THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLV, NO. 49 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018
The Harvard Crimson The Kennedy School should work to diversify its student body. STAFF EDITORIAL PAGE 6
Ivy League basketball grapples with increasing commercialism. SPORTS PAGE 7
Faculty Approve New Area of Study
Former Crimson Manager Dies at 27 By SOFIA W. TONG
By ANGELA N. FU and LUCY WANG
CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
he Faculty of Arts and Science voted T to create a new Environmental Engineering concentration at their monthly meeting Tuesday. The addition of the new concentration, Environmental Science and Engineering, will bring the total number of concentrations offered to undergraduates up to 50. The Faculty unanimously voted for its creation, and, in a meeting last month, the Faculty Council—FAS’s highest governing body— also unanimously supported the new concentration. Environmental Engineering Professor Daniel P. Schrag initially presented the proposal to the faculty at their meeting last month. He explained that ESE was the only track within the
SEE CONCENTRATION PAGE 3
he Cambridge City Council passed an T order urging billionaire developer Gerald L. Chan to publicly release a schedule for the development of the long-deserted Harvard Square Theater at a Council meeting Monday. Vice Mayor Jan Devereux and Cambridge City Councillor Dennis J. Carlone sponsored the legislation. The order is largely symbolic and has no power to force Chan’s hand. “The City Manager is requested to notify the owners of the former Harvard Square Theater that the City Council has requested that they provide a firm schedule,” the order reads in part. Chan, who co-founded and currently heads the Morningside Group
“Sometimes I wake up in the morning and hope to see my grandpa waiting there once again to ride along the sugarcane fields,” Saieed Hasnoo ’12 wrote in the application essay that earned him admission to Harvard. In the essay, he described the leisurely, daylong bike rides that defined his childhood in Trinidad; times when he would silently accompany his grandfather on empty gravel roads past plantations, through forests, and finally to a lake at dusk, where the two would watch birds flying home to their nests. It was by the lake, Saieed wrote, that his grandfather taught him to value family—a value he carried with him throughout his time at Harvard and beyond. Hasnoo, the Associate Business Manager for the 138th guard of The Harvard Crimson, died Feb. 24 after battling a terminal illness. He would have been 28 years old on April 4. When he was eight years old, Saieed and his family immigrated from Trinidad to the United States. After attending the Bronx High School of Science, he was accepted by all eight Ivy League schools. “He was always incredibly confident, always incredibly smart,” said Mohammed Hussain ’15, a close friend of Hasnoo’s since high school. “He had that persona that everybody gravitated towards him.” Mark A. Tyson, Hasnoo’s partner for four years, recalled that one of Hasnoo’s proudest moments came when he was invited to a dinner with Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein ’75 and a few other students while still in high school. After dinner, the group took a photo together—and Blankfein put his arm around Hasnoo. Blankfein ultimately provided Hasnoo with the full scholarship that enabled him to attend Harvard. When he arrived at the College, Hasnoo hung a United States flag in his dorm room, Tyson said. The flag served as a reminder of Hasnoo’s appreciation for America’s social mobility. “He always wanted to be somebody,” Tyson said. “His dream was to come from nothing and become the CEO of a Fortune 50 company.” Later in his Harvard career, Hasnoo lived in Currier House and concentrated in Economics. William J. Cember ’12, one of Hasnoo’s blockmates and a close friend, recalled first meeting
SEE THEATER PAGE 3
SEE HASNOO PAGE 5
Faculty enter University Hall for their monthly faculty meeting on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. KAI R. MCNAMEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
July 2012 Carpenter & Company, Inc. purchases the theater for $6.5 million
June 2017 Chan releases plan for theater
March 2015 Gerald L. Chan purchases the vacant theater
Council Asks Chan for Theater Progress By LEYLA J. K. BRITTAN and IRIS M. LEWIS CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
March 2017 Cambridge City Council demands Chan release plans for the theater
July 2012 Harvard Square Theater closes
December 2013 Casey Affleck’s plans to purchase theater fall through
April 2018 City Council urges Chan to publicly release construction schedule
DIANA C. PEREZ—CRIMSON DESIGNER
i-lab Starts New Ventures Program
Black Sheep Bagel Cafe Waits for Licensing OK By ANDREA M. BOSSI and HEIDE L. ROGERS CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
By TRUELIAN LEE and JACQUELINE P. PATEL CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Applications opened last week for the i-lab’s new alumni-led ventures program called Launch Lab X, a new initiative designed to support eligible start-ups and ventures created by Harvard alumni. Launch Lab X—which is set to start in September—will offer mentorship, guidance, and resources to accepted applicants for nine months, according to the i-lab’s website. The program is divided into “milestones”—three 90day “sprints” followed by meetings with investors, customers, and industry experts. Unlike the many other programs that i-lab offers, Launch Lab X offers support for everyone in the accepted venture, not just the founder.
SEE LAB PAGE 3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
Black Sheep Bagel Cafe is tentatively set to open in the lower space of 56 JFK Street in Harvard Square around May, pending the outcome of a licensing commission hearing next week. If approved, the eatery will join fellow building tenants Good Vibrations, Forty Winks, and the Boston Tea Stop. According to the proposal sent to the commission, the shop plans to be open everyday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Students are already expressing their excitement for the eatery that— according to Boston Eater—will serve over a dozen different types of bagels. “I definitely think there will be an interest for it,” Grace E. Geiger ‘20 said. For Geiger, a bagel place is just what Harvard Square needs, especially following the seizure of Market in the Square. “I feel like we’re missing that college town deli especially since Market closed,” she said. Sofia C. Shapiro ‘19 feels similarly. “I love bagels and lox. If they have that there, that would be really excit
Colorfully clad dancers perform a traditional piece during the Asian American Dance Troupe’s show Eastbound on Saturday. KATHRYN S. KUHAR—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
News 3
Editorial 6
Sports 7
TODAY’S FORECAST
RAINY & OVERCAST High: 62 Low: 30
ing for me,” Shapiro said. Despite apparent demand, there are currently no bagel cafes in Harvard Square. For many students, the go-to place for bagels is Bagelsaurus, which is about a mile away from the Yard. According to Geiger, the establishment is “one of the few perks of the Quad.” “I’m curious if it’s going to compare,” Richard M. Feder ‘18 said, lamenting the fact that Black Sheep will likely open in May. “I am graduating, so I won’t get to reap the benefits.” Hillel members also expressed excitement about the opening of Black Sheep. Hillel hosts monthly bagel brunches that are currently catered by a shop in Newton. “If this place were kosher, that would be super helpful to us. Right now we have to go outside the square to get bagels,” said Rebecca Powell, the student activities director at Harvard Hillel. Despite the buzz, however, some students said the success of the cafe will depend on its affordability. “I think people really like the cafe culture, but it’s really expensive,
SEE BAGELS PAGE 3
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70s Road Trip
HARVARD TODAY
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 4, 2018
FOR LUNCH
FOR DINNER
Baked Spaghetti Multigrain Casserole
Butter Chicken
Turkey & Provolone Panini
Potato & Vegetable Casserole
Curly Fries (!)
Reds Best Fresh Local Fish
AROUND THE IVIES
HEY KID
Columbia Graduate Student Union calls for a strike authorization vote
A baby goat feeds on hay at a pop-up petting zoo outside of Annenberg.
Voting has opened for teaching and research assistants to decide whether the graduate student union will go on strike, the Columbia Spectator reported yesterday. The university’s administration has remained opposed to the unionization of its graduate students and refused to bargain with representatives from the group. Many members of the Columbia community have expressed concern about the possibility of a strike since it could likely mean that dozens of classes would be left without teachers or assignment graders as finals approach. The vote will remain open until Friday, April 13.
ALLISON G. LEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
U.S. Olympic champion, Nathan Chen, to join the Yale class of 2022
The Yale Daily News reported that eighteenyear-old U.S. figure skater, Nathan Chen, recently updated his Instagram bio to include “Yale ‘22”. Chen’s spokesperson later confirmed to the Yale Daily News that he had been accepted to the university. Currently on a gap year, the incoming freshman graduated from West High School in Salt Lake City last year and intends on being pre-med. The Yale Daily News reported that his decision to come to Yale was met with excitement by several members of the student body.
HAPPY WEDNESDAY, HARVARD! Hump day is here again, so be prepared to brave crappy weather in addition to midweek misery... Meg Wolitzer in Conversation with Celeste Ng Head to the Brattle Theatre at 6 p.m. for a conversation with authors Meg Wolitzer and Celeste Ng, hosted
by the Harvard Book Store. Wolitzer is the acclaimed author of The Interestings and will be discussing her latest novel, The Female Persuasion; Ng is a Cambridge resident and a Harvard graduate. Steph Burt at Vocarium Reading Series Professor of English Stephanie Burt will be reading from their latest poetry collection, Advice from the Lights, in the Barker Center today.
Burt is an eminent literary critic, and also analyzed Taylor Swift’s poetry— get you a professor who can do both. Stuti R. Telidevara and Ben S. Rhee Crimson Staff Writer
IN THE REAL WORLD
Columbia students discuss campus policy in university’s first Mental Health Coalition town hall.
According the the Columbia Spectator, over 30 Columbia students met in the university’s first Mental Health Coalition town hall to discuss mental health policy issues and potential solutions on Monday night. The coalition was formed in March in an attempt to unite student mental health advocacy groups and prompt campus reform, the Spectator reported. Students called for a more positive dialogue surrounding mental health on campus as well asquick action.
APRIL SHOWERS Tourists crowd around the John Harvard statue on a rainy Tuesday afternoon
Trump Plans to Send National Guard to Mexican Border
KAI R. MCNAMEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
On Tuesday night the White House announced that President Trump plans to send National Guard troops to the southern border. The move apparently caught some of his advisers by surprise, and capped off “a series of confusing tweets and public statements” about immigration. Shooter at YouTube HQ Dead After Wounding Three A shooter opened fire at YouTube’s North California campus, injuring two women and one man before apparently turning her handgun on herself. Another was injured while trying to escape the scene. The woman has been identified as Nasim Aghdam, and is believed to have known at least one of the victims. Police have yet to discern a motive. Spotify’s Wall Street Success Spotify debuted as a public company with great success, choosing to go with a rare direct listing approach. The Stockholm-based company closed its first day on Wall Street with a valuation of $26.5 billion, depreciating from its opening valuation of $29.5 billion. When asked about the choice to pursue direct listing, co-founder Daniel Ek said that “Spotify has never been a normal company.”
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.
WAITING AT THE DOT
QUOTE OF THE DAY
STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE
“We have a lot of great eateries that have either just opened, are about to open, or will open very soon.”
Night Editor Joshua J. Florence ’19
Denise A. Jillson, Harvard Square Business Association
CORRECTIONS Due to an editing error, a graphic previously accompanying the April 3 article “Diversity Remains HKS Challenge” incorrectly confused the percentage of Kennedy School faculty and staff between academic years 2010-2011 and 2015-2016 that were Asian with the percentage that were female.
Design Editor Diana C. Perez ‘19
Assistant Night Editors Editorial Editor Jamie D. Halper ’20 Jenna M. Wong ’20 Isabel M. Kendall ’21 Photo Editors Story Editors Ellis J. Yeo ’20 Hannah Natanson ’19 Brittany N. Ellis ’19 Sports Editors Phelan Yu ’19 Amir Mamdani ’21 Mia C. Karr ’19 Kenton K. Shimozaki ’19
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | APRIL 4, 2018 | PAGE 3
Faculty Add New Concentration CONCENTRATION FROM PAGE 1 Engineering Sciences concentration that did not have its own standalone concentration. Currently, students are only able to concentrate in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Electrical Engineering. During the President’s business portion of the meeting, University President Drew G. Faust said the 2019 spending bill Congress passed last month will have positive effects for the University in various areas. She pointed specifically to increased funding for agencies that support research—like the National Institutes of Health—programs like Federal Work-Study. She said, though, that the bill is missing a permanent fix for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—an Obama-era program that allows undocumented youth to legally live and work in the United States—and that she would continue to advocate for undocumented students and faculty. President Donald Trump has vowed to end the program, and over the past year, Faust has met with top lawmakers in Washington, D.C. multiple times to advocate for DACA. Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria also presented a proposal to create a new Ph.D. program in Business Administration to replace the existing Doctor of Business Administration degree that HBS currently offers. Under the proposal, HBS and FAS will jointly offer the new Ph.D. program. The Faculty Council has previously
voted unanimously to support the proposal. Their vote, however, is purely advisory, and the Faculty will not vote on the proposal until May. Additionally, Philosophy Professor Sean D. Kelly, who sits on the docket committee of the Faculty Council, announced six new members were elected to the Council for the upcoming academic year. Kelly said a record 294 Faculty members cast ballots in this year’s election, and the new Council members will begin to serve in July. In contrast to last year, when the Council elected no female faculty to its ranks, half of the new council members are female. Anthropology Professor Anya Bernstein, History Professor Kirsten A. Weld, and East Asian Studies Professor Jie Li will join the Council in July. Many administrators and professors who spoke at the meeting also praised Smith, who announced last month that he will be stepping down as soon as President-elect Bacow finds a replacement, for his eleven years of work as the FAS Dean. Faust said Smith had a “steady hand at helm” during his tenure and highlighted his commitment to teaching and diversity issues in FAS. Upon his recognition, the room of faculty members stood up and erupted with applause. —Staff writer Angela N. Fu can be reached at angela.fu@thecrimson.com. —Staff writer Lucy Wang can be reached at lucy. wang@thecrimson.com.
City Council Demands Schedule THEATER FROM PAGE 1 investment firm, is a billionaire developer and longtime Harvard donor who has, in recent years, snapped up Square real estate. He bought the Harvard Square Theater building—located at 10 Church Street—in 2015. In February 2017, after the build-
[The Square] was more desirable, and I truly believe you saw more people there. It’s changed, and the Theater is part of that. Dennis J. Carlone
Cambridge City Councillor ing had sat vacant for five years, the City Council gave Chan 30 days to submit plans for the property. The following May, he announced the building would become a new shopping center, with stores at street level and two movie theaters beneath.
BAGELS FROM PAGE 1 especially for a student,” Geiger said. “So, if this bagel place is a more affordable option, I think it will be pretty popular.” Denise A. Jillson, the Harvard Square Business Association’s executive director, noted that Black Sheep’s opening would come amid a recent spate of new bistros arriving in the square, including Blue Bottle and
Pokeworks. “There’s no shortage of great food in Harvard Square, or great options,” she said. “We have a lot of great eateries that have either just opened, are about to open, or will open very soon.” Staff Writer Andrea M. Bossi can be reached at andrea.bossi@thecrimson.com and on Twitter @bossi147
that the 10 Church St. building poses a particular challenge because it is connected with another property, 1430 Massachusetts Avenue. Design plans for the theater must address accessibility for the owners of the other property. “The egress for 1430 Mass Ave is made through the theater building. And that’s complicated,” she said. “When you have a building that’s really co-joined in this way, it just requires a little more time to work out the agreements.” Devereux agreed that the site poses construction problems, but she said she still believes a resolution must be reached soon. “I’ve been informed that there are complications with having to excavate for the theaters underground,” she said. “Obviously, that needs to be sorted out. At the same time, that complication was known a year ago.” Carlone, who was a graduate student at Harvard in the ’70s, said he has memories of an older Harvard Square that he would like to see return. “When I was in school in the ’70s, we would go to the Theater probably three times a month,” he said. “[The Square] was desirable—much more desirable, and I truly believe you saw more people there. It’s changed, and the Theater is part of that.” Staff writer Iris M. Lewis can be reached at iris/ lewis@thecrimson.com.
i-Lab Starts New Ventures Program LAB FROM PAGE 1
New Bagel Bakery Waits for Approval
A representative from the Morningside Group could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Several City Council members said they want to see a schedule for the completion of this plan. “The issue is the timing. I have no objection whatsoever to what is proposed to replace the current theater,” Devereux said in an interview. Denise A. Jillson, Executive Director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said the shuttered building on Church Street is beginning to harm local businesses. “It should come as no surprise to anybody...that there will be an adverse economic impact on other retailers in the area when you have such a large piece of property dark,” she said. Carlone also said he is worried about the impact of the empty building on the Square, because the theater was once an “active participant” in Cambridge life. Despite their concerns, Carlone, Devereux, and Jillson all praised Chan and his past work. “The city really respects the work that Mr. Chan and his team do with the properties that he has,” Jillson said. She pointed out the “wonderful” things that they have done in the Square, with new businesses in his properties ranging from the restaurant Parsnip to Capital One on JFK Street. Jillson also provided a rationale for the development’s delay. She explained
The i-lab, according to the Launch Lab X’s application page, is looking for 10 teams “driven to create exceptional ventures and contribute to our vibrant community of next-generation innovation” for the program. Launch Lab X does not require rent or equity stake. Accepted teams will also have the opportunity to receive $100,000 through a new alumni category in the annual President’s Innovation Challenge. Jodi Goldstein, Executive Director of the i-lab, said the purpose of the program is to assist Harvard alumni-founded ventures in the early stages of building a businesses. “I think most importantly, we’re looking for founders and teams that are really looking to make sustainable ventures that are going to have a real
impact on the world,” Goldstein said. “Whatever point you enter the program at, the staff will design a customized program for them.” Howard Kaplan, the Director of Advising at i-lab, said the program is geared towards Harvard alumni founders “looking to disrupt their industry.” Kaplan said that through this program, the i-lab is giving alumni seeking to grow their business ventures an opportunity “to engage with the Harvard Innovation Lab and join this community that maybe they didn’t have while they were in school.” Goldstein said that she is looking for teams “from across the globe” who will “reflect the diversity and breadth of ventures and industries that we currently see at the i-lab.” She added she is also seeking for ventures to “become a part of this com-
munity of like-minded founders that we like to call ‘next generation innovation.’” The application period will last until May 30. Teams who submit written applications before the early deadline of May 1 are guaranteed a tour of the i-lab and an opportunity to meet the team coordinating Launch Lab X. In-person interviews will follow the written applications, when teams will have the opportunity to meet other applicants. Final decisions for the program will be announced in June. Staff writer Truelian Lee can be reached at truelian.lee@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @truelian_lee. Staff writer Jacqueline P. Patel can be reached at jacqueline.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @jppatel99.
Common Spaces Starts Event Initiative English Dept. Hosts By LAINEY A. NEWMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Harvard Common Spaces—a division within the University’s Campus Services arm—is launching a new initiative meant to better integrate the University community through pre-programmed events in the Smith Campus Center starting fall 2018. The Crossroad Series will allow recognized undergraduate and graduate student groups to hold events in a multi-tiered, partially glass-walled space in the newly renovated Smith Campus Center. Crossroad Series events will take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays starting next semester, and will be open to students, faculty, and staff. Some Crossroads Series events will be open to the public as well. Originally called Holyoke Center, the Smith Campus Center—located in the heart of Harvard Square—was re-
named for donors Richard A. and Susan F. Smith in 2015. Renovation began in 2016; the renovated center is slated to open in fall 2018. Once completed, the Smith Campus Center will be the University’s first all-campus, indoor center. Harvard Common Spaces staffers are leading the development of the Crossroads Series. Julie Crites, the Director of Common Spaces, said the job is an exciting one because “it is the first of its kind throughout all of Harvard’s extraordinary history.” “The space where we will be hosting the Crossroads Series is really one of the hallmarks community spaces that has been created at the Smith Campus Center,” Crites said. “This large space where the Crossroads Series will take place is called Harvard Commons.” Crites credited University President Drew G. Faust and the Smith family with the ideas underlying the Crossroad Series.
“The development of the Campus Center has been an opportunity to create common spaces on campus, which has been part of President Faust’s visionary leadership on creating spaces that make this community more integrated,” Crites said. Tracey Daley, the program coordinator for Harvard Common Spaces, said the Crossroads Series will allow students from different schools within the university to meet and collaborate. “Coming from the Law School, everything can feel very decentralized,” Daley said. “I am very much looking forward to something that can tie the entire community together.” Crites said the Crossroads Series will likely prioritize events that are open to the public. Harvard Common Spaces is accepting proposals for student-sponsored events and programs to feature in the Crossroads Series this coming fall semester through May 1.
Student Initiative Studies Sleep Habits By GRACE LIN and ARNAV AGRAWAL CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
The student-led Sleep Matters Initiative is currently studying the sleeping habits of undergraduates in Quincy and Adams houses, hoping to identify factors that are negatively affecting sleep quality among Harvard under-
[The] goal of the organization is to improve awareness about the importance of sleep Mark E. Czeisler ’19 SMI Member
graduates. The study aims in part to examine how student-athletes are affected by early morning practices by compar-
ing sleep patterns of athletes on and off season. The initiative also hopes to look at sleep patterns among student body more broadly. Since the start of the semester, the SMI has asked Quincy and Adams residents to track and report their sleep habits each morning and answer questions about how long they slept, when they went to bed, and what they did before bed.While SMI members said they want to learn about common factors negatively impacting sleep quality for students overall, they also hope participants will become more aware of their own sleep habits through the semester-long program. “The overarching goal of the organization is to improve awareness about the importance of sleep and provide education and information to students of the College about sleep tips and how to get better sleep in this environment,” SMI member Mark E. Czeisler ’19 said. To encourage participation, the initiative raffles off a Beats Pills speaker every month to participating students. Every two weeks, SMI also awards additional study break funding to the entryway with the highest participation. Brigham and Women’s Hospital has provided funding for the project.
In addition to tangible prizes, SMI student leader Sean F. Gibney ’19 said participants will receive “personalized analysis of their sleep habits” and information about how they compare to the average participant. Quincy and Adams house administrators have allowed SMI to table and hold office hours to find time to work with student participants. Czeisler said house administrators will receive insights about how they can change house activities, like study breaks, to improve residents’ sleep patterns.Currently, they have collected information from seven thousand nights of sleep. The current survey of undergraduates draws on research by William M. Clerx ’14, a molecular and cellular biology concentrator who examined the effects of irregular sleep on academic performance in his senior thesis. Founded three years ago, the initiative is led by eight undergraduates under the guidance of researchers in the Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine: Charles A. Czeisler ’74, Laura K. Barger, and Matthew D. Weaver. Czeisler is the Director of Sleep Medicine at HMS and the professor of MCB 186: “Sleep and Circadian Clocks: from Biology to Public Health.”
“Critical Pizza” Event By KARINA G. GONZALEZ-ESPINOZA and KANISHK A. MITTAL CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Seniors in the English Department have come together to host “Critical Pizza” sessions on Tuesday evenings over the last few weeks, introducing younger classmates to different types of literary criticism. The weekly peerled discussions are held over pizza dinner and organizers said they hope the informal environment will encourage more students to take courses on literary criticism and learn more about the topic. Grazie S. Christie ’18 proposed the idea for the series last fall, after taking a class on the history of literary criticism. Christie said the class dispelled previous fears she held about the burden of entry and relevance of literary criticism, while helping her understand the material better in other classes. She said the “Critical Pizza” series is an effort to expose students without previous experience to what sometimes can be seen as an inaccessible topic. “I took the criticism class and I realized I was doing better in my creative writing. I was doing better in other classes I was taking that were just reading novels,” Christie said. “I felt like my brain was sharper— that my reading was sharper.” Senior English concentrators volunteer their time to lead sessions on a diversity of topics, like ecocriticism, deconstruction, and author biography analysis. Christie said that while she originally hoped literary criticism could be
integrated as part of the concentration requirements, that proved difficult to do. Instead, she proposed the idea for “Critical Pizza” to the department and she said they offered full support to the endeavor. Faculty and staff members have taken care of the logistical aspects of the events, booking rooms, publicizing, and even catering, according to Christie. “They’re really supportive of the way that students try to improve their own curriculum and they really listen,” Christie said. Attendance at each session has fluctuated depending on the topic, but the numbers have satisfied the organizers, who said they believe the pizza serves as a good incentive. Christie added that attendees have largely been English concentrators, but students from other humanities, and occasionally even STEM fields, have also been present. Emeline N. Atwood ’18, an Englishconcentrator who ran a discussion on Tuesday said that especially freshmen would benefit from this series as they would have an opportunity to meet upperclassmen in the department, though it has been difficult for her to reach freshmen due to the inability to access first-year mailing lists. “It’s a casual, relaxed setting to go over things that aren’t usually treated that casually,” Atwood said. Both Christie and Atwood said they have high hopes that the series will continue on to next year and become a bigger part of the department. Christie even added that several students have expressed interest in taking over after she graduates.
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Former Crimson Manager Saieed Hasnoo Dies at 27 HASNOO FROM PAGE 1 Hasnoo freshman year and being struck by not only Hasnoo’s drive, intelligence, and bustling personality, but by his kindness and how he strived to be a role model for his family and friends. “Everyone he’s touched he’s made better,” Cember said. Hasnoo spent much of his time at Harvard working in various positions on The Crimson’s business board. Hasnoo made “impressive” advertising sales and mentored the Ads Associates and Managers in the years below him, Business Manager of the 138th Guard Martin C. Ye ’12 said. Ye remembered Hasnoo counseling the ad sales team via email to focus on the businesses and their individual needs—advice that helped the oft-stressed college students meet their sales goals, Ye said. “Now having experience in the corporate world,” Ye said. “It was pretty golden advice.” According to Ye, Hasnoo always worked to make the sometimes mundane task of ad-selling as interesting and memorable as possible.
One time, Hasnoo organized an “Ads Outing” to a cabin in New Hampshire, where he took Crimson staffers canoeing under the stars. Later, during “turkey shoot”—the process by which The Crimson selects its next leaders— Hasnoo sought to make the interview process more appealing, taking candidates on car rides and grilling them as he zoomed through the streets of Cambridge.Hasnoo’s final email to the Business Board harkens back to values he espoused in his application essay. “If I can give any parting advice, it is to cherish each other for the time that you have together,” Hasnoo wrote in the email. “Saieed had a strong and loving heart,” Ye wrote in an email to the 138th Guard. “I am thankful for the times that we have cherished together.” In addition to his verve for business, Hasnoo was a passionate and eloquent writer, penning articles both for The Crimson’s Editorial board and for the paper’s blog, Flyby. One of the few openly gay members of the Business Board, Hasnoo wrote about homophobia and marriage equality, as well as
the Occupy movement, and even produced videos of recipes using dining hall ingredients. “Saieed was an incredibly eloquent person, an incredibly thoughtful person,” Naveen N. Srivatsa ’12, the Pres-
Saieed was an incredibly eloquent person, an incredibly thoughtful person. Naveen Srivatsa ‘12 President of The Crimson’s 138th Guard
ident of The Crimson’s 138th Guard, said. “Someone who can really put forth well thought-out perspectives and argue them with a force.” After graduating, Hasnoo achieved quick success in the corporate world. He first worked with small business
customers as a senior analyst at American Express. After forging close relationships with senior leaders, he rose through the company’s ranks to become a manager at American Express, and then a senior associate at J.P. Morgan. In his most recent job, Hasnoo worked to manage strategy and partnerships at Capital One. He also founded and advised several startups in industries ranging from fashion to finance. “He was always pushing himself to be better,” Tyson said. “He had a force to him. He just took you in.” Hasnoo also volunteered as an admissions interviewer for Harvard College. He took his role introducing promising young students to higher education quite seriously, Hussain said. Hasnoo devoted hours to writing statements on behalf of the applicants who he thought really deserved a chance, and spoke enthusiastically about the ones in whom he saw unusual passion. “He was just one of those people who care so much about other people’s success and not just his own,” Hussain
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said. Hasnoo had a yellow lab named Jackson whom he treated almost like a guest or another person in the household, Cember said. Hasnoo also loved to travel. Tyson recalled one time when Hasnoo got so involved in haggling with merchants at a Moroccan a market that Tyson had to drag him away, leaving several upset vendors in his wake. He enjoyed racing luxury cars and was not afraid to go 110 miles an hour, according to Hussain. “He was fearless,” Hussain said. He dabbled in painting, acquired a pilot’s license, and collected artwork. Tyson said Hasnoo’s last words to him urged him not to cry or mourn, but to strive for the better and to look back on their past interactions for inspiration. “I just think about him just in a casual setting,” Tyson said. “I just imagine him curled up on the couch with Jackson his dog, sipping his diet coke or white wine, maybe with candles in the background, watching House of Cards.” Hasnoo is survived by his mother, father, brother, and sister-in-law.
EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD
Diversifying the Kennedy School
I
n May 2017, an internal task force on diversity and inclusion at the Kennedy School completed a draft report detailing disappointing but unsurprising statistics. Despite an increase in applications across all racial and ethnic groups, minority admissions rates have leveled off, and yield rates of minority students have declined. The Kennedy School has had a diversity problem for a long time—but rather than improving, the issue appears to be getting worse. We recognize the difficulties that the Kennedy School in particular faces in cultivating diversity. As a relatively new school, the Kennedy School has had less time to grow its endowment. As of March 2017, the school had raised $580 million in its capital campaign. At the time, Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf said the school will use the funds in part to bolster student financial aid. That being said, the Kennedy School has still failed to see expected returns to its financial aid and minority recruitment efforts. In light of this, we believe more can be done. In particular, the Kennedy School should further expand its financial aid program. In its draft report, the task force specifically indicated that there was a higher yield rate for the group of admitted students receiving some aid than for those receiving no aid. And of course, increasing the amount of financial aid available will also help diversify the Kennedy School in terms of socioeconomic status, another aspect of diversity in which Harvard, across all its schools,
has struggled. However, it is especially important not to make the mistake of assuming that all students of color require financial aid, or similarly, that only students of color require financial aid. In addition, money is not the only factor in the Kennedy School’s struggle to attract more minority students. To that end, HKS should more actively investigate non-financial factors contributing to its lack of diversity and work to combat these root causes beyond the scope of extending financial aid programs. We also urge for the immediate expansion of the the Kennedy School’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which currently consists of just two employees, one of whom is part-time. It is no surprise that such a small, low-funded office, even with the best of intentions, cannot tackle such a long-standing problem. However, with more funding and manpower, we hope that the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be better equipped to explain the reason for the low minority yield in the past decade, and work to counter that root problem. The Kennedy School has already turned to promising recruitment strategies like hosting an annual conference for prospective minority students and traveling to historically black colleges and universities, and we hope to see those initiatives expanded in the future. Striving for student diversity is not a purely ideological pursuit. Very tangible harms fall upon the minority students who do attend the Kennedy School. They often feel uncomfortable speaking about issues that impact underrepresented
groups, and notice an overall lack of interest in issues of race, ethnicity and gender more generally. When minority students feel this disparity at the Kennedy School, a vicious cycle is produced. Their experiences discourage future admitted students from attending, thus perpetuating a lack of diversity. For a school that focuses on governing, having a student body that represents
Striving for student diversity is not a purely ideological pursuit. Very tangible harms fall upon the minority students who do attend the Kennedy School. the national populace is absolutely essential toward achieving its core purpose. We hope that the Kennedy School invests the time, money, and personnel necessary to combat this salient matter and ensure that its students represent the diversity of the country they hope to lead. 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.
BE A CRIMSON CARTOONIST Submit a sample cartoon or any questions to Associate Editorial Editor Wonik Son ‘19 (wonik.son@thecrimson.com).
Message in a Bottle Don’t subscribe to HSA’s bottled water service Will H. MACARTHUR THE ‘BRIDGE
L
ast week, 998 students learned they had been admitted to the Class of 2022, joining their 964 early-admitted peers—the first of many messages that will flood their inboxes in the next few months, advertising a dizzying array of programs, offers, and opportunities. Some will join the College’s pre-orientation programs, and choose to come to Cambridge early to join Dorm Crew or the First-Year Urban Program, or head to New Hampshire and Vermont with the First-Year Outdoor Program. Some will color-code their Visitas calendars and learn about opportunities in public service, arts, on-campus jobs, affinity groups, and any of the myriad paths that you can chart here. But there is one tantalizing offer that they should ignore, one email that merits swift deletion: the bottled water subscription from Harvard Student Agencies. There is no reason to suppose that bottled water is any better than tap water—our hyper-local water supply is very safe and secure. The water that flows through the taps in your dorm rooms is stored and purified at Fresh Pond, less than two miles from Harvard Yard. This is because Cambridge manages its own municipal watershed, unlike most cities. The Watershed Management Division of the Cambridge Water Department protects the supply chain of Cambridge water before it goes through a five-step purification process to eliminate pathogens and particulate matter. The Water Department even offers free public tours of their treatment facility at Fresh Pond. Cambridge is also connected to
the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, which provides backup water when our aquifers reach abnormally low levels, as occurred in 2016. Thus, the water that flows through Harvard pipes is the result of a stateof-the-art municipal purification and distribution system, and the end result is consistently safe water. Cambridge has been well within acceptable levels for each trace element that is tracked in every water quality report published since 2003, the earliest year for which statistics are available. Additionally, the City’s standards are almost equivalent to that of the bottled water company Poland Spring, which is similarly compliant. Thus, there are no health-related arguments for ordering bottled water in Cambridge. As a tap water campaign from the freshman sustainability think tank Green ’20 documented last year, Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana and other College notables trust Cambridge water, and the “Cambridge Water: Wicked Good” sticker campaign has spread the word at public water sources throughout the rest of the city. While bottled water may be comparably safe, it has a substantially negative environmental impact compared to tap water. A study published in Nature found that the ecological and carbon footprints of bottled water outpaced that of tap water by about 300 times, a devastating effect. The Pacific Institute estimates that the petroleum used to manufacture a standard single-use bottle could fill that bottle one-quarter full with oil. This only captures the pre-consumption effects, as the vast majority of bottles end up either in landfills or in waterways; approximately 91 percent of plastic bottles are not recycled. There is also a substantial financial cost to using bottled water, both through HSA and in general, as bottled water is estimated to cost between 300 and 2000 times as
much as tap water. There is certainly more that both Harvard and Cambridge can do to discourage the excessive bottled water consumption that HSA encourages. Cambridge could adopt a tax on bottled water to discourage their use; a similar policy for single-use plastic bags, the Bring Your Own Bag ordinance, has been in effect for several years. For its part, Harvard could apply the same restrictions to HSA’s indorm services that it applies to similar businesses, or could ban plastic bottles altogether. This was proposed in a 2013 UC referendum that passed with 64 percent of the vote, and was endorsed by The Crimson Editorial Board. However, the proposal has not been implemented. Despite this, both the City and the University have already fulfilled their most fundamental responsibility on the issue: to make it safe and convenient for students to drink tap water instead. Harvard has taken actions ranging from creating bottle refill stations, to banning plastic bottle sales at certain campus cafés, to eliminating single-use plastic bottles at Commencement. The remaining responsibility for reducing single-use plastic bottle consumption on campus lies largely with students, and the incoming freshmen whom HSA targets for water subscriptions can play a pivotal role. So as you get ready for life on campus over the next four years, don’t subscribe to water bottle delivery. Buy a reusable bottle, or pick up one of the myriad reusable bottles that seem to appear at virtually every College-sponsored event here, and use it. Many dorms have insuite sinks, but even if this requires what HSA refers to as “tiresome runs up and down stairs,” it’s worth it. A marine mammal will thank you. Will H. MacArthur ’20 is a Social Studies concentrator living in Currier House. His column appears on alternate Wednesdays.
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | APRIL 4, 2018 | PAGE 6
New Buildings and Old Mindsets at Harvard Kennedy School By ALEX L. GLADE
I
’ve led soldiers in combat, managed a multi-billion-dollar construction program, launched companies, and orchestrated disaster response missions overseas. But juggling my responsibilities as a parent while attending the Harvard Kennedy School has been the hardest task of all. Last December, the Kennedy School officially grew by 91,000 square feet, but not one was designated for childcare. During the official opening of the new buildings, Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf said, “This moment is going to be a transformative one for the Kennedy School.” But was the moment truly transformative, or is the place just a little bigger? As a premier training ground for public leaders, the Kennedy School still does not take a forward-leaning approach to family-inclusive culture by providing childcare facilities for its students or employees. This is particularly important given the relatively large number of students at the Kennedy School. Unfortunately, the example our future leaders see from the Kennedy School leadership is one of tacit indifference to families and children. When my husband was a mid-career masters’ student in public administration from 2013 to 2014, we enjoyed the evening forums and opted into social events. We didn’t have kids then, so we never realized the challenges of student parents—until I joined the Mid-Career Master in Public Administration cohort myself in 2017. I applied to the Kennedy School while nursing my newborn daughter. Cradling a baby in one arm while typing with one free hand was no easy feat. With a husband in the military who deployed to the Middle East, I tried my best to serve as a loving parent while recovering from childbirth. With that husband now stationed in North Carolina, being a geographically single parent at the Kennedy School is another challenge. After receiving the Kennedy School acceptance letter, I called dozens of childcare facilities—Harvard’s childcare program included—but found no guaranteed slot. I was put on waitlists without the assurance that I would have childcare before my program began. Full-time monthly tuition rates for an infant at the childcare centers near Harvard during the 2017-2018 academic year ranged from $2,782 to $3,016 per month—with limited subsidies or discounts for Kennedy School students. Graduate students are not eligible for childcare subsidies from the state. Had I been granted a childcare slot, I would have been forced to take out more loans to afford it. After a teary night explaining to my family that I would decline the Kennedy School’s admission offer because I was unable to find childcare, my mother decided to resign from her job at the Department of Commerce in Boulder, Colo. to come to Massachusetts to help take care of my daughter. An unconditionally supportive family who made huge sacrifices has allowed me to make my Kennedy School opportunity work. Not everyone is this fortunate. The Kennedy School appears to want to lean forward with parent-friendly policies. In July 2017, another mid-career MPA student and I elaborated the need for more lactation spaces to the Kennedy School’s leadership and facilities department by explaining our difficulty accessing only one lactation room. Its usage required us to fill out forms, request time through online scheduling, and its location on the top floor of a building takes us over ten minutes to reach. We also drew the leadership’s attention to the passage of a bill in the House last March. That bill, H.R. 1174: Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2017, would require most federally-run buildings to provide lactation rooms. Though it has only passed the House, it sends a powerful signal about the importance of lactation spaces. In response, a Kennedy School administrator told us that the Kennedy School would likely construct a suite of lactation spaces and provide additional, more accessible nursing space throughout the Kennedy School campus. Student parents graduating in 2018 won’t benefit from these lactation spaces, and affordable childcare remains an issue, but I’m hopeful these supposedly-planned spaces are a move toward a more family-inclusive culture. We have much further to go, however, to allow talented parents of all socioeconomic backgrounds to be able to apply and attend the Kennedy School. The Kennedy School should lead by example by demonstrating how to treat the people we serve. Families are the cores of our communities and countries: They are the reason public servants exist. They should not be an afterthought in our planning. With concerted effort, we can have more student parents with partners and families who all feel welcome coming through the doors to learn and grow. Public servants and policy makers should not have to choose between having a family and having professional learning and development. More importantly, the Kennedy School should not discourage talent from even entering the applicant pool because its childcare situation is abysmal. Meeting prospective student demand for childcare would show the world that Harvard leans forward in its diversity and inclusion. Right now, the Kennedy School’s inaction shows public servants that they can serve the public and make the world a better place, but only if they don’t have a family. “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us,” Elmendorf said at the buildings’ opening, echoing Winston Churchill. Why then don’t we use resources and space to allow student parents and partners to thrive during their time at the Kennedy School so they can really go back out into the world and make it better? Alex L. Glade is a masters of public administration student at the Kennedy School.
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 Associate Business Managers Dahlia S. Huh ’19 Max W. Sosland ’19 Editorial Chairs Emmanuel R. R. D’Agostino ’19 Cristian D. Pleters ’19 Arts Chairs Mila Gauvini II ’19 Grace Z. Li ’19 Blog Chairs Lydia L. Cawley ’20 Stuti Telidevara ’20 Design Chairs Morgan J. Spaulding ’19 Simon S. Sun ’19
Digital Strategists Caroline S. Engelmayer ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Dianne Lee ’20 FM Chairs Marella A. Gayla ’19 Leah S. Yared ’19 Multimedia Chairs Amy Y. Li ’20 Ellis J. Yeo ’20 Sports Chairs Cade S. Palmer ’20 Jack R. Stockless ’19 Technology Chairs Nenya A. Edjah ’20 Theodore T. Liu ’20
SPORTS
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | APRIL 4, 2018 | PAGE 7
Ivy League Grapples with Increasing Commercialism Henry ZHU KAZHU KID MEN’S BASKETBALL
By HENRY ZHU CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
What has been clear throughout my first season covering Harvard men’s basketball is that the Ancient Eight is trending ever so quickly from the anti-commercial, idiosyncratic traditions of the past. An athletic conference once known for initiating the Victorian ideals of amateurism, the Ivy League is increasingly embracing the “normal” economic model of larger Division I conferences: using its prestigious school brands, select sports, and high-income supporter base as revenue streams for athletic departments that need to fund more than 35 teams on average, the highest of any national conference. Keep in mind the sheer quantity of varsity sports is also closely tied with the Ivy League’s historical promotion of athletics as an extension of the classroom. This may be disconcerting for traditionalists who believe that Ancient Eight athletics should be no more than glorified intramurals, but the reality is that certain sports such as men’s basketball and men’s hockey are gaining not only attention from the media, but attention from companies. We are not talking merely about food trucks or concessions outside of Harvard-Yale. This is about replacing traditions like the 100 year round-robin format of Ivy League Basketball in place of a nationally-televised, four team tournament. This is about partnership deals with consultants such as JMI Sports, who manages the marketing of Kentucky Basketball, Clemson Football, and yes, the up-and-coming Ivy League. In the modern era, individual schools like Yale are signing equipment deals on the level of Big Ten programs, while several former executives at the very top of the sports & entertainment industry now work for Ancient Eight marketing departments. Let us be frank here, the commercial value of a conference that can barely make games on ESPN’s auxiliary channels or be mentioned in local news is still miles away from an ACC or Pac-12. But the inevitable trend toward growing commercialism, especially for the Ivy League, brings about several questions. Will the Ivy League become just another heavily-sponsored athletic conference capitalizing on brand-name
AMAKER ASSESSES Coach Tommy Amaker looks on as Harvard cruises to a win over Cornell in the first round of Ivy Madness TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
programs? How does this leave the future of non-profitable sports, especially when larger-sport booster programs may be providing an imbalance of support in terms of newer amenities and “perks”? Can we still preservethose weekend back-to-backs, the distinctiveness of hallowed facilities like Harvard Stadium or Whitney Payne Gymnasium, or the strange allure of long bus road trips in lieu of chartered flights? Perhaps these concerns are jumping the gun. Perhaps it has something to do with the fear of normality that seems to seep into the Ivy League identity. Or the strange stubbornness to tradition that is a hallmark of the Ancient Eight (may I remind you: concentrations, not majors). Overall however, I am optimistic, especially in light of recent investigations into the corruption within the NCAA, that the Ivy League can be a
new trendsetter in redefining the relationship between money and college athletics. Just as it cemented the concept of amateurism in its founding years, the Ivy League should and can demonstrate that commercialism does not have to equate to jeopardizing the role of higher education itself: to create a welcoming environment for personal growth and education. More concretely, this means that students should not have to play games starting past the 9 o’clock hour simply to sneak in a television time slot. Corporate sponsorships and larger media deals can be welcomed, but an expectation should be raised that coverage should reflect more than the raw athletic abilities of football and basketball players or that association just be more than just the name “Princeton” or “Harvard”. Renovating the hockey weight room and selling merchandise at Lavietes
Pavilion should be welcomed, but can we establish measures to ensure accountability in terms of support to say, women’s tennis equipment or baseball seating? From a fan’s perspective, do the proper resources exist to ensure that all sports are readily accessible for viewing? The development of the Ivy League Network is a step in the right direction, but its rare subscription-based model and general lack of promotion leaves many questions as to the logic behind a paywall system for the league. With the announcement that the new ESPN+ will be featuring live coverage of Ivy League games, it may mean that watching a game requires a $4.99 monthly subscription. Here, what benefit does it serve to the overall college community? As a writer for Crimson Sports, I must also acknowledge that we can
do an improved job at diversifying our coverage and giving less-publicized sports their due recognition. The hope is that the Ivy League’s new commercial partners will also maintain a keen eye in respecting the Ivy tradition that still exists and balancing out their own marketing goals with those promoted by the university. In other words, let us be conscious of what companies are advertising on our ESPN games, and not be bombarding students who attend games with too many small, useless mementos. In my opinion, it is clear that there should be a fine balance between allowing corporate sponsors to benefit programs, and for them to harm them. The Ivy League can be that trendsetter. But students and student-athletes must, and should always come first. Staff writer Henry Zhu can be reached at henry.zhu@thecrimson.com.
Crimson Schedules Shortened by Repeated Rain Delays
KING OF THE HILL Senior Garrett Rupp delivers a pitch during last season’s Beanpot. RYOSUKE TAKASHIMA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL By BRYAN HU CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Rain across the Northeast on Tuesday
afternoon forced the Harvard baseball and softball teams to postpone their midweek tilts against Boston College and Boston University, respectively, continuing a trend of several game cancellations and postponements for both
squads. The postponement marks the fourth game this season the Crimson baseball team has had taken off its original timetable due to inclement weather. A three-game set at Princeton from
March 24th-25th, originally the team’s Ivy League opener, was also postponed, and it was announced just yesterday that the series will be made up on April 17th-18th. Tuesday’s matchup with the Eagles, the semifinals of the annual Beanpot Tournament, is now set for tomorrow. The softball team, meanwhile, sees its sixth game of the season either postponed or canceled. A March 10th tilt with Florida Gulf Coast University was canceled and last Thursday’s matchup with Holy Cross was postponed due to inclement weather and field conditions. No rescheduling date has yet been set for the matchup. A threegame set at Cornell in March was also pushed back a day, with Harvard dropping the series, 1-2. In terms of on-field mechanics, the delays look to impact the gameplay minimally. “It’s normal when it’s raining…we know we’ll have to play the [teams] for league games; it’s just a matter of when,” said softball sophomore utility player Chanel Varney. “It doesn’t really change how we feel about the competition, it just changes when we practice. It’s not a big issue.” If anything, the delays gave the softball squad extra time to practice, albeit in a different space. To get out of the rain, the team has been practicing in the indoor track alongside the track team, using the facility’s batting cage that lowers from the ceiling. “When we found out that we wouldn’t have a series against Cornell over [last] weekend and it would have to get pushed on to midweek games, we just saw it as, ‘Okay, we have extra time to prepare for this and we’re going to be as adaptable as possible, because we know we are going to face them,’” Varney said. In the Northeast, the fact that ill-fated weather interferes with college sports scheduling is nothing new. The coaches expect adaptation and an ability to continue day-to-day operations out of their players.
What is new, however, is the University’s construction of a 6,500 sq. foot hitting pavilion near the Harvard Stadium in Allston. Originally scheduled to be completed in mid-March, the ongoing construction has complicated matters. “Track has actually been really accommodating since we do have to practice at the same time,” Varney said. “It’s all in consideration of the fact that we have our nice big hitting facility under construction. So once that’s finished, it’ll no longer going to be a conflict of space usage.” When completed, the new facility will provide more stability in scheduling practice in the New England winter. The fact that the inclement weather is a typical characteristic of the Northeast is visible across the region. Several Ivy baseball teams, including Penn, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth, in addition to Harvard, have had at least a couple games either postponed or canceled this season. “Our team is really adaptable,” Varney said. “[Head Coach Jenny Allard] expects that of us. She doesn’t want the weather to ever be a factor—it should be a non-issue. We live in the northeast, we do a good job of that.” The Crimson baseball squad is 9-13, 1-2 (Ivy League), and takes on a 9-16, 4-8 (ACC) Boston College team tomorrow at Brighton Baseball Field. The game comes as a rematch of last year’s Beanpot Finals in which the Eagles took down Harvard, 3-2, at Fenway Park, in a rain-shortened affair that was called final after the fifth inning. “We’re excited, we’re confident,” said junior center fielder Ben Skinner. “We have one of the best squads we’ve had in years.” The Crimson softball unit is 13-11 and currently sits atop the Ivy League standings at 6-3. The bout with Boston University, yet unscheduled, is a standalone non-conference game. Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bryan.hu@thecrimson.com.
PAGE 8 | APRIL 4, 2018 | THE HARVARD CRIMSON