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I ns i de : Ne wP e r s pe c t i v e s , Dr a k e , a ndaS t o r y
02.19.15 VOL. XLVI, NO. 13 CONTENTS FORUM 3 Grey Matter 4 Hangovers in Hanover 5 Barriers to Entry 6 Student Labor 7 A Prospectus (of Sorts) ARTS 8 Dizzy from Drizzy 9 Storytime SPORTS 10 Re(LAX) and Win 11 Ice Queens
As Harvard College's weekly undergraduate newsmagazine, the Harvard Independent provides in-depth, critical coverage of issues and events of interest to the Harvard College community. The Independent has no political affiliation, instead offering diverse commentary on news, arts, sports, and student life. For publication information and general inquiries, contact President Albert Murzakhanov (president@harvardindependent.com). Letters to the Editor and comments regarding the content of the publication should be addressed to Editor-in-Chief Shaquilla Harrigan (editorinchief@harvardindependent.com). For email subscriptions please email president@harvardindependent.com. The Harvard Independent is published weekly during the academic year, except during vacations, by The Harvard Independent, Inc., Student Organization Center at Hilles, Box 201, 59 Shepard Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Copyright Š 2015 by The Harvard Independent. All rights reserved.
The Indy is trying to give some insights.
02.19.15
Inside: New Perspectives, Drake, and a Story
Cover design by Anna Papp
President Vice Presdient Editor-in-Chief Director of Production News Editor Forum Editor Arts Editor Sports Editor Design Editor Associate Forum Editor Associate Arts Editor Illustrator Designers
Staff Writers
Albert Murzakhanov '16 Farhana Nabi '16 Shaquilla Harrigan '16 Sean Frazzette '16 Aditya Agrawal '17 Ritchey Howe '17 Michael Luo '16 Caroline Cronin '18 Anna Papp '16 Caroline Gentile '17 Andrew Lin '17 Yaara Yacoby '17 Alice Linder '17 Abigail Parker '17 Whitney Gao '16 Manik Bhatia '16 Terilyn Chen '16 Yuqi Hou '15 Chloe Li '16 Dominique Luongo '17 Orlea Miller '16 Carlos Schmidt '15 Frank Tamberino '16 Jackie Leong '16 Madi Taylor '16 Shreya Vardhan '17 Peyton Fine '17 Eloise Lynton '17 Hannah Kates '18 Chris Riley '17 Andrew Adler '17
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50 Shades of Messed Up
Reasons why 50 Shades of Grey should have had a trigger warning. By MOIYA MCTIER
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didn’t read 50 Shades of Grey. I’m telling you this now so that you don’t keep reading thinking this will be some literary critique of the book. And though I would like to think I know more than the average human about BDSM, I’m far from a kink expert, so you also shouldn’t expect this to be a scathing review of how this best-selling series has misrepresented an entire community. You can find plenty of those kinds of articles online anyway. Who I am is a person who has lived through sexual assault, which is why I feel qualified (not uniquely so) to write something about this cultural phenomenon that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. Also, if you haven’t seen the movie, but you want to, and you don’t want to know what happens, this probably isn’t the right article for you. This past Saturday, I celebrated Galentine’s Day with my roommates by going to see 50 Shades of Grey. I had read several reviews, so I walked into the theater in a trolling state of mind, convinced that I knew what I had gotten myself into. I laughed at all of the terrible dialogue, tried to ignore the feeling that I was watching porn with a theater full of people, and shouted indignantly at the (not-quite-an) ending along with everyone else. However, I also felt a deeper, more nauseating discomfort which I confirmed during our post-movie girl-talk sesh, my roommates didn’t feel. 50 Shades of Grey gave me flashbacks. The scene where Christian claims he has to “rectify the situation” of Anastasia’s virginity? Cringe. The part where he gets super controlling and demands to know why Anastasia didn’t tell him about her trip to Georgia? Twitch. “Fuck the contract?” No, how about fuck you, Christian Grey, The Harvard Independent • 02.19.15
for embodying the stuff of nightmares for thousands of people around the world. Maybe I should have expected as much from a movie about a BDSM relationship with a reputation for getting pretty much everything about BDSM wrong, but some things need to be explicitly said. Yes, I’m calling for trigger warnings. There are some people who think triger warnings are a sign that society has become too sensitive, or, heaven forbid, politically correct. But how would you feel if I hadn’t given a spoiler alert at the beginning of this article? Probably kind of similar to the countless people who went to see this movie and had to sit through two hours’ worth of romanticized sexual assault. What’s more, trigger warnings do much more than protect people’s emotional well-being. Putting trigger warnings on a movie, or at least in its reviews (because who doesn’t read the reviews before they watch a movie these days?) is a public recognition that something is not okay with the relationship the movie depicts—and it’s not the fact that Christian has a room filled with whips and handcuffs. It’s that he repeatedly questions her decisions not to have sex with him even after she gives a clear “no;” and that he appears in her apartment, uninvited and supposedly without having been told her new address; and that he feels it’s acceptable to control what she eats, what she drives, what computer she uses, when she sees her mom, etc. Christian Grey does more than just blur the line between BDSM and abuse; he takes several deliberate steps past it. I’ve talked to too many people, who, because of their lack of understanding of kink, think that Christian and Ana’s relationship is acceptable. That is definitely a
problem, but it’s not quite as problematic as the fact that those same people didn’t recognize Christian’s controlling and intimidating behavior and his consent-isn’tnecessary attitude as abusive. Trigger warnings would be a first step in moving beyond the discussions about whether or not Dom-sub relationships are abusive. Secondly, the discussions could turn toward the other less overt, but more relatable signs of abuse in 50 Shades of Grey. If you watched the movie and felt uncomfortable for more reasons than just the cheesy lines (see “Are you gonna make love to me now?”), that’s perfectly okay. If you watched it and didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, that’s okay too, because the movie did have some positive attributes (see Jamie Dornan’s abs and Dakota Johnson’s butt). But hopefully now, if you decided to go back and watch the movie again, or friends ask for your opinion of the movie, you’ll have a bit more to think about. Moiya McTier ‘16 (mmtier@college.harvard. edu) hopes viewers pay more attention to the Grey areas of abuse.
Photo courtesy of Jordan Kennedy. harvardindependent.com
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It’s a Dry, Dry Campus
Dartmouth College decides to ban hard alcohol. By RITCHEY HOWE
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artmouth’s decision to ban hard alcohol on campus shocked me. Do they really believe that they can rid a college campus of hard alcohol? Imagine an animal house without, well, the true animal. The toga party would not have existed as portrayed on the screen. Admittedly, this school rule will never work at Harvard because, unlike Hanover, NH, Cambridge is an urban setting where it is far too easy for students to access hard liquor. Even at a rural school such as Dartmouth, kids will continue to stash hard alcohol under beds, in drawers, and between floorboards in their dorm rooms. Therefore, I wonder if Dartmouth expects any true changes on their campus or if they are simply putting on a good publicity stunt. It’s as if they need to say, “See, we are addressing this issue. Now get off of our backs!” While only time will tell if this policy has significant positive change, I seriously doubt it. Perhaps the policy will even have negative effects… While this policy is supposed to improve the safety of students at parties, I fear that this rule will only cause certain students to turn to harder substances, drugs, or drink hard alcohol outside of the frat houses. This last point is extremely dangerous because it will incentivize students to drink large amounts of alcohol off campus, which could lead to drinking and driving. When I asked some friends who are currently undergraduates at Dartmouth, they all iterated how they will find ways around this rule. Similarly to the prohibition era, drink4 harvardindependent.com
ing will never fully disappear from any society, or any college campus. I believe that a better way to curb the violence and the other hazards that can follow drinking is through education. If each fraternity was forced to attend lectures
and workshops concerning alcoholrelated issues, perhaps this could better inform students about the college’s drinking concerns. Some op-ed writers believe that Dartmouth’s admission office should be at fault for admitting students who cannot handle alcohol and are capable of these atrocities. However, as we have seen here at Harvard, these
issues unfortunately are not confined to Dartmouth. I suppose my drinking preferences are that of a typical girl. When I go to parties, I rarely drink beer and if given the option, always prefer a mixed drink. Of course, without this option I would begrudgingly switch to beer. But shouldn’t that be my choice? I’m 21; when I go to a bar I can choose from whatever I want. Shouldn’t a fraternity be able to provide a similar selection to their guests? While there have certainly been mornings where I regret drinking the amount that I did, I believe that it was only due to those nights that I can now drink responsibly. Cutting out hard alcohol will postpone this vital lesson for Dartmouth students. I suppose Dartmouth simply doesn’t want to deal with the repercussions of these lessons. College provides an environment where students, while some are legally minors, are exposed to alcohol without parental supervision. It has been this way for decades! I hope that colleges continue to let students have this learning and maturing opportunity. For greater public safety, I believe it will be better for young adults to potentially have these alcohol-related issues on a campus where help and support is nearby as opposed to being in a larger city or town. Ritchey Howe ‘17 (ritcheyhowe@college.harvard.edu) says salut to alcohol education. Photo courtesy of WIkicommons.
02.19.15 • The Harvard Independent
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Mental Health Services; A True Service?
Personal experiences with Harvard’s Mental Health Services. By ANONYMOUS
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remember the first time I used Harvard’s Mental Health Services. The fall had been a struggle, largely due to the punch process. Two of my best friends had used HUHS since freshmen year, and they suggested that I reach out. I was nervous, but figured it was worth a shot. I had never participated in any sort of therapy and was honestly terrified. Was a doctor going to simply give me drugs? Was I better off dealing with this on my own? How could I trust a stranger over my friends or family? As I listened to the automated pick-up system from HUHS, these worrying thoughts flooded my mind. When I finally punched enough right numbers into the keypad on my phone, I ended up speaking to a blunt receptionist. She asked why I called. I answered, “I’m not really sure. I guess I was just looking for Mental Health services.” The woman who answered seemed to have no idea how hard it was for me to admit that. However, she hears these phone calls multiple times daily. Why should she acknowledge my courage for calling? From her perspective, asking for mental health services is as banal as asking for a coffee. At the end of our brief exchange, I was informed that before I met with anyone I would need to call again and have an “initial phone consultation.” Isn’t that sort of what I’m doing now? No, it couldn’t be that simple. I was told that I would receive a call the following day from a clinician. So I waited. Did I say something wrong on the phone? Due to my lack of experience with any mental health services, I was perplexed. However, I finally got a phone call from an anonyThe Harvard Independent • 02.19.15
mous 617 number: my consultation. The woman on the other end of the phone quickly explained that she would not be my therapist. Then why am I even talking to you? She asked me why I called, and what I needed. I gave her my brief background and my main issues. She proceeded to ask about my schedule. Why wasn’t this all done yesterday? Although Mental Health Services claims to thoughtfully pair students with therapists, I believe that finding a matched schedule is the more critical than anything. However, it is nicer to think that the match is based on compatibility rather than logistics. At the end of my consultation, I was asked to come to the Law School later that week to finally meet with my therapist. So again I waited. I remained just as nervous as I was when I first called two days earlier. Maybe at this point I should have just gone home to my parents. Yet I wanted to see this process through. If my friends see a benefit, maybe I would too. Later that week I went to my appointment, still having no idea what to expect from “Mental health services.” I walked into the nicely lit room with many chairs. Which chair is for me? My question was quickly answered as my wonderful therapist came in through the door and told me which seat to take. Within our first appointment I had to rehash all of the details about why I was here. Didn’t I already say this during the phone consultation? Once I gave my background, we only had about 10 minutes left in the appointment. So now she knows everything about me, but she hasn’t helped me in the slightest.
As I put on my coat, my therapist recommended that I return in two days. Additionally, she gave me one thing to think about in the meantime. So she isn’t going to leave me. That was somewhat comforting. We squared away why I was here and now could actually begin what “Mental Health Services” is supposed to provide: a true service. However, this “service” took almost a week to truly manifest itself. I am certain that in more dire situations, the circumstances would be different. While I don’t believe that I was a true “at-risk” patient, it still required courage for me to call and wait. Throughout the week, I considered just going home and using my mother as a therapist. Mental Health Services is indeed in the service industry. Their sole purpose is to serve whoever comes to them. Therefore, I would ask all involved within Mental Health Services to be mindful of this fact. Many students, including myself, are frightened and dubious when they make the first call. The process of connecting a student to a therapist should be expedited and better managed so a student does not to explain their reason for calling in to three different people. I continue to use HUHS Mental Health Services because I have found a great therapist who has helped me with various issues throughout my time here at Harvard. I believe that more students can reap these benefits if the initial interaction between a student and HUHS required fewer steps. Please contact editorinchief@harvardindependent.com for questions or comments on this article. harvardindependent.com
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More than Money
Term-time jobs give insight into the human psyche. By CHRIS RILEY
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hen I arrived on campus in August 2013, like many freshman, I decided to find a job on campus. Luckily, I knew someone who worked in Harvard Recreation and finagled my way into a position for which I was woefully unqualified: swiping cards at the front desk at the MAC and Hemenway. (I’m the one who is usually playing weird folk music). What I thought would be a just a way to make some money and pay for being a college student ended up also being one of my larger time commitments and a place where I’ve learned some interesting things about Harvard and the people who work out here. While my anecdotes are Harvard Recreation specific, I’m sure that the baristas at Lamont Café or the circulation desk workers in the libraries can tell you analogous stories or tidbits of information that they’ve learned. Firstly, sections suck. I don’t even mean the experience of being in section, but the actual process of sectioning. It’s really preposterous that a class just hits you with a sneak attack bonus meeting. And section is always at the weirdest times: “Class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11-12…and also on Thursdays from 4:17-5:17.” And since sectioning is never done at a reasonable time (like, say, the first week of the semester) it will mess up your work schedule. Understandably, Harvard Recreation gives us our hours before the semester starts, because they want the gyms open when students first show up. And while they understand Harvard students’ need to 6 harvardindependent.com
switch shifts once we pick classes, it is still awkward to then need to request another switch once your TFs finally figure out section times. Secondly, learning at Harvard is tiring (duh). Lecture might only last for 53 minutes, but when 3 hours of standing behind a desk, swiping cards, cleaning treadmills, and pretending
that you want to be polite to everyone feels relaxing, it sort of hits you that 53 minutes of a professor who’s waaaaaaay smarter than you distilling their research into bite-sized chunks is taxing. Because of the relative mindlessness of most on-campus jobs, I actually see it as, if not relaxing, at least cathartic. As much as I complain about some aspects of a term-time job, there’s something to be said for being contractually obligated to be pleasant and ask people how their days are going as you swipe a card or sell a personal training session. I would also like to think that working at Harvard Recreation (or a café, or the library, or wherever) makes you
realize how broad the spectrum is of people’s attitudes when they are not in a traditional social setting. I’ve had a member walk into the MAC, hand me is HUID, then growl, “towel,” and glare at me before I even have the chance to swipe his card. I’ve had more than a few people walk in on their phones, ignore a greeting, then slap their HUID on the desk instead of handing it to me like a normal person. But I’ve also known a researcher who brought muffins in for employees on Saturday mornings and spent 10 minutes asking about their lives. It’s really a neat anthropological experience to see how some people forget that you’re a peer or even a person when you don some goofy work uniform, but it’s even neater (and makes dealing with the latter group more palatable) when you see a great majority of people appreciative, thoughtful, and kind to the person who swipes their card, makes their coffee, or otherwise has a job from which they benefit. A way to make a little bit of tuition or spending money is a tempting reason to hunt for a term-time job on campus. And if you’re interested, I recommend it. Because even if you look for a job just for the money, you’ll end up a lot more appreciative of the work you do at Harvard, the good people that you meet, and the people who help you out the next time you visit them at work. Chris Riley ‘17 (criley01@college.harvard.edu) is up all night tryna get that rich. Photograph courtesy of Bostonian13 on Wikimedia Commons. 02.19.15 • The Harvard Independent
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A Letter To My Thesis
Publically fulfilling a concentration requirement. By SHAQUILLA HARRIGAN
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n the Social Studies department, all juniors are required to take a two-part thesis seminar that outlines the thesis writing process: how to get funding, how to find a thesis advisor, the deadline of our theses, etc. To ensure that we don’t all forget what Anya, our director of undergraduate studies, taught us, the department also requires junior Social Studies concentrators to write thesis journals. These journals are meant to help us keep track of our thesis thoughts and prove to the department that we are remembering to apply for funding and secure thesis advisors. I’ve decided to do my first journal entry in the Indy as a way to ensure that I 1) actually do the journals and 2) give people a few laughs. Here’s my first entry:
Dear Thesis,
First of all, I am going to be completely honest with you and myself. I am scared sh*tless to embark on this journey with you. Harvard seniors across all concentrations who are in the midst of thesis writing — those people frantically typing and doing last minute research as deadlines approach in less than a month — currently surround me. Looking at their computer-screenlit faces is like staring into my own future. Though, many of my thesiswriting friends say that they will appreciate the experience once its over. Even with their senior wisdom, there are many times when I am not sure if I want my future to look that grim. The number of appointments I’ve had with my current concentration advisor that have ended in me having meltdowns about thesis writing is uncomfortable for me (and probably her, too). The Harvard Independent • 02.19.15
I am also not sure how comfortable I am having my first long-term relationship be with a one hundred pages or more paper that determines whether or not I graduate. It’s not that I am afraid of commitment; it’s just that I don’t want to get bored of you halfway into senior year and awkwardly break up with you for another concentration. Though, I think that some of the hesitation from entering into a relationship with you stems from my fear of stress and the fact that being dedicated to you will probably mean forgoing opportunities to have a relationship with a real person. (I’m kidding on that last point!) Thesis, I know that this is a rough start, but I know there are so many positives to me doing you. I am genuinely excited about some of the topics that I am bouncing around in my head. My focus field in Social Studies is ‘representations of African-American women in the media.’ Not only is this focus very relevant to current events, but it is also something that is deeply personal to me, an African-American woman. Even with this semistart, I am not entirely sure where I want to take you. There are so many different avenues in which I could take this thesis. I think the one that jumps out at me is one that looks at the changing representations of black women in black women’s magazines over time and medium. I promise that I will do more work into formalizing my ideas for you, but I think you and I both know that I have more pressing matters at hand — I need to find a thesis advisor. During the thesis info session, the process of finding
a thesis advisor was described as being analogous to going on dates. Knowing myself, I know this “date” will get super awkward. I can envision myself asking a professor out (totally in the thesisadvisor-search-way and not in the new Harvard rule that makes it illegal-to-date-professors-typeway) and spilling my coffee all over them as I fumble through my notes and stumble through my ideas. I am also nervous about finding the right person for the job. Whoever becomes my thesis advisor will have to be patient with me (I stay doing the most). As I wrap up my thoughts, I just want you to know that this will be a transformational process. Though, I am unclear as to whether or not this will be a transformation for the better. I am still not convinced that thesising won’t leave me a shell of a human. I’ll close with a quote from The Notebook: “ So, it’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day. Will you do something for me, please? Just picture your life for me? Thirty years from now, forty years from now? What’s it look like?” Okay, so I maybe don’t want you forever, just until March 9, 2016 when you’re due. But I do know, that thirty or forty years from now, I don’t want to regret not taking the biggest academic challenge of college. Shaquilla Harrigan ‘16 (sharrigan01@college.harvard.edu) wishes the thesis writers of 2015 good luck as they finish their work! She also hopes the Social Studies department accepts this as part of her thesis journal. harvardindependent.com
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If You’re Reading This It’s Appreciated The Indy reviews Drake’s Surprise Album. By ANDREW ADLER
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n a handwritten note displayed on the OVO website, Drake announces his latest release to a family of Drake associates, among them, various Toronto producers, childhood friends, and Nicole, a woman who apparently used to visit him back when he was still living in his mom’s basement. He wonders how her kid is doing. Mixtape, album, stopgap project, whatever you want to call “If You’re Reading This Its Too Late,” this project is conspicuously meant more for the people smokin’ in the condo, less for the raucous arenas or college parties, and not at all for the executives of his label, Cash Money Records. Birdman and four-album contract conspiracy aside, this is still an album we can all enjoy. After doing shows “back to back to back now,” fighting the head of his own record label, and engaging in various public disputes with celebrities, Drake is exhausted, or at the very least, fighting against its approach. He concedes such on early album highlight “Energy” addressed to his enemies trying to “drain [him] of this energy.” For one of the world’s most beloved rap stars, he’s still got a lot of them. So logically he retreats back to Toronto, the 6, his hometown, to express his appreciation for those who have enhanced his life. As per the actual music he creates for them, it’s a beautiful piece of atmospheric excellence. The production throughout, primarily by longtime 8 harvardindependent.com
collaborator Noah “40” Shabeib, boi-1da, and other Toronto upstarts, is crisp and excellent. It shifts smoothly from soulful to breezy to ethereal to spectral but always fostered in a layer of smoke. Some of the album’s best moments come after Drake has said his piece and the instrumentals drift away peacefully. “Legend,” “Jungle,” and “Now and Forever” amongst many others end in this soothing manner. Many of the Drake tropes reemerge over the course of the project. He coins a pop culture acronym in “Know Yourself.” “Running through the 6 with [his] Woes” refers to his “Working on Excellence,” which in most cases simply means his friends. Don’t worry; it’s unlikely that this acronym will be used to justify the reckless behavior committed by your friends and coworkers. He writes a ballad to a specific woman in “Madonna,” promising her as much fame as the song’s namesake. He airs his family grievances in his endearing ode to his mother “You and the 6.” Overall, the hooks occasionally stick but plenty of the rapping is forgettable. However, several lines land. “I used to get teased for being black, and now I’m here and I’m not black enough / Cause I’m not acting tough or making stories up bout where I’m actually from.” “My ex asked me where I’m moving, I said onto better things.” Bonus track “6PM in New York” serves as a literal and
symbolic departure from Toronto and Drake’s contained world. The song spans four minutes of Drake rapping with more energy and precision than on any of the previous tracks. He makes it abundantly clear that this project wasn’t for everybody. More importantly, it’s a final reminder that he hasn’t slipped into complacency and that he’s rightfully considered at the top of the rap game. He concludes, “You gotta love it.” And if you, or Birdman, or
Kendrick Lamar, or Tyga, or Big Sean, or anybody else not from the 6, don’t love it, he and those who this project is for, don’t care. They never doubted that he has always been, and always will be, a “motherfuckin’ legend.”
Andrew Adler ‘17 (andrewadler@ college.harvard.edu) is looking forward to more music from the 6.
Photo courtesy of WikiCommons
02.12.15 • The Harvard Independent
The Woods
A sibling I always wanted. By MICHAEL LUO
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J and I tried to stay warm underneath the tarp we tried to build. It wasn’t the greatest architectural achievement of the twenty-fourth century, sure, but no one could blame us for trying. Except God. She must’ve thought it was funny to have a downpour on a couple of stranded orphans in the middle of a forest. He lied curled up on the log, that sketch neatly tucked into his chest. For all the trouble he had gotten us into, I was impressed he could still keep a used napkin so tidy. It was the last memory of his brother after all, and all that we had to keep us going. On the back of the sketch, he had scribbled some words of motivation. “I’m the realest G alive.” The kid had tired himself out yesterday trying to catch trout with his bare, chubby hands, so I decided it was best to let the sleeping beast lie. Meanwhile, it was my turn to make myself useful, so I got up to examine the premises. “Where you going, sis?” RJ asked. “To gather firewood.” I turned around to see he was sitting straight up on the log. “I thought you were asleep?” “Nah, I was just napping. Are we that much of a lost cliché already?” he asked. “Yea, and clichés tend to survive long enough to tell the tale.” “Fine, I’ll come with.” Putting on his hood, RJ stumbled up and skipped across a few rocks to catch up with me. “So where we gonna gather the firewood?” he asked. “We’re in a forest, RJ. I’m sure we can find some wood.” “Cool, but what about the fire?” “We make the fire.” “Oh, that makes sense.” Keeping an eye out for any thick enough branches or malleable logs, I told RJ to grab the ones he thought could sustain a fire. “How about this one?” He held up a lonely-looking piece of twig The Harvard Independent • 02.12.15
with a single leaf the size of a pinky. “Yeah, why don’t you try to make a fire out of that?” “You’re no fun,” he said, tossing the twig away. As we trucked forward, I could hear the chatter of the forest grow in volume. Sign of life. Life meant habitat, and habitat meant wood. “Up ahead. There should be some animals willing to part ways with their nests for the night.” “But wouldn’t that be stealing?” RJ asked. “We’re just borrowing from the common good Mother Nature provides.” “Okay, whatever,” he said. I made sure to crouch down so as to not miss anything useful while skimming through the vegetation: herbal berries, arrowheads, and any rocks hard enough for hunting, or to knock RJ back asleep. “Found something!” he yelled. I turned around to see him struggling trying to pick up a rock that wouldn’t budge. It appeared ovular, with a strange symmetrical pattern across its face. “We could totally use this as a chair. Look how smooth this thing is,” he said. Examining the rock that RJ writhed to lift off the floor, I wondered. “Hmm, I’m not so sure.” “Whatdya mean? The curve of this thing practically matches my butt.” He confirmed this by patting his butt. “Could use a little help here.” “Nah, I think you got it,” “Ughhhhhhh.” POP! RJ fell backwards. “Ow!” “How’s that butt feeling?” “Just dandy, thank you very much,” RJ got up, lifting the rock above his head as if he had just won the world championship for weightlifting. “Best chair!” he proudly proclaimed. “You sure about that?” I asked. “Definitely.” He looked up at his prized possession for one second, and then chucked it straight at me. “What the...the rock had legs! It’s a forest miracle!” “Uh huh, right.” I picked up the forest miracle before it started to slowly scramble away. “If you want your own chair, that’s fine. Just try to ask the turtle for permission next time.”
Michael Luo ‘16 (michaelluo@college. harvard.edu) is still trapped in his childhood. Graphic by Yaara Yacoby
harvardindependent.com
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Sticks, Balls, Bubbles Harvard Lacrosse prepares for season openers. By CAROLINE C. CRONIN
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s the snow continues to fall and the wind blows ceaselessly, the majestic bubble looms unmoved in Soldiers Field Stadium. It is there that the Harvard Lacrosse teams have been drilling, scrimmaging, and conditioning to prepare for their highly anticipated upcoming seasons. As this shortened week comes to a close, the season opening games draw near. The women will kick off their season first this Saturday by challenging Hofstra at noon under the bubble. The men’s lacrosse team will be playing immediately after and taking on University of Massachusetts at 3pm. Coach Lisa Miller, who is in her eighth season here in Cambridge, leads the women. Juniors Audrey Todd, Tory Waldstein, and Kelly Weiss captain the team. Todd and attacker Marisa Romeo ‘17 were both named to Inside Lacrosse Pre-season All-American team this December and are expected to once again lead the team on the field. Last season the team came out with a 9-7 overall record and 4-3 in the Ivy League, earning a position in the Ivy tournament semifinals. The team has nine newcomers who hope to help the team improve their record this 2015 season on the road to greatness! One of the many ways the women’s team has been preparing for this season is through scrimmages against other college teams. The most recent one was against the University of Albany this past Saturday. Freshman midfielder Hailey Novis admits that the scrimmage made the team realize that “there are definitely areas we need to work on” but that these issues are all fixable and working on them will allow the team to “come out strong.” As the team looks forward to the season ahead, Novis states, “I think we have a really fast team, so it should be exciting to see what we can do with that.” The University of Hofstra women just beat University of New Hampshire on Valentine’s Day 15-11. Hofstra went on to face Fairfield on Tuesday, coming away with a 9-5 win. Harvard will have to start strong in order to compete with the team that’s already on a roll! After facing Hofstra this weekend the team will head south for a break from this never ending winter to take on Virginia on March 3. The men’s team has been subject to some very high expectations for this season. The Crimson are named 12th in Cascade/ Maeverick Preseason Poll and 11th in the USILA Preseason Coaches Poll. As exciting as that was, the best honor of all was the naming of the men as the top Division I team in the region by the Preseason New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse AssoThe Harvard Independent • 02.19.15
ciation (NEILA) Poll. These high expectations are not new to many of the players though! Bobby Duvnjak ‘16, Devin Dwyer ‘16, Brian Fischer ‘15, Stephen Jahelka ‘16 and Sean Mahon ‘16 were all named to the Preseason All-NEILA first team this year and will no doubt surpass all these expectations in the games to come. The men earned these rankings in a wonderful winning season last year. The team came out 10-7 overall and 5-1 in the Ivy League, earning their share of the Ivy League title. That record tied the program’s best for conference victories—maybe they will top it this year! The championship last year also gave them a spot in an NCAA tournament post-season. UMass is coming off a 20-8 loss to No. 6 North Carolina this past Saturday. The Minutemen’s season opener was also a loss to No. 20 Army 127. It looks as it the Crimson men will have the confidence and skill to take on UMass and emerge triumphant! The bubble will certainly see a lot of action this weekend in these anticipated season openers! Caroline C. Cronin ’18 (ccronin01@college.harvard.edu) will be crowding that sideline this weekend to cheer on the Crimson as they begin their competitive seasons! Photo Courtesy of Caroline Cronin harvardindependent.com
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Sports
Women’s Hockey Hoist Beanpot Harvard hands Boston College its first loss of the season. By PEYTON FINE
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hen Harvard faced Boston College for the Women’s Beanpot Championship, the odds of victory seemed low. Boston College entered the game with twentyseven wins, one tie, and zero losses. The Eagles had demolished the Crimson earlier in the season to the tune of ten to two. However, the 2015 Beanpot fortuitously rotated to BrightLandry Hockey Center, the Crimson’s home ice where they had not lost all year and would not lose on this night. The game began in an eerily similar fashion to the previous game between the two teams. Just over ninety seconds into the first period, Boston College was able to work the puck along the strong-side boards and find a shooting lane to put a soft goal past Harvard goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer ‘16. The first period continued this way with the Eagles firing off seven shots on goal before Harvard could muster one. However, unlike the first shot, Harvard’s Maschmeyer was up to the task to save each shot. After eight minutes of play dominated by the Eagles, the Crimson found themselves with a faceoff in the Eagles defensive zone. Harvard, with its third line on the ice, won the faceoff. The puck bounced to freshman Karly Heffernan who rifled a shot from the point that was deflected. Junior Mary Parker though was in perfect position to slot home the rebound to the empty side of the net. In a trend that would continue throughout the game, Harvard’s third line dominated BC’s third line and was responsible for two of Harvard’s three goals. The second period was a much slower period. Whereas the first period was punctuated by shot after shot from Boston College’s top line and save after save from Maschmeyer, the second period was punctuated by stellar, if not pretty, play from the Crimson’s third line. The second period began with an Eagle goal to again place the Crimson down by one. In an almost mirror-like shot as the goal in the first period, Maschmeyer was beaten to her stick side by a wrist shot stemming from an attack along the sideboard. However, Harvard’s third line struck again. Freshman Karly Heffernan, who provided the initial shot that led to Parker’s rebound goal, got on the score sheet herself to tie the game up at two. The tide turned for the Crimson completely just after Heffernan’s goal. After the tying goal, both teams substituted their top line back into the game. After Boston College’s initial faceoff win and attack, Harvard’s Kalley Armstrong ‘15 carried the puck into the Eagles’ zone. Before reaching the blue line, 11 harvardindependent.com
she was checked into the board by a Boston College forward. (In women’s hockey, checking is not allowed. In this particular instance, the check sent Armstrong into the sideboard on her back.) The referees ruled the infraction a major penalty, which gave Harvard a one-skater advantage for five minutes. Within two minutes of the penalty time, the Crimson took advantage. Mary Parker, another third line star of the game, took a shot from the point, which ricocheted off the back wall to Miye D’Oench ‘16 who put the puck through traffic into the back of the net. With the Crimson up one, the momentum shifted back to the Eagles where it would stay for much of the rest of the game. Harvard committed four penalties after taking the lead that gave the Eagles an advantage in numbers on the ice. Boston College converted the numbers advantage into shots. In the third period, the Eagles outshot the Crimson twelve to seven. However, unlike the first two periods, the Crimson stayed more compact defensively and forced shots to come from center attacks rather than off the walls. With this new strategy, the Crimson’s netminder Emerance Maschmeyer was up to every shot. Often with bodies in front of her, Maschmeyer thwarted attempt after attempt. In a particularly telling sequence, the Eagles with a skater advantage took a shot just inside the blue line that was deflected. To many in the arena, including two BC players, the shot looked as if it had found the net. However, Maschmeyer’s heroics of lunging across the face of goal kept the Crimson a nose ahead. After a late penalty by Boston College, the Crimson were able to close out the last minute relatively easily, especially compared to the rest of the game. Behind Maschmeyer’s incredible effort, which was honored with a Beanpot MVP, Harvard was able to overcome a fifteen shot differential to become the only team to beat Boston College this season. The Crimson have two remaining regular season games before moving into their conference tournament and then the NCAA tournament. Behind an unlikely cast of third line brilliance and superb goaltending, a deep run could be in store. Peyton Fine ‘17 (peytonfine@college.harvard.edu) witnessed Harvard’s first Beanpot Championship since 2010, the last time Bright-Landry hosted the tournament. Home ice has been kind to the Crimson, but the momentum must continue away from Cambridge to win more championships. Photo Courtesy of Peyton Fine 02.19.15 • The Harvard Independent