Statement from Joseph Nye Jr., Dean of the Kennedy School

Late last week, someone distributed anonymous homophobic hate mail to the student authors of a column in the Kennedy School newspaper, The Citizen. It was followed by an equally repulsive anonymous memorandum full of ethnic and racial slurs. The content of the two documents is so puerile and outrageous that one is tempted to believe they are parodies. If so, they are in extremely bad taste. If serious, they reflect a level of ignorance and

cowardice unworthy of a member of this community.

As a professional school, we train people for managing in a diverse multicultural world. Our diversity is part of our strength. Any efforts to chill free speech, such as tearing down student posters or sending hate mail, is completely unacceptable behavior. We are

committed to providing a safe space and a comfortable environment for all of our students to learn.