The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 7
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CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
| TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2022
EDITORIAL PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 6
NEWS PAGE 3
Shopping week enriched our Harvard experience. Bring it back.
Women’s squash clinches 6th consecutive Ivy League title.
Dining halls shift to socially distanced in-person dining.
Cambridge Covid Cases in Decline Dining Resumes with Distancing By KATERINA V. CORR CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The Cambridge Public Health Department released findings on Wednesday reporting that the peak of Omicron cases in Cambridge passed on Jan. 5, though Derrick L. Neal, CPHD director, reminded residents that they are “not out of the woods yet.” The report’s findings, which relied on wastewater analysis, were consistent with Cambridge’s Jan. 8 record high seven-day average of new Covid-19 infections. “If you look at the case trends for Harvard and MIT since early December, you’ll see that university trends followed a similar pattern as Cambridge and the state, with the peak of Harvard and MIT infections occurring in early January,” the CPHD wrote in an emailed statement. Amid the nationwide spread of the Omicron variant in December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to state that following a positive Covid-19 test result, individuals should observe a five-day isolation period — a departure from its previous recommendation of ten days — and may leave isolation if symptoms resolve by day five. Cambridge’s guidance includes a strong emphasis on testing during and beyond this isolation period.
By CHRISTINE MUI and AUDREY M. APOLLON CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
TOBY R. MA—CRIMSON DESIGNER
“The Cambridge Public Health Department strongly recommends antigen testing on day 6 of the isolation period because people with COVID-19 can be infectious after day 5, even if they are feeling better,” CHPD wrote in its email. “At this point in the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important that people have easy access to testing through home test kits than it is to count every case,” the statement continues.
Last month, the Cambridge also announced strengthened guidelines for indoor masking and a temporary shift to a remote format for all public city meetings, excluding those of the City Council and its committees. During a Jan. 24 City Council meeting, Neal, who serves as the city’s chief public health officer, provided updates on the state of the pandemic in Cambridge.
“The level of infection is still great with the drop that we’re anticipating and that we’re witnessing at this time,” Neal said. “Cases are still higher than they were in any other previous surge that we’ve had in Cambridge,” Neal added. “Our analogy that we use in the office today is literally like going 150 miles an hour to around 100 miles an hour.”
SEE COVID PAGE 3
arvard will reopen its underH graduate dining halls with socially distanced seating beginning on Tuesday, the Dean of Students Office announced Monday night. “We are pleased to announce that starting at breakfast on Tuesday, February 1, we will begin to offer limited, socially distant dining in residential spaces,” Associate Dean of Students Lauren E. Brandt ’01 wrote in an email to undergraduates. Harvard announced in mid-December that all of its campus dining halls would shift to offering exclusively graband-go dining options to “reduce community transmission” before students left for winter break. The move came as Harvard faced its largest surge of Covid-19 cases at the close of the fall semester. All dining halls will continue providing takeaway containers and disposable utensils for students who choose to take their meals to go, Brandt’s email stated. Brandt also outlined the guidelines students that must follow when sitting in the re-
opened dining halls to limit the spread of Covid-19. Seats are limited to those who are actively eating, and affiliates are encouraged to limit the time they spend in the dining hall to allow others a place to eat. Chairs will be set up to give six feet of space between each diner. “If compliance with testing and masking remain high and case numbers are manageable, we hope to ease restrictions soon and shift to regular seating,” Brandt wrote. In the last seven days, the University reported 291 Covid-19 cases and a positivity rate of 0.79 percent, according to its testing dashboard Monday. The number of positive cases is down from 451 the week before. While the grab-and-go dining policy was in place for the first week of classes, some Quad students — who are often unable to return to their House in between classes — struggled with finding places to eat indoors. To accommodate Quad students, Harvard opened Ticknor Lounge, CGIS Cafe, and the William James basement as
SEE DHALLS PAGE 3
HKS Prof. John Holdren Awarded Prestigious Honor By MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
he National Academy of SciT ences awarded Harvard Kennedy School professor John P. Holdren the Public Welfare Medal, its highest honor, on Wednesday. Holdren first joined the Kennedy School as a professor in 1996 but left in 2009 to serve as former President Barack Obama’s Science Advisor. He held the position for almost the entirety of the Obama administration, making him the role’s longest occupant since World War II. Afterward, he returned to HKS in 2017 . The National Academy of Sciences said in a press release it was presenting the medal to Holdren as an acknowledgment
of “his many years of work on behalf of science.” The Academy presents the award annually “to honor extraordinary use of science for the public good.” The Academy will present the award to Holdren at a ceremony in May 2022. Holdren said he was “absolutely delighted” to receive the award. “Obviously, it’s great to have this kind of recognition,” he said. “It’s an award that a number of people I admire and greatly respect have received in the past, so my gratitude getting the award is amplified by the people who got it before me.” “I don’t know if I deserve it, but I’ll take it,” he added. Marcia K. McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, wrote in a press release that Holdren was an “outstand-
ing and effective” civil servant. “John Holdren has more than fulfilled the call to ‘restore science to its rightful place,’ as he was charged to do by President Obama,” McNutt said. “He has helped shape sound national policy on everything from climate change to international nuclear arms control, and his efforts to ensure the strength of our scientific enterprise will reverberate for generations to come.” In a press release, HKS Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf wrote Holdren was a model for how to effectively unite academia and civil service. “He has been more than a beloved teacher,” Elmendorf said. “He has shown what it can mean when science is
SEE HKS PAGE 3
Research professor John P. Holdren will be receiving the Public Welfare Medal, a prestigious award given by the National Academy of Sciences. COURTESY OF JOHN P. HOLDREN
Woman, 30, Dies at Harvard T Station By SARAH GIRMA and BRANDON L. KINGDOLLAR CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
If you or someone you know needs help at Harvard, contact Counseling and Mental Health Services at (617) 495-2042 or the Harvard University Police Department at (617) 495-1212. Several peer counseling groups offer confidential peer conversations. You can contact a University Chaplain to speak one-on-one at chaplains@harvard.edu. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741. A 30-year-old woman died in an apparent suicide Sunday at the Harvard T station. The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, was pronounced dead after first responders were called to the scene at 5:24 p.m. Sunday, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office said. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority tweeted later that evening that
HLS Professor Talks Climate Change By DEKYI T. TSOTSONG
SEE MBTA PAGE 3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Jody Freeman, a professor at Harvard Law School and the former energy and climate change counselor for the Obama administration, discussed the major legislative and judicial barriers to the Biden administration’s climate agenda during a virtual talk Monday. Throughout his time in office, President Joe Biden has attempted to reverse the Trump administration’s climate deregulation and restore signature climate policies from the Obama administration, such as the Paris Climate Accords. The Biden administration, however, still faces legislative and judicial challenges to progress on climate issues such as regulating carbon emissions from the power, oil, and gas industries, Freeman said. Freeman said that one major obstacle to reducing carbon
First responders swarmed the Harvard T stop Sunday evening, halting Red Line rail service for over five hours. PEI CHAO ZHUO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
News 3
Editorial 4
Sports 6
TODAY’S FORECAST
MOSTLY CLOUDY High: 33 Low: 27
emissions is the political feasibility of implementing a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system. “You want to make carbon costly,” she said. “I’m not an economist, but I’m pretty confident that if you don’t price the thing you’re trying to reduce, it makes it harder to reduce.” A carbon tax is a fee imposed on the burning of carbon-based fuels, while a cap-and-trade system places a limit on the overall level of carbon emissions a firm can release. Each policy aims to reduce pollution by regulating the price or quantity of carbon emissions. Freeman said the Supreme Court could also create barriers to climate regulation. “The Court will not be shy about its skepticism toward broad government regulation,” Freeman said. Freeman explained how the Court’s ruling on a case
SEE CLIMATE PAGE 3
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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 1, 2022
PAGE 2
HARVARD TODAY
For Lunch Cheese Pizza Shrimp Quesadilla Spinach & Sausage Flatbread
For Dinner Beef Fajita with Fettuccine Butter Chicken Spicy Vegetable and Potato Curry
TODAY’S EVENTS Harvard Staff Art Show Launch Party Virtual, 4-5 p.m.
IN THE REAL WORLD
Want to be one of the first to witness new art made by members of the Harvard community? Stop by the launch party of the Harvard Staff Art Show which will feature the work of more than 149 artists with more than 260 total pieces. You will even have the opportunity to meet the artists. Just note that registration is required!
Rihanna Pregnant With First Child
Pop culture icon Rihanna was photographed walking around NYC with rapper boyfriend A$AP Rocky. Her jeweladorned protruding belly poking out under her bright pink jacket blew up on Twitter and signaled to the world that the couple is expecting their first child together.
FDA Fully Approves Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine
Book Talk with Tomiko BrownNagin Virtual, 4-5 p.m. An Allston Loop shuttle makes a stop at the Lamont Library shuttle stop. PEI CHAO ZHOU —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
New York Times Purchases Wordle
DAILY BRIEFING The Cambridge Public Health Department released findings on Wednesday reporting that the peak of Omicron cases in Cambridge passed on Jan. 5, though Derrick L. Neal, CPHD director, reminded residents that they are “not out of the woods yet.” “If you look at the case trends for Harvard and MIT since early December, you’ll see that university trends followed a similar pattern as Cambridge and the state, with the peak of Harvard and MIT infections occurring in early January,” the CPHD wrote in an emailed statement. In other news, Harvard will reopen its undergraduate dining halls with socially distanced seating beginning on Tuesday, the Dean of Students Office announced Monday night.
After taking over the internet, Wordle, a simple online game where players have six tries to guess the daily word, was bought by the New York Times for a seven-figure sum. At least initially, the news platform intends to keep the game available for free to players.
COVID UPDATES
CAMPUS LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY
Want to hear from Harvard’s own Dean Brown-Nagin about her new book, Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality, that was just published last week? Tune in for the first installment of the winter series of Virtual Radcliffe Book Talks tomorrow afternoon. Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. will lead a discussion during the event as well.
After granting the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine full approval for individuals aged 16 or older in August, the Food and Drug Administration fully approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Monday. It will be marketed as Spikevax for individuals aged 18 or older.
124
In Isolation
.79%
291
Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
LAST 7 DAYS
CAMBRIDGE
473 6.02% 75%
Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
Fully Vaccinated
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Boston Man Arrested in Connection with Harvard Square Bank Robbery Cambridge Police arrested a Boston man in connection with the armed robbery of a Harvard Square bank that occurred in November 2020.
February 1, 2021
Five Takeaways From The Crimson’s Investigation Into the Harvard University Police Department An investigation into the Harvard University Police Department found repeated instances of racism and sexism spanning nearly three decades. February 1, 2020
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
The Harvard Crimson Raquel Coronell Uribe ’22-’23 Associate Managing Editors Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 President Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24 Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Associate Business Managers Managing Editor Taia M.Y. Cheng ’23-’24 Isabelle L. Guillaume ’24 Amy X. Zhou ’23 Business Manager Editorial Chairs Guillermo S. Hava ’23-’24 Orlee G.S. Marini-Rapoport ’23-’24
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Technology Chairs Ziyong Cui ’24 Justin Y. Ye ’24
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Copyright 2021, The Harvard Crimson (USPS 236-560). No articles, editorials, cartoons or any part thereof appearing in The Crimson may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the President. The Associated Press holds the right to reprint any materials published in The Crimson. The Crimson is a non-profit, independent corporation, founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1967. Second-class postage paid in Boston, Massachusetts. Published Monday through Friday except holidays and during vacations, three times weekly during reading and exam periods by The Harvard Crimson Inc., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Weather icons made by Freepik, Yannick, Situ Herrera, OCHA, SimpleIcon, Catalin Fertu from flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0.
CORRECTIONS The Jan. 31 story “Harvard Will Distribute High-Quality Masks on Request” incorrectly stated upperclassmen could pick up high-quality masks from their house administrators. In fact, they can pick up the masks from their house building managers.
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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
COVID FROM PAGE 1
CLIMATE FROM PAGE 1
HKS FROM PAGE 1
Cambridge Looks Ahead Prof. Discusses Post-Omicron Surge Climate Change uring the update, Neal emD phasized that the future of Covid-19 in Cambridge – as well as throughout the country – was shifting from a pandemic response to an endemic one. “The phrase ‘pandemic to endemic’ is an acknowledgment that we can’t defeat Covid, rather Covid will become an endemic disease,” he said. “This means that it will be with us indefinitely.” During the meeting, Anna Kaplan, CPHD’s director of epidemiology and data services, said she expects it to take “several weeks” before the city experiences a level of transmission that the CDC defines as “substantial,” rather than its current level of “high.” “I’d like to see us, from an epidemiology perspective, firmly in the moderate or low category – honestly probably in the low category, given the density
of our city – before we can feel a little more like we’re in that endemic versus pandemic area,” she added. Councilors responded to Neal’s presentation with both hope and apprehension about the uncertain future of Covid-19. “I’m happy to see that you added some more testing availability and that the hour-long lines are not happening anymore,” Councilor Mark C. McGovern said during the meeting. “My fear is that there will be at some point again,” he added. McGovern filed a policy order on Jan. 10 – which was unanimously adopted by the Council – calling upon the Cambridge city manager and other city departments to develop a report on how to increase testing availability for Cambridge residents. Neal wrote in the CPHD’s
DHALL FROM PAGE 1
katerina.corr@thecrimson.com
involving the Clean Air Act of 1970 — which authorized the federal government to enforce greenhouse gas emission limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency — could limit the EPA’s regulation authority. Though the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the EPA’s authority to limit pollution under the Clean Air Act, a ruling in favor of power plants could hamper the Biden administration’s efforts to curb emissions. “In the world of climate change, we’re waiting to see what the Supreme Court may do to clip the wings of the Environmental Protection Agency,” Freeman said “If that were to happen, we’d be left in a world, in the United States anyway, where the Congress is largely inactive on climate change,” she added. Though judicial and legislative roadblocks could thwart
Biden’s climate agenda, Freeman said it’s important to pay attention to new university-led initiatives such as MIT’s Roosevelt Project which aims to plot “a path to a low carbon economy in a way that promotes high quality job growth, minimizes worker and community dislocation, and harnesses the benefits of energy technologies for regional economic development,” the project’s website states. The project’s team includes administrators and researchers from MIT, Harvard, Boise State, and Carnegie Mellon. Freeman said she expected “big things” from Harvard as well. “It’s an amazing amount of productivity, scholarship, research, and concrete solutions being developed across Harvard University,” she said. dekyi.tsotsong@thecrimson.com
MBTA FROM PAGE 1
Dining to Resume, Socially Distanced dining areas. On Monday, many upperclassman dining halls, including Adams, Currier, and Kirkland House, began setting up tables and chairs in configurations allowing for socially distanced dining. In Adams House, four chairs have been placed at the far corners of each table in the dining hall to ensure that all seats are at a minimum six feet apart. Currier House positioned a
emailed statement that he acknowledges the city’s keenness to return to business as usual. “We have been living with COVID-19 for over two years, and it has been a tumultuous, stressful time. Pandemic fatigue is real. College students want a return to normalcy—we all do,” he wrote. “While we can’t change the fact that the virus is still spreading in the community and infection rates are still high, we can make a mental shift in our thinking,” he added. “We can acknowledge that the situation is improving,” he added in the statement. “Meanwhile, students should keep taking actions that keep them from getting the virus and spreading it to others, which includes vaccination and wearing high-quality masks indoors.”
chair at either end of the tables in its dining hall. Kirkland House has arranged its dining hall to restrict seating to only one chair per table. A standing sign reminds students not to reconfigure the seating arrangement and that they must wear a mask when not eating. audrey.apollon@thecrimson.com christine.mui@thecrimson.com
Harvard Square T Accident Victim Dead, per District Attorney a section of Red Line service was halted due to “a person under a train.” The Middlesex DA is investigating the incident, but no foul play is suspected, according to Marcela Dwork, a spokesperson for the office. Richard Sullivan, the MBTA Transit Police Department superintendent, wrote in an email Monday morning that the woman’s death was an “intentional act.” Red Line service was halt
ed for over five hours Sunday as first responders swarmed the T station, which sits in the middle of Harvard Square. MBTA Transit Police, Cambridge Police, Cambridge Fire, and area emergency medical services responded to the incident. Rail service was halted in both directions until roughly 10:35 p.m. Shuttles replaced T service between the Alewife and Park Street stations. Riders reported delays and confusion result-
FEBRUARY 1, 2022
ing from the stoppages. In some cases, passengers waited for over an hour in freezing temperatures for shuttle service. If you or someone you know needs help at Harvard, contact Counseling and Mental Health Services at (617) 495-2042 or the Harvard University Police Department at (617) 495-1212. Several peer counseling groups offer confidential peer conversations. sarah.girma@thecrimson.com brandon.kingdollar@thecrimson.com
Prof. Holdren Wins Award translated into policies and practice that serve all of us.” Holdren was a professor at the UC Berkeley, when HKS persuaded him to swap coasts in 1996. Joseph S. Nye Jr., who was Dean of the Kennedy School at that time, praised Holdren for the impact he has since had on the institution. “John has been a wonderful colleague who has enriched our lives at the Kennedy School at the same time that he has made the world a better place,” Nye said.
John has been a wonderful colleague who has enriched our lives at the Kennedy School at the same time that he has made the world a better place Joseph S. Nye Former HKS Dean
Though Holdren, who is now 77 years old, retired from classroom teaching last year in June 2021, he intends to keep working as a researcher at the Belfer Center, focusing on several topics in his academic wheelhouse such as climate change. “I continue to be the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on six different grants,” he said. “On the issues that I care about, I’m not thinking of retiring from the fray. I’m going to continue to be active in working on these problems.” miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com
From Weeks to Weld.
The Crimson thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 1, 2022
PAGE 4
EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD
OP-ED
Bring Back Shopping Week
T
his spring, for the fourth consecutive semester, Harvard undergraduates have been forced to select their classes without shopping week; that is, without the opportunity to sample and explore different courses before committing to any of them. Also this spring, for the second consecutive semester, our board sorely feels the loss of Harvard’s most delightful scheduling quirk. We miss shopping week — and we aren’t alone. Last term, in a markedly decisive referendum, 96.46 percent of undergraduate voters voted to reinstate what was once a celebrated part of Harvard’s academic culture. The lopsided result wasn’t exactly unexpected, not for anyone loosely acquainted with students’ love for shopping week. In the past, 62 percent of our undergraduate peers have named shopping week as being significant in their decision to attend Harvard — a misleading if decisive factor, it now seems. Even our administration once touted the tradition as “priceless,” boasting about its merits within Harvard’s official news outlet and publishing a detailed, student-written ‘ode to shopping week’ on the University domain. The hype was well warranted. Shopping week’s upsides have long been apparent to students, who frequently used the time to browse new and exciting courses without the commitment (and corollary anxiety) of having to enroll before setting foot in the class. In doing so, it offered Harvard undergraduates the rare opportunity to step, or at least peek, outside their comfort zones, to try out new academic endeavors without immediately having to assume any and all grade-related consequences. Our peers could, for example, figure out whether their winter break fascination with philosophy was in fact worth pursuing or merely symptomatic of an unsustainable Kantian obsession. They could sit-in on friends’ classes only to
discover a ‘gem’ hidden in some obscure department distant from their own, or discover courses that, despite lackluster syllabi, were brought to life by brilliant, lesser-known faculty. Shopping for classes allowed us to try on different masks, to figure out what we wanted to study and who we wanted to be in an institution whose vertiginous pace rarely allows for self reflection. Shopping wasn’t just about how we structured the first few days of class, a logistical detail devoid of importance. Instead, it directly contributed to broadening student perspectives and sparking new interests — both of which are essential to the well-rounded liberal arts education that Harvard claims to embody. Despite our continuous support of shopping week, we aren’t blind to the difficulties that it poses to faculty and graduate student teaching fellows alike: Not knowing one’s class size, or, worse still, one’s exact terms of employment until a week into the semester is bound to be stressful. The extent to which the new course preview period will benefit those whom shopping week previously burdened, however, is questionable. Currently, the preview period incentivizes deciding one’s classes based on horribly impersonal course previews and often-revised syllabi. Notably, the new policy also creates its own set of distinct problems: It is not, for example, accessible to students who may have obligations such as work or caring for family members during winter break, students without reliable internet connections at home, students that live in different time zones, or students traveling back to the United States. Even for those lucky enough to have unencumbered access, the course preview period encroaches on the hard-earned break of some of the busiest college bees in the country. Given these complications, it’s hardly surprising that some students have taken to enrolling in many extra courses, some of which they will later drop, to create
their own personal pseudo-shopping week. Others will likely wait until the very end of registration period to finalize their schedules. Yet these responses to the inadequacies of the course preview period seem likely to create exactly the same kind of chaotic uncertainty that made shopping week difficult for faculty and teaching fellows in the first place. The only difference? Many professors assign work, give quizzes, make students purchase course materials, and critically, begin the process of sectioning classes in their first week. All of these realities make transferring classes, even in the first week, far from seamless — and decidedly not stress-free. If Harvard cares about the needs of its students and its faculty, it must engage with community stakeholders to carefully and transparently study the benefits and disadvantages of shopping week, as well as the effects of the course preview period. While the suggestion to move course registration to the end of the previous semester might reduce uncertainty for faculty and teaching staff, it would place immense stress on students preparing for finals and distract classes they still have not finished. The suspension of a key Harvard tradition demands, at a minimum, a temporary alternative that is genuinely beneficial for all involved. We don’t believe course registration should be a zero-sum tug-of-war between students and faculty. We do believe, however, that education at Harvard should be a positive-sum experience in which we are able to continuously learn and improve — shopping week helped us do just that. 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.
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DISSENT
A More Empathetic Shopping Week
T
here is no shortage of articles on The Crimson’s website centering on shopping week and the student body’s frustration with its suspension. Many of these pieces reminisce about a bygone era when students spent the first week of the semester exploring the term’s offerings before submitting a final schedule. As evidenced by the student body’s overwhelming opposition to the College’s new course registration process, shopping week remains an immensely popular staple of Harvard’s liberal arts education that students are determined to protect. Notwithstanding that reality, it’s time to reflect more objectively on the people in our community who lose out from shopping week, and to realize that the stress and logistical difficulties it imposes on graduate students and faculty may not be justified. For graduate students trying to juggle their own class registration, coursework, and research, shopping week brings an uncertainty in class enrollment that can be unfairly burdensome. When professors don’t know how many teaching fellows they need, graduate students who count on those jobs can’t effectively structure their schedules, their course plans, or their finances. Administrators are similarly burdened, especially in small or under-administered departments: they are left holding the bag when class sizes fluctuate wildly from day to day. Of course, the loss of shopping week is devastating to undergraduate students, many of whom chose to attend Harvard because of its unique course registration process. But we should empathize with the graduate students and faculty for whom shopping week has been an anxiety-in-
ducing stressor. We should listen to them when they tell us that course preview period is what works best for them. As undergraduate students, we must remember that this community includes not only our peers in the classroom, but also the graduate students and professors who teach us. We affirm our support of the Editorial Board’s pro-labor stance when it comes to the systemic issues that Harvard’s graduate student body faces. We supported graduate students when they striked in 2019, and we opined in favor of the HGSU-UAW strike in 2021. Throughout our difficult conversations about the future of course registration, these are the voices we must amplify in order to reach a compromise that serves all those impacted.
It’s clear there are many reasons for undergraduates to love and miss shopping week, but this love doesn’t take into account the burden placed on others. We echo student concerns that course preview period, as it has stood for the past four semesters, has been a shoddy replacement for the free and informative exploration that shopping week offered. When professors take course preview period seriously — hosting Zoom Q&As, posting robust Canvas sites, and sharing exemplary course materials — a post-shopping week Harvard comes into view, one that retains its academic flex-
ibility and informed course selection. Some professors, however, have not taken such a robust approach to course preview period, offering no opportunities for engagement beyond posting their syllabi. If course preview period is to succeed in replacing rather than merely displacing shopping week, the administration must require a certain level of honesty in professors’ pre-term engagement. It’s clear there are many reasons for undergraduates to love and miss shopping week, but this love doesn’t take into account the burden placed on others. There is no reason why course preview period can’t effectively replace shopping week, especially during the pandemic but even beyond it. Doing so will simply demand a greater measure of empathy and respect for our fellow undergraduates, faculty members, graduate students, and one another. —Noah B. Kassis ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Straus Hall. Treasure N. Oji ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in The Inn. Grant B. Williams ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in The Prescotts. Ricards Umbrasko ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Canaday Hall. Christina M. Xiao ’24, an Associate Editorial Editor, is a joint concentrator in Computer Science and Government in Eliot House. Ivor K. Zimmerman ’23, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Classics concentrator in Kirkland House. Dissenting Opinions: Occasionally, The Crimson Editorial Board is divided about the opinion we express in a staff editorial. In these cases, dissenting board members have the opportunity to express their opposition to staff opinion.
Why We Founded the Disability Justice Club By RACHEL C. AUSLANDER, SARIKA CHAWLA, and BEN T. ELWY
D
isabled people exist at Harvard — but you probably wouldn’t know it at first glance. There are no classes focused on disability taught by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the undergraduate level this academic year. The former Harvard College Disability Alliance faded out of existence once its leaders graduated. Very few dorms in Harvard Yard are fully accessible. Ableism is almost entirely absent from conversations about diversity and inclusion. Being disabled means facing prejudice and subconscious bias every day, being excluded from events, social gatherings, and opportunities, and feeling unwelcome in what is meant to be our home. As a result of the continued omission of our experiences, disabled students are surrounded by physical and systemic inaccessibility in every sphere of our lives at the College. That’s why we founded the Harvard Undergraduate Disability Justice Club: to remind the Harvard community that we exist on campus. If the College wants to educate “future citizen leaders” as its mission statement proclaims, it must not only acknowledge that disabled people are an essential part of that population, but also demonstrate that we belong in this community through a commitment to accessibility in all aspects of University life. Disability justice is a push towards accessibility and inclusion in all forms for disabled people of all identities. Disabled people make up the single largest minority group in the world. As of 2016, at least 19.4 percent of college students in the United States are disabled. It is also important to recognize that disability can happen without warning to anyone at any point in their life. This consideration is more urgent than ever given that a mass-disabling event is now occurring, with long Covid affecting up to 43 percent of Covid-19 survivors, according to some estimates. Disability justice is relevant to everyone, even if not everyone is aware that it is something we need to strive towards.Prior to founding HUDJ, there was no opportunity for disabled students to connect and learn that we’re not alone in our experiences. It was difficult to find other disabled people on campus — we happened to meet each other through random interactions in classes, at events, or in the dining halls. There is no office or department that holds events where disabled students can get to know each other. The closest thing you could find at Harvard, prior to the pandemic, was the Accessible Education Office Test Center. Yes, the place where stressed-out disabled students silently took their exams was the closest thing to a “community center” we have ever had. Even the Office of BGLTQ Student Life has held more community-building events meant for disabled people than the AEO has. Rather than an affinity space, the AEO is a bureaucratic office that holds power over disabled students. Some of us have had only positive experiences with the AEO, but others have found it difficult to receive the accommodations and support that they need. The AEO Test Center is a frustrating symbol of what we lack, but it’s also a promising reminder that more disabled people attend Harvard than one would think. The difficulty facing us is that there are many members of the Harvard community who would benefit from our advocacy but don’t currently realize it. After all, disability justice is not limited to visible markers of disability; it also includes neurodivergence, mental illnesses, and chronic illnesses — anything from depression to dyslexia. Disabled people are not a monolith, and not all disabled people choose to identify as disabled or even recognize that choice as an option. Some prefer to pass as abled to avoid stigma. Others arrive at Harvard knowing that they are disabled, and still others develop disabilities after arriving at Harvard and are left to their own devices to figure out how to advocate for themselves. There are disabled professors, staff, and graduate students as well — too often their presence at Harvard is overlooked. We founded HUDJ to speak out against injustices as a community, rather than as individuals with complaints that are all too easy for Harvard administration to dismiss. With short-term goals such as advocating for Covid-19 policies that protect the safety of immunocompromised students, faculty, and staff, and long-term goals like establishing a Disability Studies department, HUDJ is striving to bring about critical change on Harvard’s campus that is long overdue. Our aim is not only to create our own community, but also to work together to create long-term institutional policies that will better support students. We’re not asking for pity, and we’re not inspirational simply for taking up the space that we deserve. Instead, what we’re asking is that Harvard students, faculty, and administrators support us as allies in our fight for disability justice by making a conscious effort to ensure accessibility of classes, extracurriculars, and events; speaking out against inaccessibility and ableism on campus; and listening to and learning from us when we share our experiences and perspectives. Harvard prides itself on being a national and global leader. It has the ability to set a powerful standard for the world that catalyzes change. It’s time for Harvard, both as an institution and as a community, to step up and take a prominent role in increasing accessibility and combating ableism on campus.
—Rachel C. Auslander ’23 is a Folklore and Mythology concentrator in Leverett House and a co-founder of the Harvard Undergraduate Disability Justice Club. Sarika Chawla ’23 is a Computer Science concentrator in Lowell House and a co-founder and co-president of the Harvard Undergraduate Disability Justice Club. Ben T. Elwy ’23 is a joint concentrator in Linguistics and Classics in Quincy House and a co-founder of the Harvard Undergraduate Disability Justice Club.
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The Crimson thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 1, 2022
SPORTS
WEEKLY RECAP
SCORES
MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. PENN L, 74-78 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S HOCKEY VS. COLGATE W, 5-3 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S SQUASH VS. YALE W, 8-1 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING VS. PRINCETON L, 202-98 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING VS. YALE W, 248.5-104.5 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. PENN W, 70-63 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S SQUASH
The Crimson Clinches 6th Consecutive Ivy League By CALLUM J. DIAK CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The intensity of Saturday’s storm left roads slippery, and fans of Harvard women’s squash uncertain as to whether they would be able to watch the No. 1 Crimson (11-0, 6-0 Ivy) take on its rivals No. 4 Yale (6-3) Sunday afternoon. To the delight of spectators, while New England was still reeling from the monster blizzard that blanketed multiple states in layers of snow, another powerful force was confirmed to be scheduled on the courts of the Harvard University Squash Center. For the past six years, Harvard’s women have dominated the college squash scene in a storm of rackets and rubber balls, winning five consecutive Ivy League titles and nine out of the last eleven College Squash Association (CSA) championships. Sunday afternoon’s showdown marked Harvard’s sixth and final Ivy League match-up this season. More importantly, the game also presented the Crimson with an opportunity to cap off a perfect league record and claim the Ivy League crown for the sixth year in a row. Initial action saw Harvard secure four swift match victories over Yale, including a convincing win from its graduating captain, senior Hana Moataz, which put them up 3-0 in the overall point contest.
First-year Habiba Eldafrawy rebounded from a loss in her first game to take her next three games, and the match, to boost the Crimson up 4-0. However, the Bulldogs responded, taking two wins in the next collection of matches to apply pressure to a red-hot Harvard team. Though Harvard’s Ivy League title seemed inevitable, as the Crimson held leads in all of its games at the time, firstyear Brecon Welch made it official when she smacked a tactical backhand off the left wall to score and win the third, deciding game of her match. It was only then that the crowd of fellow athletes, coaches, and fans could celebrate. As she exited the court, Welch had no idea that she had just claimed the fifth and deciding win in the race to nine points against Yale, and along with that, an Ivy League trophy. The win came on a very special night for Moataz and fellow senior Amina Yousry, two graduating athletes whose accomplishments in the squash program were celebrated prior to the match thanks to support from a season-high number of fans and family in the stands. Moataz and Yousry have had very successful tenures with Harvard squash. Both players were key contributors to Ivy League championship-winning teams in each of their three years with the program. The Murr Center was swal-
CRIMSON SQUASHES THE COMPETITION Harvard competed against Yale in a 9-0 sweep on Feb. 9, 2019. Three years later, the Crimson would defeat the Bulldogs again, 7-2, to claim a sixth straight Ivy League title. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
lowed by cheers as the Crimson hoisted the Ivy League trophy. League victory finalized the accomplishment of the lofty goal that the team set itself at the beginning of the season. Harvard has enjoyed a long tradition of squash success, and the 2022 team has been no exception, being pushed to 5-4 only once despite facing other top-ten opponents eight times in eleven matches. At the forefront of this suc-
cessful season, but residing humbly at the back of the victory parade was head coach Mike Way. Way has distinguished himself once again in his twelfth season with the Crimson as a knowledgeable coach who won U.S. Squash Coach of the Year in 2017, but what has consistently set the Englishman apart is his attention to detail and caring nature. Way’s extensive commitment to his team manifests it-
self between games, when he provides athletes with valuable insights on their performance, and after, when he can still be seen retrieving exhausted athletes’ forgotten water bottles from three courts away to preserve their energy. His level of investment in his team has proven to be a key factor in Harvard’s consistent successes. In addition to the Ivy League accolades, Sunday’s win marks the Crimson’s 93rd straight
CSA single-game victory, as well as its 45th Ivy League single-game victory. It will look to extend the former streak to 94 as it welcomes Stanford to the Murr Center on Feb. 5. With its sixth Ivy title secured, Harvard women’s squash looks ahead to the CSA Championship on Feb. 25, where it hopes to earn its 28th national title. callum.diak@thecrimson.com
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Harvard Suffers Loss to Penn in a 78-74 Matchup By DAVID MANIKAS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The Crimson men’s basketball team returned to Lavietes Pavilion this Friday hoping to re-establish the home court advantage it enjoyed prior to the winter break. Coming into the game, Harvard (10-7, 2-3 Ivy) sat at an even .500 record in Ivy League play after dropping its most recent contest to Cornell, a 76-61 affair on Jan. 22. Penn (8-12, 5-2 Ivy), on the other hand, entered Lavietes sitting third in the conference with a 4-2 record. Plagued with injuries to juniors Chris Ledlum and Idan Tretout — both of whom were mainstays in coach Tommy Amaker’s starting lineup — the Crimson had to make up for significant scoring and rebounding. Prior to his injury, Ledlum was the fourth-leading scorer in the Ivy League, contributing 16.7 points to go along with a conference-best 9.3 rebounds a
game. Tretout’s 8.5 points along with three rebounds per contest were missing as well, putting an even heavier load on the already-depleted roster. Harvard opened up the game strong with five quick points from junior guard Luka Sakota, who looked comfortable hitting deep jumpshots early. The Crimson jumped out to a 12-2 lead over the Quakers following good defensive possessions, including a drawn charge by freshman guard Denham Wojcik—who would go on to draw another in the contest. Harvard saw the return of senior forward Mason Forbes, who was playing for the first time since the Crimson’s Jan. 7 contest against Brown. Forbes had an immediate impact, scoring four quick points down low and establishing a presence on the glass. “I was really excited for us to have Mason back and have him out on the floor,” said Amaker about the Folsom, Calif. native. “[His] energy early in the first
half was tremendous.” The defensive effort was evident early on, as Harvard held Penn two for seven from the three-point line midway through the first half. Coming into the contest, Amaker emphasized the team’s need to improve transition defense and communication, hoping to turn around its poor second-half showing in the previous contest. Offensively, the Crimson were led by Kirkwood, whose 16 first-half points were one shy of his Ivy League third-best 17.3 point average. The Ottawa, Ont., native reached this firsthalf mark efficiently, making seven of his 12 attempts in the first period of play. The defensive dominance began to wane as the first half progressed, however, as Penn sophomore guard Jordan Dingle began to find his groove on offense. Dingle entered the contest as the second-leading scorer in the Ivy League, averaging 18.7 points per game. The
Ivy League Rookie of the Year, along with sophomore forward Max Martz and junior guard Lucas Monroe, led the Quakers in cutting the Harvard lead to four points with four minutes to play in the half. The Penn run, coupled with a cold Crimson offensive streak, saw the Quakers take the lead with three minutes remaining. After being down 12 earlier in the half, Penn began settling into its offensive strengths— running offensive possessions through Dingle and making its way to the free throw line. Dingle easily maneuvered through the court, getting shots off behind the arc as well as driving to the basket, looking to draw fouls. He had 23 points at half on six made field goals. Harvard, on the other hand, scored only once in the final four minutes of the period. After a dominant start, the Crimson faced a seven-point deficit going into the second half of play. Looking for solutions on the
NOTHING BUT NOAH Senior guard Noah Kirkwood steps back for a jumper in a 74-64 victory over Babson on Dec. 6. The Ottawa, Ont. native piled on 16 points in the first half of Friday’s close loss to Penn. DYLAN J. GOODMAN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
defensive front, Amaker’s squad entered a 2-3 zone in hopes of throwing off the dangerous Quaker offense. The zone saw some success early, forcing a couple of bad shots. As play continued, however, Dingle began successfully penetrating the defense and dishing out assists to open teammates. With the Penn lead at 12, Harvard was in dire need of an offensive spark. Catchings, who scored only two points in the first half of play, found his rhythm from behind the arc at the perfect time — going on an 8-0 run by himself. Following another Penn miss, first-year guard Evan Nelson took the ball the length of the court to convert an and-one opportunity, erupting the previously-tame Lavietes crowd. The 11-0 run tied the game at 53 with a little over half a period left to play. With the crowd getting back into it, the Crimson looked as dominant as it had been out of the gate. However, immediately following the run, Harvard’s two key weaknesses emerged. Despite early foul trouble from Penn putting Harvard in the bonus early, the Crimson failed to take advantage of its opportunities at the charity stripe, missing the front-end on three one-and-ones. Overall, Harvard went 9-14 from the line in the second half and 11-18 in total. On the other end, Penn finished 17-20 from the free throw line, making important shots down the stretch. “Looking at the statsheet, I think it’s obvious where the shortcomings were for us in a game like this, when we shoot 11 for 20 from the foul line,” said Amaker after the game. “It’s hard to overcome that when you’re trying to make up ground and get back in the game. Give [Penn] credit, they did make the free throws when they needed to.” On the defensive end, issues in transition emerged as the Quakers were able to capitalize on fastbreaks. Missing its rebounding force in Ledlum, Harvard also let up eight offensive boards in the second half. The Crimson managed to remain within single digits following the Catchings-led run, trading baskets with Penn as
the half continued. A layup off of an inbounds pass by sophomore guard Sam Silverstein cut the Quaker lead to four with 27 seconds remaining. Following free throws by both teams, the Penn lead grew to five with sixteen seconds left on the clock. It was at this time that the Crimson entrusted the ball to Sakota, who had come up clutch for Harvard in big moments earlier this year. Launching a three well behind the arc with hopes of keeping the game alive, Sakota struck once again. Lavietes exploded as the Penn lead was cut to two. “Luka is having a good scoring year for us,” said Amaker regarding Sakota’s role on offense this season. “I think there’s a confidence there within him and with his teammates that he is going to score and make some shots for us.” However, Penn’s clutch free throw shooting prevailed. Martz and sophomore guard Clark Slajchert remained unwavered during their trips to the line—sinking shots to put the Quakers up four with four seconds to play. Sakota’s desperation heave failed to connect, and Penn managed to scrape out another tally in the Ivy League win column. Falling below the .500 mark in conference play, the Crimson has little room for error in its remaining schedule. Harvard is looking to secure a top-four spot in order to advance to postseason play and the Ivy League tournament at Lavietes Pavilion. Crucial contests against Brown and Yale lie ahead, and Catchings emphasized the importance of moving on after this loss. “Next weekend we have two huge games, a revenge matchup against Brown and then Yale who has had a really good Ivy season thus far,” the co-captain said. “We just gotta keep moving forward, keep building on what we’ve done and just not get down on ourselves.” Harvard will face off against Brown and Yale on Feb. 4 and 5, respectively, looking to steal a couple of games on the road and get back on track in the conference. david.manikas@thecrimson.com