But the rule is too plastic. On today’s campus, one can earn a “doubtful” reputation by being on the wrong side of pretty much any cause dear to activists. Just look at the fury directed at Cambridge University earlier this year for even considering whether to accept donations from the fossil fuel industry.
Surely that’s Harvard’s worry: No matter how carefully worded the rejection, once the university declares Epstein’s money tainted, it will face attacks on donations from any of a thousand unpopular industries or individuals.
Don’t get me wrong. Like most people, I’d urge Harvard to get rid of Epstein’s money, preferably by yesterday. But it would be unserious to pretend that the university will be able to hold to any bright line it might sketch to explain its action. In today’s climate, there’s no way to avoid the deluge that will surely follow.
Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include “The Emperor of Ocean Park,” and his latest nonfiction book is “Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster.”