The start of school has been met by a great deal of buzz surrounding the Freshman Values Pledge. Just this past week, the story was picked up by a Wall Street Journal blog.
Proponents of the pledge laud it for re-committing students to a core set of beliefs that are sometimes overlooked at college—a place where high stress, exorbitant amounts of classwork, and time-consuming extracurricular activities dominate each student’s daily life. The pledge simply re-affirms each student’s obligation to values like “integrity, respect, and industry.”
Opponents argue that the pledge oversteps the college’s duties as an institution of higher learning.
“It’s very unscholarly. It’s very unlike Harvard,” former Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis told The Crimson. He expands on his position on his blog.
However, both sides can agree that kindness on a college campus is a good thing. Professor Lewis writes:
An appeal for kindness is entirely appropriate. Apparently there has been too little of it in the Yard sometimes. But for Harvard to “invite” people to pledge to kindness is unwise, and sets a terrible precedent.
The disagreement—and the reason why this issue is worth discussing—lies in whether the institution is responsible for promoting such values and requesting students to take part in such efforts. Is this something administrators should be concerned with? Is it a part of the institution’s overarching mission?
A Mission to Mind Our Manners?
Officially, the school does not have a university-wide mission statement. Though, the College released one in 1997, when Professor Lewis was Dean. It states that the College is committed to the original 1650 charter, which stressed:
“[t]he advancement of all good literature, arts, and sciences; the advancement and education of youth in all manner of good literature, arts, and sciences; and all other necessary provisions that may conduce to the education of the … youth of this country….”
As we may have suspected, the College is primarily committed to the mission of learning and education. So, if the College is not bound by its own mission to undertake this project, is it the right thing to do?
Reconciling Our Values
Earlier this month, The Crimson released the results from the Class of 2014 freshman survey, taken last spring. The now sophomores reported that they personally hold “hard work, honesty, respect, and compassion as their top four personal values. Asked to do the same for Harvard, they ranked success first, followed by hard work, respect, and community.”
The pledge is an important step forward in the College’s pursuit of reconciling its values with those of its students, notably on the compassion front.
But, let us ask ourselves, do our values need to align with that of the College’s? The answer is no. There is no fault in the College emphasizing success. It simply wants its students to succeed in learning and growing. And that’s what the FDO should commit itself to.
Additionally, this situation was mishandled because it was spearheaded by the FDO. If any administrator or administrative body is serious about this (and feels like kindness is lacking on campus), then all students should have to commit to the pledge, not just freshmen. What message does it send to have just a Freshman Pledge that holds students to exclusively “making the entryway and Yard” bastions of kindness? If we want this movement to gain traction, every single student should be presented with a College Pledge.
The Reality
From my experiences last year, I was never met by overt malice or disdain. On a whole, freshmen upheld the values of the pledge, even without it. I witnessed collaboration in libraries, students leading fundraising efforts for causes they are passionate about, and countless hours spent on tutoring, mentoring, and volunteering.
However, do students sometimes get caught up in their work, miss meetings, and skimp on extracurricular duties? Of course. Do I blame them? Absolutely not. Students are not expected to pay over $50,000 to smile and socialize. They’re here to learn.
So, in certain instances, exercising absolute kindness does conflict with intellectual attainment. Finish my own essay due in three hours or explain the concepts to a peer? Somehow, if both values are held on par with one another, I will attempt to complete the two tasks at the same time. But what will most students do? Attain intellectually first, then extend a helpful hand. In no way do I think this is wrong, or less kind.
Obviously, students should be held to society’s basic manners, respect one another, and be honest. But this is common sense dictated by the social contract of life. In that regard, the pledge is almost redundant.
Moving Forward
The contents of the pledge resonate with me. I seek such qualities in my friends, classmates, and peers. There is no disputing that being kind is something we should strive for on a daily basis. But, the FDO has little place in this matter.
If the College is so concerned with policing student behavior, implementing something like the University of Virgina’s Honor System would be useful (if it’s cheating or immoral behavior they’re really after). But the pledge represents a halfhearted attempt at addressing a non-issue.
Photo credit: The Crimson, Wikimedia Commons