April 2010

thehvoice.com

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

the voice

an official harvard college student publication

INSIDE: why every prefrosh should choose harvard & more.

2 APRIL

the voice LETTER FROM THE EDITOR:

the voice

For the Jaded, For the Prefrosh, for Everyone

President, Editor In Chief, Alisha Ramos ’12 Executive Editor, Liyun Jin ’12 Features Director, Qichen Zhang ’12 Voiceover Director, Sara Plana ’12 Lifestyle Director, Suzanna Bobadilla ’13 The Dish Director Emeritus, Charlotte Austin ’11 Web Director, Ingrid Pierre ’12 Associate Web Directors Kathleen French ’12 Graham Simpson ’13 Director of Photography, Grace Sun ’13 Associate Director of Photography, Sasha Mironov ’13 Associate Photographers Michelle Nguyen ’13 Abby Sun ’13 Staff Writers Bonnie Cao ’12 Crystal Coser ’12 Liyun Jin ’12 John Paul Jones ’12 Molly O’Donnell ’12 Ingrid Pierre ’12 Dustin Poore ’12 Bella Wang ’12 Henry Woodward-Fisher ’12 Design Director, Melissa Wong ’12 Social Director, Katie McNicol ’12 IT Chair, Ben Berman ’12 Directors of Business Operations Brian Shen ’11 Margarita Krivitski ’11 SuperCompers Michael Cherkassky ‘13 Lauren Feldman ‘13 Shadai Graham ’13 Michelle Nguyen ’13 Lexi Ross ’13 Dasha Slavina ’13 April Sperry ’13 Casey Thomson ’13

visit us online at thehvoice.com

“Harvard is like the Disneyland of New England.” A friend told me this once. It’s a scarily accurate but hilarious summary of Harvard. Busloads of tourists visit the Yard each day, and sometimes those poor kids in Thayer or Hollis feel like exhibits in a zoo.

Yet despite the occasional ohmygod-a-creepy-touristjust-took-a-photo-of-me-through-my-window moments, life at Harvard ain’t so bad. If you flip through this month’s issue, it may read like a straight up propaganda tool from the Admissions Office. Many of our writers chose to target prefrosh in attempting to persuade them that Harvard is the best place for them to be. But we promise that these pieces were written out of the writer’s own free will, and that no deals were made with the Admissions Office.

Some of the pieces might make you gag--too much mushy stuff about how awesome Harvard is. But really, whether you are a jaded senior or still a bubbly freshman or nervous prefrosh, there’s something for everyone to read and resound with in this issue.

president, editor-in-chief

Alisha Ramos ‘12

Table of Contents Letter from the Editor, p. 2

LIFESTYLE PAR-TAYs at Harvard?!, p. 9

Restaurant Review: Market, p. 10 Internal Makeover at Dahn Yoga, p. 12

FEATURES

Inside Houghton Library, p. 4 How to Conquer the Harvard Party Scene, p. 6 Why Every Prefrosh Should Choose Harvard, p. 14 Chat with Tony Award Winner Lin Manuel Miranda, p. 22 No Place to Grieve: Dealing with Loss at Harvard, p. 25

THE DISH

A Natural Classroom, p. 3

Harvard’s got spirit, p. 14

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

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Pre-Frosh:Your Other Options, p. 24 Q&A With the Directors of the Bureau of Study Counsel, p. 26 The Pr The Prefrosh Guide to First Year Classes, p. 27 efrosh Guide to First Year Classes, p. 27

VOICEOVER

What Are We Doing Here?, p. 3 Harvard’s Cultural Groups, p. 8 Being Counted: 2010 Census, p. 9 Harvard Magic, p. 18 From Hanoi to Harvard, p. 19 A Day in the Life Of...A Mass. Ave. Dweller, p. 20

Photo Essay

Harvard Buildings, p. 28

cover illustration by Melissa Wong ‘12

FRONT MATTER

APRIL 3

the voice

T

wo problem sets. A ten-page paper you have yet to begin. A midterm the next day. It’s three in the morning and you have postering in four hours. To top it off, you have board elections for your club, and you have to write a speech. You also have to make a Doodle poll to schedule an important meeting for another club, and there just happens to be a roach infestation in your room. Oh yeah, and it’s snowing.

I’ve definitely had a few moments like this as have, I suspect, many Harvard students. During these moments, it can seem like such stresses and inconveniences make college simply not worth it. Out $200,000, and for what? A piece of paper with your name on it? A job at an investment banking firm? The knowledge that you’re studying at one of the best universities in the country, if not the world? I’ve pondered these questions at numerous times throughout my first year in college. Obviously, the majority of my moments here have been far less stressful than the one I described above, and I would generally describe my experience here so far as an overwhelmingly happy one. But I have to wonder now and again, why do we undertake the four-year march from problem set to final, from meeting to forum, and more literally, from the Quad to the River, when for the same price we could instead take home a brand new Lamborghini Gallardo (MSRP $221,000)? We’d sure look snazzy in a Lamborghini rolling up to our investment banks, or our hospitals, or our non-profit firms. The obvious answer is that without a college degree, we wouldn’t be able to do much once we reached our destinations.

But I believe there is much more to college than a final destination. I believe that we can all benefit more from this incredible education with which we’ve been blessed, and from these four unique years which will probably go by much faster than I can imagine, if we take a few moments to explore exactly what we’re doing here.

Lo and behold, I discovered that Harvard offers a freshman seminar on this very topic: “What Is College and What Is It For?” The seminar is taught by Paul Barreira, Director of Behavioral Health and Academic Counseling at UHS, and according to Julia Ransohoff ’13, a student in the seminar, involves exploring the meaning of a liberal education, focusing on the ways in which academics, extracurriculars, and student life make a college what it is.

The students’ final projects involve creating their own

by Lexi Ross ’13 “ideal college.” These conceptions, which are to be imagined without budgetary constraints, provide insight into what Harvard students consider to be the most essential reasons why we attend college.

Ransohoff’s college is designed to reach out to students who “show a lot of potential in high school, but who may need additional guidance to succeed in college.” This imaginary university would have an extensive advising network to help students design a path of study and eventually find a career. I also spoke to Ali Waldron ’13, another student in the seminar. Her ideal college, aptly titled Waldron College, requires students to participate in extracurriculars but

A Natural Classroom E

also leaves ample free time for forming close friendships in the beautiful outdoor setting (Waldron College is located in Santa Monica, Calif.).

Of course, Waldron College doesn’t exist, nor does Ransohoff’s university. But we can appreciate those aspects of Harvard that are most similar to these idealized places.

Harvard may not be located in Santa Monica, but for a few months every year, we can venture outside and enjoy a game of ultimate frisbee. Extracurriculars here loom so large that many spend more time in meetings than in class, and Harvard’s advising system is extensive and supportive, should students choose to take advantage of it.

These aren’t the only features that make Harvard pretty close to ideal. While it has been received with some controversy, both students I talked to cited the General Education program as one of the most interesting aspects of college.

Waldron, who plans to declare a concentration in Sociology, appreciates the fact that she can also purse a secondary field in Archaeology, a subject which will probably have no bearing on her future career but which fascinates her nonetheless.

One feature stands out above all others in these students’ responses: they value the incredibly diverse community at Harvard, both faculty and fellow students. It may sound cliché, but I firmly believe that there is no better reason to be at college, and specifically to be at Harvard, than to work, play, eat, and live with perhaps the most interesting people I will ever meet. Waldron mentioned the diversity as a great way to be “challenged to assert your own opinion.”

True, you could get a degree online and read all your course books on your own, but you’d miss out on the most exciting aspect of Harvard, or of any great college: the opportunity to be surrounded by “amazing people who inspire you to do amazing things,” as Waldron puts it.

So go ahead, put down that problem set. Stop checking your email—the Crackberry can wait. Stay up one night, not studying, but having a philosophical conversation with your roommates, or as Ransohoff suggested, have a three-hour dinner and discuss the state of healthcare as your partake in red spiced chicken. Twenty years down the line, when you’re off in the world and that Expos class is a distant memory, the most important friends you make and connections you form might be still be in your life. And who knows? You may even miss the comforting florescent glow of Lamont Cafe at 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday night.

by April Sperry ‘13

A look into the “Harvard Forest” freshman seminar very Harvard student knows about the Freshman Seminar program, in which students can apply to be placed in a small class that acts as an introduction to how Harvard courses work. The seminars usually require one day of a two-hour section per week and they are graded pass/fail.

However, one seminar is very different from the rest. Professor David Foster teaches Freshman Seminar 21W. Global Change Ecology: Forests, Ecosystem Function, and the Future. As many students refer to it, the “Forest Seminar” is not at all a new class. In fact, it’s Harvard’s longest running seminar! The course consists of three weekend-long trips to the 3,000-acre Harvard Forest, located in Petersham, Massachusetts where the class’s ten students stay overnight in a converted farmhouse owned by the Forest’s research department. The purpose of the course is to expose student to projects that are currently being researched in the forest, such as hurricane simulations, invasive species, the carbon cycle, and ecosystems of New England.

Apart from working in the field, students also listen to lectures by the Forest’s staff and complete writing assignments based on required readings. After the three weekends, the class will meet once more, on campus for a mini-symposium in which the students will present their findings on global climate change to one another and discuss how scientists have come to their conclusions on the

subject.

Sachi Oshima ’13 is a freshman OEB concentrator who is taking this semester’s Forest Seminar as a fifth class. When asked how she likes the class, her face lit up and she responded by saying she “loves it!” Oshima notes that although the daytimes are intense (class on Saturday runs from 9am to 7pm) nights are for bonding with her nine other fellow classmates; she has even hung out with her fellow foresters back on campus. She says that instead of sleeping one night, they “stayed up and had a dance party instead.” Without an adult staying in the farmhouse with them, the students talked, filled out Datamatch surveys and forwent sleep… but who really sleeps in college, anyway.

Are you an upperclassman or even a freshman who feels like you missed out on an awesome research experience in the Forest? Don’t worry! The seminar is (obviously) only open to freshman, but the Forest has plenty of research opportunities, including a 12 week summer internship that pairs undergrads with the Forest’s scientists (with lots of available funding!).

Check out the Forest’s website at http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/index. html for details.

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

4 VOICEOVER

the voice

Inside Houghton Library Harvard’s Rare Gem Full of Rare Gems

by Suzanna Bobadilla ’13

The often overlooked library sitting quietly near Lamont holds some surprising treasures.

S

ituated between Wiedner and Lamont libraries, most undergraduates at Harvard pass by Houghton Library with thoughts of finishing up that last P-Set in Lamont Cafe or exactly how long they will have to watch a movie in the LRC. But being huge library nerds (oh come don’t be surprised this is Harvard people) we decided to take a quick tour through Houghton and push beyond the Lamonster.

Opened in 1942, Houghton Library created built to hold Harvard’s rare book and manuscripts. It was one of the first libraries to have specialized climate control features to ensure to preservation of its contents. Today Houghton Library is home to many of Harvard’s most interesting and all encompassing collections, including the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard Theater Collection, Early Books & Manuscripts Collection, and the Modern Books & Manuscripts Collections just to get you started. Many of Houghton’s collections are now available on OASIS such as the Digital Medieval Manuscript and Digital Papyri collections. But while seeing Houghton’s collections online allows you to just stay in your dorm room and study thousands of years old artifacts there is still something to be said about seeing the real deal in person.

Walking into Houghton Library for the first time is definitely one of those “Harvard” moments. With its glass paneled bookcases circling the room and the beautiful staircase leading to the other floors, Houghton seems more like a gorgeous old mansion rather than library. Our wonderful tour guide, reference librarian, James Capobianco, took us around Houghton and showed us its treasures. One of the first things that Capobianco pointed out was the only remaining book from John Harvard’s collection, The Christian Warfare Against the Devil World and Flesh. You know, just a little light reading. While on our tour, Capobianco is sure to reinforce that idea that although Houghton seems like a museum, it is foremost a library for Harvard students. “Almost whatever your topic will be, we’ll have it,” he says, motioning to the stacks of books that are dated between 1450—1500. “We

really want to encourage undergraduates to ask questions, the wealth of accessible knowledge outweighs the awkwardness.” James took us to some of Houghton’s most beautiful rooms including the William King Richardson’s room, where he showed us a book that had fore edge painting along its side. By pushing the pages in one direction, we were able to see a miniature painting of a idyllic countryside but when pushed in the opposite, we could see an entirely different image. Take our word, it was really cool. What was even more amazing was the Emily Dickinson room, where her writing desk, piano, and chest that was once locked full of her poems are on display. This part of the Houghton is not also open to the public, but be sure to take the Friday afternoon tour at least once at your time here at Harvard. Yes, walking through the Yard may have made us allergic to all things touristy, but trust us, it’s so definitely worth it. While freshmen seminars and Expos classes are a good introduction to Houghton’s treasures it is definitely only the beginning. Says Cabianco: “They are not even close to representing the extent of what we have. In addition to literature and medieval works, we also have a great collection on the history of science.”

Cabianco is also sure to remind students that many of Houghton’s resources are also currently available online. Be sure to use OASIS or Hollis to help you shift through Harvards’ mammoth collections. While these methods are more convenient for research, we decided to break out of the computer screen and interact with the artifacts on a more personal basis.

Visitors who wish to use Houghton’s resources will first need to check in at the welcome desk and then head over to the locker room to store their personal belongings. Perhaps one of the trickiest parts of any Houghton visit is remembering to bring a quarter. It sounds like a silly problem, but it could be potentially problematic. Harvard IDs can tap, swipe, and Crimson

“Along with the papers of Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and T.S. Eliot, Houghton Library is home to some of Charlotte Brönte’s first creative works.”

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

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photos from Google’s Time-Life Archive

the voice Cash students’ into basically every college necessity but they are useless when confronted by the lockers’ coin slot. Also as a general life rule, whenever you assume that you have a quarter and don’t take the time to check, your wallet, backpack, pockets (jackets and jeans), and laptop case will only have pennies, nickels, and dimes. If all else fails, head over to the guard and he or she’ll will probably have a loan quarter just for this dilemma.

Once everything aside from a pencil, laptop, and small notebook is locked away, visitors are allowed to enter the reading room. You will have to press a button that will unlock the door and then head over to the librarians’ desk where you will need to be registered.

Access to materials is granted only after showing two forms of picture ID and signing an agreement. The process is much more intimidating that the card-slide at Lamont but understandable given the quality of the materials.

Along with the papers of Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and T.S. Eliot, Houghton Library is home to some of Charlotte Brönte’s first creative works.

The library holds nine miniature novellas that Brönte and her brother, Branwell, created when they were still children. After browsing Houghton’s collections on OASIS, we decided to examine Brönte’s mini books. We were first astounded by their size. About the length of a thumb and the width of a two keyboard keys, we were amazed that the Brönte’s were able to write so clearly and so detailed in such a small space. The books were bound together with string and somewhere written on the backside of newsprint. More than anything else, the books should how Brönte was driven to write no matter what she had available. Handling the manuscripts was very intimidating. Houghton’s security measures are impressive but in the end there is nothing separating you from an almost 200-year-old thin and weathered piece of newsprint. Following the advice that we got from our kindergarten teachers we decided to look and not touch, and settled with craning our necks to see more of the text.

After straining both our eyes and our backs trying to closely examine Brönte’s work we decided to call it a day and say goodbye to Houghton. Walking out of the library into the amazing weather, it already seemed unreal that only minutes before we had been touching Brönte’s handwriting. Degrees of separation=0. Houghton is open from 9 AM- 7PM Tuesdays through Thursdays and 9 AM-5PM Friday through Mondays. As a reminder, undergraduates are definitely welcomed at the library and we had nothing but wonderfully pleasant interactions with the staff. “If you need to,” offers Capobianco, “we could even pull down a painting for you to examine. After all this is a library.” Houghton library is really one of Harvard’s treasures and as we are all well in final paper and studying mode, do yourself a favor and walk over there and see what you can find. “The Edison Room has a Friday 10:30 AM coffee hour. It’s a great way to meet staff and to introduce yourself to staff,” offers Capobianco. Happy researching and don’t forget that quarter!

VOICEOVER 5

The Edison & Newman Room.

A photo of what used to be a room dedicated to Emily Dickinson.

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

6 VOICEOVER

the voice

H ar Conquer vard Party Scene

How to

by Michelle Nguyen ’13

the

F

irst off, all of you fun-loving prefrosh can breathe a sigh of relief! The party scene does exist at Harvard, and it is a lot more vibrant than most people give it credit for. We might become the next Bill Gates or Natalie Portman, but right now we are still just a bunch of college-aged kids living in proximity to one another.

As the weekends roll around, many of us stow away our books and laptops, put on our best (and most stain-resistant) outfits and get ready to boogie the night away.

As the campus is rather spread out, from the banks of the Charles River all the way to Porter Square (yes we’re talking about the Radcliffe Quadrangle, colloquially known as “the effing Quad”), the parties can inevitably seem all over the place, too. You generally have four destinations when it comes to partying: House dining halls, dorms, fraternities and finals clubs. The Voice will walk you through the maze that is Harvard party scene. Don’t worry, if you are sociable enough and acquaint yourself with the right folks, after a couple of months you will find yourself faced with the ultimate question: “Which one to go to?” and not “Where are the parties?!?”

HoCo Parties

Organized by HoCo (House Committees), these official House parties, like Leverett’s 80s Dance, Winthop’s Jungle Boogie, and Adam’s Sweet & Nasty, usually take place conspicuously in dining halls of Harvard’s upperclassman houses. They are well organized, attract large crowds and sometimes provide alcoholic drinks if you are of age.

Also, they are open to all and are publicly advertised so you don’t have to investigate as to what exactly “There’s something going on in Eliot” means. The downside is that they also cost money, anywhere from five to ten bucks, and that means you really have to make a choice between burrito and boogie.

Of the house parties, the crème de la crème is without a doubt Currier House’s two-storied Halloween party, Heaven and Hell. The entire Fishbowl, the mammoth empty space just outside the dining hall, serves as Hell, while Currier’s Ten Man suite serves as Heaven. It is also the only HoCo party that is completely free, which means you have to get there early or risk standing in line in the rain for half an hour only to be turned away because it is “at capacity.” Also, it was chilly and my makeup ran down my face. In retrospect, I should have considered dressing up as a vampire.

Fraternity Parties

Despite Harvard’s official policy not to promote Greek life and therefore not recognize fraternities and sororities, Greek parties still have quite a presence on campus every weekend. The three frats—Sigma Chi, Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) and Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE)—throw parties almost every weekend. Of these, only Sigma Chi has a house on Massachusetts Avenue where their parties take place. SAE and AEPi settle for establishing their party turfs in Harvard’s upperclassman houses.

Frat parties are generally fun, relatively well organized, and endowed with a generous supply of “refreshments.” They can’t really compare to MIT frat parties, which run like butter, but they are also just right around the corner, and you don’t have to worry about the T acting out and closing down at 12:45 a.m., leaving you stranded in a strange, geek-dominated land.

Some organizations at Harvard, like the Crimson, the Advocate or the Lampoon, have their own landed headquarters that are also used to throw parties almost every weekend. The Crimson is notorious for having random happy hours during the week, inspiring some to call it a “wannabe finals club.” The catch about these parties is that you usually have to be on a guest list. You can either become an editor (the inflated title given to all who complete the comp), or you can make friends with current members and get them to put your name on the list. Remember, Harvard is all about having and establishing the right connections.

Dorm Parties

Dorm parties at Harvard are very welcoming to crashers, as long as it is not a private birthday party with a grand total of four guests. If you manage to find it, you will be let in. One of the best dorm parties I have ever gone to (in Eliot’s famous Cockpit) happened completely by chance. I went up the wrong entryway and found the right party. I happen to prefer dorm parties because they are usually of the right size. Dining hall parties can get overly crowded, and my 4’11” stature means that I get squashed easily by drunken and smelly kids. Not fun. You also stand a better chance of mingling and having meaningful conversations with the other people in the room, and more connections means more fun-loving friends and party invites in the future.

Harvard housing gets better as one moves up the seniority scale, and it can get really good once you’re about to leave. Seniors generally get single rooms, and some will have the privilege

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

thehvoice.com

the voice

VOICEOVER 7

What do you mean, life at Harvard isn’t always a party?

photo by Grace Sun ’13 of residing in one of Harvard’s famed party suites. These are usually the biggest rooms in the house, with a spacious common room that’s conducive for party throwing. Occupants of these suites change every year, but the people who lobby for them during the housing lottery are well aware of the unstated responsibility that comes with owning a party suite: throwing parties on a regular basis. The nature of the party might change, but the most important thing is that there will still be one. Let’s do a walkthrough of the best of Harvard’s party suites.

Quincy’s balcony suite: At first glance, New Quincy’s

concrete architecture seems downright ugly. However, what this building lacks in Georgian brick and old elegance, it more than makes up for in its spacious rooms and gorgeous view from the expansive windows. The sixth floor is where AEPi and random dorm parties happen, which means it’s always bustling with music and drunken partygoers every weekend, but the third floor is where the quality of the party suite prevails. With two large common rooms, a terrace, and a built-in bar, the balcony suite is Quincy House’s prized possession and a gem in Harvard’s party scene.

Pforzheimer House’s Belltower:

Home to a blocking group of twelve seniors, the Belltower is undoubtedly one of the most party-licious spaces on campus. If you find yourself wandering around campus on a weekend, not knowing where to go, hop on the shuttle and knock on the doors of Pfoho Moors 410. Chances are, you will find yourself surrounded by drunken upperclassmen dancing atop the room’s built-in bar and underneath a slanted glass window that shows the beautiful Quad sky.

However, be prepared for less-than-friendly bouncers who will turn you away with the “we are at capacity” schtick. For girls, it helps to wear as little clothes as possible for the girls, and for the boys, unless you know someone who lives there, you might want to look for other options.

Any room in Mather: Regardless of your opinion of Mather House’s architec-

ture, this is irrefutably the party house of the River. Freshmen desperate for a party but are too lazy to trek to the Quad might consider going to the concrete house instead. There’s always something going on in Mather’s suites, and you are always welcome. Mather suites allow for their occupants to have single bedrooms on the second floor, and a reasonably sized common room on the first floor, making any suite a potential “party suite.” If you take the elevator to the 18th floor of Mather Tower, you will have a chance to enjoy the view of Cambridge and the night sky through a large glass window while boogying to the music.

Currier’s Ten-Man: The party house of the Quad, Currier has a ridiculous num-

ber of party rooms that after a while, I give up trying to remember their names. Some examples include the Gilbert Solarium, Tuchman Solarium, Gilbert Living Room, the Treehouse, and of course, the Ten-Man suite right off the main entrance. Any of these rooms holds parties regularly, but the Ten-Man deserves an honorable mention for its built-in bar and an elevator that opens right into the gigantic common room. The elevator, unfortunately, is only for its ten residents, but there is also a set of stairs for you to train those leg muscles. Do not, I repeat, do not try to jump down the steps while inebriated.

Also notable are Kirkland House’s Swamp, the seven-man suite on the second floor of Kirkland’s I-entryway with three large common rooms, Eliot House’s Cockpit (C53) and Ground Zero (B43), Winthrop House’s C-entryway Penthouse (C51) and Adam House’s A-47, which also doubles up as the “Heaven” part of the house’s annual Halloween party, Heaven and Hell.

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

8 LIFESTYLE

the voice

Final Clubs

Eight male final clubs, which are generally understood to be the more elitist versions of fraternities, round up the social scene at Harvard. Unlike fraternities, these eight clubs, called the A.D., the Delphic, the Fly, the Fox, the Owl, the Porcellian, the Phoenix and the Spee, don’t have national affiliation.

Unlike most other student organizations and groups on campus, they aren’t recognized by Harvard and are privately financed. These clubs own properties with a combined worth of tens of millions of dollars around Harvard Square, cluttered mostly on Mt. Auburn Street.

Final club parties are like a giant mole on your backside that you suspect to be skin cancer. You get it checked out, and it turns out to be just a normal mole like any other mole on your body. The point is that they are overrated.

At the beginning of the year, you will find yourself surrounded by groups of girls who are “going to the Spee tonight.” You will start to wonder if it is the be all and end all of everything “cool.” You will be faced with a debilitating fear that the bouncer might turn you away at the door. Then you will realize that as long as you are a freshman girl who looks like you are there to have fun, in whatever sense of the word, you will be let in. It is a bunch of guys standing around with a bunch of girls in a house with obnoxiously loud music in the background. Big whoop.

The downside is that you generally have to compete with over-eager girls from around the Greater Boston area, including Wellesley, Tufts, BC, BU, just to name a few, for a limited pool of guys. You also cannot bring those guy friends of yours, because they will not get in for physiological reasons. Take my advice and try to make one of your guys come dressed in impeccable drag costume and see what happens.

On special occasions like Valentine’s Day or the garden party season, final clubs do throw large, elaborate themed parties that are worth checking out. Be forewarned that these parties will feature a ridiculous gender imbalance. The final clubs scene has been overly dissected and discussed since time immemorial at Harvard. Here is my two cents: you should, and most of you girls probably will, go to it at least once at some point just to see what all the hoo-ha was about. But be prepared for what might happen once you are inside.

Last Bits of Advice

Despite popular belief, Harvardians do party, and we do go crazy. Cambridge laws stipulated that sales of alcohol be halted by 10:45 p.m., and there can be no parties after 2 a.m. As a freshman, at least for the first couple of months, your choice will inevitably be limited. Some girls will final club hop. The privileged few with “connections” will skitter down Plympton street and dodge your “Where are you going?” question with a sheepish smile and a vague “Just a friend’s.” Most will bitterly fork out the five or seven dollars it takes to squeeze into a dining hall party. Others will chill with a dozen of their friends somewhere in a freshman dormitory, wondering where the booze is at and bemoaning the 21-year age limit. Freshman boys are at the bottom of the partying food chain, at least until you join a larger social organization, so always brace yourself for brutal rejections at the door.

Eventually though, the nights of wandering around JFK Street or sitting soberly on your behinds in a freshman common room, wishing that you were at a party will be a thing of the past, and you will learn to utilize all the amazing partying opportunities that Harvard has to offer. Go out there, make friends, and start having fun!

Harvard’s Cultural Groups Opportunities to Belong

by April Sperry ’13

W

ith students from fifty states and all corners of the globe, it is difficult to paint a visual picture of a “typical” Harvard student. In accordance with the expansive ethnic diversity, the College has over 75 cultural groups. Some are small, like the Irish-American Society with under 10 members, and some are better known, like Hillel, Taiwanese Cultural Society, and Black Men’s Forum each with over 100 members.

Cultural groups remind minority students that though they are far from home, there are people at Harvard who share similar backgrounds and values.

Apart from this picture-perfect façade, however, cultural groups at Harvard are often looked upon as breeding grounds for exclusivity—that they perhaps encourage people to interact only with others of their own race. It is undeniable, though, that most if not all students are involved in more than one extracurricular at our University, which is rather endowed in this area of opportunity.

Harvard students are driven, motivated, and involved people; most of us participated in many extracurriculars at our respective high schools and don’t break a sweat juggling three or four simultaneous commitments.

So why would we resign ourselves to associating with only one group of people? I believe that the mission of Harvard’s cultural groups is not to alienate their members from the rest of the student body; it is instead to provide often much-needed and much-welcomed support for minorities on a student-to-student level within the larger Harvard community.

You have to keep in mind that cultural groups are hardly separate or disconnected entities. They regularly collaborate with other ethnic groups for mixers, parties, and discussions. Such groups are not looking to isolate themselves from one another, but to encourage conversation of race relations and what it means to be a minority in America, in college, and at Harvard in particular.

Ethnic groups also reach out to the Harvard community as a whole. In fact, The Chinese Students Association’s Utopia Yacht Party that took place on the Charles River last October was open to students of all races from not only Harvard, but MIT, Wellesley, and Boston College as well. Similarly, the Taiwanese Cultural Society hosts Nightmarket as a replica of a traditional Taiwanese market that is open to all Harvard students. Coming up is Harvard’s annual powwow hosted by the Harvard University Native American Program, an event that is open to Harvard students, Native Americans from across the nation, and the general public.

Whether or not students of other races choose to attend events such as these is up to them. When groups host such events, they publicize them to the entire school because they genuinely want students of all races to attend. The only people who make these events “culture-exclusive” and thus, awkward to attend, are those who decide that they must be.

I consider myself a minority at Harvard, and I am active in my respective cultural group. We have community dinners once a week, a social every month, and mixers with other cultural groups. Even with all of this, I do not feel leashed to this group. I spend time with my blockmates, class friends, and people I have met through other groups and organizations. My ethnic group is like a little slice of home, but it by no means solely defines my Harvard experience.

Overall, I think that cultural and ethnic groups are a vital part of Harvard’s campus life. I have had nothing but positive experiences with my group and I still feel like an active part of the larger Harvard community. We could not claim to be a diverse student body if minorities did not have opportunities to embrace and practice their heritage. The plethora of cultural groups grants every incoming freshman, struggling sophomore, bitter junior, and coasting or thesising senior his or her very own piece of home at Harvard.

“... cultural groups at Harvard are often looked upon as breeding grounds for exclusivity.”

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LIFESTYLE 9

the voice

the “Hispanic” problem of the 2010 Census

by Ricardo Ramirez Garcia-Rojas ’13

M

y name is Ricardo A. Ramirez Garcia-R. I am a male. My age on April 1, 2010 was 18. I was born on May 24, 1991.

That is as far as I can get on my 2010 Individual Census Report with no problems (excluding the fact that my legal name does not fit in the allotted boxes).

The next question asks me if I am “of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin” (that is a yes in case you did not catch the never-ending name). All seems fine, until, upon moving on, I am asked what my race is. I look down. The choices are White, Black, American Indian, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Other Asian (such as Hmong, Laotian, Thai…), Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan, or Other Pacific Islander (such as Fijian and Tongan).

No box describes me.

I look back up to see if I missed something. After all, given that Spanish is the second most common language in the United States, there has to be some race that Latinos can identify with. Instead, all that stares back at me is the implied claim that Hispanic origins are not races. So what race box do I check? I guess that because of my lighter skin tone, the closest thing that comes to describing me is “white.”

But I am not white. I have never identified with the white race, and I do not plan to change my personal identity anytime soon. So, as Latino students in RAZA and FUERZA exclaimed in email threads, “I still don't know what to mark as my ‘race.’ Womp, womp.”

I'm completely shocked and disappointed that I have to check the “Other” box. I'm a by-the-book mestiza. My father is of pure Spanish descent, and my mother of pure Incan descent.

Intiya Isaza-Figueroa ’10 was similarly bemused. “I get the impression that by American Indian they mean ‘of a native tribe of the United States,’ which is implicit in the request of a specification of a card-carrying tribe,” she said.

“There are millions and millions of people who would list themselves as descendants of Spanish and a Central or South American tribe. Meanwhile there are fewer than 200,000 Chamorros, and they get their own box. It's very odd, and means Latinos in America are still not being appropriately counted.”

Her claim is completely legitimate. Confusion among Latinos over what race they should identify with is the root for variance in answers to the race question. For example, my impression when I first saw the census form was that the government wanted me to identify with the white race, particularly because I just did not fit with any of the other races.

However, a student on the RAZA/FUERZA email thread decided, in order to best represent her heritage, to check Hispanic as her ethnicity and to check off Black, White, and American Indian as her race – a decision which contradicted IsazaFigueroa’s interpretation of the term “American Indian.”

This debacle between technicalities and inferences on what race to check off is not restricted to Harvard. According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 54 percent of Hispanics identify as white, while only 1.5 percent identify as black.

Furthermore, 40 percent do not identify with any race.

The figures gathered from the race questions in the census are allegedly used for the representation of racial minorities in Congressional districts and other apportionment issues. But how can these discordant figures among Latinos allow for any equity in the system? Questions like these are what cause groups, such as the editors of the Michigan Journal—a publication at University of Michigan-Dearborn—to “believe that Congress has chosen to discriminate against minorities by eliminating their opportunity to chose or list their own race.” The editors believe that “racial selections [are] limited” and that people are not able to be properly counted.

The Census Bureau’s response: self-identification through the “Other” box.

“If the Census Bureau were to try to provide a space for every different consideration of race, the form would be 100 pages long,” said Raul Vicente Jr., an employee in New York City's Census headquarters. “Focus groups were used to make decisions on which [races] were used.”

But even the decisions of these focus groups were put into question. Despite our massive immigration into the United States, no person from Latin America gets his or her own race box. In the RAZA/FUERZA thread, one student was left wondering why being Japanese or Korean or Filipino or Chinese or Vietnamese was considered a separate race.

“Why aren't they all labeled as being Asian, with a separate question asking about na-

?

graphic by Melissa Wong ’12

Being Counted:

tional origin?” she asked. “Does that then mean I should be able to list my race as Mexican, since the ‘races’ listed above are also drawn on national lines?”

According to the Census Bureau, the reason why no person from south of the border gets, as students in the RAZA/FUERZA thread put it, a “brown” box to check off is that U.S. Federal Government agencies must adhere to standards issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1997. The OMB issued the verdict that “race and Hispanic origin (also known as ethnicity) are two separate and distinct concepts. These standards generally reflect a social definition of race and ethnicity recognized in this country and they do not conform to any biological, anthropological, or genetic criteria.”

If these are the standards by which the Census Bureau operates, then they should request that the OMB come up with some better research. How is it that the census form lists Laotian and Thai as two different races when the two are bordering countries comparable to the neighboring nations of Brazil and Peru? Yet neither being Peruvian nor Brazilian gets any racial recognition, but is, along with every Latino, directed to the “Other” box.

The bottom line is that there is something fundamentally wrong in the census form if so many people are confused or displeased by it. Race is a sensitive subject, particularly because it is so closely tied to a person’s identity.

“People object to being forced to endorse self-labels that are discrepant with the ones they normally use,” said Professor of Psychology Daniel Gilbert. “No one likes to give an answer that they feel misrepresents them.”

The government has not completely neglected the issue. In the Census Reform Report, the Bureau claimed that they reviewed “a considerable amount of research […] focused on how to improve the response rate to the Hispanic origin question.”

But a plan that consists of combining various races to build what seems to be an identity or resorting to the “Other” box might not be a solution. What the Census Bureau has failed to understand is that when someone moves down to the race question and fails to find a suitable choice, they may feel as if their identity had been unrecognized or illegitimized.

Yes, one may still be counted like everyone else as an equal citizen of this country, but the population will only be comfortable with how they are being counted when they feel that their government has met their promise that the “movement toward an increasingly diverse society be recognized.”

“I’m completely shocked and disappointed that I have to check the “Other” box.”

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10 LIFESTYLE

the voice

Restaurant Review:

French Cuisine and Fabulous

Dinner at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Market article and photos by Crystal Coser ’12

J

ean-Georges has a new restaurant in Boston?” Last November’s news of such a culinary god arriving just a T ride away was even more exhilarating than the announcement of a canceled midterm. The thought of experiencing Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s threeMichelin star culinary abilities made my Friday night reservation at Market exceptionally exciting.

Entering the bar in the W Hotel, I was overwhelmed with a sexy-cool vibe. It was a playground for businessmen and hip twenty-somethings. Never before had I so yearned to be of legal drinking age and partake in their grown-up frolickings.

After being led to a window seat overlooking the Theater District, I tried to exude the same sophistication that emanated from every inch of the restaurant. My attempt to mask my schoolgirlness was curbed when our waitress handed my friend and I our menus. We giggled with excitement as we saw far too many standout dishes than our stomachs could contain. So was the start of our brilliant night of gluttony.

Unable to forgo the opportunity to have one of our favorite dishes, we ordered the ahi tuna tartare to share as a pre-appetizer. Yes, this meant we each had four courses and several servings of their chewy and crisped sourdough bread. Few things in life make me happier than well-prepared, simple food, and the tartare left me with a giddy grin.

The fresh tuna sat atop an appropriately thin layer of avocado. I find that tuna tartare often has so much avocado that it overwhelms the delicate flavor of the fish, but this tartare had just enough to add a hint of richness. The molded tartare was served in a pool of ginger dressing and topped with

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LIFESTYLE 11

thinly sliced radishes and a sprinkle of chili oil that combined to give a kick to the otherwise mild dish. Strong notes of ginger and yuzu prompted me to eat the dressing like a soup. With the creaminess of the fish and avocado, punchiness of the dressing, and crispness of the radish, Market presented a masterful execution of a long-time favorite.

Next was the dish that had most tempted me to make my reservation: Jean George’s foie gras brulee is a staple in a number of his restaurants. This one was served with a side of pineapple-Meyer lemon jam and sat atop a thin round of toasted brioche. I was slightly surprised when I was served a thick log of cold foie gras. Foie gras typically comes as a tiny serving because it’s pure fat.

Hello, sophomore twenty.

The liver had been pressed through a fine sieve, molded into a log, and sliced to achieve its round shape. The foie gras was unbelievably smooth and creamy, not unlike eating butter. A small pat would have been enough for me; instead, I received a stick. Although this was also a well composed dish—with implausibly rich liver, crunchy brulee coating, and subtly sweet Meyer lemon jam—it was certainly one to share, as the consumption of the dish in its entirety certainly made me a glutton for punishment.

I was struck by the colors of my entrée before it even reached my table. My soy-glazed short ribs were served with a bright streak of carrot purée and an assortment of thin carrot varietals. The large white plate served as a canvas upon which the carrots, dill, and short ribs became rich paints of orange, green, and glistening mahogany.

The plate was a stunning exhibition of composition and color; Chef Vongerichten’s use of food as a medium surely classifies him as a visual artist.

Although my eyes were overwhelmed with visual pleasure, my taste buds were not so joyous. The purée was sweet and creamy, but not enough to mask the overbearing saltiness of the short ribs. A word of caution should be voiced to anyone attempting a soy glaze, as soy sauce is, well, salty. I was surprised this slip up, as suach a decorator should be aware of the dangers of using soy sauce in reductions. The meat was tender and the carrots were robust, but the soy glaze nearly ruined the dish. After careful removal of as much glaze as possible, I was able to enjoy an otherwise lovely course.

Like the tartare and the foie gras, Market hit another home run with its strawberry rhubarb crumble with Thai basil ice cream, a mouthwatering rendition of grandma’s comforting classic. Every steaming hot bite brought me closer to a state of bliss. The dish was both rustic and sophisticated in its approach zexecution. A garden of nutty crumble topping, subtly sweet fruit filling, and mildly herbaceous basil ice cream was served in an austere cast iron ramekin. With the hot sweet filling and cold ice cream, an outwardly earthy dessert became one of the most divine I had ever come upon. With my fancy grown-up meal ending with a familiar favorite, I left Market pleasantly full and satisfied.

Market / W Boston 100 Stuart Street Boston, MA 02116 Tel: (617) 310-6790 info@marketbyjgboston.com reservations@marketbyjgboston.com

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12 LIFESTYLE

the voice

Internal Makeover at Dahn Yoga The Voice sends a staff guinea pig to discover his inner self

W

hen I volunteered to participate in a free

by Graham Simpson ’13 yoga and meditation sesphotos by Michelle Nguyen ’13 sion at Dahn Yoga Center, my decision was met with laughter by the other Voice writers. Apparently, they did not expect me, as a straight 19-year-old male, to have any desire to go discover my inner self. When I told my friends, they reacted in much the same way, surprised and humored by the image of me contorting my limbs into downward dogs and crow poses.

But I thought it was a great opportunity to experience something new. This semester had been crazy in terms of schoolwork, and I was beginning to feel burnt out. Even if I did not fit others’ mental images of what yogis looked like, I figured I could definitely benefit from a short lesson at Dahn Yoga.

After classes one afternoon, I walked from my dorm room to the facility, located on Mass.

Ave. past Berryline, across from Dolphin Seafood. As I entered the building, a charming woman, Sooji Jung, quickly greeted me.

After removing my shoes, we sat down to chat before beginning the yoga session. The décor

Breathe in....breathe out.

And stretcccccchhhhhhhh.

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LIFESTYLE 13

“After we finish meditating, we shook and bounced before ending with a loud shout and a jump, “Healthy body! Happy heart! Power brain! Yay!” of the room was simple and minimalistic. A chart explained various classes, a board listed the levels achieved by various members, and Chinese characters decorated a poster in the back of the room. Over tea, Jung explained to me that Dahn Yoga, as practiced by the center, is a specific type of yoga, one that is Korean in nature. It differs from other forms of yoga in that less focus lies with postures. Instead, the practice emphasizes relaxation of the mind and control of one’s dahn, or energy.

We moved to the floor to begin the session. Jung talked with me on the idea of relaxing by connecting to the body, an ancient concept that she feels has been lost in today’s modern world.

We began with a series of tapping exercises. By tapping on my head and down my arms, I was supposed to be feeling a closer relationship with my body. Pounding on my stomach, I wasn’t really sure if I was connecting with my own body or just turning it into a percussion instrument, but I went along with it.

Along with the tapping, another part of Dahn Yoga that I find surprising was the practice of body vibrations. To start, I shook my head back and forth. From there, I bounced up and down and shook my entire body side to side. Though at first I felt a little silly, all of this shaking was, in fact, rather relaxing. The idea was to reduce tension and stress in the body and to calm my brain by connecting to brain wave vibrations. Every Friday, Jung leads a twenty-minute vibration session with Korean drumming music.

We moved from tapping and shaking to some stretching and yoga postures that were more in line with my preconceived notions of what yoga entails. I did my best to follow Jung’s lead and to stretch my inflexible body toward the walls of the room. Though I struggled with some of the stretches and poses, she was patient with me, supporting my body in some of the more challenging positions.

Last, we moved into breathing exercises and meditation. For me, this was the most rewarding stage. Jung told me later that she emphasized this stage because I looked tense when I entered the room. Though I was surprised that my outward appearance so obviously exhibited stress, she was certainly correct. This semester has been a constant barrage of work, and lately, I have been feeling its effects.

For quite some time, I lay down on my back, arms outstretched and eyes closed, drifting into a meditative state, worrying about nothing except my current state of being. I sat up, pressed my palms together, then slowly pushed them away from each other and back together again, repeating the motion over and over, feeling the almost magnetic energy between them, focusing only upon the exercise at hand, forgetting what work awaited me back at campus. After we finish meditating, we shook and bounced before ending with a loud shout and a jump, “Healthy body! Happy heart! Power brain! Yay!” We ended with more tea, drinking it slowly and letting it sit in our mouths.

It reminded me of a wine-tasting, but with Korean “oki tea” instead of an Italian Chianti. Trying the tea is reason enough to check out Dahn Yoga. The fiveingredient tea made at the yoga center tastes wonderful. Sitting on our mats sipping tea, I reflected on the experience, one that left me relaxed and refreshed.

For an hour, I could escape from the apprehension of upcoming midterms, papers, and problem sets. When I was performing the exercises, only the present – unobscured by worries of yesterday’s mistakes or tomorrow’s uncertainties – occupied my thoughts.

At Harvard, time for relaxation is nonexistent for most. We push ourselves hard to do well in our classes and overload our schedules with extracurriculars.

At the end of the week, we reward ourselves by partying and pushing our bodies to the brink of destruction with sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. I realize now, more than ever, that we all need to stop and take a step back, a break from a seven-day-cycle of constantly overexerting ourselves. We have to give our bodies and our brains some respite occasionally. Take a walk, exercise, read a novel for fun, sit out on the Yard, or join a yoga class.

Jung and I discussed how busy Harvard students tend to be. She said she loves when MIT and Harvard professors and students come to her classes, entering serious and stiff, but leaving liberated and refreshed. She hopes that by running Dahn Yoga Center, she can provide a means for students to take some time out of their day in order to relax and rejuvenate the mind. To her, I say, “Thank you,” or in Korean, “Gamsahamnida.”

This article is sponsored by Dahn Yoga. http://www.dahnyoga.com

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14 LIFESTYLE

the voice

CAN YOU HANDLE TH

Why Every Prefrosh Should C

by Casey Thomson ’13

O

h little prefrosh, I know what you’re

thinking. I, too, was once a graduating senior, troubled by the decision of where to go to college and afflicted by a particularly nasty case of senioritis. It’s an exciting time indeed, but stressful as well; whether you are set on a specific school or debating between seventeen possibilities, the thought of moving beyond the comfort of the high school atmosphere into (gasp) adulthood and college life is quite frightening. The decision, however, is a lot easier when you know where you are going, when you know what the area is like, what the classes contain, what the social life is like, and (most important of all) what foods are edible in the dining halls. As a current Harvard student with freshman year almost behind me, I recognize that you get tired of hearing the same old, prepackaged story about what is amazing at each college. Here’s the non-admissions office version of why to come here, not from your teachers or parents, but straight from the words of a current, and happy, student. There are many reasons to love Harvard, and many reasons why you should feel that this place could be your home for the next four years. Don’t believe me? Read on, my friends. Read on.

1). The People’s Republic of Cambridge (the Good Ol’ 02138)

Getting pumped at the Harvard-Yale pep rally

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Personally, this glorious area was what won me over. Cambridge has the perfect mix of big city hustle and suburban charm; there is always something going on, whether it be a festival (Head of the Charles) or a protest against human rights violations in the “Pit” by the T-stop. In fact, you should not be surprised if you see a celebrity walking through these streets – Ben Affleck and Matt Damon went to school nearby, and it is not uncommon to hear a string of screams as Justin Timberlake strolls through. You do not need a car – in fact, for the sake of your sanity to avoid parking tickets, I strongly discourage it – because you can walk anywhere you want in the city within a reasonable time limit. Want to go somewhere a bit farther? Go to Harvard Square T-stop and VOILA! You can be there in a few minutes, all for the low student price of $1.70 per ride.

As a Chicagoan, restaurants are a big deal to me. Sadly, you missed the glory days of Herrell’s homemade ice cream, but there is still the magical goodness of Berryline’s frozen yogurt flavors. I know pizza (again, I’m from Chicago), and I personally love the award-winning, late-night slices doled out by Pinnochio’s Pizzeria. La Creperie offers delicious dessert and substantial crepes, while Au bon Pain has breakfast sandwiches and pastries to make any sweet tooth throb. Don’t forget Burdick’s, gourmet hot chocolate to make any chocolate lover swoon, and Felipe’s greasy but oh-so-good burritos, quesadillas, and tacos. And for those who appreciate a standard Subway sandwich, Ben and Jerry’s cone, or Starbucks cup of coffee, the Garage offers those (and more shopping delights) all in the comfort of your own town.

Yet, as much as I love food, I cannot forget the little things that make Cambridge unique, things that give it a flavor and personality all its own.

The Brattle Street Theatre features fantastic non-mainstream and old films in a quaint yet magnificent showroom. The chess master in front of Au Bon Pain is always looking for challengers to his title, and the street per-

photos by Grace Sun ’13

the voice

FEATURES 15

HE VERITAS?

Choose Harvard

formers that spring up in the warmer weather renew the city’s energy with music and performances.

Run along the Charles River for a view that never gets old – or sit along the edge and have a picnic once the sun comes out. Feeling brave? Check out the scandalous Rocky Horror Picture Show (though don’t say I didn’t warn you), the twisted Shakespearean-disco-extravaganza that is the Donkey Show, or maybe settle for a quiet walk through the brick streets with some bubble tea. Tell your friends about the scars you received from the massive city-wide pillow fight in Cambridge Common. Or just go shopping!

That is the beautiful thing about Cambridge – there is always more to discover, places to shop, a lively populace and a serene but vivacious atmosphere. Trust me, you won’t get bored.

2). Crimson You look good in Crimson. :)

3). Boston – Accents, Baseball, and All We know you’ve secretly been dying for someone to ask if you’ve “pahked the cah in Hahvahd Yahd.” Accents aside, Boston is gorgeous – it’s not called the Hub of the Universe for nothing! Ignore the sometimes (well, oftentimes) nasty New England weather, because it’s totally worth it. Where else can you get such high quality clam chowda and baked beans? After all, in a city with over fifty colleges in its boundaries, you have to expect a youthful energy and lively nightlife. It’s not difficult to take advantage

It’s a cathedral! Wait, no.

That’s the dining hall.

House unity? The mascots of Leverett, Dunster, and Winthrop House join forces on Housing Day.

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the voice

“Cambridge has the perfect mix of big city hustle and suburban charm; there is always something going on.” of this, either; the T system is incredibly convenient, reliable, and relatively cheap, so you can basically visit anywhere in the city all on the same transportation system.

And where would you want to visit, exactly? Back to my food obsession – the North End is a haven for Italian culinary masterpieces, with Mike’s Pastry being a legend all its own. Or check out Chinatown for dim sum treats or local festivities like Chinese New Year. The waterfront is astounding, with boats dotting the bay and many restaurants dotting the surrounding shores. Quincy Market can make any shopper’s heart skip a beat; street dancers, vintage shops,

and modern department stores decorate the forever-crowded marketplace. My personal favorite area, Boston Common, is a jewel in the midst of the city bustle. This garden of greenery is always populated with runners, Frisbees, and terriers in the summer, or ice-skating fanatics and newbies alike in the winter. It personifies the youthful, renewed aspect of the city, something that should not be forgotten despite the throngs of historical areas dispersed in the city.

Boston’s nickname as the “cradle of liberty” references this immense historical significance. Yes, it is the birthplace of Dunkin Donuts (and I dare you to visit Boston without

Nancy Pelosi came for a chit chat. NBD. seeing at least one Dunkin Donuts – it can’t be done), but the amount of history pertaining to the beginning of our nation is astounding. The Freedom Trail is especially fantastic: a two-and-a-half-mile trail that takes you through the heart of most areas of the city, visiting areas of national significance along the way. Take the trail to find out why pennies cover Paul Revere’s grave, or to see the USS Constitution in all its massive glory, or where brave Bostonians lost their lives in the Boston Massacre. It’s hard to stand under the perch where the Declaration was first read to the people and not feel proud to be an American – or, at least, to feel goosebumps because of how old everything seems.

A beautiful autumn view of the Charles River. This too, can be yours!

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Become a Celtics fan, or at least try to visit the Green Monstah at Fenway – yelling at Yankees fans is a pastime that everyone should enjoy. Grab a donut from Dunkin Donuts and visit one of the many concerts always happening at either TD Gardens or the House of Blues, or perhaps visit friends at a local college or club for the weekend. Whether you come from the land of cornfields (I’m still proud of you, Illinois) or from the hectic vivacity of Hong Kong, you’re going to love Boston – I guarantee it.

4). Elle Woods Oh, wait…she doesn’t actually go here. BUT IF SHE EXISTED, SHE WOULD BE HERE!

5). The Students Now this is one you’ve probably heard a thousand times before, but it deserves the extra stress. People here are amazing and inspirational, whether they are world-class athletes, inventors, human rights activists, or just really charismatic and interesting people. This is NOT the only place that has people whose accomplishments are admirable – not in the least.

Yet, here you are sure to find people with intense intellectual curiosity, awesome experiences, and backgrounds from all different nations and cultures. We work hard, have fun, and still have time to watch television weekly. At least, we try to!

6). The Faculty Another absolutely awe-inspiring group of people. I could list off names for ages, but I think it is more telling to discuss one of the events we had on campus this semester. This new event, entitled “Harvard Thinks Big,” consisted of ten professors from different departments who were each given ten minutes to discuss a big idea, whether it was their hope for the world, a goal of theirs, or an idea that deserved special attention. With a full theatre and a line that lined the block, this event obviously had much anticipation, and it fulfilled those expectations and more; it was hard not to be inspired, or at least enthralled by the passion

FEATURES 17

of these ten speakers. Teachers are accessible through office hours or even just starting a conversation after class, and the dedication to their students is quite intense indeed. Yet, it’s not just the teachers – teaching fellows, advisers, and proctors are all available, exciting, and engaged in campus life. Whether asking for help on your thesis or looking to discuss the latest Red Sox victory, the faculty on campus seems always eager to help.

7). (To Beat Yale in) The Game Oh yes, this is a very big deal. Most students can agree that this, and the week preceding it (think t-shirt giveaways, pep rallies, and more) is one of the most exciting weekends at Harvard. To make it even sweeter, Harvard will be hosting next year AND we are hoping to continue our winning streak.

8). The House System (Harry Potter, anyone?)

The twelve houses (13 if you count Dudley House for off-campus and some graduate students) is a large part of campus life, and thankfully so. River Run and pre-housing day is quite a time to remember, as is the chaos associated with Housing Day itself – imagine crazed, excited upperclassmen running into the freshman dorms, screaming, waving signs and generally causing a huge ruckus. House-life itself, however, is the real joy: intramural sports, your own dining hall, and the community. Not to mention the fact each house has a character and quirks all of its own.

9). Guest Speakers (Three Words: Yo. Yo. Ma.) But seriously. Noam Chomsky, American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and political activist. Henry Kissinger, legendary foreign affairs politician. Justin Timberlake, former NSYNC member and solo artist. Anne Hathaway, actress and activist. Katharine Weymouth, CEO of the Washington Post. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House. Michèle D. Pierre-Louis, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti. And that’s just a sampling of

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18 FEATURES the some from THIS YEAR ALONE.

10). The Buildings You don’t have to be interested in architecture to appreciate the buildings here. The obvious one: beautiful Annenberg, the freshman dining hall that contains the (disputed, but we think it’s true) largest collection of nonreligious stained glass in the world.

Not to mention the wood-paneled, gas-lamp chandelier palace that is Sanders Theatre, or the bell-tower colonial beauty called Lowell House. Also, those dents outside Hollis? In the days before indoor heating, students would warm cannonballs to bring heat to their room. The indentations were made from cannonballs that hit the ground after being dropped out of windows in order to cool down. But that’s not all.

Immense and intimidating but astounding marble library named after a victim of the Titanic crash?

Check. Secret passageways between the libraries and hidden tunnels in some of the upper class Houses (think Adams)? Check. And let’s face it: red brick makes anything look regal.

11). Museums (for Nerds and non-Nerds Alike) You may or may not have heard of the Glass Flower Exhibit at the Museum of Natural History; over 3,000 models that now represent more than 830 plant species, and George Washington’s pet pheasant also is supposedly housed (and stuffed, of course) in these walls. Art museums galore display pieces from basically every time period, and the Museum of Comparative Zoology also is a sight to behold. The libraries also often count as museums as well – a copy of the Gutenberg Bible is held in Widener, among other precious treasures (and yes, I have seen it, this actually exists). And don’t feel limited to the museums on campus; Harvard students get free admission to many museums in the Boston area, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, and select performances from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

12). Nightlife (Yes, there are parties at Harvard) The Daily Beast just ranked us as the 2nd happiest college in the United States, with an A+ nightlife.

13). History

the voice

Harvard Magic:

The Sparkle We Take for Granted

by April Sperry ’13

W

e go to Harvard.

The day we accepted our invitations to this college, our lives changed. We were ecstatic—on top of the world, in fact—but does this reverence fade over time? Through the February slush and April monsoons we complain: we say that we’re miserable in Cambridge. When faced with these sentiments, all it takes is one look around to remind yourself that you are at the second most magical school in the world, after Hogwarts. Whatever any complaining blockmate may have to say, no one can deny that Harvard is an elite institution with the greatest professors and the most interesting peers on this planet. It’s like the Disneyland of American universities. This year, it was advertised to newly housed freshmen that Kirkland House is “where dreams come true,” but I can just as easily believe that this phrase describes all of Harvard. No other university in the world is like ours.

So why did we choose Harvard?

There’s something to be said for the fact that our professors are pioneers in their field; they wrote the books that your friends at other schools read for their courses. Not to mention they’re the ones we see time and time again as honored guests on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report (I’m looking at you, Steven Pinker).

We also come here for the student body. Harvard students are not only driven and ambitious, but also intriguing and accomplished beyond their years. They have taken incredible journeys with unexpected stops in order to get to this school.

As freshman Ariel Mitnick said, “The best thing about being at Harvard is that this place attracts the most brilliant minds of our generation. To be surrounded with people that are accelerating to the top of their fields while also managing to have fun and enjoy life is incredible and impressive.”

Late-night conversations often bring to the table gems of life stories that you would never have heard otherwise.

That one freshman year entryway-mate who circumnavigated the globe with only a backpack and a toothbrush; that down-to-earth Phi Beta Kappa Junior; that roommate who went through Hell and high-water (and probably more than one job application process) to be able to afford this place; these are the people that make me think we’re much more remarkable than some of our professors could ever hope to be.

Or maybe we come for the magic that is Harvard. The freshman dining hall that is reminiscent of the Great Hall of the kid with the lightning bolt scar, or a library system that is the envy of all other universities (and almost the United States Congress) due to its sheer size and possession of an original Gutenberg bible. Or what about the fact that upperclassmen live in “houses” rather than traditional dorms? Based on word choice alone, it is apparent that Harvard students go home at night, to a family and a community, while most college students simply return to the impersonal living quarters of a dormitory—sometimes miles away from the center of any action. We even eat as communities rather than in large, hectic dining halls someplace across campus. Think about the Peabody Museum, which houses one of America’s oldest and most expansive collections of archaeological materials in the Western Hemisphere.

I won’t claim here that I’ve even scratched the surface of why Harvard attracts such interest on a worldwide scale. As the oldest college in America, it has been advancing society and forming its history and the futures of its alum for nearly 400 years.

As current students, we should take a step back and appreciate where we are. Think about the number of bricks that were placed by hand to construct the buildings in the yard. Choose a random stack in Widener, pick up an equally random book, and I dare you not to get goosebumps as you notice a check-out stamp from 1886. Look at the John Harvard statue—but really this time. As Harvard students, we love to complain about the number of tourists that snap pictures with the lucky foot at all hours of the day—but at how many other universities across the world do tourists spend at least an entire day simply walking the grounds? All clichés aside, Harvard contains a certain undeniable charisma that—like it or not—we will all miss one day. So take it in while you’re still around, ‘cause it’s not going anywhere.

Let’s face it, it’s pretty sweet to go to a school that has among its alumni John F. Kennedy, John Hancock, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush, Al Gore, and Barack Obama; Mackenzie King, Pierre Trudeau, Alejandro Toledo, Álvaro Uribe, Felipe Calderón, and Sebastián Piñera; Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, T. S. Eliot, and E. E. Cummings; Yo Yo Ma; Conan O’Brien, Natalie Portman, and Tommy Lee Jones; Darren Aronofsky, Tom Morello; and W. E. B. Du Bois. Among others!

tory behind them. Think of the Harvard Lampoon, Hasty Pudding, the Institute of Politics, Glee Club, the University Choir, the Crimson, Phillips Brooks House Association, and Harvard Student Agencies, among countless others. Yet we cannot forget the most important of them all…The VOICE (not that we are biased or anything)!

16). Three Things to do Before You Graduate 14). Cross Registering with MIT

If you don’t know what these are, you will find out soon enough.

Want to take a specific class at MIT that they don’t have here? Cross register. Ba-dabing, ba-da-boom, done.

15). Unique Campus Groups While there are over 400 groups on campus, there are some that have quite a unique his-

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17). And Last But Not Least…VERITAFFLES That’s right. Waffles with the Veritas logo in the mold. You know you want ‘em.

And that’s that…only a sample of some of the many reasons to join us here at Harvard Yard. I know the decision will be a tough one, and wherever you go is sure to be fantastic, but we all know the truth: there’s no place like Cambridge!

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FEATURES 19

the voice

From Hanoi to Harvard

by Michelle Nguyen ’13

“Hi, my name is Michelle, and I’m from Hanoi, Vietnam. But I’m not a Communist, so don’t worry” is the shtick I use to introduce myself at Harvard. It makes people laugh, and serves my narcissistic purpose of distinguishing myself from the hundreds of short Asian girls that dominate this campus.

Behind the introduction is a long and bumpy road that led me to Harvard. In fact, I almost didn’t come. Harvard wasn’t my first choice for matriculation, but my parents thought it had better international recognition and my mother semi-blackmailed me into choosing it. Besides, they could not pronounce “Yale” despite my best efforts. It was quite difficult for my mother to brag to her gossipy neighbors about me going to “a certain famous school in the US.” In retrospect, though, I couldn’t have made a better decision.

I have one of the most unusual and unorthodox Vietnamese families you will ever find. My father is the fifth child of a dirt-poor family with ten children in central Vietnam. He grew up in the 50s and bore witness to two major wars and political and economic turmoil in the country.

With a preternatural amount of self-motivation and efforts, he went to college in Hanoi on a government scholarship, and finally earned a PhD in mechanical engineering from Germany. It is the classic rags-to-riches story that characterized my childhood and instills in me today an unquenchable sense of pride and affection for my father—to the extent that I am (perhaps too) ready to gloss over his humanly flaws and his unhealthy affinity for alcohol.

My mother is twelve years my father’s junior, and a city girl through and through. She was beautiful and carefree, had a day job as a photo model, and moonlighted as a drama actress. Yet somehow she found herself married to an older man that, at the time, had neither looks nor money on his side. If I could put a caption below my parent’s wedding pictures, it would be Beauty and the Beast,” reminiscent of the classic Disney tale. Standing next to my impeccably made-

up mother, my father looked like a gorilla that had undergone a yearlong hunger strike, his horrific, shoulder-length mop of black hair overwhelming his stick thin figure even more. (Funnily enough, he now has a belly and hardly any hair at all.) For all their incompatibilities and idiosyncrasies, they actually make a good pair, like Thelma and Louise, Batman and Robin, and yes, Beauty and the Beast. But most important of all, they were and still are great parents. For one thing, they allow me to verbalize all my less-than-flattering descriptions of them and their habitual antics and actually proceed to laugh with me.

In between Hanoi and Harvard, there was Singapore.

There, I spent four years in a public high school under the generous ASEAN scholarship. The opportunity came like a whirlwind. I was invited to try out on Friday night, reluctantly came to the examination on Monday after a weekend away on holiday, knew that I got in via a phone call on Tuesday night, and the papers were signed on Wednesday. Just like that, I was whizzed off to a land I hardly knew existed.

I was fourteen years old, stood at 4 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed a grand total of 90 pounds. As we waited to check in at the airport, my tearful mother was still quite convinced that it was all a scam to trick young children and then sell them off to China or Africa. She reminded me over and again that should anything happen in the next day or two, just call and she would board the next flight to Singapore and escort me home. My father was stoic, as always. He believed that it was never too early to see the world and realize how minuscule I really am. As for me, I was just excited about flying for the very first time.

In the next six months or so, Singapore sprung me around and hit me hard. I came to fully realize the perils of starting a life in a foreign country all by myself without adequate preparations. I could barely speak English. The pace of life was nauseatingly fast, and I was lost. It did not help that in this country, chewing gum was banned, a legal drinking age actually existed, and a hefty fine accompanied eating

and drinking on public transportation. It remained unclear to me how I managed to climb out of that muddled mess of pubescent drama, but I did. I made friends, did well in school, and graduated with a shining portfolio. Still, sometimes I found myself frightened by lonesomeness and suffocated by the rat race, and I wondered if being 1,400 miles away from home was worth it.

People often asked how I managed to adjust so fast to life in America (I suspect some had a vision of me as a Marx-spewing, flag-waving, loony Commie), and my answer always involved Singapore. I think of Singapore as a microcosm of America, a model of what America would be like if it were the size of Massachusetts and had a Chinese majority.

It taught me to appreciate racial and cultural diversity, to believe in myself, and to survive by myself. Most important of all, it trained me to master the art of bullshitting my way through an essay on a topic that I knew nothing about.

Four years later, I left the Lion City one last time. I was an inch taller, fifteen pounds heavier, and a whole lot more cynical. I traded innocence for maturity and (some) wisdom.

But sometimes you just want to be carefree and happy and not having to worry about everything.

As I stood inside Hanoi’s International Airport last August, waiting to board the flight to Boston, it was with familiar sights but wildly different sentiments. It would be a blatant lie to say that I was not intimidated. After all, no matter how many episodes of Sex and the City and Gossip Girl I watched, the real America still held that potential to shake me out of my core and break me into pieces.

My first year at Harvard have been marked by exhilarating highs, like seeing myself anonymously featured for the first time on HarvardFML, and embarrassing lows, like stupidly auditioning for Eleganza and spending the next hour having the last bits of self esteem sucked out of me by the parade of thin, tall, and beautiful Harvard ladies. But I did have a lot of fun. Too much fun, perhaps. I have good friends to commiserate with over looming deadlines and a muchtoo-crowded iCal, to party with every weekend, and to share profound thoughts and dreams over scallion pancakes at 2 a.m. in the Kong. It still amazes me sometimes that I am here, walking the historic path crisscrossing Harvard Yard, and living among the people that will some day be titans of industry and leaders of the world. I don’t know yet if I deserve my place here, or if something valuable will come out of my stint as “a Harvard kid,” but at least I know I will enjoy myself trying to find out.

want to contribute a piece or write for the voice? email us at thehvoicemail@gmail.com

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a f o e f i l e h a day in t

R E L L E W D .

E V A .

S S A M

by Suzanna Bobadilla ’13

9 a.m. Good Morning Cambridge!! The birds are singing, the skies are blue, the streets are bustling!

9:03 a.m. Oh, hello tourists! Welcome to Cambridge! Although your tour guide is currently screaming out obnoxious things about my dorm, I still hope that you have a great stay in this beautiful city.

9:05 a.m. Hm… well on second thought, lazy Saturday mornings are always enjoyable. Back to sleep I go!

9:12 a.m. Or not! That’s okay, T goers. Even though you are screaming about what line goes to Park Street (that’s red and green y’all) I’m confident that you’ll figure it out and soon let me return to my snoozing.

9:17 a.m. T goers, please take your screaming small child and enter the station. On behalf of Straus, Lionel, and Mower, please just give the kid a lollipop! [hit snooze button] 10:03 a.m. New batch of tourists, maybe you could ask your tour guide to turn it down just a bit. The whole “I wish there could be co-ed housing in my room” line wasn’t that great the first time. Oh well, time to get up and take a shower

10:23 a.m. Just changed and realized I left the shade up. FML 11:12 a.m. Walking out onto Harvard Yard and suddenly have hit a roadblock. Oh hi again tourists. If you don’t mind, I’ll just make my way through you so I can continue on my way to brunch.

11:20 a.m. Check behind shoulder] Have the slight suspicion that this pack of tourist has been following me for a while. [They are directly behind me on route to Annenberg, suspicion confirmed.

1 p.m. Back from brunch, walked back to dorm while packing a group of tourists chasing a squirrel around in the grass. This is getting to be too much.

1:12 p.m. I decided to open the window to let in the beautiful weather. Ahhhhh, let the studying begin.

1:18 p.m. After five firetrucks, six buses, and three musicians, I have decided to close the window.

1:23 p.m. Something smells outside of my window. It might be the “organic fertilizer”

in the Yard or the exhaust from the truck that almost broken down. On second thought, probably both.

3:03 p.m. Okay that tour guide is definitely in my SLS section. And we definitely just made eye contact. Awk.

3:04 p.m. Well I guess waving to the tourists could be a great procrastination tool. Hello! Hi there! Good afternoon!

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FEATURES 21

the voice 4:04 p.m. Look here comes a new group! [Finger point] How you doin’ ?

4:47 p.m. …I should probably open this book. Wait, man sitting in front of the Unitarian Universalist church has been randomly shouting for about 14 minutes. This is entertaining.

5:12 p.m This startled woman just poured coffee all down her front. Rough.

5:16 p.m While walking to CVS, I was just questioned by a man standing on a wall about my spirituality. Just trying to get a Diet Coke.

5:18 p.m Damnit, after all that I managed to jump because of those startling screams.

7:20 p.m. Back from dinner. Maybe I can get those last few questions done before going out

9 p.m. PAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRTTTTTAAAAAYYYYYY 9:11 p.m. Time when gates around Mass.

Ave. close = two minutes before you actually need to get out.

2:35 a.m. Whew, solid night, time for bed.

2:37 a.m.

Or not.

Hi, drunken debauchery outside of my window. Also, someone should stop banging on that trash can. Like now.

I am sitting across from some guy with a hard-on in Lamont who’s reading “Tom Sawyer.” FML --harvardfml.com ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

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A Chat With Tony Award Winner Lin Manuel Miranda

by Suzanna Bobadilla ’13

W

hile walking into Literature and Arts B-85: American Musicals and American Culture, you might not notice a huge difference from other lectures in Harvard Hall. The TF’s are bustling around the podium, Professor Carol J. Oja is double checking her mic, and students are buzzing their way towards their seats.

There’s a man wearing a Harvard shirt, standing near the of the class front, and is picking songs on his I-Pod that are quietly playing on the speakers. He looks up, his bright eyes surveying the crowd and explains, “I’m just DJ-ing here. Let me know when you want are ready to start.” This guest DJ is, in fact, guest lecturer, Lin Manuel Miranda, Tony Award Winner and creator of the 2008 Tony Best Musical, “In the Heights.” For those of you who might not know him, trust us, he’s a huge deal. At 11:02, he glances at Professor Oja, and asks her why class hasn’t yet begun but the TF’s quickly fill him on the concept of Harvard Time. 11:07 rolls around as he and Professor Oja take their seats at the front of the class. For the next 53 minutes, he explains his creative process, describes his role as an actor and a composer, and even performs new works. If this isn’t one of those “Harvard Moments,” than what is?

According to the course description, “American Musicals and American Culture” focuses on musical theater by examining it within its cultural and social context. “I think a lot of kids walk into the class thinking it’s a history of musical theater and the standards,” says student Samara Oster ’13. “But it is really much more of a racial and ethnic analysis of the times and how musical theater places into it.” Indeed, the course covers musicals such as South Pacific, Rent, and Fiddler on the Roof and encourages students to consider racial elements that are often overlooked. Admits Oster, “It’s interesting because it’s not something that I have been thinking of when performing and the context.

It’s certainly eye opening.”

Samara Oster is certainly no stranger to the stage. Having performed in regional theater and along side Tony Award Winners like Nathan Lane, she chose this course “because any class that was on analysis of musical theater was my class.” The courses promises that and more. One of the class’s most unique features are in the house performances. Every time a new show is introduced, students get up in front of their classmates and share their talent. “American Musicals” even has its own in-house pianist and percussionist, definitely a welcomed change from clickers. “It’s a great way to have community bonding you can just go up to a classmate and say, ‘Hey, that was a great job,’” explains Oster. In preparation for

Miranda’s visit, Oster has performed a piece from In the Heights during the proceeding lecture. And just let us say, girlfriend can sing. Be sure to check her and the rest of the Into the Woods cast as soon as you can.

Along with student performances, assignments include seeing shows either through movie nights or taking trips into Boston for live performances including the new show, Adding Machine which was raved as “a brilliant musical” by The New York Times. In fact, the composer, Joshua Schmidt, was also a guest lecture for the course. And finally on a more playful note, “American Musicals” also includes sing alongs. Yup, that’s right, sing alongs. “Our professor sits down at the piano with a song that everyone knows from a popular song and she’ll be like ‘Everyone join in, come on!’ and we’ll all be sitting with our lyrics and sing along,” laughs Oster.

But what was “American Musicals” final selling point for Oster? Lin Manuel Miranda. “He was great, so enthusiastic, he just has that really social friendly talkative personality,” she reveals.

Miranda was a sophomore at Wesleyan College when he wrote the first version of In the Heights. After a huge success, he was later approached to adapt it for Off-Broadway, then Broadway itself.

“To compare the first version of In the Heights to the one that you see today is like comparing Steam-Boat Willie to Mickey Mouse,” Manuel jokingly admits. In the Heights is centered in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, a mostly Latino neighborhood, and follows the lives of several of its residents. Nina Rosario, a student who has just returned from her first year at Stanford, contends with disappointing a community that holds incredibly high expectations for her. Her song, “Breathe” expresses her anxiety of having to admit that working two jobs while at Stanford proved more difficult than she had originally expected. Usnavi acts as the neighborhood Everyman. He owns the neighborhood bodega (convenience store) and observes the comings and goings of the residents. When In the Heights opened on Broadway, Miranda starred as Usanavi himself. Miranda comments on the freedom this unique position as creator and actor gave him, “If I [acted] this way or that, it was like—well that’s how it is now.” For many, In the Heights is seen as a response to the Latino stereotypes that were products of Leonard Bernstein’s (’39) West Side Story. “You’ll notice that I avoided drugs and crime in In the Heights,” notes Miranda, “West Side Story did that pretty well.”

“People are nodding their heads and beating their feet to the beat as if this wasn’t just their 12 pm class but a ticketed concert.”

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

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photos by Sasha Mironov ’13

FEATURES 23

the voice He tells students that he really wanted to create an authentic show. “And for me, I’ve never been in a knife fight in my life.”

At this point in the lecture, Miranda has abandoned his chair at the front of the class and eagerly shares In the Heights demos to students, and has even shared some of his newest work—a hip-hop album on none other than Alexander Hamilton. When asked why Hamilton, Miranda quickly responses, “Because he’s a gangster.” The room bursts into laughter as he continues, “But no, he was like Tupac, being so smart but not knowing when to shut up. And I mean, he was gunned down in Jersey.” But as Miranda performs his newest piece, the whole room is lost in the music, even those who look initially skeptical become absorbed by Miranda’s rapping. People are nodding their heads and beating their feet to the beat as if this wasn’t just their 12 pm class but a ticketed concert. Eventually, the song subsides and Miranda walks back up to his chair.

“I better not find this on Youtube,” he warns, “I see you all.”

Miranda continues to field questions and eventually the hour is over.

He poses for pictures, even poses a video message, and is very gracious to all who greet him. With his Nintendo backpack and relaxed attitude, he blends in with the Yard’s bustle. He is on his way to a lunch with a group of students who were lucky enough to win lotteried tickets, including Oster. “I felt bad,” she remembers, “we were all sitting at a table, there were eleven of us and we were drilling him, asking all of these question and an hour had went by and he hadn’t taken a bit of his meal.”

She laughs, “He’s a really wonderful and was really lovely afterwards.”

As we are currently bogged down by exams and final papers, it’s easy for Harvard students to forget why we signed up for these classes in the first place or even why we decided to take on Harvard’s workload as opposed to other schools’.

Classes like “American Musicals in American Culture” and

opportunities to have a discussion with a Broadway star like Lin Manuel Miranda are the things that can remind us how learning can be, as nerdy as it is to say, really fun. And in the case of “American Musicals” it can even count for Gen Ed and Core credit. Bonus!

The Voice was lucky enough to land an interview with Miranda later in the day. As we approach his table, he quickly asks if he can just grab a few bites of food. A couple minutes later, after saying good-byes and signing some autographs, he comes back, ready to answer our questions.

So let’s start from the beginning. What are first your memories of musical theater?

“I’m excited for ‘In the Heights’ to be the source of private jokes amongst friends because they played the salon ladies..”

age?

My first memory is the Camelot cast album in the car, in my mom’s Subaru. And she would blast it, and that was before I knew what a musical was, my mom just had this collection of awesome songs about Camelot. So that’s my first one. But it was really through cast albums, we didn’t see a lot of Broadway.

We were like most people, you know, Broadway was a really special occasion because it was really expensive. So it was Cats, Les Mis, and Phantom those were the big ones. And then rest of my musical theater experience was in the school, from like sixth grade on.

How do you hope that “In the Heights” has brought Broadway in a post-racial

I think it will be post-racial once “In the Heights” enters into high schools because we’ll have little white kids playing Usnavi and I’m really excited about that! And I get really excited when I see this Youtubes and these choruses are singing about Vega Alta and that blows my mind or the Dominican Republic and I’m very for that because that’s how I learned about shows. The shows that you do in high school become a part of your DNA. And it’s really true. I’m excited for “In the Heights” to be the source of private jokes amongst friends because they played the salon ladies. You know what I mean? So I’m really psyched about that. In terms of post racial age, we came up against this a little bit when we cast

Corbin Blu in the role of the Usnavi and it’s such a slippery slope to talk about ethnicity in terms of casting but it also gets really dumb. It’s like, I’m not Dominican either. You know, I’m Puerto Rican and Mexican. I think the only adult way to deal with is to treat it as age or height. Corbin actually came in for Benny and we met him and he was so charming and gregarious and charismatic we were like you’re Usnavi, you’re not Latino, but you’re Usnavi, so it’s just a factor.

After a performance, whose face do you look for first?

That’s a great question because once you do it professionally you’re no longer looking for your family in the audience. You’re not going “Did I do alright?” you’re just hoping that your show does well and you’re hoping to react to the audience. The fun of playing Usnavi is that you get to check in the audience, you get to cheat. Tommy Kale makes a lot of fun of me because I’m also peaking at his reactions to things, when I’m acting out scenes and as Usnavi I built that in. Every show was fresh and new because I would see the mother and daughter in the front row, I would see the old lady falling asleep, and thinking, “I’m going to wake her up during 96,000” and the audience reaction is what keep it fresh, so I really look towards the audience.

Can you comment on the process of writing “Breathe,” the song in which Nina relates her struggles during her first year at Stanford?

That one was the hardest song to write. That one has the most drafts and it didn’t really click until we added the Spanish section which didn’t exist off Broadway, it was just the choruses, but then we literally saw the disconnect between what they sing about her and how she sees herself.

And that’s really when it got into the audience’s guts. And I don’t know a soul in the world who hasn’t gone to college and hasn’t asked themselves, “What am I doing here?” at one point or another. And your parents are paying a fortune or whatever fortune they can afford and they want qualitative proof that it’s not going to waste and how can you prove that to them? And I think that it is very natural and I think that it is a key to “In the Heights” success because it’s a very really thing.

What has been the most thrilling aspect of working on “In the Heights”?

Oh God, there isn’t a day that hasn’t been thrilling. For me when I was performing, my favorite shows are the kids matinees and seeing all of them come in. I think we always try to write the show really we wanted to see as a kid. You know Sondheim writes that his first professional show was when he was an intern on “Allegro” and the show flopped and it broke his heart, and he writes that he was trying to

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fix “Allegro” for his whole career. And for my show, I had seen my show when I was a little kid, I would have been president by now! It’s like when I went to go see the movie “Spy Kids.”

It was about a little Latino brother and sister who saved the world, and we didn’t have this, we didn’t have Dora when we were kids. I think for me, it’s about creating the show that I have always wanted to see.

What was more impressive, performing for President Obama in the White or along Big Bird on Sesame Street?

That’s a tie. They were both very surreal days. Obama, it was much scarier because I was premiering a new work, I had never sang that song in public before, in the highest stakes possible venue, the East room of the White House. It was fun but terrifying until it was over. But that day with Big Bird, I was literally moving that day. I was moving in with my girlfriend. I left one apartment, spent the day on Sesame Street, and then moved into a new place. On my episode, I had everyone, Snuffleupagus, Big Bird, Maria, everyone on was on that episode, it was great.

A

s we walk out of our interview, we make small talk as we head to Mass Ave. While posing for some photographs, we get a closer look at his shirt. Yes, the first row of crimson letters spell out “HARVARD” but underneath reads “Community College.” We point it out and Miranda looks down and good-naturedly laughs, “Oh that. Well you see my girlfriend went to MIT, so I got it mostly to mess with her.” And with that, we say goodbye; Miranda heads to Logan Airport bound for New York and we walk back to the Yard, making our way back to class.

: h s -Fro

Pre

r u Yo

r e h t O

s n o i t Op

by Ricardo Ramirez-Garcia-Rojas ’13 and Graham Simpson ’13

Still trying to decide? That’s cute. Let us help you out a little.

MIT: Yale: Princeton: Brown: University of Pennsylvania: Columbia: Dartmouth: Cornell:

Most popular course: Artificial Intelligence 157: Constructing a Robotic Mate (Note: Complaints have been filed by lab partners describing their experience with the android as “sloppy.”)

You won’t be bleeding blue after you get shanked in New Haven.

Jersey Shore anyone? At least you can punch Snookie when frustrated with your grade deflated. Also, a thesis is required.

“Prefrosh, I know that you don’t smoke weed, I know this. But I’m going to get you high this term. ‘Cuz its Brown, you ain’t got no curriculum, and you ain’t got shit to do!” - Ruth J. Simmons, President of Brown University A school located between two nuts (Chestnut and Walnut Street). Make of this fact what you will.

A Core Curriculum that is even scarier than getting stalked by “Gossip Girl.”

Benefits of this great institution include: developing a beer belly, getting raped by a bear, and great costume parties at the popular Kappa Kappa Kappa (KKK).

Note to editor: Wait, this is an Ivy?

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No Place to Grieve: Dealing with Loss at Harvard

by Ingrid Pierre ’12

DAY 1: In one hand I had a free burrito from Chipotle, warm and

ready for my impoverished college student’s mouth; in the other hand, I had a cellphone pressed to my ear. Not a particularly unusual tableau until over that clear four-bar signal my brother said, “Grandma died, Ingrid.”

I don’t remember whether I cried right there on Mill Street by Lowell’s back gate or when I was a few steps ahead, but I do remember that my boyfriend, also in tow, had to hold me up by the arms as I sobbed my way to his room.

For the record, my grandmother or grandme, was Marie Fernande Pierre, a big Haitian mamma who, despite her diabetes and my hyperactivity, would pour spoonfuls of sugar on our Frosted Flakes. Not cornflakes, Frosted Flakes. At the end of her life she was missing a few digits because her illness had complicated blood flow to her extremities, but ring finger or not this lady had more heart than Ma-Ti from Captain Planet. I know everyone loves his or her grandmothers—but I LOVED this woman.

So between thoughts of never having a bowl of cereal that sweet or comforting ever again, and thoughts about how much time I had to cry before I had to read for section, I took teary little bites of my free food. College is one of the worst environments for grieving. Screw this, I thought. I don’t want to be here. There’s nowhere but at grandme’s that I belong.

DAY 2: First thing I did was email my professors and TFs, tell-

ing them I probably couldn't make section because I was a hot, goddamn mess, but that I would try to make it to lecture. Let me be clear: I felt I had to email my professor and TF before I could even talk to my mother.

Again, screw Harvard. Who wants to be here?

For those who might wonder, yes, I did go to lecture—but barely made it through half an hour before an unfortunately timed Powerpoint slide screamed my grandmother’s name at me in giant two-foot font. The trigger slide was on the famous Curies, Marie and Pierre. Thanks, ScienceA. I shuffled out of the room with eyeliner streaming down my face, shoved my way through the revolving doors of the Science Center. Class itself seemed to be mocking me, the giant brick and stone structures of the yard were like a colonial hellhole I couldn’t escape. The cold, rainy weather was stifling and cruel.

Thankfully, the Holyoke Center in the middle of Harvard Square was a place that I was familiar with. In addition to the flu shot center, Holyoke is home to the office of mental health—a service that should not go unnoticed. About ten minutes after running out of class, I ran into the office of one of Harvard’s many emergency mental health folks. I cried and I talked; I blew holes through stacks of tissues; I was grieving openly and without embarrassment for the first time since my grandmother’s passing.

WEEK 1: By the end of the first week I was still weeping ev-

ery now and again in the comfort of my room, but I had already seen my resident Dean twice, a nurse-practitioner at the Holyoke Center during emergency hours, had appointments with yet another counselor at Holyoke and a counselor at the Bureau of Study Counsel—all of which was free of charge. I had a wallet full of business cards with a half-dozen phone numbers, all options for me to call at any hour of the day if I was

feeling overwhelmed. If there was anything I knew, it’s that grief doesn’t seize you conveniently in the seven minutes it takes to walk between classes.

For as cruel a place as Harvard seems sometimes, I was amazed at the genuinely helpful resources I had found in just a few short days. I must stress, however, that for as hard as it can be to even drag yourself from your bed to the bathroom when events like these happen, you should take advantage of each and every one of these people. They truly are here to help you.

PRESENT:

There’s no formula for how you are supposed to deal with loss at Harvard, but it helps to know that there are resources for sudden trauma. While I’m still grieving, and still living it (the funeral was just a week before the time this article was written), there is a happy ending to this story. There was an option presented to me during that first meeting, “How would you feel about taking a semester off?”

While I did not go that route, it’s certainly a road I could have taken, I imagine, with no terrible consequences. There’s plenty of guidance either way. Ultimately, I found that I didn’t need to act so drastically. I found that even at a school as fast-paced and high-pressure as Harvard, real life can go on as it certainly must.

[NOTE: While this is opinion of just one person, I will share just two phone numbers that I think everyone should have in their contacts. University Health Services Urgent Care can be accessed on the weekdays at (617) 495-2042, and on evenings and weekends at (617) 495-5711.]

photo by Sasha Mironov ’13

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

26 THE DISH

the voice

Q&A with Directors of the Bureau of Study Counsel

by Lauren Feldman ’13

S

o we know you’re all wrapped up repping your clubs at the Activities Fair and swiping in the random pre-frosh collecting outside your dorm entrance, but the Voice would just like to take a moment to put in one friendly reminder: Reading Period Is Only Six Days Away.

Yeah, we apologize for pulling a huge Debbie Downer here. But because finals are actually (gasp!) now upon us, we decided to check in with Bureau of Study Counsel Director Abigail Lipson and Associate Director Sheila Reindl about specific exam-related questions that might be on your mind.

Is it really better to get a good night’s sleep before a tough exam, instead of cramming?

Reindl: In general, if an exam is simply calling for rote memorization, and you are under-prepared for the exam the day before, cramming at the expense of sleep might be worth your while, since short-term memory is the brain function least affected by short-term sleep loss. But if the exam is asking you to synthesize and integrate information or deal with other complexity (e.g., solve problems, write an essay), you are better off getting a good night's sleep before the exam since those sorts of brain functions are impaired by inadequate sleep.

I just went to a review session and realize I know nothing!

Lipson: This can be a terrible experience for anyone. If there is one piece I can give you, though, it would be "don't hide," even if you feel like crawling under the covers -- go talk with your course instructor, your TF, your resident dean, or a counselor at the Bureau of Study Counsel.

I really need to meet my professor/TF to go over course material, but I can’t get in touch.

Lipson: One possibility is to catch the professor just before or just after class. If you're trying to reach a TF, one option is to contact another TF, assuming there is more than one for your course. In the last few weeks of the semester, many students review course materials together in study groups, or sign up for a peer tutor at the Bureau of Study Counsel.

How should I best prepare myself if I have two exams scheduled one day? How should I plan my time in advance, and what can I do the day of?

Reindl: Prepare ahead of time. Anticipate the nature of the exams (are you asked to recognize the answer, recall it

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from memory, or generate a response (e.g., solve a problem, write a short answer or essay). Anticipate particular questions that might be on the exams (by asking a professor for copies of old exams or seeing if they are available on line). Practice in the mode in which you will be asked to perform. That is, if you will have to solve problems, do lots of practice problems – start to finish. If you will be asked to write essays, practice generating outlines for anticipated essays and roughing out possible paragraphs.

Should I even bother studying? Do grades even matter in the big picture?

Lipson: It's not unusual for college students to realize at some point that they feel burned out or have lost interest in things that used to drive them. One of the best things to do when this happens is to have a conversation with someone who can help you sort things out – for example, your resident dean, a counselor at the Bureau of Study Counsel, and/ or a counselor at the Office of Career Services. Not only can you get some practical information relating to your immediate decision-making (If I fail this course, how will it affect my grad school applications? What are my options for taking a leave this late in the semester?), but you can also start to re-define and reconnect with your core values and goals.

I’m too afraid to ask for help.

Lipson: This is understandable. Many Harvard students are very concerned about doing well and are reluctant to ask for assistance. But the resources are here precisely for students to use while at the College, and too often a student will wait unnecessarily long to begin using them. Students who do well academically, as well as faculty, often say that the truly resourceful students are the ones who make the best use of the resources! So do reach out, starting with anyone you feel most comfortable talking with – a proctor, tutor, counselor, dean, or teacher. They are here to help.

Put in a box somewhere: As reading period approaches, the BSC offers several different avenues of finals-specific programming, including workshops about how to prepare for and take exams. As always, BSC counselors are available for one-on-one appointments to go over study strategies!

At end - The BSC encourages everyone to check out its comprehensive guide to exam preparation – and all of the BSC’s resources – at bsc.harvard.edu. Moreover, all of the questions and answers we compiled from our talk with the directors - including tips on how to study more efficiently and how to combat procrastination - may be found at thehvoice.com.

APRIL 27

the voice

The Prefrosh Guide to First-Year Classes

H

by Darya Slavina ’13

ey you, roaming, red-folder-clad, semi-clueless but utterly adorable future girls and boys of Harvard’s Class of 2014, listen up! I am about to lay out for you the most popular picks of the classes that you will undoubtedly find yourself in if you decide to accept your shot at destiny, or something less dramatic that conveys “PLEASE COME HERE YOU’LL LOVE IT!”, and come back to Harvard in the Fall. As you have probably been told countless times in intro sessions or found on your own by researching classes at Hogwarts, sorry Harvard, we have a magical thing called “Shopping Week.” No its not seven days to stock up on Harvard coffee mugs, hoodies, and underwear. It is the time before every semester when Harvard students get to pop in to any class they are interested in taking and “try it on.” Here are is a list of courses that are most notable freshman picks:

EXPOSITORY WRITING

You know that random relative that you have to force yourself to tolerate because you just have to bear through until they are not there anymore? Expos is sort of like that.

Expos is mandatory for all freshmen, so yay! you can make some new friends in your expos classmates who will be hating every minute of the course with you. The basics: you will need to take a placement test and if you get put in Expos 20 then you only have to struggle through one semester and three essays instead of that plus an additional semester of Expos 10 that is slower paced and has only 2 essays. You get somewhat of a choice in the direction of the class but its possible that you will get stuck with your last choice and will have your deflated grade depend on your work regarding the history of toothbrushes. Kidding.

SOCIAL ANALYSIS 10: PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS

If you are the kind of person who will make up the large chunk of Harvard doing an Economics concentration, ignore this part because there is nothing I can say to you that will talk you out of taking Ec10 or a higher level of economics your freshman year. Economics-buff froshies will drool over the righteousness that is Greg Mankiw and gang up on the man with invites to the Freshman Student-Faculty Dinner. The big lectures happen sporadically but are usually worthwhile, while sections depend entirely on the competency of your TF. Unit tests go hand-in-hand with midterms and finals, which become fiascoes of cramming a couple of days before they go down.

MATH 1 OR 21

You will come in thinking that a math class freshman year will be a good idea for some reason or another. You will be wrong. If you kick-ass on your placement test over the summer, you will be tempted to take the highest level of math that you qualified for. That may not be the smartest idea considering that this is Harvard and there will be people in the class who have taken it already or who are familiar with the material for some nerdish reason. They will throw off the curve and cause you to go a little bald from ripping your own hair out. Freshmen taking math will spend countless hours at the Math Question Center squeezing out the problem sets. Girls, take a pointer from me and bat eyelashes incessantly at the nearest male CA at the MQC to ensure maximum time to attempt retention of the impossibly hard material. Math midterms are especially fun and require countless hours of preparation that will do absolutely nothing for your confidence in your intelligence before the exam. Math = Proceed With Caution.

FRESHMAN SEMINARS

Freshman seminars are a dog-eat-dog business. Not only do you have to aim to incorporate all the right things in your application essays for the seminars that are only read if an algorithm selects them, but the professor has the downright disposal to be a total putz about selecting the 15 or so people for the spots. Freshman seminars range in the randomness of topics but have some pretty cool professors from Harvard’s Medical, Law, and Government schools. They are pass or fail but require major hours of work for the passing mark that will virtually do nothing for your GPA. But I guess it can be nice to be taking a class to neglect when every other one you have bombards you with work, so take an enjoyable freshman seminar to make the best of the pros and cons.

GOVERNMENT 20

This class is a love-hate type of thing: really interesting but crazy hard to get through, especially for freshmen who have yet to internalize the fact that you don’t actually have to read every. single. word. In fact, splitting up reading is a must in order to make it through the class with no physical damage. Beware of the final paper that will surely result in a loooong night in Lamont library. The material is both interesting but useful and with all the work Gov20 entails it usually goes along with a recommendation. And who knows, statistically speaking you could be sharing your section with the next US president.

SCIENCE OF LIVING SYSTEMS 20: PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

This intro psych class can be placed out of with an AP Psych score of 5, meaning that you will miss spending quality time in a huge lecture with psych hot shots Steven Pinker and Dan Gilbert. Material in lecture is a good mix of scientific and weird psychological facts with some human brain thrown in. No really, you get to see a human brain in a jar. Midterms are cram-worthy for sure, with A LOT of memorization but material can be applied to mind-screw with your friends like priming them into walking with swagger to class.

LIFE SCIENCE 1A

If you are into sadomasochism you’ll take this class. LifeSci 1a is the intro course encompassing chemistry, molecular and cellular biology. This is a big one for all the froshies coming in thinking they are going to be premed. Some get slapped in the face with the boring lectures, crazy hard material, tediously long labs, and midterms that should be begun to be studied for during your time doing FUP, and quickly reorient themselves into really really wanting to study Social Studies. Some continue the path to destruction, but don’t worry, you won’t be seeing much of them come junior year a.k.a. MCATs hell. The moral: if you are into dissecting stuff stick to biting off gummy-bear heads.

ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010

PHOTO ESSAY 28

the voice

Harvard Buildings and Architecture photos by Abby Sun ‘13

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ISSUE 22, APRIL 2010