The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLV, No. 116

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLV, No. 116 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Friday, November 2, 2018

editorial PAGE 12

news PAGE 4

sports PAGE 13

The admissions process is imperfect.

But Harvard is making a strong effort.

MIchael J. Sandel talks up civic education at an Ed School forum.

Harvard Football will face an injuryriddled Columbia this Saturday.

Former University President Faust Testifies Group Protests Faust Defends Her 11-Year Legacy of Diversity Initiatives Prison Money

By Alexandra A. Chaidez and Delano R. Franklin Crimson Staff Writers

Former University President Drew G. Faust took the stand Thursday afternoon as the final witness in the Harvard admissions trial, spending most of her testimony defending initiatives she pursued during her 11 years in power to promote diversity across the University’s schools.

“I feel that my tenure has been committed in considerable part to expanding openness, access to Harvard,” Faust said.

“There is no place for discrimination of any kind at Harvard.”

Though University President Lawrence S. Bacow now holds the school’s top job, Faust — who stepped down in June 2018 after steering the University for over a decade — helmed Harvard through the 2014 filing of an unprecedented lawsuit that alleged the College discriminates against Asian Amer­

icans in its admissions process.

Four years later, that suit — brought by anti-affirmative action advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions — is now being litigated in a high-stakes and high-profile trial that could shape the facte of race-conscious admissions in the United States.

Faust is among the most high-profile witness to take the stand in the trial, which has drawn national media attention and revealed long-kept secrets of Harvard’s notoriously private admissions process.

After Faust introduced herself to the judge, Harvard lead trial lawyer William F. Lee ’72 questioned the former president for nearly an hour Thursday. He asked the former president about established Supreme Court precedent that supports the College’s admissions policies. The Supreme Court has

See faust Page 10

By eli w. burnes and Lucas ward Crimson Staff Writers

ist. Under cross-examination a week ago, McGrath — who has served as admissions director for more than three decades — repeatedly said Harvard has

Students called on Harvard to divest from the prison industry during the first public event held by the newly formed Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign Thursday evening.

The event, hosted at the Law School’s Wasserstein Hall, featured students speakers addressing a near-capacity crowd of roughly 100. Hakeem Angulu ‘20 and Jackie Wang, a graduate student in African and African American Studies and author of “Carceral Capitalism,” began the event by speaking about the history of the American prison system as well as racial

See McGrath Page 6

See prisons Page 6

­

Former University President Drew G. Faust left the court immediately after testifying in the Harvard admissions trial on Thursday, Nov. 1. Awnit Singh Marta—Crimson photographer

McGrath Grilled on New Admissions Policy

By Molly C. Mccafferty Crimson Staff Writer

On the penultimate day of the Harvard admissions trial, Director of Admissions Marlyn E. McGrath ’70 was grilled over ­

how and when the College adopted unprecedented written rules detailing how admissions officers can use race to evaluate Harvard hopefuls.

McGrath had previously testified that no such rules ex-

HMS Slams Plan to Define Gender as Sex Incarcerated Youth Visit Harvard

Students at Harvard Medical School demonstrated in support of transgender rights in the Tosteson Medical Center atrium Thursday. Mia B. Frothingham—contributing photographer By sahana g. srinivasan and luke a. williams Contributing Writers

Harvard Medical School on Thursday slammed the Trump administration’s reported plan to eliminate federal recogni­

tion of transgender, intersex, or gender non-binary individuals, calling the proposal “overly simplistic, medically inaccurate and antithetical to our values as healthcare providers.”

“Harvard Medical School is staunchly opposed to any ef-

An elaborate altar forms the centerpiece of Day of the Dead celebrations at the Peabody Museum. Joshua Y. Chiang —contributing photographer

Engineering student Kaitlyn P. Becker shows visiting incarcerated youth how various gadgets work. Kathryn S. Kuhar —Crimson photographer

forts by federal agencies to limit the definition of sex as an immutable condition determined at birth,” Gina Vild, an associate dean for communications at Harvard Medical School wrote

See hms Page 6

By Ellen M. Burstein and Laura C. Espinoza Contributing Writers

Mia B. Frothingham—contributing photographer

Papel picado (perforated paper) hangs between the Peabody Museum stair railings. Joshua Y. Chiang —contributing photographer

Harvard Affliates Celebrate Dia de los Muertos By anissa r. medina and oliver l. riskin-kutz Contributing Writers

Munching on sweets and sport­

ing festive costumes, more than 75 visitors packed into the Peabody Museum Thursday to celebrate the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos.

Families honor their deceased loved ones during the festival, an ancient Mexican tradition that lasts from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. Although celebrations

A handful of incarcerated youth traveled around Harvard’s campus Thursday to learn about possible professional and educational paths they could pursue after their release from prison.

The delegation hailed from the Eliot Community Human Services, an organization that supports court-involved youth.

Pedro R. S. De Abreu, a fellow at Harvard’s Phillips Brooks House, and Keith A. Thompson, an assistant director at Eliot, set up the visit.

De Abreu took two incarcerated youth and three Eliot Treatment Center staff members on a tour spanning several University schools and including stops at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, the Law School, the Graduate School of Design, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Thompson said he planned the trip in part because he wants the youth to think about career and educational opportunities they could pursue after their release. ­

differ by geographic region, participants generally decorate tombs, cook large feasts,

See holiday Page 6

“[The kids] have a lot of things set up for them out in the community, but I also was looking for an opportunity to show them something that they probably would never think of themselves that they really could do,” he said.

The group viewed artwork at the Cooper Gallery and visited the Hip-Hop Archive & Research Institute as part of their trek.

In the kids’ eyes, De Abreu said, the Hutchins Center demonstrated Harvard’s commitment to minorities.

“They didn’t think that Harvard would even care about African Americans in general, let alone about having a center of African American studies on campus,” De Abreu said.

“The message that they got is that hip-hop is an important part of… culture here in the United States, and we are honoring that.”

The group also visited the Law School, where they spoke with David J. Harris, the managing director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.

Harris spoke to the group

See Youth Page 10

SPONSORED CONTENT

Claire Hale Underwood: From Pennypacker Hall to Pennsylvania Avenue

On May 22, 1987, a young Claire Hale stepped up to the podium to address a crowd of her Harvard classmates in Tercentenary Theatre. Thirty one years later, she now steps up to address the nation as its first female president.

BY Emily M. Lu, CRIMSON BUSINESS editor

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either used in a fictitious manner, for the purposes of promoting Netflix’s House of Cards television series. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

november 2, 2018

Page 2

Harvard Today

For Lunch Asian BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich Baked Herbed Fresh Local Fish Eggplant and Tofu

For Dinner Grilled Hamburger Spanish Pisto Manchego Fried Onion Rings

Today’s Events

in The Real World

Shabbat for Pittsburgh Harvard Chabad, 7:15 p.m.

Google Workers Across Globe Walk Out

Harvard Chabad is hosting a shabbat in memory of the victims of last week’s shooting in Pittsburgh. The dinner is meant to be dedicated to “celebrating unity, community, and each other.” The shabbat will be held at 38 Banks St.

Protesting the way Google has handled sexual harassment, employees all across the globe staged a walkout today. The outcry came in response to a New York Times article last week revealing that Google had paid millions in exit packages for male executives accused of misconduct.

Movie MIT, 10 p.m.

Goldman Sachs Workers Accused of Fraud

Still feeling the spooky spirit? Bust out your best Halloween costume and head over to MIT for a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Prop bags will be for sale, or BYOT (bring your own toast). Make sure not to dress up as a hardo section TF — too scary.

Concert Sanders, 8 p.m.

If (like me) you can’t sing but like watching other people who can, head to Sanders Theater today to see the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum and the Radcliffe Choral Society in their first concert of the year!

A squirrel appears to commune with a stranger. Amanda y. su—Crimson photographer

Daily Briefing Five current Harvard students - all of them non-white - stepped behind the witness stand in the admissions trial Monday to make the case for raceconscious admissions. Each drew on their personal experiences, pointing to childhood bullying, fears over Harvard’s whiteness, and comfort found in campus affinity groups to assert that a race-blind admissions process would decrease Harvard’s diversity and fundamentally worsen the College experience. The Crimson breaks down who the students are, where they’re from, and what drove them to testify.

In other news, former University President Drew G. Faust testified on the penultimate day of the trial.

In what is one of the most significant scandals in the history of the financial firm, some Goldman Sachs employees have become involved in a multibillion dollar international fraud. Care for your snek friends by telling them that, when they inevitably end up at big financial firms, they should NOT get involved in multibillion dollar international friends.

Ala. Pastry Chef Named Best in Nation

Pastry chef Dolester Miles was just named the best pastry chef in the nation. She worked her way up from line cook to head pastry chef at four restaurants, and calls her win “an incredible accomplishment of a life’s work.” Warning: One look at her blueberry cobbler will make you want to head down to Alabama to get a taste.

Around the Ivies Yale The Yale Daily News reported Wednesday that the Yale admissions office started deleting all evaluative comments on applications beginning in March 2015. This may disadvantage the AsianAmerican Coalition for Education in their lawsuit against the school, in which they allege Yale College discriminates against Asian-Americans in the application process. The suit is similar to Students for Fair Admissions’ lawsuit against Harvard, in which one of SFFA’s main claims is that Harvard gives Asian-American applicants lower personal ratings than students of other races.

upenn Penn alumnus Kenneth Ciesielka delivered a eulogy on Tuesday at the funeral of Jerry Rabinowitz, his former classmate, 30-year business partner, and close friend, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. Rabinowitz was one of 11 people killed at the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Rabinowitz was a twotime Penn graduate, studying biochemistry before earning his medical degree there. Ciesielka and Rabinowitz remained close friends after college and eventually chose to combine their medical practices.

columbia According to The Columbia Daily Spectator, the graduate student union at Columbia has announced plans to begin striking on Dec. 4 — a week before final exams begin. This decision is the latest development in graduate students’ effort to bargain with the University. The Columbia graduate students union is hoping to follow other elite universities like Harvard that have begun bargaining with their student unions.

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Corrections The Harvard Crimson is committed to accuracy in its reporting. Factual errors are corrected promptly on this page. Readers with information about errors are asked to e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@thecrimson.com.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Claire Hale Underwood: From Pennypacker Hall to Pennsylvania Avenue

BY Emily M. Lu CRIMSON BUSINESS EDITOR

On May 22, 1987, a young Claire Hale stepped up to the podium to address a crowd of her Harvard classmates in Tercentenary Theatre. Thirty one years later, she now steps up to address the nation as its first female president and commander-in-chief.

“I remember watching people as she gave her speech” says Sandra E. Daugherty, a former classmate from Claire’s time at Radcliffe.

“It was memorable in the sense that we all knew this wouldn’t be the last time we heard from Claire. She exuded focus, determination and the need for success, sometimes at any cost.” While her years since college have certainly shaped her views and diplomatic prowess, there’s no doubt that her years at Harvard played a large role in shaping the Claire that America knows today.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS When Claire arrived at Harvard, it was a different time for female students. “You have to remember that for much of the ’70s there was still fierce opposition to the inclusion of women at Harvard,” recalls Elizabeth Adler-Graham, former associate dean of undergraduate education.

“Even though by that time the school was taking a one-toone ratio of men to women at enrollment, the culture on campus was still very much male-dominated.”

But while some women struggled to find their voice,

She exuded focus, determination and the need for success, sometimes at any cost.

Sandra E. Daugherty, Radcliffe ‘87

Claire had no problems. She quickly learned how to navigate the old boys’ club; a skill that would prove useful in later years.

“When people first met Claire around campus, I think most expected a southern belle—and she used that to her advantage,”Gerald Perrier, a classmate who served alongside Underwood on the Harvard Undergraduate Council, said. “Beneath her calm, debutante exterior was a fierce intellect and incredible self-confidence.”

“If someone on the council took a different position to Claire, we’d all watch in silence as she calmly dismantled them—man or woman,” Perrier said.

MAKINGS OF A POLITICIAN While Underwood was at school, classmates and colleagues alike were quick to identify the qualities of a politician-in-the-making.

“When I first met Claire, she wore brightly-colored scrunchies and too much hair spray,” Annalise Kirke, Claire’s second year classmate, laughed. “But she still carried herself with a level of self-possession that would make even the most distinguished professors cower.”

One of those professors was Jonathan Bergstein, Claire’s undergraduate professor who later became her research advisor at the Harvard T.H. Chan Graduate School for Public Health.

“I was offering a popular course at the time: “Environmental Science and Public Policy.” Students had to lottery to enroll as we could only accept thirty students per year,” Bergstein said. “I remember Claire came to my office and showed me the enrollment demographics for my class. She calmly suggested I was favoring male students and noted that The Crimson was looking for a story on inequality at Harvard. I laugh about it now, but if I’m really being honest, it was essentially blackmail.”

And Claire’s powers of negotiation were not merely reserved for professors and faculty members. In the leadup to Housing Day, “Claire knew to become close with the many house administrators.”According to her roommate at the time, “she was somehow able to “finagle [our] group’s way into our top choice for housing: Adams House,” said Rutkowski.

“Years later, I heard rumors that she’d used an incriminating photo of one of the admins, but that doesn’t sound like Claire to me.”

A SOLITARY FIGURE

While she could be intimidating in the classroom, outside of it Underwood was noted as quiet and focused, often preferring to spend time by herself, alone with her thoughts.

“Claire was always the one who would come home from a late night in Lamont studying for a midterm or writing a twenty-page paper, and still go out for a run,” Natalie Rutkowski, a former roommate, said. Multiple sources recall that while other students were busy hanging out

at Noch’s [Pinocchio’s Pizza], Underwood would often be seen on long runs around the Charles or through Mount Auburn Cemetery, headphones over her ears and a Walkman clipped to her waist.

“If she was ever having trouble or upset about something, Claire never told us about it,” Rutkowski remembers. “She spent much of her time by herself, preferring to work through things on her own, alone with her thoughts. That’s probably where her need for running came from.”

STEPPING STONES At campus events, it was obvious that Claire’s Highland Park upbringing had set her up for success. Despite what many described as an icy demeanor, former classmates recall her ability to turn on incredible charm, drawing in potential political allies, high-powered advocates and devoted acolytes. “Fac-

Beneath her calm, debutante exterior was a fierce intellect and incredible selfconfidence.

Gerald Perrier, Harvard College ‘86

ulty members and students, particularly those from prominent political families, found themselves enthralled

by Claire”Nicole Covington, another of Underwood’s classmates, said.

Over the four years of her master’s program, Claire continued to lay the groundwork for a successful career in politics. “She made sure she was involved with all the right groups on campus, like The Hasty Pudding and the Undergraduate Council” said Covington. “She stopped smoking her Virginia Slims (she used to smoke back then), she founded a handful of non-profit groups on campus, and she started dating an equally ambitious and driven young man. The rest, as they say, is history.”

Harvard was certainly a transformational experience for Claire Underwood. Now, it is her alma mater’s turn to see how Underwood transforms the country under her leadership.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either used in a fictitious manner, for the purposes of promoting Netflix’s House of Cards television series. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | November 2, 2018

Page 4

Sandel Talks Up Civic Education

By Sam E. Sharfstein and Connor J. Wagaman Contributing writers

G overnment Professor Michael J. Sandel spoke about the importance of civic education Thursday evening at a discussion titled “Civic Education Goes Global.”

Sandel, a pioneer of and advocate for “massive open online courses,” highlighted the importance of creating a global community of respectful discourse through education.

Bridget Terry Long, the dean of the Graduate School of Education and a professor of education and economics, moderated the conversation. The discussion formed part of the Askwith Forums, a public lecture series currently taking place at the Harvard School of Education.

In the discussion, Sandel said his goal is “to take the distance out of distance learning” and to replicate an engaging classroom experience for online learners.

The event opened with a video of a class he facilitated for the British Broadcasting Corporation in which 60 people from around the world vido-called in to debate the legality of hate speech.

One woman from Somalia advocated for outlawing hate speech and was backed by a Canadian, while another from the Netherlands found support from a South Korean in urg­

ing unimpeded free speech.

Though people hailed from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds, each came ready to share and exchange ideas with an open mind.

“Once it became clear that lots of people in lots of places are interested in watching [these courses], I wanted to see if we could use new technology to move beyond access to participation to enable people who are interested in these questions to talk back, to give voice to their views and opinions,” Sandel said.

“The project is to take the distance out of distance learn-

“Higher education can be a public good, not just a private privilege .”

Michael J. Sandel Government Professor

ing.”

Despite increased access to online civics courses in recent years, Sandel criticized institutions of higher education for their general approach to promoting civic education and engagement.

“We have not done enough to equip students to be citizens,” Sandel said.He said the classes that are available, though, have a huge impact on people’s lives.

Bridget Terry Long, a Professor of Education and Economics leads a discussion with Professor Michael J. Sandel Thursday night in Longfellow Hall.

Kathryn S. Kuhar—Crimson photographer

On a recent trip to Brazil, Sandel met Reginaldo, a middle-aged favela resident. After learning to read at age 25, Sandel said Reginaldo fell in love with philosophy.

Through these online lectures, Reginaldo was able to formalize this knowledge and shares lessons from Platonic dialogues and the writings of Socrates with his friends and neighbors, Sandel said.

Sandel highlighted his College course “Justice” — Har-

Economists Advocate “Next Big Economic Idea” at IOP

By Samuel H. Carter and Declan J. Knieriem Contributing writers

Four economists proposed policy changes that would promote economic equality at an Institute of Politics event Thursday.

At the event, titled “What’s the Next Big Economic Idea?”, the panelists discussed universal basic income, a federal job guarantee, and job incentives in front of a group of over two dozen Harvard students and affiliates.

Harvard Kennedy School Professor Jason Furman ’92 moderated the forum, which included Annie M. Lowrey ’07, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, Darrick Hamilton, a professor of economics and urban policy at The New School, Oren Cass, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and Will Wilkinson, vice president for research of the Niskanen Center.

The speakers shared specific proposals they believed held the most promise for American economic policy.

Lowrey, a former Crimson magazine editor, joined the panel via Skype and advocated for a universal basic income. She argued for the benefits of guaranteeing everyone of working age a fixed amount of money, regardless of employment status.

“There is currently no form of social insurance that helps ­

people, regardless of circumstance, save for income,” Lowrey said.

Hamilton made his case for a government-funded job guarantee, saying that it would improve both infrastructure and the lives of the working class.

“The policy that I’m talking about is a mandated right for empowerment for people, and that relates to [Lowrey]’s policy,” Hamilton said.

“It would enable workers,

“There is currently no form of social insurance that helps people, regardless of circumstance, save for income .”

Annie M. Lowrey ’07 Contributing Editor at The Atlantic

particularly those at the low end, to bargain for better wages and benefits without the fear and threat of destitution from unemployment.”

While Hamilton said he had no “big objections” to Lowrey’s proposals, he also pushed back on Lowrey’s support of a universal basic income.

“I like the intent around the U.B.I., but I have concerns

with the universality of it,” said Hamilton.

Cass said he supported a government-funded wage subsidy to help low-wage workers while encouraging work.

“When we’re looking for our prosperity as a society, what really matters is that people can find productive work to do and that they can, through that work, support their families and their communities,” Cass said.

On the topic of housing, Wilkinson criticized the current state of housing regulations in cities.

“When restrictions make housing too expensive, it makes it impossible for workers to move to the labor markets where they’re most productive,” he said.

Although their ideas of implementation differed, each economist expressed general support for their colleagues’ ideas. Cass remarked on the importance of thinking “boldly” about the policies and large impacts they can have on the American working class.

All four speakers agreed on multiple occasions that each proposal would be better than the policies currently in place, and they lauded each other’s large-scale thinking.

“I’m not timid in my belief that we can actually do this,” Hamilton said.

vard’s first-ever made available for free online — as a blueprint for private institutions hoping to foster greater civic engagement with the world.

“Higher education can be a public good, not just a private privilege,” Sandel said, listing several examples of people who have applied things they learned in his course to their daily lives.

Audience members leaned forward in their seats and took notes as they listened to the dis-

cussion, which touched on a range of issues including education, diversity, dating, social media, and the midterm elections.

“His work feels more relevant than ever,” Long said as she introduced Sandel.

Natasha L. Raisch, a student at the Graduate School of Education who attended the forum, said the timeliness of Sandel’s work made the forum more engaging.

“I really liked that it’s super

relevant to what we are living today and how he related it back to trends in education like technology and engaging globally,” Raisch said.

Annelisa K. Lee ’22, another attendee, said she appreciated the chance to explore a new topic through the discussion.

“It’s pretty enjoyable to come to things like this that are about things that you don’t really know anything about, and just learn a little bit about what people are talking about,” she said.

The sights and sounds of Harvard.

The Crimson

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | November 2, 2018

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | November 2, 2018

Page 6

McGrath From Page 1

McGrath Grilled Over College’s Written Race Rules never produced written guidance telling application reviewers how they can weigh race when calculating the “personal rating,” one of several metrics the College relies on to assess high schoolers.

Not even “a post-it on the coffee maker?” Adam K. Mortara, a lawyer for Students for Fair Admissions, the group suing the University over its race-conscious admissions policies, asked at the time.

“In written form, no,” McGrath said.

That didn’t turn out to be fully true.

Harvard added explicit guidance on race to its application “reading procedures” for the Class of 2023, according to a document submitted as evidence at the end of the trial’s second week.

The new guidelines state that “an applicant’s race or ethnicity should not be considered in assigning the personal rating.”

The provision had never before appeared in writing in Harvard admissions paperwork.

Mortara spent much of Thursday quizzing McGrath on why she said before that no ­

written guidance existed — and on how the new rules came to be.

McGrath admitted Thursday that Harvard added rules on race “in more recent reading instructions,” which the school produces every year. She said the reason she originally testified no such guidance exists is

Not even “a post-it on the coffee maker?”

Adam K. Mortara Lawyer, Students for Fair Admissions

because she assumed she should consider only procedures released between 2012 and 2014.

Most of the exhibits submitted in the trial date to that period, as do the documents McGrath used to prepare for her testimony, she said.

“I was not, in my answer to you, referring to anything more current than that,” McGrath told Mortara Thursday.

The way the College assigns personal ratings forms a key and contentious issue in the

three-week-old admissions trial, itself the latest development in a four-year-old lawsuit leveled against Harvard by SFFA. SFFA charges that the College discriminates against Asian Americans in its admissions process — partly by assigning them disproportionately low personal ratings.

Court filings in the lawsuit revealed Harvard admissions officers rank applicants on a variety of metrics including personal, academic, and athletic qualifications.

An applicant with a top-scoring personality demonstrates “truly outstanding qualities of character,” while low-scoring candidates show “questionable or worrisome qualities of character.”

A series of email exchanges presented in court Thursday offer insight into how Harvard decided to add race to its 2023 reading procedures. Admissions staffers started pondering the change as early as August of this year, some time after they participated in an annual retreat meant to help them prep for the upcoming admissions cycle.

McGrath noted in court that

holiday From Page 1

Harvard updates its reading procedures routinely.

“We make changes every year, some large, some small,” she testified. On this scale, the addition of race-specific guidelines clocks in at “moderate,” McGrath said.

Race first earned a direct mention in a draft of the 2023 guidelines that Associate Director of Admissions Christine C. Mascolo ’00 sent to McGrath and other admissions officials early this fall.

Mortara presented a copy of the draft dated Sept. 11 that contained four new sentences instructing admissions officers how to assign overall and personal scores.

Someone had marked up the document with a thick black marker — though the suggested changes were mostly grammatical.

The copy states in an introductory paragraph that “readers should not take an applicant’s race or ethnicity into account in making any of the ratings other than the Overall rating.”

Under a later section specifying how to assign these ratings, the document goes into

much more detail.

“In assigning the Overall rating, readers may consider whether a student’s background, including his or her race or ethnicity, may contribute to the educational benefits of diversity at Harvard College. The consideration of race

“We make changes every year, some large, some small.”

Marlyn E. McGrath ’70 Director of Admissions

or ethnicity may be considered only as one factor among many,” the document states.

“In addition, the consideration of race or ethnicity should be in connection with the application’s discussion of the effect an applicant’s race or ethnicity has had on the applicant, not simply the fact alone that an applicant has identified as a member of a particular race or ethnicity.”

Under the guidelines for personal ratings, the draft copy

again states that “an applicant’s race or ethnicity should not be considered in assigning the personal rating.”

Harvard officially learned that it would face off against SFFA in court when Allison D. Burroughs, the judge presiding over the case, ruled on Sept. 28 that the case would require a trial.

All the language in the Sept.

11 draft regarding race and applicant ratings made it into the final draft — except for one provision.

Harvard cancelled the suggested rule declaring that admissions officers cannot consider “the fact alone” of an applicant’s ethnicity.

McGrath told the court the rule was cancelled because it was “an incorrect instruction.”

She also repeatedly stated that she did not remember at what point she first read various iterations of the reading procedures.

When Mortara showed her copies of the emails, McGrath replied that she “think[s] she did not” read some of the attached drafts. molly.mccafferty@thecrimson.com

prisons From Page 1

Harvard Affiliates Mark With New Group, Students Day of the Dead at Peabody Urge Divestment from Prisons share stories, sing, dance, and build altars to invite the spirits of their ancestors into their homes.

“We think their souls are coming that night, and they’re enjoying that time with us,” said Michelle Arroyo Fonseca, an officer of cultural affairs from the Mexican consulate in Boston who attended Thursday’s event.

She said the Day of the Dead, which mixes Mesoamerican Aztec rituals and Catholic symbols, marks a unique way of remembering and celebrating — rather than mourning — dead relatives.

At the Peabody gathering, guests munched on “bread of the dead” and sipped Mexican hot chocolate while listening to performances by the musical group San Jarocho Boston and

by College students who participate in the Holden Voice Program, which offers lessons to University affiliates.

Elizabeth Eschen, the director of the Holden Voice Program, said she included both laments and “fun songs” in the program in order “to show the evolution of both pain and suffering and also joy and laughter.”

Diana X. Munn, who coordi­

nated the event, said she appreciates the holiday’s emphasis on joyous remembrance rather than somber grieving.

“We like to remember those who have passed away and celebrate their lives,” she said.

“So obviously it’s sad to lose someone, but at the same time it’s wonderful to have a space or a date when you remember them and you do things in their honor.”

“We think their souls are coming that night, and they’re enjoying that time with us.”

Michelle Arroyo Fonseca Officer of Cultural Affairs, Boston Mexican consulate

Munn wore a yellow marigold pin, which she said was “inspired by the flowers that are often used in the celebration” of the holiday.

She said the flowers, called “cempasúchil,” serve as guiding pathways that “attract the souls to the altar.”

Some visitors to the Peabody participated in a costume contest to celebrate the holiday.

Many donned skeleton-themed makeup and elaborate clothes to dress up as Catrina, a figure who represents death in Mexico and has become an iconic image of Día de los Muertos.

Elaborate altars decorated with art created by Harvard students and Mexican folk artists alike served as the focal point of the gathering.

Students in Societies of the World 30: “Moctezuma’s Mexico: Then and Now,” taught by Davíd L. Carrasco and William L. Fash, chose this year’s altar theme, which is titled “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.”

Addressing the crowd at the celebration, Carrasco said the “real gift” of the holiday is that it offers participants from all over the world — not just Mexico — a chance to honor their ancestors.

“This is a night of inclusion, not exclusion, not of menace, but of love,” he said.

The Peabody Museum’s Día de los Muertos celebrations will continue Saturday with a soldout family-oriented event.

HMS From Page 1

HMS Protests Trump Admin Gender Definition Proposal in a statement Thursday evening.

The New York Times reported last week that a leaked government memo — drafted by the Department of Health and Human Services — shows the government is considering defining one’s gender as solely determined by biological sex at birth.

Per policy put in place by the Obama administration, the government currently treats gender as an identity determined by personal choice.

If the Trump administration enacts this new definition, it would eliminate federal recognition of the roughly 1.4 million Americans who identify as a gender that does not match the biological sex with which they were born.

The Department of Health and Human Services could not immediately be reached for comment late Friday night.

Vild wrote in the statement that the proposal “demonstrates blatant disregard for federal civil law protections of transgender people.” The school vowed to protect the rights of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming patients throughout the school’s medical system.

“Throughout our community, HMS clinicians provide individualized care to transgender, nonbinary, and gender noncon­

forming patients with sensitivity and respect. We will continue to do so as we fight to protect the rights of our patients.

We will defend our values both as clinicians and as members of a civil society that treats everyone with dignity. We will be unwavering in safeguarding the rights of individuals regardless of sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation,” the statement reads.

The School’s announcement comes on the same day that Harvard medical and dental students gathered on campus to protest the proposal.

The LGBTQ and Allies of Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the Racial Justice Coalition at HMS planned Thursday’s protest as a part of a national movement held in coordination with other medical schools. The Medical Student Pride Alliance — a national BGLTQ medical student initiative — encouraged medical schools nationwide to organize on Nov. 1 to demonstrate support for transgender rights.

During the demonstration Thursday, roughly 100 Harvard medical students donned white coats and scrubs in Tosteson Medical Center Atrium and lofted posters reading “Won’t be Erased” and “Equality for All.” The protest culminated in

a group photo taken and posted online in support of the national demonstration.

The participating students also chanted “Yes on 3” as they posed for their photo, referencing their support for Question Three on the Massachusetts voting ballot this year.

The question asks whether current gender anti-discrimination protections should be retained.

First-year medical students and LAHMS co-chairs Angela R. Perfetti and Casey Orozco Poore organized the protest.

“I want to put a spotlight on the people who are most affected… these are people who are underinsured, already afraid to go to the doctor’s, already afraid to access their civil rights.”

Orozco Poore said.

Some protesters, like firstyear medical student Jade A. Connor, saw the protest as particularly pertinent for students of medicine. “It’s important to acknowledge the reality that biological sex and gender are not the same thing and to deny those things is just not factually correct, but then it’s also going to lead to the detriment of our patients,” Connor said.

“We’re just all here to stand with them and to show solidarity as a medical community.”

—Staff writer Luke W. Vrotsos contributed reporting.

disparities in conviction and incarceration rates.

Soon afterwards, organizers projected the campaign’s organizing statement onto a screen.

“The Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign seeks to sever the university’s financial ties to the prison-industrial complex by advocating for Harvard’s total divestment from all corporations whose existence depends on the capture, caging, and control of human beings,” the statement reads.

During the event, organizers also shared an audio tape recorded by Derrick Washington, an inmate at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk, the largest medium security prison in the state.

Washington, who said he had been convicted of murder, described his experiences in the state prison system as well as his later involvement with the Emancipation Initiative, a group that advocates for prisoners.

“Because prison is all of misery and hopelessness — and Harvard readily profits from it — in fact I see as Harvard endorsing every single prison suicide, murder, recidivist and fallen tear drop from the effects of 21st century slavery,” Washington said.

Jarrett M. Drake, a graduate student in Anthropology who co-founded the campaign, said ­

the initiative originated last fall as part of a project for a class on incarceration. He said he developed the campaign with Design School student Samuel A. J. Matthew.

Initially, the two envisioned the project as a way to better inform school affiliates about Harvard’s investments in the “prison industrial complex.”

But, after the course ended, he and Matthew decided they “wanted to do something more with the information project.”

The duo eventually brought on several organizers to implement a broader initiative.

This October, Drake — along with Anneke F. Dunbar-Gronke, a third-year student at Harvard Law School, and Paul T. Clarke, a graduate student in African and African American Studies — penned a Crimson op-ed criticizing Harvard’s investments in companies associated with the prison industry.

The authors specifically pointed to Harvard’s investments in ETFs that contain stock in private prison operators CoreCivic and GEO Group; Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., an insurer in the bail bond industry; and Axon Enterprise, Inc., the manufacturer of Tasers.

Harvard’s SEC filings for the quarter ending June 30 of this year show holdings in these firms of approximately $67,000.

The filings disclose a total $420

million in holdings. Organizers said they have not directly contacted the Corporation about prison divestment. Over the years, University administrators have consistently opposed student proposals to change Harvard’s investment strategy — especially when it comes to divesting from fossil fuels, a common undergraduate rallying cry in recent years.

Responding to a question on prison divestment in an itnerview Tuesday, University President Lawrence S. Bacow said that investment decisions should not be used as political tool.

“We’ve stated many times, my predecessors have stated this going back to Derek Bok’s days 40 years ago, that the University should not use the endowment to achieve political ends or particular policy ends,” he said. “There are other ways the university tries to influence public policy through our scholarship, through our research, but we don’t think that the endowment is an appropriate way to do that.”

Bacow’s response parallels the position of previous Harvard presidents on divestment movements. In 2013, President Drew G. Faust wrote in a statement on fossil fuel divestment that Harvard’s endowment is “not an instrument to impel social or political change.”

ARTS

The Harvard Crimson | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | page 7

FILM

Courtesy of The Orchard

Dir. Luis Ortega

‘El Ángel’ Is Devilishly Tantalizing, But That’s All CLAIRE N. PARK CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Like its handsome but zombie-like protagonist, “El Ángel” is dressed up in beautiful cinematographic frills but lacks an emotional core. Directed by the up-and-coming Luis Ortega and produced by the illustrious Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, “El Ángel” is Argentina’s official submission to the 2019 Academy Awards and is based on the criminal career of the country’s longest-serving prisoner and most notorious serial killer, Carlos Robledo Puch. The film amounts to a desensitizing concatenation of point-blank shootings — a surprising disappointment, given Almodóvar’s ability to evoke both voyeuristic anticipation and overwhelming emotion with the violent scenes in his own films, like “Volver” and “The Skin I Live In.” Only towards the end does Ortega place the unsettlingly impassive Carlos (Lorenzo Ferro) in the larger world when he emerges from a police car to a crowd of gawking onlookers who are beside themselves with fear and admiration. The real-life media harped on the incongruity between Puch’s criminal proclivities and his good looks, hence his nickname, “The Angel of Death.”

One newspaper headline mentions Carlos’s “dubious sexuality,” evincing the public’s fascination with his personal entanglements over the details of his heinous crimes (11 murders, innumerable armed robberies, and the rape of several women).

More interesting than the vacant incarnation of Puch in this film is the national project that built his mythic clout and celebrity through the biased media attention that Ortega only spotlights at the end. “El Ángel” is ultimately a bland rehashing of the bare-bones, empirical events of Puch’s career, as Ortega, in favor of obsessive aestheticization, papers over details that demand creative dramatization.

Set in 1970s Buenos Aires, the film begins with a chillingly

sober voiceover by a teenage Carlos as he rummages through drawers in a stranger’s sumptuous bedroom. He doesn’t stop once he pockets everything he needs, but puts a record on and dances, swiveling on his feet with the impudent, unhurried confidence that becomes his trademark. He declares, “We all have a destiny. I was born a thief.” He forges a partnership with the object of his quiet infatuation, the surly Ramón (Chino Darín), and they enlist the help of Ramón’s father, who has his own criminal past. Together, they rob an armory, a jeweler, and an elderly man’s mansion in the countryside. Along the way, Carlos senselessly kills a series of unwitting victims and later, his own accomplices.

Ortega’s overeager showmanship allows him to create effectively pressurized moments of sexual tension, as he trains the camera on curious, cockeyed gazes for a moment too long, on lips upturned in suggestive smirks, and on Carlos’s bobbing neck as he swigs water. Carlos thrills visibly when Ramón’s father places his hands on his hips and shows him how to shoot a handgun.

In some eerily beautiful scenes, Ortega recalls Almodóvar with his meticulous attention to color and lighting, and his geometric exactitude. Carlos unravels Ramón’s towel while he’s asleep, and places the jewels they’ve stolen on his crotch, as the camera pans out to luxuriate in patterns of saturated blues and oranges on furniture and on the walls, so that the room suddenly resembles an aquarium, and the gems an underwater treasure.

Despite occasionally successful aesthetic flourishes, Ortega traffics in weirdness in a way that is more alienating than intriguing and that doesn’t even serve an ostensible narrative purpose. People are as strangely impassive as Carlos is and engage in stilted conversations. Even Carlos’s well-meaning parents resemble the subjects of melancholic Renaissance portraiture.

Then, there is the surreal moment when Carlos shoots the elderly proprietor of a countryside mansion, and the doddering man staggers up to the landing to stare fixedly at an abstract painting of naked bodies and ghoulish faces limned in lurid ink. He

then sits on the toilet to urinate, still bleeding from his wound, without having spoken a word. It’s difficult not to suspect at this point that one has stumbled upon an ecosystem of drugged lab rats.

Ortega also neglects to approach Carlos’s disturbed interiority from a discernible angle beyond his swaggering, devil-maycare attitude. The unwritten class tensions in this world suggest that their criminal behavior might serve as a refusal to let society put them in a middling place, as Ramón says, “The world belongs to outlaws and artists… Everybody else has to work for a living.” But such underlying concerns are only hinted at, as Ortega’s perspective remains decidedly omniscient, uncritical, and hands-off despite the rich history he has at his disposal. He could have meditated on the role of the media in an era where biases based on physiognomy commanded destructive authority. Toward the end of the film, a clinical assessment of Carlos intimates the miasmic homophobia of the 1980s: “This is an odd specimen who’s broken the Lombrosian theories that tie natural born criminals with physical ugliness… It’s uncertain if his alleged sexual deviation influenced his acts.” Some were actually disabused of the notion that Puch was wholly responsible for his actions, exemplifying the irrational human weakness for physical beauty: “Society blames the parents of the monster for not putting limits or keeping him in check.”

But enough projecting what could have been. Ortega uses highly stylized cinematography and dialogue to affect the same enigmatic allure as the protagonist, but never arrives at an artfully elliptical purpose. Ultimately, nothing happens that couldn’t be gleaned from Puch’s Wikipedia page. Everything is enchanting to look at, shiny to touch, but none of that matters much given how diligently Ortega masquerades this unjustly insipid story.

Staff writer Claire N. Park can be reached at claire.park@ thecrimson.com.

THEATER y OF rtes Cou GARET MAR CANADY

HBC’s “on quarter” Plans to Celebrate the Old and the New Alexandra C. Kim CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Harvard Ballet Company will celebrate its 25th anniversary season with “on quarter ” — a contemporary ballet performance that strips away traditional set confines to give the impression of a “backstage scene.”

One of the student directors, Anna K. Antongiorgi ’19 explained that the show is really about different moments that are often hidden from an audience’s view. “It pushes the boundaries of where the stage is: People will be dancing in the aisles, people will be dancing with the booms,” Antongiorgi said.

The other student director, Mara G. Milner ’20, described how the curtain is purposefully flipped in the other direction to emphasize the “behind the scenes” sentiment of a production. Milner hopes the show will make the audience question their role within the performance. While the show is inventive, it still aligns with HBC’s history.

The entire show is set to Gershwin’s music and performed by student pianist Forrest G. Flesher ’21. Both live music and specifically a piece by Gershwin have previously been used in HBC performances, however this performance is choreographed with the intention of

reinventing tradition. Choreographers were also intent on having “on quarter” speak to the history of HBC by incorporating elements from previous performances. They have also tapped into HBC lineage as two out of the 15 choreographers are alumni. Most pieces are choreographed by students, but two dancers, Elizabeth C. Walker ’11 and Anna Riley-Shepard ’1, have returned to Cambridge once more to contribute expertise for this special occasion.

Making the show cohesive with multiple moving elements is not necessarily an easy feat. Many of the contemporary dancers agree with this sentiment, including choreographer Angie Cui ’20. “It is stressful as a choreographer because there’s a lot to live up to, a lot of history we are trying to capture,” Cui said. There is a lot of pressure in trying to capture and portray the dancer experience: a world of challenges and nuances so specific to this industry. “on quarter” celebrates both old and new. “It is a performance that commemorates what HBC has been for the past 25 years, but also pushes the company in a new direction,” Antongiorgi said. “on quarter” will run this and next weekend at the Loeb MainStage: Nov. 3, Nov. 8, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m., and Nov. 4, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | November 2, 2018

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

november 2, 2018

Page 10

faust From Page 1

youth From Page 1

Faust Testifies in Admissions Trial Incarcerated Youth Make Visit r uled on three prior affirmative action cases; each of those rulings — in the University of California v. Bakke, Grutter v.

Bollinger, and Fisher v. the University of Texas — upheld the use of race in admissions.

Harvard, alongside other major American universities, submitted amicus briefs in those three cases meant to back affirmative action.

Faust said in court that the Supreme Court precedents “underscored” the importance of diversity in education.

“There are a wide range of types of diversity that matter to us,” Faust said.

“Racial diversity is important because race is an element of importance in our society.”

SFFA lawyer John M. Hughes later grilled Faust about Harvard’s 1920s-era discrimination against Jewish applicants.

At the time, then-University President Abbot Lawrence ­

Lowell debuted a system of admission meant to limit the number of Jews attending the school.

“Racial diversity is important because race is an element of importance in our society.”

Drew G. Faust Former University President

Faust objected to SFFA’s claim that the anti-Semitic behavior has any bearing on current policies, adding she would not “make an equation” between the two processes.

“It was not a proud chapter in Harvard’s history,” Faust said.

In her testimony, Faust also canvassed several programs she spearheaded to promote di-

versity at Harvard, particularly emphasizing her execution and expansion of the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative.

The initiative, which launched in 2004, currently provides aid to roughly 60 percent of students at the College and covers the full cost of attendance for around 20 percent.

The Financial Aid Initiative was “an absolute essential act” in order to fulfill Harvard’s mission, Faust said.

She spoke about prioritizing the program throughout the 2008 recession, during which she said she increased — rather than cut — financial aid programs.

Faust also testified about increasing racial diversity at the College, noting that her tenure saw a marked increase in the number of Asian-American students and faculty in Cambridge.

Faust said SFFA’s claims of discrimination against Asian Americans are “completely at

odds to the history of Harvard in recent decades.”

As one of her final initiatives as president, Faust convened a University-wide task force on inclusion and belonging.

That task force, which included students, faculty, and administrators, issued a report on efforts to promote diversity in spring 2018.

She appointed John S. Wilson — the former president of Morehouse College and a former member of Harvard’s Board of Overseers — as a senior adviser and strategist meant to help the president implement the task force recommendations.

Friday marks the final day of the trial’s regular proceedings.

Lawyers for Harvard and SFFA are slated to deliver closing statements. alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com delano.franklin@thecrimson.com

about about issues ranging from community engagement to the justice system. ­

“We care about what happens to them, that we believe in them, and that we believe there’s a place for them and a contribution to make.”

David J. Harris Managing Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institutefor Race and Justice

Harris said he wanted to show the two incarcerated students that there is a role for them in society after they are

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released.

“We care about what happens to them, that we believe in them, and that we believe there’s a place for them and a contribution to make,” he said.

Thompson said he hopes that the program will be able to encourage kids to think about careers and pathways beyond what the juvenile detention system can offer them after their release.

He also said he wants the visit to Harvard to inspire the youth to work hard going forward so that one day in the future they can achieve at the highest levels.

“Us coming to Harvard, us feeling what Harvard really is about, and it’s showing them that [the students] are regular people just like them,” he said.

He said he thought that the trip was a great success.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | November 2, 2018

Page 12

Editorial The Crimson Editorial board

op-ed

A Good-Faith Effort

HUDS, Sweet HUDS

The College’s admissions policies are sound, though their imperfections must be addressed.

Most importantly, the admissions office must proactively and regularly review its performance in upholding the value of non-discrimination.

While there is certainly room for progress, a review of Harvard’s 2012 Casebook for admissions officers supports the conclusion that the College does not discriminate intentionally. Harvard makes a good-faith effort to get a complete understanding of its applicants prior to each admissions decision. For instance, the committee does not mind-

The admissions office must proactively and reactively review its performance in upholding the value of nondiscrimination

A

s the Harvard admissions lawsuit proceeds, the College’s previously confidential admissions information has been made public. Based on these materials, we believe that despite the presence of unfortunate imperfections and perhaps implicit biases in the process, the College is making a strong effort to give each student a fair, holistic review.

This conclusion is based largely on the reality that the number of talented applicants deserving a spot at Harvard far exceeds the number that Harvard is able to admit. Given this harsh competition, SAT score and GPA become obsolete metrics of comparison when the majority of applicants have acceptable scores. Harvard is therefore hardpressed to make its admissions process more “meritocratic” than it already is. As a result, the Admissions Office must use softer metrics to choose students that align with its values. As a private educational institution, Harvard should be al-

lowed to make such value judgements in what will always be an imperfect science of predicting each applicant’s potential for success.

We do not in any way endorse racial discrimination, whether that be explicit or implicit That being said, we do not in any way endorse racial discrimination, whether that be explicit or implicit. The evidence that Harvard could be systematically assigning lower “personality scores” to Asian Americans is therefore highly disturbing and should not be tolerated. As this lawsuit has made clear, more training for racial bias, explicit reminders that race cannot be considered in personality scores, and the hiring of admissions officers from diverse backgrounds are all important steps that Harvard must take.

lessly accept letters of recommendation — instead, it calls the recommender in question, the school, and even the student to gain a fuller picture. This type of outreach is above and beyond what one would expect of a university with such a large pool of competitive applicants.

Although this trial has served as a good opportunity to understand the thought process of the admissions office, it is noteworthy that this newfound transparency may not level the playing field for applicants. We agree with Harvard’s assessment that providing this information may worsen inequality in the application process by giving wealthier students a greater edge. Knowing which character traits the University looks for will make it easier for expensive college counselors to perfect their services and give students from wealthy families an even greater boost. We thus call upon Harvard to continue its outreach to low-income and minority students and do whatever it can to erase barriers to success.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

Column

Leading With Love

Salma Abdelrahman searching for mentors in memories

T

hese past few days, my thoughts have been drowned by the violence of the news — bullets, bomb threats, bodies. Erasure, marginalization, cruelty. While the world falls apart around us, the sadistic laughter coming from the Oval Office seems only to get louder, deafening, almost like shrieks that our ears were not made to process.

We applied salve and gauze to my rouger wounded parts. The intense emotional whiplash of it all required critical self-reflection As I bear witness, as the videos and headlines and articles and raw pain make their way into my bloodstream, I feel my cells transforming into sparks which fuel the fire that burns inside me.

Each tear I see on the news becomes a flare, each story of fear and trauma and pain intensifies the rage. I find some comfort in its warmth; anger is nothing new for me, and the familiar sensations activate the muscle memory from my Semester of Rage, the four months I spent living — breathing, eating, sleeping, advocating, dancing, writing — incensed, embracing the flames fully and allowing them to engulf me. Now, I fall into old patterns, etching dark words into my journal, waking up drenched in sweat, snapping at people I love, melting into hopelessness.

I know this anger is hardly sustainable. My Semester of Rage was quickly followed by my Semester of Struggle where I became forced to care gently for my singed insides. My therapist’s office on the fourth floor of Harvard University Health Services became a space for healing, where together we applied salve and gauze to my rougher wounded parts.

The intense emotional whiplash of it all

required critical self-reflection. I had no choice; parts of me were burned beyond repair and parts of me were dying, festering in hatred.

In the midst of this healing process, I rediscovered Martin Luther King, Jr. as an overwhelmingly complex and intensely human figure, one who had reckoned also with his role in the face of catastrophe, one who had come out of these struggles more unwavering and more radical. This King looked vastly different from the sanitized version my education had previously acquainted me with.

I began reading his work voraciously and found, very quickly, a spiritual guide and mentor. Central to King’s moral philosophy is the idea that by embodying love in ourselves as individuals, we can begin to address treat the injustices and traumas that have global impact.

This past week, I’ve felt myself sinking back into a destructive, loathful anger in response to the hatred shown to my siblings in solidarity. So many parts of me want to flip desks and cuss and scream in the faces of those who do

I’ve felt myself sinking back into a destructive, loathful anger in response to the hatred shown to my siblings in solidarity. So many parts of me want to flip desks and cuss and scream harm unto the people I care about, harm unto me. But, I know that if I stay in this place for too long, the gentler and joyous parts of myself — the parts I must tend to — may not make it out alive. King recognized this also: “Hate at any point is a cancer that gnaws away at the very vital center of your life and your existence.

It is like eroding acid that eats away the best and the objective center of your life.”

Moments of crisis call into question our most deeply held values. I’m asking myself what to do about recent catastrophes, how this collective society will respond. I see a response formulating already, a troubling one: The prosecutors against the man who shot 11 innocent people in their synagogue in Pittsburgh plan to pursue the death penalty. Death provokes violence, anger provokes anguish, hatred provokes more of it. The fires of rage scorch our espoused principles of the disavowal of violence, com-

mitment to redemption, and respect for humanity. We fall deeper and deeper into a moral illness that blinds us.

Our fundamental challenge in these moments of crisis is to process the death, anger, and hatred this world hands to us and find a way, still, to respond with deep love. This is the answer King gives us: To save our souls, we must push back against our deepest instincts to pursue revenge and retribution and instead find a path to individual and collective re-

Why does the burden of progress fall on me and those I stand in solidarity with? Why is no one else implicated in our struggle? demption. We must respond with agape — a universal and all encompassing love, a love for all, a love for our enemies.

And it is a challenge. Loving those who hurt us can be immensely painful.

And the ironic unfairness of it all never fails to sink under my skin, to ignite further fires inside of me. In the fights for justice I have been a part of, it is always those who are most marginalized — queer women of color — that are asked to do the grunt work, the personal transformation required to bend the moral arc of the universe.

Why does the burden of progress fall on me and those I stand in solidarity with? Why is no one else implicated in our struggle? What do the traumas and catastrophes we internalize do to our insides before we transform them into more beautiful things to give to the world? And how are we expected to maintain our humanity, to honor our raw emotions, if we are so often simply vessels for change? In the moments I confront these questions, I resent King. I know logically that he is right, that love is necessary in our fights for liberation, but still I am exhausted.

As I survey the destruction that has been taking place around me, though, I recognize that this is a burden that we must step up to bear, for no one else will.

The survival of our moral spirit and the moral spirit of this society depends on it.

And this way, leading with love, we can begin to fix our world.

—Salma Abdelrahman ’20 is a Sociology concentrator in Eliot House. Her column appears on alternate Fridays.

By Myint Kyi

I

love Harvard University Dining Services!

This might be an uncontroversial statement to some, maybe even most, people. But to the people who know me, or who have come across me over the last year as I have expounded, at length, my hatred for all dining hall-related foods, and for Annenberg in particular, this statement, coming from me, might come as somewhat of a surprise.

But so far this year, I’ve eaten at least two meals a day, with the majority of these meals in the dining hall. I’ve also come up with a winding list of my favorite HUDS foods, a few of which are their Tuscany chickpeas, their spinach and garlic, their Italian sausage subs, their meatballs and spaghetti, and the unsurpassable Marshmallow Mateys, with their delicious, indistinguishably shaped, faded lumps of sugar.

Let me contextualize a little further, so that you might know the gravity of these statements.

Let me contrast this to last year, when going to Annenberg (and therefore eating a proper meal) only once a day was the norm for me. And this was on weekdays, when I had class in the Yard — on weekends, in my room 500 miles away from the

In large part, it was because I hated Annenberg itself, with the noisy tables, the lines that, if you went at the wrong time — normal mealtime — would stretch out the doors Yard in Pennypacker, I refused to entertain even the thought of Annenberg. On those days, it was time to crack open that trusty ramen stash, or a bag of the ever-reliable Deep River dill pickle chips occasionally sold at Lamont (I’d buy 10 bags at a time).

This was in small part because of the distance from my room. Yes, I know, it’s barely a 10-minute walk. A seven-minute walk even, if you’re really craving that Italian Wedding Soup or Tabbouleh. But, just think … seven minutes to get there, 14 minutes back and forth for dinner, 21 if you include coming back from lunch, 28 if you’re getting lunch and walking from your room … in the cold, dreary streets of Cambridge, past the squat, blocky Art Museum and the Carpenter Center, and the triangle of road that doesn’t have a sidewalk on one side — a fact that I always forget, to the detriment of the passing cars and my peace of mind — with no one to accompany you because your privileged friends have been blessed by the gods of the Freshman Dean’s Office to live in the Yard.

But, in large part, it was because I simply hated HUDS food: the vegetables that were rarely seasoned except for when they were excessively so, the green enchiladas, which had no discernable texture, Red’s Best Fresh Local Fish with Lemon Butter, Capers, and Parsley. No description needed.

In large part, it was because I hated Annenberg itself, with the noisy tables, the lines that, if you went at the wrong time — normal mealtime — would stretch out the doors and between the tables. The hundreds of strange faces, repeating the same words again and again. (What House are you in? What’s your major? What did you do over the summer / weekend / break? What classes are you taking?)

My home now was really my home, past-tense, my home, with the qualifier “childhood.”

In large part, it was because I was homesick.

The kitchen wasn’t a few steps away. I couldn’t cook the way I wanted to, or eat my mom’s food the way I wanted to, or see my sister, brother, mother, father, the way I wanted to. I couldn’t really go home—I mean, I could, technically, with a Greyhound bus and 4.5 hours—but not in the way I wanted to. Not in the way that mattered.

That is, I wouldn’t truly be living there anymore — I was living here, in my dreary room with thin walls, seven (ten) minutes away from sustenance.

I wouldn’t be living back home ever again. My home now was really my home, past-tense, my home, with the qualifier “childhood.” It was no longer the constant, the place to which I would return and recharge. That was now my dorm room, and I had better get used to that, I told myself, sternly, two months into the new school year.

Well, it took me the rest of the year to absorb that, and most of the summer too. But, when I came back to school this year, it was with a renewed drive, a concentrated effort to love that which I could not change, namely HUDS food.

And it was with considerable surprise that I found it easy. It was easy to love the ever-reliable pasta bar, or the grill (thanks Jose, Gary, Carlo, and Vinny!) that always had my back, or the never-ending stock of Lactaid.

It was easy (or, at least, easier) to love Harvard now that I had accepted that, well, I wasn’t going back home anymore. And if I ever find myself craving my mom’s roselle fish soup or beef curry or fried noodles, I crack open my mini-fridge and dredge up some kimchi, maybe make some instant rice. Or, I head down to the Adams dining hall, where a bowl of Marshmallow Mateys will assuage the craving. Or, sometimes dinner is so good that I forget to crave my mom’s cooking, at least for a little while. To discover my love for HUDS was to discover the things about Harvard that made it feel more like a home.

—Myint Kyi ‘21, a Crimson Editorial comper, lives in Adams House

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Sports

November 2, 2018 | THE HARVARD CRIMSON

Friday ____________________________________ saturday ______________________________________ sunday ______________________________________

Weekend event

schedule

Women’s Volleyball vs. Yale 7:00 pm, Malkin Athletic Center

Football vs. Columbia 12:00pm, Harvard Stadium

Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Quinnipiac 7:00 pm, Bright-Landry

Field Hockey vs. Columbia 12:00pm,Berylson Field

Men’s Water Polo at MIT 11:00 am

football

Injury-Riddled Columbia Visits Harvard Saturday

By CADE PALMER Crimson Staff Writer

I­n last week’s come-from-behind victory over Yale — the team’s first division win this season — Lions medical personnel wheeled senior quarterback Ryan Suitt off the field after he landed on his head.

Columbia is no stranger to injuries. Entering last weekend’s contest, 20 starters have been sidelined. Suitt, after all, is Columbia’s fourth-string quarterback.

Junior running back Lynnard Rose joined his teammate on the medical table in the first quarter of play against the Bulldogs.At last count, injuries sidelined four of Columbia’s quarterbacks, a running back, two wideouts, the team’s top rushing threat, and various other starters.

“They’ve had some tough teams on their schedule and they’ve fought through them,” captain Zach Miller said.

“They’ve fought through some injuries facing those teams, coming up short a little bit, but based on their schedule I think they fight like us. They’re above .500 so they’re doing a great job adapting to those injuries and battling through their schedule.”

The team is being led by its backups, and — discounting the end result in the contest with Yale — it’s playing like it.

Even against the Bulldogs, looking at everything but the score would’ve predicted a Columbia loss. Yale led in total yards (428-157), first downs (2111), possession time, and sacks.

Columbia led in penalties, yards lost, and fumbles.

While he was in, Suitt went 3-for-16 for 32 yards through the air, fumbling twice as he escaped pressure. In his first piece of game action, fifth-string junior quarterback Matt Dame

tossed the ball three times, completing one pass for 19 yards.

Freshman Ryan Young led the team’s rushing effort with 98 yards and a touchdown.If Dame gets the start this week, it will be the first of his career. That does not mean much though.

Harvard first-string quarwterback, senior Tom Stewart, started his second career game this season and picked up a victory over Holy Cross. The senior’s first-ever start was a 10-point loss to the same team two seasons prior.

“They have athletes. They’re going to fight hard. They’re a good program, coached by great coaches,” Miller said. “So we’re going to get their best shot. We have to prepare for anything, we have to over prepare because we don’t know what’s going to come at us.”

The name Schmid should sound familiar to anyone who has been keeping up with Harvard football. He is the younger brother of Harvard’s previous punter, Zach Schmid.

Since senior wide receiver and punt returner Justice Shelton-Mosley’s injury, it’s been his classmate, wide receiver Henry Taylor that’s been flagging down the boots.

“Really, we don’t have that complicated of punt schemes,” Taylor said. “We’re just going to man up and try to block you.

I believe in our guys up front.

We’ve done a great job all year.

We haven’t returned a ton of punts but I believe this year we’re going to break one one of these days.”

Despite Columbia’s troubles this season, its record is so far on par with Harvard’s. Both team enter 2018’s last contest in Harvard Stadium with a single division win and three Ivy League losses.

So far this season, Harvard has yet to lose by more than eight points. Of the team’s three

SLICK PIGSKIN Freshman wide receiver Kym Wimberly, Jr tallied 66 return yards against Dartmouth.in three attempts. TIMOTHY R. O’ MEARA—Crimson photographer

division losses, two came to Princeton and Dartmouth. Cornell dealt the third blow. The Tigers and Big Green consist of half the remaining undefeated teams in the FCS currently.

Princeton and Dartmouth similarly downed Columbia.

Penn accounted for the team’s third loss.Harvard takes the field for the last time at the Stadium this season, as The Game

will be hosted at Fenway Park.

Harvard has chosen this weekend as its Senior Day. “I’m savoring every moment out here,” Miller said. “We only have about seven practices left.

w[It] feels like it’s flying by, but I’m just really going to enjoy it and have a good time with these guys out here.” cade.palmer@thecrimson.com

Women’s Ice Hockey

Harvard Faces High-Scoring QPac and Princeton

By William Boggs Contributing Writer

Coming off of two lockdown performances last weekend, the Crimson (1-2-0, 1-2-0 ECAC) ­

will look to maintain its defensive intensity this weekend against high-scoring Quinnipiac (2-4-2, 2-0) and Princeton (22, 2-0).

The Tigers lead the confer-

ence in goals scored with 11 through just two games. The Bobcats have played good offensive hockey as well, having tallied a conference fourth-best six goals in their two wins.

Defensively, Harvard will be up for the test in what should shape up to be two exciting matchups this weekend away from Cambridge. Last weekend, the Crimson fell short to No. 6/6

O CANADA Senior Kaitlin Tse is one of four members of the team from Ontario. The provinces of British Columbia and Alberta are also represented on the Crimson roster. TIMOTHY R. O’ MEARA—Crimson photographer

Cornell, 3-2, and No. 9/10 Colgate, 1-0, despite defensive and goaltending heroics.

In each game, Harvard scrapped for a full 60 minutes but could not quite turn the corner to end up on the right side of the leaderboard. To tilt tight games in the team’s favor this weekend, the Crimson stressed tenacity in practice.

“If we had played with the same urgency we did once it was 1-0 [in the Colgate game], it could have completely changed the game,” junior forward Kat Hughes said. “That’s something we’re really focusing on this week and going into the weekend.”

In addition to their strong offensive records in conference thus far, both Quinnipiac and Princeton have taken care of their defensive zones. The Bobcats sit at a plus-six goal differential in conference play and the Tigers tout a plus-eight stat line.

To establish greater urgency early in the game and combat strong defensive capability, Harvard will look to play at a faster pace with more offensive aggression.

“We took a lot out of it [last weekend] and really recognized the importance of scoring first and jumping out right away,” Hughes explained.

Defensively, the Crimson has been stout so far, surrendering five goals in three games.

Goaltending has been a critical component to the defensive prowess, as both net minders who have appeared in games — freshman Lindsay Reed and junior Beth Larcom —have posted save percentages above .900.

Harvard goaltending has posted an aggregate .956 save percentage for the year, spearheaded by Reed’s Division I-leading .974 mark. To continue success, the Crimson defen-

sive zone will have to remain solid.

“Going into games, if you know that you’re going to win the defensive zone, then you’re going to win games,” senior forward Kate Hallett elaborated.

“Sticking to the basics and using a lot of communication in the [defensive] zone will hopefully provide for some good offensive opportunities.”

Obviously, defensive tenacity is a critical component of the Crimson’s young season, but not just to prevent goals.

Going forward, Harvard will try to convert solid back line play into goals. In this weekend’s games, the Crimson will be looking to counter-attack and take some risks offensively.

“With our defense and goaltending obviously playing so well, it kind of gets the offense going,” Hughes said. “It’s really inspiring and kind of comforting to know that we can try something and our defense has our back. That sense of trust is really important.”

Finally, with both Quinnipiac and Princeton representing pivotal, conference opponents, intangible toughness and the ability to bear down in hectic game situations will be key for the squad.

Having battled through three close finishes already, the Crimson should be up for the challenge of a nail-biter, but the squad will have to up the intensity even more through the final whistle.

“Those close games prove to us that we have to have more resilience,” Hallett said. “You’re not going to win games by just giving 40 minutes; it’s got to be an entire 60 minutes.”

The puck drops Friday night at 6 PM against the Bobcats, and the team will continue to New Jersey on Saturday to take on the Tigers at 3 PM.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | November 2, 2018

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