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Blog Post 2

Harvard, one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the world, has recently made the questionable decision not to remove the Sackler name from their campus. However on par with the institution’s classist history, Harvard’s decision not to remove the Sackler name from campus buildings is inappropriate and unsatisfactory. The opioid epidemic can be traced back to the Sackler name, the family and infamous owners of Purdue Pharma, otherwise known as the makers of Oxycontin. 

The rightful standing of the names on Harvard’s campus have been a longstanding topic of debate. According to Harvard Magazine Editor in Chief John S. Rosenberg, “The names we have been given from Harvard’s first three-and-three-quarter centuries overwhelmingly represent one dimension of the University’s past: men of elite status, power, and importance from eras quite different from our own.” This view-point is corroborated by the preceding events to the university’s Sackler decision. Arthur M. Sackler, often credited with the revolutionary advertisement tactics that would one day contribute to the greater opioid epidemic, donated significant funds to Harvard in a successful effort to have the school’s museum collection of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean art named after him.  After long calls to remove the Sackler name from Harvard's campus, Harvard deemed the action of removing the Sackler name from campus buildings or returning any past donations as “inappropriate” in 2019. Following the announcement, University President Lawrence S. Bacow stated that in addition to “legal and contractual considerations,” Arthur Sackler had passed away before OxyContin was developed and marketed. This decision has been met with significant backlash, as other institutions, when tasked with similar dilemmas, have successfully separated their campuses from the Sackler name. 

The connections upon which elite institutions have been built upon and those they produce are perhaps some of the most promising and guaranteed appeals of attendance. As with all collegiate institutions, money is a major driving force to success and smooth operation. Two-thirds of Harvard’s operating expenses in the 2021 fiscal year, approximately five billion dollars, came from sources such as federal and non-federal research grants, student tuition and fees, and gifts from alumni, parents, and friends. Prescription Addiction Intervention Now organizer Megan Kapler has stated that a large contributing factor to the overall hesitation from institutions to remove the Sackler name correlates to other interrelated forms of funding. In an interview, Kapler remarked, “If they take down the Sackler name, will they have to reassess their other donors? I think that’s more than likely the case.” Many of the organizations and individuals that sponsor and fund elite institutions concert with one another. Removal of the Sackler name runs the risk of jeopardizing relationships with other organizations and contributors as well. 

The development of Harvard’s denaming principles, being as denaming is such a contentious subject, was a meticulous and comprehensive process. The Sackler case is special in its comparability to these principles, as it validates some but seems to go against others. One of the principles is as follows: “the case for removing an individual’s name will be strongest when the behaviors now seen as morally repugnant are a significant component of that individual’s legacy when viewed in the full context of the namesake’s life.” Almost unarguably so, the impacts of the Sackler’s actions and their subsequent legacy are morally repugnant and extremely significant. Those who have been affected by the opioid epidemic in recent years are the ones suffering from the repercussions of Sackler’s actions. Their lives are currently and continually impacted by real, genuine, consequences, and this will not change depending on the intent of the Sackler family’s initial actions.

 The focus on major names, however, takes away from a principal issue at hand. Undoubtedly, the opioid crisis has disproportionately impacted rural lower-income areas when compared to any other demographic. A December 2017 survey by the National Farmers Union and the American Farm Bureau Federation found that as many as 74 percent of farmers have been directly impacted by the opioid crisis. As of the 2020 Harvard graduating class, only 8.7 percent comes from rural areas, versus 30.5 percent and 60.8 percent from cities and suburbs. Almost all elite institutions of higher education in the United States have a long standing history of classism. This is commonly seen in their past actions and behaviors. The case at hand is no different. Per their diversity statement, Harvard claims to make it their mission to “address disparities and inequities.” Harvard’s decision to stand idly by, deciding not to remove the name while also seeming to make no new conscious efforts to educate or research to prevent continued detriment of the opioid epidemic goes against their diversity statement. 

The Sackler name should be removed from Harvard campus buildings for a multitude of reasons. Connections, denaming principles, legality, and the impacts of the opioid epidemic on low income rural communities significantly overshadow the current rationale behind Harvard’s decision not to separate themselves from the Sackler name. An institution that claims to be devoted to progressivism and diversity expansion’s current actions continue their longstanding history of classism, tolerance of prejudice, and blatant discriminatory practices.

Works Cited

“An Ambitious Research Plan to Help Solve the Opioid Crisis.” National Institutes of Health, 7 July 2020, nida.nih.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2018/06/ambitious-research-plan-to-help-solve-opioid-crisis#:~:text=Three%20medications%20are%20currently%20FDA,intranasal%20formulations%20to%20reverse%20overdose.“Ann Marie.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Sept. 2017, https://www.cdc.gov/rxawareness/stories/annmarie.html. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

Chaidez, Alexandra A, and Aidan F Ryan. “Bacow Says Removing Sackler Name from Harvard Buildings Would Be 'Inappropriate': News: The Harvard Crimson.” News | The Harvard Crimson, 6 May 2019, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/5/6/bacow-sackler/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

Hammer, Katie, and Randy Fox. “Targeting the Opioid Crisis.” Targeting the Opioid Crisis | Harvard Medical School, 15 May 2019, https://hms.harvard.edu/news/targeting-opioid-crisis. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

“Harvard Medical School Diversity Statement.” Harvard Medical School, https://hms.harvard.edu/about-hms/campus-culture/diversity-inclusion/harvard-medical-school-diversity-statement. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

“Harvard's Endowment.” Financial Administration, https://finance.harvard.edu/endowment#:~:text=Even%20with%20endowment%20support%2C%20Harvard,alumni%2C%20parents%2C%20and%20friends. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

Health, Cultivating. “Fentanyl Facts, Overdose Signs to Look for, and How You Can Help Save a Life.” Health, 11 Jan. 2023, health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/fentanyl-overdose-facts-signs-and-how-you-can-help-save-a-life/2023/01#:~:text=Due%20to%20its%20potency%2C%20a,powerful%20and%20can%20be%20addictive.

Holmes, Helen. “The Sackler Name Can Now Be Removed from Any Museum with 45 Days Notice.” Observer, Observer, 4 Mar. 2022, https://observer.com/2022/03/the-sackler-name-can-now-be-removed-from-any-museum-with-45-days-notice/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

“Opioid Misuse in Rural America.” USDA, https://www.usda.gov/topics/opioids#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20is%20experiencing,greatest%20percentage%20increase%20in%20deaths. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

“Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

June 2022, www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/epidemic.html. 

Rosenberg, John S. “Harvard Articulates Principles for ‘Denaming.’” Harvard Magazine, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/12/harvard-denaming-principles. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

Seltzer, Rick. “Tufts Will Remove Sackler Name from Medical Campus, Drawing Rebuke from Purdue Pharma's Owners.” Tufts Will Remove Sackler Name from Medical Campus, Drawing Rebuke from Purdue Pharma's Owners, 6 Dec. 2019, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/12/06/tufts-will-remove-sackler-name-medical-campus-drawing-rebuke-purdue-pharmas-owners. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra. “Harvard Continues to Display the Sackler Family Name despite Calls for Removal.” Observer, Observer, 19 Sept. 2022, https://observer.com/2022/09/harvard-continues-to-display-the-sackler-family-name-despite-calls-for-removal/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.Ukani, Alisha. “Recruiting for Economic Diversity.” Harvard Magazine, 3 Aug. 2017, https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/08/admissions-office-strategies-low-income. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

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A first-hand characterization of what it is to live in rural small town America is riddled with shuttered factories, Dollar General stores, burgeoning disability claims, and heroin needles. Those who make up these populations within rural small-town America and exist within its circumstances are disparaged in significant ways, such as geographic isolation, higher rates of health risk behaviors, lower quality of healthcare, and lower quality of education. The opioid crisis can largely be defined as the ongoing public health crisis stemming from the rapid incline in the use of prescription and non-prescription opioid drugs. The crisis, which began in 1999, has affected low-income rural communities at a highly disproportionate rate when compared to other demographics and taken hundreds of thousands of lives. 

Over the course of 1999 to 2020, overdose deaths from the opioid crisis took the form of three distinct waves. The first of these waves began in the 1990s with the increase in prescription opioid drugs such as natural semi-synthetic opioids and methadone. Rapid increases in overdose deaths involving heroin circa 2010 was the catalyst for the second wave. In 2013, the third wave began with significant increases in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl. Today, the market for fentanyl is ever-evolving, and the substance is commonly found in combination with heroin, counterfeit pills, and cocaine. Fentanyl is be an incredibly deadly substance, as just two miligrams can cause overdose or death. 

There are numerous heart-felt and incredibly moving first-hand testimonials of those who have been affected. In a documentary composed by the Centers for Disease Control, a mother named Ann Marie testified to her experience with opioids and loss by way of her son’s addiction. She recounted, “It took him five days to get addicted. I’m not supposed to be the one to go get his suit and tie and pick which sneakers that I’m going to bury him in.” A fellow mother named Judy recounted her experiences as well. She remarked with vulnerability, “My son Steve did not want to die. He wanted to get well. He tried really hard to get well, but his prescription opioids killed him. We found a post-it note that he had written about his opioids.” The note said,  "At first it was a lifeline. Now there is a noose around my neck.” Steve’s words are ultimately a very powerful encapsulation of the broader opioid crisis and the blurred line between white and black market drugs. 

Despite its immense reach, this epidemic can be traced to a single name: Sackler. The nationwide controversy of the Sackler family, maker of the well-known drug OxyContin and founder of American pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, lends itself directly to the present-day consequences of the family’s marketing tactics and influence campaigns. Numerous institutions of higher education have benefitted from the Sackler name and fortune. In a sign of the times, many institutions are finally being questioned for their past and continued ties to controversial entities. Several of these institutions have made efforts to find solutions to end, or at least partially address, the epidemic at hand. 

In spring 2018, Congress developed the Helping to End Addition Long-Term (HEAL) initiative and added an additional $500 million to the National Institutes of Health budget to invest in science to find solutions to the opioid crisis. The United States government has also enacted various strategies to restrict the flow of illegal opioids from abroad in previous years such as a $3.5 billion security and counternarcotics aid through the Merida Initiative. Efforts were also coodinated with China to suppress fenantyl production. Unforuntately, the Merida Initiative suffered several political and dipomatic setbacks in its final years, ending in 2021. There are currently three FDA-approved medications to treat opioid use disorder–buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. Each of these treatments has been demonstrated to be safe and effective in combination with other treatments such as counseling and psychosocial support. In April 2019, Harvard Medical School Office for External Education supported a two-day opioid education and awareness program at Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio. Tufts University made the decision to erase the Sackler name from all campus buildings and programs. In 2019, the university also stated that it would keep funds from the Sackler name, but continue to use them for their intended purposes, such as health science research. 

As a greater systemic issue, the opioid crisis has been increasing in strength for upwards of thirty years. The opioid crisis represents a multi-system failure of the United States’ people. Care, treatment, and prevention are absolutely critical components to solving it.

Works Cited

“An Ambitious Research Plan to Help Solve the Opioid Crisis.” National Institutes of Health, 7 July 2020, nida.nih.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2018/06/ambitious-research-plan-to-help-solve-opioid-crisis#:~:text=Three%20medications%20are%20currently%20FDA,intranasal%20formulations%20to%20reverse%20overdose.“Ann Marie.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Sept. 2017, https://www.cdc.gov/rxawareness/stories/annmarie.html. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

Hammer, Katie, and Randy Fox. “Targeting the Opioid Crisis.” Targeting the Opioid Crisis | Harvard Medical School, 15 May 2019, https://hms.harvard.edu/news/targeting-opioid-crisis. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

Health, Cultivating. “Fentanyl Facts, Overdose Signs to Look for, and How You Can Help Save a Life.” Health, 11 Jan. 2023, health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/fentanyl-overdose-facts-signs-and-how-you-can-help-save-a-life/2023/01#:~:text=Due%20to%20its%20potency%2C%20a,powerful%20and%20can%20be%20addictive.

“Opioid Misuse in Rural America.” USDA, https://www.usda.gov/topics/opioids#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20is%20experiencing,greatest%20percentage%20increase%20in%20deaths. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

“Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

June 2022, www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/epidemic.html. 

Seltzer, Rick. “Tufts Will Remove Sackler Name from Medical Campus, Drawing Rebuke from Purdue Pharma's Owners.” Tufts Will Remove Sackler Name from Medical Campus, Drawing Rebuke from Purdue Pharma's Owners, 6 Dec. 2019, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/12/06/tufts-will-remove-sackler-name-medical-campus-drawing-rebuke-purdue-pharmas-owners. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.

Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra. “Harvard Continues to Display the Sackler Family Name despite Calls for Removal.” Observer, Observer, 19 Sept. 2022, https://observer.com/2022/09/harvard-continues-to-display-the-sackler-family-name-despite-calls-for-removal/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.Ukani, Alisha. “Recruiting for Economic Diversity.” Harvard Magazine, 3 Aug. 2017, https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/08/admissions-office-strategies-low-income. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.