November 8, 2022

Dear Members and Friends,

On this election day, we hope that our U.S. members are exercising your right to vote. In the spirit of the day, we have two petitions we’d like to share with you. One is a student petition regarding the selection of Harvard’s 30th president. The other is Harvey Silverglate’s petition for a candidate slot in the 2023 Harvard Board of Overseers election. We hope that you will consider both petitions, detailed below.

Also, in case you missed the October 31st SCOTUS oral arguments on the admissions case, here are the links to downloadable recordings and transcripts: Students for Fair Admissions v. University of NC (2 hrs 44 mins); Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard (1 hr 55 mins). They are both well worth a listen or read.

Please don’t hesitate to write to us with questions, suggestions or additional input. We will be reaching out again soon with our regular news.

Sincerely,

The FAIR Harvard Alumni+ Leadership Team

Student Petition: Harvard’s 30th President

A group of Harvard undergraduates with urgent concerns around free speech and open inquiry have written a petition to the Harvard Presidential Search Committee with an accompanying signature form. They are requesting that we share with those who might be interested, which means all of you! We strongly encourage our members and friends to read the petition and show your support.

Students wrote to us as follows: "We have put together a petition to the presidential search committee to ask for a president who will stand for free speech and open inquiry. We hope to lead the way in demonstrating undergraduates' desire for change... We [also] hope we can reach as many sympathetic alumni as possible."

The petition is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15mOrFjuSQ3HOnUwdUWaNpYIsxgBUoDx9/view?usp=sharing

The signature form is here: https://forms.gle/FvUb15tvQZnTDLhcA

For those who wish to support the petition, please sign and forward along to fellow alumni who might be interested. We are proud of these Harvard undergraduates and share in their calls for a 30th president committed to promoting and protecting free speech.

Harvey Silverglate for Overseer

As some of you may know, Harvey Silverglate (LLB ‘67) announced that he is seeking to be a petition candidate for the Harvard Board of Overseers. Silverglate has been a staunch defender of free speech and due process throughout his long career. Harvey’s goals for Harvard are: ​practice Harvard's motto, Veritas; guarantee free speech for students, faculty, and staff; and, encourage debate and viewpoint diversity. You can learn more about Harvey at harvey4harvard (and his candidate video).

In order for Harvey to be an eligible candidate (appear on the ballot), he needs 3,188 signatures by 5pm ET February 1st.

If you’re interested in supporting Harvey’s candidacy, click on this petition link and log in with your HarvardKey account (so that Harvard can determine your eligibility to vote). If you don’t yet have an account, you can create one by going to https://key.harvard.edu/ and clicking on “Claim Your HarvardKey.”  The petition is a nomination form. You will need to include Harvey Silverglate’s full name, school (Harvard Law School) and graduation year (1967) in the petition/nomination form.

Have a great Election Day!

FAIR Harvard Alumni+

Founded by a group of Harvard Alumni dedicated to civil rights, civil liberties, intellectual freedom and tolerance, the FAIR Harvard Alumni+ Chapter brings together Harvard Alumni as well as current Harvard University students, faculty, staff and parents of undergrads who support the mission and principles of FAIR, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.

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