Word: douglasism
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Douglas pled guilty in Middlesex Superior Court on Sept. 24, 1998, to a charge of indecent assault and battery--a lesser charge than rape. A rape charge against Douglas was not pressed at that time, but could be at a later date.
The Faculty vote was a response to an Administrative Board finding that a rape had occurred in the case. The woman assaulted by Douglas had brought her case before the Ad Board before pursuing legal action.
The decision effectively ends Douglas' career at Harvard. In order to return to Harvard, Douglas must petition the full Faculty to reapply for admission.
As a result of his court conviction, Douglas is serving 18 months of house arrest and is barred from returning to Harvard or contacting the woman he assaulted for five years. But even after that, his dismissal will likely be permanent.
The Faculty did not consider the more severe punishment of expulsion, which would mandate that Douglas could not ever petition to return to Harvard. In recent decades, expulsion has only been used as punishment for admissions fraud.