Our Perception of Exception

On Jan. 20, millions of Americans will be glued to their television sets, watching the historic inauguration of Barack Obama. Still others will have the privilege of attending the ceremony live. But for a good number of Harvard undergrads—even those with tickets to the event—Jan. 20 will just be yet another day of final examinations. While many students have petitioned to have exams moved in light of the presidential inauguration, exams should be taken as normal. While it is unfortunate that there are some students who wish to attend the inauguration of president-elect Barack Obama, Harvard cannot be seen to—and should not—allow partisan reasons to supercede academic requirements.

While the decision to retain the current exam schedule is an appropriate one, the attitude of the Administrative Board toward granting exceptions for individual students has been extraordinarily opaque. In a letter to faculty, Registrar of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Barry S. Kane informed the faculty that while the Registrar’s office is able to move exams, the Administrative Board has the sole authority to decide individual exceptions for students. Clearly, it is a rarity to be excused. And so far, the process of excusing students from exams has been shrouded by a lack of clarity.

Specifically, exemptions seem to have been given on arbitrary, unfair grounds. For example, a petition was “recently denied because a student had only a general ticket to the inauguration,” whereas “a petition was recently approved because a student and her family had been extensively involved in the Obama campaign, had reserved seats next to the platform on the steps of the Capitol, and had invitations to the inaugural balls.” That students with powerful family ties who contributed financially to the campaign should gain preference over those who exerted great effort and spent time on the campaign is somewhat appalling.

It is not the Ad Board’s prerogative to dictate which experiences at the inauguration would be more meaningful than others. Of course, a student who has a close family member partaking in the inauguration—or being inaugurated—should be allowed to attend. But for all other students, the rule of exception should be made clear. Whether or not the seat tickets are close enough to touch Obama or the student who spent hours on the campaign trail has only general admission, the decision of which students deserve to attend the ceremony must be more transparent and uniform.