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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 20 June 2017
Harvard freshmen’s ouster over posts draws broad response

By SALLY HO But Nancy Beane, a high conduct, from reported Cruz said. “Whatever you other social media sites
Associated Press school counselor in Atlanta sex assaults to racist inci- post, everyone can see it, when assessing applicants,
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Few col- and president of the Na- dents. whether you’re trying to though they generally
lege-bound kids lose their don’t patrol the internet
shot, and their slot, at their for damaging information.
dream school once they Instead, they consider on-
get in, but it happened at line posts when something
one of the world’s most specific is brought to their
elite institutions and for a attention.Still, social media
reason that has, until re- content being used to oust
cently, hardly registered a student is uncommon.
in the university admissions The University of Wisconsin,
process: social media. for instance, doesn’t check
Harvard University’s deci- applicants’ social media
sion to rescind admission accounts and doesn’t
offers to 10 incoming fresh- have plans to start.
men because of offensive In general, dropping an
Facebook posts comes at admitted student is a last-
a time of heightened at- resort move, reserved for
tention to free speech and the most egregious cases.
student conduct on U.S. Even then, the college usu-
college campuses, and ally will attempt to keep
has stirred debate far be- the student by confronting
yond the halls of the Ivy them with the hope that
League school. an explanation and a slap
Other schools say it’s an Rowers paddle down the Charles River near the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, on the wrist will resolve the
eye-opener for those in- Mass. A debate over the appropriateness of the school’s decision to rescind offers of admission to issue.
10 students has expanded far beyond the halls of Harvard and is being watched closely by other
volved in the admissions campuses, particularly at a time of heightened attention to free speech on college campuses. Harvey Mudd College in
process. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) California has never re-
“We’re going to continue scinded an offer because
to watch how this unfolds tional Association for Col- “Their students acted on hide it or not.”Some admis- of a social media profile,
and, with other higher lege Admission Counsel- their own, but that also sions officers can and do said Peter Osgood, its ad-
ed institutions, learn from ing, said zero tolerance for represents the school,” use Facebook, Twitter and missions director. q
it,” said Janet Bonkows- racist comments should be
ki, spokeswoman for the the standard for all institu-
University of Wisconsin in tions of higher education.
Green Bay. “We’re all humans. We’re
Harvard rescinded the all going to make mistakes
admission offers after dis- and make poor choices in
covering the students had our lives, but there are con-
traded offensive images sequences,” Beane said.
and messages on a private “I’m not sure why we’ve
Facebook group, student decided people can say
newspaper The Harvard whatever they want, do
Crimson reported. The whatever they want, and
posts were often sexually there are no consequenc-
explicit and mocked Mexi- es for it.”
cans, the Holocaust, sexual In 2015, the national coun-
assault and child abuse. selors association surveyed
The Cambridge, Massa- its members at more than
chusetts, university de- 1,700 colleges and found
clined to comment, but the less than a third reported
school does tell accepted rescinding an admissions
students their offers can be offer each year. Nearly
withdrawn if their behavior 70 percent of those col-
“brings into question their leges said it was because
honesty, maturity or moral of a dishonest application,
character.” while 20 percent said it
Its decision may have been was over a disciplinary is-
rare, but the situation it ad- sue. Social media behavior
dressed was not: young wasn’t considered a rea-
applicants crossing lines in son to drop a student.
their social media posts. David Cruz, 22, who is
Mike Reilly, a former col- studying hospitality man-
lege admissions officer agement at the University
in Washington state and of Nevada in Las Vegas,
now an executive with the said Harvard did the right
American Association of thing. The transfer student
Collegiate Registrars and pointed to colleges across
Admissions Officers, said the country that have
Harvard’s move can be been criticized for not do-
seen as incongruent with ing enough when it comes
free speech. to troublesome student