The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
|
VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 55 |
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
| MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2022
EDITORIAL PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 6
SPORTS PAGE 6
To the Class of 2026, we can’t wait for your arrival to bring campus new life
Women’s sailing places second in NEISA team race championship
Men’s lacrosse suffers 8-11 defeat at the hands of the Penn Quakers
Bacow Defends Ukraine Response Guard Seeks to Decertify Union By CARA J. CHANG and ISABELLA B. CHO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
More than 50 days into the war in Ukraine, Harvard affiliates are still calling for more public action and concrete support from the University for those affected by the conflict. In opening remarks for a virtual panel four days after Russian troops invaded Eastern Ukraine, University President Lawrence S. Bacow decried Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “wanton aggression,” pledging “to share knowledge of Ukraine” and “speak against cruelty.” Bacow’s speech was published online and posted to University social media channels. Deans from four of Harvard’s graduate schools followed suit. The Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs compiled a list of resources on its website for affected affiliates, including links to Harvard offices, contact information for requesting school-specific accommodations, emergency funding options, and resources for scholars abroad. But affiliates affected by the
By SOPHIA C. SCOTT and CLAIRE YUAN
SEE BACOW PAGE 3
CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
A Harvard security worker filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board this month seeking to decertify the union that represents around 300 contracted security workers at the University, 32BJ Service Employees International Union. Walter J. Terzano, who has served as a security officer at Harvard for 13 years, filed the petition on April 7. Employees can file a petition with the NLRB requesting a representation election, which determines if a union can continue representing its workers in collective bargaining. If the effort has support from 30 percent of the bargaining unit, the NLRB is required to hold an election to determine whether the union will be decertified. The petition comes following months of tension between 32BJ leadership and Harvard security workers, who are employed by Securitas, an international security services firm. Union leadership was at
University President Lawrence S. Bacow defended his response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during an interview with The Crimson on April 8. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
odds with the union’s bargaining committee for parts of its monthslong contract dispute with Securitas, which ended last month when members voted to ratify a contract. “This is a terrible, terrible union, and the membership is howling for some way to get rid of them and get a proper union in here,” Terzano said of 32BJ in an interview on February 8, as he was preparing to file the petition. Terzano, who serves as a union steward, said 32BJ has worked to subvert the interest of its members repeatedly throughout collective bargaining. Terzano said union leadership is often making “the company’s case to us rather than making our case to the company” in negotiations. “They seem to be working on behalf of the company more than they are for us,” he said. Harvard security workers rejected Securitas’ first contractual offer in January, despite 32BJ backing of the deal. The union’s bargaining
SEE 32BJ PAGE 3
Workers Khurana Celebrates Train in Traditions Returning Education Programs By VIVI E. LU and LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana celebrated the revival of longtime Harvard traditions this semester in a Thursday interview. With Housing Day’s in-person format in March, Yardfest in April, and two Commencement ceremonies celebrating three classes planned for May, the spring semester resurrected a number of College traditions that have been held virtually since 2019. Housing Day — an annual rite during which freshmen are sorted into one of Harvard’s 12 upperclassman houses or the Dudley Co-Op in groups of up to eight students — was held in-person for the first time in two years. Last month, upperclassmen “dorm stormed,” crowding freshman rooms to announce their housing assignments.
By SOPHIA C. SCOTT and CLAIRE YUAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
When he’s not working shifts as a custodian at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Luis M. Toribio — a native Spanish speaker — takes classes on the weekends through Harvard to hone his English skills and practice pronunciation. Two years ago, he said, he struggled to communicate in English — but today, he proudly exclaims he can now do an entire interview in English. Toribio is one of many Harvard workers who take classes through the Bridge Program, a University-run Adult Learning Center that provides English as a Second Language classes, career development workshops, an adult diploma program, and citizenship classes. “When I started the Bridge Program, it was difficult for me to express myself in English,” Toribio said. “And after I had been in the program, I’ve been learning English, I’ve been learning how to express myself. It’s been amazing. I met a lot of people.” The program, started in 1998, is funded and run by Harvard’s Human Resources department, which makes tuition, books, and other course materials free to workers. “I think this is an amazing program that Harvard has for the workers, for all the people that need it,” Toribio said. Nicole “Niki” Radvany, a Bridge Program training manager, said “the goal of the courses and workshops are to provide skill improvement for the employees to be successful in their careers, as well as in their everyday life.” Toribio said he thinks the program is “amazing,” but he added that it is sometimes difficult to balance classes with his work and family responsibilities. “To be honest, it’s very hard to do the homework, because we have to be working, we have
SEE WORKERS PAGE 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
Khurana described the day as “amazing” and said he enjoyed seeing students’ pride in their houses. “You could feel the pent-up energy from the last couple of years,” he said. “The enthusiasm, the energy, the dancing, was wonderful.” Due to the pandemic, the Dean of Students Office modified Housing Day traditions, permitting groups of three upperclassmen to “dorm storm” freshman hallways for up to five minutes. Still, many students took to pre-pandemic ways, disregarding the guidelines. Hundreds of students packed into Tercentenary Theatre earlier this month for Yardfest, Harvard’s annual spring outdoor concert, which was held in-person for the first time since 2019. Khurana said he had “a great deal of fun” at the concert. “I just really appreciated the
SEE KHURANA PAGE 3
Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana discussed the return of in-person spring traditions in an interview last Thursday. PEI CHAO ZHUO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
New Boba Store to Open Soon in Harvard Square By SALAIDH A. PEREZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
G ong Cha — an international bubble tea chain — is set to bubble into Harvard Square in early June. The store will take over the previous Dado Tea location at 50 Church St., becoming the latest addition to the Square’s boba tea collection, alongside Kung Fu Tea located at 1160 Massachusetts Ave. Boston Tea Stop, another Harvard Square staple that served bubble tea, closed last year. Founded in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Gong Cha — which translates to “tribute tea for the emperor” — opened its first overseas location in Korea in 2006, with over 200 locations throughout the world. The Gong Cha USA franchise has more than 1,500 locations globally. The chain is known for its signature milk foam. Anchal Lamba, a master franchisee for Gong Cha who
A new boba tea store is planning to open at 31 Church St. in Harvard Square. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
News 3
Editorial 4
Sports 6
TODAY’S FORECAST
RAINY High: 51 Low: 35
manages stores in nine states, said the new location plans to target Harvard students as both employees and customers. “We always love to open by college campuses. College students — what we’ve learned is that they love bubble tea,” she said. “We figure it’s going to be a great addition to the Harvard area and to just have the Gong Cha brand nearby for students on campus.” The company has 13 stores in Massachusetts so far, with locations in Allston and other parts of Boston. Lamba’s franchise currently has stores in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Oklahoma, with more opening soon in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Lamba said she believes the quality of Gong Cha tea makes it stand out. “I think our customers really do love our quality of tea,”
SEE BOBA PAGE 3
VISIT THECRIMSON.COM. FOLLOW @THECRIMSON ON TWITTER.
jayson tatum
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
APRIL 18, 2022
PAGE 2
HARVARD TODAY
For Lunch Korean BBQ Beef Red Spiced Chicken Mindful Chicken Cheese Sub
For Dinner Sausage Jambalaya Roasted Chicken Spanish Pisto Manchego
TODAY’S EVENTS Managing Test Anxiety Virtual, 12 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
IN THE REAL WORLD
Are you trembling at the mere thought of final week? Has it snuck up on you? Join this event hosted by the ARC to learn tips on managing test anxiety and how to thoughtfully prepare yourself for finals week.
PlayStation causes an evacuation at Boston Logan Terminal A Travelers at Boston Logan Airport’s Terminal A were subject to an evacuation due to a suspicious item found in luggage. Upon further investigation by the State Police Bomb Squad, it was determined that the item was a PlayStation gaming console.
HOP Fundraiser Political Action Tabling Science Center Plaza, 12 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Join PBHA’s Housing Opportunities Program on their first day of programming for Housing Awareness Week. You’ll learn concrete ways you can get involved in promoting fair housing policies.
Panel on Black/Palestinian Solidarity Tsai Auditorium, 7 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Two people were killed and at least eight were injured in a shooting that took place at a house party in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Over 200 partygoers, many of them underaged, tried to flee as rounds were fired. The moon looks down over Memorial Hall. ADDISON Y. LIU—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
AROUND THE IVIES YALE: Planetary Solutions Project Awards Nearly $1.5 million to Faculty Proposals — THE YALE DAILY NEWS
Officials recommend Americans over 60 get a second booster
White House Covid-19 response coordinator Ashish K. Jha on Sunday encouraged seniors to receive a fourth vaccine shot to limit risk of infection. Citing research conducted in Israel, Jha said getting a second booster shot four months after the first would limit infections and deaths.
PENN: Upperclassmen Write Letters to Their Younger Selves in Student Initiative “Dear Penn Freshman” —THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN
PRINCETON: Flo Milli to Headline Lawnparties on April 24 —THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN CORNELL: Sen. Charles Schumer Attends Ceremony for Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source Expansion —THE CORNELL DAILY SUN
COVID UPDATES
CAMPUS LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY
Join the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee’s Israeli Apartheid Week by attending this panel. The discussion will feature Balck and Palestinian actvivists and discuss issues related to racial justice and solidarity.
Casualties at an Airbnb party following a shooting
389 In Isolation
1.76%
515
Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
LAST 7 DAYS
CAMBRIDGE
684 3.00% 76%
Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
Fully Vaccinated
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Loyalty Oath Proposed for All Professors
The Education Committee of the Massachusetts State Legislature proposed a loyalty affidavit under penalty of perjury for College professors and teachers to drive Communists from educational institutions. April 18, 1953
Professors Shower Cash on Obama
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama received more than half of the political contributions made by Harvard professors and staff in the first quarter of 2007, according to an analysis of federal data released Monday. April 18, 2007
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
The Harvard Crimson Raquel Coronell Uribe ’22-’23 Associate Managing Editors Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 President Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24 Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Associate Business Managers Managing Editor Taia M.Y. Cheng ’23-’24 Isabelle L. Guillaume ’24 Amy X. Zhou ’23 Business Manager Editorial Chairs Guillermo S. Hava ’23-24 Orlee G.S. Marini-Rapoport ’23-24
STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Arts Chairs Sofia Andrade ’23-’24 Jaden S. Thompson ’23
Design Chairs Yuen Ting Chow ’23 Madison A. Shirazi ’23-’24
Magazine Chairs Maliya V. Ellis ’23-’24 Sophia S. Liang ’23
Multimedia Chairs Aiyana G. White ’23 Pei Chao Zhuo ’23
Blog Chairs Ellen S. Deng ’23-’24 Janani Sekar ’23-’24
Technology Chairs Ziyong Cui ’24 Justin Y. Ye ’24
Night Editor Virginia L. Ma ’23
Design Editors Camille G. Caldera ’22
Assistant Night Editors Yusuf S. Mian ’25 Dekyi Tsotsong ’24
Photo Editor Pei Chao Zhuo ’23
Story Editors Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24
Editorial Editor Gemma J. Schneider ’23 Sports Editor Oscar E. Mercado ’25
Sports Chairs Alexandra N. Wilson ’23-’24 Griffin H. Wong ’24 .
Copyright 2022, The Harvard Crimson (USPS 236-560). No articles, editorials, cartoons or any part thereof appearing in The Crimson may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the President. The Associated Press holds the right to reprint any materials published in The Crimson. The Crimson is a non-profit, independent corporation, founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1967. Second-class postage paid in Boston, Massachusetts. Published Monday through Friday except holidays and during vacations, three times weekly during reading and exam periods by The Harvard Crimson Inc., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Weather icons made by Freepik, Yannick, Situ Herrera, OCHA, SimpleIcon, Catalin Fertu from flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0.
CORRECTIONS The 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.
PAGE 3
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
BACOW FROM PAGE 1
APRIL 18, 2022
32BJ FROM PAGE 1
Bacow Defends Worker Petitions to Decertify 32BJ Response to War the crisis say Harvard should do more. “President Bacow has the power to condemn this,” said Taisa Kulyk ’22, whose parents hail from Ukraine. “He has the power to share what we can do, or to also support students here, and international students.” Kulyk called the remarks Bacow published online “a very weak stance,” noting that Harvard has publicized University statements on other topics via emails directly to all affiliates. Bacow defended his decision to publish his personal statement on the invasion online, as opposed to emailing it, in an April 8 interview. “When people get a message from me, I want them to read it because they know it’s important, and if people are getting too many of those, then it loses its impact,” he said, noting that email blasts sometimes go to students, staff, faculty, and over 400,000 alumni. “Frequently you will find, if you go back and look, that in response to a whole series of events I haven’t sent blast emails, but rather I found a way to make remarks and then I post them to my website,” Bacow added. Bacow said producing an institutional response to current events requires a lengthy review process that often takes more time than if he drafts a personal statement, like his remarks on Ukraine. “One of the challenges when events occur in real time — if you want the whole institution to respond — is to vet things with 12 deans, with 12 Corporation members, with the Alumni Association,” he said. Beyond calling for public statements, a group of Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh, and American students wrote a petition to Harvard administrators last month, which garnered more than 650 signatories and asked for academic and mental health support, financial aid, and immigration assistance. Two Russian organizers behind the petition, Alexander Zhigalin ’23 and Polina Galouchko ’23, said that the University
did not respond to the petition’s requests. “We would like to hear a response from the University about those suggestions,” Galouchko said. “They could be like, ‘Okay, we cannot do this for those and those reasons. But, here’s an alternative.’” She added some students are “just not receiving the help that they urgently need.” “The administration has been very hesitant implementing those blanket policies or centralized policies, because I think they still firmly believe that it’s best solved on a one-on-one basis and case-by-case,” Galouchko said. Zhigalin said students have been told to reach out to their resident deans for specific support, but said the resident deans “also do not know what to do.” “The resident deans just have nothing to direct us to,” he said. University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment. Zhigalin and Galouchko said the war in Ukraine shows how Harvard lacks the infrastructure to support its students when any international crises arise, adding that affiliates from other conflict zones like Afghanistan and Syria faced a similar lack of institutionalized support. “We think it’s a general issue that’s uncovered by these circumstances, rather than created,” Zhigalin said. Bacow said Harvard has “done a lot to try and help people understand where we’re at, the resources that we’ve made available to students.” For Kulyk, the sign of the Ukrainian flag flying over University Hall in the Yard is “symbolic.” But it is also a reminder of the continual suffering of individuals overseas, she said. “Every day that the flag remains flying, that’s a reminder to everyone in our community here that the war is still going on, and that we need to do more,” Kulyk said. cara.chang@thecrimson.com isabella.cho@thecrimson.com
committee — tasked with representing general members in negotiations — called on workers to vote down the first offer, which ultimately failed, 127-84. Terzano said he decided to draft the petition due to “the obvious disdain that the union leadership seems to demonstrate to the members — even the stewards.” Terzano accused the union of rigging a 2016 contract ratification vote, though there is no direct proof of fraud. He said the union refused to conduct an audit of the election. “It’s beyond rational dispute that there’s an enormous amount of questions about that vote,” he added. Arun K. Malik, who serves on 32BJ’s bargaining commit-
Harvard faculty members voted overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal that will allow undergraduates to pursue a double concentration — a proposal Khurana called “thoughtfully presented.” “We want our students to really see Harvard College as a place of intellectual exploration,” Khurana said. “I’m glad that we’re able to add another choice for students in addition
conduct an election through secret ballot. Last year, there were 240 petitions to decertify filed with the NLRB, resulting in 125 elections — 55 of which were won by the union, and 75 of which were lost by the union according to the NLRB. Eighteen were dismissed and 91 were withdrawn. 32BJ spokesperson Amanda Torres-Price declined to comment on the petition, writing that the union “can’t comment on a pending legal matter.” Securitas and Harvard University spokesperson Jason A. Newton also declined to comment. sophia.scott@thecrimson.com claire.yuan@thecrimson.com
Workers Take Part in Bridge Prog., TAP to take care of the family,” he said. “It’s hard, to be honest — it’s very hard.” “You have to spend time with your family, too — you have to divide time for the family, time for school homework, time to work,” he added. In addition to the Bridge Program, Harvard also offers a Tuition Assistance Program, which gives workers access to degree programs at a reduced cost. The program partially subsidizes the cost of tuition for classes that employees take at participating Harvard Schools. It allows workers to take classes or pursue a degree for $40 per class at the Harvard Extension School or 10 percent of tuition at other eligible schools, such as the Graduate Schools of Education, Government, Public Health, and Design. Employees taking advantage of TAP may pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree, as well as several graduate certificates at the Harvard Extension School, which provides hundreds of evening classes and flexible degree programs. Rianna Brooks, a research specialist in the Access to Jus-
tice Lab at Harvard, has made use of the TAP program to take dance classes at the Harvard Dance Center, math and computer science classes at HES, and data analysis and visualization courses at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. “To me, the TAP program is one of the most valuable benefits to being research staff at the University,” she wrote in an email. Still, Brooks wrote that she would like to see “more Harvard graduate programs accept part-time TAP students into degree programs.” Curt E. Rheault, the president of the Harvard University Security, Parking, and Museum Guards Union, said he has found the TAP program to be “surprisingly good.” Rheault took an English course through Harvard’s Tuition Assistance Program to help him run his small business, Compass Technology. “I use that every single day, which is amazing to me. It really helped a lot on the managing side,” he said. Rheault also praised the learning environment at the
Research Sepcialist Rianna Brooks
SEAS Custodian Luis Toribio
PHOTO COURTSEY RIANNA BROOKS
PHOTO COURTSEY LUIS TORIBIO
Extension School. “Most of the people there are taking the courses because they want to take courses; they want to learn,” he said. “You don’t have people who don’t want to be there, which is refreshing.” “You generally get very good teachers and good feedback — because otherwise they don’t last [at HES] — which is not my normal experience through undergrad and high school,” he added. Rheault has now taken 17 classes and earned a master’s degree at the Harvard Exten-
sion School through Tuition Assistance Program, and he said he may return to get a Masters in Sustainability, too. “I wish everybody that works at Harvard that has an opportunity to use the TAP program would at least give it a shot for one class,” he said. “I’ve always pushed it, but I wish Harvard pushed it more, because I think it’s a great asset that they have,” he added. sophia.scott@thecrimson.com claire.yuan@thecrimson.com
BOBA FROM PAGE 1
Khurana Lauds Return to In-Person College Traditions in Spring Semester
Double Concentrations
William B. Gould IV, a professor at Stanford Law School, said a petition must be timely and garner sufficient interest within the appropriate units of a union in order to warrant an election. But measuring whether petitions have received the necessary 30 percent support from members can sometimes be complicated, he said. “Sometimes, it’s difficult to determine whether that 30 percent is adequate because there may be some dispute about the scope of the unit,” he said. “You have to measure the 30 percent over the number of people who are in the appropriate bargaining unit,” he added. If sufficient interest is demonstrated, the NLRB will
WORKERS FROM PAGE 1
KHURANA FROM PAGE 1
energy and really that shared collective sentiment — I’ll never take us being together again for granted,” he said.
tee, said he thought there was “election irregularity” in the 2016 vote. “Both the custodians and the guards thought we had voted down our CBAs,” he said. “We were both stunned to find out it had passed.” Malik also said the union did not issue an official communication about misinformation spread by a guard during the 2016 vote — “grounds for invalidating the election,” he said. 32BJ Executive Vice President Roxana Rivera did not respond to a request for comment about the allegations. The NLRB is currently investigating whether the petition for decertification has received the necessary 30 percent support from union members.
to doing a joint concentration or single concentration.” Some faculty worry that double concentrations may incentivize students to collect credentials, rather than explore intellectual interests. Asked about these concerns, Khurana said it is important that students make “authentic choices” about their academic paths. “The goal of Harvard College is not to hit rewind on high school and play again,” he said. Ketanji Brown Jackson ’92 Confirmed to SCOTUS Ketanji Brown Jackson ’92,
who graduated from the College and Harvard Law School, was confirmed to the Supreme Court earlier this month. The first Black woman to sit on the bench, Jackson has served on the Board of Overseers — the University’s second-highest governing board — since 2016. Khurana said he was happy to see Jackson confirmed. “It’s always great when students can see our alumni, in the variety of different roles that they’re occupying, trying to make the world more just and fair,” Khurana said. vivi.lu@thecrimson.com leah. teichholtz@thecrimson.com
Bring on the Boba: Gong Cha to Open Store in Harvard Square she said. “We brew our tea every four hours in our store, which a lot of our customers love. When you walk into a Gong Cha store, you can smell the aroma of the tea, which is something that attracts our customers.” “It kind of sets us apart from other brands,” Anchal Lamba
added. The Church St. store’s grand opening will feature a “buy one, get one free” sale on their top ten drinks, according to Lamba. Lamba said her personal favorite drink is the milk foam green tea. “It has brewed green tea on
the bottom, and then a slightly savory cream topping on top,” Lamba said. “That’s one of our top drinks as well, so I’m sure for the grand opening that drink will be included in the buy one, get one free,” she said. salaidh.perez@thecrimson.com
Pictures worth a thousand words.
The Crimson thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
APRIL 18, 2022
PAGE 4
EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD
OP-ED
To the Class of 2026
Nowruz: The Day Filled with Joy and Hope
Congratulations! We are so happy to welcome you.
T
o the Class of 2026, Congratulations! We are so happy to welcome you. As you process the feeling of joy, excitement, or even momentary disbelief that comes with acceptance into Harvard, know that you and your loved ones have much to be proud of. We’re very proud of you, too. When you arrive in late August, you will likely find yourselves in a largely maskless community that resembles that of many campuses prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet more than half of those who will be here to meet you had far more unorthodox Harvard beginning, with a disorienting cavalcade of Zoom rooms, awkward mask-induced misidentifications, and anxious post-arrival Covid-19 tests. Your introduction to this community in late summer will be remarkable in all the ways that joining our community is always remarkable, but it will also be remarkable in that it will be beautifully ordinary. A return to convention, at long last. We hope you will appreciate and enjoy this normalcy. In some sense, you will have the first fresh start at Harvard in a very, very long time. This school is, well, old. Through a vast matrix of norms, traditions, and Crimson idiosyncrasies, that age touches us, influencing how we understand and engage with the institution around us. But when Covid-19 scattered us away from Harvard physically it also took away some of our precious cultural traditions and institutional memory that never quite made it back. You — every single one of the newly minted Harvard affiliates — now have the rare opportunity to fill in those gaps.
To create new traditions and institutional memories that will define your time here and that of generations to come; to choose which clubs, celebrations, and campus programs are worthy of your attention and energy. As you do so, we urge you to be better than we have been, just like we have strived to be better than those before us. You have a shot a reshaping this community to more closely reflects the core values of equality, educational excellence, and intellectual curiosity that we have yet to fully uphold and
The real Harvard isn’t always quite as glossy as the Elle Woods overview. But do not let that intimidate you: This campus will be as yours as it is anybody’s. Yours to reside and change, yours to turn
Through a vast matrix of norms, traditions, and Crimson idiosyncrasies, that age touches us, influencing how we understand and engage with the institution around us. But when Covid-19 scattered us away from Harvard physically it also took away some of our precious cultural traditions.
to in moments of triumph and pain. The world is yours. And we will be right here with you. We will be here to welcome you into our communities, including this very Editorial Board. We will be here to share with you our traditions and our worries — Housing Day, courses, long walks to the Quad, the latest Harvard University Dining Services creation — and watch them become yours too. We can’t wait for your arrival in August to breathe new life into a historical campus and for you, the reader, to leave your own little mark. Above all, we hope you can find a home here that you love. Welcome, Class of 2026. We can’t wait to meet you.
realize. Special as it is, this school has its fair share of injustices and problems just like everywhere else. The institution you enter will be far from perfect — you will likely experience moments of frustration and, in all likeliness, burst out in tears at some point during your time here. You will be tested by incomprehensible administrative oversights, problematic lecturers, and overzealous, exhausting colleagues.
This campus will be as yours as it is anybody’s. Yours to reside and change, yours to turn to in moments of triumph and pain.
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.
COLUMN
I Wish They Could Fire Amy Wax Hana M. Kiros HARVARD EVERYWHERE
A
my Wax thinks America is “better off with more whites and fewer non-whites,” and she’s not shy about saying it. Wax — the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School — has collected outrage and fans since 2017, when she began speaking in interviews and on primetime television about what she dubs “cultural-distance nationalism.” This breed of nationalism, as Wax explained at the inaugural National Conservatism Conference, asserts that “we are better off if our country is dominated numerically, demographically, politically, at least in fact if not formally, by people from the first world, from the West, than by people from countries that had failed to advance.” Put plainly, Wax favors non-white people being kept out of leadership positions and, ideally, the country. That’s in America’s best interest, she argues, because “countries ruled by white Europeans” simply have values that are “superior.” The third world, although mixed, contains a lot of non-white people,” she warns. Tracking Wax’s declarations of white supremacy is genuinely dizzying. This month’s iteration is a viral clip of her on Tucker Carlson Today, in which Wax described her Indian colleagues at Penn as coming from a “shithole.” She then complains that “non-Western people,” particularly “American Blacks,” feel a “tremendous amount of resentment and shame” towards “Western peoples” because of their “outsized achievements and contributions.” Wax scrunches her face. “I mean it’s this unholy brew of sentiments.” Wax’s April interview with Carlson, who hosts America’s most-watched cable news show, has led to a resurgence in calls for her firing — a cause that last surged this January when Wax said the U.S. was “better off with fewer Asians.” Yet whether Wax is fired from her Ivy is, of course, complicated by tenure — an academic appointment that insulates her, like a tortoiseshell, from such action. In an emailed statement, Wax curtly declined an interview request: “I do not speak to student reporters, so I suggest you don’t contact me again.” This is the part of my column where I come out as Black (to all those who don’t know me personally — surprise!). I remember, hazily, being four years old and introduced to the idea. On the playground, my sister’s friend announced that he wasn’t allowed to play with Black people. My sister, confused, ran to me, and we soon tattled. One angry phone call and parent-teacher conference later, our school sent the offender (a first grader) home with an MLK picture book. I wouldn’t say I’m filled with tremendous shame over the West’s “outsized achievements.” I find Wax’s comments
genuinely upsetting, but know (hope?) they’re fringe. Wax was barred from teaching required classes in 2018 after implying, falsely, that Black Penn Law students never graduated in the top quarter of their class. This January, Penn Law Dean Tedd Ruger initiated the University’s process for formally sanctioning tenured faculty “to address Professor Wax’s escalating conduct.” Ruger declined to comment for this article to “preserve the integrity of this process.” He wrote, however, that “[t]he Law School has previously made clear on multiple occasions that Professor Wax’s views do not reflect our values or practices.” This sanctions inquiry instantly met backlash. A coalition of professors known as the Academic Freedom Alliance, which counts many Harvard professors as members and in its leadership, came to Wax’s defense days after its announcement. In a public statement on behalf of the organization, AFA founder and Princeton professor Keith Whittington expressed the “firm view that Professor Wax should suffer no formal consequences.” Jeannie Suk Gersen, a Harvard Law professor and founding member of the AFA, could not be reached for comment. Whittington, who authored the public letter defending Wax, founded the Academic Freedom Alliance in 2021 after growing increasingly concerned about free speech issues in American society. To him, that encompasses efforts to roll back tenure protections to bans on Critical Race Theory, though his organization has yet to release a public statement explicitly addressing the latter. After reading Wax’s remarks to Whittington, I asked if he’d call them racist — as major media outlets, normally averse to the term, have done outright. “I’ll leave it to others to sort that out and characterize them in that regard,” he told me. The AFA’s opposition to sanctioning Wax hinges on the belief that her podcast and talk show appearances constitute “extramural speech” — a protected form of speech that occurs outside of the classroom which they argue is off-limits for University scrutiny. “Using her platform in the classroom to do similar things as what she’s doing in podcasts and on the Tucker Carlson show — then that’d be troubling,” Whittington told me. “The University would properly want to look into that.” Yet Whittington maintains that “extramural speech protections, by most university policies, are pretty close to absolute.” Penn Law seems to be looking into two strains of complaints against Wax, according to a January statement by Ruger — one which Whittington would deem appropriate grounds for sanctions, and another which he would not. First: “That her conduct is having an adverse and discernable impact on her teaching and classroom activities.” Second: That Wax’s “pervasive and recurring vitriol and promotion of white
supremacy” made it “impossible for students to take classes from her without a reasonable belief that they are being treated with discriminatory animus.” Penn’s proceedings will try to discern whether Wax’s belief in the superiority of “white culture” has led, as complainants allege, to discriminatory conduct in her classroom. This, Whittington admits, requires a high evidentiary burden — since Wax is infamous at Penn, how many non-white students, or even those who disagree with her views, take her classes? — but could chart a less controversial path towards revoking Wax’s tenure. The second bucket of complaints evokes questions that are, bureaucratically, hairier. Should you be allowed to teach if you assert repeatedly, as Professor Wax has, that your non-white students are culturally inferior to your white ones, and bemoan their very presence in the U.S.? In his statement, Ruger writes that Wax has publicly demeaned “a majority of those who study, teach, and work here.” (Penn’s graduate schools are about 40 percent white). Though tenured faculty’s “extramural speech” protections are, rightfully, strong, Wax’s case is an extreme test of the vague rules which govern tenure termination. There must be room within the tenure system to dismiss professors who so clearly impair their ability to teach, as Whittington concedes Wax “may well have.” because of inarguable racism. If a student knows their professor views them as inherently inferior, how can learning proceed? I attended a majority Black high school but, during senior year, was the only Black student in my physics and math class. In them, I learned to shrink myself: never speaking unless coldcalled or daring to ask questions, even when I desperately needed to. In those classes, Black students not on our school’s “advanced” track (teachers and students called them “the general kids”) only existed as the butt of cruel jokes — mocking, relentlessly, how they dressed. Spoke. Existed. So I chose to never say a word, terrified that if I did, I might slip up and confirm the worst I knew some assumed of me. My learning — which, ideally, should’ve allowed for fearless inquiry — undeniably suffered. If Penn’s process rules that Wax’s public comments are un-sanctionable, it will be a depressing day. Such a decision would signal to all of academia that clean-cut advocacy for white supremacy is employable conduct if you have tenure — something unfathomable in nearly any other profession. Under such a system, it’s students that lose. — Hana M. Kiros ’22, a former Crimson Editorial Chair, is an Integrative Biology Concentrator in Pforzheimer House. Her column, “Harvard Everywhere,” runs on alternating Mondays.
By KAISER MEJIT
I
t was a sunny and pleasant afternoon on March 21st several years ago. As the warmer temperature began to melt the snow, it felt like spring had arrived. While walking on a street near Boston’s famous Fenway Park, I noticed a beautiful scene where the steam was whirling and rising from the ground to the sky like a whirling Dervish. Recalling that it was Nowruz day, I scribbled a poem instantaneously. One month ago, members of the Uyghur community in the Greater Boston area participated in the Nowruz Festival organized by the Central Asian Student Association at Harvard University. Sitting as one of the participants in the festival, listening to the congratulatory remarks of University President Lawrence S. Bacow and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken ’84 broadcasted via video, I felt warm feelings among participants, be they from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Uzbekistan. Like everyone else, I felt joyful seeing every group’s festival performance, which included singing, dancing, and a fashion show. And on behalf of the Uyghur community, I, too, presented to the audience my poem written on Nowruz day near Fenway Park several years ago. While watching festivities, I thought to myself — would it not be the absolute joy of Nowruz if the dark day ends and warm spring-like freedom embraces Uyghurs immediately? Nowruz is the day of the spring equinox. The celebration of Nowruz is one of our traditional holidays and has a long history among Uyghurs. I have been celebrating it since I was a kid; I particularly enjoyed the wrestling matches back then. The social atmosphere of the Nowruz festival is inclusive, immersed in unity and equality; people young and old participate in the holiday. Some tell epic stories, others read poems, some dance, and others wrestle. It is celebratory; people dress up with their new clothes and wish each other good luck — and they all share an exceptional food called “Nowruz Eshi.” Nowruz day is philanthropic and inspirational. Able members of the community help the poor, sick, weak, and vulnerable, while the learned men encourage others to pursue knowledge, choose righteousness over wickedness, and protect and preserve the unity of the community. Through those events, they turn Nowruz day into a day of joy which warms the hearts of everyone with friendship, compassion, love, unity, and hope. For Uyghur people, celebrating Nowruz is not simply showing respect to the law of nature where the harsh winter ends and warm spring starts. It is also their longing for ending brutal and oppressive days and the beginning of peaceful times. Uyghur immigrants celebrate Nowruz in any American state with a sizable Uyghur community, and Massachusetts is surely one of them, as around 200 Uyghurs reside in the Greater Boston Area. Until 2017, celebrating Nowruz might have been considered the continuation of a tradition from the so-called Uyghur “Autonomous” Region — as Uyghurs living there are not afforded much autonomy at all. But since 2017 — when the Chinese government began building internment camps to detain at least a million Uyghurs with baseless charges and cruel and extreme measures — celebrating Nowruz for Uyghurs abroad has been seen as one of the symbols in the fight against the Chinese government’s destruction of Uyghur identity.
While watching festivities, I thought to myself — would it not be the absolute joy of Nowruz if the dark day ends and like freedom embraces Uyghurs immediately? Five years have passed since then. Although several world governments — such as the U.S., the U.K., and most recently, France — have declared China’s abuse of Uyghurs an ethnic genocide, China is not backtracking. Over a million Uyghur intellectuals, professionals, religious leaders, and ordinary people have yet to be released from the camps, many have died, and many more are still missing. Uyghur children are still suffering and their parents are taken from their homes against their will and forced to work in harsh conditions. China’s policy directed toward Uyghur people is the mixture of the worst form of capitalism — exploitation, the worst form of communism — state terror, and the worst form of ultra-nationalism — forceful assimilation. Its ultimate goal is to erase everything Uyghur. Although a crime of this magnitude committed in the name of the Chinese state should have shaken the conscience of the world, more countries have publicly stood with China than against it. Realizing that facing existential threat, Uyghurs are clinging to every bit of chance that gives them hope for a better tomorrow and Uyghurs across the diaspora are trying to pick joy among sadness, choose hope over hopelessness, and display our determination to keep our identity whenever there is even an iota of possibility to do so. And participating in the Nowruz Festivals like this one held at Harvard not only lifts our spirits but also gives us an opportunity to display our strong will to preserve our culture. When there is a continuity of our traditional culture, there will be a future for Uyghurs and the real Nowruz — the warm spring-like freedom — will embrace the Uyghur people at last. — Kaiser Mejit is a graduate of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
PAGE 5
Harvard, 24/7.
The Crimson thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
APRIL 18, 2022
SPORTS
WEEKLY RECAP
SCORES
BASEBALL VS. COLUMBIA L, 3-7 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL VS. GEORGE MASON W, 3-0 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S TENNIS VS. PENN W, 5-0 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT ROWING VS. PRINCETON W ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S TENNIS VS. PENN L, 1-4 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT ROWING VS. BU, MIT 2ND ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S LACROSSE VS. COLUMBIA W, 14-8 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S LACROSSE
Crimson Suffers 8-11 Defeat Against Penn Quakers By KATHARINE FORST CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
After a hard-fought battle, No. 13 Harvard (7-3, 2-2) succumbed to the No. 11 Penn Quakers in a tight 11-8 loss in Philadelphia. Playing at a much higher caliber than in its April 9 loss to Cornell, the Crimson brought energy and fight. With Harvard leading 4-3 at the half, the game seemed to be quite even. However, Penn went on an unanswered six-goal run, outscoring the Crimson 5-0 in the third quarter. This was not due to a dip in Harvard’s play; it was due to a shift in Penn energy, as Quakers head coach Mike Murphy moved his senior midfielder Sam Handley to attack, forcing the Crimson defense to re-evaluate its matchups. Handley had five points on the day in the form of four goals and an assist. “We played hard and competed well. We just have to play for all four quarters,” sophomore LSM Greg Campisi noted. “Giving up five goals and scoring none in the third quarter hurt us tremendously. We know that we can play with anybody; we just need a full 60-minute effort.” The first quarter was sloppy for both teams, with the nerves of league play forcing some errant passes and questionable takes on the offensive end; it was a low-scoring quarter as a result, with Harvard entering the first intermission with a 3-2 lead. Senior goalie Kyle Mullin again had a great showing, demonstrating his athleticism as a member of the 10-man ride unit. He also excelled during the clear, in which he on multiple occasions took the ball all the way up to the 50 in order to secure Harvard possession before the 20 seconds wound down. On the other end of the field, the ride was a great point of emphasis for the Crimson; it was effective at slowing down Penn
MADRONIC MAGIC Attacker Austin Madronic fires a shot during a 7-6 victory over Colgate on April 2. His three assists were not enough to secure victory for the Crimson on Saturday. DYLAN J. GOODMAN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
and even stopping the Quakers from clearing entirely. Penn went 19 for 25 on the day, while Harvard went 22 for 26 on its clearing attempts. “Our 10 man ride worked really well against Penn,” first-year midfielder Owen Gaffney commented. “We were able to stunt Penn’s clearing game, which helped us make plays on offense and defense. It’s something that
we found success with recently, and I’m sure we will continue to utilize it.” However, the Crimson will look to improve on extra man opportunities as well as the face off. Harvard did not take advantage of its man-up sets, only converting on one of its seven. Working on striking during these plays has been something that the team has emphasized in the
past. At the face off, the Crimson only won four of the 22 faceoffs, allowing the Quakers to control the middle of the field. Losing the initial clamp gave Penn more possession time, and allowed it to build momentum on its goals in the third and fourth quarters. Harvard made a valiant effort at a comeback in the fourth, scoring four goals. Gaffney noted that it was due to leadership
on both ends of the field, which should translate into the team’s next showing against Princeton. “[Mullin] and [Campisi] played great games, and they have been all year. They really energize the team with their focus and intensity,” he said. “We are excited for this upcoming game against a great Princeton team.” Harvard will host the Tigers
on Saturday at 1 p.m. The contest marks the last home game of the season for Harvard, and will be played as the team’s senior day, honoring current seniors as well as members of the classes of 2020 and 2021 who were unable to celebrate during the Covid-19 pandemic. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+. katharine.forst@thecrimson.com
WOMEN’S WATER POLO
Harvard Completes Final Home Stand of Season By DANAI-CHRISTINA AVDELA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Harvard women’s water polo team saw its longest series of the season this past
weekend, with the Crimson taking on Bucknell and St. Francis, achieving a key victory over No. 21 Princeton, and keeping up with No. 7 Michigan, which is undefeated in
conference play. “It was our last home weekend,” said junior defender Jaiden Miller. “Celebrating our seniors and being able to pull out those wins in front of
all our friends and with our seniors was amazing. I think it gives us good momentum going into Brown this weekend and then conference championships next weekend.”
PROLIFIC POLO Then-Senior forward Kristin Chen ‘19 looks to push the action in a back-and-forth thriller against Bucknell on March 3rd, 2019. Then No.15 Harvard bested Bucknell 8-6 at Blodgett Pool. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Meeting exactly one week after Harvard secured a victory over Princeton (18-8, 7-3 CWPA), the Tigers came out firing with a pair of goals within the first two minutes of the match. Nevertheless, the Crimson took a 5-4 going into the break. Throughout the entire match, no team gained more than a two-point lead over the other. Harvard was ahead by one goal in the last five minutes, but Princeton sent the game to overtime with a bar down shot in the last seconds of regulation. “We started out at the beginning of the game being down,” said junior defender Brooke Hourigan. “We all knew from that point on that it was going to be a fight, that it was going to be a game. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We beat them at home on senior night, and they came out hungry.” The Crimson managed to pull ahead to 11-10 during the last 90 seconds of the second overtime, but the Tigers took it to sudden death with 6 seconds remaining. Within less than 20 seconds into this final period, senior center defender Inde Halligan scored a perfect lob shot, securing another Harvard victory against Princeton. “We were going to keep fighting until the last second,” Hourigan said. “We gave it everything we had. When we scored that final goal, it was such a relief, and we all knew that we could do it. It was nice to say, ‘look, we did it and didn’t stop fighting until the absolute last second.’” In the second game of the day against Bucknell (9-14, 3-8 CWPA), the Crimson fell behind 4-2 at the end of the first
half, before turning it around to win the match 7-5 and complete its second comeback of the weekend. Harvard had a tall order to win all four of its matches on the weekend, as Michigan (238, 11-0 CWPA) had been undefeated in the CWPA since 2018. The Crimson was able to keep the score differential to two points until the last six minutes, when Michigan took control of the match and scored four successive goals. “Michigan is a very beautiful team,” Miller reflected. “They’ve been number one in our conference, I think for seven years in a row now. “They have an attitude to themselves that they’re untouchable. I think our mindset going into that match [was] we were hungry, and we wanted to prove that we’re right there, that we’re not someone you can shove over, and we’re going to give them a run for their money for the conference championships this year.” Both Miller and Hourigan pointed out the contribution of junior goalkeeper Zoe Banks to the mentality of the team. “[Banks] is a brick wall of a goalie,” Miller said. “If things aren’t going right, you could look at her, and she calms you down and also hypes you up at the same time.” Miller and Hourigan also stressed the ability of the team to make changes and play full lines, as evidenced by the fact that the team has had games in which six or seven different players score: a difficult feat in collegiate water polo. Harvard, now equipped with key victories and a competitive game against Michigan, looks forward to the CWPA championships this upcoming Friday, April 22.