FASORP Targets Harvard Law Students With Misleading Emails Amid Law Review Write-On Season

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Harvard Law Joins University of Michigan as Target of Coordinated Anti-DEI Campaign

Harvard Law School is the latest elite institution to face targeted harassment from the self-described “Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences” (FASORP). The group, already infamous for its inflammatory communications at the University of Michigan Law School, has now directed a disturbing new campaign at Harvard 1Ls in the midst of their Law Review write-on process.

The attacks—which arrive via anonymous mass emails—accuse the Harvard Law Review of discriminating against white authors and urge students to falsify racial and gender identities in their personal statements. The emails also encourage deceptive strategies, such as pretending to be transgender, to manipulate the selection process for law review membership.

Disturbing Emails Spark Condemnation From Harvard Law Dean

On Saturday, Harvard Law School Dean of Students Stephen L. Ball denounced the emails in a campus-wide message, calling them “disturbing” and, in one case, “hateful.” He emphasized that such communications undermine the integrity of both the application process and the community’s values.

  

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The emails advised students to:

• Fabricate marginalized identities on their Law Review applications
• “Preserve” their statements as future legal evidence
• Treat diversity policies as loopholes to be exploited

These tactics mirror the messages received by students at the University of Michigan earlier this year, suggesting a coordinated campaign by FASORP to undermine diversity initiatives through disinformation, legal intimidation, and appeals to academic dishonesty.

FASORP: A Shadowy Group With Real Influence

FASORP claims to represent legal academics and alumni opposed to race-conscious admissions and DEI programs. However, its membership remains anonymous—raising serious ethical concerns given its active interference in student-led processes like law review selections.

What makes FASORP’s actions especially troubling is the group’s implicit encouragement for students to violate institutional honor codes. Urging aspiring lawyers to lie on official documents not only jeopardizes their academic records but also raises red flags for future character and fitness evaluations required by state bars.

Legal ethics experts have warned that such behavior—if adopted—could compromise students’ eligibility for licensure and cast long shadows over their legal careers.

Misinformation and Bad-Faith Legal Strategy

FASORP’s strategy is rooted in legal provocation. By encouraging students to submit false applications, the group appears to be laying the groundwork for future lawsuits alleging reverse discrimination. But legal analysts and faculty members have pointed out several flaws:

• FASORP misrepresents the actual evaluative criteria for law review selection
• There is no evidence that DEI statements or personal narratives are used to the detriment of any applicant group
• Encouraging deception creates more legal liability than it resolves

In short, FASORP’s campaign is legally dubious, ethically bankrupt, and educationally corrosive.

The Harvard Context: DEI After Affirmative Action

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions policies in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. In the aftermath, DEI programs at elite law schools like Harvard have faced intensified scrutiny.

According to internal documents recently published by the Washington Free Beacon, the Harvard Law Review made diversity and inclusion its “first priority” in article selection as recently as 2021. The documents raise questions about ongoing practices, but they focus primarily on post-selection editorial behavior, not how law review members are chosen.

Critics of FASORP argue that even if DEI considerations remain present, they do not justify dishonest conduct by students or trolling campaigns from anonymous academics.

A Message to Law Students: Integrity Matters

The real victims of FASORP’s tactics are the students themselves. For 1Ls at Harvard and Michigan alike, the Law Review write-on process is already a high-pressure ordeal. Facing external pressure to manipulate identity markers only increases stress and confusion.

Harvard’s administration has made clear: students should focus on doing their best, honestly and authentically. No prestige or publication opportunity is worth compromising your principles—or risking your future licensure.

As the legal community grapples with attacks on diversity, one thing is certain: any professor affiliated with FASORP who fails to condemn these tactics risks their academic credibility. Silence in the face of dishonesty is complicity.

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Key Takeaways

• FASORP is behind mass email campaigns at Harvard and Michigan Law aimed at undermining DEI policies and encouraging dishonesty in law review applications.
• Harvard Law’s Dean of Students has condemned the emails as “disturbing” and unethical.
• Experts warn that lying on personal statements could constitute an honor code violation and threaten bar admission.
• Legal analysts say FASORP’s strategy lacks legal merit and reflects a broader campaign against post-affirmative-action DEI efforts.
• Students are urged to uphold academic and professional integrity, even under pressure.

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