09. 18. 14
Aut omna l Aa i r s
I ns i de :Fe a t ur i ng ,Fe mi ni s m,a ndFoot ba l l
09.18.14 VOL. XLVI, NO. 2
The Indy is very opinionated this week.
09.18.14
Automnal Aairs
COVER DESIGN BY ANNA PAPP Inside: Featuring, Feminism, and Football
CONTENTS FORUM 3 Bits of Summer 4 Femme Fun 5 Quiet Riot 6 Travelling 101 NEWS 7 Get Techy ARTS 8 Creating Harmony 9 Outside the Lines SPORTS 10 Not Rushing Through 11 Downed By Brown
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 Sean Frazzette (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 2014 by The Harvard Independent. All rights reserved.
President Albert Murzakhanov '16 Editor-in-Chief Sean Frazzette '16 Director of Production Anna Papp '16 News Editor Forum Editor Arts Editor Sports Editor Associate Sports Editor Associate Forum Editor Associate Arts Editor
Milly Wang '16 Caroline Gentile '17 Sarah Rosenthal '15 Shaquilla Harrigan '16 Peyton Fine '17 Aditya Agrawal '17 Michael Luo '16
Designer Alice Linder '17 Illustrator Yaara Yacoby '17 Business Managers Farhana Nabi '16 Manik Bhatia '16 Staff Writers Whitney Gao '16 Manik Bhatia '16 Terilyn Chen '16 Yuqi Hou '15 Chloe Li '16 Dominique Luongo '17 Orlea Miller '16 Albert Murzhakanov '16 Carlos Schmidt '15 Frank Tamberino '16 Jackie Leong '16 Andrew Lin '17 Madi Taylor '16 Shreya Vardhan '17 Peyton Fine '17 Michael Luo '16 Eloise Lynton '17
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SUMMER BLOGS: revisited! By PEYTON FINE
By RITCHEY HOWE
By MICHAEL LUO
Hanging On: The US World Cup Story
Ritchey’s Restaurant Reviews
Yearning for Yedikule
Look, I am not saying that anything that happened on a soccer field was that important in the grand scheme of things. That would be asinine. What I am saying is that for two glorious weeks, I was proud to watch “our” team. I was proud because we didn’t pout or complain. We didn’t give up when the going was tough. We kept hanging on, and good things happened. “Hanging on” was the M.O. of the U.S. soccer team. It is the philosophy, good or bad, for so many of our lives. That’s why the U.S. became OUR team. The Decision: Part II As a college students or anyone who has spent time away from home, we all know the tug that comes from living away from home. We all know what it feels like to desire familiarity regardless of the fact that familiarity may mean moving away from the benefits of a big city. LeBron went so far as to compare his time in Miami as a learning experience and a time of personal growth. He even compared it to a four-year college experience. However, I cannot anoint James as a saint — the prodigal son returning home to save a team and city. The media has been very supportive of his decision. Cleveland has looked upon him as a savior. A city and team he spurned just four years earlier welcomed him back with open arms. This characterization of James is no fairer than painting him as a devil. The Story We Need to Cope If we continue to feel a tug from someone who has passed away, if we literally feel their power, have we truly lost them? I don’t think so. If we allow their lives to affect our own, do we not carry some little piece of them? Living in their footsteps doesn’t lessen the pain, but it is the best that we can do day in and day out to honor them.
Rouge Tomato: I left the restaurant not feeling overly full with full intention to visit their new downtown location or their food cart located in Central Park. Pulqueria: Go with a group of friends from drinks and a light dinner for a novel exciting dining experience that will not kill your wallet.
By SHAQUILLA HARRIGAN Under-21 and Done Coney Island: While Coney Island may not have the same appeal as it once did, I think everyone should get in touch with their inner Lana Del Rey and become Queens (and Kings) of Coney Island. While I am not a fan of roller coasters or other thrill rides, Coney Island does offer some of the most iconic rides around. I am looking forward to finally conquering my fear of heights by going on the Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel. For those not into sketchy amusement parks, I recommend going two stops away on the Q train to Ocean Parkway to get to Brighton Beach. This is a fun beach destination if you need a quick dip in salt water. Pro Tip: Go to Coney Island for the Mermaid Parade and the National Hot Dog eating Contest.
Fast forward to today, and one could perceive a certain sense of sadness coupled with urgency in the region. Tanker trucks encircle the few remaining wells in order to supply water for the pubic including hamams. One side of the walls could be mistaken for a developing American suburb while the other side displays the surviving fresh tava of spinach, mint, and even corn. If one were daring enough to climb and observe atop the walls, a turn of the head reveals almost two worlds converging against each other. To the left is a hopeful sign of growth, both literal in agriculture and symbolic in livelihood, and to the right is an uncertain desolation. No bostans remain on the right, and it seems all land has been reserved for more urban construction. Will apartments and malls be born out of this destruction? Will they also take over what greenery remains on the other side of the walls? These are the questions left to be answered but ironically, it is the fortifications that have endured, albeit with some damage and need of repair, while the once-protected interior gardens have given way to rising urban sprawl. The truth of the matter is that people need places to live, and a city needs space to grow. However, a greater truth is that historic cultures and traditions should never be neglected for the sake of potential profit and growth. Istanbul is a thriving example of bridging the past with the present, and Yedikule is a prime model for that challenge. Perhaps one day, humanity could find a way to resolve this conflict of culture versus expansion in which social traditions may carry on peacefully alongside progress.
The Harvard Independent • 09.18.14
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Ain’t No Party Like A Feminist Party The culture of sexism and social life at Harvard. By CAROLINE GENTILE
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his past weekend, my friends and I were invited to a themed party. Like most college girls, we relished in dressing up for the theme. We all donned tight black A-line skirts and fancy tops, and debated whether or not to wear black pumps or black ballet flats. Once we settled on the flats (who wants to walk around cobblestone streets in pumps, anyway?), we set off for the party. The theme was “CEOs and Corporate Hoes.” Now, my friends and I, as would most women (and men) at Harvard, consider ourselves feminists. We believe in both the empowerment of women, and in, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says in the song, Flawless, “the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” So what the hell were we doing going to a party with such a degrading theme to women?
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Well, first of all, we went as CEOs. Of course, we recognized that the theme for the party was chauvinistic, but we didn’t have any other options, and we wanted to go out that night. That sounds like a lame excuse, but in all honesty, there are not many social opportunities on the weekends that promote feminist ideals at Harvard. The all-male final clubs and fraternities essentially control the weekend social scene, and when there isn’t anything going on at the clubs, there are sometimes themed mixers and dorm parties, but even some of these kinds of social events can prove chauvinistic. The final clubs have gotten a lot of flack for being anti-feminist places. They don’t permit female members, and the male members have a reputation for objectifying women. These two aspects certainly conflict with the idea of empowering females. After all, how empowering can it be to rely on a male group to throw a party for which you may or may not be on the list? How much equality of the sexes can there really be if one of the sexes has to rely entirely on the other for the opportunity to go to a party? But final clubs shouldn’t take all of the blame for not upholding feminist ideals in their social endeavors. The party my friends and I went to was not at a final club, and yet the theme was more degrading to women than any theme I’ve heard of for a final club party. It was just a regular dorm party, albeit one in an all-male room. Clearly the chauvinism that is usually attributed to final clubs is present in the broader Harvard social scene. “CEOs and Corporate Hoes” is, after all, just one of many questionable party themes used at Harvard (or any other college for that matter). Perhaps one of the reasons that these anti-feminist elements persist is the fact that when a female and a male social group mix, the male group typically buys the refreshments and usually provides the space. This may not apply to every situation, but a good example is when sororities mix with final clubs or fraternities. The male group with which they co-host an event actually has to provide the space, since the sorority itself doesn’t have access to a space in which to throw parties. In other words, the female group literally depends on the male group in order to throw any sort of co-ed party. Although the idea of depending entirely on a group of guys in order to go to parties directly conflicts with many female students’ fundamental beliefs, they are usually their only option to be social. Yes, women could (and do) throw their own parties in their dorms, or, if they are 21 and over, go out to bars. But these social opportunities are a very small part of Harvard’s social scene as a whole. The problem at hand is the fact that such a large part of Harvard’s social life is pervaded by inequality of the sexes, whether that inequality is represented by a party theme or by who is actually able to provide the space and the drinks. So how do we level the playing field? If female groups had their own spaces, perhaps they would be able to throw parties without having to co-host with a male group. Or, maybe when two groups co-
host a party, the female group should ensure that the theme of the party is more appropriate. One approach may even be to altogether boycott parties that have an anti-feminist vibe. The approach my friends and I took when confronted with such a party, which was not necessarily the right one, was to just ignore it and have fun. Although the theme of the party was sexist, the male group that hosted it was not at all, and we had a pretty good time. We didn’t like that the theme of the party was sexist, but we are strong, confident women who just wanted to party. We didn’t take it to heart that we were supposed to be the corporate hoes, because we know that we, too, can be the CEOs. Caroline Gentile ’17 (cgentile@college) ain’t no corporate hoe.
09.18.14 • The Harvard Independent
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Pussy Riot
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Fails to Riot
Some problems with the Russian activist band. By ADITYA AGRAWAL
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ussy Riot talk at Harvard helps highlight loopholes in the much feted guerrilla movement that has taken the world by storm. I recently had the chance to explore perspectives on political activism when I won a ticket to see the members of the Pussy Riot at the Institute of Politics’ JFK Junior Forum. An all-girl punk rock protest group, the Pussy Riot is known for its bold public performances, most prominently the performance of Mother of God, Drive Putin Away at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior in February, 2012; the performance not only earned them global fame as crusaders for human rights, but also a two-year prison sentence back home. For all of the moderator’s (Jill Dougherty) decided enervated questions, the band members — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina — managed to keep the audience riveted and enthralled in equal measures with their incisive opinions, and stories of encounters back home. As an active spectator and occasional participant on the college’s activist scene, I unequivocally admire the band for daring to do what it does — rearing its head against the tentacles of an all-vicious regime. However — as with college activism — going into the talks I was wary of the group turning out to be a product of misplaced intentions; of the group embodying blind activism done more for the sake of activism than with predetermined goals to justify the means used. And if I were to call it out as I saw it, the group failed to pass this deceptively simple hurdle. One of the first questions that the moderator asked them straight away was what they hated
most about Vladimir Putin. Given the context, and the history of their own actions, one would believe that the group would have a surfeit of reasons for being opposed to Putin. Yet all that the group had to offer as a response was a distinctly anti-climactic ‘brain drain’ from Russia. They chose not to broach anything that even broadly approached specificity and reality: the Russian president’s persecution of the LGBT and the free media; they overlooked entirely the forgotten murders of the innumerable political opponents of Putin, and his questionable action of annexing crime. The group uses ‘feminist’ as one of its defining markers; yet nowhere in the
revolution aimed at, or what their revolutionized state might look like. They had much of the semblance of your average Harvard freshman that talks of changing the world, but little knows how. And that is precisely where much of the problem lies with Pussy Riot as with many feted young activists. They set for a good cause no doubt but their actions are impelled by all the wrong — or at best tangled — motivations. I have no doubt that with time and age, maturity and clarity of view will come. What I am concerned about, however, is with all the global hype and hoopla that Pussy Riot received, much of their attraction will be diverted from actually refining the goals of their pushback efforts. Any movement or organization in order to be successful needs to find a niche area of focus, and concentrate their energies on salvaging precisely those aims. Pussy Riot needs to start out with feasible goals to focus their activism on; goals that include not revolution but little goals that each collectively build up towards revolution.
“The group uses ‘feminist’ as one of its defining markers; yet nowhere in the conversation did they broach their feminist antagonism to the Putin regime.”
The Harvard Independent • 09.18.14
conversation did they broach their feminist antagonism to the Putin regime. I am from India, and there is comparable or even greater annual brain drain from our own reserves because of the administrative policies that stem enterprise and innovation; yet I don’t wish to overthrow an entire regime for that single reason. If that was the best they had to offer to justify their clearly inflammatory means of debasing the sanctum of a holy institution, their actions begin to come across as that much questionable then. The band is composed of members that are self-proclaimed anarchists: individuals who are skeptical of the structures and institutions of capitalism. The band members’ letter exchange with radical Czech Marxist philosopher Zizek during their time in prison is well known. They appeared to stand on shaky ground Monday when they said that they aimed at a revolution in Russia — they offered little scope of what the
Aditya Agrawal ’17 (aagrawal@college) hopes to see activism with better motivations in the future.
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Travel Tips
How to get around successfully. By MILLY WANG
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ith summer and good weather coming to an end, I thought that this would be a good opportunity to reflect back on those sunny days and all the travelling, in various different modes, that I had done!
1. Always wear good, comfortable shoes when walking.
Okay, well, if all you’re are going to do is walk a couple of meters outside to get in a car, walk a couple of meters after you get out of a car, and sit for the rest of the time, then it wouldn’t really matter what kind of shoe you wear. But. If you plan to do any more walking than what was mentioned above, then you really want to think long and hard about what kind of shoes you plan to wear. There is absolutely nothing worse than having to walk for a long distance in uncomfortable shoes. What falls into this category? Well basically any shoe shoes that will rub your feet the wrong way and cause you a lot of pain and eventually blisters. Even standing for a long time in uncomfortable shoes is not ideal. You walk slower to try to minimize the pain. You constantly wish that you could walk barefoot. You wished that you thought ahead of time and brought an extra pair of shoes. And even better, you wished that you had the foresight to actually wear another pair of shoes. If you do end up getting blisters after wearing uncomfortable shoes over long distances, you will not only suffer while you are walking, but you will also suffer tremendously in the days that follow since the blisters will make it extremely difficult for you to wear even comfortable shoes without having pain. Also, if you happen to need to run at any time during your walk (perhaps you’re running late?), then you’ll be really thankful that you chose to wear a pair of shoes that will allow you to do this instead of one will that will constantly test your self control and desire to be on time every time your feet hits the ground. Pro-tip: Always wear socks, except when your shoes are too small. Pro-tip 2: Always considering bringing a pair of known-to-be-comfortable shoes just in case the ones you are currently wearing turn out to be notas-comfortable-as-you-had-hoped. And this leads us to Pro-tip 3: Consider looking for shoes that are extremely comfortable, but also able to fit into compact spaces and are easy to carry around.
2. Always bring a jacket onto long bus rides or flights. This is especially true for bus rides. I made the mistake of not bringing a jacket once. 6
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I was on a five-hour bus ride in the middle of summer. It was so hot outside that you would sweat even if you were wearing t-shirts and shorts. So, I thought that it would be okay if I didn’t bring a jacket on the bus. Reasonable, right? But wow, was I mistaken. That was five cold and miserable hours of my life. In fact, I’ve definitely felt warmer and more comfortable than that outside in the winter. At least in the winter, I expect the cold and am dressed for it. In retrospect, I definitely think that the hotter it is outside, the wearier one should be. After all, the A/C on the bus throughout the ride was on full blast to compensate for the warm weather and everyone around me (it wasn’t just me!) was shivering from the extreme cold. It was impossible to get comfortable and take a nap. On long flights, they will provide you with a blanket, and so it doesn’t matter as much. But on the other hand, how big is the blanket? Chances are, it will be short and won’t extend from your arms down to your feet, which then makes it extremely difficult to be as warm as you would like to be when napping. Of course, you can always bring a long a blanket. But as every traveler knows, space is precious. If you pack in a jacket, then you can use it as a blanket, but also as a jacket! One less thing to pack, one more unit of space in your suitcase for other things!
3. If you want to make sure that you do something, make a monetary commitment.
4. Never, ever be late for a flight if that is the last flight of that airline going to where you need to go.
Usually, when you are late due to traffic hold up, or other unexpected things, the airline will be able to bump you to the next flight (if it is not full that is). The only glitch in that nice, friendly process is if the next flight is on the next day. Do you see the problem here? Say, for example, you accidentally miss a 4 pm flight, there is a good chance that there might be a 6pm flight, or a 8 pm flight or something else that might be going to the same place that you are going to and the worse case scenario is that you are a couple of hours late. But now, let’s say that you missed a 9 pm flight and there is absolutely no flight for the night and the next flight is 9 am the next day. Then, you’re in big trouble. Sure, you can be bumped into the flight the next morning, but this no longer becomes a matter of a couple of hours, it’s basically one whole night. You’ll either have to find a place to stay, or you’ll have to camp out at the airport. So moral of the story? Don’t miss your flight, especially if it is the last flight of the day. Hmm, I guess another moral would be to book flights earlier in the day and check to see that there are flights after that one just in case. But then again, we definitely shouldn’t plan for failure. Milly Wang ’16 (keqimillywang@college) is excited for her next travel experience!
I found that it was so much easier to motivate myself to do things if I actually make a monetary payment ahead of time. What does this mean exactly? Well, in practical terms, it means that if you get to a new place and you want to commit yourself to exploring the city, you purchase a monthly pass. This way, since you’ve already paid for it ahead of time, and it would all go to waste if you didn’t take advantage of it, you will definitely make the effort to go to it. This becomes another reason for why you should explore, and the more reasons there are, the more motivated you might be! This is also true for events. I definitely think that people are more inclined to go to events that they purchased a ticket ahead of time for just thought that the ticket doesn’t go to waste. Monthly transportation passes are definitely a good deal if you use them in all the ways that you plan to in the beginning when you first made the decision to buy them. But then again, if everyone used these monthly passes as efficiently as they could, then the city won’t make as much money, which might also be bad, right? 09.18.14 • The Harvard Independent
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Science Technology 101 A day at the Biotech fair.
By HANNAH KATES
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he Harvard Biotechnology Club held its twelfth annual Career Fair this past Thursday. Attendees visiting the recruiting tables on the third floor of the medical school’s Longwood building had the opportunity to speak to representatives from over twenty-one companies in biotechnology and related fields. Young, welldressed graduate students and post-docs armed with informed questions and stylish suits crowded (politely) around tables handing out informational pamphlets, emblazoned pens, and opportunities in biotechnology and healthcare ranging far beyond conventional lab jobs. Though it felt professional, the fair also felt dynamic, energetic and comfortable. The unified theme of the fair belied the vast array of career backgrounds and job opportunities represented. Company and club representatives were more than happy to discuss their backgrounds and their goals for the fair with me. Surprisingly, I found the job-seekers at this career fair to be the most reticent in talking to me. While they were polite and friendly, many attendees were hesitant to give out personal information to this publication, for reasons immediately understood, including a fear of current employers learning of their attendance and a general uncertainty of career path and the ensuing reluctance to define it. The companies represented at the fair encompassed a wide variety of professions, including financial consulting, Intellectual Property law, and pharmaceutical research. I first approached the consulting group AtlasX. Stephanie, one of the company’s representatives, described it as “a research group within a hedge fund” that specializes in competitive landscape analysis, a process of compiling relevant data into a map to provide context about current biomedical research. The hedge fund then invests in the companies doing the research that AtlasX finds to be the most impactful. The map displayed on the company’s table showed where research into various diseases was occurring around the globe, each experimental drug’s stage of development, and whether research is focused on managing, preventing, or curing a disease. Stephanie explained that these classifications really define the research landscape, illus-
The Harvard Independent • 09.18.14
trating where research is most needed (and thus where investments would be most profitable). For example, if research into preventing a certain disease is already under way, it does not make sense to invest in research into managing the disease — even though, according to Stephanie, the drugs involved in disease management are “the ones making millions.” Though AtlasX prioritizes certain aspects of medicine, they are ultimately “trying to cover the entire human condition” with their maps — an honorable goal for a company working in a field I did not know existed. Science, the scholarly journal, was one organization I’d heard of before I talked to a representative. However, it sends representatives to this fair specifically to promote the publication’s website, which offers tools to help with career searching and development. I also spoke to a representative at the table for ClearView Healthcare Partners, a consulting company providing “world-class strategy decisionmaking support” to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. I asked a representative what the company was looking for in a prospective employee. Beyond academic qualifications — for most, a PhD — the firm is looking for creative, flexible thinkers who can communicate their ideas to a wide variety of audiences. ClearView is “6 or 7 years old — young, but old enough to know that we won’t go out of business next year,” said a representative who seemed to be a veteran of less-stable times. Finally, curious about a field I’d never really encountered before, I headed over to the IP law firms’ corner of the room. Wolf Greenfield is a firm specializing in intellectual property law that hires scientists with PhDs and puts them through law school so that they can do patent applications and prosecutions. “The idea,” said Alan, the company’s representative, “is to teach law to the scientists, because it’s really hard to teach lawyers technology.” Wolf Greenfield has had a table at the fair for at least five years, because Alan was recruited at this fair five years ago. Noticing my shirt, he added that Burton is one Wolf Greenfield’s clients — the firm’s clients range beyond the field of biotechnology. Mark Yore, one of several student directors of
the Harvard Biotechnology Club managing the fair this year, happily stopped to discuss some statistics. Some of the club’s goals for this year’s fair had been to increase company attendance as well as general attendance; he estimated that 5 more companies attended this year than last, and that about 650 people had shown up by 2:00 pm compared to last year’s total to 430. The club had also hoped to reach out to non-Harvard affiliates, and even after talking to only a few fairgoers, I can confirm that their diverse backgrounds included degrees from other schools. Sergio Davila, another club director, added that the fair tries to cater to as many people with a science background as possible: this includes graduate students, postdocs, instructors, and fellows. A lot of people here, he said, don’t have a business background, though many of the jobs offered here focus on the business side of biotechnology. The club had aimed to broaden the scope of the fair without making it too big that valuable face-to-face interactions between employers and job-seekers are lost. When the room is too full, it “becomes unproductive for everyone,” said Sergio. Luckily, I was able to have valuable face-to-face conversations with several of the fair’s attendees. Tal Kramer, a postdoctoral researcher in the neurobiology department at Boston Children’s Hospital, said that he is here to “learn about what the options are, who’s hiring, and what qualifications they’re looking for,” a sentiment echoed by many other attendees. Beverly, also a postdoc, said that she was “just shopping around,” and agreed that many people here “aren’t sure what they want to do”. This was her first time at the career fair. Teja, a PhD student in immunology at Harvard, while interested in the life sciences, was investigating strategy consulting, a field that also values the analytical mindset that PhD students gain from their work. Inspired by Teja, who admitted knowing little about IP law, I sought out Peng in the line for one of the IP law firms. He has a degree from Harvard law school and a PhD in genetics and was “here to do some networking.” Hannah Kates ’18 (hkates@college) would love to learn more.
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Featuring Who?
Unexpected musical collaborations. By MICHAEL LUO
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usical collaborations are something of a hip trend. When you turn on the radio, the most advertised songs are usually the ones with the biggest stars. Of course, these tend to be one from pop and one from hip-hop. The archetypical Top 40 hit involves a catchy chorus and a memorable verse. Sometimes, the singer will be exclusively female, the diva of the day, and the rapper exclusively male, the man of his time. Nowadays, both genres of music have fortunately been permeated by both genders with backgrounds as diverse as the musical interpretations themselves. Yet even with the individuals changed, the formula remains more or less the same. The most popular is the “featured” rapper. The part of the song that gets stuck in your head gets repeated maybe two times before the added rap is dropped. Think Justin Bieber’s “Baby” featuring Ludacris. The less popular version involves a primarily hip-hop track with a more lyrical chorus prevalent through the whole song. Think B.o.B’s “Airplanes” with Hayley Williams or Jay-Z’s “Young Forever” featuring Mr. Hudson. There is a certain compatibility between pop and hip-hop that has allowed for such fitting collaborations. As listeners, we seem to desire both immediate gratification and unanticipated surprises. Because songs can be so fleeting, the music needs to capture the attention of listeners while maintaining their interests through change and evolution. With the catchiness of a pop ballad merged with the lyrical wit of a rap verse, such song collaborations already have the potential to satisfy these requirements for the listener. A chorus can be both the theme and namesake of the song, while the hook can often take the place of a listener’s “favorite” part. For those trying to karaoke but can’t sing, the rap then becomes the ideal section for one to memorize. In effect, these elements showcase how a single track can contain elements that many fans may enjoy. But a pop collaboration with rap is so trite that other combinations too often get forgotten. Take country music for example. Country music can so easily be attributed to one culture or one segment of the population in the same way that hip-hop is with its connotations. Yet, hip-hop collaborations with country artists have existed and attained great success. In the past decade, the standout would be Nelly’s hit single “Over and Over” featuring country star Tim McGraw. Though this song never reached a milestone on the Billboard charts, its uniqueness in bringing in two top stars of the day from contrasting genres illustrated how versatile music could be. With McGraw providing the
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chorus sung in country twang and Nelly narrating mellow verses on his lost love, “Over and Over” portrays how two dissimilar musical genres can adapt to fit each other in harmony. Going through history, one iconic example of hip-hop turned on its side would be Public Enemy’s “He Got Game.” As the title track to Spike Lee’s 1998 film He Got Game, this song was built upon the backbone of Buffalo Springfield’s protest anthem, “For What It’s Worth.” With Stephen Stills’ folk rock riff in the backdrop as Chuck D spewed wisdom, “He Got Game” criticized the decadence of the American government in the 1990s as well as racial inequality. The chorus relies on Buffalo Springfield’s original 1967 response to a curfew law instated during the Sunset Strip riots in Hollywood, California. Public Enemy’s imaginative idea to draw on an already famous political tune to frame their own depicts the power of music to be inspired by past hits — and perhaps to draw the attention of the sampled genre’s demographic — in order to generate later masterpieces. Without forcing any greater commentary, the fact that musical artists from such different backgrounds, tastes, and society can come together to create brilliant works proves that combining differences can be productive rather than conflicting. The musical tastes on campus are so diverse and comprehensive that it is hard not to be exposed to something new or to find someone else with the same dedicated passion to the same artist. One weekend’s theme can be a hipster vibe and the next’s can be an EDM flair, but people’s tastes at one moment do not particularly define their preferences as a whole. As I walk by dorm rooms blasting Kendrick Lamar or Ed Sheeran, I remind myself that just like these artists, students of seemingly different worlds could one day form the best possible collaboration. Here is where I must make a shout out to Kanye West. With all his controversy and ego, West’s discography exudes the creativity that music, especially hip-hop, can mold. Starting first with samples of spedup, high-pitched soul classics, West later incorporated fusions of rock in songs like “Gorgeous.” Here, West’s poetic verse is delivered over a production of electric guitar elements. For more instances of musical brilliance and originality, just take a listen to West’s “Lost in the World” with Bon Iver. Call it experimental if you wish, but it’s hard not to appreciate the creativity in the
face of formulaic pop hits. So no matter the genre or the time period, musical collaborations are an inspirational way to appreciate the yield of difference. Nas once rapped with The Berklee Symphony while The Roots always perform with live jazz instrumentals. If not for anything else, songs that bring together artists from different worlds can also bring together fans and listeners of those different worlds. Obviously, this wouldn’t work for a DJ, but shuffling amongst musical genres can open new eyes (or ears) to otherwise unknown perspectives. The same can be said for the classes you take, the foods you eat, and the books you read. So go out there and share what you like and dislike and be receptive to the tastes of others. Mix and match the materials you once thought were incompatible. You don’t have to agree with those foreign tastes, and you may find that things clash more than they resonate. But one listen can’t hurt. Michael Luo ’16 (michaelluo@college) is currently listening to U2’s Songs of Innocence. Image courtesy of clusternote on Wikimedia Commons.
09.18.14 • The Harvard Independent
Ethical Reasoning A look at the line across which art becomes destructive. By SARAH ROSENTHAL
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’ve been thinking lately about making an ethical stock portfolio. I suppose it’s hypocritical, and even slightly irrational for me to use Apple products and Facebook but feel uneasy investing money in them. I don’t want to let shady experiments on users, or uncomfortable privacy policies, or disturbing labor practices slip into the shadows as I sit at my desk procrastinating and feeling thankful for blue-shirted “geniuses.” But it can happen. And as I worry about whether I’m an ethical consumer of products, I become increasingly aware as my role as an ethical consumer of art. It’s already a central aspect of my interest in art because it often makes me wonder what the benefit of art really is. How the potentially frivolous products of human work turn into something productive? Is it unethical to make objects that don’t explicitly aim to improve the human condition? Is all art fundamentally indulgent and ultimately unethical? I don’t think so. Last semester I took the Ethical Reasoning Gen Ed Adam & Eve, co-taught by Professor Greenblatt of the English department and Professor Koerner of History of Art and Architecture. The course was primarily concerned with the questions of ethics in the story of the fall and how sin can come about in innocent beings, and how representations of the original humans relate to those questions. But one week, an entirely new topic emerged, that of ethical style. I distinctly remember section from that week; my TF asked whether there is such a thing as an ethical style, and we all sat in silence (perhaps a similar situation to many sections, but with a prompt that was more perplexing). In lecture one of the professors discussed that Milton was viewed as using an unethical style for a time because he used such lavish verse and made Satan into a sympathetic character. But what about objects of art, namely paintings and sculptures? I wondered if perhaps ethical styles emerge only in contrast to unethical ones. Unflattering, caricature-esque, or disturbed portraits, like those of Lucian Freud or Francis Bacon, can be deemed unethical. But I suppose not, because they are not harmful. I came away from the class completely unsure of whether style can exist within the sphere of ethics, and I still don’t know. Then, this summer, I came upon the Jeff Koons retrospective at the Whitney Museum. Perhaps his work is not “objectively” unethical, but ethics always create murky waters. Regardless, I came away from the
show feeling that he is clearly an unethical artist. His work ridicules the tastes and cultural options of lower-class individuals, unabashedly objectifies women (in a group of paintings, women’s fetishized facial features or other body parts float across the canvas in equivalence with pieces of corn and other foods, all ready for mindless and endless consumption), and simplifies the complexity of children’s thoughts into a love of pretty, shiny toys. There are certainly ways to examine the fetishization of kitsch objects, the representation of women, and childrens’ selfish fixations on plastic toys. But the work in the show didn’t examine at all — in fact it claimed not to need to ask questions. Perhaps what made the works in the exhibition appear unethical wasn’t even the just these topics were actually depicted, but a combination of that and the fact that in everything, Koons asserted that he knows best. Despite his position as an upper-class, adult male, he knows how the lower-middle class think, and he understands the relationships children form with the objects in their lives, and he can paint women a certain way in a celebration of sexuality (a justification for objectifying women that I will always be skeptical of). So perhaps, an ethical style is one that asserts that you know how those unlike you think, and even worse, that you know what’s best for them. I’m not a fan of Jeff Koons, and I’m not afraid to say that I think his work is unethical. And identifying an instance of art that clearly crosses the line of what I find acceptable — not, as many insist, because it is shocking, transgressive and appropriately controversial, but because it reinforces the destructive “Artist-as-God” myth that should have ended before Marcel Duchamp. There are plenty of ways to be subversive and controversial that doesn’t require a celebration of others’ inadequacies. Because, frankly, statements like those will never make art more convincing or cerebral. Establishing that for myself, I have decided art for art’s sake can take on an ethically neutral space, always open for critical examination. And even better are works that address the places in society where ethics drop away in an attempt to restore them. That is the art I can get most excited about.
“I'm not a fan of Jeff Koons, and I’m not afraid to say that I think his work is unethical. And identifying an instance of art that clearly crosses the line of what I find acceptable - not, as many insist, because it is shocking, transgressive and appropriately controversial, but because it reinforces the destructive “Artist-as-God” myth that should have ended before Marcel Duchamp.”
The Harvard Independent • 09.18.14
Sarah Rosenthal ’15 (srosenthal@college) still loves the Whitney Museum and would be happy to talk to anyone about the ethics of art.
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Sports
No Differences
The Indy spotlights Harvard running back Paul Stanton By PEYTON FINE
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f one were to be asked what is the largest D-1 athletic program in the country, few would correctly name Harvard University whose athletic department’s motto is, “Academic Integration and Competitive Excellence.” These two ideals outline how recruited players not only have to be able to compete on the field, but also survive the daily classroom
Illustration by Yaara Yacoby/ The Harvard Independent
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rigors of an Ivy League education. Coaches scour the country looking for the epitome of student-athletes, and those athletes’ journeys are usually filled with interesting twists and turns. Take the story of Paul Stanton, Harvard’s record setting starting running back, for instance. His path to playing football for Harvard included stops at other schools along the way. For Stanton, the idea of playing Ivy League football came into fruition during the summer between his junior and senior years of high school. “I just started looking up all the camps. I ended up going to Princeton, Cornell, and Brown.” Harvard wasn’t on Stanton’s radar because they hadn’t started recruiting him. It was not until he arrived at Brown that playing for the Crimson began to look realistic. “I was at Brown’s camp, and people were talking about how Harvard’s camp was at the same time. We were an hour away, so I drove over with my dad. I did pretty well there, and they started recruiting me.” Stanton ran a 4.4 forty, a speed that would get you noticed anywhere. From there, the recruiting process was full steam ahead. For Stanton, the idea of turning down Harvard was unthinkable, even if it meant living far away from New Orleans. “My mom misses me and all, but, when I had the chance at the Ivy League, they wanted me to take it.” The chance to play for an Ivy League school is very different than playing football at just about every other college. For starters, there is the academic rigor. We all know what it takes to succeed academically. Ivy League football players like Stanton also do not receive the opportunity to play in the FCS playoffs. The only championship available to the team is the Ivy League Championship (though other Harvard teams have the opportunity for National Champion Play). Put simply, Harvard is good enough to compete on the national stage, but the tradition of the Ivy League bars them from it. “We wish we could compete in that. Winning the Ivy League means a lot. I definitely would want it to change, so that we could compete and see where we were, but we have no power over that.” The challenges on the field do resemble those of many other college athletic programs, namely the competition for playing time. As a sophomore, Stanton was involved in a timeshare at running back. However, as the season wore on, more and more touches went to him. He ended the season third in the Ivy League in rushing yards and led all running backs with fifteen touchdowns. Stanton’s
speed and single foot in the ground cutting dazzles, but it his ability to consistently break arm tackles and maintain balance that vaulted him to this level. Stanton is far more than a speed back. In person, it becomes clear that Stanton is built to not just compete at this level, but dominate. By the end of the season, Stanton was Harvard’s premiere running back. In last season’s final game against Yale, he scored four of the five Crimson touchdowns in route to a 35-7 drubbing of the Bulldogs. He was named second-team All-Ivy. It is a trend that is predicted to continue. Stanton has been named preseason first-team All-Ivy by multiple media outlets. Even with all of this attention, Stanton is the consummate teammate. Despite all of his accolades, Stanton has a self-proclaimed weakness. “I definitely want to work on my blocking. Sometimes, I felt like I let our quarterback [Connor Hempel] down based on my blocking.” When it comes to splitting time, his answer: “I don’t mind it all. We have other great backs. You need more than one running back the way the game’s played now.” Stanton allows himself to admit that playing in the NFL a dream. With 4.4 speed and quick change of direction and acceleration, this dream may be attainable. However, playing in the Ivy League doesn’t bode well for players because many professional scouts do not look favorably upon the Ivy League. Since 2000, Harvard has only had three players selected in the NFL draft and several undrafted free-agents like 2014’s Nnamdi Obukwelu. Stanton’s fallback option looks a lot like many of our plans. His major is economics, and his grades are predictably good. Paul says, “I just don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket.” So, why did Stanton play football at Harvard when challenges meet him around every corner, when the path to come here was serendipity, when success doesn’t earn a national championship or a chance at the NFL? His answer is simple, “It’s Harvard. You don’t pass up that opportunity. Guys turn down offers from other schools to come here.” Stanton’s right. “It’s Harvard.” We have all used this line before to explain how we got here, to describe why we do what we do, to convince ourselves that it all makes sense. Our passions may be varied and diverse, but a passion lies within each of us. That passion leads us to do what is incomprehensible to some, even some within Harvard. That’s what makes Harvard...Harvard, doesn’t matter if you play football, the cello, or anything in between. Peyton Fine ’17 (peytonfine@college) relished the opportunity to see the Harvard life through someone else’s eyes. Throughout the year, the Independent hopes to profile Harvard athletics, highlight the intricacies of playing in the Ivy League, and spotlight individual athletes.
09.18.14 • The Harvard Independent
Sports
indy
New Varsity Blues Women’s Rugby starts season with a tough loss
Photo by Sean Frazzette/The Harvard Independent
Harvard Women’s Rugby scrums against Brown in their first match of the season. The match also marks the first ever varsity Ivy League rugby match.
By SEAN FRAZZETTE
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ast season, in their first ever season as a varsity program, Harvard’s Women’s Rugby cruised through the Ivy League with little difficulty, eventually winning the conference championship and qualifying for the National Tournament. Coming off such a high-octane season has placed high expectations on the Crimson, who lost a number of key contributors to graduation and injuries. Nevertheless, led by captains Brooke Kantor ’15, Kaleigh Henry ’15, and Hope Schwartz ’16, as well as returning head coach Sue Parker, Harvard’s newest varsity program has been practicing for weeks to be ready for this season’s challenges. The first conference matchup of the season pitted Harvard against the Brown Bears on September 13th, who just this season were also promoted to varsity status. Last season, the Crimson played Brown twice, winning both matches convincingly. In the regular season, the game was over as soon as it began, with Harvard running away with a 57-7 victory. Then, the two met again in the playoffs, only The Harvard Independent • 09.18.14
for Harvard to once again route its opponent, 31-5 in the Ivy League semifinals. With the addition of varsity status, however, many may expect Brown to take the leap from second-tier Ivy League school to championship contenders. In front of a packed crowd, the first ever matchup between two Ivy League varsity rugby programs began looking to be an exceptionally even match. With no score with 24 minutes remaining in the first half, Harvard looked to finally crack the try line, before an errant pass led to a Brown counter attack. The ball was scooped up by the Bears and charged down the field, before senior fullback Anabiet Abasi ’15 caught her from behind. While the defensive play by Abasi temporarily saved a try, Brown eventually punched the ball in at around the 27-minute mark and converted the kick to go up 7-0. Only a few minutes later, though, Harvard answered with a new member of the team, flyhalf Taciana Pereira ’17, finding her way to a try after a dominant scrum by the home team, but failing to convert the kick. The 7-5 score would not hold for long, however. After a Brown penalty, senior flanker
Lenica Morales-Valenzuela ’15, took the ball on a touch and go before popping it over to sophomore wing Mariah Turner ’17, who darted in for a score. Once again, the conversion failed, but the Crimson took a 10-7 lead. Shortly before the half, Brown regained the lead with a try and a halftime the score stood at 12-10. All seemed to be going Harvard’s way in the second half, as the Crimson controlled the ball well, showed promise with scrums, lineouts, and rucks, and Pereira remained poised running the offense at flyhalf. With 26 minutes remaining the game, Turner took the ball on the wing, bolted past the first line of defense, ran over the only remaining defender in her path, and scored a try to put Harvard up 1512. For the next fifteen minutes, the Crimson held off the Bears, playing a back-and-forth field position battle and trying to maintain their lead until the final whistle. With only 11 minutes on the clock, Brown drove the ball down the field, and, with Harvard missing a gap off the ruck, found an easy path up the middle for a try. After making the conversion, the Crimson found themselves down 19-15. Although,
a few more chances presented themselves, some costly knocks and turnovers prevented Harvard from regaining the lead. Eventually, with little time remaining, Brown officially put the game out of Harvard’s reach with a final try, clinching their first varsity Ivy League win, 24-15. After the game, Coach Parker praised her women, saying, “I could not be more proud of the 15 players who were on the field for us today. They showed effort, heart and grit through all 80 minutes today.” Indeed, the ladies did put together a noble effort. Despite losses to injury, graduation, and various other reasons, the core of the team played hard for the entirety of the match. The loss, while a difficult way to start any season,provided plenty of hope for team’s future. Their next game is September 20 th against Yale, whom Harvard ran all over last year en route to an 84-0 victory. Hopefully, the Crimson can notch their first win against the Bulldogs. Sean Frazzette ’16 (sfrazzette@college) is rucking excited for rugby season.
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