LETTERS—EC GRAD STUDENT E-MAILS

To the editors:

As a long-time fan of The Crimson and one who has enjoyed working with several of your recent editors, I was gravely disappointed by the lapse of editorial judgment in publishing a recent article, “Ex-Grad Student Alleges Misconduct” (Sept 29, 2009).

The heart of the article is that a former graduate student, forced to leave the university on medical grounds and now living in China, has accused the Harvard Economics Department of discrimination and accused one of its world-class faculty members of sexual advances.

Had the accuser come to your offices in person to make these allegations, you would have asked yourselves: Does she have any evidence? Is she personally credible? Is there a second source with any corroborating evidence? You know full well that you would have found all three answers to be “no.” You would also have found that the university had already investigated these charges and found them false. Under such circumstances, you would not have published an article citing her allegations, recognizing how unfair it would be to the parties accused. That is Journalism 101.

What made this situation unusual is that the accuser did not come to you privately but papered the campus with e-mails from afar. You apparently decided that the e-mails created a bit of a stir and made it a legitimate news story. Why? How could you? Allegations that are false when told to a handful of people do not become true when told to a thousand. And they become even more malicious. “All the news that is fit to print”—it is the last part of that slogan that was forgotten here.

Without intending harm, I am sure, The Crimson has allowed itself to be used to smear the reputation of outstanding members of the Harvard community with false allegations of impropriety. These are serious matters at a university. I urge you to publish an explanation and apology, erasing this stain upon the parties and, indeed, uponThe Crimson itself.

David Gergen

Cambridge, Mass.

David Gergen is a Professor of Public Service at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.