I'm certainly disappointed. I guess it's just that tight-lipped Ivy League restraint.
Have you ever wanted to use those words to describe a certain group of people? Maybe right here on our own campus?
Of course not. You yourself are far too polite to ever have thoughts about honest, hardworking government employees, but we all have a friend who always carries on about that bunch of incompetent morons.
But at the Harvard Business School, seeing the phrase "incompetent morons" in print is enough to make the university brass soil their knickers.
The weekly newspaper of the Harvard business school, The Harbus, came under fire because it published a cartoon that was deemed disrespectful to university career services employees. The paper dared to criticize the Harvard elite by publishing an editorial cartoon including the naughty words "incompetent morons."
Regardless of their actual competency or intelligence, university bureaucrats are often subject to the wrath of students whose academic future depends on their ability to do their jobs. A university employee that tends to do things like lose graduation applications won't have very many friends among the student body. I know I would have much more colorful names than "incompetent moron" for someone who did that to me.
The fallout from this cartoon has resulted in the resignation of the editor-in-chief of The Harbus and a review of the paper's actions by a "community standards" board.
Say what??
Harbus editor Nick Will resigned, telling his former paper that he was told by the administration that to avoid being called in again he would have to steer clear of all questionable content. The campus paper, The Harvard Crimson, reported that Will resigned because he was afraid that if he persisted, he would be kicked out of school.
The Harvard administration has employed no small amount of doublespeak in stating that it is not attempting to infringe the paper's right to free expression, but simply warning that it should avoid any potentially disrespectful language in the future.
Harvard administration has attempted to make a distinction where there is none to be made. Advising a publication on what kind of language it should use directly and coercively influences the paper's content, and this should not be tolerated.
Sadly, The Harbus has failed to stand up to this transgression on its editorial autonomy. While it has not apologized, it has backpedaled a bit, saying that the phrase "incompetent morons" did not refer to Harvard employees but rather was a satirical comment on the computer system itself. This is a bit of a stretch to say the least.
Moreover, we're talking about an editorial cartoon representative of the artist's opinion. Career services people do work very hard on behalf of students, but this time they screwed up, and a cartoonist took them to task for it. If their feelings are hurt, they are perfectly free to seek redress in the same public forum they were criticized in.
The State Press has printed columns that some people take exception to, and will do it again. That is the nature of op/ed writing. It sometimes makes people angry. As such, the paper also prints negative responses to its opinion and editorial content on a frequent basis. In fact, almost all letters to the editor point out something the paper did wrong or the reader disagrees with.
So what is it about two words in a cartoon that expresses one person's opinion (shared by many others) that is such a big deal?
The Harvard name is as much about status as it is about education. You don't go to Harvard and then not tell people you went to Harvard. Likewise, you don't go to ASU and then not tell people you went to Harvard.
Recently, the Harvard "brand" has been a bit tarnished as prominent alumni have been at the helm of some of the most notable recent corporate disasters, such as Enron. Any criticism of the school's employees reflects badly on how the school is run, and therefore doesn't help this little PR problem of theirs. Harvard Business Dean Kim Clark has been trying to remove some of this tarnish.
Similarly, newly inaugurated ASU President Michael Crow hails from the Ivy League and has pledged to boost ASU's reputation as an institution of higher learning. That is enough to make me wonder what kind of "advice" about respectful language may soon be forthcoming on this campus as the campaign gets underway.
Crow has already endured a couple sucker punches from our paper, but one must wonder if there will come a time when his Ivy League instincts kick in and the desire to have the outward appearance of harmony will outstrip the voice of the student body.
As one second-year student said in The Globe, "Dean Clark doesn't need his own student newspaper taking shots at the school."
Oh yes he does. And so do we.
Chris Kotterman is a journalism and political science senior. Reach him at chris.kotterman@asu.edu.
