Harvard as Symbol and Target

New York Times

5 days ago

To the Editor:
Re 'Is America Really Better Off if Harvard Gets Crushed?,' by Steven Pinker (Opinion guest essay, May 25):
Dr. Pinker need not apologize for Harvard's imperfections and its shortcomings, or praise the best of what it has to offer. There has not been a studied analysis of this school by the Trump administration. Its attack on the university is simply a con. President Trump has announced his list of enemies. Elite universities are prominent among them, and Harvard is the perfect target for him, the head of the snake.
Mr. Trump loves to hate. And when he hates, it is with the most intense fury. To him, Harvard is not a college, but a symbol, a vehicle, a place where he can make a point, in his own fashion, loudly and wildly. There are no shades of color in his universe — only black or white, for or against.
There can be no appeasing Mr. Trump. For victims of his animus, the goal line will forever be moving. Antisemitism was the first excuse for his attacks, then D.E.I., then curriculum. Now it's foreign students. Tomorrow it will be something else, anything else.
Harvard no longer exists to educate. It has disappeared under an avalanche of Mr. Trump's malice.
Robert S. NussbaumFort Lee, N.J.
To the Editor:
As a trustee at another university in the Boston area, I have lived through similar experiences and agree with most of what Steven Pinker suggests. At a recent commencement dinner, I had the opportunity to sit with our provost, who expressed her view that she sincerely hopes that universities will do some in-depth soul-searching when the uproar we are experiencing now settles down. I believe we are doing just that.
Thank you, Dr. Pinker, for pointing out that faculty members who use students to protest and express support for their personal views are being inappropriate and unprofessional. Those of us who protested in the 1960s were mostly students. Faculty generally did not protest with us. Instead, in the context of small group discussions, they led students toward deep discussions, encouraging us to defend our views, learn the law and express ourselves peacefully.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.