Harvard Institute of Politics director rejects student president's call to drop nonpartisan status after Trump win
The president of the Student Advisory Committee recently authored an op-ed in which he expressed that the institute needed to no longer be nonpartisan in wake of Donald Trump's presidential victory.
Director Setti Warren responded by writing that the institute will remain nonpartisan.
Hours after the Student Advisory Committee president of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics declared that the organization should no longer be nonpartisan, the director reaffirmed the institute’s commitment to remaining nonpartisan.
On Nov. 8, student Pratyush Mallick authored an op-ed for The Harvard Crimson in which he expressed that the institute needed to choose “a commitment to democracy over a commitment to nonpartisanship” after Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.
That same day, however, Director Setti Warren rejected Mallick’s view.
”As the director and leader of the IOP, I believe that for it to be successful, experiential learning must happen on a nonpartisan basis,” Warren wrote in a separate Crimson op-ed.
”True political leadership requires listening to — and being curious about — a variety of perspectives, some of which may be different than our own,” he continued. “It demands that we work to understand what others care about and what motivates them. Nonpartisan dialogues are critical to moving our country forward.”
Warren also noted that the institute cannot allow students to think critically about politics “when only only one side is represented.”
Dedicated in honor of President Kennedy in 1966, the Institute of Politics is committed to a nonpartisan approach to public policy, according to its website.
”The IOP’s mission is to unite and engage students, particularly undergraduates, with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers on a non-partisan basis to inspire them to consider careers in politics and public service,” the web page states. “The Institute strives to promote greater understanding and cooperation between the academic world and the world of politics and public affairs.”
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Despite the institute’s official nonpartisan status, Harvard remains an overwhelmingly liberal institution overall.
Recent reporting from the Crimson showed that 94 percent of recent political donations from Harvard affiliates has gone toward Democrats.
”The analysis, which comes just 10 days before Americans head to the polls, found that 94 percent of political contributions from Harvard affiliates went to Democratic candidates, with the majority going toward Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris,” the Crimson wrote on Oct. 28.