My statement on the situation at Harvard: I simply do not care very much about Harvard

Dec 15, 2023

Recently it has come to the attention of this newsletter that something has happened, or is currently happening, at, or possibly nearby, Harvard University, a private research and educational institution located in Cambridge, Mass. Many newspapers, magazines, and social-media users have issued posts about Harvard and its employees, or possibly its students, and undoubtedly people feel certain ways about these posts, and also the event or events that are their subject.

Given the charged atmosphere and clear national importance of the story, no doubt many people are clamoring for Read Max to issue a statement on “the Harvard situation.” However, I will not be learning what happened there or forming an opinion on it because I simply do not care very much about Harvard University.

Based on the volume of coverage of the issues at Harvard in the mainstream media, it seems clear that mine is a minority position. That does not come as a surprise to me. I am a bold iconoclast and free thinker, unafraid to say subversive things like “I don’t really care” and “I feel as though there are more important things going on” and “I honestly have read enough writing about Harvard University in my lifetime.”

I appreciate that people may worry that I am making myself unemployable for taking this stand. However, if I worried about what other people think, what kind of journalist would I be? Others might call me a “hero” or a “visionary” for declining to read even a single article on the subject of Harvard University, but I don’t think it’s “brave” of me to say that I’m not really interested in Harvard or the things that happen there. I’m simply telling the truth.

I admit my bias here: I did not apply to or attend Harvard for my undergraduate degree and have no plans to pursue further education at the school. If I had to make a ranking of institutions that I think are relevant to my day-to-day life I suspect Harvard would not crack the top 200. It is very easy for me to go full weeks without ever thinking about “Harvard.”

I recognize that this is a form of privilege, that I am able to live an emotionally and financially fulfilling life in which Harvard plays literally no role at all. I admit that I am lucky that I am never compelled to think about or form opinions regarding the institution.

Because of this, I expect that many people will accuse me of insensitivity to the obsessed-with-Harvard community. I appreciate that Harvard is extremely psychically important to some people, and I understand that those people might find my policy of “languidly scrolling past” when I see Harvard mentioned in headlines or tweets to be heartless or inconsiderate.

Let me say to those people: I see you, and I am holding space for you. I respect your identity, and I support your right to act completely insane about a university that you attended many years ago, or, in some, even more damaged cases, never even attended in the first place. I truly wish “best of luck” to you and your mental health.

Nevertheless, despite the deep respect and love I feel both for people who went to Harvard and also people who did not go to Harvard, I need to reiterate: I personally do not care very much about Harvard and will not be devoting any more energy than is necessary to complete this newsletter to contemplating it.

But Max, certain subscribers are perhaps rightfully asking, where can I get the wall-to-wall coverage of Harvard University that I need? If you are looking for in-depth coverage of occurrences at Harvard, I suggest a subscription to The New York Times, which has published 35 pieces on the Harvard University situation, whatever it might be, this month. You may also enjoy watching Fox News, where “Harvard” has been mentioned more than a thousand times over the last week, as well as TMZ. But with the exception of this particular newsletter, Read Max is a “Harvard-Free Zone.”

For the record, I also do not care about Yale.