To be clear, as a private institution, Harvard had every right to rescind the admission offer. And I’m sure they could find a candidate off the wait list just as qualified who never used racially offensive words. But the decision to hold Kashuv to language he used at 16, before going through an incredibly traumatic event, and to refuse to forgive him in the face of multiple public apologies is problematic and lays waste to efforts to create a more tolerant world.

That is, efforts to teach tolerance or racial sensitivity are all rooted in the idea that people’s attitudes can evolve based on more education. Learning about the history and experiences of groups that have suffered oppression, understanding why certain words and statements are offensive, and so on, is a big part of this mission.