LETTERS—EC GRAD STUDENT E-MAILS

To the editors:

I was first astonished, then outraged, and finally saddened by The Harvard Crimson’s story of September 29 about e-mail messages to Harvard College students from a former graduate student in the Economics Department. It is hard for me to believe that anyone who reads these e-mails, or the former student’s blog, will take the allegations they contain as seriously as The Crimson seems to do.

The Crimson appears to be utterly unaware of the commitment to students that has led my Economics Department colleagues and the university administration to remain silent about this affair. There are strict rules governing the privacy of students with respect to medical and administrative matters. These rules, which are intended to protect vulnerable individuals, make it impossible to discuss the reasons why, to quote your article, the former student “said she was required to take an involuntary medical leave of absence on Aug. 9, 2007, and was required to withdraw from GSAS at the Aug. 31 Administrative Board meeting this year.”

Readers of The Crimson should know that Professor Kenneth Rogoff, a particular target of the e-mails, has handled this matter with consummate professionalism, consulting the university administration at every stage. The e-mail from Professor Rogoff quoted in the Crimson story used text suggested to him by GSAS administrators. Deans Michael Smith and Allan Brandt have expressed their strong support in a recent letter to Professor Rogoff, which states “the allegations about your conduct, described in the article and the mounting mass emails, were without any substance” and concludes, “You are, and always have been, an upstanding member of our community, a wonderful colleague, and a valuable mentor to many students.”

I strongly support Harvard’s commitment, quoted in the Crimson story, to “not condone or tolerate harassment—physically, verbally, or electronically—of any member of our community.” It saddens me that The Crimson has chosen to contribute to harassment rather than to oppose it.

John Y. Campbell

Cambridge, Mass.