Former Student Activists Turn Political

Twenty-one years ago, before Jennifer M. Granholm became governor of Michigan, she and a group of fellow Harvard Law School (HLS) students joined an undergraduate protest against the Harvard Corporation’s financial connections to apartheid South Africa.

Today, three of the former protesters are running, as Democrats, for office this November­: one for state legislature, one for Congress, and Granholm, the most prominent, for reelection as governor.

While Michigan’s economy has suffered under Granholm as a result of out-sourcing industrial jobs, the most recent polls predict Granholm to defeat Republican candidate Dick M. DeVos by a small margin.

Former classmates’ recollections of her involvement in the anti-apartheid controversy, however, may explain how Granholm has remained an appealing candidate for some.

Granholm, who graduated from HLS in 1987, was not an initial target of the Law School Administration Board’s disciplinary action against HLS protestors. Her involvement was only discovered when she testified in defense of Michael T. Anderson ’83, a fellow HLS student accused of inciting the protest.

“The most honorable thing that stands out about Jennifer is that she exposed herself to discipline when she never had to by stepping forward and saying she was there,” said Anderson, recalling the incident.

To her contemporaries at HLS, Granholm’s altruistic testimony was just one good example of her political passion and perseverance.

According to Anderson, Granholm also had a leading role in the “nuts and bolts” aspects of similar HLS student initiatives. She encouraged professor participation, organized rallies, and managed an escrow fund to support the anti-apartheid cause.

“That just about every guy in the law school was in love with her did not hurt,” added Anderson, referring to the support Granholm garnered for the movement.

Professors were also impressed with Granholm during her time at HLS. Weld Professor of Law Charles R. Nesson ’60 said that Granholm was as impressive in the classroom as she was in her extra-curricular pursuits.

“She was a stand-out in the class,” Nesson said. “She had a way to get along with people but cut directly at the issues—we were always delighted when she said something because you knew she would be moving the ball along.”

HLS alum Jamin B. Raskin ’83 is currently running unopposed for the state senate in Maryland and was also tried by HLS’s administrative board for his involvement in the divestment protest. He remembers Granholm positively.

“Jennifer was a very effective organizer, very outspoken, and she had a lot of integrity in trying to keep people focused on the immorality of the Harvard Corporation’s connections,” said Raskin.

Lois E. Murphy ’84, a candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania, was another HLS student present at the 1985 anti-apartheid protest, according to Anderson.

Murphy, a Democrat, is hoping to unseat Republican incumbent Jim Gerlach. In 2004 she lost to him by two percentage points and recent polls show this race also in dead heat.

A Murphy victory would contribute to the nation-wide effort of Democrats to capture the House.

Murphy’s campaign declined to comment for the purpose of this article.

HLS Professor Frank E. A. Sander, who was chairman of HLS ad-board in 1985, declined to comment on the protest.

“We don’t discuss cases of people before the ad-board,” he said, adding that he did not recall any issues of protest appearing before the ad-board, especially any involving Granholm.