(CNN) -- Harvard University, one of America's premiere academic institutions, is coming under fire for running an advertisement in its campus newspaper questioning the reality of the Holocaust.

The former Birkenau death camp in Germany. It is widely accepted that about 5.7 million Jews died in the Holocaust.

Recently named for the second straight year as the No. 1 school in U.S. News & World Report rankings of American colleges, Harvard is known for its rigorous scholarly standards and prestigious reputation.

On Tuesday, however, The Harvard Crimson, in what it said was an error, ran the Holocaust-questioning advertisement, which had been rejected by the paper over the summer.

In response to the commotion created by the ad, Crimson President Maxwell L. Child released a statement Wednesday citing three weeks of summer vacation between the submission of the advertisement and the publication of the paper as the explanation for why the ad "fell through the cracks."

"We want to stress that we do not endorse the views put forth in any advertisement that runs in The Crimson, and this case was no different," Child said in a letter to Crimson readers. "We will work hard to avoid such lapses in communication in the future, and hope our readers will accept that yesterday's error was a logistical failure and not a philosophical one."

The ad, paid for by Holocaust denier Bradley R. Smith and his Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust, primarily raises questions about then-Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's account of World War II and the existence of Nazi gas chambers.

It is widely accepted that approximately 5.7 million of Europe's 7.3 million Jews perished during the war. In total, historians say, between 11 million and 17 million people were killed by the Nazi regime, including religious and political opponents, ethnic Poles, Romani, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet civilians and prisoners of war, homosexuals and people with disabilities.

Smith said he is not surprised by the reaction because "it's taboo, and has been taboo from the beginning. When you break a culture-wide taboo, supported in theory and practice by the state, the university and the press, you create a fuss."

Smith said that he made the deal with the Crimson in July, but was never made aware of any plan by the newspaper to cancel his ad. While he has not yet received a refund for his pulled notice, he said he expects the paper to "do the right thing about the money."

Bernie Steinberg, president and director of Harvard Hillel, a Jewish campus organization, said on Wednesday that the advertisement was "obviously a shock to see."

But the group's students reacted appropriately, he said, and the incident should be seen as an example of "extraordinary mature student leadership in response to an unfortunate situation."

The Crimson was very responsive after many people in the Harvard community, including numerous members of Harvard Hillel, contacted the paper expressing their concerns, he said.

Harvard Hillel's student president, Rebecca Gillette, circulated a letter saying she thought the situation was being appropriately addressed. "The fact that organizations and individuals like that publicized in this advertisement still exist today is frightening and disturbing, but unfortunately it seems that Holocaust denial will persist for years to come," she said.

Robert Trestan, civil rights counsel for the Anti-Defamation League of New England, said Smith and his organization have placed ads in approximately 15 college papers around the country so far this year. He said he finds it shocking that such an advertisement would fall through the cracks, as Child said.

"Would an ad that questions whether the world was flat or that slavery never happened in America have fallen through the cracks?" he asked.

He said his organization will continue to work with college newspaper editors to educate schools that they don't have an obligation to publish questionable advertising.

Al Tompkins, a faculty member at the Poynter Institute, billed on its Web site as "a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalism," said he hopes this will become a "teachable moment."

"It seems to be a big mistake and obviously nothing meant to offend anyone," he said. Because student publications are meant to be teaching tools, "the key is not to not make mistakes, the key is how they respond to mistakes in a forthcoming and transparent manner," he said.

He recommended that the Crimson return any money associated with the advertisement.

Child's statement in the Crimson said that was being done.

奥巴马-百日环保措施

大多数环境保护主义者认为，奥巴马对布什时代否认全球气候变暖政策予以否认,这一态度上的快速转变让人印象深刻。

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 April 2009 11.33 BST

巴拉克*奥巴马的7870亿经济复苏计划中包括史上最多的环保投资。Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

巴拉克*奥巴马于白宫上任伊始便许下诺言，将帮助美国走向一个全新的绿色的未来．现在１００天过去了，奥巴马很快将布什政府的否认全球气候变暖政策抛至脑后，并致力于建立一个低碳的未来．对此，大多数环保人士感到印象深刻．

那么，他都怎么做的呢？当然，奥巴马没有时间采取长期政策，使美国摆脱对石油和煤炭的依赖．由于国会的反对，奥巴马的政府管理团队已经按比例缩减该项计划，国会指控奥巴马政府通过的保护性贸易法案。不像奥巴马，一位美国公众已经看到全球气候变暖是一大首要威助。

参议院方面已经开始着手起草应对气候变暖法案，该法案大大减小了于今年年底将要引入的市场经济下的贸易保护法案的机会。政府团队也已经挫败了一些环保人士。

不过，大多数人认为，奥巴马已经加快了脚步，比任一一位总统都更为广泛的，努力建立一个新型低炭经济环境。

以下是他的百日大事记：

１月２０日：奥巴马于办公室宣誓就职后仅一小时，白宫问题备忘录中仍存有许多布什政府遗留下的“午夜规定”。这些规定是在布什政府在任最后几小时中发布的，法案力图废除环境保护人士采取抗议的来自工厂的污染，燃烧可怕的废物和油母页岩。奥巴马命令采取一系列措施，以不让环保主义者感到伤心。

１月２６日：总统签署了一系列行政命令，志在对汽车尾气排放上建立一个更为严格的限制。奥巴马直指美国环保署，命其重新考虑其在布什政府执政期间拒绝过的申请，加利福尼亚州政府申请允许将该州汽车尾气排放削减到３０％。总统也呼呼美国交通部起草一份新的35加伦燃油标准，从2012年起，。从生产线上下来的新车都将适用这一新标准。

2月17日：奥巴马签署了一份7870亿美元的经济恢复计划。一篮子援救计划中包括一份史上最多的环保投资计划——据估计该项援助远超过100０亿美元。其中十亿美元用来重修现有的建筑，包括使它们能更有效的利用能源、快速退雨设备、通勤运输以及更新电网。

现为能源未来联盟高级顾问的David Gardiner表示：“在一篮子刺激计划的许多方面中，大量的天气和能源法案占居主动。”“此前还没有一位总统像他那样，对这方面如此关注。”

3月19日：他声称将24亿美元用于发展混合动力车和新型电池。

3月20日：米歇尔＊奥巴马在白宫后院掘出一小块地种植蔬菜，这是自二战以来第一个总统蔬菜园。奥巴马一家打算在园子里种植莴苣、菠菜以及诸如胡荽的草药，还有胡椒，不过，他们将不种植甜菜，因为总统不喜欢吃甜菜。

3月30日：奥巴马留出九个州的大片公共用地作为荒地，从加利福尼亚的内华达山脉到维吉尼亚州的杰斐逊森林，禁止采矿、伐木以及其它类似行为。另外禁令同时保护了1000米的河流。

4月17日：环保局正式宣布二氧化碳以及其它5种导致温室效应的气体有害公众健康并危害社会安全。所谓的危险警告只是第一步，之后将规范煤电厂并迫使美国汽车制造厂商生产出使用更为清洁更为节能的汽车。

4月27日：美国主持了一场为期2天的论坛，与会的17个世界最污染的经济体将会更加紧密地团结在一起，将于12月在哥本哈根举行的国际气候变暖峰会到来之前，解决环境问题。美国国务卿希拉里＊克林顿声称，美国经过布什政府八年多的迷失，现在致力于领导世界走向拯救地球之路。她还直指印度、中国，告戒他们，环保的经济不会阻碍经济的发展，而是会帮助两国达到更大的经济繁荣。