During a visit to a social studies class where a Cambridge Police Department officer was discussing the rights and responsibilities of a law enforcement officer, Summers touched on some of the decisions related to law enforcement policy that he faced as Secretary of the Treasury.
“Is it ever okay for a law enforcement officer to shoot their firearm with the intent of injuring someone rather than killing them?” he asked.
“Personally,” one of the student answered, “I don’t think you should be shooting them in the first place.”
A fast-moving dialectic between the high school student and the University president ensued, each ricochetting refinements in the conditions of his argument off the other. Sullivan and Anthony D. Gallucio, one of a few Cambridge City Councillors present at the celebration, joined in the discussion until a Summer Academy official interjected. It was time for the ceremony.
The two leaders blew briskly through the school’s empty hallways, chatting about their experience in the classrooms, and took their seats at the lunch tables of the school’s Media Cafeteria, joining almost 50 other guests. A pair of students serenaded the audience with an original composition. A group of young step dancers followed, performing a coordinated routine and a choreographed dance to a bumptious recording from the popular band *NSync.
Taking the microphone, Sullivan discussed the city’s progress in overcoming its educational weaknesses. He focused on Cambridge’s recent success in boosting literacy among its public-school students.
“When we look at national literacy rates, Cambridge is a city that’s climbing,” he said.
Shouting across the cafeteria when his microphone failed, Summers also extolled local literacy efforts by citing a portion of Harvard’s grant designated to purchase books for nine local children’s organizations.
“Of the $500,000 in gifts we are providing, the piece I am most excited about is the $9,000 for books,” he said.
The University president also looked toward the future. Citing Grutter v. Bollinger—the recent Supreme Court decision which upheld affirmative action with the belief that it would be unnecessary in 25 years—Summers said he looked forward to the possibility of affirmative action being unnecessary in Cambridge.
“I look forward to the day 25 years from now when students will be able to compete for admission to universities like Harvard on an equal basis,” he said. “The children who Harvard will be admitting 25 years from now will be born in this community in just a few years, and we have to be ready.”
Summers said the University’s support for Cambridge educational programs is a realization of its educational mission rather than an act of charity.
“No one in Cambridge should ever suppose that what Harvard does in working with the city is an act of charity,” he said. “Harvard as an institution is dedicated to education, and that means we need to be dedicated to education on every level.”
—Staff writer Nathan J. Heller can be reached at heller@fas.harvard.edu.