Harvard Law School

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By | January 01, 0001

Grilling sessions

The senator is a supreme putz; General discontent; in praise of Byrd
P+J have just finished watching the second day of the televised Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | June 30, 2010

2010 Muzzle Awards on campus

Harvard and Yale once again lead the way . . . for academic censorship
Harvard and Yale universities felt the sting of the global economic collapse firsthand in 2009, as the endowments of these stalwart New England Ivy League members dropped by nearly a third. The schools didn’t fare much better in the free marketplace of ideas, either.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | June 30, 2010

The 13th Annual Muzzle Awards

A look at the dishonorable enemies of free speech and personal liberty in New England
A year and a half into the Age of Obama, we are learning a lesson we should have figured out long ago — that repression, once in place, is rarely rolled back all the way, and that liberals no less than conservatives are reluctant to give up power.
By DAN KENNEDY | July 05, 2010

Walk for AIDS: 25 years

Join in this Sunday. Despite significant progress, many challenges remain.
Starting at 7:30 this Sunday morning, tens of thousands of walkers, runners, and volunteers will begin gathering by the Hatch Shell on the Boston side of the Charles River Esplanade.
By EDITORIAL | June 04, 2010

Considering Kagan

She’s weak on free speech, but doesn’t deserve her ‘Seinfeld moment’
Elena Kagan, onetime dean of Harvard Law School and current US solicitor general, is a less than perfect candidate to sit on the Supreme Court.
By EDITORIAL | May 12, 2010

Elena Kagan’s shaky record

What a Kagan appointment to the Supreme Court could mean for civil liberties
As a potential Obama nominee for Supreme Court justice, Elena Kagan has liberal bona fides and the likely support of the right. But if her record is any indication, she’s more likely to side with the conservative bloc on matters of executive power and war-time presidential authority.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE AND KYLE SMEALLIE | April 16, 2010

Fighting foreclosure, one home at a time

Shadow cinema
When curious-looking animated silhouettes appear in the windows of foreclosed Dorchester residences — as they did this past month during a massive demonstration on Bullard Street, and will again soon in locations to be announced — it means that John Hulsey is scaring off bad guys.
By CHRIS FARAONE | April 07, 2010

Critical Mass

Over the years, UMass Amherst has proven to be a reliable hotbed for political hypocrisy and squelching of free speech
If free speech is what gives value to the campus "marketplace of ideas," UMass Amherst would long ago have gone bankrupt.
By KYLE SMEALLIE AND HARVEY SILVERGLATE | November 18, 2009

Holy terror?

Cutting through the muddled thinking about Nidal Malik Hasan's faith and its role in the Fort Hood shootings
On the afternoon of November 5, Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan walked into a building at Fort Hood, the sprawling military base in central Texas; sat briefly in solitary silence; and then opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol, shooting roughly a hundred rounds and killing 12 soldiers and one civilian.
By ADAM REILLY | November 16, 2009

Free speech again quashed at Harvard

RSVPeeved Dept.
It should come as no surprise to readers of “Freedom Watch” that yet another instance of political, intellectual, and academic censorship has sprung up at Harvard, the self-touted pinnacle of higher education.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | October 21, 2009

Khazei, Like a Fox?

Insiders don’t think Alan Khazei has a chance in the US Senate race. But progressive activists could make him an underdog with bite.
If there is to be a candidate in the Massachusetts US Senate race who inspires the sort of grassroots, progressive following that propelled Governor Deval Patrick into office three years ago — an insurgent candidacy, if you will — it figures to be idealistic public-service advocate Alan Khazei, co-founder of City Year and founder of Be the Change, Inc.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 16, 2009

Six for the seat

After a tumultuous week, these half dozen are still in the mix for Kennedy's seat.
Over the next few months, as candidates for the US Senate travel the state, you're likely to hear them say again and again that nobody can ever truly replace Ted Kennedy. That's the truth. But what does the state want next, after such a legendary, larger-than-life figure?
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 16, 2009

Tormenting Teddy

Republicans threaten Kennedy reign
After 32 years in the US Senate, Ted Kennedy remains a force to be reckoned with, both for his legendary family history and his considerable accomplishments.
By BOSTON PHOENIX STAFF | August 26, 2009

Who's next?

What the Banner 's closure means for Boston's African-Americans
If Melvin B. Miller has his way, last week's shutdown of the Bay State Banner — the African-American-focused weekly paper Miller ran as editor and publisher for nearly half a century — won't be the end.
By ADAM REILLY | July 21, 2009

Robojudge

Stephen Breyer may be the right man at the wrong time
Judge Stephen Breyer, Bill Clinton's latest pick for the Supreme Court, has attracted support so broad that it spans ideological and political differences.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | June 11, 2009

Nervous, stressed, and depressed, LLC

What's a recent law grad expected to do in this economy?
Twenty-seven-year-old Jesse White is a temporary staff attorney at a domestic-violence nonprofit in the South End.
By KARA BASKIN | April 30, 2009

Cracking up

State legislators across the country are filing resolutions declaring state sovereignty just as they did the last time a Democrat won the White House
Republicans all over the country find themselves backed into an ideological and political corner: their dogma has brought the country, and their party, to ruin.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | March 19, 2009

Crimson tied

A new battle threatens to disrupt the American political landscape, and it's hardly academic
Barack Obama's presidential campaign was successful in part because he was able to cleverly negotiate and navigate the battles that have plagued the United States the last few years.
By STEVEN STARK | March 16, 2009

The recording industry vs. free speech

This past week, US District Judge Nancy Gertner granted the industry's request to postpone the trial, originally scheduled to begin January 22, until February 24.
Download of Nonsense
By KYLE SMEALLIE AND HARVEY SILVERGLATE | February 09, 2009

Revenge of the nerds

For the first time since JFK, 'the best and the brightest' are back in the White House. Will Ivy-League intellect be enough to set the country straight?
Barack Obama's new administration has been characterized many ways — as a return to liberalism, a Chicago Mafia, and the harbinger of a new age.
By STEVEN STARK | January 21, 2009

Inauguration Day Round-up

Salute
Most people round these parts will be celebrating President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on January 20. But, even those rare local GOPs who are mourning the loss of a Republican administration will be looking for a good time.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | January 19, 2009

Rough justice

The Lieutenant of Inishmore; How Many Miles to Basra?; Legally Blonde the Musical
Except that it's a black farce, not a tragedy, you could call The Lieutenant of Inishmore Martin McDonagh's Titus Andronicus .
By CAROLYN CLAY | November 05, 2008

RI ’08: Prelude to 2010

In a national year of change, stasis is likely to prevail at the General Assembly
During a national election season in which “change” remains the dominant motif, Rhode Island politics is locked in a holding pattern marked by a Democratic stranglehold on state and federal offices.
By IAN DONNIS | October 31, 2008

Battling Scientology

Anonymous's Gregg Housh is committed to bringing down the Church of Scientology. Is he a gadfly or a goon?
In a world wracked with uncertainty, there is at least one thing you can bet on: pick a fight with the Church of Scientology, and its leaders will fight back — always with vigor, often with a vengeance, and sometimes with litigation that can be long and costly.
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 23, 2008

Since Harvard came out

Freedom watch
It was a typical Harvard alumni event, but not a typical, self-congratulatory Crimson “glory days” fest.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | October 02, 2008

School daze

Legally Blonde charms at PPAC
Is this all a larky celebration of post-feminist feminism or just a lark?
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | September 25, 2008

Are universities selling out to oil nations?

As big bucks beckon, Gulf campuses of American universities are booming
As Academia searches for elusive dollars in a downward economy, oil-rich nations are enticing American schools to open satellite campuses in the Gulf.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | September 25, 2008

New + old classics

Life on the boards
As if freshly presenting stage classics isn’t challenging enough, new adaptations are in the lineups this fall at two companies, Trinity Repertory Company and the Gamm.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | September 10, 2008

Fall on the boards

From A Chorus Line to Tennessee Williams and the Grinch
There are tours to the former Czechoslovakia, Romania, Italy, Iraq, the Aran Islands, and even the Underworld on area stages this fall.
By CAROLYN CLAY | September 11, 2008