Word: birthdays
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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UNFORTUNATELY, THOSE in charge here continue to make decisions behind closed mahogany doors. They seem to believe those who pay the bills won't mind as long as they are distracted by a Yale choir singing Slavic folk tunes at a birthday bash where Harvard profs become what Professor of Astronomy and of the History of Science Owen J. Gingerich called, "a song-and-dance team for the alumni...
...seeking to match the weeks of conferences and the international gathering of scholars that marked the University's 300th birthday in 1936, Harvard officials sought to create a comparatively low-key "family affair" this time around. Maybe it's the domino effect, or the Statue of Liberty syndrome, or the glitz-it-up promotionalism of the Yuppie Era. Call it what you will. But my God, Dr. Frankenstein, Harvard's created a monster. And it's alive...
...pretty picture, a pleasing panorama for the alumni benevolent or prominent enough to have merited an invitation to the anniversary events. The returns for Harvard are likely to be numerous, at least in terms of birthday donations and receipts from the licensing of commemorative merchandise. But for all the planning, the repainting of buildings and history alike, the most visible return thus far has been the attention. Cover stories, documentaries, and special publications abound, and 900 journalists from around the world are here to record this week of revelry...
...press coverage deserved? Has Harvard earned the spotlight? It's tough to say, in part because the University has made no effort to use its birthday as an opportunity for introspection. Around campus these days, people seem more concerned about where they're sitting at the Stadium gala than whether Harvard's succeeded in its educational mission. And maybe that's understandable. Why? Because what's happening this week is a party. Hardly plain and simple, but a party nonetheless...
...year older, but probably none the wiser. Despite recalling its birth as the beginning of higher education in America, the University sadly missed this opportunity to re-examine either itself or education in general. Both are replete with problems, and a serious review might have been a perfect birthday gift--from Harvard to its students, faculty, alumni and staff, and to the educators worldwide who view this university as a model for excellence...