Last week, Harvard announced plans to change the lyrics of its 181-year-old alma mater, “Fair Harvard,” to make it more “inclusive.”
Courtesy of the school’s Presidential Task Force for Inclusion and Belonging and its co-chair Danielle S. Allen, a competition will be held to alter the last line of the anthem — “Till the stock of the Puritans die” — and also come up with a “musical variant” for all of the lyrics.
But here’s a shocker: Students couldn’t care less.
The Harvard Crimson reports that over a dozen students it spoke with on the subject “said they were not at all familiar with the lyrics to ‘Fair Harvard’ or the competition to replace the words in the final line.”
“People don’t really know about it,” said freshman Anna Mazur.
Performed during Freshmen Convocation and Commencement ceremonies, “Fair Harvard” is not a major part of student life at the College, and some students said they were not particularly affected by the change.
Aren G. Rendell ’19 said he “did not know this was happening,” but that the change did not strike him as particularly objectionable.
“I think the institution is no longer a Puritan one per se, so I see the reasoning behind the change. I’m neither for nor against it at this point,” he said.
MORE: Because ‘inclusion’: Harvard to change its 181-year-old anthem
Others, however, were critical of the University’s decision to change the lyrics of the song. Jonathan S. Roberts ’17 said that Harvard should be focusing on more concrete measures, like offering a pre-orientation program for first generation and low-income students, to make the University more inclusive. Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana recently rejected such a program.
“It feels very contradictory,” he said. “It’s very hard to believe that the College cares more than nominally about inclusivity and belonging on campus when we’re rejecting a first-gen program.”
“Changing the name of a song does very little to impact my experience here,” Roberts added.
Junior Emily Hall stated what should be obvious — that the university should focus its energy on more important matters.
“I’m not sure why it has decided that this is so important,” she said.
Well, Em, a “Presidential Task Force for Inclusion and Belonging” has to find something with which to occupy its time. Why not this, eh?
MORE: Don’t offend anybody! Protesters at Harvard break school rules, campus cops do nothing
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