In 2002, Harvard undergraduate student Amit Paley stumbled upon a strange entry in Harvard’s archival database: “Secret Court Files, 1920.” This discovery unearthed a dark and little-known chapter in Harvard’s history—a secret disciplinary tribunal convened in 1920 to investigate and punish students for being “guilty” of homosexuality. Read Amit's original reporting: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/11/21/the-secret-court-of-1920-at/ For a transcript of this episode: https://bit.ly/campusfiles-transcripts To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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This episode contains reference to suicide. Please take care while listening. In May 1920, a small town paper in Massachusetts ran a story about the death of a Harvard student named Cyril. Cyril's death was attributed to accidental suffocation. But in truth, Cyril had committed suicide.
His death, and the moments leading up to it, kick-started a series of events at Harvard that would lead to the creation of a secret court, the expulsion of multiple students, and ultimately, another tragic death. For nearly a century, these events remained hidden until a reporter for the Harvard Crimson stumbled upon an archive mysteriously labeled Secret Court.
What he found inside sent shockwaves across campus.
This discovery, because it was something that was meant to be hidden, literally Harvard kept this archive in the closet so that we could not know this part of Harvard's history.
I'm Margo Gray. This week on Campus Files, the suicide of a Harvard student triggers a secretive administrative tribunal so scandalous that Harvard spent decades trying to keep it hidden. Harvard University is a household name. Founded well before the Declaration of Independence, it holds a central place in American history and culture.
Over the centuries, it's been celebrated for its triumphs and hailed as the birthplace of some of the world's most influential leaders. But like any institution of its stature, Harvard has chapters in its history it would prefer to keep hidden.
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