Harvard backs down

Statement from Dean Elmendorf regarding the invitation to Chelsea Manning to be a Visiting Fellow

https://www.hks.harvard.edu/announcements/statement-dean-elmendorf-regarding-invitation-chelsea-manning-be-visiting-fellow?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hks-twitter&utm_source=twitter

Excerpt: However, I now think that designating Chelsea Manning as a Visiting Fellow was a mistake, for which I accept responsibility. I still think that having her speak in the Forum and talk with students is consistent with our longstanding approach, which puts great emphasis on the value of hearing from a diverse collection of people. But I see more clearly now that many people view a Visiting Fellow title as an honorific, so we should weigh that consideration when offering invitations. In particular, I think we should weigh, for each potential visitor, what members of the Kennedy School community could learn from that person’s visit against the extent to which that person’s conduct fulfills the values of public service to which we aspire. This balance is not always easy to determine, and reasonable people can disagree about where to strike the balance for specific people. Any determination should start with the presumption that more speech is better than less. In retrospect, though, I think my assessment of that balance for Chelsea Manning was wrong. Therefore, we are withdrawing the invitation to her to serve as a Visiting Fellow—and the perceived honor that it implies to some people—while maintaining the invitation for her to spend a day at the Kennedy School and speak in the Forum. (See comments here: http://www.nationalreview.com/morning-jolt/451415/ben-shapiro-berkeley-speech-leaves-berkeley-intact?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=170915_Jolt&utm_term=Jolt)