Word: e4d
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Dates: during 1984-1984
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...Class Gift, the members discovered, is in no way under the auspices of students, but of Holyoke Center. The Class Committee then wrote up a neutral informational letter, explaining to seniors that both E4D and the Class gift would be soliciting this spring. The original draft, however, called E4D a "gift, a technical term that university officials refused to print on official Harvard Senior Class Committee stationary (though they said the Class Committee could do so on stationary the Committee pays for itself). Although the word is not significant, the incident reveals the repeated misrepresentation of E4D by Harvard. Central...
...OBJECTIONS to E4D are indeed interesting. He argues first that economic power is not an appropriate way to influence University decisions. Yet, one wonders, what is an "appropriate" means? Both has set up a committee, which does not include a single Black, to look into the ethical issues of Harvard investments, and advise the Corporation. Bok appoints the committee members himself, but does not always follow their advice. And when he says he will accept their decision, for example, about the meaningless Sullivan code-of-corporation behavior in South Africa, he lies and the University maintains investments in companies which...
...other argument is that a contribution to the University must be positive--not a negative sanction of withholding money unless all one's conditions are met. Bok, and his administrators, simply fail to see that E4D is positive. The people who give to E4D are not Harvard-haters. Quite the opposite. They want the best Harvard possible, and they are saying--in the tradition of Thoreau--"I cannot in good conscience give money to an institution that has financial dealings with companies that profit from apartheid...
...else fails, Harvard's last argument is that E4D and the Class Gift are not mutually exclusive: can't you just give a couple of dollars to Harvard, while giving most of it to E4D? Of course, this is the most telling line. Harvard does not really care about how much you give (except if you are designated a "special giver"). What Harvard cares about is that you give at least something to the class gift...
...objections to E4D are largely obfuscations--E4D is indeed, effective, valid, and appropriate. Furthermore, E4D provokes University opposition because it is seen as a financial threat, which is also ultimately the reason behind the University's intransigence to divestiture. As Thoreau wrote, "Absolutely speaking, the more money, the less virtue...It puts to rest many questions which he would otherwise be taxed to answer...Thus his moral ground is taken from under his feet...