Since recent releases of the Epstein files revealed Howard Lutnick (HC ‘83) to have been in communication with notorious sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, Haverford community members have expressed outrage and demanded that Haverford cut ties with the Secretary of Commerce and remove his name from the college library.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Lutnick confirmed during his testimony on Capitol Hill that he had visited Epstein’s island in 2012 and maintained contact with him despite his past claims that he had not spoken to Epstein since 2005.
Several members of the Haverford community have expressed their outrage at Lutnick’s affiliation with the school. An anonymous source posted flyers of emails between Epstein and Lutnick around campus, and two students drafted a Plenary resolution to change the name of Lutnick Library.
On February 11, Haverford Survivor Collective (HSC), an advocacy group in the Bi-Co supporting victims of sexual violence, released a statement in response to the Epstein files. The statement recognizes the bravery of the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual crimes and addresses the sensitive nature of the files and their potentially triggering content. HSC condemns Lutnick as an integral part of the Trump administration, which they explain has “perpetrated violence against immigrants, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and others.” The statement concludes,
We call on Haverford College to re-examine its ties to Howard Lutnick. At what point will the college confront its relationship with this individual? At what point will it say, unequivocally, “enough is enough”? At what point does a reluctance to do so extend beyond mere negligence into a moral failing?
HSC Co-Head Paeton Smith-Hiebert (HC ‘26) said that after the statement was published, the Instagram account saw a spike in followers, and various organizations reached out to the club.
She expressed that “using your voice is the most important piece” of generating change in this situation. She urged students to post on social media, speak out about the situation as a part of their campus organizations, and encourage alumni to reach out to the administration. Smith-Hiebert also pointed out that as an open campus, Lutnick Library is used by members of the public who might have a stake in this prospective change.
“We recognize [Lutnick’s] association with Epstein raises ethical questions. While Secretary Lutnick’s association with Epstein has no direct bearing on the College, as an institution, we are committed to our core values and cognizant of broader ethical implications raised by these disclosures. The Board of Managers and I will continue to monitor the situation,” Haverford President Wendy Raymond said in a message to the school sent out on February 12.
A copy of this statement was also sent out to the wider Haverford community (alums, parents, and others involved in the college), as the last paragraph of a longer email concerning a recent Pro-Palestinian demonstration on Haverford’s campus.
“[The HSC board] were very disappointed…that it was just stuck at the bottom of an email about a completely unrelated incident,” Smith-Hiebert remarked.
In the statement, President Raymond referred to Lutnick as, “one of Haverford’s most generous supporters.”
Smith-Hiebert criticized the “neutrality, or complementary, in some cases, nature of the language.”
On Wednesday, February 18, at a town hall event co-hosted by HSC and E-Haus, Haverford’s community for environmentally focused living, students expressed similar sentiments. One anonymous student referred to President Raymond’s email as “dismissive.” Another student called the message “passive.” A third described it as “inappropriate.” With around 80 students in attendance, the conversation largely revolved around the question of how to proceed in support of the removal of Lutnick’s name from the college library.
As a supplement to the existing Plenary proposal, town hall hosts Smith-Hiebert and Milja Dann (HC ‘28) introduced an open letter addressed to President Raymond, Chair of the Board of Managers Michael B. Kim, and the Haverford Board of Managers, urging them to begin the process of removing Lutnick’s name from the library and “other named spaces on campus.”
Attendees discussed whether it would be productive to remove all names with ties to Lutnick, which include the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery (named for the financial services firm that Lutnick headed for over 30 years), the Jane Lutnick Fine Arts Building (named for Lutnick’s mother), the Gary Lutnick Tennis & Track Center (named for Lutnick’s brother, who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center), and the Douglas B. Gardener Integrated Athletic Center (named for Lutnick’s best friend, who was also killed in the 9/11 attacks).
A few students voiced concern that removing all names associated with Lutnick would not necessarily be the most productive course of action, or could potentially allow for community members to brush under the rug Haverford’s controversial relationship to the Secretary of Commerce. This led several students to suggest different avenues for preserving institutional memory if changes were to go through, including the installation of a plaque memorializing the process, or the creation of a committee devoted to collecting and preserving related documents.
Additionally, many students expressed frustration at the complex process by which buildings can be renamed, outlined in the Haverford Gift Acceptance Policies and Guidelines:
The review committee’s recommendations will be presented to the President. The President will then assess the review committee’s recommendations and (after consultation with the donor (or designee), if possible, the Senior Staff, the chair and vice chair of the Board of Managers, faculty members, students, College counsel and/or any others that the President deems appropriate) independently form their judgment and provide their recommendations to the Property Committee, Finance Committee, and External Affairs Committee of the Board of Managers and the chair and vice chair of the Board of Managers for consultation. Based on the feedback from this consultation, the External Affairs Committee in turn will make its recommendations to the Board of Managers. Based on the External Affairs Committee’s recommendations, the full Board of Managers will make the final decision.
Students expressed a responsibility to maintain pressure on administration– in particular, President Raymond and the Board of Managers– to take action towards removing Howard Lutnick’s name from the library. Students discussed a variety of tactics, but ultimately, organizers Smith-Hiebert and Dann agreed to organize another meeting specifically devoted to discussing prospective paths forward. In the spirit of Haverford’s Quaker origins, the meeting concluded with a moment of silence.
“These conversations are difficult, and I am grateful to those who have engaged them with seriousness and care for our College and all it represents”, President Raymond wrote in an update email addressed to the Haverford community on Thursday, February 19, meant to address the “growing number of Fords” that had shared their dismay.
“I will take the time necessary to continue to reflect and to engage with thought partners before determining whether to activate a review committee,” she added.
Authors’ Note: In order to protect the privacy of students attending the town hall event regarding Howard Lutnick’s association with Jeffrey Epstein, we accepted the Haverford Survivors Collective and E-haus media guidelines that restrict the Bi-Co News from publishing identifying information about attendees.
CORRECTION: Previously, Smith-Hiebert’s name was misspelled as Smith-Hierbert and Hiebert-Smith. We have since rectified the error and apologize.
1 comment
It is shameful that Haverford students are entertaining removing the names of 9/11 victims, and even more shameful that they can’t be bothered to name all the alum victims the fitness center honors. Those were students just like us that walked the same halls, lived in the same dorms, took the same classes. They died unimaginably horrific deaths simply because they committed the crime of going to work on a Tuesday. We shouldn’t taint their memory because we don’t like the guy that was rich enough to pay for them to be honored. These victims had no connection to Epstein, and were innocent people.
At the very least the bico news should acknowledge/remember/name ALL the alum victims that donation was intended to remember, not just one of them. The Lutnick donation funded a “memorial to three former Haverford College student-athletes and loyal alumni – Douglas B. Gardner ’83 (men’s basketball), Thomas B. Glasser ’82 (men’s track & field), and Calvin Gooding ’84 (men’s basketball) – who died tragically on September 11, 2001 in New York City.” Haverford lost 4 alum that day, those three and Phil Haentzler, a 1974 graduate.
Rest in peace and never forget.