April 29, 2025 • 37 mins
According to the Spring 2025 Yale Youth Poll, many college-aged Americans are now supporting the Republican Party over the Democratic Party, highlighting a larger divide among voters under 30 years of age. Adelaide Parker, a Boston Globe correspondent, and current student at Harvard University recently wrote a piece on, “The return of the college conservative.” Adelaide joined us to discuss the emergence of young conservatives on college campuses across the U.S. and what she’s experiencing firsthand as a current Harvard Univ. student!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WIBs, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
All right, thank you very much, Dan Watkins. Welcome back everyone,
as we are going to welcome back to our program.
I guess we had about a month ago. Adelaide Parker.
Adelaide Parker is a junior at Harvard, but she is
also a writer and a commentator. I guess as an
(00:32):
editorial assistant. How would you describe your role at the
Boston Globe, Adelaide, we talked about it today, and I
want to make sure that I don't put words into
your mouth. You what's your title there?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely so. My title is editorial assistant. But really,
for anyone familiar with the Northeastern co op program, the
positions all like a co op where sort of while
in school all works the Globe for six months.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Well, I'll tell you, not only are you working at
the Globe, but you wrote a front, well a covert
piece for the Globe magazine entitled the Return of the
College Republican. And I really was interested in for a
whole bunch of reasons. Conservative student groups are back and
they won't let you forget it. It's a really well
(01:20):
written article, and if anyone hasn't read it, they should.
You start off by telling what it was like on
election night last November fifth, with a crowd of young
Republicans or conservatives, however they want to describe themselves at
Cambridge Queen's Head Pub in Harvard's Memorial Hall. Set the
(01:45):
stage for what was it like that night? It must
have been. I mean, the context is we have the
Trump administration criticizing Harvard for squelching dissent and philosophical diversity
in campus, and yet your story in the Globe would
suggest that the atmosphere at Harvard has has has welcomed
(02:09):
at least some young Republicans. Is there is This seems
to me to be a little conflict here between what
the Trump administration is doing. Well, maybe maybe it's complementary.
How how do you view that?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Yeah, so I think that just during my time at
Harvard over the last three years, I really have seen
a lot of expansion in terms of, you know, the
type of conservative thought on campus and also the type
of conservative groups. When I first got to Harvard, all
of the conservative and Republican student clubs on campus based
(02:46):
on you know, the conversations I had with people who
were involved in them seemed very anti Trump, and over
the last say year and a half, there's been a
lot of growth in these clubs that these clubs have
also really changed direction to become much more pro Trump.
And so I think it's been really interesting. It's really mirrored, honestly,
the changes that we've seen in the national level Republican
(03:07):
Party over the past say eight to ten years. Yeah,
it's been fascinating. I think that there actually is a
lot of political and intellectual diversity on campus.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Well, you talk in the article about the right Wood swing.
Tufts University research that forty percent of young women I'm
not exactly sure how that's being defined, but forty percent
say they voted for Trump in twenty twenty four compared
to thirty three percent. So that's a jump over four years.
(03:41):
And the shift is even larger among young men, a
demographic Trump won. In twenty twenty four, fifty six percent
of eighteen to twenty nine year old men said that
they voted for Joe Biden. In twenty twenty four years later,
the same proportion voted for Trump. That's a huge swings,
(04:05):
that's an amazing swing. I don't know that the national
media is recognizing that or giving it it's due, or
even explaining it. How do you explain it?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
I mean, I think there are a lot of different things.
I think that's just the profiles of the constituencies of
the Democratic and Republican parties are changing. Especially based on
conversation I've had with a lot of young Republicans at
Harvard Beyond, it seems like the Republican Party, especially this
last election cycle, has become a lot more broad tent.
(04:43):
So there are a lot more communities of color that
are voting Republicans. That have also been a change that
has really affected each demographics and has shifted a lot
of young voters who would traditionally be more liberal towards
the Republican Party. I mean, I think that a lot
of it also would be that if actually this last
election there was a lot of economic uncertainty, and so
(05:03):
especially young voters who are maybe about to enter the
workforce or who are in college and are deciding, you know,
what job they're going to have, you know, went against
the incumbent party and voted Republican for economic reasons.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Has how welcome. And again, I know that you're a journalist,
we're talking to you as a journalist. But you also,
I believe, are fairly conservative. You would identify yourself probably
as a conservative. Am I correct on that.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I actually would not really identify myself as a conservative,
although I do come from Utah, so you know, the
community I come from is largely very conservative. But I
think I am a little a little more liberal than that.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Okay, so we'll put you, We'll leave you somewhere in
the center. However you want to define yourself, so your
observations is it. One of the things that's that the
Trump administration is concerned about is how uncomfortable Jewish students
have been made to feel at Harvard's campus. There were
two reports today I'm sure you're aware of them, are
(06:11):
released by Harvard, including one which I guess the president
of Harvard, Alan Garber, has said yesterday that it's renaming
its Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging to Community
and Campus Life. So I know that may be semantics
(06:34):
to some people, but that's the sort of thing that
I think the Trump administration is is compelling Harvard and
other you know, some of the great Avdy League schools,
great schools around the country, to do. What is your
sense of as the As the growth of young Republicans
on Harvard grows, is it more are they more accepted,
(06:58):
is it more comfortable? Can they, as it were, come
out of the political closet and pronounce that they are
Republicans or is there a stigma still associated with that.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
I think I've heard a lot of different narratives from
a lot of different people. I think it really depends
on the communities that you're in, but largely from a
lot of people, what I've heard is that and this
has been my experience as well, Like one on one,
people are very you know, willing to have open conversations
about pretty contentious political topics, and so normally when fears
about silencing come in, that's when you're in you know,
(07:32):
a group setting, whether that's a class or a club.
And I think especially you know, if you're a freshman
that's just come into a new place, it is really
scary to talk about, you know, things that can be
politically contentious in this group of people that you don't
really know. But I have heard that climates have changed
a lot over the past couple of years. I know
that when I was talking with Michael Aubad, who was
the president of the Harvard Republican Club this past year.
(07:54):
In twenty twenty four, he said that when he first
took over the club, he you know, would often get
these responds from students who are interested in joining, who
feared that they would, you know, maybe face social ostra
sensation if they were you know, openly republican on campus.
But that over the past couple of years that you know,
responses really died down, and now people aren't really expressing that,
(08:16):
which I think says a lot of good things about Harvard,
you know, becoming more open, even among all of the
national attention to free speech problems on campus.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Oh yeah, I mean I count amongst my friends people
with whom I disagree. I actually am more sometimes entertained
in spending time with friends with whom I disagree. I
will tell you one story that might be emblematic of Harvard.
My son graduated from Harvard in two thousand and five,
so that's now twenty years ago. And he was in
(08:47):
the senior year in a small seminar with about I
think twelve people, and they were talking about the media
and excuse he was in two thousand and five, my mistake.
He graduated from Harvard intoy ten. So he's they're doing this,
and I had just started doing my talk show here
and there was an an Arab American woman who began
(09:14):
to talk about how she was listening to this talk
show and she didn't like the talk show. Obviously, my
son his ears perked up. Now in this class, I
think was Joe Biden's niece, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy,
and it was fairly sophisticated group of Harvard students, and
so my son said, I knew it was coming, and
(09:37):
so she talked. She was upset with me because I
was pretty pro Israel and still remained very pro Israel.
And so when he told me the story the next day,
I said, well, well, invite her to come to the station.
We were right across from We were on soldiers Field Road.
So I met the woman. She came over and we
had two or three lovely conversations and had a lovely
(09:59):
lunch together. So it was a different time when when
you were in elementary school. Before you you Harvard came
up on the horizon for you, and I think it
hopefully is a better time. Yeah. What I want to do,
Adelaide is give people an opportunity to chat with you
and ask you questions six one, seven, two, five, four,
(10:20):
ten thirty, six one seven, nine, three, one ten thirty
if you'd like to join the conversation. If you are
a college student and happen to be particularly interested in
this topic, we would love to hear from you. If
you're somebody who is maybe feeling a little better about
Harvard University after you've listened to Adelaide or read the
Boston Magazine cover story that she wrote on that appeared
(10:44):
on an ape on the April thirteenth Sunday magazine, The
Return of the College Republican by Adelaide Parker. We'll be
back on Nightside right after this quick commercial break.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
It's night Side with Dan Ray on Foster News Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
All right, My guest is Adelaide Parker, and she is
a editorial assistant part of a co op program at Harvard.
She writes the thing that's great about the fact that
you're an editorial assistant. You also have this Globe magazine
cover story in the Globe Magazine from April thirteenth, entitled
(11:25):
the Return of the College Republican. Let's see if we
can get some callers getting going here. Adelaide, I'd love
to we talk about this issue. And it's really difficult
to be a young conservative, or for that matter, a
young Republican, or even for that matter, a young moderate
when you're on a college campus where you find yourself
deep in the minority. Literally from jump straight, let's go
(11:47):
to Eunice in Cambridge. Eunice, thanks for joining us. You're
on with Adelaide Parker. Go ahead, Unice five.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
So I'm Unice and I'm one of the students who
was mentioned in Adelaide's recent article. And my question for
Adelaide is what is at stake with the what the
ongoing lawsuit and what are you hoping could be accomplished
(12:19):
on the other side?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Could I ask you, Unis I'm just curious. Are you're
a student at Harvard.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
I assume yes, I'm a junior at the college you're.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
A junior as well, And are you involved politically on
any side of the spectrum or are you simply there
to to do as well as you can in college
and move on. I'm just curious if you're politically active.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Oh, that founded like a charge question.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
That I get paid a lot of money. That's what
my job is. I get paid money to ask short questions.
Charge questions, go right ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Unfortunately, I was involved in campus and partisan paul except
since I got here. But I am an oddball. I
would not identify myself as a capital C conservative, as
I told Addie when she interviewed me, I'm a capital
C Christian who is a lowercase C conservative. Okay, so
(13:14):
I'd say I'm not that representative of Republicans on campus
or most of the students who identify as conservative here.
I was looped into the Republican Club, but after the article,
I'm no longer on their mailing list.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Oh okay, And so what about the I'm not trying
to steal Adelaide's tide, but what about the article? Decided
of this? You know it led you to the decision
to remove yourself from the mailing list.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I criticized the Trump endorsement, and that was the portion
of the interview that got published.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Okay, So you criticized the Trump endorsement, And did you
get some blowback, if you will, from the the members
of the club.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
It was completely silent and.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Okay, So let's why did you just rephrase your question
for Adelaide? I know I've I took us down a
little bit of a rabbit hole, but I find it
interesting to talk to young students. Go ahead, your question
for Adelaide.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Again is my question about the lawsuit. So what is
that stake here? What do you hope could be accomplished
on the other end of what is obviously a very
scary situation for the stakeholders on our campus.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yeah, if I assume you're referring to the lawsuits from
Harvard to get funding back from the Trump administration, yes, yeah,
I mean I think that, you know, one thing that
has really made us research and education so successful the
past century is this partnership that our universities and government
have had. And I know that I, like personally have
(15:00):
benefited from a lot of the research money that has
come into Harvard.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
You know, whether I'm doing research for my thesis, which
I'll be doing over the summer, or you know, whether
I'm learning from these professors who have their projects funded
by this research money. And so I think, you know,
from my perspective being a student on campus, I you know,
definitely understand a lot of the issues people have with
(15:27):
free speech and anti semitism on campus. You know, obviously,
anti Semitic behavior is never okay. But I think that
you know, cutting this research money really is not something
that is helping anyone. I think it's just going to
you know, damage this relationship between universities and the government
and ultimately hurt the quality of scholarship and research these
(15:47):
universities are putting out without really getting at the problems
that the universities and the government need to be focusing on.
So I think a lot of students are really worried
about you know, that reallyationship being damaging and about you know,
opportunities they might have and you know, cool things the
school might do, whether that's you know, medical research, legal research,
(16:10):
research in all areas being cut.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Can I ask both of you the same question. Yeah,
I take that as a yes. So today the president
of Harvard, I guess yesterday announced that they were going
to change the naming of the Office of Equity diversity
Inclusion and belonging to the Office of Community and Campus Life.
(16:34):
Is that significant in your mind, a good step or
is it simply semantics? Either one of you can answer
or both. Actually I hope.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
I hear Unis you can go first a few Blake,
I have an auder take about this change. Well, Number one,
I was a former student of President Garber, so I
called him Professor Carper. He is a phenomenal educator and scholar.
But moving on from that, I think even regardless of
(17:12):
how the lawsuit turns out, the Trump administration needs to
have some even minor semantic victories from this or else.
The administration is not going to yield on issues of
funding or other incredibly stupid demands that they made on
our university. So if this is one win that they
(17:36):
could take and claim as a victory on their part,
I thought it would be pretty strategic for Harvard to
do that. They're basically committed to the same values to
change his name. Now, is that offensive to students who
like utilize the office for important reasons? Yes, but that
(17:57):
was sort of my reaction to the change.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Okay, so you see it more as a semantical change, uh,
a title which would draw less less criticism community and
campus life. Maybe it's a more universal title. What about you, Atelette?
Your response to that?
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Yeah, I mean I myself have never utilized this office before,
so I don't think that I am super well equipped
to speak about, you know what, working with it is like,
I have heard from a lot of people on campus
that they've received a lot of very valuable support. From
what I've heard from people and professors, it does seem
like a lot of the change is semantic. And I've
(18:40):
also heard that, you know, some people are hopeful that
by expanding the office that will maybe be able to
deal with forms of prejudice that didn't have delineated channels
under the office as it was before, like anti semitism
or Islamophobia. But I also have heard from other students that,
you know, they feel like with this change, you know
that and the specific identity based discrimination that they have
(19:04):
faced at Harvard is something that the university is not
really focusing on combating. And so I think that from
what I've heard, I guess my opinion now that it
would be that it seems to mostly be semantic. But
I think it's very important that Harvard like continues to
make resources available to students and continues to combat discrimination
(19:27):
in all forms, and also just continues to make students,
especially those who've utilized this office before, really feel like
they are valued.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, I just wish that Harvard, when they looked at
the word diversity, they looked beyond the obvious aspects of diversity,
you know, ethnic background and economic background and all of
those various backgrounds, but also just philosophical diversity, because I
think it's a more exciting place if you're in a classroom,
where as opposed to having you know, fifteen students all
(19:58):
kind of nodding their head like bobble heads and regurgitating
what the professor's telling them. Obviously, in math, class two
and two will always be four. But when you get
into the so called softer sciences, you know, sociology and
maybe even history and analysis, it's better to have I
think some spirited conversations, and I think that is probably
(20:19):
a step in the right direction. UNUS, thank you very
much for calling in tonight. I hope you continue to
listen to our program, and I am delighted that you
took the time to join us and come on back soon.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Okay, thank you for letting me participate.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
My I thank you, Adelaide. You're going to stick with us.
We got a newscast, we get more callers, and also
we have Harvey Silverglade who's going to join us. Harvey
is a graduate of Harvard Princeton and Harvard law school
and has been very much involved in these these sorts
of questions. He was a founder of the fire of
(20:57):
the Foundation of Individual Rights and Education. I'm sure that
you're familiar with that group. And we'll continue our conversation
right after the news at the bottom of the hour.
Stay with us. My guest is Adelaide Parker, Harvard junior,
and she is an editorial assistant at the Boston Globe,
but wrote a really interesting cover story for the Globe
magazine Sunday Globe Magazine on April thirteenth. Back on Nightside
(21:19):
right after this.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
All right, let me get another I believe also a
Harvard student Leo and Cambridge Leo. I think I know
who this is from the article. Welcome. How are you sir?
Speaker 6 (21:37):
I'm doing very well. How are you good?
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Are you the president of Young Republicans over there?
Speaker 6 (21:43):
I am the president of Harvard Republican.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Cup Yeah, okay, Harvard Republican Club. I'm sorry I used
to be called Young Republicans. I apologize. Well, you're with
Adelaide Parker. Go right ahead. What's your co question or comment?
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Well?
Speaker 6 (21:55):
Yeah, yeah, I was just we had this interview and
I was sort of talking about the current situation Harvard.
We had a debate against the Democrats on issues of
higher education and on issues of the current situation sort
of here, and I think the main sort of point
what we're putting out is that, you know, while there's
this national situation of the Trump administration and they're sort
(22:19):
of ways into good seeing with higher education institutions on
issues free speech. Really the question is building institutions and
getting people on campus who are at these liberal places
that are conservative and allowing them to build their own
things and not have to be sort of beholden to
this administrative processes that Harvard has created. And I think
(22:39):
we've done that very well and are sort of continue
to do that. And so I guess for the government,
like there are good people here and that you should
if we put pressure, it should be hiring more conservative professors.
And ser've got in the administration, so.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
You then are supportive of what the administration is attempting
to compel Harvard to do, and of course Harvard is
resisting that compulsion.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Well, I think the tactics of the negotiation aside, which
is sort of a thing I'll leave that up to
the administration. And I'm not a lawyer nor a doctor.
So these are the issues I don't get into. I
know the situation on the ground, which is that there
are no conservative professors, or if there are, there's maybe
one or two in the undergrad area. And there are
(23:24):
a huge amount of programs at the university sponsors that are,
you know, against sort of what federal dollars should be
used for. And there are also a lot of uh,
there's a lot of sort of pressure against student organizations
that are pushing these. In the past, we weren't allowed
to bring anyone on the Republican side into the Institute
of Politics until recently when pressure was put on to
(23:46):
reverse the sort.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
That's that is wrong. Obviously. Let me ask you this, Leo,
are you a junior senior? What year are you? Junior? Junior? Okay?
Has the campus changed all of us? Remember the performance
or the terrible performance of Claudine Gay, the former president
of Harvard, in front of Congress and in front of
(24:10):
congress Woman's Stephonics Committee a year ago in December. I
think that was a moment in time when Harvard really
realized things were out of control. And I don't know
if you agree with me on that, and I love
to know what Adelaide thinks as well. But it seems
to me that Harvard is probably a little bit more
opened today as a consequence of that, as well as
(24:32):
the election of Donald Trump, and you know, may become
a little bit more representative and have diversity all of
all sorts, including philosophical and political diversity.
Speaker 6 (24:45):
Yeah, I'd love that to be true, and I think
there is a there's a possibility it will change. But
I see a lot of the sort of programs they
put in place before sort of this real last month
of chaos. A lot of these programs were very, very formative,
like the Intellectual Vitality Initiative, where you know, Intellectual Vitality
is bringing in Jordan Klepperham and whose entire career is
(25:07):
making fun of sir viral Trump supporters are bringing in
sort of making these huge administrative processes when really the
best way to support the students is to have good professors,
which we have a lot of professors are not really
the problem is to have less administration and hire conservative professors.
Hired professors who teach sort of the things that Harvard
used to and that they've through these restrictive you know,
(25:29):
dea hiring processes, didn't don't have these professors anymore. That's
the way to support the students, not through these sort
of broad administrative programs.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Let me get Adelaide in here. Adelaide, you obviously know Leo.
You interviewed him for your for your for your call him.
Obviously he's seeing this as an opportunity for some significant change.
Do you think there will be a lot of resistance
amongst faculty administration to what Leo's talking about? Or do
you think it's time now for Harvard to broadened the
(26:00):
scope of the backgrounds of the professors and introduced the
concept of philosophical diversities to the student body as well
as all other types of diversity.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
I think that from the conversations I've had with professors,
a lot of them do want more intellectual diversity on campus.
I think that a lot of it has to do
with how hiring processes work. I've heard that, you know,
the way that those work, combined with the fact that
a lot of people who graduate with PhDs are overwhelmingly liberal,
(26:34):
has like funneled a lot of more liberal professors into Harvard.
So I would imagine that, you know, for more of
this viewpoint diversity to take place, there would need to
be some changes to the way that the faculty hiring
process works, although I'm not quite sure what would have
to happen, but from the people I've spoken to most
(26:55):
of the professors I've met, you know, especially in departments
like government where people start politics, they're very open to,
you know, having conversations with people across the political spectrum.
I think that in terms of intellectual vitality initiatives, I
think that the administration really does want to make a change,
but I think it's hard when a lot of that
change is, you know, stuff that's trying to be put
(27:18):
on students from the top down. And I think that,
you know, as Leo was saying, for more viewpoint diversity
to take hold on campus, a lot of that does
need to come from student led initiatives rather than these
programs that administrators are creating, which, you know, even if
creative and good faith, can maybe feel a bit hollow
(27:38):
to students.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Of course, the problem is the administrators are there forever,
they tell you, faculty are there forever, and most students
are there for four years Leo, I want to have
you stay with us, Adelaide, obviously, I want you to
stay with us. We're going to bring Harvey Silvig later
to this conversation. If you folks don't know Harvey, Harvey
has been has run for the board of bar overseas.
(27:59):
He's a princeton undergrad Harvard Law School. One of the
most brilliant lawyers I've known. He is very difficult to
pin down politically. He is a colleague and a supporter
and a friend of Steve Pinker, a Harvard professor who
spoke out against what the Trump administration is attempting to
(28:20):
impose on Harvard, but has been an active academic on
campus for exactly the causes that we're talking about. I
got to take a very quick commercial break. We'll bring
Harvey Silverglate back, and we'll wrap it up with you
guys with Harvey, because this is someone who I think
should be speaking at Harvard every year. But we'll be back.
(28:43):
He should be doing a commencement address. We'll be back
on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on wz Boston's
news radio, and.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
We're talking with a couple of Harvard university students. Junior
Adelaide Parker, who was an editorial assistant at the Boston Globe,
wrote a Boston GLD magazine story of cover story on
April thirteenth. Leo Kerner, who is the president of the
Harvard Republican Club, joined now by Harvey Silverglade. Harvey, you
(29:16):
and I have been friends a long time. We see
this very similarly in terms of making a free speech
important at a campus and different ideas important. Say alone
to my student callers, my guest, Adelaie Parker and Leo Corner.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
Hello, You're a lot younger than I graduated at Harvard
Law School in nineteen sixty seven, so I'm getting along
in years. But I have to say that the Adelaide
sounds more like a Eisenhower and Romney Republican Trump Republican that's.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Which you would probably agree with that, Okay, I think, Adelaide,
that is that okay for your appellation.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I you know, honestly, probably wouldn't consider myself a Republican.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
Okay, although I.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Have a lot of respect from it. Robney is a
fellow Utahn.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Okay, and go ahead, how have you wanted? Leo is
a Trump? I support a Republican. I believe, correct, Leo,
Julia's still here. We lost Lea. Yes, So okay? Is
that yes? Do you still hear that you're a Trump Republican?
Speaker 6 (30:33):
I am a Trump Republican.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
All right, Harvey, go ahead that you've got to go ahead.
You tell them a little bit about your background and
fire and all of the organizations you've been involved with.
Speaker 6 (30:43):
Right.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
Well. I wrote the Shadow University in the nineteen ninety
eight and I started the Foundation of the Eral Rights
and Education in nineteen ninety nine, which is aimed at
protecting free speech and academic freedom on campuses. And I've
been interested in this problem for a long time. But today,
(31:06):
by coincidence, I wrote a letter to Alan Garber, the
President of Harvard, and to John Manning of the Provosts.
Dear Allen and John in close, please find my check
in the amount of one thousand dollars payable to the
President Fellows of Harvard College. It's my intention to send
such a check on the first of every month until
the coming I says President's term has ended. I retie
(31:28):
that this is a drop in the bucket when viewed
in the context of the funds as the Trump administration
is withheld. There's a penalty for Harvard's refusal to bend
its knee. But I suspect that my donation will be
supplemented by the donations of thousands and thousands of other
alumni and other donators. In the future. I will send
my monthly checks to the fundraising office, and I'm sending
(31:50):
this one to you to make clear my support for
Harvard in this dark moment of our nation's history. I
expect the moment will pass and or will return to normal.
Until then, however, I will continue to send monthly checks. Sincerely,
Harvey's to the wait, and I'm a great fan of
Stephen Pinker, a conservative who is trying to steer Harvard
(32:15):
away from its diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
By the way, Harvard, you know that yesterday Harvard University
said that they had changed the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion,
and Belonging to simply community and campus Life. Are you
aware of that, right?
Speaker 5 (32:30):
I'm aware of that. I'm a reader of the Harvard Crimson.
I'm aware of that. I hope that that is more
than just a change in title. I hope that that's
a substance of change diversity, the inclusion is nonsense. But
it's up to Harvard to make the changes, not up
(32:52):
to the Trump administration. So I'm a great fan of
Garbler and Manning drawing the line.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
All right, Leo or adelaide, do you have any question
for Harvey. I'd like to give you an opportunity, as
you know, young Harvard students, to talk to an older
Harvard student who has been in the front lines of
this fight of academic freedom, and Harvey is a traditional liberal.
Would be the way that Harvey would describe himself.
Speaker 5 (33:21):
Right.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Either, if you want to ask ament make a comment
or question, go ahead. We only got a couple on
this left.
Speaker 6 (33:28):
I mean I might ask. I mean, I remember just
last year that there was a you know, sort of
rating of the free speech ratings of universities, and Harvard
was put at the bottom of the free speech ratings.
And that was because, yeah, by fire. And it wasn't
just because they were going around shutting things down. It
was because there are no professors who teach anything beyond
the center. Right. There was very few institutional support for
(33:51):
bringing in conservative people. The IOP explicitly forbade it due
to election questions, and there was just a general feeling
that Harvard was a place that people didn't feel comfortable talking.
And now with the administration, the first time in probably
sixty years that a right wing administration has made a
demand of a lefting institution. The left makes demands of institution.
Speaker 5 (34:10):
All the time.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
Hillsdale doesn't take federal funding, et cetera. The first time
a right wing person does that, suddenly the entirety of
academia shocks. I think this is a sort of the
shoe was on one foot for one for a long time,
and just to take it off for a moment to
see what happens again, the negotiation tactics. I don't know
if it's not my sort of wheelhouse, but to see,
(34:31):
with all due respect Harvard, Harvard has a long way
to go, but not by the Trump administration's dictation. It'spected
voluntarily pressure from faculty, pressure from alumni, but not pressure
from the White House.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Yeah, and I think that's a reasonable position, Adelaide. I
assume you would find yourself comfortable with that position.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Yeah, yeah, I would say I agree with that. And
I think that a lot of this pressure is being felt,
you know, even at universities that aren't as global as
as Harvard. I have a lot of friends at the
University of Utah doing you know, engineering research there who
you know, feel like funding is being cut for their research,
and a lot of that, you know it is coming
(35:18):
from these university policies that the Trump administration is making.
And so I think, to be honest too, at Harvard,
you know, a lot of institutions of higher education, including
ones that aren't quite as liberal as Harvard is, are
experiencing negative consequences.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
It's going to be an interesting process, that is for sure.
I really want to thank Harvey as always for joining us,
and I want to thank Adelaide for what you did.
What you do with the Globe. The Globe has opened
up a little bit of today. I read the paper
and there was every negative story about Trump and the Globe.
The only the only story that the Globe didn't cover
(35:54):
was the Philadelphia Eagles visiting the White House yesterday. But
I guarantee you if the Eagles had decided not to
visit at the White House, Leo, that would have been
a front page story on the Globe and Leo the
president the president. So, Leo, you always have an opportunity
to tell your membership about this show. As always, I
(36:14):
thank all of you. Harvey, great friend for many years.
Thank you so much for adding to the conversation. Leo,
feel free keep in touch and Adelaide, I definitely want
to keep in touch with you and follow your career
as a journalist. Thank you all very much. We're going
to continue the conversation on the other side and talk
about Trump's hundred days, first hundred days, and a couple
(36:35):
of other issues as well, because there's a lot to
talk about. Thanks everyone, you've been great. It's been a
really good hour of radio. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
Great, thank you, thank you very welcome.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Thanks Harvey talk soon back right after the ten o'clock
news on Night Side. We are going to continue the
conversation here. We're going to talk about President Trump's first
hundred days. He had a big rally today and tonight
rather in Michigan. I think it's a mixed report card.
I'd love to hear what all of you think back
on Nightside after this
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WIBs, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
All right, thank you very much, Dan Watkins. Welcome back everyone,
as we are going to welcome back to our program.
I guess we had about a month ago. Adelaide Parker.
Adelaide Parker is a junior at Harvard, but she is
also a writer and a commentator. I guess as an
(00:32):
editorial assistant. How would you describe your role at the
Boston Globe, Adelaide, we talked about it today, and I
want to make sure that I don't put words into
your mouth. You what's your title there?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely so. My title is editorial assistant. But really,
for anyone familiar with the Northeastern co op program, the
positions all like a co op where sort of while
in school all works the Globe for six months.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Well, I'll tell you, not only are you working at
the Globe, but you wrote a front, well a covert
piece for the Globe magazine entitled the Return of the
College Republican. And I really was interested in for a
whole bunch of reasons. Conservative student groups are back and
they won't let you forget it. It's a really well
(01:20):
written article, and if anyone hasn't read it, they should.
You start off by telling what it was like on
election night last November fifth, with a crowd of young
Republicans or conservatives, however they want to describe themselves at
Cambridge Queen's Head Pub in Harvard's Memorial Hall. Set the
(01:45):
stage for what was it like that night? It must
have been. I mean, the context is we have the
Trump administration criticizing Harvard for squelching dissent and philosophical diversity
in campus, and yet your story in the Globe would
suggest that the atmosphere at Harvard has has has welcomed
(02:09):
at least some young Republicans. Is there is This seems
to me to be a little conflict here between what
the Trump administration is doing. Well, maybe maybe it's complementary.
How how do you view that?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Yeah, so I think that just during my time at
Harvard over the last three years, I really have seen
a lot of expansion in terms of, you know, the
type of conservative thought on campus and also the type
of conservative groups. When I first got to Harvard, all
of the conservative and Republican student clubs on campus based
(02:46):
on you know, the conversations I had with people who
were involved in them seemed very anti Trump, and over
the last say year and a half, there's been a
lot of growth in these clubs that these clubs have
also really changed direction to become much more pro Trump.
And so I think it's been really interesting. It's really mirrored, honestly,
the changes that we've seen in the national level Republican
(03:07):
Party over the past say eight to ten years. Yeah,
it's been fascinating. I think that there actually is a
lot of political and intellectual diversity on campus.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Well, you talk in the article about the right Wood swing.
Tufts University research that forty percent of young women I'm
not exactly sure how that's being defined, but forty percent
say they voted for Trump in twenty twenty four compared
to thirty three percent. So that's a jump over four years.
(03:41):
And the shift is even larger among young men, a
demographic Trump won. In twenty twenty four, fifty six percent
of eighteen to twenty nine year old men said that
they voted for Joe Biden. In twenty twenty four years later,
the same proportion voted for Trump. That's a huge swings,
(04:05):
that's an amazing swing. I don't know that the national
media is recognizing that or giving it it's due, or
even explaining it. How do you explain it?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
I mean, I think there are a lot of different things.
I think that's just the profiles of the constituencies of
the Democratic and Republican parties are changing. Especially based on
conversation I've had with a lot of young Republicans at
Harvard Beyond, it seems like the Republican Party, especially this
last election cycle, has become a lot more broad tent.
(04:43):
So there are a lot more communities of color that
are voting Republicans. That have also been a change that
has really affected each demographics and has shifted a lot
of young voters who would traditionally be more liberal towards
the Republican Party. I mean, I think that a lot
of it also would be that if actually this last
election there was a lot of economic uncertainty, and so
(05:03):
especially young voters who are maybe about to enter the
workforce or who are in college and are deciding, you know,
what job they're going to have, you know, went against
the incumbent party and voted Republican for economic reasons.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Has how welcome. And again, I know that you're a journalist,
we're talking to you as a journalist. But you also,
I believe, are fairly conservative. You would identify yourself probably
as a conservative. Am I correct on that.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I actually would not really identify myself as a conservative,
although I do come from Utah, so you know, the
community I come from is largely very conservative. But I
think I am a little a little more liberal than that.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Okay, so we'll put you, We'll leave you somewhere in
the center. However you want to define yourself, so your
observations is it. One of the things that's that the
Trump administration is concerned about is how uncomfortable Jewish students
have been made to feel at Harvard's campus. There were
two reports today I'm sure you're aware of them, are
(06:11):
released by Harvard, including one which I guess the president
of Harvard, Alan Garber, has said yesterday that it's renaming
its Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging to Community
and Campus Life. So I know that may be semantics
(06:34):
to some people, but that's the sort of thing that
I think the Trump administration is is compelling Harvard and
other you know, some of the great Avdy League schools,
great schools around the country, to do. What is your
sense of as the As the growth of young Republicans
on Harvard grows, is it more are they more accepted,
(06:58):
is it more comfortable? Can they, as it were, come
out of the political closet and pronounce that they are
Republicans or is there a stigma still associated with that.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
I think I've heard a lot of different narratives from
a lot of different people. I think it really depends
on the communities that you're in, but largely from a
lot of people, what I've heard is that and this
has been my experience as well, Like one on one,
people are very you know, willing to have open conversations
about pretty contentious political topics, and so normally when fears
about silencing come in, that's when you're in you know,
(07:32):
a group setting, whether that's a class or a club.
And I think especially you know, if you're a freshman
that's just come into a new place, it is really
scary to talk about, you know, things that can be
politically contentious in this group of people that you don't
really know. But I have heard that climates have changed
a lot over the past couple of years. I know
that when I was talking with Michael Aubad, who was
the president of the Harvard Republican Club this past year.
(07:54):
In twenty twenty four, he said that when he first
took over the club, he you know, would often get
these responds from students who are interested in joining, who
feared that they would, you know, maybe face social ostra
sensation if they were you know, openly republican on campus.
But that over the past couple of years that you know,
responses really died down, and now people aren't really expressing that,
(08:16):
which I think says a lot of good things about Harvard,
you know, becoming more open, even among all of the
national attention to free speech problems on campus.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Oh yeah, I mean I count amongst my friends people
with whom I disagree. I actually am more sometimes entertained
in spending time with friends with whom I disagree. I
will tell you one story that might be emblematic of Harvard.
My son graduated from Harvard in two thousand and five,
so that's now twenty years ago. And he was in
(08:47):
the senior year in a small seminar with about I
think twelve people, and they were talking about the media
and excuse he was in two thousand and five, my mistake.
He graduated from Harvard intoy ten. So he's they're doing this,
and I had just started doing my talk show here
and there was an an Arab American woman who began
(09:14):
to talk about how she was listening to this talk
show and she didn't like the talk show. Obviously, my
son his ears perked up. Now in this class, I
think was Joe Biden's niece, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy,
and it was fairly sophisticated group of Harvard students, and
so my son said, I knew it was coming, and
(09:37):
so she talked. She was upset with me because I
was pretty pro Israel and still remained very pro Israel.
And so when he told me the story the next day,
I said, well, well, invite her to come to the station.
We were right across from We were on soldiers Field Road.
So I met the woman. She came over and we
had two or three lovely conversations and had a lovely
(09:59):
lunch together. So it was a different time when when
you were in elementary school. Before you you Harvard came
up on the horizon for you, and I think it
hopefully is a better time. Yeah. What I want to do,
Adelaide is give people an opportunity to chat with you
and ask you questions six one, seven, two, five, four,
(10:20):
ten thirty, six one seven, nine, three, one ten thirty
if you'd like to join the conversation. If you are
a college student and happen to be particularly interested in
this topic, we would love to hear from you. If
you're somebody who is maybe feeling a little better about
Harvard University after you've listened to Adelaide or read the
Boston Magazine cover story that she wrote on that appeared
(10:44):
on an ape on the April thirteenth Sunday magazine, The
Return of the College Republican by Adelaide Parker. We'll be
back on Nightside right after this quick commercial break.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
It's night Side with Dan Ray on Foster News Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
All right, My guest is Adelaide Parker, and she is
a editorial assistant part of a co op program at Harvard.
She writes the thing that's great about the fact that
you're an editorial assistant. You also have this Globe magazine
cover story in the Globe Magazine from April thirteenth, entitled
(11:25):
the Return of the College Republican. Let's see if we
can get some callers getting going here. Adelaide, I'd love
to we talk about this issue. And it's really difficult
to be a young conservative, or for that matter, a
young Republican, or even for that matter, a young moderate
when you're on a college campus where you find yourself
deep in the minority. Literally from jump straight, let's go
(11:47):
to Eunice in Cambridge. Eunice, thanks for joining us. You're
on with Adelaide Parker. Go ahead, Unice five.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
So I'm Unice and I'm one of the students who
was mentioned in Adelaide's recent article. And my question for
Adelaide is what is at stake with the what the
ongoing lawsuit and what are you hoping could be accomplished
(12:19):
on the other side?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Could I ask you, Unis I'm just curious. Are you're
a student at Harvard.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
I assume yes, I'm a junior at the college you're.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
A junior as well, And are you involved politically on
any side of the spectrum or are you simply there
to to do as well as you can in college
and move on. I'm just curious if you're politically active.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Oh, that founded like a charge question.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
That I get paid a lot of money. That's what
my job is. I get paid money to ask short questions.
Charge questions, go right ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Unfortunately, I was involved in campus and partisan paul except
since I got here. But I am an oddball. I
would not identify myself as a capital C conservative, as
I told Addie when she interviewed me, I'm a capital
C Christian who is a lowercase C conservative. Okay, so
(13:14):
I'd say I'm not that representative of Republicans on campus
or most of the students who identify as conservative here.
I was looped into the Republican Club, but after the article,
I'm no longer on their mailing list.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Oh okay, And so what about the I'm not trying
to steal Adelaide's tide, but what about the article? Decided
of this? You know it led you to the decision
to remove yourself from the mailing list.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I criticized the Trump endorsement, and that was the portion
of the interview that got published.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Okay, So you criticized the Trump endorsement, And did you
get some blowback, if you will, from the the members
of the club.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
It was completely silent and.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Okay, So let's why did you just rephrase your question
for Adelaide? I know I've I took us down a
little bit of a rabbit hole, but I find it
interesting to talk to young students. Go ahead, your question
for Adelaide.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Again is my question about the lawsuit. So what is
that stake here? What do you hope could be accomplished
on the other end of what is obviously a very
scary situation for the stakeholders on our campus.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Yeah, if I assume you're referring to the lawsuits from
Harvard to get funding back from the Trump administration, yes, yeah,
I mean I think that, you know, one thing that
has really made us research and education so successful the
past century is this partnership that our universities and government
have had. And I know that I, like personally have
(15:00):
benefited from a lot of the research money that has
come into Harvard.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
You know, whether I'm doing research for my thesis, which
I'll be doing over the summer, or you know, whether
I'm learning from these professors who have their projects funded
by this research money. And so I think, you know,
from my perspective being a student on campus, I you know,
definitely understand a lot of the issues people have with
(15:27):
free speech and anti semitism on campus. You know, obviously,
anti Semitic behavior is never okay. But I think that
you know, cutting this research money really is not something
that is helping anyone. I think it's just going to
you know, damage this relationship between universities and the government
and ultimately hurt the quality of scholarship and research these
(15:47):
universities are putting out without really getting at the problems
that the universities and the government need to be focusing on.
So I think a lot of students are really worried
about you know, that reallyationship being damaging and about you know,
opportunities they might have and you know, cool things the
school might do, whether that's you know, medical research, legal research,
(16:10):
research in all areas being cut.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Can I ask both of you the same question. Yeah,
I take that as a yes. So today the president
of Harvard, I guess yesterday announced that they were going
to change the naming of the Office of Equity diversity
Inclusion and belonging to the Office of Community and Campus Life.
(16:34):
Is that significant in your mind, a good step or
is it simply semantics? Either one of you can answer
or both. Actually I hope.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
I hear Unis you can go first a few Blake,
I have an auder take about this change. Well, Number one,
I was a former student of President Garber, so I
called him Professor Carper. He is a phenomenal educator and scholar.
But moving on from that, I think even regardless of
(17:12):
how the lawsuit turns out, the Trump administration needs to
have some even minor semantic victories from this or else.
The administration is not going to yield on issues of
funding or other incredibly stupid demands that they made on
our university. So if this is one win that they
(17:36):
could take and claim as a victory on their part,
I thought it would be pretty strategic for Harvard to
do that. They're basically committed to the same values to
change his name. Now, is that offensive to students who
like utilize the office for important reasons? Yes, but that
(17:57):
was sort of my reaction to the change.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Okay, so you see it more as a semantical change, uh,
a title which would draw less less criticism community and
campus life. Maybe it's a more universal title. What about you, Atelette?
Your response to that?
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Yeah, I mean I myself have never utilized this office before,
so I don't think that I am super well equipped
to speak about, you know what, working with it is like,
I have heard from a lot of people on campus
that they've received a lot of very valuable support. From
what I've heard from people and professors, it does seem
like a lot of the change is semantic. And I've
(18:40):
also heard that, you know, some people are hopeful that
by expanding the office that will maybe be able to
deal with forms of prejudice that didn't have delineated channels
under the office as it was before, like anti semitism
or Islamophobia. But I also have heard from other students that,
you know, they feel like with this change, you know
that and the specific identity based discrimination that they have
(19:04):
faced at Harvard is something that the university is not
really focusing on combating. And so I think that from
what I've heard, I guess my opinion now that it
would be that it seems to mostly be semantic. But
I think it's very important that Harvard like continues to
make resources available to students and continues to combat discrimination
(19:27):
in all forms, and also just continues to make students,
especially those who've utilized this office before, really feel like
they are valued.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, I just wish that Harvard, when they looked at
the word diversity, they looked beyond the obvious aspects of diversity,
you know, ethnic background and economic background and all of
those various backgrounds, but also just philosophical diversity, because I
think it's a more exciting place if you're in a classroom,
where as opposed to having you know, fifteen students all
(19:58):
kind of nodding their head like bobble heads and regurgitating
what the professor's telling them. Obviously, in math, class two
and two will always be four. But when you get
into the so called softer sciences, you know, sociology and
maybe even history and analysis, it's better to have I
think some spirited conversations, and I think that is probably
(20:19):
a step in the right direction. UNUS, thank you very
much for calling in tonight. I hope you continue to
listen to our program, and I am delighted that you
took the time to join us and come on back soon.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Okay, thank you for letting me participate.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
My I thank you, Adelaide. You're going to stick with us.
We got a newscast, we get more callers, and also
we have Harvey Silverglade who's going to join us. Harvey
is a graduate of Harvard Princeton and Harvard law school
and has been very much involved in these these sorts
of questions. He was a founder of the fire of
(20:57):
the Foundation of Individual Rights and Education. I'm sure that
you're familiar with that group. And we'll continue our conversation
right after the news at the bottom of the hour.
Stay with us. My guest is Adelaide Parker, Harvard junior,
and she is an editorial assistant at the Boston Globe,
but wrote a really interesting cover story for the Globe
magazine Sunday Globe Magazine on April thirteenth. Back on Nightside
(21:19):
right after this.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
All right, let me get another I believe also a
Harvard student Leo and Cambridge Leo. I think I know
who this is from the article. Welcome. How are you sir?
Speaker 6 (21:37):
I'm doing very well. How are you good?
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Are you the president of Young Republicans over there?
Speaker 6 (21:43):
I am the president of Harvard Republican.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Cup Yeah, okay, Harvard Republican Club. I'm sorry I used
to be called Young Republicans. I apologize. Well, you're with
Adelaide Parker. Go right ahead. What's your co question or comment?
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Well?
Speaker 6 (21:55):
Yeah, yeah, I was just we had this interview and
I was sort of talking about the current situation Harvard.
We had a debate against the Democrats on issues of
higher education and on issues of the current situation sort
of here, and I think the main sort of point
what we're putting out is that, you know, while there's
this national situation of the Trump administration and they're sort
(22:19):
of ways into good seeing with higher education institutions on
issues free speech. Really the question is building institutions and
getting people on campus who are at these liberal places
that are conservative and allowing them to build their own
things and not have to be sort of beholden to
this administrative processes that Harvard has created. And I think
(22:39):
we've done that very well and are sort of continue
to do that. And so I guess for the government,
like there are good people here and that you should
if we put pressure, it should be hiring more conservative professors.
And ser've got in the administration, so.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
You then are supportive of what the administration is attempting
to compel Harvard to do, and of course Harvard is
resisting that compulsion.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Well, I think the tactics of the negotiation aside, which
is sort of a thing I'll leave that up to
the administration. And I'm not a lawyer nor a doctor.
So these are the issues I don't get into. I
know the situation on the ground, which is that there
are no conservative professors, or if there are, there's maybe
one or two in the undergrad area. And there are
(23:24):
a huge amount of programs at the university sponsors that are,
you know, against sort of what federal dollars should be
used for. And there are also a lot of uh,
there's a lot of sort of pressure against student organizations
that are pushing these. In the past, we weren't allowed
to bring anyone on the Republican side into the Institute
of Politics until recently when pressure was put on to
(23:46):
reverse the sort.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
That's that is wrong. Obviously. Let me ask you this, Leo,
are you a junior senior? What year are you? Junior? Junior? Okay?
Has the campus changed all of us? Remember the performance
or the terrible performance of Claudine Gay, the former president
of Harvard, in front of Congress and in front of
(24:10):
congress Woman's Stephonics Committee a year ago in December. I
think that was a moment in time when Harvard really
realized things were out of control. And I don't know
if you agree with me on that, and I love
to know what Adelaide thinks as well. But it seems
to me that Harvard is probably a little bit more
opened today as a consequence of that, as well as
(24:32):
the election of Donald Trump, and you know, may become
a little bit more representative and have diversity all of
all sorts, including philosophical and political diversity.
Speaker 6 (24:45):
Yeah, I'd love that to be true, and I think
there is a there's a possibility it will change. But
I see a lot of the sort of programs they
put in place before sort of this real last month
of chaos. A lot of these programs were very, very formative,
like the Intellectual Vitality Initiative, where you know, Intellectual Vitality
is bringing in Jordan Klepperham and whose entire career is
(25:07):
making fun of sir viral Trump supporters are bringing in
sort of making these huge administrative processes when really the
best way to support the students is to have good professors,
which we have a lot of professors are not really
the problem is to have less administration and hire conservative professors.
Hired professors who teach sort of the things that Harvard
used to and that they've through these restrictive you know,
(25:29):
dea hiring processes, didn't don't have these professors anymore. That's
the way to support the students, not through these sort
of broad administrative programs.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Let me get Adelaide in here. Adelaide, you obviously know Leo.
You interviewed him for your for your for your call him.
Obviously he's seeing this as an opportunity for some significant change.
Do you think there will be a lot of resistance
amongst faculty administration to what Leo's talking about? Or do
you think it's time now for Harvard to broadened the
(26:00):
scope of the backgrounds of the professors and introduced the
concept of philosophical diversities to the student body as well
as all other types of diversity.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
I think that from the conversations I've had with professors,
a lot of them do want more intellectual diversity on campus.
I think that a lot of it has to do
with how hiring processes work. I've heard that, you know,
the way that those work, combined with the fact that
a lot of people who graduate with PhDs are overwhelmingly liberal,
(26:34):
has like funneled a lot of more liberal professors into Harvard.
So I would imagine that, you know, for more of
this viewpoint diversity to take place, there would need to
be some changes to the way that the faculty hiring
process works, although I'm not quite sure what would have
to happen, but from the people I've spoken to most
(26:55):
of the professors I've met, you know, especially in departments
like government where people start politics, they're very open to,
you know, having conversations with people across the political spectrum.
I think that in terms of intellectual vitality initiatives, I
think that the administration really does want to make a change,
but I think it's hard when a lot of that
change is, you know, stuff that's trying to be put
(27:18):
on students from the top down. And I think that,
you know, as Leo was saying, for more viewpoint diversity
to take hold on campus, a lot of that does
need to come from student led initiatives rather than these
programs that administrators are creating, which, you know, even if
creative and good faith, can maybe feel a bit hollow
(27:38):
to students.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
Of course, the problem is the administrators are there forever,
they tell you, faculty are there forever, and most students
are there for four years Leo, I want to have
you stay with us, Adelaide, obviously, I want you to
stay with us. We're going to bring Harvey Silvig later
to this conversation. If you folks don't know Harvey, Harvey
has been has run for the board of bar overseas.
(27:59):
He's a princeton undergrad Harvard Law School. One of the
most brilliant lawyers I've known. He is very difficult to
pin down politically. He is a colleague and a supporter
and a friend of Steve Pinker, a Harvard professor who
spoke out against what the Trump administration is attempting to
(28:20):
impose on Harvard, but has been an active academic on
campus for exactly the causes that we're talking about. I
got to take a very quick commercial break. We'll bring
Harvey Silverglate back, and we'll wrap it up with you
guys with Harvey, because this is someone who I think
should be speaking at Harvard every year. But we'll be back.
(28:43):
He should be doing a commencement address. We'll be back
on Nightside right after this.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on wz Boston's
news radio, and.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
We're talking with a couple of Harvard university students. Junior
Adelaide Parker, who was an editorial assistant at the Boston Globe,
wrote a Boston GLD magazine story of cover story on
April thirteenth. Leo Kerner, who is the president of the
Harvard Republican Club, joined now by Harvey Silverglade. Harvey, you
(29:16):
and I have been friends a long time. We see
this very similarly in terms of making a free speech
important at a campus and different ideas important. Say alone
to my student callers, my guest, Adelaie Parker and Leo Corner.
Speaker 5 (29:34):
Hello, You're a lot younger than I graduated at Harvard
Law School in nineteen sixty seven, so I'm getting along
in years. But I have to say that the Adelaide
sounds more like a Eisenhower and Romney Republican Trump Republican that's.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Which you would probably agree with that, Okay, I think, Adelaide,
that is that okay for your appellation.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I you know, honestly, probably wouldn't consider myself a Republican.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
Okay, although I.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Have a lot of respect from it. Robney is a
fellow Utahn.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Okay, and go ahead, how have you wanted? Leo is
a Trump? I support a Republican. I believe, correct, Leo,
Julia's still here. We lost Lea. Yes, So okay? Is
that yes? Do you still hear that you're a Trump Republican?
Speaker 6 (30:33):
I am a Trump Republican.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
All right, Harvey, go ahead that you've got to go ahead.
You tell them a little bit about your background and
fire and all of the organizations you've been involved with.
Speaker 6 (30:43):
Right.
Speaker 5 (30:43):
Well. I wrote the Shadow University in the nineteen ninety
eight and I started the Foundation of the Eral Rights
and Education in nineteen ninety nine, which is aimed at
protecting free speech and academic freedom on campuses. And I've
been interested in this problem for a long time. But today,
(31:06):
by coincidence, I wrote a letter to Alan Garber, the
President of Harvard, and to John Manning of the Provosts.
Dear Allen and John in close, please find my check
in the amount of one thousand dollars payable to the
President Fellows of Harvard College. It's my intention to send
such a check on the first of every month until
the coming I says President's term has ended. I retie
(31:28):
that this is a drop in the bucket when viewed
in the context of the funds as the Trump administration
is withheld. There's a penalty for Harvard's refusal to bend
its knee. But I suspect that my donation will be
supplemented by the donations of thousands and thousands of other
alumni and other donators. In the future. I will send
my monthly checks to the fundraising office, and I'm sending
(31:50):
this one to you to make clear my support for
Harvard in this dark moment of our nation's history. I
expect the moment will pass and or will return to normal.
Until then, however, I will continue to send monthly checks. Sincerely,
Harvey's to the wait, and I'm a great fan of
Stephen Pinker, a conservative who is trying to steer Harvard
(32:15):
away from its diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
By the way, Harvard, you know that yesterday Harvard University
said that they had changed the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion,
and Belonging to simply community and campus Life. Are you
aware of that, right?
Speaker 5 (32:30):
I'm aware of that. I'm a reader of the Harvard Crimson.
I'm aware of that. I hope that that is more
than just a change in title. I hope that that's
a substance of change diversity, the inclusion is nonsense. But
it's up to Harvard to make the changes, not up
(32:52):
to the Trump administration. So I'm a great fan of
Garbler and Manning drawing the line.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
All right, Leo or adelaide, do you have any question
for Harvey. I'd like to give you an opportunity, as
you know, young Harvard students, to talk to an older
Harvard student who has been in the front lines of
this fight of academic freedom, and Harvey is a traditional liberal.
Would be the way that Harvey would describe himself.
Speaker 5 (33:21):
Right.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Either, if you want to ask ament make a comment
or question, go ahead. We only got a couple on
this left.
Speaker 6 (33:28):
I mean I might ask. I mean, I remember just
last year that there was a you know, sort of
rating of the free speech ratings of universities, and Harvard
was put at the bottom of the free speech ratings.
And that was because, yeah, by fire. And it wasn't
just because they were going around shutting things down. It
was because there are no professors who teach anything beyond
the center. Right. There was very few institutional support for
(33:51):
bringing in conservative people. The IOP explicitly forbade it due
to election questions, and there was just a general feeling
that Harvard was a place that people didn't feel comfortable talking.
And now with the administration, the first time in probably
sixty years that a right wing administration has made a
demand of a lefting institution. The left makes demands of institution.
Speaker 5 (34:10):
All the time.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
Hillsdale doesn't take federal funding, et cetera. The first time
a right wing person does that, suddenly the entirety of
academia shocks. I think this is a sort of the
shoe was on one foot for one for a long time,
and just to take it off for a moment to
see what happens again, the negotiation tactics. I don't know
if it's not my sort of wheelhouse, but to see,
(34:31):
with all due respect Harvard, Harvard has a long way
to go, but not by the Trump administration's dictation. It'spected
voluntarily pressure from faculty, pressure from alumni, but not pressure
from the White House.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Yeah, and I think that's a reasonable position, Adelaide. I
assume you would find yourself comfortable with that position.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Yeah, yeah, I would say I agree with that. And
I think that a lot of this pressure is being felt,
you know, even at universities that aren't as global as
as Harvard. I have a lot of friends at the
University of Utah doing you know, engineering research there who
you know, feel like funding is being cut for their research,
and a lot of that, you know it is coming
(35:18):
from these university policies that the Trump administration is making.
And so I think, to be honest too, at Harvard,
you know, a lot of institutions of higher education, including
ones that aren't quite as liberal as Harvard is, are
experiencing negative consequences.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
It's going to be an interesting process, that is for sure.
I really want to thank Harvey as always for joining us,
and I want to thank Adelaide for what you did.
What you do with the Globe. The Globe has opened
up a little bit of today. I read the paper
and there was every negative story about Trump and the Globe.
The only the only story that the Globe didn't cover
(35:54):
was the Philadelphia Eagles visiting the White House yesterday. But
I guarantee you if the Eagles had decided not to
visit at the White House, Leo, that would have been
a front page story on the Globe and Leo the
president the president. So, Leo, you always have an opportunity
to tell your membership about this show. As always, I
(36:14):
thank all of you. Harvey, great friend for many years.
Thank you so much for adding to the conversation. Leo,
feel free keep in touch and Adelaide, I definitely want
to keep in touch with you and follow your career
as a journalist. Thank you all very much. We're going
to continue the conversation on the other side and talk
about Trump's hundred days, first hundred days, and a couple
(36:35):
of other issues as well, because there's a lot to
talk about. Thanks everyone, you've been great. It's been a
really good hour of radio. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
Great, thank you, thank you very welcome.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Thanks Harvey talk soon back right after the ten o'clock
news on Night Side. We are going to continue the
conversation here. We're going to talk about President Trump's first
hundred days. He had a big rally today and tonight
rather in Michigan. I think it's a mixed report card.
I'd love to hear what all of you think back
on Nightside after this
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