Make Yale [and Harvard] Democratic Again
The WSJ Editorial Board takes aim at Yale’s non-democratic governance process, and doesn’t let Harvard off the hook for a smilar offense. “It seems the wealthier American universities get…the less open they are to different voices. At a time when it’s become fashionable to cast any political disagreement as a ‘threat to democracy,’ some of the institutions that trumpet democracy the loudest don’t mind undermining it in their own governance.”
“Some Yalies want…an element of democracy for the Yale Board of Trustees, known as the Yale Corporation. It’s the latest backlash against Yale’s May 2021 decision to eliminate a process that had allowed alumni to become candidates for the board if they submitted 4,394 signatures (3% of alumni) on a petition*. Now only candidates nominated by the official Alumni Fellow Nominating Committee qualify. A Connecticut lawsuit filed by two alumni accuses Yale of voter suppression and will proceed to trial some time this spring… Yale is far from alone. Harvard in 2020 limited the number of petition overseers to one-fifth of the board.”
*Harvard requires signatures from 1% of “eligible” alumni, however in order to sign, alumni need a HarvardKey account, one obstacle among many outlined by Harry Lewis in his blog post, Voter Suppression, Harvard Style. A HarvardKey account is not required for actual voting in the elections, which can be done electronically without a HarvardKey or by mail-in ballot.
Related:
Voter Suppression, Harvard Style (Bits and Pieces, Harry Lewis Blog, 12/13/22)
