Letters to the Editor

We welcome letters that contribute to respectful and informed public dialogue. To help maintain fairness, accuracy, and civility, please follow these guidelines:

1. Original work only
   Letters must be the original work of the author. Do not submit letters written by others or content copied from other sources.

2. Length
   Letters must be no more than 350 words, including signatures. Longer letters may be edited for space. Exceptions may be made at the editor’s discretion

3. Fact-based content-attribution required
   When you cite facts (e.g., public statements, government actions, or legal matters), please provide sources or links when possible.
   .  Fact-checking is the responsibility of the letter writer.
   .  If a claim cannot be verified, we will not publish it.

4. Opinion is welcome — But label it
   Clearly distinguish opinion from fact. Use phrasing such as “I believe,” “In my view,” or “From my experience” to clarify your perspective.
   .  Do not misrepresent opinion as established fact.
   .  Avoid hearsay, secondhand information, or unverified claims
   .  When using “we,” be clear on whose behalf you are speaking.

5. No personal attacks or defamation
   .  Letters may criticize policies or public figures, but attacks on character, inflammatory language, or unsubstantiated allegations will not be published.
   .  Letters that may be construed as libelous — i.e., false statements that could harm someone’s reputation — will be rejected or edited.
   .  Letters making factual claims or accusations about individuals or organizations must include verifiable evidence.

6. One letter per person per week
   To encourage a diversity of views, we publish no more than one letter per person per week..

7. Group signatures
   Letters must be signed by individuals. Group names are not accepted as signatures, though they may be mentioned in the letter’s body. Up to four individuals may sign a letter on behalf of a group; all must provide contact information..

8. Election-related letters
   .  We do not publish endorsement letters in the edition immediately before an election.
   .  The number of endorsement letters may be limited due to space, but we will strive to present a balanced range of views.

9. Letters must be signed
   All letters must include the writer’s name, address, and a phone number or email. House numbers and phone numbers are for verification only and will not be published. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deadline: Tuesday at 5 p.m. for inclusion in that week’s edition.

10. Send to
    Email letters to editor@harvardpress.net , or mail to Editor, The Harvard Press, P.O. Box 1, Harvard, MA 01451.

Consider This

"Consider This" is a place for original, thought-provoking opinion pieces of up to 1,000 words, written not as a reaction to something that appeared recently in the Press, but in consideration of a topic that has been in the paper over several weeks or months or of a subject that has been or is likely to be of general interest to town residents.

"Consider This" is not for merely venting complaints. Positions expressed should be well thought-out and well articulated. It is open to any Harvard resident. Articles are subject to acceptance by the editor and are subject to editing for clarity, length, grammar, punctuation, and adherence to the paper's style guide. Writers are strongly encouraged, though not required, to test out their ideas with the editor before submitting articles.

Online Comments

• The Press welcomes comments posted to online articles and opinions.
• Comments must be pertinent to the subject item; unrelated comments will be rejected.
• Comments may include links to related information, but the comment must explain each link’s relevance. Comments including unexplained links will not be approved until relevance is established.
• Comments may be checked for factual accuracy, but the Press does not warrant their accuracy.
• Personal attacks and comments deemed libelous will be deleted.
• Commenting is closed for articles that are more than 35 days old.

Photo Reprints

Photos in the print and online versions of the Press represent significant professional time and expertise and are protected by copyright. We're happy to make reprints or electronic copies available, but we must charge a nominal fee to help defray our costs.

To purchase reprints of photos by Press photographer Lisa Aciukewicz, click here. If you cannot find photos you are interested in, please send email to photos@harvardpress.net.

Article Reprints

Articles published within the past week may be printed, or a link to an article may be emailed.

All older articles (since the paper's first issue in November, 2006) are accessible in the Archive, which is available to paid subscribers who are logged-on registered users of the website.

For non-subscribers there is a charge to acquire a PDF or hard copy of an archived article. Please call the Press at 978-456-3700.

Current Events

The Press will publish in its Current Events section, at no charge, announcements of community events and events sponsored by nonprofit organizations. We will not print in this section announcements related to the sale of products or the purchase of private services, but will be happy to work with you to craft an appropriate paid advertisement for those notices. (For display ads, contact our advertising department at ads@harvardpress.net; for classified ads contact classifieds@harvardpress.net.)

We will run Current Events announcements for up to two weeks prior to the event, depending on available space. In the event of space constraints, priority is given to events occurring in Harvard. Items not run in the paper will be posted on our website.

Please send Current Events announcements to events@harvardpress.net or to The Harvard Press, P.O. Box 1, Harvard, MA 01451. The deadline for any week is Monday at 5 p.m.

Political Advertising

• All political ads for a candidate must be authorized in writing by the candidate or his or her agent.
• Political ads must be labeled, somewhere near the bottom, "Paid Political Advertisement." The font size can be small, but must be legible.
• Political ads must be prepaid and are not eligible for any discounts.
• The responsibility for deciding whether an ad is political rests with the publishers.
• Political advertising copy deadline is 5 p.m. on Monday of the week the ad is to run.
• Negative ads about candidates will not be published.
• If names of endorsers are included with an ad, the candidate must provide a political witness certificate, as required by Section 39 of Chapter 56 of the Massachusetts General Laws, to certify that persons whose names are used in an endorsement have, in fact, given permission to print their names in the advertising copy. The political witness certificate may be downloaded here.

Obituaries

• There is no charge for obituaries.
• The word-count limit is 500 (with exceptions at the discretion of the editor).
• Obituaries may be edited for length, style, and clarity.
• Please email obituaries to editor@harvardpress.net or send by regular mail to Editor, The Harvard Press, P.O. Box 1, Harvard, MA 01451. Deadline is 10:00 a.m. Tuesday to be included in that Friday's edition.
• Obituaries are accessible online for two weeks. After that time they are accessible to logged on, paid subscribers.