Ralph Nader Unsuccessful in Attempt to Join Harvard’s Board
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Ralph Nader’s latest election hopes were dashed on Monday.
The former presidential candidate was unsuccessful in his attempt to be elected to Harvard’s Board of Overseers, a 30-person governing board which maintains the school’s educational standards and is chosen by Harvard degree holders.
Nader caused a stir leading up to Monday’s election has he aligned himself with “Free Harvard / Fair Harvard” candidates, a group seeking to eliminate tuition for undergraduates and increase transparency over the university’s admissions process. Nader has been criticized for joining the collection of candidates, as a few members are detractors of affirmative action.
The consumer advocate and Harvard alum recently told Politico that he is a supporter of affirmative action and only joined the ticket for their other positions.
“I’m only signing on for disclosure. In terms of any other stuff, they’re on their own,” Nader said. “I’ve always been against 250 years of affirmative action for white males.”
He went on to call out Ivy League schools for their lack of transparency in the admissions process and for putting too much stock into potential students’ athletic backgrounds.
“I’ve long suspected that while the Ivy League brags it doesn’t have athletic scholarships, what it does is weigh very heavily varsity performance in secondary school as a factor in admissions,” Nader told Politico. “If you get in as a squash player at Hotchkiss or Andover, what color do you think you are? In what black neighborhood is there a squash court?”
Nader and the rest of the “Free Harvard” candidates, however, failed to be elected to the board, according to election results.
The newly elected Overseers include Google Senior Vice President Kent Walker, CVS Pharmacy President Helena Buonanno Foulkes, Northwestern University Associate Provost Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, US District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Cinépolis CEO Alejandro Ramírez Magaña.
