Harvard to change historic anthem to be more inclusive
Campus Reform correspondent Emily Hall explains
“Puritans” are no more at Harvard University.
The Ivy League purged the word from its alma mater, “Fair Harvard,” taking out the reference to the English Protestants who founded the nation’s oldest institution of higher education.
The song’s lyrics were revised in 1998 to make it gender inclusive, and Tuesday the university changed the last line, which previously said, “Be the herald of light, and the bearer of love, till the stock of the Puritans die.”
The Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging made the decision to take out “Puritans” from the “living symbol” opting for the line: “Till the stars in the firmament die.”
“The metaphor…fails in its own aspiration to project a valuable Puritan commitment to education into the future,” school officials wrote in a statement. “The line reduces human experience to biology with the word ‘stock,’ and ties the commitment to education to ethnic lineage and to the rise and fall of racial groupings.”
Harvard sought suggestions from students, staff and alumni and a panel made up of professors and alumni chose the winner out of a pool of 168 suggested replacements. The new phrase was submitted by a 1984 graduate, the university said.
Officials said the new phrase affairs their motto, “Veritas,” which means “verity” or “truth.”
Two phrases that almost made the cut were “Till the shadows of ignorance die” and “Till the end of the ages draws nigh.”
The task force believes the new lyrics “convey the accessibility and value of the pursuit of truth to people from all backgrounds” and affirms “the university’s commitment to inclusive excellence.”
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