HBS Restricts Harbus Mailing To First-Years

Harvard Business School (HBS) officials refused to send copies of the April 28th issue of The Harbus, the student newspaper, in a mailing to incoming first-years last spring after finding two opinion pieces objectionable.

Before agreeing to mail the May issue of The Harbus instead, the administration insisted on previewing it. The Harbus was not asked to make any "substantive changes," according to Harbus Publisher Gregory M. Durst.

Both Harbus staff members and HBS administrators said they were pleased with the compromise reached, adding that the situation was the result of miscommunication.

"We take full responsibility for not getting in touch with them, too," said Cindy L. Olnick, MBA communications manager. "They assumed we'd send [the issue], we assumed they'd come to us before [hand]."

HBS compensated The Harbus for extra costs associated with reprinting the April advertisements-aimed at the larger audience of incoming students-in the May issue, a step required to fulfill The Harbus's contractual obligations.

The two parties have not yet discussed what procedure will be followed next spring. Traditionally at HBS, the administration reviews all publications it mails out.

In previous years, the publication has been withheld for similar reasons.

The two opinion pieces in question dealt with efforts to recruit women to HBS and the school's exam administration system.

According to Olnick and Durst, the pieces were out of context and, without also presenting opposing views, would mischaracterize the HBS environment.

In the paper's April Fool's issue, Ed Waingortin wrote a parody of HBS efforts to recruit women. The Women students' Association responded critically to the piece in a subsequent issue. Waingortin's piece in the April 28th issue, "Parody Revisited," was a response to the letter.

"Outside the context of having read [the first two pieces], the third letter would have been out of context," Durst said, adding, "I don't disagree [with the HBS administration]."

Recruiting women has been a hot button issue at HBS for years. Last year the percentage of women enrolled, 23 percent, was a historic low. The administration and the Women Students' Association launched an effort to improve the situation.

Durst questioned whether signed, individual opinion pieces would appear to be representative of HBS students' attitudes in any case.

"I think the administration's sensitivity on this is a little funny," he said, nothing that students should be able to tell the difference between a signed piece and a news article. "It's not the level of intellectual rigor I'd like to see in incoming students."

While preparing the mailing, HBS was still in the process of admitting students, and students were still deciding whether to attend, though Olnick said that "did not directly affect" the administration's decision not to mail the April issue.

However, "I think it had to play into their sensitivity," Durst said about the fact that students were still in the decision stage.

Students yesterday at HBS's campus-still in the midst of starting classes-were largely ambivalent about the administration's decision.

One first-year student praised the decision as a "smart public relations move," while most simply had no response.

The article in The Harbus describing the incident specifically considered and rejected charges of censorship by HBS.

One student noted an obvious tension in the administration's rhetoric.

"I've heard a lot about the administration here about how it's supposed to be changing and becoming more open," said first-year Todd T. Foley. "This doesn't seem to support that."

The mailing is sent each spring in an effort to "give [prospective students] balanced, representative information about the school, and that particular issue [of Harbus]-standing alone-did not do that," Olnick said

"Outside the context of having read [the first two pieces], the third letter would have been out of context," Durst said, adding, "I don't disagree [with the HBS administration]."

Recruiting women has been a hot button issue at HBS for years. Last year the percentage of women enrolled, 23 percent, was a historic low. The administration and the Women Students' Association launched an effort to improve the situation.

Durst questioned whether signed, individual opinion pieces would appear to be representative of HBS students' attitudes in any case.

"I think the administration's sensitivity on this is a little funny," he said, nothing that students should be able to tell the difference between a signed piece and a news article. "It's not the level of intellectual rigor I'd like to see in incoming students."

While preparing the mailing, HBS was still in the process of admitting students, and students were still deciding whether to attend, though Olnick said that "did not directly affect" the administration's decision not to mail the April issue.

However, "I think it had to play into their sensitivity," Durst said about the fact that students were still in the decision stage.

Students yesterday at HBS's campus-still in the midst of starting classes-were largely ambivalent about the administration's decision.

One first-year student praised the decision as a "smart public relations move," while most simply had no response.

The article in The Harbus describing the incident specifically considered and rejected charges of censorship by HBS.

One student noted an obvious tension in the administration's rhetoric.

"I've heard a lot about the administration here about how it's supposed to be changing and becoming more open," said first-year Todd T. Foley. "This doesn't seem to support that."

The mailing is sent each spring in an effort to "give [prospective students] balanced, representative information about the school, and that particular issue [of Harbus]-standing alone-did not do that," Olnick said