The freshman in the Class of 2015 at Harvard had an unconventional invitation upon moving into their new dorms this fall semester. The Freshman Dean’s Office in cooperation with dorm proctors invited each student to sign a pledge promising to uphold values tied to the College’s mission. The Class of 2015 Pledge reads:
“At Commencement, the Dean of Harvard College announces to the President, Fellows, and Overseers that ‘each degree candidate stands ready to advance knowledge, to promote understanding, and to serve society.’ That message serves as a kind of moral compass for the education Harvard College imparts. In the classroom, in extracurricular endeavors, and in the Yard and Houses, students are expected to act with integrity, respect, and industry, and to sustain a community characterized by inclusiveness and civility."
“At Commencement, the Dean of Harvard College announces to the President, Fellows, and Overseers that ‘each degree candidate stands ready to advance knowledge, to promote understanding, and to serve society.’ That message serves as a kind of moral compass for the education Harvard College imparts. In the classroom, in extracurricular endeavors, and in the Yard and Houses, students are expected to act with integrity, respect, and industry, and to sustain a community characterized by inclusiveness and civility."
The Harvard Crimson has featured a series of responses by students and administrators alike to the pledge, a supposed reaction to last spring’s freshman survey, in which respondents ranked “success” as the value that Harvard most stands for, from a list of about a dozen options that included compassion and honesty. Freshmen ranked hard work, honesty, respect, and compassion as their top four personal values, but ranked success first, followed by hard work, respect, and community for values of Harvard overall.
Dean of Freshman Thomas A. Dingman supported the pledge, expressing that “the most important thing was to get our values out. Things like respect, integrity, kindness". He emphasized that “[w]e want to have an environment in which people can flourish academically.”
Other senior faculty reacted differently. Charles Fried of Harvard Law School wrote in the Harvard Crimson, "There is a place for the Kindness Pledge: Harvard’s six excellent day care centers. But the pledge does serve an educational function. It teaches incoming undergraduates that administrators can be as silly as the rest of us".
Though signing the pledge was voluntary, opting out left a visible blank, unsigned line next to all the signatures on the publicly displayed lists.What value does signing a pledge add to a university? Will these pledges make a difference in the values students choose for themselves and their university when the student body is polled come spring? We'll have to wait and see.
Dean of Freshman Thomas A. Dingman supported the pledge, expressing that “the most important thing was to get our values out. Things like respect, integrity, kindness". He emphasized that “[w]e want to have an environment in which people can flourish academically.”
Other senior faculty reacted differently. Charles Fried of Harvard Law School wrote in the Harvard Crimson, "There is a place for the Kindness Pledge: Harvard’s six excellent day care centers. But the pledge does serve an educational function. It teaches incoming undergraduates that administrators can be as silly as the rest of us".
Though signing the pledge was voluntary, opting out left a visible blank, unsigned line next to all the signatures on the publicly displayed lists.What value does signing a pledge add to a university? Will these pledges make a difference in the values students choose for themselves and their university when the student body is polled come spring? We'll have to wait and see.
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