You can always tell a Harvard man, you just can't tell him what 'standing' means in federal court

A federal judge today dismissed a suit against Harvard University by ten  alums who demanded they be reimbursed their tuition and  room and board because Harvard had completely devalued the worth of their  diplomas by not doing enough to stamp out anti-Semitism on campus, indeed, had made them ashamed to admit they went to school in Cambridge.

In an order posted in the case docket today, US District Court Judge George O'Toole said the Harvard Ten - who graduated between 1976 and 1996 - simply had no case, because they failed to prove enough of a direct correlation between Harvard's alleged inaction and their alleged newfound shame.

<blockquote>The plaintiffs do not currently attend Harvard, nor are they employed by Harvard. They graduated from Harvard many years before the central events referred to in the complaint. They are not themselves directly affected by Harvard’s recent administrative actions and/or omissions, and consequently they have no cognizable legal injury that could be redressed through this suit.</blockquote>

In their complaint, the ten said amok anti-Semitism at Harvard following the Hamas massacres had become so well publicized that they were afraid to tell anybody they went to school in Cambridge:

Plaintiffs have been harmed as a direct result of Harvard’s abject failure to address and prevent antisemitism and the shameful harassment of Jewish students and those who dare speak out for them. The value of a Harvard degree has been significantly diminished, rendering it functionally damaged in the professional and academic spheres. Plaintiffs are in a situation they never imagined: they are ashamed to say they went to Harvard.

In addition to reimbursement of their "financial costs associated with having attended Harvard," they demanded that Harvard be ordered to fire any professors and kick out any students who engaged in what they considered blatant anti-Semitism.