The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLV, NO. 111 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2018
EDITORIAL PAGE 6
NEWS PAGE 3
SPORTS PAGE 8
Students should be allowed to resell their Harvard-Yale Game tickets.
Ralph Nader spoke at a Harvard Law School event.
Football will seek an upset against Dartmouth this weekend.
Univ. HMC Head Disappointed by Returns Faces Title IX Lawsuit By ELI W. BURNES and ANDREW J. ZUCKER CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
By SHERA S. AVI-YONAH and ALEXANDRA C. CHAIDEZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
An unnamed male student filed a civil suit against Harvard earlier this month alleging the University discriminated against him on the basis of race and gender in its handling of a Title IX complaint that accused him of sexual misconduct. The 42-page lawsuit, filed Oct. 15 in the United States District Court of Massachusetts, details sexual activity between the plaintiff and an unnamed female undergraduate that allegedly took place in April 2017. One month later, Harvard’s Office for Dispute Resolution — the University office that investigates formal Title IX complaints — informed the plaintiff he was the subject of a Title IX investigation related to the April encounter, according to the suit. The suit alleges Harvard mishandled the inquiry that followed and discriminated against the plaintiff because he is an “African-American male.” It names the University,
SEE COMPLAINT PAGE 3
UC’s Website Was Not Updated
Harvard Management Company CEO N.P. “Narv” Narvekar announced in the latest iteration of the University’s annual financial report Thursday that the he is “not pleased” with the most recent returns seen by Harvard’s endowment. The University’s $39.2 bil-
lion endowment — the largest in the Ivy League — returned 10 percent on its investments. Columbia University, which returned 9 percent on its endowment, was the only Ivy League school to lag behind Harvard this year. “While we are not pleased with this performance, we are mindful that ours is an organization and a portfolio in transition,” Narvekar wrote in the 42-
page report. Since joining HMC, Narvekar has overhauled Harvard’s investment strategy, shifting HMC from a “hybrid” model with both in-house and external money managers to a model — used by most other endowments — that relies primarily on external managers. In enacting these reforms, Narvekar has focused on the long-term. He wrote in his let-
ter Thursday that he views the endowment results through a “five-year timeframe.” “As sophisticated investors well know, there are very limited conclusions that we can draw from a single year of either manager performance or asset allocation,” he wrote. “Had this past year’s return been significantly higher or lower, it still
SEE HMC PAGE 5
HARVARD ADMISSIONS TRIAL DAY NINE: Diving Into The Data The ninth day of the trial was all about data. Students for Fair Admissions expert witness and Duke economist Peter S. Arcidiacono took the witness stand Thursday morning and did not leave it — apart from a break for lunch — until proceedings ended. He was questioned first by SFFA lawyer J. Scott McBride and then by Harvard attorney William F. Lee ’72. Arcidiacono had conducted a pre-trial analysis of Harvard admissions data — work for which he received a salary from SFFA. The Duke professor summarized the key finding of his analysis in one sentence: “Broadly, there’s evidence of discrimination against Asian Americans in the admissions process.” Lee challenged the conclusion.
John M. Hughes (left) and Adam K. Mortara (center), members of SFFA’s legal team, exit the court Thursday alongside SFFA President Edward Blum (right). MIA B. FROTHINGHAM—CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
By JONAH S. BERGER CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Candidates girding for Undergraduate Council presidential elections often prep by scanning UC records and bylaws online and by sending questions to the Council’s election commission, an independent body tasked with overseeing the process. But, over the past month, some UC presidential and vice presidential hopefuls say they
SEE UC PAGE 5
Felicia H. Ellsworth, a Harvard lawyer. MIA B. FROTHINGHAM
Lawyers file out of the courtroom Thursday afternoon. MIA B. FROTHINGHAM —CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
HUCTW, Univ. Finally Agree Harvard’s Largest Union Reaches Tentative Contract Agreement After Months of Negotiations By MOLLY C. MCCAFFERTY CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
fter seven months of negotiA ations, Harvard and its largest union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract Thursday morning. The union — the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers — represents around 5,100 Harvard employees who primarily work in libraries, labs, and faculty offices. The agreement, which replaces a contract that expired nearly a month ago, will be binding for the next three years. The union’s previous contract became obsolete on Sept. 30. Between then and now, the University and the union — the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers — agreed to continue providing benefits under the last contract to members, though members experienced delays in receiving raises that union leaders said would likely come with a new agreement. The previous agreement will continue until at least Dec. 4, when union members will vote to ratify Thursday’s contract. If that referendum passes, union members will receive a lump sum bonus equal to the amount they would have earned if they had won raises on Sept. 30. In an email to members Thursday, union leadership wrote that the raises included in the contract marked a success. According to the email, members who have been employed by the union for one year will receive a 3.8 percent raise the day the contract takes effect. In the second and third years of the contract, “the average member” will see their pay rise by 3.5 percent each year. In a joint statement, leaders of HUCTW and University representatives wrote that, in addition to ensuring annual pay increases, the agreement improves upon “a number of policy issues of mutual interest to the Union and the University.” “The Tentative Agreement
SEE HUCTW PAGE 5
Scientists Posit Interplanetary Life By LAURA C. ESPINOZA and DECLAN J. KNIERIEM CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
esearchers from the HarR vard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics recently released a study claiming that panspermia, an astronomical theory that life is exchanged between planets within solar systems, can be expanded to support exchanging life within the Milky Way galaxy. The study, “Galactic Panspermia,” concluded that life, or the chemical compounds necessary for life, can be distributed between solar systems or even galaxies by astronomical objects such as meteoroids or asteroids. The study was led by Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Theory and Computation Idan Ginsburg and co-authored by Astronomy Department chair Abraham “Avi” Loeb and INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
ITC postdoctoral fellow Manasvi Lingam. The theory of panspermia proposes a mechanism by which astronomical objects could feasibly transport life to other planets within solar systems. The presence of life could take the form of anything from chemical compounds to microorganisms. The study, which expands the theory panspermia to interstellar transport, hinges on the probability of two factors: the rate at which solar systems capture life-bearing objects and the ability of life to survive the treacherous space conditions for extended periods of time. Despite the findings in the study, the researchers said the panspermia phenomenon is still difficult to prove. Ginsburg described the slim chances of
SEE ASTRO PAGE 5
News 3
Editorial 6
Manasvi Lingam, Avi Loeb, and Idan Ginsburg, authors of the study Galactic Panspermia, pose for a photo. MIA B. FROTHINGHAM—CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Sports 8
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not pleased