You may recall yesterday we told you about former Harvard president Larry Summers said that the Winklevoss twins — the comic book villain genetic freaks who’ve been suing Mark Zuckerberg for a piece of the Facebook pie since they were both still in test tubes — are exactly the as$holes everyone thinks they are.
“One of the things you learn as a college president is that if an undergraduate is wearing a tie and jacket on Thursday afternoon at three o’clock, there are two possibilities. One is that they’re looking for a job and have an interview; the other is that they are an as$hole. This was the latter case. Rarely have I encountered such swagger, and I tried to respond in kind.”
Well you didn’t think the Winklevii would take that laying down, did you? Of course not! The issued a long, obnoxious letter to the current Harvard president in response whining about how Summers made them wait outside his office before meeting with them or something one time , the gist of which is, “No HE’S the as$hole!”
At office hours, we waited in his reception area but were told that we would have to return next month because there were more students in the queue than time allowed. In April of 2004, we returned to office hours and were successful in meeting with President Summers. His manner was not inconsistent with his reputation and present day admissions of being tactfully challenged. It was not his failure to shake hands with the three of us upon entering his office (doing so would have required him to take his feet off his desk and stand up from his chair), nor his tenor that was most alarming, but rather his scorn for a genuine discourse on deeper ethical questions, Harvard’s Honor Code, and its applicability or lack thereof.
We now further understand why our meeting was less than productive; someone who does not value ethics with respect to his own conduct, would likely have little interest in this subject as it related to the conduct of others. Perhaps there is a ‘variability of aptitude’ for decency and professionalism among university faculty.
Regardless, it is deeply disturbing that a professor of this university openly admits to making character judgments of students based on their appearance. It goes without saying that every student should feel free to bring issues forward, dress how they see fit, or express themselves without fear of prejudice or public disparagement from a fellow member of the community, much less so from a faculty member.
Oh Jesus go away Winklevoss twins. Just go away! These jerks make me want to escape to another planet.