Interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity. Any grammatical errors should be attributed to The Record editors and not to the candidates.
Why do you want this position?
Friedman: Let me let you in on a little secret, I’m not a great law student. In fact, why am I sitting here answering your questions when I should be working on my brief tomorrow? Because the most enriching part of my experience has not been my property class or my civil procedure class, no matter how entertaining Glenn Cohen is. But the students I’ve met and the events I’ve attended. Trust me, in 10 years, you will not remember all the elements of adverse possession, but you will remember the students you met, a speaker who had an impact on you, when you were a part of a student organization that gave you a sense of community. So I wanna support that aspect of the school experience and make it easier for student orgs to carry out that mission.
What qualifies you for this role? Do you have any experience with roles like this?
Friedman: In law school, I am treasurer for the Harvard Law Alliance for Israel, a 1L representative for the Jewish Law Students Association, Harvard Democrats; I am also an editor for Harvard Journal on Legislation and the Harvard National Security Law Journal.
My role as treasurer for a student organization has really given me a front row seat to the intricacies of CEEB financial rules and how student organizations operate.
Outside the law school, my most relevant experience to the role of Director of student organizations, was my work in my hometown of Baltimore (which is the greatest city in America, and I invite all Harvard Law School to come and visit) where I served this campaign manager for a successful Baltimore City Council candidate. I managed a large operation of dozens of volunteers, and strategized how to best utilize our campaign finances. I think most importantly the role involved, connecting working people of all backgrounds and beliefs across the council district, which is something I hope to do as Director of student organizations as well.
What do you see this role as?
Friedman: I’m gonna give you an answer that I don’t think any candidate for office should ever give:
I do not see this role as anything or have any specific priorities for student organizations on campus. That’s not my job, and any candidate who tells you otherwise is not being truthful. At the end of the day, the powers of student government are limited and most of the major decisions are made by CEEB. If student government really did play a major role on campus, would every single position except for one be non-competitive? However, the Director of Student Organizations does have two real powers, to manage and appoint students to the student funding board and to vote on the approval of clubs. In exercising those roles, I will not seek to impose my own priorities as I rightfully shouldn’t, but rather seek to enable student organizations to carry out their priorities most easily and effectively.
What is your leadership style?
Friedman: I am as transparent as it comes, and I never hide the ball. Given that, in everything I do as Director of Student Organizations, I will seek to do it collaboratively and transparently. Historically, the decisions behind funding and approval for student organizations have been made behind closed doors. I don’t think anyone knows how much money the student funding board has to give, how they are allocating the funds, whether it’s in an equitable way, or what’s even the criteria or system they use for deciding these questions.
I’m pretty sure the student funding board met this past week, but did they invite the student body to observe them or give testimony? These funds come from our tuition dollars, and we have a right to know how they are being used. If elected, I will work to have a transparent and open process, giving every student a seat at the table.
How should student orgs be allowed to exercise free speech? And where?
Friedman: I think student organizations should and have been able to exercise free speech in a number of ways, including hosting events, holding protests, making public statements, and utilizing social media, but in all of these activities they cannot interfere with students’ enjoyment and use of the educational resources and activities that we all pay to receive.
I have looked through the Record’s previous candidate questionnaires and I haven’t seen this question asked before, so let’s address the elephant in the room. This question is of course a response to the deep divisions and pain that has shook our community since October 7th and its aftermath. I want everyone reading this article to stop what you are doing, go to the Harvard Law School events calendar, and search for Israel and then Palestine in the search box. What you will see is at least two dozen events over this past year organized by students from each side of the issue, events that could not be more opposing in their views on the conflict. That is what free speech looks like and a demonstration of how and where free speech can thrive on this campus!
Editor’s Note: Typing “Israel” into the HLS events calendar yields 51 results; the database lists 27 hosted by explicitly pro-Israel organizations since the beginning of 2023. There were 7 of such events in the fall semester of 2023 (all following October 7th) and 7 in the 2024 Spring semester as of March 24, 2024. 11 events by pro-Israel organizations are listed in the Spring semester of 2023.
Typing “Palestine” in the HLS events calendar yields 29 results; the database lists 15 events hosted by explicitly pro-Palestinian organizations since the beginning of 2023. There were 5 of such events in the 2023 fall semester (0 after October 7th) and 7 in the 2024 spring semester as of March 24, 2024. 3 events by pro-Palestinian organizations are listed in the Spring semester of 2023.
Does the presence of HUPD officers make student org events safer? How do you propose making student org events safe?
Friedman: First, I think the second part of your question has a false premise. I believe the vast majority of students on campus would agree that events at HLS are already safe. If they were not, do you think there would be an average of around a dozen events on this campus every day? Regarding your first question, I think that’s up to every student organization to determine for themselves and what best fits their needs. If there is a controversial speaker coming to campus, I could understand why a student organization would want security there, yet I can also understand why a student organization may feel that having security may exacerbate the tensions. Again, it’s a judgment call given each scenario, and as Director of Student Organizations, I would be happy to talk it through with any student leader when these cases arise.
How do you envision the relationship with Dean of Students (DoS) and student orgs?
Friedman: I am a little confused with your question since most activities surrounding student organizations are dealt with by CEEB. Of course, DOS often assists CEEB in carrying out their role, and I do not see any particular problem with that. However, where I do see a good role for DOS in dealing with student organizations is through the mental health initiatives that DOS spearheads. For many students, the communities and people that they most connect to on campus are through student organizations, especially affinity groups. When a student is going through a rough time or is seeking support, student organization can play a crucial role in providing students with the mental health resources offered by DOS, and that relationship on this issue would be something I would be passionate in advocating for.
Do you think student orgs should be able to use Belinda Hall for events?
Friedman: I do not. As demonstrated by what I previously mentioned on the Harvard Law Events Calendar, there is no shortage of spaces on campus to reserve for events. A good number of students utilize Belinda Hall, day and night, as a study space and as a place to meet with a small group of friends. Unlike reserving classrooms or other bookable places on campus, Belinda Hall is a communal area, and thus utilizing it for events interrupts the enjoyment of the space by students who are not connected to the event at all. Indeed, by allowing the space to be used for events, we are taking away the rights and benefits of some members of our community in order to give it to others. As someone who believes in an inclusive and equitable school, I cannot stand for that.
To what degree, in your opinion, should Office of Community Engagement, Equity, and Belonging (CEEB) be involved in the finances of student organizations on campus? How does the philosophical independence of student organizations factor into your analysis?
Friedman: I think student organizations should have great freedom in how and for what they decide to utilize their finances for, since they themselves know best how to achieve the mission of their organizations. Given the philosophical independence that you mention, I do not think CEEB should be micromanaging student organizations, and in all practicality, I do not think they can. We have close to 100 student organizations on campus (I promise to know and attempt to meet each one during my term if elected), so even if CEEB wanted to, there is only so much they can do. However, ultimately, it is vital that CEEB has the tools necessary to control and oversee the disbursements of funds, because if student organizations do not adhere to proper procedures of financial management, then the school can run into issues with IRS regulations, negatively affecting all organization on campus (I have not taken any tax classes yet, so I won’t even try to get into the details).
What, if anything, do you think needs improvement about student organizations?
Friedman: Running a student organization at HLS can be tough, especially considering the endless pages of regulations on the CEEB website. I’m the treasurer of a student organization, I should know. As I mentioned in my last answer, some of those regulations are necessary and something that student organizations have no choice but dealing with, but I also believe there is much unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles that the administration forces student organization to go through, especially involving the running of events and creation of swag. If elected, I will work with student organizations and the administration to find ways to cut through the red tape and make the lives of student organization leaders just a little easier.
What is your biggest concern, if any, about this role?
Friedman: I’m going to be honest, maybe more honest than I should be, but it’s the absolute truth, and I wouldn’t give you anything less. I’m most concerned with working with co-presidents who do not seek to represent all students at HLS, including myself. In their candidate statement, one of the incoming co-presidents claimed to “advocate for a community where every voice is heard, and every student feels safe and valued” yet the other co-president wrote that “I’ve seen the power of student leadership,” and continued, “Students have bravely spoken out against the genocide in Palestine. That work is still ongoing.” As a student that is involved in pro-Israel work on campus, how does that make me feel. That only one side of political advocacy on this issue is brave and should be included in the voices on campus, but others should not. Because this implies that the new student government will only be supportive of certain views on campus, but not others. Let me be clear: I support the rights of every student group to politically organize, no matter how much I disagree with them. But let’s not kid ourselves. We all have biases, I certainly do. So how am I going to overcome my biases, especially in relation to the most important role of the Director of Student Organizations, which is the funding of clubs? Well, I plan to work with the student body to create a formula based on a set of criteria, in which funding will be allocated based on several pre-set factors, including membership, events held, fundraising, etc., taking myself out of the equation. This way, I won’t just be claiming to value every student on campus, I will actually mean it.
What do you think is the purpose of student organizations, broadly speaking?
Friedman: I think above all, student organizations provide people with a sense of community, especially in a school with 2000 students. I know for me personally over the difficult past few months, the Jewish Law Students Association provided me a space to connect with and lean on people who understood what I was going through. Yet, student organizations are not just places to take sanctuary with people of your own beliefs, but also to connect with students of different backgrounds. This can take place in finding common student organization of common interests or different student organizations working together. In fact, my favorite event this year was the interfaith dinner held a few weeks ago, in which students from all faith backgrounds broke bread in hopes of finding how we are more alike, rather than different. That’s what makes student organizations great and that’s what makes Harvard Law School great.