Harvey Silverglate

And, um, uh,

I would fire, the reason I'm running currently for the Harvard Board of Overseers is what I'd like to do is convince the Harvard Corporation, the so-called president and fellows of Harvard College, the chief governing board of the university with the real power, the Board of Overseers is a secondary body, but quite influential, to fire 95% of the administrators.

It would have a salutary effect on the academics of the university.

It would have a salutary effect on free speech and academic freedom.

It would cut tuitions by about 40%.

And it would create a whole different atmosphere on the campus.

And the same could be said of MIT or any other place.

I think administrators are a very bad influence on American higher education.

Well, first of all, just in terms of the...

the cost of maintaining.

There are more administrators in American higher education than there are faculty members.

The cost is enormous.

Number two, they are inimical to the teaching enterprise and they feel that their job is to control things, to make sure there are no problems and nobody's feelings are hurt.

Being called before a dean because you said something that insulted somebody is something that shouldn't happen in American higher education, yet it happens because you have these administrators who think it's their job to protect people from being insulted.

You insult a black student, you insult a woman.

There's a disciplinary hearing.

Well, there shouldn't be.

Black people are accustomed to being insulted.

Jews are accustomed to being insulted.

Women are accustomed to being insulted.