Dear Professor Lessig,

It has come to our attention that you are uncertain whether or not to return to Harvard after your time in Germany. I would like to take this opportunity to state explicitly what should have been apparent from today's festivities: aside from our sincere gratitude for teaching a fine course, we value you as a member of the faculty and want you to stay.

That I am speaking on behalf of a class without having given that class an opportunity to opt out, I realize. That opting out on the discussion list would be unseemly, I also realize. Therefore, I hope that those who agree with me will make their agreement known on this list, and that those who disagree (in the unlikely event that they exist) will put up with having their views presumptively misrepresented.

Again, thank you for a fantastic semester. Everyone with whom I have spoken hopes that you choose to remain at Harvard. In any event, we wish you all the best.

Regards,

(name withheld to avoid appearance of sycophantic toadyism)

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1998