THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLV, NO. 64 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018
The Harvard Crimson The UC’s summer storage subsidy is beneficial, but methods of collecting data require attention. EDITORIAL PAGE 4
Students Lobby to Tank Sanctions
Voted Yes
Voted No
Political Views
52.4%
50%
50%
40%
40%
CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
39%
Percent of No Votes
Percent of Yes Votes
42.1%
By CAROLINE S. ENGELMAYER and MICHAEL E. XIE
Ten College students have travelled to the nation’s capital and will lobby members of Congress Wednesday as part of a larger effort to imperil Harvard’s ability to enforce its social group penalties, Graduate President of the Fly Club, Richard T. Porteus Jr. ’78 said in an interview Tuesday. These students are members of final clubs and Greek organizations on campus, Porteus told The Crimson. In the interview—which also included Dani Weatherford, executive director of the National Panhellenic Conference and Judson Horras, president and CEO of the National Interfraternity Conference—Porteus declined to identify the students and the specific social groups they represent. He said the students requested anonymity out of fear of possible repercussions from the College. The students are particularly lobbying around the PROSPER Act, a proposed update to the Higher Education Act that—if passed—could force Harvard to choose between millions of dollars in federal research funding and its social group penalties. The College’s social group policy—which took effect with the Class of 2021—bars all members of single-gender final clubs and Greek organizations from student group leadership positions, varsity athletic team captaincies, and from receiving College endorsement for certain prestigious fellowships. The PROSPER Act in its current form likely does not affect Harvard; over the past few months, some campus social groups have begun lobbying Congress to change the wording of an amendment in the act to render the legislation applicable to Harvard. “We are continuing to work on that language with members of Congress,” Weatherford said in the interview. “There are still opportunities to amend that language as it makes it to the House floor.” “There are also those opportunities on the Senate side, as they are still drafting that bill,” she added. The Harvard undergraduates’ visit to the capital forms part of a larger effort by national fraternities and sororities to lobby Congress to enact protections for Greek life more broadly. The ten College students will be joined by more than 200 undergraduates representing Greek chapters at other campuses across the country, according to Weatherford. The students’ involvement also comes as campus social groups are stepping up efforts to oppose the sanctions on Capitol Hill. Some social organizations
In first midweek game since March, softball slips up against Boston College. SPORTS PAGE 7
30% 20% 10% 0%
30%
25.3% 20.9%
20%
1%
10%
1 = “Poor”
Rating
Data Analysis By BRIAN P. YU and PHELAN YU
7% 2.2%
0%
Very Very Moderate Liberal conservative Conservative Liberal
Very Very Moderate Liberal conservative Conservative Liberal 1
2
3
By SHERA S. AVI-YONAH and MOLLY C. MCCAFFERTY CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
3.9% 0.5%
Pro-Union Voters Unhappy With Univ.
4
5
5 = “Excellent”
Advising Satisfaction Financial Support Satisfaction Student Government Satisfaction
Students who voted in favor of unionization last week were more likely to report feeling dissatisfied with Harvard’s advising and financial support systems, according to exit polling data collected by The Crimson. Of respondents to The Crimson’s exit poll, students who voted “Yes” were twice as likely as those who voted “No” to rate their relationship with their primary Harvard academic advisor poorly. Pro-union voters were also nine times more likely than anti-union voters to give the University’s financial support the lowest possible score on a scale of 1 to 5. Survey respondents who voted to unionize generally reported a lower opinion of the effectiveness of existing graduate student government bodies.
SEE UNIONIZATION PAGE 3
DIANA C. PEREZ—CRIMSON DESIGNER
Lee Serves As Lead Lawyer for University
SEE PAGE 5
By DELANO R. FRANKLIN and SAMUEL W. ZWICKEL CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow William F. Lee ’72 is serving as the lead trial lawyer for an affirmative action lawsuit against the University and has recused himself from the Corporation’s discussions regarding the suit since he took on this role, Lee said in an interview Monday. “About a year ago, I actually recused myself from any Corporation discussion of the case so that I can act as a lawyer for Harvard in the case,” Lee said. “I literally step out of the room,” he added. Lee has been a member of the 13-person Harvard Corporation since 2010. He is also a partner at WilmerHale, the law firm
SEE LOBBYING PAGE 5
SEE LEE PAGE 5
TRANSCRIPT PROJECT
Dean of Arts and Humanities, Robin E. Kelsey, presents the winners of the Transcript Project, a college initiative announced earlier this semester. KARINA G. GONZALEZ-ESPINOZA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
HMS Building Near Sale, Daley Says
Law School Alumni Criticize Dean By AIDAN F. RYAN
By LUKE W. VROTSOS
CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Harvard Medical School is in final negotiations to sell part of its property at 4 Blackfan Circle, and it will likely close the sale in May or June, Medical School Dean George Q. Daley said in an interview Tuesday. The building, located between Vanderbilt Hall and the New Research Building on the school’s Longwood campus, has been on the market for at least five months. In order to access pricing information and negotiate, potential buyers were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Daley said more than 90 firms requested information in this manner, about 40 of which sent representatives to the building to tour it.
SEE BUILDING PAGE 3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
A group of seven Harvard Law School alumni wrote an open letter Monday asking Law School Dean John F. Manning ‘82 if he intends to publicly respond to a report published last fall that criticizes the school’s commitment to public interest. The report, titled “Our Bicentennial Crisis: A Call to Action for Harvard Law School’s Public Interest Mission,” argues that the Law School is primarily geared towards corporate law and needs to shift its focus to public interest careers. The report, primarily authored by third-year Law student Pete D. Davis ’12, is divided into four parts. It argues that the average American is largely excluded from legal power, and
MEN’S LACROSSE
News 3
Despite their efforts to rally back from a 10-5 deficit at the start of the 4th quarter, the men’s lacrosse team fell to Princeton 10-15 on Saturday, dropping to 2-3 Ivy League play. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Editorial 4
Sports 6
TODAY’S FORECAST
RAINY High: 55 Low: 51
SEE LETTER PAGE 3
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