Harvard Plagiarism Archive: The Tribe Transgression: What, and Why, is Harvard Hiding? -- Cracking the Academic "Code of Silence"

Harvard Plagiarism Archive

"[T]he problem of writers . . . passing off the work of others as their own . . . [is] a phenomenon of some significance."
PROFESSOR LAURENCE TRIBE, e-mail to Dean Lawrence Velvel, 9/13/2004

"'I . . . delegated too much responsibility to others . . .,' [Prof. Charles Ogletree] said. 'I was negligent
in not overseeing more carefully the final product that carries my name.' * * * Ogletree told The Crimson that
he had not read the passage of Balkin’s book that appears in his own work. An assistant inserted the material
into a manuscript . . . . But Ogletree said he was closely involved in most of the drafting of the book . . . ."
STEVEN MARKS, "Ogletree Faces Discipline for Copying Text," The Harvard Crimson, 9/13/2004

"'Ronald Klain . . . then only a first-year student at Harvard law . . . spent most of his time with
Tribe working on Tribe's [1985] book God Save This Honorable Court,'" the Legal Times added in 1993.
* * * 'Many of Klain's friends and former colleagues say that he wrote large sections of the book . . . .'"
JOSEPH BOTTUM, "The Big Mahatma," The Weekly Standard, 10/4/2004

"[A]fter several plagiarism scandals broke over distinguished faculty members at Harvard's law school, including
Laurence Tribe,a group of students there set up a blog, Harvard Plagiarism Archive, to follow the University's
handling of the problem. They believe that the University, President Summers, and Dean Elena Kagan
essentially white-washed the scandal and are demanding further action.
PROF. RALPH LUKER, History News Network's "Cliopatria" blog,4/26/2005

“The Tribe and Ogletree matters have catalyzed bitter complaints from Harvard students that the university
employs a double standard. . . . The students have every right to be incensed over this gross double standard.
They in fact ought to raise hell peacefully about it: a constant barrage of letters, emails, statements . . . .”
DEAN LAWRENCE VELVEL, "Velvel on National Affairs" blog, 4/28/2005

"If you want to keep track of this story, I recommend the new Harvard Plagiarism Archive. . . . [I]t's pretty thorough."
TIMOTHY NOAH, Slate's "Chatterbox" blog,9/28/2004

"[Y]ou have done a wonderful service to all by operating the AuthorSkeptics website . . . a fine public service."
DEAN LAWRENCE VELVEL, author of "Velvel on National Affairs," e-mail to AuthorSkeptics, 4/19/2005

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

The Tribe Transgression: What, and Why, is Harvard Hiding? -- Cracking the Academic "Code of Silence"

About 26 hours ago, at 11:40 a.m. on April 18, following up on our April 16 post complaining that the official joint statement by Harvard on the plagiarism charges against Professor Tribe had not been posted on any Harvard website, see here, we sent the following e-mail to President Summers and Dean Kagan, and copied Professor Tribe on it (we're omitting the e-mail addresses):

Dear President Summers and Dean Kagan:

We run a blog devoted to plagiarism issues at Harvard,
authorskeptics.blogspot.com, one which Timothy Noah of Slate has called "pretty thorough."

As part of our efforts to provide comprehensive coverage of these issues, we wish to obtain with a minimum of fuss your April 14 joint statement concerning Professor Tribe. Please e-mail it to us today.

Also, please post the statement on the two pertinent Harvard websites, as we have suggested you do in our latest post, here:
http://authorskeptics.blogspot.com/2005/04/harvards-official-statement-regarding.html

Thank you.

"Skipper"
(see http://slate.msn.com/id/2107361)

Author_Skeptics@allmail.net

"Helping ensure Harvard plagiarists face the music, since September 2004."

Ten minutes later, we sent the following e-mail to Professor Tribe, and copied President Summers and Dean Kagan on it:

Dear Professor Tribe:

We run a blog devoted to plagiarism issues at Harvard,
authorskeptics.blogspot.com, one which Timothy Noah of Slate has called "pretty thorough."

As part of our efforts to provide comprehensive coverage of these issues we wish to obtain with a minimum of fuss the full text of the statement you e-mailed one or more reporters, quoted in the April 15 Harvard Crimson article, and also the full text of the statement you e-mailed one or more reporters back in September, also quoted in the Harvard Crimson then. In analyzing the charges brought against you in light of the joint statement issued on April 14 we want to be sure we have a full and accurate understanding of all statements by you on these charges to date.

Please e-mail us both statements today.

Thank you.

"Skipper"
(see http://slate.msn.com/id/2107361)

Author_Skeptics@allmail.net

"Helping ensure Harvard plagiarists face the music, since September 2004."

Within half an hour of when we sent our first e-mail, all three of them (or at least people in their offices) received the e-mails and went to our blog (our referral logs show three separate Harvard IP addresses visiting our blog right after we sent our e-mail).

In the 26 hours since we sent our e-mails, we have not received anything in response -- no copy of Harvard's official statement, and no copy of Professor Tribe's statement e-mailed to the press. No copy of Harvard's official statement has been posted on any Harvard website, to the best of our knowledge.

Which leads to this question: What is Harvard hiding, and why?

In particular, why has Harvard's non-transparency on matters involving alleged academic misconduct by its professors, of which Harvard professor Howard Gardner has complained here and here, reached the point that Harvard and the professor involved are not even willing to disclose in full their official statements on the matter?

What does it take to crack the academic "code of silence" which appears to be in operation at Harvard?

Harvard Plagiarism Archive