Bringing Discredit to Harvard

We write to express our outrage at the recent developments at the Semitic Museum.

Charlotte is an alumna on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, and Peter is an alumnus of the Society of Fellows. We have been "friends" of the Semitic Museum for many years. We will be very sorry to see it languish as part of the Harvard scene. It was a place where diverse groups could mix in appreciation of thoughtful exhibits like the rediscovered Bonfils photographs of 19th century Jerusalem and the remaining artifacts of the Danzig synagogue.

But that is not the cause of this letter. We understand that universities are facing hard times and that expenditures will have to shift. If the apparent demise of the Semitic Museum had been the result of a careful review, we would be unhappy, but not outraged. The process by which the Museum has been closed and its staff scattered, however, does discredit to Harvard.

We are horrified that communications within the University are not private, that Professor Stager has received Harvard's tacit approval for intercepting others' communications. Reading the copies of faxes left in the machine is no different from reading the copies of communications in people's files. The State Department does not tolerate its staff reading other people's e-mail. Can Harvard condone and approved reading other people's faxes? Surely the perpetrator of such a violation of intellectual privacy should be punished rather than rewarded.

We hope that you will urge the Harvard administration to reconsider the recent decisions that have been made about the Semitic Museum and its staff. Professor of Economics, MIT   Instructor, Harvard Medical School