Is Harvard Headed For A Civil War Of Words?

While in the real world, Americans are flying the stars and stripes to celebrate Gulf War victory, at Harvard, the only flags grabbing attention are the stars and bars.

The display of confederate flags--not unusual at other schools--has rekindled an age-old debate about the extent of free speech on campus. It is a debate that has many students and parents fuming and some administrators running for cover.

On February 18, Bridget L. Kerrigan '92--an outspoken conservative voice on campus--hung a confederate flag from her Kirkland House window. It wasn't the first time Kerrigan had made a public display of her pride in Dixie. Last year, after transferring to Harvard from the University of Virginia, she draped her banner from her Peabody Terrace window.

Kerrigan's supporters have called her actions a legitimate statement of affection for the South, while critics have labeled them a cheap attempt to gain attention and rally support against the commonly-perceived dominance of the "politically correct."

Several days after the Kirkland flag made its debut, another flag appeared--this time in the window of Cabot House resident Timothy P. McCormack '91-'92. McCormack said he made his display to protest what he called an unduly harsh criticism of Kerrigan's flag.

Members of Black student organizations, in particular, objected to the public presence of the Confederate flags, which many say still represents the slavery and oppression which characterized the Old South. While the objections were heartfelt, the conflict was not unlike so many free speech debates which had occured in the past.

But when Jacinda T. Townsend '92 taped a black swastika to her Cabot House window in response to the whole affair, she upped the ante touching a raw nerve, particularly in the Jewish community. Almost too coincidentally, the controversial flags were hung just as parents of juniors were arriving for a weekend of University-sponsored activities.

A forum intended to address various campus issues turned into a fiery debate when several parents spoke passionately against the displays, some addressing their remarks directly to Kerrigan, who was invited by the administration to attend the meeting.

Several days before, Hillel and the Black Students Association (BSA) had released a joint letter condemning the display of both swastikas and confederate flags. And early this week, groups organized by BSA held "eat-ins" in the Kirkland and Cabot dining halls. At the eat-ins, the association's president, Mecca J. Nelson '92, called for a strong response to the Confederate flags from University and College administrators, including "a policy that will prevent this kind of thing in the future."

There Oughtta Be a Law...

Although immediate action by the University seemed the obvious solution to many students, administrators and faculty members were quick to point out that such actions might prove troublesome.

House masters and college administrators have generally said that, while the symbols displayed are offensive and their display is insensitive, the controversial actions are protected under University free speech guidelines.

President Derek C. Bok said in an interview this week, "I am generally in favor of keeping the right to free speech as broad as the First Amendment, but on the other hand accepting somewhat greater responsibility in trying to educate everyone here about the needs and the sensitivities of other people so that we can try to develop a more understanding and supportive community."

Bok said education should be done "by pursuasion, and not by imposing inhibitions or imposing restrictions on people's right to communicate."

The limits of free speech have been a consistent topic of controversy at Harvard and other universities. In spring 1990, a Confederate flag hung outside Leverett House by Jon P. Jiles '92 was voluntarily removed by Jiles after students complained. And in fall 1989, Kerrigan's Peabody Terrace flag was removed by the superintendent because it violated a clause against irregular window displays in her rooming contract.

But in addressing the issue of controversial displays, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) has taken a broad, philosophical approach, and has attempted to agree upon guidelines that discourage hate speech within the boundaries of the First Amendment.

In February 1990, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences passed rules defining "disruptive speech" at campus events and recommended penalties for those who engage in it. But at the same meeting, the Faculty tabled a three-page philosophical preamble to the free speech report authored by Professor of Government Joseph S. Nye.

The tabled preamble said that "curtailment of free speech undercuts the intellectual freedom that defines our purpose."

But more controversial was the assertion that "behavior evidently intended to dishonor such characteristics as race, gender, ethnic group, religious belief or sexual orientation is anathema to the pursuit of inquiry and education."

"Such grave disrespect for the dignity of others can be punished under existing procedures because it violates a balance of rights on which the University is based," the report read.

In the course of debate on the report, President Derek C. Bok questioned whether the proposed guidelines might give students in the Yard less freedom of speech than tourists in the Square have under the U.S. Constitution.

Eventually, a modified Nye report passed, with the addition of a sentence saying that University policy will be "consistent with established First Amendment standards."

In the recent past, Harvard has tended to err on the side of allowing more, rather than less, speech. While nominally restricting paper posters to those approved by duly constituted student groups, the University has no such restrictions on flags and banners. In fact, Holworthy East has long been used by student groups to post banners promoting concerts, fundraisers and formals.

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 has said that he may need to consider regulations restricting banners if the flags become much more common. But Jewett said he would be reluctant to move in that direction, citing the usefulness of Holworthy East's prominent displays.

Other Universities have been more heavy-handed in their restriction of "hate expression." Cornell University, for example, three years ago imposed a ban on all flags and banners hanging on its buildings. The ban was imposed in response to a student who hung a Confederate flag.

The Cornell ban was recently repealed following requests by students flying American flags to show their support for U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf.

At other colleges, regulations restricting speech deemed insensitive has met with severe criticism. Tufts University instituted a policy of "free speech zones" that prompted fierce criticism. At Emory University, students are required "to respect the interests of the University." And an unusually broad and restictive code at the University of Michigan was struck down in 1989 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Set for a Showdown?

Townsend removed her swastika earlier this week in what she called an effort to avoid a rift between Blacks and Jews, but the two Confederate flags remain.

House masters met Wednesday to discuss the matter, and a march scheduled for today promises to keep the controversy in the public eye--for a little while, at least.

But while administrators refuse to legislate the problem away, and Kerrigan and McCormack enjoy the increased attention to their anti-PC activities, protesters and banner-hangers may find themselves stalemated in a long, symbolic game of capture the flag.

One Confederate Flag in Kirkland. Then another in Cabot. Finally, a swastika banner sets the stage for a heated debate about hate speech and the limits of the First Amendment.