We recognize that there’s some irony in writing a piece titled “In Response to…” since responses are the very type of submission we most often choose not to publish as moderators of Socratic Shortcomings. To those who have sent in submissions that did not go up, we hope that this response in the Record will shed light on our process.
Moderating a tumblr like Socratic Shortcomings is not easy. We created the tumblr in order to provide (1) a platform of solidarity for voices that have been traditionally marginalized in higher education and the legal field and (2) a place to exhibit many thoughts and lived experiences at Harvard Law School. While we have received dozens of valuable submissions from students writing about their own experiences, many students have been more eager to respond to someone else’s experience in order to “clarify” a situation, tell a student that he or she was wrong, or defend another position. Our primary objective was not to host an online discussion nor a contentious back-and-forth akin to a YouTube comments section. Rather, we intended to expose students, professors, administrators, and the world to certain closed-door truths that are rarely discussed openly.
The author of “Dogmatic Shortcomings” believes that the tumblr is “falsely purporting to be a safe space for expression of a full range of HLS voices.” This accusation misidentifies our aims. A very specific body of voices already enjoys a long-assured safe space in the halls and classrooms of Harvard Law School. This is not to say that those voices have no place on Socratic Shortcomings, but the tumblr is meant to amplify and protect the voices that have not enjoyed such security on campus — as we put it in the “About” section of the tumblr, those “voices and experiences that have traditionally been marginalized.”
It is precisely in order to ensure that a full range of voices are heard at HLS that we take the approach that we do as moderators. This is why Socratic Shortcomings is not a place to explain why you find someone else’s experiences to be invalid. A few other things Socratic Shortcomings is not: it is not a platform to discredit the “whining” of other students on campus; it is not a sounding board for students who have long dominated the conversation in and outside of class to continue to speak over those who have felt silenced; it is not a get out of jail free card for students who want to say something racist, classist, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamaphobic, etc. under the shield of anonymity.
Socratic Shortcomings is a haven for those who have felt targeted or disappointed by the aforementioned narratives and a resource for those who want to better understand how the culture of the school affects the experiences of a wider swath of the Harvard Law School community. These are the shortcomings that we are interested in addressing.
To these ends we limit submissions to accounts of HLS students’ experiences, unless they are hateful or from trolls. In order to prevent the undercutting and undervaluing of those brave enough to share, we discourage responses and rarely post them. It would defeat the very purpose of Socratic Shortcomings if people who posted submissions received a barrage of rejoinders saying that their individual experiences are wrong. This policy applies to responses to the blog as a whole, too. Socratic Shortcomings is not a tumblr about what you think about the tumblr: it is a tumblr about diversity and identity at Harvard Law School.
We certainly have not been perfect moderators but we are fiercely proud of Socratic Shortcomings. It is a protected ground for cultivating seeds that we hope will bloom into deep discussions that for many students have already started happening. Students, not just at Harvard Law School, have started sharing their experiences more openly among peers and faculty. They have used experiences from the tumblr to ask each other questions and to air and clarify their feelings. They have used the stories on the tumblr to advocate for more open discussions at the school concerning issues of race, gender, class, and ideology. Not all students may see it yet, but individual students and groups beyond Students for Inclusion have started to put the tumblr to work to try and make Harvard Law School a better community.
Students for Inclusion is working to bring more open discussions to the student body so that we can work on becoming an inclusive environment both in and outside of the classroom. When those discussions take place–hosted by Students for Inclusion, another group, or the administration–we hope that all students, even those who may have felt silenced by the tumblr, will come and participate. We want to have the same round table discussions that you are asking for, and we are glad you are asking for them.