Harvard University has announced plans to remove the reference to “Puritans” from the Ivy League institution’s alma mater song, claiming that the word is not “inclusive.”
According to a column in the Crimson by the staff editorial board, the reference to “Puritans” in the school’s song was not a concern for members of the Harvard community before the announcement that the change would be made.
Students do not engage with the alma mater on a regular basis. By contrast, other renamed or changed traditions involved phrases like “House Master” (a change we opposed) which were used regularly. Indeed, the line in question has not been a source of consternation among students. In our view, the proposed change merely serves as a token that will ultimately achieve little in the greater scope of issues that plague Harvard College.
Despite this, a task force working to make Harvard more “inclusive” announced their decision to get rid of the reference to “Puritans” in the alma mater song.
“Written in 1836, the alma mater ends with the line, “Till the stock of the Puritans die.” The song was revised in 1998 to make the lyrics more gender-inclusive, but they left the final line as it was,” the task force wrote in a statement. “We think it’s time for a change.”
In an email to The College Fix, Harvard Government Professor Harvey Mansfield expressed disappointment over the change, arguing that it only serves to wash away the history of the University. He added that it serves as a “gross instance of political correctness.”
Mansfield called Harvard “America’s trendiest university,” and said that the move is a surrender “to groups who want to use the university to gain their own political ends and who do not understand or care for the search for truth regardless of party.”
Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about economics and higher education for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com
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