She Grinded With Larry

Before he made her squirm, Larry Summers made Sarah C. Goodin ’06 shake. You know—her ass. Three years ago, Summers had just become Harvard University President. He had not yet alienated a large portion of the faculty with remarks about innate differences between the sexes, nor had he inspired a rally at which activists likened his antics to the patriarchical oppression of final clubs.

He was, as he liked to say at the time, just a freshman—like the members of the Class of 2006. It was in one of the definitive moments of that freshman year that Goodin got down with the President. On Jan. 8, 2003, Summers set what would become an annual tradition by hosting a freshman study break in Annenberg.

Though at the time Summers told The Crimson he hadn’t given special attention to any freshman—“Let me be very clear,” he said, “There was no individual student with whom I danced for more than 15 seconds.”—Goodin remembers her 15 seconds well. FM dialed her red phone for a little reminiscing about a time when the only thing CBS News, which covered the study break, wanted of Summers was to see him get down on the dance floor.

FM: So how did you come to be pressing your hips up against those of Larry Summers?

Goodin: We were on the dance floor and somebody pushed me from behind. I just started dancing. Part of my goal was to freak him out a little bit. He continued to dance with other girls after I gave up. At some point one of his aides pulled him aside and basically told him, “Dancing with young girls is really inappropriate.” He stopped dancing.

FM: Did he enjoy it?

Goodin: I think he was a little surprised. He didn’t expect to have a bunch of undergrad girls up in his face.

FM: Did you get an internship opportunity to work in Mass. Hall the next day?

Goodin: Yeah, right.

FM: Can your actions be framed, in light of the recent Summers fiasco, as an assertive gesture for equality on the part of women everywhere?

Goodin: Absolutely. I let my tush do the talking.

FM: Do you think Larry would rather work harder to recruit grinding partners or women for the math and sciences?

Goodin: For his image, probably for the sciences. But I don’t think he really wants us, so probably for the grinding.