Harvard Spokesman Clarifies Remarks on Viswanathan 'Investigation'

A Harvard spokesman clarified his remarks on College administrators’ handling of the plagiarism allegations against Kaavya Viswanathan ’08 this morning, after the news service Bloomberg reported that the College would investigate the sophomore novelist.

“The term ‘investigation’ has been used in the press. It is not a term that we have used, so it is not entirely accurate,” Robert Mitchell, the director of communications for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said in a phone interview this morning.

“We would need to gather much more information on this situation before we could make any kind of judgment,” Mitchell said. “Bloomberg decided to call ‘gathering information’ an ‘investigation.’ This is not a term that we have used.”

Viswanathan appeared on NBC's Today Show this morning for an interview with host Katie Couric. The sophomore said: "When I was writing, I genuinely believed each word was my own."

Viswanathan told Couric: "I'm just really grateful to have this chance to explain what really happened from my perspective, and—."

Couric interrupted, "Some people might say you didn't really explain it, though."

Viswanathan responded: "Well, I've tried my best, and all I can tell is the truth."

Viswanathan told Couric that she is currently “taking a few days off” from Harvard.

When asked if she thinks Harvard will take punitive action against her, she responded: “I don’t see why they would. It’s a genuine, genuine mistake.”