Many Students Wanted Summers to Stay

When University President Lawrence H. Summers emerged from Mass. Hall yesterday to formally announce his resignation, many students still hoped to change his mind.

“Stay, Larry, stay” echoed through the Old Yard as the embattled president prepared to address the crowd.

The outcry exemplified a common sentiment expressed by many students in the wake of yesterday’s announcement.

Several students said they were disappointed and confused over Summers’ concession to pressure from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).

“The whole thing has felt a little reminiscent of high school cliques,” Connie Zong ’06 said. “[I think] the faculty has bullied him into resigning. He’s giving into faculty pressure.”

In a Crimson poll published Tuesday, 57 percent of 424 undergraduates surveyed said that Summers should not resign. Earlier yesterday, Summers issued a public e-mail statement to the students and faculty of the University declaring his resignation from the presidency, citing the disconnect between segments of FAS and his office as the primary reason for his departure. His resignation will be effective as of June 30.

“I think it’s really disappointing,” said Andrew B. Artz ’07. “He’s basically throwing in the towel when maybe he shouldn’t.” Artz said that Summers’ initiative to encourage more undergraduates to study abroad was one of the highlights of his tenure, adding that “maybe the reason people are mad with him is because [Summers is] actually accomplishing things.”

“I think it’s a shame that he was forced out because everything he’s done for lower-income and minority students has been overshadowed by a few comments he has made,” Alejandro R. Jerez ’08 said.

Summers has made a concerted effort to be accessible to undergraduates throughout his tenure, teaching undergraduate courses, holding regular office hours, and attending campus events.

Undergraduate Council (UC) President John S. Haddock ’07 said that it was important for any future president to build upon Summers’ commitment to undergraduate life.

“I think getting undergrads involved in campus politics is always a good thing,” Haddock said. “Right now, the key is getting student undergraduate concerns back on the table.”

While the whole council does not meet until next Sunday, Student Affairs Committee (SAC) Chair Ryan A. Petersen ’08 introduced legislation at yesterday night’s SAC meeting calling for the UC to play a role in the search for a new University president.

Yesterday evening, Haddock said that the selection of the next president would be at the top of the UC’s agenda.

“That is going to be the rest of our semester,” Haddock said, “making sure students are involved in this.”

STUDENTS REACT

Yesterday, many students said they felt that Summers was unfairly persecuted by FAS faculty for his controversial remarks on “differences in intrinsic aptitude” between women and men in the sciences.

“I kind of thought that the faculty used his latest remarks [about women in science] as an excuse to ask for his resignation,” Ercan Aksu ’08 said. “I think his remarks were misrepresented by some members of the faculty in order to build some alliance against him.”

The faculty first voted 218-185 in favor of a no-confidence motion last March, following the criticism of Summers’ remarks about women.

Summers was to face a second vote of no-confidence, prompted by the recent resignation of Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby, at next Tuesday’s Faculty meeting.

It was during the brouhaha following Summers’ first bout with the Faculty that a group of Summers supporters printed T-shirts parodying the iconic Che Guevara slogan, “Viva La Revolución!” Che’s visage was replaced with that of Summers, above the phrase: “Viva El Presidente Summers!”

Though some of those T-shirts were making a comeback in the Yard yesterday, some students were happy with Summers’ resignation.

In an interview yesterday, Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) Co-President Dara F. Goodman ’06 said that she was “pleased and pleasantly surprised” about the resignation and that it was overdue in light of the comments he made last year.

RUS held a celebratory Champagne toast at 10 p.m. tonight.

“It’s not every day that Larry Summers resigns as President of Harvard,” Goodman wrote in an e-mail sent over the RUS open-list yesterday afternoon.

Renisha A. Nellums ’06 said that she also approved of Summers’ resignation from his post as University President.

“He couldn’t have bounced back from all the things that he said,” Nellums said. “The students wouldn’t forget it...especially women’s groups.”

Following a year-long sabbatical, Summers plans to return as a University professor in the economics department.

—Staff writer Alexander D. Blankfein can be reached at ablankf@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Nina L. Vizcarrondo can be reached at nvizcarr@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Ying Wang can be reached at yingwang@fas.harvard.edu.