This isn’t good enough. I’m attending college in the hopes of developing into a more rounded person; growing in love and humility is as much a part of this development as growing in wisdom.

Besides creating and reinforcing a set of university-wide maxims, Harvard administrators could, in their regular outreach to students, stress the importance of taking care of others, not just yourself. Too often this message only appears in the aftermath of a tragedy.

More basically the University could stand tall and stick to the position that there are right ways to use a Harvard degree, and there are wrong ways. Part of going to a place like this one is figuring out how to untangle your educational privilege.

Perhaps there are reasons that Harvard doesn’t take on a more active role as a promoter of morality. After all, the college aims to teach critical inquiry and active questioning, which may seem antithetical to aphoristic propaganda.

But this logic lacks the understanding that humble service is a universal virtue. Championing kindness doesn’t undermine analytical thinking; it doesn’t offend diversity.

There are lots of mistakes you can make at Harvard—drinking too much, studying too little, or picking the wrong extracurriculars—but the only way you can truly fail is to abandon compassion.

This is a message that all college students ought to hear again and again, but Harvard’s administration has failed to deliver it.

Sam Danello '18, an editorial writer, lives in Leverett House