The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLV, No. 66

The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXlv No. 66 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | friday, april 27, 2018

The Harvard Crimson There is a stigma around pursuing public service here at the College that must be removed. editorial PAGE 6

UC Website Briefly Hacked

Harvard’s club basketball team, the “Classics,” reflects on a successful season. sports PAGE 8

60%

Pro-Union Voters Approve of Strikes

40%

By Shera S. Avi-Yonah and molly c. mccafferty

Unionization Voted Yes

Voted No

Support for possible strikes

By Jonah S. Berger Crimson Staff Writer

The Undergraduate Council’s website was briefly hacked by a group calling itself the “Iran Cyber Security Group” late Thursday evening. By early Friday morning, UC Vice President Nicholas D. Boucher ’19 had restored the Council’s webpage to its normal state.

During the hack—which lasted for at least half an hour—visitors to the website encountered a cartoon of President Donald Trump being punched in the chin by an individual whose face was not depicted but who wore a wristband striped the colors of the Iranian flag: green, white, and red.

“DOWN WITH USA,” read a message at the top. Letters in a foreign language scrolled across the cartoon. On navigating to the website, visitors were greeted by loud strains of music in a foreign language.

“Persian Gulf Forever,” the page read near the bottom. The page also listed the hashtags “#DownWithUSA and “#DownWithEsraeil.” The hack was done “in the name of God,” according to text plastered across the top of the page.

The hack appeared to affect only the Council’s homepage, which is hosted on a Faculty of Arts and Sciences domain, according to its URL. An HUIT Spokesperson could not be reached for comment early Friday morning.

Boucher wrote in a text early Friday morning that, before being notified by The Crimson, he was unaware of the hack.

Approximately 10 minutes later, Boucher wrote that he had “countered their attack” and that he would “work with HUIT to see how they penetrated the Harvard network.”

The hack comes just weeks after the Council gathered hundreds of students’ information as part of legislation to provide subsidies to certain SEF-eligible students for transportation and storage. The information was not submitted to the UC’s website.

Boucher and UC President Catherine L. Zhang promised during last fall’s presidential campaign they would revamp the Council’s website. Boucher said at last Sunday’s UC meeting that the new website will mostly likely launch in the coming weeks.

Boucher wrote in the text that the Council is “about” to replace its current website with “something much better” and “more secure.” ­

100%

80%

Percent of Strike Approval

Percent of Strike Approval

100%

70.6% 60%

40%

20%

0%

16.4%

13.0%

Approve

80% 69.0%

Crimson Staff Writers

19.7%

20% 11.3% 0%

No opinion

Approve

Disapprove

No opinion

Disapprove

Support for UAW Favorable

Unfavorable No opinion

Harvard students who voted in favor of unionization last week were nearly seven times more likely to report they approve of strikes as a negotiation tactic for student unions than were those who voted against unionization, according to exit polling data collected

by The Crimson.

Across all respondents to The Crimson’s survey, slightly more than half indicated they approve of student union strikes.

Per the bylaws of international parent union United Automobile Workers, two-thirds of union members who cast ­

See strike Page 5

katherine e. wang—Crimson designer

Law Prof Appointed Radcliffe Dean

SEE PAGE 4

By Lucy Wang Crimson Staff Writer

Law School Professor Tomiko ­ Brown-Nagin will be the next dean of Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, University President Drew G. Faust announced in a message to Harvard affiliates Thursday morning.

Brown-Nagin is also a professor of History, the co-director of the Law School’s Program in Law and History, and the faculty director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.

Current Radcliffe Dean and 20th century history scholar Lizabeth A. Cohen, who has served in the position for seven years, announced in October that she would step down at the end of this academic year. Brown-Nagin will succeed Cohen on July 1.

In a statement, Faust praised Brown-Nagin’s work as a lawyer and historian.

See radcliffe Page 3

Lobby Day 2018

Students participate in the 2018 iteration of the Harvard College Democrats’ annual lobbying day.

Simone c. Chu—Crimson photographer

Bill Gates Discusses Career, Social Life

Med School Students Wary of New Union

By Kristine E. Guillaume and Jamie d. Halper

By Shera S. Avi-Yonah and Luke W. Vrotsos

Crimson Staff Writers

Crimson Staff Writers

­ ill Gates, Harvard’s wealthiest dropB out, returned to the University Thursday to visit labs and speak to hundreds of students from across Harvard’s schools about his career at Microsoft and philanthropy via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

At one point during his visit, Gates sat down with Francis J. Doyle III, the dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, to hold a public conversation before answering questions from the hundreds-strong audience.

The conversation and question-and-answer session were both hosted by the Offices of the President and Provost.

University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 introduced Gates and Doyle, calling Gates his “college classmate.”

Gates, who was initially on track to graduate with the College’s Class of ’77 before dropping out of college, wrote in

See Gates Page 5 Inside this issue

Harvard Today 2

Some graduate students at Harvard Medical School say they feel wary of Harvard’s newly formed union, with at least a few in Longwood—the location of the Medical School campus—expressing a desire to be excluded from the bargaining unit.

Fifty-six percent of eligible student assistants voted on April 18 and 19 to authorize Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers to collectively bargain with Harvard on their behalf.

National Labor Relations Board officials certified the tally on April 20, counting 1,931 ballots in favor of unionization and 1,523 against.

Exit polling conducted by The Crimson suggested medical students were significantly less likely to vote in favor of unionization than were students attending other University schools.

The data, which was not ­

William “Bill” Gates speaks with Dean Francis Doyle in the Science Center on Thursday afternoon.

Jamie halper—Crimson photographer

News 3

Editorial 6

Sports 8

Today’s Forecast

Partly Cloudy High: 62 Low: 49

See Med School Page 5 Visit thecrimson.com.

Follow @TheCrimson on Twitter.

UCe cream

HARVARD TODAY friday | April 27, 2018

FOR Lunch

FOR DINNER

“Local Fresh Catch” Fried

Baked Meatloaf

Chicken Tikka Masala

Herb Roasted Chicken

Open Faced Bean and Cheese Tortas

Portobello Lentil Patty with Tomato Basil Salsa

around the ivies Harvard softball Harvard’s Softball team faced Dartmouth in an Ivy League matchup this past weekend and will go on to face Brown this coming weekend.

Timothy R. O’meara—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Columbia Students Protest, Demanding “Decolonization” of University Institutions According to the the Columbia Spectator, around 20 students occupied space in the university’s central library, marching and holding signs reading “Decolonize Columbia.” The protesters called for the replacing of statues—including one of Thomas Jefferson—and the promotion of diversity in curricula and among the faculty. A Columbia dean and public safety officer dean stopped the students from marching up a stairwell and demanded they exit the library, the Spectator reported.

Cornell Faculty Debate Plans for Regulating Student-Faculty Relationships The Cornell Daily Sun reported members of the university’s faculty are currently debating two potential policies meant to set regulations for consensual romantic and sexual relationships between faculty members and students. Both plans forbid relationships between faculty and undergraduates, though they differ among regulations for “facultysubordinate” relationships. One plan would prohibit those relationships, while one would allow them but require that they be disclosed to the university, as reported by the Daily Sun.

Brown Daily Herald Finds More Than 23 Percent of Students Have Prescriptions for Mental Health Medication

HAPPY Friday!

Enjoy the start of reading period with this warm weather that looks like it’s here to stay!

Today’s Events Exploring Sports and Citizenship Join the Boston Red Sox executives and former pitcher Pedro Martínez

at Knafel Center for a discussion on how Red Sox Nation plans to engage the community and promote good citizenship among its fans. As the 2018 Major League Baseball season gears up, don’t miss this opportunity to hear from the experts!

Half-Off at Science Museum Every Friday from now until August 31st, the Museum of Science is offering half-off Exhibit Halls

admission. Come with your family or friends and check out all the exhibits and activities prepared.

Class of 2018: Medical School Panel Whether you’re currently juggling applications or considering the premed path, stop by Emerson Hall 101 for a panel hosted by the Harvard Premedical Society to learn about the process of applying to medical school—and what it takes to get in.

The Brown Daily Herald conducted a poll of undergraduates and found that more than 23 percent of students have been prescribed some sort of psychiatric medication. More than 13 percent of students reported being prescribed antidepressants, and more than 16 percent were prescribed anti-anxiety medication. According to the Daily Herald, Brown’s director of counseling services said the numbers were consistent with national trends at colleges.

in the real world Lawmakers Grill EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Scott Pruitt was the subject of a congressional hearing Thursday, in which he was put on the spot for controversial spending and travel decisions. He received pointed questions from Democrats and Republicans alike for spending extravagantly on security, building a soundproof booth in his office, and approving raises for staffers.

Bill Cosby Found Guilty of Sexual Assault in Retrial At the Montgomery County Courthouse in Pennsylvania, a jury convicted Bill Cosby of three counts of sexual assault during a retrial. The verdict finally marks Cosby guilty after accounts from many women who claimed to be his victims. The district attorney requested that Cosby’s bail be revoked because he had committed a serious crime and posed the risk of fleeing by plane. Cosby reportedly responded to the latter claim with an outburst of expletives in court.

Disney Debuts Gay Pride Mickey Mouse Ears Joining the celebrations for Pride Month, Disney introduced rainbowcolored Mickey Mouse ears to its theme parks for the price of $17.99.

Customers have the option to have their names embroidered onto the hats in rainbow lettering. For those who are unable to make it to the parks, they are available for purchase by phone.

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 Derek G. Xiao, President Hannah Natanson, Managing Editor Nathan Y. Lee, Business Manager Copyright 2018, 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.

harvard Arts medal WAIting at the dot

Harvard University President Drew G. Faust awards the 2018 Harvard Arts Medal to Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad, in Sanders Theatre Thursday afternoon. lu Shao — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Staff for This Issue

“The benefits of a union—increased wages, better healthcare, benefits for student parents, and more support for diverse students—will accrue to everyone, regardless of their affiliation.”

Night Editor Alison W. Steinbach ’19

—Union organizer and Medical Sciences Ph.D. student Madeleine F. Jennewein

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.

Design Editor Katherine E. Wang ’20

Assistant Night Editors Editorial Editor Elijah T. Ezeji-Okoye ’20 Delano R. Franklin ’21 Katherine E. Wang ’20 Photo Editor Casey M. Allen ‘20 Story Editors Hannah Natanson ’19 Sports Editor Joshua J. Florence ’19 William M. Quan ’20 Mia C. Karr ’19 Claire E. Parker ’19 Phelan Yu ’19

The Harvard Crimson | APRIL 27, 2018 | page 3

Faust Appoints New Sustainability Report Shows Progress Radcliffe Dean

By Jamie d. Halper Crimson Staff Writer

dean From Page 1 “She has made significant contributions to our understanding of the history of the Civil Rights movement and, more broadly, of issues as varied as affirmative action, education law and reform, and the Affordable Care Act,” Faust wrote.

Faust served as the first Radcliffe dean herself in from 2000 to 2007 before assuming her role as president of the University. Faust will step down in June after 11 years at Harvard’s helm.

Faust wrote Thursday that Brown-Nagin is “exceptionally well equipped” to take on the role as Radcliffe “matures into an established and renowned institute for advanced study.”

Brown-Nagin was a Radcliffe fellow in the 2016-2017 academic year, where she studied 20th-century American history through the life of Constance Baker Motley, a black woman lawyer, politician, and judge.

Cohen wrote in a statement that Brown-Nagin’s familiarity with Radcliffe, as well as her dual appointments at the Law School and the History Department, position her well to advance Radcliffe’s mission.

“She embodies the intellectual rigor, genuine curiosity, and collaborative spirit that are at the heart of Radcliffe’s unique mission as Harvard’s Institute for Advanced Study, and she combines this with the outstanding insight, judgment, and integrity of a distinguished leader,” Cohen said.

Brown-Nagin wrote in a statement that she looks forward to assuming the deanship.

“I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead the Radcliffe Institute, whose mission to bring scholars together across disciplinary and professional boundaries I enthusiastically embrace,” Brown-Nagin wrote.

Brown-Nagin received her undergraduate degree in history summa cum laude from Furman University in 1992. She later earned her J.D. from Yale in 1997 and her Ph.D. in history from Duke in 2002. She is an expert in constitutional law and educational law policy.

Her book, “Courage to Dissent: Atlanta and the Long History of the Civil

Rights Movement,” won the Bancroft Prize in American History in 2012.

She’s a member of the American Law Institute, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

She embodies the intellectual rigor, genuine curiosity, and collaborative spirit that are at the heart of Radcliffe’s unique mission.

Lizabeth A. Cohen Current Radcliffe Dean

Brown-Nagin has served on a number of committees across the University. She chaired the BGLTQ working group of the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Assault.

She is also currently a member of the advisory committee for the Graduate School of Education’s dean search and she sits on the search committee for a director of Radcliffe’s Schlesinger Library.

In 2016, Brown-Nagin also served on a committee to re-evaluate the Law School’s seal in light of its ties to slavery. That committee ultimately recommended to the Harvard Corporation that the school revoke the seal, which featured the crest of the formerly slave-owning Royall family.

President-elect Lawrence S. Bacow, who will also assume his new position in July, wrote that he feels “fortunate” to have participated in the final stages of the search.

“Radcliffe and Harvard will both benefit tremendously from the relationships Tomiko has already established at the Institute and across the University,” he wrote.

“I am excited that I will have the opportunity to work with such a wonderful scholar and leader in the years ahead.”

Harvard continued to reduce trash production per capita and water use in 2017, bringing the University closer to reaching its sustainability goals, according the 2017 Sustainability Report released Wednesday.

The report—which detailed the University’s progress toward its Sustainability Plan benchmarks set in 2014 for completion by 2020—shows that Harvard has reduced its trash production per capita by 44 percent from a 2006 baseline, a 1 percent improvement over the past year.

The school has reduced its water use by 26 percent compared with the baseline, a 2 percent reduction in use over the past year.

Carbon emissions held steady in 2017 at the 30 percent reduction achieved last year over the total time period of the campaign.

This overall reduction has continued despite an increase in campus square footage and the addition of spaces that consume significant energy like laboratories.

Heather A. Henriksen, director of the Office for Sustainability, wrote in a letter announcing the report that cross-disciplinary work is necessary to address global climate concerns and that the University’s “One Harvard” campaign is conducive to this goal.

“Harvard is perfectly positioned to contribute to in helping to define a path forward, not only through our cutting-edge research but also by using our campus as a living lab for testing promising new solutions that will build stronger, more resilient communities,” she wrote.

This year’s report features new graphic tools, which form part of an effort to allow University affiliates to track progress and to make data sets available for study and benchmarking, according to Henriksen.

“To strengthen our commitment to transparency, evaluation, and accountability we have added new interactive charts to this year’s Report which are aggregated in an exciting new online data dashboard that will allow you to view our progress in more detail,” Henriksen wrote.

One graphic specifically shows that,

while campus housing accounts for 31 percent of campus space, residential buildings use only 16 percent of total energy. Labs, by contrast, account for 22 percent of building space and use nearly half of all energy consumed on campus.

Other graphics show that public transit and walking are the most common commuter methods for Harvard affiliates, and that the University has seen a decrease in the number of campus vehicles running on gas.

Beyond efficiency and waste reduction, the sustainability initiatives aim to integrate study of climate change into the University’s curriculums.

All 900 first-year students at the Business School examined how climate change would impact business for the first time in 2017, according to the report, and some first-year students in Harvard’s new Master in Design Engineering program focused on sustainability projects.

University President Drew G. Faust introduced the University’s new Climate Action Plan in February, including plans for the University to become fossil fuel-neutral by 2026.

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Page 4 | April 27, 2018 | The Harvard Crimson

Outdoors Clubs to Lose Adams Spaces

By Jonah S. Berger Crimson Staff Writer

For decades, the Harvard Mountaineering Club and Harvard Outing Club have called Adams House home, using their secluded offices in Claverly Hall as jumping-off points for adventures near and far.

Soon, that will change.

Adams is next up as part of the the College’s $1 billion House Renewal project—construction will begin starting June 2019—meaning the two student groups will lose their long-established Adams offices.

Leaders of the Outing and Mountaineering Clubs said that, though their current spaces carry significant sentimental value, the groups are open to working with the College to execute a seamless move. Nonetheless, the leaders remain concerned about certain aspects of the relocation.

Sheila C. Thimba, the College’s dean for administration and finance, wrote in an emailed statement that administrators are working with the groups to help find new spaces to fit their needs.

“This project will result in increased communal spaces, mid-block connections between buildings, and increased accessibility, all while maintaining Adams’ many unique characteristics and charm,” she wrote. “As part of the process we have held numerous meetings with student groups to discuss options for new locations, and will continue to do so.”

The Mountaineering Club maintains a library, storage room, and an office space in Claverly Hall.

The office, replete with couches, bookshelves, and pictures from climbing trips, serves as a reminder of the organization’s storied past, according to its leaders.

“There is so much historical value with the books and space we have here,” said incoming club president Vladislav Sevostianov ’19. “We’ve had

filmmakers come, writers, journalists who can come and they can use this space as a resource for their learning about mountaineering history.”

Outing Club president Ariana S. Gross ’18 also said she likes her group’s current office because of its comfortable and down-to-earth feeling.

“We have a really nice room that stores all our gear really well,” Gross said. “It’s a pretty cozy space.”

The College is also working with leaders of the two groups to increase administrative oversight of their activities to make sure safety and liability concerns are addressed to the greatest extent possible. Though leaders of both groups said they believe their current safety standards are adequate, both said they are open to more regulation.

“I don’t think it’s the worst thing, just having some more standardization in terms of how we train people, whether that’s a first-aid certification or a course in ropes-rescue,” said outgoing Mountaineering Club president Rory R. Brown ’18.

“We just want to make sure that the core integrity of the club isn’t broken,” Brown said.

The push for more oversight of outdoor adventure groups is not unique to Harvard. Last week, Penn State administrators banned the school’s outing club from organizing outdoor, student-run trips after determining the club’s activities were “above the University’s threshold of acceptable risk for recognized student organizations,” according to the club’s website.

Leaders of the Outing and Mountaineering Clubs noted one of the best perks of having Adams offices is the building’s location—right near the heart of campus. Adams House sits just a few hundred yards from Harvard Yard and is within walking distance of the Charles River.

“It’s very convenient for people on the river to just come by and rent gear,”

The Harvard Mountaineering Club will lose it’s office space in Adams House. Administrators are considering moving the space to the Radcliffe Quadrangle. delano r. franklin—Crimson staff photographer

Gross said.

Thimba said administrators have proposed giving the groups new space in the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center, an athletic facility in the Quad.

“We have presented a proposal for the groups’ new location to be at the QRAC in order to align their programs with that of the climbing wall which was installed there last year,” she wrote. “We believe there is an opportunity to enhance the College’s investment in outdoor extracurricular activities through this co-location.”

“No final determination has been made at this time, but we look forward to continuing to engage with our students on this,” Thimba added.

The possibility of moving to the Quad, though, could be damaging to the Mountaineering Club, its leaders said.

“Many students at Harvard would view the Quad as somewhere that’s perhaps somewhere more out of the

way, especially if they’re living in the River Houses,” Sevostianov said.

In addition, the prospective move to the QRAC could risk damaging the strong community the club has built up over the years, some members said.

“There’s kind of a homey aspect to it,” Brown said of the group’s space in Claverly Hall. “One of my big concerns with this new space is that it’s just not going to have the same kind of hominess that facilitates the kind of community we have now.”

Sevostianov said transporting the club’s gear and library collection, which he called one of the “more impressive mountaineering libraries” outside of those belonging to large national groups, could be costly.

Thimba wrote the College would be “covering costs associated with the move.”

Harvard’s mountaineering organization has a rich history as one of the premier climbing clubs in the world. In 1963, members of the Mountaineering

Club, including College students and alumni, trekked to Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, and scaled one of the largest continuous walls in the world. The route has never been replicated and is now known by climbers as the “Harvard Route.”

Sevostianov said the club’s Adams House office used to be the “center of climbing in the world.”

“You read those books, and you know, ‘We start the adventure as we’re going outside of Claverly Hall, we’re about to go to Alaska,’” Sevostianov said. “Those are really inspiring stories, because you sit here and like, wow, the greatest mountaineers in the world were here 50 years ago and I’m sitting where they are now.”

“I’m looking at books that they read,” he added. “This was them.”

Recently, the Mountaineering Club has focused its efforts on local climbs, but continues to take occasional trips overseas—for example, conducting a 2017 expedition to Peru.

Novelist Colson Whitehead ’91 Wins Harvard Arts Medal

Colson Whitehead receives the Harvard Arts Medal at Sanders Theatre on Thursday afternoon. Lu Shao—Crimson photographer

By KARINA G. GONZALEZ-ESPINOZA andGrace Lin Crimson Staff Writers

Author and Pulitzer Prize-winner Colson Whitehead ’91 received the 2018

Harvard Arts Medal from University President Drew G. Faust at a ceremony in Sanders Theatre Thursday afternoon.

At the celebration, Faust described the medal—established in 1995—as

“Harvard’s highest honor for artistic achievement by alumni.” Whitehead is the third novelist to win the award, following past recipients Margaret Atwood and John Updike ’54. As she presented the medal to Whitehead, Faust

College Dems Lobby at State House

By Simone C. Chu Crimson Staff Writer

Around 30 underg raduates met with state legislators at the Massachusetts State House Thursday to advocate for five bills as part of the Harvard College Democrats’ semesterly Lobby Day. The volunteers attended 25 meetings throughout the day to lobby for a variet y of bills that would implement a carbon tax, expand resources for sexual assault survivors at higher education institutions, prevent firearm access for dangerous or suicidal individuals, and inform ex-offenders of their right to vote in municipal elections.

“It’s a process that occurs over the whole semester,” Isabel A. Giovannetti ’21, communications director for the College Democrats, said.

Giovannetti said that, at the beginning of the semester, members of the College Democrats’ Policy and Publicity Committee voted on which bills to support.

Over the course of the following weeks, participating students researched policies and developed

fact sheets, bill summaries, and other materials to inform meetings with legislators on Lobby Day. Alexander Z. Zhang ’20, the g roup’s legislative director, said the organization submitted two of the bills through Cambridge representative Marjorie C. Decker the year before.

“We weren’t sure where they were at,” Zhang said. But after some follow-up, he said, the College Democrats decided to push for the bills on ex-offender voting rights and firearm restrictions once again.

Giovannetti said that, because “the goal is to be as effective as possible,” the College Democrats would not “drop a bill” they had pushed for in the past if they saw an opportunity to further its progress.

T’ajmal K. A. K. Hog ue ’21 said she thought the legislators she met with were “very receptive.”

Giovannetti said that, in her experience, many of the legislators that students meet with do not necessarily disagree with undergraduates’ stances on the issues.

“It’s just a matter of showing

them that these topics, and these bills, are priorities for us,” she said.

“There are so many things on their plates. We want to shine a light on these specific bills.”

Reed T. Shafer-Ray ’18, the former College Democrats’ legislative director, said Lobby Day was born out of a desire to make the policy arm of the group more “action-based” rather than just “fantasizing about the policies that we would want to make.”

“It’s amazing how the seed g rew—it’s my sixth Lobby Day,” Shafer-Ray said. “I’m really confident and optimistic that it will just get bigger and bigger.”

Since Lobby Day’s inception, Shafer-Ray said, the College Democrats have expanded and built coalitions with other student groups.

Additionally, the group continues to lend support to other advocacy efforts throughout the year.

“Lobby Day isn’t just one day.

Even after we finish today, we’ll still be doing follow-ups, we’ll still be advocating,” Shafer-Ray said.

“The advocacy work really never stops, because the problems never stop.”

said the University is “grateful beyond words that your words are in our library.”

Whitehead limited his acceptance speech to just a few sentences, explaining that, during his days as a Harvard student, he never would have expected such an honor.

“I accept this on behalf of the fourth floor of Pennypacker. May you all live in peace and harmony,” he said.

Whitehead’s novel “The Underground Railroad” won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and was a #1 New York Times Bestseller.

The novel is currently being adapted to an Amazon Studios television series written and directed by Barry Jenkins, the Oscar-winning writer-director of “Moonlight.”

In an hour-long interview with actor John Lithgow ’67—winner of last year’s Arts Medal—Whitehead discussed a range of topics including his writing career, his process as a writer, and the motivations for his work.

“Usually my books have too many black people to get picked up for live Hollywood,” Whitehead said with a chuckle.

Whitehead also spoke about his career transition—from working as a journalist early on to ultimately becoming a novelist.

“It was always about fiction,” he said, “When I was writing, one article would buy me four days of writing, that’s how I thought of it.”

Whitehead previously taught at

Harvard as part of the “Black Writers Reading” series hosted by the W.E.B. DuBois institute in 2003.

This year’s ceremony opened with a poem reading by Amanda Gorman ’20, the first National Youth Poet Laureate.

Gorman’s poem outlined her experience rediscovering her African ancestry and roots.

The award ceremony marked the official start of this spring’s Arts First, an annual weekend festival on campus that showcases artworks and performances by University affiliates. Originally a festival limited to undergraduate art, the event has since expanded to include all University affiliates—including faculty and staff—as well as guest artists.

“This is the 26th year of the Arts First festival. It’s a four day celebration of creativity and art-making across the University,” said Marin J. Orlosky Randow ’07-’08, the Arts First coordinator at the University’s Office for the Arts.

Randow said this is the first year that Arts First—which will run from Thursday to Sunday—will hold events across the river in Allston. Among these events and exhibitions, the Office for Arts is sponsoring a performance of Antigone at the Harvard Stadium Sunday evening.

Randow said the Office for the Arts also seeks to encourage independent student artists, in addition to organized groups, to bring their work to the festival.

From the Law School to

Longwood.

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The Harvard Crimson | april 27, 2018 | page 5

Pro-Union Voters More Likely to Approve Strikes strike From Page 1 a ballot must vote to authorize a strike for it to take effect.

The exit poll also showed prounion voters were 13 times more likely to report approval of the UAW than were anti-union voters.

On April 18 and 19, eligible graduate and undergraduate student assistants voted to unionize, meaning Harvard Graduate Students Union-UAW now has the right to collectively bargain with the University on their behalf.

A count by National Labor Relations Board officials held April 20 showed 1,931 votes in favor of unionization and 1,523 against.

The Crimson conducted its exit poll on both days of the election, stationing reporters at the three voting locations in Cambridge, Longwood, and Allston for 78 percent of all hours the sites remained open. Reporters collected exit surveys from 1,295 voters, representing over a third of the voting population.

The 23-question survey asked respondents for their opinions on collective bargaining, politics, and campus issues. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this story has not been corrected for any possible

response bias (see below for methodology).

One survey question asked whether respondents approve, disapprove, or have no opinion of strikes as a bargaining maneuver specifically for student unions. Overall, 52.1 percent of respondents reported approval of student union strikes, while 30.3 percent reported disapproval.

Of respondents who reported they voted in favor of unionization, the vast majority—70.6 percent—indicated they approve of strikes as a negotiation strategy. Just 11.3 percent of anti-union voters, by contrast, reported approving of strikes.

Applying these percentages to the official vote count suggests that, overall, 44.5 percent of voters likely approve of student union strikes.

The NLRB recognizes two broad categories of lawful causes to strike.

One category comprises economic reasons—for example, a union might go on strike to demand higher wages or benefits for its members. The second comprises labor reasons—for example, an employer’s refusal to bargain.

Four days before Harvard voters headed to the polls, graduate students at Columbia voted to approve a strike— which began April 24—in response

to university administrators’ refusal to bargain with Columbia’s student union. Since April 20, a spokesperson for Harvard has repeatedly declined to answer a question asking whether the University plans to bargain with HSGU-UAW. In the weeks before the election, union organizers often cited statistics showing that 98 percent of union-negotiated contracts are approved sans recourse to a strike.

Respondents’ opinions on striking varied significantly according to surveyed voters’ divisional affiliation within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Overall, Arts and Humanities respondents were most likely to report support for a strike, with 72.6 percent indicating they would approve of striking.

Sixty-five percent of Social Sciences respondents, 33.1 percent of Sciences respondents, and 20.5 percent of School of Engineering and Applied Sciences respondents reported a favorable opinion of strikes.

The survey also asked voters their opinion of the UAW, giving them the option to select boxes marked “Favorable,” “Unfavorable,” and “No Opinion.”

A plurality of overall respon-

Bill Gates Talks Giving, Career Gates from Page 1 a­ n email after the event that it was great to receive the invite to visit.

“It was really interesting to hear what was on students’ minds during my Q&A; with them,” he wrote. “We live in an exciting time with so much opportunity for people who love learning and want to contribute to the world in some way, and I’m sure Harvard students will continue to make a big impact.”

Gates took questions from students in the crowd about a variety of topics, many related to inequities in the education system, which he called the most significant issue facing the country.

During the event, Gates mentioned some of his Foundation’s efforts to bridge the gap in access to education.

He particularly mentioned the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, which grants students from low-income minority backgrounds the opportunity to pursue an undergraduate education in any discipline.

Despite this and other initiatives, Gates said the Foundation—which he said spends $800 million annually on education—has not been able to move the United States education system into the top three globally ranked systems.

“We have no noticeable impact after almost 20 years of working in that space,” Gates said. “But we’re committed.”

For higher education, the problem goes deeper than funding, Gates said.

Asked about the lack of “scientific literacy” in Washington, Gates said the issue extends beyond politicians, call-

ing understanding of issues like genetically modified organisms and climate change “very limited” among the general public.

“The problem is when you get issues—climate change being the best example—where scientific understanding is fairly important because the sacrifices have to be made now in order to get the benefit later,” he said.

Apart from education, Gates also discussed the Foundation’s other main priority: global health.

“The statistic that I’d be most proud of is when we got started, there were 11 million children a year under the age of five who died every year and now that number has been cut in half,” he said.

Gates said he attributes the decline in early childhood death to the Foundation’s efforts to provide vaccines and medications to Africa and other parts of the world.

The Foundation is on track to reduce the number of deaths to 2.5 million by 2030, according to Gates.

The next challenge for the Gates Foundation is to fully eradicate polio, he said, noting the global effort is “very close” to achieving this.

Heather M. Viola, a student at the School of Public Health who attended the event and will intern for the Foundation this summer, said she is “very excited” Gates brought up the polio initiative.

“I was hoping to have a little bit more detail on the technical side of some of the global health and things specific to disease eradication, but I think I’ll have to wait and hear more over the summer when I start work,” she said.

Apart from discussing his work,

Gates joked about his time as an undergraduate, expressing a wish that he had been “more sociable.” Gates laughed about how classmate and eventual Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer punched him for the Fox Club, one of Harvard’s all-male final clubs, to bolster his social life.

“There were these things called ‘men’s clubs’ and I never even would’ve known they existed, but Steve Ballmer decided I needed to have some exposure to, I guess, drinking. So he got me punched for the Fox Club so I’d go to those events,” Gates said.

On a more academic note, Gates discussed his experience with “Math 55,” a course he called the “hardest freshman math class at the time.” Gates assumed the class was no longer in existence.

“It is,” the audience resoundingly informed him.

Gates wrote in the email that, while much has stayed the same from his time as a student, some things have changed a lot.

“Access to information is a big thing—I used to stay up late and argue with my friends about some piece of information, and there was no way of proving who was right and who was wrong until the library opened up in the morning and we could research it,” Gates wrote.

“Now, you can find the information online in an instant.”

Javier Cuan-Martinez ’18 said it was “surreal” to go from class to getting to see Gates speak.

“It was awesome to learn from him even if it was just for an hour and just seeing what his thoughts are on current events,” Cuan-Martinez said.

The sights and sounds of Harvard.

dents—44.1 percent—indicated they have no opinion of the UAW. A similar statistic holds true for “Yes” respondents, 47.9 percent of whom indicated they have no opinion of the international union. Of remaining “Yes” respondents, 46.8 percent reported they hold a favorable opinion of the UAW, while 5.3 percent reported an unfavorable opinion.

By comparison, of students who voted against unionization, only 3.6 percent indicated they have a favorable opinion of the UAW, while 59.8 percent indicated they view the organization unfavorably. Around 36.7 percent indicated they have no opinion.

Harvard’s union voted to affiliate with the UAW in Sept. 2015 after an “affiliation committee” staffed by early organizers recommended the move.

The committee’s stated reasons for the affiliation included increased financial and legal support.

Skepticism of the UAW figured prominently in arguments students against unionization made leading up to the the election. A poster attributed to a group called Liberals Against Unionization of Graduate-Level Harvard Students and pasted around campus the first day of the unionization election read, “I won’t tell you

what to do, unlike the UAW.” In response to these arguments, union supporters have in part cited what they call the UAW’s vast prior experience organizing graduate student unions. With the recent addition of HGSU-UAW, over 40,000 students have now formed unions affiliated with the UAW. Overall, 12 percent of survey respondents indicated they have previously been members of labor unions, and 17.5 percent of respondents indicated they previously worked or were enrolled at a post-secondary institution that offered a union for students, researchers, or faculty.

Previous experience with labor unions had a small but measurable effect on people’s vote: of respondents who were formerly labor union members, 76.4 percent indicated they supported unionization. Of respondents who reported they had never been a member of a labor union, 69.1 percent voted in favor.

Similarly, of respondents who previously studied or worked at an institution with a faculty or student union, 71.3 percent indicated they supported unionization. Of respondents who reported they had not, 68.6 percent voted in favor.

Med School Students Wary of New Union Med School From PagE 1 Exit polling conducted by The Crimson suggested medical students were significantly less likely to vote in favor of unionization than were students attending other University schools.

The data, which was not adjusted for response bias, indicated that 61.5 percent of medical students voted against unionization, marking one of the highest percentages of “No” voters at any of Harvard’s schools. By contrast, 66.4 percent of respondents from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences—representing the largest bloc of eligible voters—indicated they cast ballots in favor of the union.

After the election, some experts noted the size of Harvard’s union is unique among student unions at private universities—the proposed bargaining unit at Harvard includes over 5,000 students. By comparison, the graduate union at New York University—which is the only graduate student union at a private university that has successfully negotiated a contract to date—does not include research assistants from its medical school.

Medical Sciences Ph.D. student John L. Pulice III ’15 said he thinks a proposal to redefine the bargaining unit would gain significant support among students.

“At the medical school, people who are opposed to the union have been the most vocal,” he said. “I have heard many people even after the vote wondering if there is anything we can do to mitigate the effects of this. There’s a lot of frustration and maybe confusion.”

Medical Sciences Ph.D. student Noah Bloch, a vocal opponent of unionization, wrote in an email he would welcome an effort to exclude Longwood from negotiations.

“I certainly plan on being involved in this process once someone can figure out how to get it started,” he wrote.

Experts, though, say this type of

split would not be immediately feaasible. Former National Labor Relations Board Chairman William B. Gould IV said Wednesday the bargaining block cannot be changed at this point in the unionization process.

Issues relating to “the scope of the unit” cannot be raised for at least a year after the election results are announced, Gould said.

“Even then, beyond those factors, they would have to show that there’s something very different about their situation that would make them a skilled craft homogenous group of people that are separate and apart from the others,” he said.

Union organizer Hector F. Medina-Abarca, a Systems Biology Ph.D. student, said he disagrees with the notion that Longwood and Medical School students broadly oppose the union.

“The students [I have] talked to are very happy about the election result,” Medina wrote in an email. “Here in SysBio, I’d say students are excited about the next steps.”

“As far as student engagement, the change from the election in 2016 is palpable in SysBio alone: we had [more than three] volunteers/organizers this round and no anti-union activity, whereas the previous election only I was helping with the unionization movement and there were a couple students here speaking out against the union,” Medina added.

Union organizer and Medical Sciences Ph.D. student Madeleine F. Jennewein wrote in an email that there are good reasons her classmates should support the union.

“I think there is a misconception that the things Humanities students need are more acute,” she wrote. “The benefits of a union—increased wages, better healthcare, benefits for student parents, and more support for diverse students—will accrue to everyone, regardless of their affiliation.”

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EDITORIAL

The Harvard Crimson | April 27, 2018 | page 6

The Columns that Haunt Us

The Crimson Editorial board

Protecting Public Service

T

he past year came with many new prospects for public service opportunities at the College, especially in the wake of the generous Chan Zuckerberg Initiative donation. Notably, the Phillips Brooks House Association has convened a committee of students, the “Seamless Service Pathways Process,” aimed at creating a new initiative focused on making public service options more visible to students. The committee hopes to remove barriers for low-income students that prevent them from participating in public service both during their time at the College and after.

We appreciate all these efforts because public service is largely overlooked at the College. A major factor contributing to the growing pipeline that many of our peers have taken to jobs in management consulting or finance is the plethora of resources available to navigate those fields, including the disproportionate attention provided to those fields by the Office for Career Services and the various on-campus interviews that many firms grant students. There are few similar programs for public-service related career fields. This, combined with

structural issues including for-profit careers’ high salaries and job security, explains why the job search for graduating seniors is tilted heavily towards the private sector.

There is a stigma around pursuing public service here at the College that must be removed. We should use our power and privilege as Harvard students to make a positive impact in the world. Since

There is a stigma around pursuing public service here at the College that must be removed. We should use our power and privilege as Harvard students to make a positive impact in the world.

guidance counselors, outreach programs, and career fairs that expose students to public service work opportunities. PBHA should also consider hosting speakers who could discuss their experiences in public service. To that end, the committee should also consider specifically hosting events that help de-stigmatize public service and focus on direct-service careers.

At the same time, this initiative comes as Gene A. Corbin, the Assistant Dean of Student Life for Public Service at the College, steps down after years occupying that position and helping implement the new committee. We appreciate his efforts in starting this program, and hope that this transition in his office will not disrupt this fledgling program and its potential. We expect that his successor is equally dedicated to changing the culture of public service here at the College.

this PBHA program is in its infancy, there are several suggestions we hope the committee takes into account. We hope that the program features a variety of structural and guiding resources that can put public service opportunities on par with private sector—including

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.

Ruben E. Reyes Bending the arc

I

ing groups before settling into one for their final two years.

Such a system is by no means perfect, but it’s a very straightforward fix for a problem that affects many more students than some of the other issues that get more of the College’s attention. This would be far more equitable, and it would create another collective experience shared by all Harvard students, similar to living in the Yard as freshmen. Moreover, it would also give students more time to form blocking groups, another cornerstone of Harvard social life. Even if this is not the best system, improving the student experience requires admitting that there may be better systems out there than the one we have now.

f I ever become a “man of note,” my columns might come back to haunt me like a tricky spirit back from the dead— not to punish me, but to annoy me.

My opinions will likely change over the years, but those that I hold now as a strapping young undergraduate will remain immortalized on these pages. If a critic— or aspiring young journalist—ever digs up old columns of mine, they might find some lines I might not be as proud of ten, twenty, thirty years out.

Were this hypothetical ever to become reality, I would not be alone. There’s been a number of powerful Harvard College graduates who’ve gone on to become influencers in their respective field. And yes, articles they wrote as mere teenagers or people in their early twenties are still available for all to see.

“In a love affair, love will naturally grow, unmanaged and unfettered,” a former Crimson columnist wrote in the late 1990s. “If it stops growing, the affair falls apart, violently and wrenchingly. But we live to love again, our world having been enriched by all of our past affairs. It is spontaneous, and it is unmatched in human life.”

It’s tempting to assume the writer, who sounds like an aspiring Neruda, has taken up poetry full-time. Perhaps, after hours, he has. But as a day job, he works on legislation on the Hill. Our love-struck writer is none other than Republican Senator Thomas B. Cotton ‘98 of Arkansas.

Senator Cotton, who is now a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s xenophobic policies and co-sponsor of a nativist overhaul of U.S. immigration law, once dabbled in less pressing matters. Before he went about figuring out new ways of ripping immigrant families apart, he wrote about love life at Harvard.

Another Crimson columnist received a speeding ticket while driving his friend’s new Mercedes-Benz in 2002. “The larger reason I was speeding—well, that’s somewhat more embarrassing. You see, while I held the hammer down,” he confessed. “I was grooving to the exciting, pulse-pounding, adrenaline-boosting music of none other than. . . Garth Brooks.”

From there, he used Garth Brooks to reflect on diversity at Harvard, the tastes we value, and perceptions of mythologized middle America. The man who asked the difficult questions—including “But honestly, who sings along to Radiohead? Heck, who even knows what a Radiohead song is about?”—now holds one of the most powerful positions in journalism.

Ross Douthat has been a columnist for the New York Times since 2009. He’s become the poster child of conservative intellectualism and one of the most noted conservative voices in media. Yet while at Harvard, he dabbled in less intense conversations, writing about how “country music is tacky and sappy and simplistic and sung in a Southern accent.”

People continue developing their worldviews after they graduate. Often, they become more conservative as they get older. College is but a step in that transformation. But for those of us who write about the things that matter—or partake in activism or other forms of social change—pieces of this transformation are frozen in time.

Cruel, opportunistic readers could take a single phrase or position from old pieces to make a point about who the person is in the present. But given how drastically people’s politics can change in the span of a few years, holding people to specific policy positions they took in the past feels disingenuous. At the very best, it is an act of bad faith.

Simultaneously, individuals’ bodies of work as a whole do offer an insight into their worldview, which is much more static. Individual policy stances may change, but the fundamental way people view the world is harder to overhaul. Precisely because of that, the collection of an individual’s thoughts—written years before—are worth scrutiny as a whole.

Senator Cotton’s tirades against diversity and affirmative action at Harvard, his revelry in being deemed contrarian, and his criticisms of student activists formed the basis for the man now deemed by some as “the future of Trumpism.” Douthat’s writing while at Harvard primed him for an uncommonly quick ascent into journalism, with one writer noting that, “Instead [Douthat] became a Crimson columnist and worked for The Atlantic. That was smart.”

The particular details of an old opinion piece, or the particular way a sentence is phrased, are not all that important. The way these pieces inform a larger ideology, though, is critical, especially when the writers go on to inhabit spaces of extreme inf luence. It’s interesting—but not essential—to know that presidential advisor Stephen Miller once attacked Maya Angelou’s work “as tired, multicultural clichés.” It is essential to parse out how that particular opinion and his subsequent work informed him as a leading architect of the Muslim ban.

A standalone combination of words, written decades ago, are not worth over analyzing. The way they inform a larger ideology, though, should be fair game. My columns may be dug up in the future for their silliness, unfortunate phrasing, or a particular opinion that has aged badly. But the columns that haunt me should be those that explain any harm I might be inflicting on others in that point in my life—as a policy maker, writer, or person deemed worth listening to.

Jake R. Levene ’18 is a Classics concentrator living in Dunster House,

Ruben R. Reyes ’19, a former Crimson editorial chair, is a History & Literature concentrator in Leverett House. His column appears on alternate Fri-

BE A CRIMSON CARTOONIST Submit a sample cartoon or any questions to Associate Editorial Editor Wonik Son ‘19 (wonik.son@thecrimson.com).

The Case For Housing Reform

By Jake R. Levene

O ­

ne of the most controversial topics at Harvard is social life. It is evident from the passions ignited that this is an issue about which many care deeply. However, the debate has largely centered around the College’s unrecognized single-gender social organizations— whose membership includes only a small fraction of students. Whether they are eliminated or tolerated, they will only ever directly affect a relatively small portion of the student body. Housing, however, affects nearly all undergraduates. It deserves much more attention than it has received, and there are steps the College should take to change it.

At its best, House and residential life can be a foundation for much of our undergraduate experience.

However, it is not a system whose benefits are distributed equally among the students. The housing experience is far more negative for many of the of undergraduates who get randomly housed in the Quad, which comprises a quarter of the upperclass Houses. Some people truly love the Quad, and those who do not have the opportunity to apply for an interhouse transfer. To do that, however, many have to make the difficult choice between a blocking group and a River House. Even then, many of those applying to transfer will not be successful.

For a school that focuses so much on equality and fairness, especially with regard to social life—af-

ter all, exclusivity has been the lens through which the College has scrutinized the unrecognized single-gender social groups—there is a glaring absence of either in the housing lottery. Its random nature does not make up for that. It is fundamentally unfair that significantly worse housing options cost the same as significantly better ones, with no student choice involved. One might read what I’ve just written and argue that there is inequality among the River Houses too, and there is.

But the minor inconvenience created by living in Dunster or Mather compared to Adams or Quincy, or the difference in newness—which will soon be gone—between the renovated and not yet renovated River Houses, pale in comparison to the headache of having to schedule your life around infrequent and often unreliable shuttles, losing the ability to go to your room between classes, and being often unable to eat in your own dining hall for lunch.

My proposed solution to this is quite simple: Redesign the housing lottery such that all sophomores live in the Quad and leave the randomization among the river houses for the two upper classes. This system is, of course, not without its own f laws, such as possibly creating distance between sophomores and older students, but its benefits outweigh those and any other drawbacks. This system would be infinitely more fair and equal for everyone involved, and it also could allow students more time to create or amend their block-

The Harvard Crimson President Derek G. Xiao ’19 Managing Editor Hannah Natanson ’19 Business Manager Nathan Y. Lee ’19

The University Daily, Est. 1873 Associate Managing Editors Mia C. Karr ’19 Claire E. Parker ’19

Blog Chairs Lydia L. Cawley ’20 Stuti Telidevara ’20

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Digital Strategists Caroline S. Engelmayer ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Dianne Lee ’20

Sports Chairs Cade S. Palmer ’20 Jack R. Stockless ’19

Arts Chairs Mila Gauvini II ’19 Grace Z. Li ’19

Technology Chairs Nenya A. Edjah ’20 Theodore T. Liu ’20

The Harvard Crimson |april 27, 2018 | page 7

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Sports

The Harvard Crimson | April 27, 2018 | page 8

Classics Ball All the Way to National Championship

Star-Studded The Harvard Classics reached the NCBBA National Championships this season, where they upset No.1 Michigan to advance to the National Championship Game. Courtesy of Shane o’Donoghue Men’s Club Basketball

By Eliel Ig-Izevbekhai Contributing Writer

With multiple practices a week, games at Lavietes Pavilion, regional finals, and a national tournament, the schedule and experiences of Harvard Club Basketball this season may rival those of its varsity counterparts. Although the season ultimately ended with a loss, the defeat came at the highest competition in the club level: the national championship game.

The Harvard Classics Club Basketball team is as competitive as it is recreational. There is no paid coaching staff, players may occasionally miss practice, and games are not televised; however, this did not stop the team from commiting to a full season of basketball en route to a NCBBA National Championship berth this season. It is that commitment, the team says, that makes the well-oiled machine run.

“This is my fourth year on the team,” senior President and wing Tommy Kelley said. “[Club Basketball] is the main thing I do on campus. I was excited to take the reigns and get involved with everything.”

Kelley’s job is a complicated one.

He is in charge of finding non-recruited players with outstanding basketball skill and years of basketball expe­

I think a big way we get new players on the team is…playing pickup. When we see a good player we ask them if they’re a freshman and if they are on a basketball team.

Tommy Kelley ‘18 President/Wing

rience. However, the team has found a unique way of doing so: scouting pickup games at Harvard gyms.

“We just go to Hemenway, or we go to [Malkin],” Kelley said. “I think a big way we get new players on the team is…playing pickup. When we see a good player we ask them if they’re a freshman and if they are on a basketball team.”

To some, club basketball is the best of both worlds. Players are able to re-

ceive a herald education while still playing basketball at a high level.

“I, like a lot of other guys on the team, had a chance to play at Division III schools and ultimately decided to go to Harvard for the academic portion,” sophomore Shane O’Donoghue said. “...A lot of us were still looking for that aspect of playing basketball competitively. That’s why we looked at the club basketball arena without the crazy commitment of a varsity sport.”

Others were warmed up to the idea by mutual friends and family.

“I had known Tommy [Kelley], our families know each other,“ sophomore Nate Hollenberg said. “So I reached out to him. My brother also went to Harvard, so he told me about the club basketball team, and I told a lot of the people I played pickup with the first couple weeks [of freshman year].”

However, the informal recruitment process may be the most relaxed portion of the year. After tryouts fill a deep roster of about 18 players, the team locks in for the demands of a competitive season. Every weekend culminates in a game with a regional college team, making this one of the more time consuming club sports available.

This does not mean the team isn’t understanding of the numerous time commitments of their players.

“What’s great about the Classics is that we always take a big squad,” Hollenberg said. “It’s great because we... take it very seriously, but then again, a lot of the kids on the team do so many other things on the campus. Oh, you have to write a paper on Wednesday?

We still have 12 other guys to practice. The seriousness combined with the understanding has made it a really great commitment.”

Every night of practice is devoted to making the team run smoothly. Kelley heads the team and helps implement game schemes while contributing as a team leader on the court, but every player also brings their own piece to the basketball puzzle.

“I do all the practice coordination, substitutions, all of that,” Kelley said. “I think there are a bunch of guys on the team that could have done it. It can be hard because these kids are your friends and you’re playing alongside them. At the same time, you need to take them out the game. Everyone has been very enthusiastic, however. If someone sees a play in a college or NBA game that they like, we try to put it in.”

Practice and gameplanning during the week can only go so far, and it makes the job even more complicated.

The Classics sometimes face unfamiliar teams and aren’t afforded scouting that varsity sports receive. In-game adjustments are crucial in a league without game film or concrete rosters. The ability to adjust on the fly is another tool a team must have in order to succeed in this league.

Along with coaching and playing talent, the unique chemistry on and off

the court is key to the team’s success.

The team’s ability to bond over the game each member loves has fostered a community of friendship and selflessness that translates to cohesiveness on the court.

“In every single grade, we have at least two people who are roommates with each other,” Kelley said. “It is definitely something that builds a lasting friendship.”

I, like a lot of other guys on the team, had a chance to play at Division III schools and ultimately decided to go to to Harvard for the academic portion.

Shane O’Donoghue ‘20 Guard

Between coaching, talent, and teamwork, the Classics ultimately put it all together in what was a season filled with numerous accomplishments. However, merely looking at the stat sheet and livestreams on Facebook would overlook everything behind the scenes that made this season come together.

It started with the players. The Classics immediately found new contributors to the team this fall, players that later became x-factors. The older leaders on the team were there to support them through the maturation process.

“Obviously the freshman this year played tremendously,” O’Donoghue said. “[Freshmen] like Paul Ramsey and Soren McLeod really came into their own, but it wasn’t always like that for them. We have some great senior captains. The senior leadership, those guys that rose up at the beginning of the season while the underclassmen were trying to find their role. It created a balance. Guys like Ramsey and Soren, the way they played in the national tournament when they played—unreal. It wasn’t always like that. I accredit that to the leadership of guys that have been here for three or four years.”

Having all these tools was not enough. The Harvard Classics needed to win the New England Conference during the regular season, and defeat a familiar foe in Boston College. The season started out slowly, with losses to non-conference teams and low-

er-ranked matchups. As a result, the team did not picture themselves having late-season success during these early struggles. It took time into the second semester for the Classics to catch fire and streak into the regional tournament.

Boston College won an at-large bid to the regional tournament and had won two out of three of the previous matchups. However, the Classics put it all behind them, coming into the game with confidence in their newfound success and ultimately overwhelmed their cross-town rivals by over 20 points.

Next up was club basketball’s biggest stage: the NCBBA National Tournament. But the team hit another block on their path. With the tournament being a multiple day event in South Bend, Ind., the club sports budget could not cover such extensive travel and accommodations.

Carrying over their resilience from the court, the Classics were not deterred.

“We actually did a fundraising campaign,” Hollenberg said. “ We raised over $6,500 from friends and family... so it was really nice that we didn’t have to worry about anyone financially.”

On the biggest stage, each player also needed to find their role. Against the nation’s top teams, only selfless play would bring victory.

“For me, personally, it was ball handling,” O’Donoghue said. “When I get in the game, that is my main focus, just looking to help the team in a few minutes.”

The Classics were ready and had the players, support, and confidence. Immediately, it translated to success on the floor in the second annual tournament in South Bend.

Harvard overcame a deficit against familiar foe Princeton to squeak out a close victory, 90-89. With morale running high, the Classics then pulled the upset of the tournament. They overcame a double-digit deficit to best the #1 seeded Michigan Wolverines.

“We just said to just go out there and have fun,” Hollenberg said. “It just went our way.”

Next, for the national championship, was Ohio State. This game would prove to be the toughest test of all.

“I think at every position [Ohio State] had two inches on our next guy,” Kelley said. “We were missing our two tallest players so that was pretty tough.”

The Classics countered with spectacular individual performances. Multiple players stepped up and performed out of their roles to help lift the team up to the task.

“I think a big part of why our run was so deep, especially lacking the big guys was Paul Ramsey and [senior] Fri Lavey,” Kelley said. “ They are two guys who are under 6’3” and had to step into a role of pretending they were 6’7”.

It was just a huge performance.”

However, it was simply not enough.

The Classics fell to another deficit early on in the contest, and again were able to recover. This time, however, after finding a lead in the second half, the team lost it. Ohio State came out on top 80-70.

The unfortunate loss was not as saddening to the team as one would imagine.

“What was really funny was [when] we got back in the locker room we were just joking,” Hollenberg said. “Morale was so high before; morale was still high. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings after and to be honest, if I walked in I would have thought that was the team that had just won the national title. It was a bummer that we lost... but we’ll be back. We were the last team standing.”

The Classics were pleased with the work that they had put in, their perfor-

What was really funny was [when] we got back in the locker room we were just joking... morale was still so high.

Nate Hollenberg ‘20 Point Forward

mance, and most of all, the support that they received throughout the year. Everything from their opportunities to play at Lavietes, the money they raised to enjoy a fun trip, and the support they received at home games and at the tournament made the season worthwhile.

“Our fan base could not have been better,” O’Donoghue said. “Club sports in general typically don’t get great fan showing, but this whole year everybody has been so supportive of the team. It made us feel like what we were doing had purpose. In the national tournament, the fan engagement was unreal. Parents of guys on the team, are writing and showing enthusiasm. College students were chirping the whole time, it was great to see.”

With a season to remember, the Classics are riding high. However, this does not mean they are finished in any way. The National Club Basketball Association is, according to their website, the fastest growing intercollegiate club basketball league in the United States.

With increasing popularity, the Classics hope to continue to take their team to the next level.“ “We can only go up from here,” Hollenberg said. “We hope to keep the mojo going.”