Jennifer Hochschild

Jennifer Hochschild

Soon after I arrived at Harvard, I was distressed about what I perceived to be an unfair criticism of me from a political science colleague.  I mentioned it to Sid when I saw him in the hallway soon thereafter, and he immediately told me that he too had been criticized by the same person in the same way.

I’m not sure that I believed it then, and I am even less sure now that his description of the incident regarding him was true – but I was comforted and remain grateful for his ability to offer support without either challenging the criticism itself or the person making it, and without patronizing me by saying something like “don’t worry about it.” I remember this brief exchange as a synecdoche for his empathy and tact.