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September 10, 2017
Judge Tom
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Harvard Withdraws Admissions of 10 Students for Online Speech

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Harvard

Ten high school seniors from across the country were accepted by Harvard University for admission in the Class of 2021. They were scheduled to start their freshman year at the end of the summer of 2017. However, university policy grants Harvard the right to “withdraw an offer of admission if an admitted student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character.” This can include online speech.

Members of Harvard’s incoming class are invited to join an official, moderated Facebook group. Some students form their own group chats around common interests, such as studying history or being from California.

In June, 2017, the school withdrew the admissions of ten students. They had formed a group chat known as “General F**kups” and “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens.” They exchanged images with captions that were racist and anti-Semitic and that made light of pedophilia, suicide and child molestation. The messages were reviewed by the administration who determined that these students were not a good fit for the Harvard community.

The lesson here is to think carefully before sending an image or message. Think about who may see your work, possible victims of cyberbullying, and the effect the incident may have on your personal future. These ten students will most likely continue their education, but their aspirations of a Harvard experience is over.

Explore more student free speech cases here.

Photo by Paul Maraj (Flickr)

 

 

 

 

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The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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