The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLV, NO. 121 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2018
EDITORIAL PAGE 6
SPORTS PAGE 8
NEWS PAGE 3
We applaud HMS for supporting transgender rights.
Women’s Basketball travels to Notre Dame to play the defending champs.
English Professor Jorie Graham will receive a national prize for poetry.
HMS Receives $200 Million Gift By LUKE W. VROTSOS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The Blavatnik Family Foundation plans to donate $200 million to Harvard Medical School, the largest gift in the school’s history, the University announced Thursday morning. Administrators will rename the school’s 10 academic departments located on its main campus the “Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School.” The new institute will encompass social science and basic science research faculties. “This tremendous act of generosity will speed progress and generate profound and lasting contributions to science and human health,” University President Lawrence S. Bacow wrote in the press release announcing the gift. “In each aspect of the gift, one recognizes not only a deep commitment to supporting outstanding research, but also a fundamental understanding of and respect for the nature of the scientific enterprise — and the hope it holds for all of humanity,” he added. The gift will fund an array of research initiatives in Longwood, including single-cell se
quencing, structural biology, and drug discovery programs. The donation will also create the Blavatnik Harvard Life Lab Longwood, which aims to support biotech and life sciences startups. “The work that takes place in the labs and clinics across Harvard Medical School embodies the promise of curiosity-driven fundamental research,” Medical School Dean George Q. Daley ’82 wrote. “In that sense, this is a gift to medicine and, indeed, to patients everywhere.” Len Blavatnik, the billionaire behind the Blavatnik Family Foundation, has donated to Harvard before. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Blavatnik donated to Harvard once in 2007 and again in 2013, when he gave $50 million. “Harvard has an unsurpassed life science ecosystem, with 15 of the most prestigious academic medical centers and proximity to the bio-tech industry, all collaborating to provide opportunities worldwide to advance science,” Blavatnik wrote in an email. Blavatnik has a diverse portfolio of business
SEE HMS PAGE 3
Classroom to Table, now out of money, took students and faculty to restaurants such as Grafton Street. JOCELYN WANG —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Classroom to Table Out of Money By SAMUEL W. ZWICKEL CRIMSON STAFF WRITER Classroom to Table — a popular College initiative that subsidizes fine dining for students and their professors in Harvard Square — has run out of funding for the third consecutive year. “As we stated at the start of the term, program funding is limited,” a Monday afternoon update to the program webpage
reads. “We have had a very successful term and have reached our funding limit.” The program, which was first piloted in 2015, gathers three to five undergraduates and a professor for a meal at a local restaurant; this semester’s options included Grafton Street, Park Restaurant, Russell House Tavern, The Hourly Oyster House, and Temple Bar. The Office of Undergraduate Educa-
CSA Hosts ‘Sex Week’
By JOSHUA S. ARCHIBALD and MICHELLE G. KURILLA CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Theologian Janet E. Smith delved into the Catholic Church’s stance on sex and sexuality in a lecture hosted by the Catholic Student Association in Emerson Hall Thursday evening. The event was the capstone of the inaugural Catholic Sex Week, a series of talks organized by the CSA intended to provoke thought and discussion
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SEE WEEK PAGE 5
The team will start their season with a matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish — the number one team in the country.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
Hundreds of sophomores returned to Annenberg Hall to celebrate the declaration of their academic concentrations at a classwide event Thursday night. The event, co-sponsored by the Undergraduate Council, Dean of Students Office, Advising Programs Office, and the Harvard Coop, saw students reuniting with friends from other Houses in the dining hall used by all first-year students, taking photos, and snacking on refreshments. UC President Catherine L. Zhang ’19 said the Council was motivated to ensure this year’s event came to fruition after last year’s fell through. “We started talking about
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Women’s Basketball Season Kicks Off Sunday
— will occur by the end of the fall semester, according to data provided by Harvard. Last fall, there were a total of 894 such feasts — more than twice as many as in the current term. In an effort to fairly distribute funds in light of skyrocketing demand, the OUE has imposed progressively stricter rules checking student
SEE TABLE PAGE 5
Sophomores Select Concentrations
By JAMES S. BIKALES and JANIA J. TUMEY
SEE PAGE 8
tion pays up to $30 per attendee, excluding alcohol. College spokesperson Rachael Dane wrote in an emailed statement that the program has “exceeded our projections” but will be open to student reservations early in the spring semester.` An estimated 406 Classroom to Table gatherings — including more than 2000 individual student and faculty portions
Field Hockey Challenges Penn State in NCAA Tournament. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
this event last year, and the space was booked before the school year even started in preparation for it,” she said. In addition to the light-hearted photo opportunities and raffles scattered throughout the dining hall, an activity planned by the UC gave students the opportunity to write a postcard about their concentration declaration to themselves. Zhang said the event was designed to encourage students “to take a moment and stop and reflect on why they decided to declare their concentration.” “When we met as a student group, we thought that it was important to not only celebrate the class being together — which is why we had food, photo booths — but we also thought that it’s a really important time
SEE SOPHOMORE PAGE 3
First-Year Retreat and Experience Hosts Art Showcase By KEVIN R. CHEN and PETER E. O’KEEFE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
The First Year Retreat and Experience — a new pre-orientation program tailored towards under-resourced freshmen — hosted a showcase of student performances at the Smith Campus Center Thursday night. The purpose of the event — titled “Make This Yours: Forging Community on Campus” — was to celebrate “belonging in the context of identity and intersectionality at Harvard,” according to fliers posted around campus about the event. The program, which a few dozen students attended, included performances ranging from spoken word poetry to a capella and dance. Regina M. Cusing ’20, a team leader for FYRE, organized the event with James A. Bedford ’20, one of the student co-chairs of FYRE. According to Bedford, they hoped Thursday’s event would make students feel more welcome on campus. “Gina and I were talking one day and thinking about how students often feel disenchanted
News 3
Editorial 6
with the social life on campus or feel like they don’t own this campus or they don’t belong to this campus like they should,” Bedford said. “So we decided, why don’t we make an event under FYRE with the values that FYRE holds and just bring some people together to celebrate the community and celebrate diversity?” The evening began with a panel of two undergraduates — Leonardo A. Garcia ’21 and Debolina Ghosh ’21 — and graduate student Aaron T. Jennings speaking about their experiences navigating life and finding a sense of belonging at Harvard. After the event, Jennings reflected on his motivation for sharing his experiences at the event as a graduate student. “I think it’s impactful and powerful for graduate students... to reach back to share, to help students who are first, second, third year, undergraduates period, letting them know that what they’re feeling and experiencing, it’s real it’s true, but also letting them know that they can overcome it,” he said.
SEE FYRE PAGE 3
Sports 8
FYRE hosted Make this Yours: Forging Community on Campus, an event celebrating the intersection of identity and belonging in the Smith Campus Center on Thursday evening. JOSHUA Y. CHIANG —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
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