The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 21 |
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022
EDITORIAL PAGE 8
NEWS PAGE 9
SPORTS PAGE 10
Racist cruelty and its perpetrators have no place on our campus
HDS student group hosts conference on Black religion, spirituality
Men’s squash clinches third consecutive national championship
15 Anthropology Profs. Ask Comaroff to Resign By MEIMEI XU CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
More than three-quarters of Harvard’s tenured Anthropology faculty asked professor John L. Comaroff to resign over sexual harassment allegations on Sunday. In a three-sentence letter sent to Comaroff on Sunday evening, 15 Anthropology professors — including the department’s chair — wrote that they had “lost confidence” in him as a professor. The letter comes amid growing furor over sexual harassment allegations against Comaroff, who was placed on unpaid leave by Harvard last month. “We have lost confidence in your ability to be a teacher, mentor, colleague, and productive member of our department,” the letter said. “We believe that
your continued presence undercuts our viability as a unit and impedes our efforts to build a more safe, responsive, and responsible community.” Comaroff denies the allegations of misconduct. “I am deeply distressed that my colleagues have taken this stance in the face of Harvard’s own findings and processes,” he wrote in a statement Sunday. The letter was sent to Comaroff just after 5 p.m. on Sunday by the Harvard Anthropology Department’s chair, Ajantha Subramanian, who provided it to The Crimson in response to a related inquiry. The Sunday letter was signed by 14 other faculty members: David Carrasco, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Steven C. Caton, Gabriella Coleman, William L. Fash, Rowan K. Flad, Joseph P. Gone ’92, Byron J. Good,
Nicholas H. Harkness, Arthur M. Kleinman, Matthew Liebmann, Peter Der Manuelian ’81, Michael J. Puett, and Jason A. Ur. The senior faculty who organized the letter were unable to reach some tenured faculty members about their support for the statement before it was sent, Subramanian said. Earlier this month, three Anthropology graduate students filed a federal lawsuit against Harvard alleging that the school ignored years of sexual misconduct complaints against Comaroff, a professor of African and African American Studies and Anthropology. The suit outlined a decade of sexual harassment and professional retaliation allegations against Comaroff, who was not named
SEE COMAROFF PAGE 7
The Tozzer Anthropology Building is located in Harvard’s Peabody Quadrangle, near the Peabody Museum. AIYANA G. WHITE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Dr. Paul Farmer Dies at Age 62 By ARIEL H. KIM and MEIMEI XU CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Paul E. Farmer, the renowned Harvard physician and medical anthropologist who dedicated his career to delivering health care to some of the world’s poorest regions, has died at age 62. Farmer died in his sleep while in Rwanda, according to Partners in Health, the global health nonprofit he co-founded in 1987. The organization did not specify a cause of death. Farmer, a towering figure in global health, was remembered Monday with statements from a former United States president, top Harvard faculty, and leading public health officials. Farmer is survived by his wife, Didi Bertrand Farmer, and their three children.
Paul E. Farmer — a renowned physician and medical anthropologist — died in his sleep in Rwanda at age 62.
Farmer spent decades working to combat global health inequities. Partners in Health, which he founded alongside four others, works to build public health infrastructure and provide medical care to the poorest regions of developing nations. The organization now operates in 11 countries. “Paul Farmer’s loss is devastating, but his vision for the world will live on through Partners in Health,” the organization’s CEO, Sheila Davis, wrote in a statement Monday. “Paul taught all those around him the power of accompaniment, love for one another, and solidarity.” The author of 12 books, he was also a renowned academic, conducting pioneering work on infectious diseases, health and human rights, and social
Students across Harvard’s campus donned keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves, in a show of support to Palestinians in Cambridge and abroad on Thursday. The Harvard College Palestinian Solidarity Committee — a student group advocating for “the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, justice, and equality” — organizes scarf-wearing each week in an ongoing campaign the committee calls Keffiyeh Thursday. “Keffiyeh Thursdays first and foremost are an expression of solidarity,” said Christian B. Tabash ’22, a PSC organizer. Joshua D. “Josh” Willcox ’23, a member of PSC, said the motivation behind Keffiyeh Thursdays is to foster inclusivity among Palestinians. “We want to bring more visibility to Palestinians on campus,” Willcox said. “They don’t have the space, and they don’t feel seen or heard.” PSC chose to use the keffiyeh to demonstrate their solidarity due to the scarf’s history as “a very visible kind of cultural identity marker for a lot of Palestinians,” Willcox explained.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Arts 3
SEE KEFFIYEH PAGE 9
SEE NGUYEN PAGE 9
News 7
Editorial 8
CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
A fter three graduate students filed a federal lawsuit last week alleging that Harvard ignored years of sexual harassment complaints against a powerful professor, the school’s Title IX coordinator was quick to stand up in defense of the University’s practices. In a statement issued last week, Nicole M. Merhill, who has directed Title IX at Harvard since 2017, said the suit’s claims about the school’s investigatory processes were “extremely troubling” because of their “potential chilling effect on our community members’ confidence” in the system. But on Friday, Merhill said it was her own statement that fostered mistrust in the system. In a letter sent to a student group that advises Harvard’s Office for Gender Equity — which handles Title IX at the University — Merhill apologized for her statement, writing that it “has contributed to further concerns around trust.” The lawsuit — filed by Margaret G. Czerwienski, Lilia M. Kilburn, and Amulya Mandava — claimed that Harvard mishandled sexual harassment investigations into professor John L. Comaroff, who the suit alleged harassed and intimidated students for decades.
Sports 10
Nicole M. Merhill is the director of Harvard’s Office for Gender Equity. PHOTO COURTSEY KRIS SNIBBE/HARVARD PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS
Comaroff, who denies the allegations, was placed on unpaid leave by Harvard last month. The suit charged that Harvard obtained Kilburn’s private therapy records without her consent while investigating allegations that Comaroff sexually harassed her, and then provided them to Comaroff as part of a draft report. Comaroff later used the notes to claim Kilburn must have imagined the harassment because she was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder — “a condition that she developed as a direct result of his
TODAY’S FORECAST
CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
SEE TITLE IX PAGE 7
By ANJELI R. MACARANAS
CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
By LUCAS J. WALSH and VIVIAN ZHAO
conduct,” according to the complaint. Harvard denies the claims in the suit. Merhill issued a statement the day after the claim was filed defending its Title IX processes. “Representations that do not describe fairly or accurately the University’s processes with regard to obtaining and maintaining material during an investigatory process are extremely troubling to me because they may have a potential chilling effect on our community
SEE FARMER PAGE 9
Students Organize Title IX Coordinator Apologizes Keffiyeh Thursdays for Statement on Comaroff Suit The keffiyeh has long been a part of traditional Palestinian garb, according to Nadine S. Bahour ’22, a PSC organizer. “Farmers would wear it to protect their heads from the sun,” Bahour said. Palestinians also used the keffiyeh as a protective measure to avoid arrest during the British rule of Palestine, giving the scarf a new significance as a sign of resistance, Bahour said. “Going out of British mandate and into Israeli occupation, it also became a national symbol of resilience,” Bahour said. PSC’s membership has seen a sharp rise over the past year, with more students participating in events held by the group, according to Tabash. “This year has been really special because you have a group of students who are so enthusiastic about spreading this cause,” Tabash said. “We started off the year with a small group, and now there’s a much more sizable contingent and that has not stopped expanding.” Despite the increased interest in Keffiyeh Thursdays, PSC still struggles to combat the association of its work with anti-Semitic sentiment, Tabash said.
Harvard Health Services Director Says University is Moving in the Right Direction Post-Omicron
Harvard University Health Services Director Giang T. Nguyen said in a Friday interview that school officials are discussing newly-relaxed state mask guidelines, but did not specify when — or if — the University will roll back its on-campus public health regulations. An advisory released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health last week no longer recommends indoor masking in most locations for healthy, fully-vaccinated residents. Masks are still required in certain settings, including transportation and health care facilities. Cambridge and Harvard still require masks to be worn indoors. “We have been discussing this and will continue to very seriously consider the trajectory for the mask guidelines on campus,” Nguyen said of the new state recommendations. Nguyen’s comments come as Covid-19 cases in the greater Boston area continue to decline rapidly. There were 151 positive cases on Harvard’s campus in the last seven days, amounting to a positivity rate of 0.48 percent, according to the University’s Covid-19 dashboard. In early January, the University recorded 976 positive cases during the peak of the Omicron variant on campus. “The Omicron surge has receded tremendously over the last several weeks,” Nguyen said Friday. “We really hit the peak at the beginning of January and subsequently we’ve been dropping down pretty steeply, which has been great to see.” He said it will take time for the surge to drop “all the way” due to many cases recorded across the country in January. “I don’t know exactly where we’ll land in terms of a steady state,” he said. “It may not be where we were as a steady state
PHOTO COURTSEY STEPHANIE MITCHELL/HARVARD UNIVERSITY
By ELLA L. JONES and MONIQUE I. VOBECKY
Nguyen Talks Covid-19 Policy
RAINY High: 55 Low: 30
VISIT THECRIMSON.COM. FOLLOW @THECRIMSON ON TWITTER.
impossible weather
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
JANUARY 22, 2022
PAGE 2
HARVARD TODAY
For Lunch Chicken Vindaloo Grilled Reuben Sandwich Palak Tofu
For Dinner General Gao’s Chicken Honey-Ginger Salmon Beijing Style Crispy Tofu
TODAY’S EVENTS Housing Opportunities Program’s Lunchtime Advocacy Event PBHA Shepard Room, 12:15 p.m.
IN THE REAL WORLD
Free pizza and phone banking? Sign me up! Make your way to the PBHA Shepard Room to get in on the action and support the COVID-19 Housing Equity Bill.
United States and Allies Condemn Putin’s Deployment of Troops to Separatist Territories in Ukraine The United States and its allies condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to station troops in two separatist regions as a violation of the United Nations Charter at an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting focused on the Ukraine crisis.
Racial Justice & Equity: A Leadership Framework for Moving Cities Forward HKS, 4:30 p.m. Looking to learn more about diversity in policies? Attend IOP Resident Fellow Kim Janey’s study group to hear from the former acting mayor of Boston!
Europe’s Gas and Power Bills Skyrocket
The tower of Lowell House stands tall against the winter sky. ADDISON Y. LIU—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
AROUND THE IVIES International Development/Tech Career Pathways Virtual, 5 - 6 p.m. On the hunt for a summer internship? Hearing from panelists from Microsoft, General Motors, and McKinsey on technology and development may be just the thing you need. Register online to check it out!
YALE: Yale files first response to allegations of antitrust violations —THE YALE DAILY NEWS
COLUMBIA: Columbia students found their own film company, “Fazed Films”
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COLUMBIA DAILY SPECTATOR
CORNELL: Two Cornell students appear on ABC’s ‘Jeopardy!’ —T HE CORNELL DAILY SUN PENN: Penn receives $25 million donation from the James and Agnes Kim Family Foundation —THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN
Some Europeans are turning to alternatives to gas as energy bills skyrocket. With Russia supplying over a third of Europe’s access to natural gas, geopolitical tensions and supply shortages are increasing energy prices, forcing people to resort to options like wood-burning stoves and solar panels.
Studies Suggest Another Covid Booster Will Not Be Necessary for the Near Future New studies suggest that we won’t need another Covid-19 booster shot for many months or even years to come. With the possibility of Covid-19 being a fixture in our lives, some federal health officials have announced they do not anticipate recommending a fourth dose for the foreseeable future.
COVID UPDATES
LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY
CAMPUS
90
In Isolation
151 0.48% Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
LAST 7 DAYS
CAMBRIDGE
232 1.04% 76%
Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
Fully Vaccinated
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Robert DeNiro accepts the Hasty Pudding’s “Man of the Year” Award
Robert DeNiro accepted the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Man of the Year Award. The award was presented to DeNiro prior to the Pudding’s 131st production, “Overtures in Asia Minor.” February 22, 1979
McCarthy Will Speak During Indochina Teach-In
A joint student-faculty committee opposing the War in Vietnam organized a “teach-in” in Sanders Theater, with Noam Chomsky and former Senator Eugene McCarthy featured as guest speakers. February 22, 1971
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 Maria G. Gonzalez ’23 Assistant Night Editors Jorge O. Guerra ’24 Elias J. Schisgall ’25 Story Editors Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Hannah J. Martinez ’23
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.
Design Editors Camille G. Caldera ’22 Toby R. Ma ’24 Photo Editor Pei Chao Zhuo ’23 Editorial Editor Libby E. Tseng ’24 Sports Editor Callum J. Diak ’25
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.
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 22, 2022 |
PAGE 3
ARTS CULTURE
WUSONG ROAD REVIEW, PT. 1: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE AMERICAN CHINESE CLASSICS?
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CULTURE
An honest look into the food — and bathroom — at Harvard Square’s newest, Wusong Road.
Wusong Road Review, Pt. 1: What Happened to the American Chinese Classics?
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‘MOUTH TO MOUTH’ REVIEW: SHORT YET SHOCKING
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‘SHIP HAPPENS’ REVIEW: MORE THAN JUST GOOD JOKES AND CHAOS
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DORIAN ELECTRA CONCERT REVIEW: QUEER HYPERPOP ARTIST HITS YOU WITH THEIR LEDGER (& YOU ENJOY IT)
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ARTIST PROFILE: ALANA HAIM LOOKS AHEAD
BOOKS
THEATER
MUSIC
FILM
Wilson’s vivid description, stunning characterization, and insightful exploration of morality culminate in an unforgettable book.
Four misfits walk onto a luxury yacht and what follows is two hours filled with eccentric characters, clever jokes, and some good old-fashioned petty drama.
It’s about being in community with a bunch of other quirky, glittery, proudly over-the-top weirdos.
Alana Haim doesn’t know yet whether or not she’ll keep acting, but it seems a career will be waiting for her if she does.
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‘THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT’ REVIEW: DISNEY’S LATEST STAR WARS STORY LOSES FOCUS
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ANDY GRAMMER CONCERT REVIEW: UNBOUNDED OPTIMISM TO SOOTHE THE SOUL
HANNAH TSAI KIM STAFF WRITER You can read the quality of food at a Chinese restaurant by the quality of its bathroom. Every stunning bathroom may indeed bring with it a dinner of mediocre takes on Chinese classics. Escaping the simultaneously colorful yet dimly lit and overwhelmingly decorated seating area in Harvard Square’s newest restaurant and bar, Wusong Road, one may find refuge in the bathroom, taking time to admire the pristine, patterned tiles on the floor and the playful wallpaper of monkeys drinking vodka. Some sort of arbitrary house music plays above, and a large window tints the bathroom with the purple-blue of nightfall. But despite its spick-and-span bathroom, flashy decor, and beautiful cocktails, Wusong Road’s food failed to dazzle — it was a confusing disappointment. To the dismay of students across campus, the restaurant reaffirms the fear that good Chinese food in Harvard Square remains a faraway pipe dream. For some Asian American students, their new college environment means leaving behind the endless stretches of strip malls where Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, or Korean restaurants serve as safe havens and meeting spots for immigrants and refugees who long for the tastes and smells and textures of home. After reading about the opening of Wusong Road last semester, one ought to have been intrigued by the chef owner, Jason Doo, a child of Chinese restaurant owners in Malden, MA. Some Cambridge and Boston foodies, however, remained skeptical after hearing announcements about a Tiki bar, let alone a Chinese restaurant and Tiki bar allin-one. At their 5:00 p.m. opening on a weekday, hosts at the new establishment welcomed in a crowd of punctual customers eager to decide for themselves what all the buzz was about. Within a few disorienting minutes, the atmosphere was filled with a shared sense of confusion among customers: was this Asian fusion? Chinese-Hawaiian? 1950s Tiki exotica? On the second floor, which houses the Tiki bar and sitdown restaurant, one is met with a mish-mash of embellishments displaying Chinese and Hawaiian iconography. Up for tasting were the Spam and Egg Musubi, Madam Wu’s Salad, and the Dan Dan Ragu, each dish popular Hawaiian and American Chinese cu-
linary classics. To my dismay, each dish lacked distinct, comforting flavors and proved rather unfulfilling. Spam Musubi, a popular snack in Hawa’ii with heavy influence from Japanese presence on the archipelago, is an easy home favorite. To one’s surprise, Wusong Road’s Spam and Egg Musubi did not resemble the staple snack, replacing the familiar notes of umami with a lack of flavor and odd textures that also characterized the Dan Dan Ragu. More on the Dan Dan Ragu: dàndàn miàn (担担 面) is a popular Sichuan noodle dish found in many forms, with different families, restaurants, and communities putting their own spin on the flour noodles drenched in creamy, spicy sauce. Often, the dish is garnished with peanuts, minced pork, and Sichuan chili oil. Wusong Road’s attempt at everyday American Chinese failed to satisfy, serving instead a dry and sauceless heap of noodles with chunks of pork at the bottom of the bowl. The magical sounds and aromas of creamy, spicy noodles from traditional and beloved Chinese cafes failed to appear in this Wusong Road version, reaffirming their marked divergence from traditional Chinese cuisine. Perhaps most indicative of the experience is Madam Wu’s salad, which promised a zesty blend of crispy wontons, edamame, onions, carrots, scallions, and mandarin-orange vinaigrette, but arrived soggy and akin to an American side salad. A lot of flare, but not a lot of substance. While Wusong Road’s attempt at American Chinese has potential for improvement with the addition of more traditional species and techniques, one may find themselves still wishing for tasty, affordable, accessible Chinese food (besides Dumpling House) at the end of the day. Wusong Road’s food and interior photographs beautifully, but Harvard Square’s newest establishment did not provide the fulfilling gastronomic experience one could have hoped for. After such an adventure gone awry, one can at least leave with good bathroom selfies. Stay tuned next week for the second installment of my Wusong Road review, diving into the cultural politics behind the restaurant’s concept and hype. Staff Writer Hannah Tsai Kim can be reached at hannah.kim@thecrimson.com
The byproduct is a series that contains a few excellent episodes but tells a story that feels incomplete.
TV
MUSIC
Already known for his careerdefining hits, equal parts pop, rock, country, and R&B, Grammer managed to blend these various styles even further with some cleverly designed mashups.
WA
Courtesy of Anya Henry
22 February 2022 | Vol CXLIX, ISSUE 12 Arts Chairs Sofia Andrade ’23-’24 Jaden S. Thompson ’23
Editors-at-Large Clara V. Nguyen ’23-’24 Sara Komatsu ’23 Chibuike K. Uwakwe ’23
Editor Associates Hannah T. Chew ’23 Isabella B. Cho ’24 Daniel S. de Castro ’24 Nina M. Foster ’23 Anya L. Henry ’24 Ryan S. Kim ’23
Zachary J. Lech ’24 Charles W. McCormick ’24 Jamila R. O’Hara ’23 Harper R. Oreck ’23 Alisa S. Regassa ’24
Executive Designer Nayeli Cardozo ’25
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 22, 2022 |
PAGE 4
BOOKS ‘Mouth to Mouth’ Review: Short Yet Shocking NINA M. FOSTER CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Courtesy of Avid Reader Press Simon and Schuster
T
he first thing that one would notice upon picking up Antoine Wilson’s “Mouth to Mouth” is its brevity. The novel is only 179 pages, divided into chapters that rarely exceed three pages — but what it lacks in length it makes up for in richness. Wilson’s vivid description, stunning characterization, and insightful exploration of morality cul-
minate in an unforgettable book. “Mouth to Mouth” begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport with the unexpected reunion of two old college acquaintances. The unnamed narrator waits for a delayed flight with fellow passenger Jeff Cook in the first class lounge, listening intently as Cook recounts the events of his life after college. What seems to be a mundane story about lost love turns into a thrilling sequence in which Cook saves a man from drowning with mouth to mouth. The description of Cook performing CPR is incredibly visceral, exemplifying Wilson’s ability to appeal to the senses. When ribs crack under the weight of chest compressions, Cook can feel “bone scraping against bone.” The lifeless body is haunting: limp and blue, with foamy saltwater dribbling from cold lips. Wilson’s artistry makes it effortless for readers to empathize with Cook’s exhaustion and disgust, as well as his determination to keep the drowned man alive until he regains consciousness. This moment of resuscitation permanently entangles the lives of Cook and the man he saves, esteemed art dealer Francis Arsenault. Every character in Wilson’s novel feels wonderfully real. His characterization exceeds simple adjectives, instead referring to people like Cook as a “thrift store Adonis” or “long haired guardian angel.” The characters jump off the page, engaging in a natural flow of conversation and reacting to situations with a range of physical movements, facial expressions, and emotions. After the incident, Cook seeks out Arsenault, but it appears that the art dealer has no recollection of the man who saved his life. Rather than letting it go, Cook deepens his involvement in Arsenault’s existence, encroaching on his workspace and social circles. His preoccupation with Arsenault allows Wilson to open a discussion on morality. The first subject of Wilson’s moral examination is the art dealer himself. One would expect someone who had a neardeath experience to approach life with newfound gratitude. But when Arsenault continues to cheat on his wife and treat others with disrespect, Cook asks himself: Was saving him worth it? Arsenault becomes the poster child for what not to do with a second chance, quickly becoming the novel’s antagonist. The second subject is Cook. Wilson cleverly tells Cook’s story in the third person, placing an unnamed character in the role of first person narrator instead. This distance between
Cook and the narrator is crucial for allowing readers the space to question his morality. There is space for doubt to creep into their minds as to whether his motivations are genuine and virtuous. Readers are nudged even further toward suspicion when the narrator describes his skepticism and questions Cook’s reasoning, only to receive vague answers in return. Cook’s questionable venture into Arsenault’s life also provides an intimate view of the art world. Much like he did for his characters, Wilson employs detailed descriptions of the Los Angeles art scene to make the atmosphere tangible. He guides readers to become acquainted with the unfamiliar, making great strides in dismantling the art world’s inaccessibility. In addition to reading books and watching documentaries on the contemporary art world, Wilson took inspiration for this setting from his experiences working in the field in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He recalled in a Q&A at Powell’s Books that he entered the “strange, strange world” knowing almost nothing about it. Wilson’s personal expertise reveals itself when Cook sets foot in the art gallery, conveying the feeling of artistic alienation to readers. Here, Wilson’s aptitude for comedy shines. Anyone who has struggled to understand contemporary art will find it impossible to suppress a chuckle when Cook looks at a collection of paintings and thinks “a child could have made these.” Wilson’s novel is made even more captivating by its structure. Cook’s story is frequently interrupted by flashes of the present moment in the airport. These moments make the narrative flow more dynamic and remind readers that they are listening to a story just as much as they are reading a text. The dialogue in these scenes is also impressively realistic, as though Wilson had transcribed real-life conversations. Readers are hooked by what’s to come when Cook foreshadows events with direct statements like “Stick with me here” or “I’ll get to that.” At the end of the novel, after an emotionally turbulent chain of events, Wilson seems to tie up all loose ends. And yet, the final sentence brings the conclusion into question: Did Cook leave the narrator with a lie? Staff writer Nina M. Foster can be reached at nina.foster@thecrimson.com.
THEATER ‘Ship Happens’ Review: More Than Just Good Jokes and Chaos RHEA L. ACHARYA CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
F
our misfits walk onto a luxury yacht and what follows is two hours filled with eccentric characters, clever jokes, and some good old-fashioned petty drama. “Ship Happens,” staged by Hasty Pudding Theatricals and directed by Larry Sousa, runs from Feb. 6 to March 6 and follows Millie Onstospend, the wealthy CEO of World Corp on her quest to pick her successor as she moves on with her life to run to be the Queen of England. The candidates vying for CEO? The vengeful inventor of a remote-controlled iceberg, Greenland’s ex-dictator, a self-absorbed male model, and a luggage attendant pretending to be a world famous adventurer with some personal assistants (both robot and human), and a stowaway thrown into the mix. The characters of “Ship Happens” may at first seem like little more than caricatures that get some good laughs in along the way. But upon closer look, their self-discovery and personal growth draw the audience into the light-hearted and well-produced play. The plot can be a little hard to follow at times due to the musical nature of the production and because there are so many moving pieces and characters to keep track of. Some parts of the performance can seem random, such as a plotline that revolves around sneezing or a segment at the end of the show where the ensemble launches into a highly-choreographed, several-minute-long kickline that screams 1980s, featuring brightly-colored and perfectly-coordinated costumes. But the chaos that characterizes “Ship Happens” is good-natured. This spontaneity and eccentricity simply add to the joy the show brings. And once the viewer becomes more familiar with the ensemble cast, it is easy to become quickly invested in the show and root for its protagonists. A major strength of the play is that it engages with the audience through distinctly Harvard-specific references throughout its runtime. Some lines such as the mention of the Tasty Burger bus crash (“If I were you, I’d become Tasty Burger and get hit by a bus.”) or dialogue poking fun at The Crimson (“Inspiration can come from the meekest, smallest, dingiest places, just look at The Harvard Crimson.”), are particularly relevant. “Ship Happens” further extends this interaction by having dialogue directly pointed at audience members or drawing attention to moments that would otherwise be ignored. At one point, for example, the characters marvel at the closing of the curtain. At another moment, a member of the Hasty Pudding
Band stands up to further the show’s commentary on the “Level 5 Stink” that the band exudes and jokingly asks the audience to keep young children away. The show pays great attention to detail. Each character’s first and last name form a pun that connects to their storyline — for example, “Lotta Baggage” or “Ida Zervbetter” — striking a balance between cute and cheesy. The costume directors do a fabulous job of working within Covid-19 limitations, using matching masks, some even featuring add-ons like mustaches, as an entertaining addition to the costume. The unconventional nature of the characters adds value to the production on a narrative level. Through this all, the show pays particular attention to Lotta’s struggle with her conflicting identities, and the backlash from others on the yacht. As the story progresses, she grows more confident as she stops hiding her real self and striving to live up to someone else’s ideal. Beneath the showy costumes, lines that are both heartwarming and corny, and well-timed jokes about Harvard, “Ship Happens” portrays a nuanced story about the power of embracing who you truly are without letting the world’s opinion interfere. Staff writer Rhea L. Acharya can be reached at rhea.acharya@ thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @crheativity.
Courtesy of Daniel Huang
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 22, 2022 |
PAGE 5
MUSIC
T
he songs are about workplace homoeroticism. The bass is mind-melting. There are laser show interludes, and three costume changes in one concert — this is Dorian Electra at their finest. Last Saturday night, the crowd at The Royale nightclub was about 69 percent gayer than usual. Emo teens in cat ears, cottagecore lesbians branching out in their Demonias, and thirty-year-olds in flannel and fishnets were all existing in discordant ecstasy. For many concert-goers, dressing up is an integral part of the experience. The Dorian Electra concert was no different. It’s a way to express yourself, show solidarity with specific aesthetics or subcultures, and to become part of the show before it has even begun. Wailing synths and deep bass thrummed through a screaming crowd as a raspy voice called out for Dorian Electra to take the stage. Then, a figure in tight black latex, a floor-length black cape, dagger-sharp shoulder pads, and what can only be described as a goth fedora appeared onstage. They stood frozen with their back turned to the audience, suffused in the acid-green stage light until the beat dropped, lights started flashing, and the crowd went wild. Special effects made the stage appear to glitch in and out of focus. Combined with Electra’s stylized choreography, Electra themself became like a pixelated, life-size avatar. The concert began with “F the World,” the first song on Electra’s newest project, “MY AGENDA,” which pokes fun at toxic masculinity and online culture through a queer lens. In the song, Electra takes on the persona of a bitter incel who simultaneously hates and loves the world, using exaggeratedly violent imagery and tongue-in-cheek references to parody incel culture. Coupled with a fast, thumping beat, the song is both a dark look into the inner mind of an extreme misogynist, as well as an upbeat, hype vibe. These bops transitioned into the sparkly, cotton-candy tracks about being the perfect man such as “Barbie Boy” and “MY AGENDA” while the crowd
chanted along. Electra was joined by two backup dancers dressed in strappy black leotards who swayed, vogued, and waved rainbow pride flags, lifting Electra above the air like some kind of cyberpunk-inspired cheerleading squad. Electra also added humorously self-effacing, theatrical touches with exaggerated fedora hat tips and elaborate choreography performed with an actual sword. Electra also performed songs from their debut album, “FLAMBOYANT,” such as “Adam & Steve,” a soaring, choral-inspired track about queer love, with lyrics like “God made me and Adam and Steve / And he loves me.” After the end of the concert, shouts of “One more song!” saw Electra back onstage to perform two songs, “Replay” and “Career Boy.” The latter, which parodies nine-to-five grind culture and capitalism, drew cheers of recognition from the crowd. After the concert ended, people stayed and milled around, shyly complimenting each other on their glittery shoulder pads, cow-themed stockings, or pink latex two-pieces. Elsewhere, a trio of furries posed for pictures. When the house lights went on, the illuminated space revealed individuals of all ages and identities who had come together for a night of queer, campy catharsis. For these fans, going to a Dorian Electra concert isn’t just about screaming along to the lyrics like “Hit me with your ledger” and “I’m a very flaming flammable guy” and getting tinnitus. It’s about being part of a community with a bunch of other quirky, glittery, proudly over-the-top fans. It’s about being yourself, whatever that looks like. At a Dorian Electra concert, everyone can be a flaming flammable guy. Or a Barbie boy. Or anything at all.
Dorian Electra Concert Review: Queer Hyperpop Artist Hits You With Their Ledger (& You Enjoy It) SOPHIE H. KIM CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Staff writer Sophie H. Kim can be reached at sophie.kim@thecrimson.com or thesophiekim.com
Courtesy of Sophie H. Kim
FILM Artist Profile: Alana Haim Looks Ahead The rock musician-turned-breakout actress on “Licorice Pizza,” family, music, and growing pains. SOFIA ANDRADE CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
B
orn and raised in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Alana Haim is a Valley girl. “Through and through,” she said in a roundtable interview with The Harvard Crimson on Jan. 24. The critically acclaimed musician, known primarily for her role as guitarist and vocalist in the band Haim, was discussing her acting debut in Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest effort. The character she plays in the Oscar-nominated, nostalgia-driven love letter to the ’70s that is “Licorice Pizza,” is also a valley girl. Where Alana Kane (also her name in the film) is “a little crazy” and “a little frantic,” Haim is less so, she assures. Both Alanas, though, are ride-ordies for their loved ones. “She’s very protective over the people that she cares about. I definitely can see myself in that aspect,” Haim said. The film follows Alana, 25 years old and frustrated with her dead-end job, and Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman), an entrepreneurial 15-year old who, from the moment he sees Alana taking class pictures at his high school, becomes wholly fixated on her. He chases her and traps her in (at first) unwelcome flirtations at every opportunity. What ensues is a saccharine romp through Anderson’s vision of a Los Angeles overflowing with quirky celebrities, romantic lighting, and braless women. “We basically lived in the ’70s all the time,” Haim said of filming on a set kept pure of modern technology like cellphones. “It was all very much like we were living in that time.” Amid the collage of incongruous vignettes of Gary and Alana’s adventures that drive the film, Haim’s performance soars. Save for a few stints as the Wicked Witch of the West in school productions, “Licorice Pizza” is Haim’s acting debut — and a stellar one at that. The New York Times has cited her “expressive range” as crucial to the film’s success. In a review of the film, The Crimson praised her “magnetic screen presence” — the true mark of a performer. In a film saturated with self-referential nods to its auteur, Haim’s character (in spite of the overdone Valley Dream Girl mold Anderson set up for her) is both a point of light, and a breath of fresh air. Her performance is honest and generous. “I just got to, you know, dive into this deep end and kind of immerse myself in this process and just try to do my best,” Haim said of filming her now-celebrated debut, before adding, “I couldn’t have done it without [Paul].” Still, Haim is better known for what she does on stage than
on screen. For over a decade, she’s been guitarist and vocalist for the band she shares with her older sisters Este and Danielle. Like the band (also named Haim), “Licorice Pizza” is a family affair. Haim is joined on screen by her sisters and parents, all of them taking on roles as part of the Kane family. “For the longest time it kind of felt like this weird, family vacation movie that we all kind of made. But I never really thought anyone was gonna see it,” Haim said of the film and its many connections to her real life, the life that Anderson was inspired by. “Now people can see it, and they like it? It’s an honor.” It was through her band with her sisters, too, that Haim first got to work with Anderson. He directed the band’s music videos for “Summer Girl,” “The Steps,” “Valentine,” and other songs — all of them on film (“Paul is all film, everyday”). Just this week, the “Licorice Pizza” official Twitter account announced a new Anderson-directed Haim music video, titled “Lost Track,” which will play in theaters before every screening. “I did feel like I kind of had a cheat sheet, being with him on music videos,” Haim said. The working relationship between the musician and director began when, nearly 10 years before “Licorice Pizza,” Anderson emailed Haim asking to direct their videos. They agreed. He had no idea at the time that the band’s mother had been his art teacher in grade school. That type of spontaneous relationship is what Haim sees at the heart of Alana and Gary’s story: “You never know who’s gonna come back into your life, stay in your life. And I think that’s very much what happened in ‘Licorice Pizza,’” she said of the film . “Alana [Kane] could have met Gary and it could have been a five minute conversation and they never see each other again, and their lives go [on], whatever. And really,… they don’t know it yet, but their lives are forever changed and they go on these crazy adventures.” As with any gauzy ’70s film, it’s the soundtrack to these crazy adventures that pushes the story forward. Songs like The Doors’ 1970 funk-filled psychedelic track “Peace Frog,” David Bowie’s iconic “Life on Mars?” and “The July Tree,” a heart wrenchingly bluesy ballad by Nina Simone, plant audiences squarely in the decade of love, bell bottoms, and, for Alana and Gary, water beds. “The songs that are in ‘Licorice Pizza’ are all songs that I love so much,” Haim said. “When [Paul McCartney and Wings’] ‘Let Me Roll It’ plays, it’s one of my favor-
ite songs of all time…. The first really big part of the movie is when that song plays, and it was an honor.” Indeed, the music of the film is also its life force — a skilled exercise in scene setting that allows the film to explore its many intersecting plot lines without getting bogged down in the weeds of world building. According to Haim, music also played a big role in keeping the actors themselves immersed in the upbeat energy of the film. “Music was constantly playing [on set], and it plays a huge part because it kept the vibe going,” she said. “[It] kind of reminded me of being on music videos, like it really did keep the vibe high.” And Alana Kane’s musical mantra? “So much Freda Payne. Every morning, Freda Payne ‘Band of Gold.’” Alana Haim doesn’t know yet whether or not she’ll keep acting, but it seems a career will be waiting for her if she does. “I haven’t really thought about the future. I’m going on tour, so that’s pretty much the next thing that I’m thinking about,” she said. Haim’s world tour starts late April and will run through the summer, keeping the newly-minted acting family busy for the next few months. “I hope I can act again. That would be really sick,” Haim said, before adding, “If I don’t, and this is it, this was the best experience I could ever dream of.” Arts Chair Sofia Andrade can be reached at sofia.andrade@ thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter at @bySofiaAndrade.
Courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Inc.
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 22, 2022 |
PAGE 6
TV
‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Review: Disney’s Latest Star Wars Story Touts Some Impressive Chapters, But Loses Focus of its Greater Narrative This review contains spoilers for Season One of “The Book of Boba Fett” and Season Two of “The Mandalorian.” KIERAN FARRELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
T
he Book of… who now? WitWith the conclusion of the second season of “The Mandalorian” in Dec. 2020, viewers were made aware that a spin-off series starring one of “Star Wars”’s most popular characters, Boba Fett, was in the works at Disney+. Long thought to have been killed in 1983’s “Return of the Jedi,” the broody bounty hunter made a triumphant return to the screen nearly 40 years later in “The Mandalorian.” Given the massive popularity of “The Mandalorian” and Boba Fett’s status as a pop culture icon, it seemed like a natural move for Disney and Lucasfilm to expand on Boba’s story. Despite the character’s popularity, though, many forget that he only ever had roughly five minutes of screentime in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, so this was also a prime opportunity to pair his cultural prowess with an appropriately powerful narrative. It’s ultimately disappointing, then, to see that this narrative falls far short of what it could have been, and to realize that this didn’t only happen by chance — rather, it was a creative choice. “The Book of Boba Fett” opts to function as a mere vehicle for the overarching trajectory of “The Mandalorian,” and the byproduct is a series that contains a few excellent episodes but tells a story that ultimately feels incomplete. “The Book of Boba Fett” aims to simultaneously tackle two timelines: one that catches us up with everything that happened to Boba since “Return of the Jedi” and one that continues his story following season two of “The Mandalorian.” In this later timeline, he assumes the throne of Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine, a role once held by ruthless crime lord Jabba the Hutt. The show’s split-timeline structure never quite finds its groove, though, as there’s no apparent pattern for the amount of focus each timeline receives in a given episode, and this imbalance makes the timelines feel a bit disjointed. This weakness might also be seen as an ironic microcosm for the show as a whole, in the sense that the balance of its overall story is disturbed by Chapters 5 and 6. In any case, the show’s earlier timeline consistently proves to be more intriguing, as it immediately confronts the most pressing question raised by Boba’s return: How exactly did he escape the Sarlacc, the slimy sandworm that supposedly killed him? The sequence that gives us the answer is at once a wonderful expansion of classic “Star Wars” lore and a triumph of visual effects portraying the gory guts of the Sarlacc in ways that were unimaginable in 1983. And, most importantly, it’s a sequence that initiates Boba’s reformative transition from cold-blooded killer to respectful ruler. Boba’s character is handled best amid his journey of re-
MUSIC Andy Grammer Concert Review: Unbounded Optimism to Soothe the Soul SAMANTHA J. O’CONNELL CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
covery in the earlier timeline. Though he doesn’t speak the language of the Tusken Raiders, the desert-dwelling tribe that takes him in, Boba evidently experiences a slow-burn assimilation to their way of life beneath the blistering twin suns of Tatooine. Temuera Morrison, who originally played the role of Jango Fett in 2002’s “Attack of the Clones,” makes a masterful transition to becoming Jango’s son, as Boba’s ever-pensive demeanor particularly shines in sequences with the Tusken Raiders that feature little dialogue. The penchant for trust and belonging instilled in him by the Tuskens clearly influences his perspective in the main timeline, as he emphasizes the following to his companion, Fennec Shand: “Jabba ruled with fear. I intend to rule with respect.” Unfortunately, the main timeline’s directionless plot doesn’t give Boba anything meaningful to do with this newfound development. From Chapters 1 to 4, Boba largely just strolls through the streets of Mos Espa and confronts issues that feel unthreatening from a narrative standpoint, while the implied main conflict involves the unsanctioned operations of a crime syndicate — the Pykes — but no clear central villain. This messiness only devolves further in Chapter 5, when Boba’s story is utterly relegated to the background. Oh, and something else about Chapter 5? It’s the best one in the series. “Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian” does exactly what its title suggests, showcasing the chrome-plated, fan-favorite character last seen in the season two finale of his own series. This standout chapter offers a satisfying mix of action-packed bounty-hunting business and an interrogation of the feelings beneath Mando’s rarely-removed helmet. Pedro Pascal, who has donned Mando’s glistening armor since the character’s debut in 2019, continues to impress, given that his role requires him to work with nothing more than his voice and body language. His struggle in coping with his recent departure from his foundling son Grogu (better known as “Baby Yoda”) is the most gut-wrenching piece of storytelling “The Book of Boba Fett” has to offer, and it ironically has nothing to do with the series’ main character. This flaw only makes itself more obvious in Chapter 6, which, for much of its runtime, whisks us away to the gorgeous greenery of the planet on which Luke is training Grogu. In bringing back more fan-favorite characters and hitting on all the right story beats between master and apprentice, Chapter 6 makes it easy to forget that this series is even supposed to be about Boba Fett. Chapter 6’s best attempt at salvaging the series’ story is its introduction of Cad Bane (Corey Burton), a bounty hunter made popular by the animated television series “Star Wars:
U
nder almost any circumstances, a title like the “Art of Joy Tour’’ would come across as corny and overthe-top. Andy Grammer, performing in Boston’s Orpheum Theatre on Feb. 9, somehow managed to live up to his magnanimous tour name, delivering enough earnestness to melt even the coldest cynic’s heart. Even in a venue better equipped for a musical than a pop-rock concert, Grammer managed to immediately raise the crowd to their feet, running through a setlist that was equal parts energizing and heartfelt. Commanding the stage with an unwavering optimism, Grammer seemed positively determined to make sure every audience member walked out of the Orpheum with their heads held a little higher, their hearts a little more open, and maybe even with a new “lease on life.” The opener, Alt Bloom, immediately set the tone for the entire concert with an array of upbeat and catchy pop tracks. When Grammer finally took the stage, dressed in a varsity jacket and a pair of plaid pants, he launched not into a song but a passionately-delivered poem. The audience listened with rapt attention to this first spoken word piece, making his sudden shift to his new single “Damn It Feels Good To Be Me,” complete with trumpet blasts and a riveting saxophone, all the more magical. Striking a proper balance between the old and the new, the singer-songwriter alternated between fan-favorites like his career-launching “Keep Your Head Up” and “Fresh Eyes” as well as new tunes he wrote over quarantine — including a supposed love song to himself (“Love Myself”) and one addressed to his newborn daughter (“Good Man”). Already known for his career-defining hits, equal parts pop, rock, country, and R&B, Grammer managed to blend these various styles even further with some cleverly designed mashups. While his incredibly popular “Honey, I’m Good” might have been played to death on the radio in 2014, Grammer breathed new life into the chart-topper by remixing it with Earth, Wind & Fire’s classic “September” — an idea he said he got from a TikTok user. This groovy moment wasn’t the only one inspired by the video-sharing app: Grammer also performed a dynamic cover of Louis Prima’s “Pennies from Heaven,” a 1930s jazz tune that blew up on the platform around Christmas time in 2020, claiming it was impossible to listen to the song and not feel
The Clone Wars.” In revealing himself to be working with the Pykes, the volatile Bane indicates that he’d rather remain a hired gun than make a lifestyle change similar to Boba’s, and he finally provides the crime syndicate with a presence that feels significant. It likely would’ve done wonders for the series to have teased him in an earlier chapter, but Cad Bane’s transition to live-action is still executed well, as it’s incredible to once again encounter the threatening blood-red eyes and chilling growl of this dastardly space cowboy. Ultimately, though Chapters 5 and 6 contain some of the series’ best individual storytelling, they also represent its most gaping narrative problem:These chapters serve the future of “The Mandalorian” well, but “The Book of Boba Fett” most definitely does not benefit from this critical departure from its story. The series finale does well to focus on the ideological conflicts and eventual face-off between Boba Fett and Cad Bane, but none of it feels fully deserved. Chapter 7 instead exemplifies the series’ overall tendency of being just a bit behind the ball in fleshing out everything it needs to, while its highlight is rather an action-packed team-up between Boba and Mando. The two characters’ jetpacks and shining suits of armor are glorious in tandem, but this unfortunately isn’t enough to rescue the series from its narrative dilemma. In the end, it’s perhaps best to remember that Boba Fett was only on screen for a few short minutes in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, yet he still became nothing short of a cultural icon. It’s fittingly ironic, then, that the best parts of his own television series are the ones that barely feature him at all.
Courtesy of FRVANCOIS DUHAMEL / LUCASFILM LTD.
happy. A testament to the reciprocal relationship between artist and audience, Grammer seemed to derive as much energy and giddiness from the crowd as his fans were feeling from his set. Beyond the standard “Boston, we love you!” proclamations, Andy got his fans directly involved in his music-making, teaching them the chorus of a new song — “Love, it’s the new money” — and recording the audience’s singing as part of the ongoing project. While joy and celebration were the motifs tying together Grammer’s charismatic performance, he also proved to be an incredibly vulnerable artist. As Grammer made the effort to get to know his audience a little better, he likewise let his guard down and shared deeply personal and rather dark moments from his own life. Instead of bringing down the overall happy mood, these serious moments made the joyful ones all the more cathartic. For instance, midway through the show, he performed, “She’d Say,” a touching tribute to his late mother where he explains to his daughter all the advice her grandmother might have given her if she were still here. Grammer shared with the audience that his mother died of breast cancer when he was 25. Towards the end of her life, she had told him that everytime he heard a Billy Joel song, it meant she was saying “hi” to him from beyond the grave. Flash forward to the day of the Boston concert, when Grammer noticed the caterer for the Orpheum Theater wearing a Billy Joel sweatshirt, a coincidence he interpreted as a loving sign from his mom. To top it all off, Grammer learned that the caterer’s name was also Joy, just like the title of his tour, and invited her on stage for a proper serenade. Nothing quite compares to watching a talented performer completely in their element, sharing their art with an undeniable, infectious passion. Yes, Grammer knows how to write catchy songs that will get his crowds up on their feet dancing, but more importantly, he also knows how to make these same people feel deeply loved and appreciated, with a warm, fuzzy feeling that lingers long after the stage lights have gone out. Staff writer Samantha J. O’Connell can be reached at sam.o’connell@thecrimson.com.
PAGE 7
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
COMAROFF FROM PAGE 1
FEBRUARY 22, 2022
TITLE IX FROM PAGE 1
15 Anthropology Profs. Title IX Coordinator Issues Ask Comaroff to Resign Apology for Statement as a defendant. Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay sanctioned Comaroff last month after University investigations found that he violated the the school’s sexual harassment and professional misconduct policies. Comaroff is barred from advising additional students and teaching required courses through the next academic year. In a statement Sunday, Comaroff’s lawyers — Janet E. Halley, Norman S. Zalkind, and Ruth O’Meara Costello ’02 — called the letter a “moral panic.” They wrote that Harvard has “exhaustively investigated” allegations against Comaroff and disciplined him according to its findings. “This was a lengthy process in which the complainants had extensive opportunities to be heard and to present evidence,” the attorneys wrote. “The lawsuit’s claims are unproven, and its most serious allegations were found, in Har-
vard’s multiple investigations, to be unsupported by the evidence. A moral panic is no substitute for a fair process.” The Anthropology Department has been roiled by allegations of gender-based harassment in recent years. In May 2020, The Crimson reported on sexual harassment allegations against three prominent professors in the department, including Comaroff. “We are calling on Professor Comaroff to resign from the Anthropology department because we believe that his return to our department after his administrative leave will undermine our sustained efforts to rebuild trust and create a safe and supportive learning environment,” Subramanian, the Anthropology chair, wrote in an email Sunday. In the nearly two weeks since the lawsuit was filed, Comaroff has lost the support of many Harvard faculty, including some who initially defended him.
Earlier this month, 35 faculty members retracted their support for a letter they had signed just days before that questioned the results of misconduct investigations into Comaroff.
His return to our department . . . will undermine our sustained efforts to reubuild trust. Anjantha Subramanian Anthropology Professor
The FAS first placed Comaroff on paid administrative leave in August 2020 after The Crimson reported that at least three female students had been in touch with Harvard’s Title IX office about allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation by Comaroff. meimei.xu@thecrimson.com
members’ confidence in the investigatory process and their ability to access counseling and other resources,” Merhill wrote in her statement, sent to reporters by a school spokesperson last Wednesday. Her remarks, which were disseminated the next day on Harvard’s social media accounts, sparked backlash online and on campus. At a rally held Monday condemning Harvard’s handling of the Comaroff case, some demonstrators took aim at Merhill. Merhill wrote in her apology letter on Friday that the Office for Gender Equity’s Student Advisory Council “courageously raised their concerns regarding the impact” of her statement. “At the time, Office for Gender Equity (OGE) staff, as well as many others across the University, were hearing from community members about their concerns about the confidential nature of their health and mental health records,” Merhill wrote on Friday.
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“My intention was to assure our community members that they could safely continue to access community resources,” she added.
My intention was to assure our community . . . I’ve since learned, however, that my statement has contributed to further concerns around trust and for that I want to apologize. Nicole M. Merhill Title IX Coordinator
“I’ve since learned, however, that my statement has contributed to further concerns around trust and for that I want
to apologize.” Harvard says that its Office for Dispute Resolution, which investigates sexual misconduct claims, does not obtain information from a person’s medical provider without their consent. All documents obtained during an ODR investigation are shared with both sides — a policy the school says all parties to a dispute are made aware of throughout the process. Russell Kornblith, a lawyer who represents the three graduate students suing Harvard, took aim at the school in a statement Friday evening. “Harvard must respect the importance of that provider-patient relationship and should encourage survivors to seek help where necessary,” he wrote. “Harvard’s equivocation on its handling of mental health treatment records unfortunately suggests something less than a full commitment to acting in the best interests of survivors.” anjeli.macaranas@thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 22, 2022
PAGE 8
EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD
COLUMN
Crude Racist Cruelty We are not immune to the bias and prejudice endemic in the “real world.”
L
ast week, a Harvard student woke up to a racial slur posted on his door. As Harvard students, we spend so much time analyzing subtle, systemic manifestations of racism that it’s easy to forget the direct, obvious, disgusting variety. Last week, we were reminded: Crude racist cruelty still exists at Harvard. Michael Y. Cheng ’22, the target of the racist posters, has our sympathy and support. College isn’t supposed to be like this; Harvard isn’t supposed to be like this. Severely dented are illusions of an enlightened respite from the bigotry we find in the outside world. It’s particularly offensive to see these posters on the threshold of Cheng’s dorm: As college students, our dorms are our homes. A place for safety and growth, desecrated with brutal, cutting words.
It’s particularly offensive to see these posters on the threshold of Cheng’s dorm: As college students, our dorms are our homes. A place for safety and growth, desecrated with brutal, cutting words. The posters seem to have attacked Cheng in his role as Undergraduate Council President, complicating the aftermath. Accusing his opponents on the UC of prior harassment “influenced by anti-Asian stereotypes,” Cheng recently rejected a statement of solidarity draft-
ed by several members of the UC. Without addressing UC politics and the competing claims at play, we support Cheng’s abstract right to reject the Council’s statement of solidarity. Surely the general autonomy which victims of racism hold in how they respond to incidents extends far enough to include Cheng’s action. That autonomy centers the victims of racist incidents when we choose how to respond; their feelings are worthy, and their experiences of fundamental importance. That centering of the targets of racism suggests that it is a mistake to view this incident principally through the lens of UC politics. While we are shocked that our dysfunctional student government, of all things, prompted attacks of such fierce intensity, this was not primarily a reflection of the regrettable, unusual vitriol of the UC. It should not be seen primarily as a tool to moderate that vitriol, a path to enlightened unity and “cohesion,” either. Racism and racial antagonism run deeper than any internal tensions, politics, or stresses in our student organizations. Incidents like this one point to deeper problems that require deeper solutions. We arrive at Harvard, many of us like to think, with a common understanding of the evil of racism and prejudice; we may disagree on particular applications of that principle, but the principle is supposedly shared. That complacency is misguided. We are not immune to the bias and prejudice endemic in the “real world.” We are a part of our city, our country, our world; we share in their flaws. Let this reopen our eyes. This is a Harvard problem, and more than that, it is an American problem — we should
treat it as such. When we read about anti-Asian hate in the news, we’ll now remember its explicit manifestation on our campus. When we are tempted to think of Harvard as an enlightened appendage of the world at large, we will remember that
When we are tempted to think of Harvard as an enlightened appendage of the world at large, we will remember that even the barest racism still manages to break through here. even the barest racism still manages to break through here. We will redouble our efforts to set our own house in order even as we try to change the broader world for the better. This act was disgusting. Its execution was crude and its harms unsubtle. Ignorance feels too generous a word for an act so self-evidently wrong. Such purposeful cruelty and its perpetrators have no place on our campus. 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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OP-ED
Why I Greet By COLOMBE O. EYONO
I
was warned, prior to embarking to the States, that Americans have poor English. While I appreciated such efforts to prime me for my experience in this country, I remained unfazed. For one, poor grammar, especially in a language that has forced itself upon the world, can only be expected. In fact, embracing “poor grammar” is a mode of anti-colonial resistance that I applaud. But, upon my arrival in the land of liberty, I was stumped to find that the dominating language rebelled, not just against conventions of grammar, but against norms of punctuation – with one clause in particular. It was in the cosmopolitan confines of Cambridge that I encountered the “Hi, how are you?” that ends with a period, instead of a question mark. It swiftly dawned on me that the city that I was to be courted by for the next four years of my life was one that did not know how to greet. Instead, I have been espoused by a city of sprinters, where we dash past others with such speed that people become mere meter-markers in the race to wherever we are off to next. In our ritual performance of city life — where eye contact is seemingly too intimate for the people we mumble “hi” to on our daily commute — I miss “Sawubona.”
It swiftly dawned on me that the city that I was to be courted by for the next four years of my life was one that did not know how to greet. I miss more than the cadence of the vowels, cradled by the warmth of the “buh” and elevated by the whispering “w.” I miss more than being immersed in the language from which it evolved — a language that I cannot speak nor adequately understand, but a tongue that I cannot divorce from the place I call home. Where I come from, in the clicking vernacular of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, “hello” is not “hello.” In
isiZulu, we greet with “Sawubona” — “We see you.” When we greet, we witness and profess, breathing soul into the hollow chambers of “hello.” I miss Sawubona. I miss being seen. Remarkably, I have received some of the best greetings of my life in the short while that I have been in Massachusetts. However, most of these experiences have taken place at restaurants, cafes, and retail outlets, where smiles and “hellos” are attached to monetary values. It would be convenient for me to pawn off this flaw as characteristic American commercialism, and add it to my arsenal of reasons for criticizing the nation I now find myself a part of, a nation which I begrudge for all it possesses at the expense of places like my home. It would be easy to extend this observation and juxtapose it with the values of community that I have attached to South Africa — a country with personality, a nation with charisma. While I could belabor my disdain for the capitalist failings of the United States, the issue of greeting (or the lack thereof) is not limited to America. In fact, my own dedication to the conventions of “Hi” and “How are you?” is a relatively recent development. I began my commitment to greeting people out of compliance with my high school’s regulations. These rules, which stipulated the need to greet, legitimized a culture of acknowledgment. But this legitimacy was selective. I recall these regulations being virtually italicized with our interactions with the staff of the school — the teachers and the management personnel. But not the people in between. Not the caretakers, of which the majority in South Africa are poor; The people who traveled from far to maintain the equilibrium of well-trimmed suburbia for insupportable wages and even fewer thanks. This rule may have originated to enforce traditional dynamics of institutional respect. But the omission of some workers in institutionalized greeting culture had sinister collateral effects, even if they were accidental. By greeting along the socio-economic pecking order, we were pre-determining which people
ought to be seen more than others.
By greeting along the socioeconomic pecking order, we were pre-determining which people ought to be seen more than others. What began as a daunting chore, motivated by the fear of retribution, became a commitment to seeing — acknowledging — everybody: cashiers at the supermarket, security guards, the workers at my high school. And, here at Harvard, we should make an effort to greet the people in our entryway, strangers we sit with at Annenberg, and our classmates. But we must be most dedicated to greeting the people who are often glossed over as part of the red brick of this institution — HUDS staff, the workers milling about the yard during the day, the security guards who man the gates of the campus 24/7. We live in an age where the rights of these workers, both in our institution and in the greater community, are at odds with a society co-opted by the dynamics of profit and capital. Thus, choosing to acknowledge all people becomes a political decision. The exploitation of these workers is sustained by the narrative that they are disposable. But narratives of expendability become void when we begin to perceive all people as people. “Sawubona” then, becomes not just the act of witnessing: It asserts itself, more importantly, as the refusal to ignore. We greet to center the people who are eternally lodged in the peripheral – even if just for a moment.
—Colombe O. Eyono ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Wigglesworth Hall. This piece is a part of a focus on Black authors and experiences for Black History Month.
A Place in the Sun
Ben T. Elwy LIVING A DISABLED LIFE
T
he world plunged into isolation in 2020. What most people don’t realize, however, is that many disabled people are, have been, and will be in some form of isolation for their entire lives — and not the kind that protects them. Forced solitude is a widespread problem among disabled people, one caused by ableism and the near-universal invisibility of our existence. Disabled people experience loneliness, low perceived social support, and isolation at significantly higher rates than those without disabilities. Whether disabled people are physically separated from others by inaccessible institutions or socially isolated within groups by hidden barriers of ableism, they’re pushed to the margins of their communities, into the shadows along the edges. That’s where we spend our lives. This pushing is a systemic action. A lesson I’ve learned when it comes to disability: If something can go wrong, it will. I’m talking about how my dad had to carry me up a flight of stairs to get me to my Harvard interview, about how my LSAT proctor only allowed me one of my five officially-approved accommodations. (I could write a whole column about my fun experiences.) ‘Murphy’s Law: Disabled Edition’ obviously isn’t an unbreakable rule, but it’s dishearteningly close to being one. That’s because it’s not a mere superstition; it’s a reflection of ableism so deeply entrenched into the fabric of society that we take it for granted. We’re all subconsciously trained to ignore it. But when ableism occurs on a smaller scale, it’s no less devastating — rather, often even more so. Over time, gradually, one frustrating event turns into one hundred, until what seems minor comes to define my everyday life. Disability creates social repercussions. When a club meeting is held in an inaccessible room; when someone shows me something on their phone, but the photo is too blurry for me to see, so I just nod and laugh; when people don’t consider inviting me to hang out because they assume I don’t do “normal person” activities, so that I always have to be the one to initiate plans if I want anything besides a meal in the dining hall to happen; repeatedly, over and over, every day, being with friends without being with them, being seen without being seen — that’s what social inaccessibility is. That’s what living in the shadows is.
Disability creates social repercussions. It hurts. Disability advocate Mia Mingus has coined a helpful term for this discussion: access intimacy. Access intimacy is a type of intimacy that occurs when someone “gets” your access needs, whether physical, mental, or sensory, no prompting required. It doesn’t mean that they’re successful in ensuring your needs are met, but it means that they try. Like platonic and romantic intimacy, access intimacy can develop over time. It signals that one’s basic needs for inclusion are being met, and it’s fundamentally impossible to build any meaningful relationship without it. After a lifetime of feeling like a burden to my friends while watching my peers grow closer together without me, I’d know. Access intimacy is when someone else looks out into the world and notices the ableism that permeates our lives, when they get angry at inaccessibility for us, when they momentarily live with us in our reality. It’s a feeling, a euphoric realization, that I can’t describe to anyone who hasn’t experienced it, except in these terms: If being disabled is living in the shadows, experiencing inclusion is finding a place in the sun. This elation from access intimacy is made all the more powerful, unfortunately, by its scarcity. To think about others is such a simple action, and yet I often even have to remind friends that I can’t eat in inaccessible dining halls. It’s not that they think I can climb stairs (I use a walker), or that they forget I’m disabled (I use a walker), but that the problem doesn’t occur to them. Accessibility isn’t something we know to consider. And having to repeatedly remind others, to shoulder the weight of an inaccessible world alone, is draining. It makes me tired. It’s no wonder that I get excited when someone proactively considers my accessibility needs, but I don’t think abled people understand the extent of that excitement. If someone shows even basic kindness, I’ll remember it photographically for years, long after they’ve forgotten it ever happened. This in itself is indicative of an issue: Disabled people go so unvalued, unappreciated, and unseen in society that we cling to anything we find, any validation of our meaning in the world. We’re conditioned to treat the bare minimum of consideration as revolutionary, to be overjoyed with eclipsed warmth while others stand under the sun. So when the pandemic threw everyone into the shadows, I already knew how to exist in the dark. I’ll be stuck here long after everyone else leaves, too, searching for a place in the sun. Living a disabled life means that the obstacles I face don’t end with my genetics. On the contrary, as much as my condition may hurt, the ableism I endure in social spheres always inflicts the deeper pain. We live alone even while surrounded by others, isolated in plain sight. It’s time that people, individually and collectively, learned to look beyond the glare into the shadows.
—Ben T. Elwy ’23 is a joint concentrator in Linguistics and Classics in Quincy House. His column “Living a Disabled Life” appears on alternate Tuesdays.
PAGE 9
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 22, 2022
FARMER FROM PAGE 1
Renowned Physician Paul Farmer Dies at Age 62
Paul Farmer and Archbishop Desmond Tutu embraced at the Skoll World Forum in 2011. PHOTO COURTSEY SKOLL FOUNDATION VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
equality as a professor at Harvard. In 2010, he was named a University Professor, the school’s highest faculty distinction. Farmer served as chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, where he received an M.D. and a Ph.D. He was also chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Harvard Medical School Dean George Q. Daley ’82 wrote in an email to school affiliates Monday that Farmer “represented the heart and soul” of HMS. “A compassionate physician and infectious disease specialist, a brilliant and influential medical anthropologist, and among the greatest humanitarians of our time—perhaps all time—Paul dedicated his life to improving human health and advocating for health equi-
ty and social justice on a global scale,” Daley wrote. “I am particularly shaken by his passing because he was not only a consummate colleague and a beloved mentor, but a close friend,” he added.
He was brilliant, passionate, kind, and humble. He saw every day as a new opportunity to teach, learn, give, and serve. The Clintons
As news of Farmer’s death spread Monday morning, remembrances began rolling in from world leaders and other renowned academics. In a joint statement, former
HDS Hosts Black Spirituality Event By KENNETH GU CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Harambee, an organization for students of African descent at Harvard Divinity School, hosted the sixth annual Black Religion, Spirituality, and Culture Conference last week. The two-day event included four virtual panels on topics, such as spirituality, physical wellness, and mental health. The conference’s theme was “Rooted” and centered around African, Black, and indigeneous conceptions of health. Ebony J. Johnson, the president of Harambee, introduced the conference as an effort to increase awareness of wellness among people of African descent. “This conference serves to build a bridge between spiritu
ality [and] mental health within the African diaspora,” Johnson said. “We are reframing, reshaping the narrative of Black mental health and wellness and combating against the negative stigma.” During his opening remarks, Dean of the Divinity School David N. Hempton reaffirmed the importance of the conference in tackling social inequities and announced a five-year renewal of the conference’s funding. “Two years ago, I made the decision to place this conference on a solid financial footing by guaranteeing its funding for three years, including this year and next year,” Hempton said. “This morning, I’m delighted to announce that this funding will be guaranteed for another five years after that. This conference fully deserves to have a
NGUYEN FROM PAGE 1
lucas.walsh@thecrimson.com vivian.zhao@thecrimson.com
nizes Divinity School affiliates of African descent who “embody the importance of passing on wisdom, care, and commitment to the generations to come,” according to the conference’s website. This year, the award was given to Jean Appolon, a Haitian dancer and co-founder of dance company Jean Appolon Expressions. Appolon said the award represents generations of work. “The Sankofa Award doesn’t only mean Black excellence to me,” Appolon said. “It’s also described the ancestral work that we’ve been doing as artists, as Black folks, as scholars, and the way we are inspired to just continue to be healers, priests and priestesses, and many things more.” kenneth.gu@thecrimson.com
Culture, and the Hilton Humanitarian Prize, which he received with his PIH co-founders. “This is an irreplaceable loss to us and to the world,” Harvard Anthropology Chair Ajantha Subramanian wrote in an email to department affiliates on Monday. “My deepest condolences to those of you who were close to Paul.” Samantha J. Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, wrote in a tweet that “Farmer gave everything—everything—to others.” “He saw the worst, and yet did all he could to bring out the best in everyone he encountered,” she wrote. “Indefatigable, mischievous, generous, brilliant, soulful, skeptical, idealistic, beloved,” she wrote. “A giant.” ariel.kim@thecrimson.com meimei.xu@thecrimson.com
KEFFIYEH FROM PAGE 1
Students Organize Keffiyeh Thursdays “When I see people slandering our work, or mischaracterizing what pro-Palestinian activism is as anti-Semitic or rooted in hatred, it makes me sad,” he said. Students from several other universities — including Princeton and MIT — have joined in PSC’s movement. “We’ve seen such a crazy response after our first week,” Willcox said. “We’re hoping that this allows us to increase the connection between all of these groups across campuses in the U.S.” Tabash noted the movement has expanded to include non-Palestinians.
“There are people of all different identities who gravitated to the Palestinian cause because they see elements of suffering in their own causes or they just take a principled stance,” Tabash said. For PSC, Keffiyeh Thursdays signal continued and growing support for Palestinians, he said. “Having a day in the week that is devoted to expressing solidarity, and which is in effect expressing hope, I think it’s something that’s really powerful,” Tabash said. ella.jones@thecrimson.com monique.vobecky@thecrimson.com
From Weeks to Weld.
Nguyen Talks Covid-19 Policy back in early fall of last year.” HUHS will continue to adapt its policies as the science changes, Nguyen said. “We have to keep in mind that the campus setting does bring more risk because of the concentration of people within classrooms, within residential housing, and so on,” he said. Harvard has already rolled back some on-campus regulations, including a ban on in-person dining that took effect at the start of the semester. The College reopened its residential dining halls on Feb. 5. “It’s really important to remember that well-being is so much more than the absence of COVID,” Nguyen said. “Some of the greatest risks for younger adults are the impact of social isolation, and those mental health consequences are real.” He said the move to return to in-person dining was also driven by the high vaccination rate at Harvard, where 98 percent of students are vaccinated. “When we made these decisions, we knew that these are decisions that affect a highly-vaccinated community of younger people who at baseline are not going to be at risk at the same degree as someone who is elderly and who has multiple chronic medical conditions,” Nguyen said. “We were not seeing tremendously ill people, by and large.” Asked about the risks of the school’s return to in-person dining, Nguyen said unvaccinated individuals and people who have underlying medical conditions could sit farther apart from others. “We’re really getting to a point within this pandemic experience where we have a lot more agency at the individual level,” he said. “And that’s really where I think most of society is heading.”
permanent place in our educational landscape.” Hempton said the Divinity School has been trying to promote diversity and inclusivity among its students. “Here at the Divinity School, we’re trying to face up to our own responsibility to create a more diverse, inclusive, and anti-racist Divinity School,” Hempton said. “Later this semester, we hope to announce three exciting new appointments to our faculty on African Diasporic and African American Religious Studies.” “We are taking seriously our vision of building a restorative, anti-racist and anti-oppressive Harvard Divinity School,” Hempton added. The conference concluded with the presentation of the Sankofa Award, which recog-
President Bill Clinton, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and their daughter Chelsea Clinton wrote, “Paul was one of the most extraordinary people we have ever known.” “His pioneering work with Partners In Health touched millions of lives, advanced global health equity, and fundamentally changed the way health care is delivered in the most impoverished places on Earth,” the Clintons wrote. “He was brilliant, passionate, kind, and humble. He saw every day as a new opportunity to teach, learn, give, and serve—and it was impossible to spend any amount of time with him and not feel the same.” Farmer is the recipient of dozens of awards and honors, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the Outstanding International Physician Award from the American Medical Association, the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and
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The Crimson thecrimson.com
SPORTS
WEEKLY RECAP
SCORES
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AT CORNELL L, 52-49 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S TENNIS VS. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY W, 4-2 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. CORNELL W, 77-72 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S LACROSSE VS. UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO L, 12-6 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S HOCKEY VS. NO. 4/4 QUINNIPIAC W, 1-0 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S TENNIS AT NORTHWESTERN L, 7-0 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL VS. NJIT W, 3-1 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Harvard Wins Ivy League Championship at Home By BRAHM ERDMANN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
A fter a dominant performance on Saturday night at Blodgett Pool, Harvard Women’s Swimming and Diving capped off a victorious season with a win at the 2022 Ivy League Championships. After leading the points total for all four days of the competition, Harvard finished the meet atop the points board to reclaim the Frank Keefe trophy. This achievement is the Crimson’s 15th title in program history and eighth title under Stephanie Wriede Morawski ‘92, The Costin Family Head Coach for Harvard Women’s Swimming & Diving. After finishing the home and away season with back-toback losses against rivals Yale and Princeton, the Crimson bounced back with a powerful performance on a bigger stage The team finished with 1,503.5 points, beating second-place Yale (1,258), third-place Penn (1,256), as well as the five other Ivy schools. Day 1 saw Harvard capture the 800 free relay, the night’s second and final event.. Harvard’s relay team of senior Felicia Pasadyn, junior Samantha Shelton, sophomore Addie Rose Bullock, and first-year Molly Hamlin took the 800 free relay with a time of 7:06.66, marking the Crimson’s fastest time in the event this season. On Day 2, Samantha Shelton kept up momentum and won the
MAKING WAKE Harvard women’s swim team was in the pool making waves against Yale in 2019, a year which also saw the women claim the Ivy League championship. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA— CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
200 IM in 1:58.03, edging out teammate Pasadyn (1:58.25) for her second career title in that event. The Crimson then swept the top four spots in 1-meter diving, led by first-year standout Katie Laverty, who posted an impressive score of 288.15. Day 3 saw Felicia Pasadyn bounce back from her second place finish on Thursday with a win in the 400 IM, this time
beating fellow senior Mikki Thompson for an NCAA B cut time of 4:10.45. First-year Aleksandra Denisenko put her first mark on the competition, winning the 100-yard breaststroke with another NCAA B cut time of 1:00.96. Harvard stormed home on the final day of the competition, with four event wins to cap off a successful champion-
ship. Sophomore star Elizabeth Miclau won the 3-meter diving event, first-year Abby Carr claimed the 200-meter butterfly, while Pasadyn and Denisenko both won on back-to-back days in the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke, respectively. Senior Georgina Milne won the Ron Keenhold Career High Point Diver Award for cumulative points over four years,
while Katie Laverty captured the Rick Gilbert Award as the High Point Diver of the Meet. ight Crimson student-athletes combined for NCAA B cut times in 14 events over the course of the four days. After finishing the season 6-2, it took a comprehensive team effort across multiple disciplines to rise atop the Ivy League in 2022. Harvard won a total of nine individual
events, four of which were won by first-year athletes - a testament to the depth of the team and an exciting sign for the future of the program. Harvard will look to send representatives to the NCAA Zone Diving Championships (Mar. 7-9) and NCAA Championships (Mar. 17-19) in Atlanta, Ga. brahm.erdmann@thecrimson.com
MEN’S SQUASH
Case Closed: National Trophy Stays at Harvard By CALLUM J. DIAK CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The stage was set for what was bound to be a legendary final for the men’s squash team nationals. With the score tied at four matches even, Harvard’s hopes rested on the shoulders of sophomore Ido Burstein, who took the court against the challenger from the University of Pennsylvania in the final and deciding match of the tournament. A win would mean a national title for the team, personal glory, and a new trophy for the trophy case. All of this riding on one race to three games between two exceptional athletes from the two best schools in the college squash circuit. Thursday night, No. 2 Harvard (15-1, 6-1 Ivy League) men’s squash flew down to Phil
adelphia, Pa., to compete for the coveted Potter Cup in the College Squash Association’s (CSA) national championship. The team has had its eyes on the Potter Cup since the beginning of the season. While Harvard has demonstrated its fortitude on the court, coasting to a second place finish in the Ivy League, it knew it would have to overtake the Quakers to win the national tournament. Going into the weekend, much hung in the balance, as the Crimson would be facing off against non-Ivy teams it had not faced in the regular season. It also looked ahead to a looming matchup with No.1 Penn (18-1, 6-0 Ivy League), the school responsible for the Crimson’s sole loss this season. Back in December, first-year Tate Harms had emphasized
the team’s prospects for a national championship. Once that goal was only three wins away, Harms said the mindsight of the team changed to remind themselves that nothing in sports was guaranteed. “We wanted to take the tournament match by match. We just had to take the tournament day by day with full respect for each opponent and each match,” said Harms. “Virginia was our first match. They’re a good team, but we haven’t played them so we weren’t sure how our players would line up with their players.” In Friday’s encounter, Harvard commanded a quick 8-1 win over No. 7 Virginia (12-6) to move on to the semi-finals for the 10th year in a row. Semi-final action pitted the Crimson against No. 6 Colum-
bia (9-7, 1-5 Ivy League), who had upset No. 3 Trinity College (16-3). Harvard had beaten Columbia handily in its Ancient Eight engagement last month, 8-1. This time around was no different. Harms managed an impressive comeback win to take his match three games to two after trailing. Burstein joined in the initial charge, taking his match three games to none. Senior Victor Crouin, along with juniors George Crowne and Marwen Tarek, all contributed three-to-nothing sweeps to the Crimson’s tally, clinching the win and securing Harvard a berth in the finals for the fifth consecutive year. And thus the Crimson took the courts against its Ivy rivals and the only team to best
REACHING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP-AGAIN Harvard’s last match-up against Penn in a national championship was a finals match in 2020 where the Crimson won 6-1 to claim the title. OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
them this year, the University of Pennsylvania. The spectators were ready for what would ultimately end up being one of the most exciting CSA finales in recent years. Crouin posted an impressive victory in the first wave of matches, rebounding from a two-game deficit to win three straight games and the match, propelling Harvard’s campaign to take a 3-2 lead in the overall tally. Feisty play from Penn and a compelling performance from Tarek ultimately tied the score up at four. Burstein was scheduled to play in this championship deciding match. “The energy was building with each second,” said Harms, who, having finished his play, got to spectate Burstein’s match with the rest of the Crimson. “We had Penn supporters on one half and Harvard on the other. There weren’t that many of us, but we were just letting him [Burstein] know we were there. When you’re on the court alone, you’re not actually alone. You have your guys there supporting you.” Despite the energy, Burstein showed poise the entire time, gritting out a victory the first game, 11-9. After the match, Burstein highlighted his pre-game preparation, which allowed him to perform exceptionally under the pressure of a national championship. “I knew my opponent was a really untraditional player,” he said. “He attacks a lot. So my main goal was to contain it by making him run a lot. And it worked. The coaches really helped with the tactics. I had a plan in my mind which allowed me to be calmer than most people expected.” The two-point margin of the first game was the closest the Quakers would come to victory. Burstein came into the next two games hungry for a national title. “I had the momentum with me the entire match,” he said. “The key was to stop my opponent from having any hope, because I know that he is a player who is able to come back. But I knew what I had to do to
beat him. I had the tactics in my head. And I am happy that I was able to execute.” With the help of some heroic shots to the corners, some athletic lunges, and the support of his team, Burstein would go on to win the next two games convincingly, 11-2 and 11-5, securing his first ever national championship and adding another chapter to Harvard’s decorated squash legacy. “They all stormed the court. I still remember them screaming and smiling. It’s a moment I’ll never forget. It was very special,” he recalled. Coaches and teammates would go on to praise Burstein’s physical abilities and tactical play long after the Potter Cup was hoisted. But the aspect of his play that lifted him up above the good players into the ranks of the great players was his mental fortitude. “Ido Burstein. Four to four tied matches and he was just as cool as could be. Wow. He played sublimely. Perfect, calm squash,” praised Harms. If the Crimson wants to repeat in 2023, it will have to regroup, replacing the four graduating seniors, who contributed three national championships during their time in the program. “We’re really just grateful to the seniors. We have four seniors leaving us this year, and they’re just great guys. They really represent what Harvard squash is: their work ethic, their mannerisms. They’ve given so much to the program,” Harms added. Burstein reiterated: “We’re losing our 1, 3, 5 and 10 players. Not only are they great players on the team, but they helped guide us through the season. They support us tremendously and the team won’t be the same without them. This was a great year to win and I am happy to have won with them.” The victory marks Harvard’s third straight CSA national title, its 34th Potter Cup victory in program history, and the school’s 150th team national championship overall. callum.diak@thecrimson.com