- Christine HeenanVice President for Public Affairs and Communications, Harvard
- President Drew FaustHarvard University
Harvard University: Please abolish the anti-gay Secret Court of 1920 and grant posthumous honorary degrees to the seven student victims
Harvard Secret Court of 1920
In 1920, Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell formed a secret court to hunt down homosexuals. Nine students were expelled:
• Donald Clark
• Eugene Cummings
• Kenneth Day
• Stanley Gilkey
• Joseph Lumbard
• Ernest Weeks Roberts
• Edward Say
• Keith Smerage
• Nathaniel Wollf
These students were not only forced to leave the University, they were also ordered to leave Cambridge, MA. Two of the students were allowed back (Gilkey & Lumbard), but the rest were not—one killed himself over the ordeal—Eugene R. Cummings. He was only 23-years-old and three weeks away from graduation. We are also disturbed to hear that Harvard pursued and persecuted these young men for over 30 years.
Their Day in the Yard Movement at Harvard
Their Day in the Yard is a movement that was started in June 2010 by a student of Harvard University, who wanted to help the expelled students achieve the recognition that they deserve, before she graduated.
Fellow students and supporters continue to join this worthy initiative. Together, we urge the University to grant the seven expelled students posthumous honorary degrees. We are also asking the University to officially abolish the Secret Court and reverse its decisions. These students have no justice until their records have been expunged and the Court’s decision is reversed. Until this is done, the Court and its work is still very much alive.
February 29, 2012 Demonstration at Harvard
Please join us at our February 29, 2012 demonstration at Sanders Theatre at Harvard. We will be calling for justice for the students and urging the Born This Way Foundation to support this movement at their Launch. More info here: http://www.facebook.com/events/278833778856215/
More info at: http://secretcourt.org/
*Please note that Kaia Stern supports this movement, but she takes no credit for founding it
- Vice President for Public Affairs and Communications, Harvard
- Harvard University
President Drew Faust
The Harvard Secret Court Victims of 1920 deserve "Their Day in the Yard." This petition seeks to end the disgrace.
I write to ask that you officially abolish the Harvard Secret Court of 1920.
Furthermore, I urge you to grant the seven expelled students posthumous honorary degrees. These students have no justice until their records have been expunged and the Court’s decision is reversed. Until this is done, the Court and its work is still very much alive.
Kaia Stern started this petition with a single signature, and now has 23,872 supporters. Start a petition today to change something you care about.