According to The Harvard Crimson student newspaper, Harvard University has rescinded admissions offers to at least 10 incoming members of the class of 2021. Their offers were not rescinded for poor grades in their final semester of high school or for lying on their Harvard applications, but rather as the result of their participation in an exchange of “sexually explicit memes and messages that sometimes targeted minority groups in a private Facebook group chat.”
Perhaps the students’ actions and Harvard’s decision will encourage young people (as well as adults) to consider more seriously issues such as cyber-bullying and digital citizenship, and their relationship to them. One of the lessons here is that there are consequences to what we say and write, particularly if we target an individual or group in a hateful, offensive or threatening way. More importantly, though, I hope young people will consider their own views and actions – and what they say about their character.
Read more about this article via The Harvard Crimson here.