{"id":104906,"date":"2022-03-30T00:02:20","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T04:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=104906"},"modified":"2022-03-29T23:55:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T03:55:26","slug":"harvard-student-leaders-apologize-for-using-terms-defund-and-abolish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/harvard-student-leaders-apologize-for-using-terms-defund-and-abolish\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard student leaders apologize for using terms \u2018defund\u2019 and \u2018abolish\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The apology did not satisfy the activists<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The leaders of Harvard University\u2019s Undergraduate Council issued an apology for their past use of the words \u201cdefund\u201d and \u201cabolish.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Michael Cheng and Vice President Emmett de Kanter (pictured<\/em>) used the words during their campaign for student government in December 2021. The pair said<\/a> they wanted to “Defund the UC.”<\/p>\n

They ran on a platform of defunding and abolishing the current student government due to allegations<\/a> of corruption and misconduct, though an ongoing audit<\/a> has not uncovered any problems.<\/p>\n

But black activists successfully bullied the pair into apologizing for using the terms \u2013 now they will use \u201creimagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The use of these words \u201ctrivializes the struggle of Black Americans,\u201d Know Your Vote, Harvard wrote on its Instagram<\/a> last week. \u201cTo equate a student government to an oppressive force commodifies experiences of minority students across campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis message is overdue and we apologize for that,\u201d de Kanter said in the video, seen below. The audio syncing problems are original to the Instagram video<\/a>.<\/p>\n