In Defense of Larry Summers and His Critics

"I despise Larry Summers. As a professor, a president, an economist, and a person, I hate almost everything about him. Summers is a loudmouthed, condescending jerk, overflowing with idiotic, destructive, and bigoted ideas. When Summers's close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and his humiliating emails were revealed, it filled me with schadenfreude. And yet, Summers is still entitled to the protections of academic freedom-not because Summers is good,"

"The students were initially accused of violating Harvard's terrible anti-bullying policy (I've argued that no college should have anti-bullying policies). Perhaps realizing the mockery that would result by accusing students of "bullying" a tenured pedophile-friendly professor by accurately reporting his words, Harvard switched gears and instead is threatening to punish the students for attending a class they were not registered for, and recording a brief video of Summers."

"In a statement, Harvard declared: "The College prohibits unauthorized recording of classroom proceedings to protect classrooms as spaces for intellectual exploration and risk-taking, to respect student privacy, and to prevent chilling effects that undermine participation and inquiry." None of these were endangered by the video: It did not violate student privacy, it did not target any students, and it did not undermine any inquiry or exploration. It simply showed Summers's statement to his students, which was a matter of intense public interest."

Larry Summers is depicted as a loudmouthed, condescending figure with idiotic, destructive, and bigoted ideas. Summers had a close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and humiliating emails were revealed, producing schadenfreude. Summers remains entitled to academic freedom protections; the principle must be defended even when the professor is objectionable. Harvard is investigating students who criticized Summers and posted classroom comments on social media. Students were first accused of violating an anti-bullying policy, then threatened for attending an unregistered class and recording a brief video. Harvard cited unauthorized recording protections, but the video did not violate privacy or target students. Secret recordings deserve criticism rather than formal discipline.

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