The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
|
VOLUME CXLIX NO. 14 |
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
| THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
EDITORIAL PAGE 4
NEWS PAGE 5
SPORTS PAGE 6
It’s far past time that we have a Black woman on the Supreme Court
Former U.S. Ambassador William Taylor spoke at an IOP forum
Men’s lacrosse gears up for the season with pair of scrimmage victories
34 Professors Retract Support for Comaroff By ARIEL H. KIM and MEIMEI XU CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
A lmost all of the Harvard professors who signed onto an open letter last week that questioned the results of misconduct investigations into professor John L. Comaroff have retracted their support for the message. Thirty-three of the 38 faculty members who signed onto the letter, including some of Harvard’s most prominent scholars, signed a retraction letter Wednesday saying they “failed to appreciate the impact” their previous message would have. One other professor, whose name did not appear on the retraction letter, wrote in an email that she, too, retracted support for the letter. Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay sanctioned Comaroff last month after University investigations found that he violated the school’s sexual and professional conduct policies. He is
barred from teaching required courses and taking on additional advisees through the next academic year. The initial letter posed a series of sharp questions about sanctions levied against Comaroff, who it described as “an excellent colleague, advisor and committed university citizen.” But professors began to pull their support for the letter after a federal lawsuit filed against Harvard on Tuesday detailed years of sexual harassment allegations against Comaroff — some of which had been reported previously. “Our concerns were transparency, process and university procedures, which go beyond the merits of any individual case,” the retraction letter said. “We failed to appreciate the impact that this would have on our students, and we were lacking full information about the case. We are committed to all students experiencing Harvard as a safe and equitable institution for teaching and learning.”
Open Letter from Concerned Faculty We Retract “How can advice intended to protect an advisee from sexual violence be itself construed as sexual harassment?”
The initial open letter, which was sent to Harvard administrators, was signed by an array of well-known professors, including Henry Louis Gates Jr., Jill Lepore, Stephen J. Greenblatt, and former Harvard College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds. Two professors — Randall L. Kennedy and Duncan Kennedy — declined to sign onto the retraction, according to the original letter’s co-authors, Ingrid T. Monson and Kay K. Shelemay. “I declined to retract my signature because I think the letter was and still is an appropriate response to the actions of the University in the case,” Duncan Kennedy wrote in an email Wednesday afternoon. University Professor Douglas A. Melton, whose name was also absent from the retraction letter, had not responded to inquiries about a retraction as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Monson and Shelemay.
“We are retracting our open letter published in the Harvard Crimson on February 4th, 2022. Our concerns were transparency, process and university procedures, which go beyond the merits of any individual case.”
CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
A n electric Harvard shuttle crashed onto the sidewalk in front of Tasty Burger and the Garage on John F. Kennedy Street at approximately 6:43 p.m. Wednesday. Four students and a driver were aboard the Allston Loop shuttle at the time of the crash but all were unharmed, according to Harvard University Campus Services spokesperson Michael D. Conner. Conner wrote that the University is cooperating with investigators to uncover the circumstances that led to the incident. The Cambridge Police Department is investigating the cause of the crash, which was undetermined as of Wednesday evening. Paramedics, firefighters, and Harvard University police officers also responded to the incident.
There was no structural damage to businesses located at the site of the crash, Warnick wrote in an email. The shuttle veered onto the sidewalk near the corner of JFK St. and Mount Auburn St., shattering the vehicle’s front windshield in a collision with the Garage, a local shopping mall. The shuttle is one of four new all-electric vehicles the University purchased last February as part of its goal to become fossil-fuel neutral by 2026. Amina T. Salahou ’25, who works at the Harvard Shop located near the site of the crash, said she was immediately concerned about whether the employee working during the incident was safe. Ryan H. Doan Nguyen ’25 – who witnessed the aftermath of the crash alongside his roommate Abhi S. Patel ’25 – described the incident as a “surreal experience” in an email. Doan Nguyen, a Crimson
SEE CRASH PAGE 3
SEE GAY PAGE 5
CPD Reports Decrease in Serious Crime Rate
Bank Robbed in Brattle Square By SARAH GIRMA and BRANDON L. KINGDOLLAR CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
The Cambridge Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, and FBI are investigating a Brattle Square bank robbery reported at 1:06 p.m. Wednesday. The robbery took place at Webster Bank, according to eyewitness accounts posted on Twitter. The suspect passed a note to the teller requesting money, but did not appear to be in possession of a weapon, according to CPD spokesperson Jeremy Warnick. The suspect — described by police as a Black male wearing a black jacket and dark pants, standing at approximately 5 feet, 10 inches — has not been identified by authorities, who requested to speak with anyone who may have information on his identity. Shortly after the suspect left the bank, a red dye pack in the bag of money exploded, according to a photo shared on Twitter by Boston 25 journalist Jennifer Platt-Ure.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
By BRANDON L. KINGDOLLAR CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The suspect then discarded the damaged $100 bills behind a dumpster on University Road, as seen in the photo. Investigators recovered these items from the scene as evidence, Warnick wrote. Kristen M. Setera, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Boston division, confirmed that the Bureau’s Violent Crimes Task Force was assisting in the investigation. This incident was the first reported bank robbery in Cambridge since December 2020, when the city was struck by a rash of four robberies — two of which took place in Harvard Square — in the span of only three weeks. A Boston man was arrested in connection with one of the four 2020 robberies last February. Prior to those incidents, the City of Cambridge had not seen a bank robbery in over two years. According to Cambridge Police Department’s monthly crime report, only one
SEE ROBBERY PAGE 3
News 3
CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
CAMILLE G. CALDERA—CRIMSON DESIGNER
By SARAH GIRMA and BRANDON L. KINGDOLLAR
By ARIEL H. KIM and MEIMEI XU
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences has identified four ethnic studies scholars and is in the process of “actively recruiting” them to come to Harvard, FAS Dean Claudine Gay said in a Tuesday interview. After decades of advocacy efforts for an ethnic studies concentration by students and alumni, Gay announced in June 2019 that the FAS would hire three to four senior faculty in Asian American, Latinx, and Muslim American studies by the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. Due to logistical issues posed by the pandemic, however, the FAS indefinitely suspended the faculty search in April 2020, resuming four months later. Gay reiterated in December 2021 that there is “no wavering of commitment” in the search for ethnic studies scholars. In addition to the ethnic studies cluster hire, Gay added in Tuesday’s interview the FAS is recruiting visiting scholars for the next academic year. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally be at this point in the search process — again, knowing full well that there’s still a long way to go,” she said. She called hiring faculty with a diverse range of expertise the “first step” in creating a representative college environment. “I believe very firmly that for us to prepare students for lives of leadership and service in a diverse society, to have impact on issues of public consequence,
“We failed to appreciate the impact that this would have on our students, and we were lacking full information about the case.”
Harvard-Allston Shuttle Crashes into Tasty Burger
PHOTOGRAPHER
Dean Claudine Gay said the FAS is ‘actively recruiting’ four ethnic studies scholars.
“We the undersigned know John Comaroff to be an excellent colleague, advisor and committed university citizen who has for five decades trained and advised hundreds of Ph.D. students of diverse backgrounds, who have subsequently become leaders in universities across the world.”
SEE RETRACT PAGE 3
A Harvard shuttle crashed into a building on John F. Kennedy Street Wednesday evening. J. SELLERS HILL—CRIMSON
FAS Looks for New Faculty
Editorial 4
Serious crime in Cambridge dropped by 22 percent this January, according to a monthly crime report released Monday by the city’s police department, which showed 47 fewer violent and property crimes than January 2021’s total. The reduction in the crime rate was primarily driven by a steep drop in property crime, the city’s analysis showed, with 50 fewer incidents of crimes such as larceny, burglary, and auto theft. While the combined total fell, violent crimes alone increased as compared to January 2021 by 18 percent, representing an additional three incidents of violence. Developed by CPD’s crime analysis unit, the city’s monthly BridgeStat report is part of a broader “data-driven approach” that seeks to identify patterns in crime to better allocate department resources, Cambridge Police Department spokesperson Jeremy Warnick wrote in an email. According to the report, the increase in violent crime was
225
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22 196
175
22 193
23
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Violent Crime Property Crime *Data from Cambridge Police Dept., months are approximations.
25
174
150 152
125
19 126
100 75 50 25 Aug. 2021
Sept. 2021
SEE CRIME PAGE 5
Sports 6
27
TODAY’S FORECAST
Oct. 2021
Nov. 2021
Dec. 2021
Jan. 2022
CAMILLE G. CALDERA—CRIMSON DESIGNER
PARTLY SUNNY High: 51 Low: 30
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otherworldly
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 10, 2022
PAGE 2
HARVARD TODAY
For Lunch Coconut Curry Chicken Philly Cheese Steak Sub Seitan Cheese Steak Sub
For Dinner Chipotle Chicken Pork Carnitas Red Bean Jambalaya
TODAY’S EVENTS Better Together Community Dialogue: “The Angel of Santo Tomas” Virtual, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
IN THE REAL WORLD J&J Stops Production of Covid-19 Vaccines
Attend a virtual event with author Tammy Yee to discuss her book “The Angel of Santo Tomas: The Story of Fe del Mundo”
Many developing countries rely on J&J for their COVID-19 vaccines, yet, the American company recently shut down its only plant in the Dutch city of Leiden making usable batches of the vaccine for developing countries. Although temporary, the shutdown has the potential to reduce the supply of J&J vaccines by a few hundred million doses.
Book Talk with Anita Hill Virtual, 4 p.m.-5 p.m.
40 Brand New SpaceX Satellites Destroyed by Solar Storm
Come listen to a book talk featuring Anita Hill, author of Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence. Hill is currently a professor at Brandeis University.
People walk in front of Lamont Library on a sunny day in December. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Ghibli Park Set to Open in November in Japan
AROUND THE IVIES YALE: University creates $15 million fund to chip away at climate change —THE YALE
Open Mic Night: Black History Month Lehman Hall, 6 p.m.-7 p.m.
DAILY NEWS
An event that showcases writings, music, and art done by Black authors in celebration of Black History Month. Everyone is welcome!
SpaceX has been sending satellites into low-Earth orbit to beam high-speed internet service from space. Fourty of its Feb. 3 launch of 49 satellites were destroyed by a geomagnetic storm. The satellites are currently re-entering Earth’s atmosphere where they will get incinerated.
COLUMBIA: University Commencement to be held in-person for the first time in three years —THE COLUMBIA SPECTATOR
Ghibli Park, a theme park based off of Studio Ghibli’s famous animated films, is confirmed to open in Japan on Nov. 1. The park will be located two hours away from Kyoto and will contain warehouses with artifacts and settings from the movies as well as rides.
BROWN: New social media app tells students to BeReal —THE BROWN DAILY HERALD CORNELL: Authors Explore Black Livelihood, Spirituality in Annual MLK Lecture —CORNELL DAILY SUN
COVID UPDATES
LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY
CAMPUS
75
In Isolation
0.33%
114
Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
LAST 7 DAYS
CAMBRIDGE
230 3.2% 75%
Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
Fully Vaccinated
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Police Drop Burgess Case — Mystery Shrouds Death as Theories Persist
The circumstance surrounding the death of first-year law student F. William Burgess remained a mystery as his body was recovered from the Charles River three months after his disappearance. February 10, 1938
‘Toga’ Restaurant Sells Out
After operating on Massachusetts Avenue for 25 years, the Toga Restaurant sold out to Boston-based French restaurant La Crepe. Brothers John and Charles Chaprales had owned the restaurant since 1949, originally naming it The University Restaurant. February 10, 1973
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
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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 |
ROBBERY FROM PAGE 1
CRASH FROM PAGE 1
Bank Robbed Near Square
HarvardAllston Shuttle Crashes
commercial robbery occurred last month, targeting a gas station on Memorial Drive. Eleven commercial robberies took place in Cambridge throughout all of 2021. Officers searched the area around the incident in the hours following the robbery, according to Warnick. As of Wednesday night, Cambridge police had not yet apprehended the suspect.
multimedia editor, said he regularly took the shuttle to class last semester and was alarmed when he saw one involved in a collision. “I thought, ‘What if somebody I knew was on that bus?’” he said. “I really hope everyone is okay.” “It was shocking to see a bus, not even a random car, but a bus — a shuttle — which is supposed to be driven by really skilled drivers,” Doan Nguyen added.
sarah.girma@thecrimson.com brandon.kingdollar@thecrimson.com
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Firefighters from the Cambridge Fire Department examine a compartment at the back of the Harvard-Allston shuttle that crashed into Tasty Burger Wednesday evening. SARAH GIRMA—CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
RETRACT FROM PAGE 1
Faculty Retract Pro-Comaroff Letter Harvard Law School professor Lucie E. White wrote in an email Wednesday that she retracted her support for the letter, but her name did not appear on the retraction letter’s list of signatories. The initial letter sparked furor among Harvard graduate students and other faculty. On Tuesday, 73 other faculty members condemned the letter in a response published in The Crimson. “As faculty, we should be demanding better protections and more expedient, transparent, equitable, and independent investigative procedures,” the response letter reads. “We must do so without presuming to know the full findings of confidential investigations or acting in ways
that intimidate students and inhibit them from divulging experiences of harm.” In a response sent to the signatories of the open letter last Thursday, Gay warned of “the obvious dangers of an asymmetry of information.” “Be aware that if you do not have access to the full review, and instead are relying on public accounts relayed through the media or only what is shared by one party to a complaint, you are necessarily operating without a comprehensive understanding of the facts that have motivated the response,” Gay wrote. Comaroff was first placed on leave in August 2020 after The Crimson reported that at least three female students were in contact with Harvard’s Title IX
Office about allegations of unwanted touching, verbal sexual harassment, and professional retaliation. After the lawsuit came out on Tuesday, apologies began rolling in from professors who signed the initial letter. “I deeply regret having signed the letter,” Mariano Siskind, a professor of Romance Languages and Literatures wrote in a statement. “I don’t know John Comaroff personally. Initially, I signed because I agreed with the need to establish transparent, fair, and effective Title IX procedures. However, when I read Dean Gay’s response and considered more carefully the letter’s potential effect on those who had experienced sexual-based misconduct, I realized I had
made a terrible mistake. I want to apologize to my students and I want them to know that I fully support all students facing the difficult decision to come forward with Title IX complaints.” History professor Maya Jasanoff wrote that she “signed the letter as an advocate of transparency and due process in university affairs,” but added that she “totally failed to consider the signal it would send to our students.” “This was a serious lapse of judgment and I apologize for my mistake,” she wrote. The retraction letter was first reported Wednesday by the Chronicle of Higher Education. ariel.kim@thecrimson.com meimei.xu@thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 10, 2022
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EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD
COLUMN
A Black Woman on the Highest Court in the Land We cannot wait for the historic moment that she assumes her rightful place, longdenied, on the highest court in the land.
F
or the first time in almost 246 years since the Declaration of Independence, a Black woman will soon sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. This is much longer than it should have taken, but this is a moment to celebrate. Yet, as is too often the case when people of color advance in this country, attacks against the likely frontrunner have turned a moment of celebration before the confirmation battle into another episode of racist division. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a jurist and member of Harvard’s Board of Overseers, is considered by many to be Biden’s most likely pick. An honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Law Review, Judge Brown Jackson clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court and now serves on the most prestigious circuit in the country. She is among the most qualified people ever to be considered as a nominee to the Supreme Court. You wouldn’t know it, though, from how her nomination has sometimes been discussed. Some comments strongly suggested that the Court will have a less qualified candidate because of Biden’s choice to fill the vacancy with a Black woman. We find it troubling that there is often an explicit reference to Judge Brown Jackson as a Black woman but often none to her professional qualifications. These attacks are racist and intellectually unserious, failing to account for the systemic racism that has kept Black women from the highest courts of this country for so long. Despite apologies from some of her critics, the fact that such language comes naturally to prominent lawyers speaks
to the racial bias that permeates the legal establishment. We must not lose sight of these ugly attacks as we consider the matter of Judge Brown Jackson’s potential recusal from the upcoming Supreme Court case challenging Harvard’s affirmative action policies if she were to be confirmed. The informal rules governing recusal from cases brought before the Court have long suffered from ambiguity, leaving individual Justices to make judgment calls on whether they can adjudicate impartially. We would point out, without making a judgment, that the district court’s findings on Harvard’s admissions policies did not once mention the Board of Overseers nor has Judge Brown Jackson herself yet addressed the issue, making any talk of recusal premature, to say the least. Against the backdrop of this impossible challenge, it is clear to us that ambiguous rules will always be applied most severely when it is a Black woman on the other end. The specter of recusal has repeatedly been used to cast unjust aspersions on the judicial work of minorities and women. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, for one, faced sordid accusations of unfairness from former President Trump for the grave offense of adjudicating a civil suit against Trump University while Mexican. These malignant smear campaigns cannot continue, either in the upcoming affirmative action case or beyond. Only clearer, more explicit, more evenly applicable rules can ensure that recusal does not lie about like a loaded weapon, ready to be brandished at any judge who is not white or not male. Critically, as the racist, sexist back-
lash against Judge Brown Jackson has underscored, we cannot forget that Black women are relentlessly held to a higher standard in both triumph and difficulty. When they are not at the center of unjustified controversy, they are often pushed into the spotlight against their will, sometimes in the form of being a campaign promise intended to solicit Black votes. We know Black people and specifically Black women are so much more than that, and we must see and treat them with the dignity and respect that this country has owed them for so long. There is no shortage of highly qualified, talented Black women who would honor a seat on the Supreme Court, and we look forward to the day that we can officially celebrate one of them breaking this ugly 246 year streak. To whoever has to go through the vituperative confirmation process to make that happen, we wish her the peace and strength this country has too long sought to deny Black women. And, if she is confirmed, despite the manufactured scandals, impossible standards, or overblown criticisms, there will be many more cheers: we cannot wait for the historic moment that she assumes her rightful place, long-denied, on the highest court in the land. This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.
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I
America knows all too well the consequences of labeling Black girls as promiscuous; there is no forgiveness or innocence awarded to Black girls who simply want to be children. Black women have been called ugly for longer than we’ve been deemed human. Black girls live in a paradoxical state where they’re too ugly to be loved, yet too sexualized to be cherished. America knows all too well the consequences of labeling Black girls as promiscuous; there is no forgiveness or innocence awarded to Black girls who simply want to be children. Black girls experience sexual assault at a higher rate than their counterparts. In fact, one in four Black girls will be sexually abused before
Capitalism pervades our inner motivations in almost every situation. Workers are measured by the amount of revenue they generate for a company, and those who underperform are let go.
—Ebony M. Smith ’24, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a joint concentrator in Government and African & African American Studies in Eliot House.
—Nour L. Khachemoune ’22-’23 is a joint concentrator in Chemistry and Anthropology in Dunster House. Her column “Nostalgia: What’s it Hiding?” appears on alternate Thursdays.
Society Thinks Black Girls are Ugly never knew that I was ugly. Or, at least, that white society thought so. Growing up, I had never felt more invisible. My middle school years were defined by excessive in-school suspensions and meetings in the principal’s office. I was a straight A student in a public charter school, but that was impossible to see when my behavior was always defined for me. I was not a troublesome student. In fact, I enjoyed following the rules. So, why couldn’t the school administrators see that? Why was I punished significantly more than other students for the same behavior? During my first suspension in middle school, I did not have the vocabulary to defend myself. I remember sitting at the principal’s round table, hands crossed in my lap. Her office, lacking personal touches and color, mirrored an interrogation room. The door to her office was only slightly ajar, but I could hear everything. It was as if my teachers couldn’t be bothered to hide their opinions of me. “She’s a distraction during study period.” “She cannot keep speaking out of turn.” I was hypervisible – an unfortunate symptom of my ugliness. I was always being watched. So, I sat there alone, awaiting a punishment that I knew would be too strict. What I did not realize was that the coming-of-age process for Black girls had an extra miserable layer: we were
I
t’s a lovely day at work on your idyllic little island. You always get to be outside in the beautiful countryside, until one day you feel unwell and unable to work. Naturally, your boss shuts you up in a tunnel for days on end. Right? Henry, a green steam engine, is punished in this manner in his introductory episode in “Thomas and Friends,” and it is standard fare on the Island of Sodor. In almost every episode, trains are penalized in a similar manner, usually to the amusement and mockery of the other trains. When Henry feels unable to continue working on just one occasion, the controller, Sir Topham Hatt, builds a very real — and petty — brick wall to trap Henry in the tunnel. He even dramatically informs him that “we will leave you here for always and always and always,” so long as Henry fails to labor for him. On the Island of Sodor, Henry’s cardinal sin was feeling unable to work. The narrator soberly proclaims “I think he deserved his punishment, don’t you?”, making it clear that the audience is expected to agree with Henry’s fate. In the world of “Thomas and Friends,” there is no greater insult than not being useful. The trains behave like people, experiencing emotions, forming friendships, and teasing outsiders (the troublesome trucks). They happily explore their island and enjoy completing different tasks, but the threat of punishment constantly looms over their heads. In some cases, they are even threatened with capital punishment—being sent to the scrapyard—for a lack of productivity. Instead of bemoaning the strict rules and punishments of Sir Topham Hatt, the trains genuflect to him (or they would if they had knees) and urge each other to be more useful as well. Thomas believes he works harder than all of the other engines, making him better than them, and taunts Gordon to work hard just like him. In one case, Sir Topham Hatt praises Thomas by proclaiming that he has finally been a “really useful engine,” for doing his bidding and Thomas beams, his eyes spinning around in utter glee. On the Island of Sodor, the trains derive all satisfaction from the approval of their boss and the revenue they generate for his railroad.
the age of 18. When I was 12, being ugly meant people did not care to understand me or hear me. Nobody believed that I could be a rule-abiding student, even though I valued my education. As Black girls, we didn’t have the luxury of making mistakes. Now, as an almost 20 year-old woman studying at Harvard, I’m still proving myself. I find romantic relationships difficult to navigate because I am hypersexualized. The ugliness that was once attached to my body has morphed into lust. Black women exist in a space between femininity and masculinity that denies us access to either. For Black women, “ugly” means something deeper. It means that we aren’t seen as fully human and, therefore, we do not fit into the Eurocentric construct of gender. It also means that other people define us before we get to define ourselves. White society never misses a chance to remind Black women that they’re the most disrespected group in America. I refuse to continue the cycle of perpetuated violence against other women who look like me, so I’m done listening. To be a Black girl in America is to trust that you’re beautiful when the world covers the mirrors. Black girls, I see you. And, more importantly, I am not afraid to look at you.
OP-ED
ugly, whether we believed it or not. Tarana Burke describes this phenomenon in a work I was introduced to during my first semester of sophomore year. Being ugly, she said, is the “funny way that some people interact with those they deem physically unattractive … I know this because I’m ugly. At least that’s what the world finds new ways to tell me every day.” For Burke, the ugliness the world attached to her was physical. For me, ugliness spoke to being unimportant, unseen, and unheard as a child.
Nour L. Khachemoune NOSTALGIA: WHAT’S IT HIDING?
The root of this motivation lies in the way our western societies operate. Capitalism pervades our inner motivations in almost every situation. Workers are measured by the amount of revenue they generate for a company, and those who underperform are let go. They fear the watching eye of the boss, the controller, “the man.” In “Thomas and Friends,” “the man” sports a top hat and is a source of humor for viewers, but the genuine adulation the trains show him creates harmful perceptions that workers should love what they do to death, literally. To the trains, there is nothing worse than the phrase “Sir Topham Hatt was cross,” which is always accompanied by a sinister little riff to signal the controller’s arrival. Encouragement to work hard may seem like a positive trait to instill within children. But in the atmosphere surrounding Thomas and his friends, the encouragement seems a lot more like a threat. The trains must choose between working to exhaustion to earn revenue or having no place in their society, especially socially. Even after Henry is freed from the tunnel, he worries that he “shall have to go away” for not being useful enough one day, despite trying his hardest. For every load of coal the humanesque trains deliver, they deliver the message that self-worth can be equated with productivity as well. In fact, the only people seemingly exempt from this treatment in our world are children, who are ostensibly encouraged to play and seek happiness above all else. Even as they learn about the world in school, it is as a backdrop to personal enrichment, at least at a young age. So, when children watch their beloved trains view their lives through the lens of productivity and feel that they deserve punishment for pauses in labor, how can they resist viewing their own world the same way? Thomas and company indoctrinate children with a love of forced labor that urges them to shape their entire lives around work, just as the engines do. The intentional messaging of the show is standard, encouraging children to work together and find creative solutions to problems. But underlying it all is the same message that we face every day from every facet of our society: the capitalist pressure to work for revenue above all else. By the end of the story, the narrator smugly informs us that Henry has learned the best way to deal with feeling unwell is to ask his driver to stop and wipe him down only “when the day’s work is over,” when he has satisfied the controller. I think he deserves more than that, don’t you?
@thecrimson
By EBONY M. SMITH
Engines of Capitalism in “Thomas and Friends”
PAGE 5
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 10, 2022
Former Ambassador Talks Ukraine Crisis at IOP By MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
William B. Taylor, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, unmasked the Ukraine-Russia crisis at the first in-person John F. Kennecy Jr. Forum of the semester Wednesday, moderated by Belfer Center senior fellow Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky. Dobriansky and audience members grilled Taylor about the rising tensions at the Ukrainian border, to which the Russian military has deployed more than 100,000 troops. The deployment has escalated the simmering Russia-Ukraine conflict, which started in 2014 with Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and is now threatening to boil over. According to Taylor, Ukraine just wants to be a “normal European country” that gets to independently choose its own leaders and make national security decisions free from any foreign meddling. “They just want to be able to make decisions that normal sovereign countries get to make,” he said. “And that’s what the United States is trying to support.” Taylor also praised Ukrainian President Volody-
myr O. Zelenskiy, whom he recently met during a visit to Ukraine. “When I was there last week, President Zelenskiy was eager to demonstrate calmness, leadership, resolve, in the face of this big threat that the Russians are posing to him,” he said. “I was impressed.” Taylor noted that Zelenskiy said at the meeting he is pleased with his relationship with President Joe Biden but wants the two governments to be better aligned on the question of how soon Russian President Vladimir Putin might invade Ukraine. “The United States government has been saying it’s imminent,” Taylor said, relaying his conversation with Zelenskiy. “And President Zelenskiy is saying it’s possible, but it’s not imminent.” Taylor also defended recent Western efforts at diplomacy with Putin. “I would say that every day that goes by and every week that we continue to have discussions of negotiations about negotiations is a win,” he said. Taylor added that he believes former Kennedy School Dean Graham T. Allison Jr. ’62 is “wrong” in his approach to
the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Allison argued in his 2017 book that the West should focus its attention on China, rather than Russia and Ukraine. He also argued that NATO should not bow down to Russian demands, which urge the organization to never accept Ukraine as a member state. Taylor pointed to the support NATO provided to Eastern European countries that joined as member states following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Dobriansky said in an interview before the event that she thinks Russia poses more than just a military threat to Ukraine. “Part of this is not just the issue of the military on the ground, the cyber attack that also has been waged before on Ukraine and then most recently on Ukraine — but also disinformation,” she said. Throughout the forum, Taylor participated unmasked. He said he would use his glass of water “as an excuse” to not wear a mask while speaking. The Kennedy School’s current Covid-19 guidelines require masks in all public indoor spaces, except when actively eating or drinking. miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine speaks at the JFK Forum. MILES J. HERSZENHORN—CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Seasonings Change: Spyce to Close Harvard Square Location By KATHERINE M. BURSTEIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Spyce, a robotic kitchen startup founded by MIT graduates, announced last Thursday it will close its Harvard Square location. The start-up, which shuttered its original location in Downtown Crossing in October, opened its Brattle Street storefront in 2021 and was acquired by Sweetgreen in August. The restaurant will close on Feb. 18th. Spyce engineered “Infinite Kitchen” technology, an automated cooking system featuring steamers and grills, to prepare its salads and bowls according to customers’ “diet or preferences and ready in minutes,” its website states.
Originally developed by students at MIT, the food technology service was supported by French restauranteur Daniel Boulud who has run Michelin-starred restaurants. In a customer newsletter declaring its closing, owners Michael Farid, Brady Knight, Luke Schlueter, and Kale Rogers — self-titled the “Spyce boys” — wrote that they maintained a commitment to “scale healthy fast food and bring some of the magic of Spyce to more communities.” “While we are winding down our Spyce restaurant operations, we still have a team committed to achieving our mission,” they wrote. “By partnering with sweetgreen we’ve been given the opportunity to accelerate our im-
pact,” they added. Following Sweetgreen’s acquisition of the company in August, Spyce’s menu underwent significant changes to incorporate Sweetgreen offerings. Georgina M. Younes ’25, who has visited both the now-closed downtown Boston and Harvard Square locations, spoke highly of Spyce’s bowl offerings and automated food system. “It really just became like sweetgreen 2.0 without actually having to talk to someone,” Younes said. While Spyce initially planned to maintain its storefronts after the Sweetgreen acquisition, whe the company announced the closing of its downtown location, its focus shifted to implementing the Infinite Kitchen across sweet-
green franchises, according to its website. Zoe R. Dienes ’25, who worked at Spyce last summer, recalled her experience fondly. “The work environment was really positive,” she said. “I was friends with a lot of my co-workers, which was really nice.” “Most of my job was to just sort of be a face for the robot,” Dienes added. The Spyce boys addressed Cambridge residents gratefully in their closing notice. “Cambridge is where we got our start — it’s where the idea for Spyce was first imagined,” they wrote. “Your support has been the sustaining energy that has kept us going over the years.” katherine.burstein@thecrimson.com
GAY FROM PAGE 1
Gay Discusses Ethnic Studies Recruiting to be truly inclusive as a scholarly community — for all those reasons, I think this work really needs to be more fully represented on our campus and in our curriculum,” Gay said on Tuesday. She added that the recent $45 million alumni gift to expand Asian American studies will help the FAS pursue its
goal of inclusivity. Apart from ethnic studies, the FAS will begin the search for a campus curator and the creation of a new, formal FAS committee, as recommended in December by the FAS Task Force on Visual Culture and Signage. The committee will include faculty, staff, and students who
will act as advisors to the curator. Gay declined to comment on the implementation of recommendations made by the Tenure-Track Committee last October and the proposal by a committee within the Office of Undergraduate Education for double concentrations without a combined thesis.
She also declined to comment on suspended admission to the graduate secondary program in Latinx studies and the potential suspension of the American studies graduate program, which is currently under external review. ariel.kim@thecrimson.com meimei.xu@thecrimson.com
CRIME FROM PAGE 1
Serious Crime Rate Falls in Cambridge partly the result of an additional five street robberies from last year’s January total. Street robberies include all robberies against individuals, rather than businesses, such as incidents of “purse snatching” and mugging, Warnick wrote. In contrast, Cambridge experienced four fewer aggravated assaults for a decrease of 29 percent, per the BridgeStat report. Of the 10 assaults last month, half occurred in the 500 to 600 block of Massachusetts Avenue — an area within the city’s Central Square neighborhood. This reflected a continuing trend of a high rate of aggravated assaults in that area since the start of the pandemic. Warnick wrote that the high rate of assaults in this area can partially be attributed to the concentrated business district it houses, as well as its proximity to the Central Square T station and local service providers. Though total property crime rates have fallen, the report highlighted a 5 percent increase in larceny from motor vehicles last month, with a five-year high of 44 incidents. This followed last year’s steep increase in such crimes, with 42 taking place in January 2021 as compared to just 16 one year prior. According to the CPD report, more than one-third of the incidents last month were thefts of catalytic converters, the majority of which were from Toyota Priuses — a trend that began
with a series of thefts in January 2021 in Cambridgeport. Though the rate of these thefts ebbed and flowed throughout 2021, they spiked during the last two months of the year. CPD issued an advisory on Jan. 6 warning residents about these thefts. The advisory went on to explain that catalytic converters, which are part of a car’s exhaust system, are often stolen because of the precious metals they contain that can be sold and scrapped. The city saw a large decrease in bicycle thefts last month, with a 71 percent drop from January 2021’s five-year high of 38 bicycle thefts. The report said this decline was “likely due to the colder weather and snow this year.” A nor’easter during the last weekend of January brought 14 inches of snow to Cambridge. The BridgeStat report was a preliminary analysis of Cambridge’s 2021 total end-of-year crime statistics, which showed a 7 percent increase in serious crime from 2020. The city experienced 2,440 serious crimes in 2020 and 2,599 serious crimes in 2021. This continues a trend of gradually increasing crime rates also observed in 2020. According to Warnick, the total figures from 2021 are subject to change and will not be finalized until CPD releases its annual crime report this spring. brandon.kingdollar@thecrimson.com
From Weeks to Weld.
The Crimson thecrimson.com
SPORTS
WEEKLY RECAP
SCORES
MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. YALE L, 59-62 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S TENNIS VS. MICHIGAN W, 4-3 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY VS. BOSTON COLLEGE W, 5-4 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S WATER POLO VS. POMONA PITZER W, 17-4 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY VS. BOSTON UNIVERSITY L, 3-4 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. YALE W, 65-59 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S WATER POLO VS. RV LA SALLE W, 15-5 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S LACROSSE
Crimson Ready to Return to Play After Two-Year Hiatus By KATHARINE A. FORST CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The men’s lacrosse team took the field against Holy Cross and St. John’s for two preseason scrimmages this past week. With two victories under its belt, the team is poised for a strong upcoming season. On Tuesday, February 2nd, the Crimson faced off against Holy Cross. The team was able to decisively take control of the game from the initial whistle. On the defensive end, oneon-one coverage was strong from first-year midfielder Ray Dearth and first-year defenseman Martin Nelson. Sophomore Collin Bergstrom did a solid job as well, covering well behind, and shutting off the roll dodge for Harvard. In both scrimmages, Harvard’s defense was a step behind in recovering after either St. John’s or Holy Cross passed out of a double team, leaving the opportunity for open outside shots. This mistake in particular contributed to a first half defeceit against Saint John’s. However, in both instances, the Crimson defense’s communication and recovery improved in the second half. Communication was clearly something that Harvard did well throughout its later possessions, and especially in the fourth quarter when the defense successfully shut down the Crusaders’ two-man-up possession. Communication also came into play in forcing errant passes with the double team, which was able to quickly send pressure. Capitalizing on these changes in possession, the defense and midfield did a good job of quickly clearing the ball and consistently utilizing the entirety of the field. This enabled the attack to get the ball with about seventy seconds left on the shot clock, enough to make subs and set up attack schemes. Working on improving clearing has been a point of emphasis for Coach Byrne and the coaching staff between fall and spring play. When asked about ways that the team practiced to improve this crucial aspect of play, Bergstrom emphasized the importance of repetition. “It’s a lot of reps. It’s something that we work on everyday…Everyone has to be on the same page communicating, which is really what it showed
BACK SOON.The last time the Crimson played a regular season game at Jordan Field was on March 7, 2020, against Fairfield University, just days before the Ivy League athletic season was cancelled as Covid-19 began shutting universities down and sending students home. BRENDAN J. CHAPUIS—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
today,” he said. Harvard’s offense worked well as a unit, with confident one-on-one drives and slick cutting on the inside. First-year midfielder Miles Botkiss shot well, driving from up top. Sophomore attackman Sam King did a particularly good job of seeing the inside and working the ball from behind, while sophomore attackman Brennan McBride and senior attackman Austin Madronic were consistently open on the inside. The two worked the middle of the field in the absence of junior attackman Hayden Cheek, who did not play against Holy Cross. The midfield caused sloppy passes on the ride and capitalized on the Crusaders’ mistakes by fighting for loose balls. Play was strong for the midfielders on the offensive end, as junior Nick Loring driving well, and senior Charlie Olmert found the back of the net a handful of times. Junior defensive midfielders Zach Hobbes and Chase Yager, as well as Dearth, were phys-
ical and effective on the clear, causing turnovers and capitalizing by cleanly clearing upfield. They were particularly effective in shutting down drives from the top, and were reliable pieces of the defensive unit. Man-up play for the Crimson was also a strong point, with the offense effectively holding its space, quickly moving the ball, and taking strong drives from behind the opposing net. King took it to the cage with a shifty question mark-esque strike up the left side. In Saturday’s game against St. John’s, Harvard started slowly, and play on both ends of the field was disjointed, featuring errant passes and missed slides. “We’ve got to come out better. But, I think we did a good job of learning from our mistakes and picking up the pieces when things are going wrong. I think we showed a good amount of fight today, to battle back and win this one,” Bergstrom said. The turning point for the team came in the second quar-
ter with a fast break goal by Madronic, who scooped up the ground ball on the ride for an easy take down the middle of the field. After his score, the Crimson started playing with more confidence and poise. “We wanted to start a little hotter than that, but we were down and we showed some resilience coming back,” Madronic said. The second quarter also brought a shift in defensive cohesion. Throughout the first quarter, the slide package was late—the defense began to jump the double, moving to help against one-on-one takes that should have been left for solo defense, and was late to recover, leaving St. John’s offensive players open on the wings. “[We learned] from our mistakes … When things got tough, we came together and figured it out, and picked the energy up in the second quarter,” Bergstrom noted. The defense was particularly solid in the second half of the game, gelling together much
more cohesively. Sophomore defenseman Thomas Martinson was a key piece of this threeman unit. In the scrimmages, faceoff play was split between senior fogo Stephen Cuccurullo, who dominated against Holy Cross, and sophomore faceoff specialist Andrew DeGennaro. Both played well, with DeGenaro even scoring on a dig to himself that turned into a fast break goal against St. Johns. On the wings, play was marked by quick release from sophomore long-stick midfielder Greg Campisi, who was able to work with Yager to pick up loose balls and clear out of trouble to the offensive end. Offensive movement was driven by senior Austin Madronic and sophomore Graham Blake. Madronic was shifty on the inside, getting open and finishing well. Blake didn’t see much action till the second quarter, but once he joined the rotation, he made noise from behind the opposing net, with a couple of shifty plays
MULLIN MAGIC Current senior goalie Kyle Mullin reacts to a shot on goal from Fairfield in Harvard’s last regular season game—almost two years ago. The Crimson went on to win the game 15-12 in what turned out to be their last game of the season. BRENDAN J. CHAPUIS—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
wrapping around both sides of the cage. His vision was a point of emphasis, as he was able to facilitate plays from behind. He was also lethal in the transition game—a very smooth face dodge on the fast break turned into an easy point-blank goal for Harvard. “Our guys did a good job communicating and talking, and they were open. I remember one play in particular, we had a good play call and Brenny [sophomore attacker Brennan McBride] ended up flashing and getting open and calling for me so it was pretty easy to find him and he finished the ball. Our guys made it easy,” Blake said. Blake and Madronic both commented on the need for keeping up pressure and tempo on the offensive end. “We shared the ball well today. It’s not always easy … it keeps it constant if we are sharing the ball and playing up tempo,” Blake said. Madronic added, “We showed constant pressure from the start … We are constantly running our offense and getting good looks.” Madronic attributes the team’s success to its motion offense. “We were really patient and when we did that we had success. Inversely, when we weren’t patient on offense, it was a little bit sloppy and turned into a game that they could play, picking up ground balls and getting out of their defensive end,” he said. Goalies were rotated in each game, with senior captain Kyle Mullin taking the first quarter, sophomore Christian Barnard in for second, sophomore George Alvarez in third, and junior Jack Schlendorf finishing up for the Crimson. Barnard and Alvarez had particularly strong showings against St. John’s, while Mullin had a successful game against Holy Cross. “I think the season is going really well, and we’ve learned a lot from our scrimmage,” Cuccurullo said. “I’m looking forward to seeing our offense play.” He had particularly complimentary things to say about the team’s underclassmen, calling out first-year midfielder Owen Gaffney, sophomore attackman Sam King, first-year midfielder Andrew Perry, and Botkiss. The Crimson will take the field for the first time since 2020 on Feb. 19 as the team welcomes the New Jersey Institute of Technology to Jordan Field. katharine.forst@thecrimson.com