The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLIX, No. 10

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The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 10 |

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2022

EDITORIAL PAGE 4

SPORTS PAGE 6

SPORTS PAGE 6

Standardized testing is the devil we know.

Men’s hockey erases 3-0 deficit, rallying for 6-3 win against BC.

Men’s tennis finishes 1-1 in in Los Angeles ITA Kickoff.

Faculty Voice Concerns Over Comaroff Sanctions By ISABELLA B. CHO and ARIEL H. KIM CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Nearly 40 Harvard faculty members signed onto an open letter this week questioning the results of misconduct investigations into John L. Comaroff, a professor of African and African American Studies and Anthropology who was placed on unpaid leave last month. Comaroff was sanctioned by Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay on Jan. 21 after University investigations found that he violated Harvard’s sexual and professional conduct policies. He is barred from teaching required courses and taking on additional advisees through the next academic year. The open letter, signed by 38 faculty members, posed a series of pointed questions about investigations into Comaroff and the sanctions levied against him. “We the undersigned know John Comaroff to be an excellent colleague, advisor and committed university citizen who has for five decades trained and advised hundreds of Ph.D. stu­

dents of diverse backgrounds, who have subsequently become leaders in universities across the world,” the letter said. “We are dismayed by Harvard’s sanctions against him and concerned about its effects on our ability to advise our own students.” The letter was signed by some of Harvard’s most prominent faculty — including a former Harvard College dean and five University professors, Harvard’s highest faculty distinction. In a response sent to the signatories of the open letter Thursday that was obtained by The Crimson, Gay defended the Comaroff sanctions, noting that faculty members did not have the complete findings from the school’s investigations. “Be aware that if you do not have access to the full review, and instead are relying on public accounts relayed through the media or only what is shared by one party to a complaint, you are necessarily operating without a comprehensive understanding of the facts that have motivated the response,” Gay wrote. Comaroff was first placed on leave in August 2020 after The

Open Letter from 38 Concerned Faculty “How can advice intended to protect an advisee from sexual violence be itself construed as sexual harassment?”

Crimson reported that at least three female students were in contact with Harvard’s Title IX Office about allegations of unwanted touching, verbal sexual harassment, and professional retaliation. The school conducted two separate inquiries into Comaroff’s behavior — one by the Office of Dispute Resolution and another by the FAS. Gay’s sanctions were based on the conclusions of both investigations. Lawyers representing Comaroff wrote in a press release about the sanctions last month that “Title IX investigators found John Comaroff responsible solely for verbal sexual harassment” after reviewing allegations by three complainants. The incident in question, according to the press release, concerned advice he gave during an office hours advising session about a “student’s physical security in field research.” According to an August 2020 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Comaroff allegedly told a graduate student during an advising meeting that she would be raped if she

“As concerned faculty we seek clarification of Harvard’s professional criteria for us as advisors.”

“We the undersigned know John Comaroff to be an excellent colleague, advisor and committed university citizen who has for five decades trained and advised hundreds of Ph.D. students of diverse backgrounds, who have subsequently become leaders in universities across the world. ”

“We are dismayed by Harvard’s sanctions against him and concerned about its effects on our ability to advise our own students.”

SEE COMAROFF PAGE 5

CAMILLE G. CALDERA—CRIMSON DESIGNER

Khurana Praises Covid Response By VIVI E. LU and LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana applauded Harvard’s handling of Covid-19 this semester and said he is hopeful for more progress toward normalcy in a Thursday interview. Students returned to campus to renewed Covid-19 restrictions — including graband-go dining and limited common spaces — amid a surge in cases across the country due to the Omicron variant. Though some of the school’s policies have since loosened, Khurana acknowledged student frustrations over continued restrictions. In the last week, 248 Harvard affiliates — including 59 undergraduates — tested positive for Covid-19. In the interview, Khurana said the College’s Covid-19 case counts have been lower than early modeling of infections predicted, even as administrators planned for a “worst case scenario.” “I believe that we are ­

Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana spoke to The Crimson on Wednesday. PEI CHAO ZHUO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

SEE KHURANA PAGE 5

HMC Set to Become Carbon Neutral By DEKYI T. TSOTSONG and ERIC YAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

The Harvard Management Company is set to be carbon neutral in its internal operations during fiscal year 2022 — a first among university endowment offices in the United States — according to the company report released Thursday. The announcement comes as HMC continues to work towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions associated with the University’s endowment by 2050, a goal it set two years ago. By making its operations carbon neutral, HMC will “develop a deeper understanding of carbon footprinting and carbon removal projects,” the report states. The University has long faced pressure from students and faculty to divest its endowment from fossil fuels. Last September, University President Lawrence S. Bacow announced that Harvard’s remaining investments in the fossil fuel industry – in the form of “legacy

investments” through private equity partnerships – were in “runoff mode.” Bacow wrote that HMC will not renew partnerships with private equity firms that have holdings in the fossil fuel industry, and that it “does not intend” to make further investments in the sector. In its inaugural climate report last year, HMC outlined its future plans and strategies to assess and decrease the carbon footprint of the endowment’s investment portfolio through engagement with its external managers and “like-minded” investors. Thursday’s report detailed HMC’s progress in implementing these strategies. To achieve net-zero emissions in its internal operations, HMC partnered with a third-party company called Carbon Direct to track its carbon emissions and develop methods to reduce and remove them. “HMC will continuously seek ways to reduce emissions where we can and will purchase

SEE HMC PAGE 3

Tensions Flare Over Harvard Alumni Flood Races for Mass. Posts Covid-19 Policy By YUSUF S. MIAN and CHARLOTTE P. RITZ-JACK CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

By VIVI E. LU and LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

With the fifth pandemic-era semester underway, Harvard’s Covid-19 guidelines have left students divided over the necessity of restricting a near-universally vaccinated campus amid the Omicron surge. Tensions boiled over last week when some Quincy House residents sparred over the University’s Covid-19 response via the House’s email list. In the email chain and across campus, some students have railed against Harvard’s rules — which mandate testing three times a week, masking indoors, and dining socially distanced — while others applaud them. “You have a side that’s for lifting the restrictions, and then you have a side that’s more in fa­

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Harvard Today 2

vor of keeping the immunocompromised safe,” Quincy resident William H. Thompson ’23 said. “I don’t necessarily think there needs to be two sides to this debate.” “It seemed like both sides are coming out of this with bad will and bad faith,” he added. “People on both sides are tired.” Patrick I. Adolphus ’22, whose email denouncing Harvard’s restrictions sparked the chain of more than 100 replies, said he feels much of Harvard’s social life has “dissipated” and he has had a “poorer quality of education” due to last year’s remote classes. “Harvard should do a better job of balancing the benefits of its restrictions with the costs,” Adolphus said. “I think that the costs haven’t been given ample

SEE COVID PAGE 3

News 3

Editorial 4

Massachusetts faces the possibility of having Harvard College alumni serve simultaneously as governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general for the first time since 1894. State Senator Eric P. Lesser ’07 entered the race for lieutenant governor last month. At the same time, labor attorney Shannon E. Liss-Riordan ’90 and current Attorney General Maura T. Healey ’92 are running for attorney general and governor, respectively. Lesser is joining the field against State Senator Adam G. Hinds, Babson College lecturer Bret Bero, State Representative Tami L. Gouveia, Salem Mayor Kimberley “Kim” Driscoll, and Massachusetts native Scott Donohue. David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University, said that despite the lack of name recogni­

Sports 6

tion among candidates for lieutenant governor, Lesser holds an early advantage. “The reason why Eric Lesser is perceived to be a front runner is because of his war chest,” he said. “He’s got three quarters of a million dollars in the bank, which is a terrific amount of money to start out with.” In Lesser’s most recent campaign filings from December, he had $651,000 cash on hand, despite not having announced his candidacy at that point. Hinds — who, like Lesser, represents Western Massachusetts in the State Senate — had zero dollars cash on hand in his most recent January campaign filings. His campaign spent $260,000 dollars in January despite having raised less than $10,000 in that same period. Bero has $119,000 cash on hand compared to $77,000 for Gouveia, $75,000 for Driscoll, and zero dollars for Donohue. Paleologos said this early fundraising advantage provides

TODAY’S FORECAST

RAINY High: 36 Low: 16

Lesser the means for additional advertising, which will play an important role in the race. “The race for lieutenant governor really boils down to media at the last minute,” he said. However, Paleologos warned that despite this early advantage, there is still a tough road ahead for Lesser. “Geography is a problem for Lesser because Western Mass. only has about 12 to 14 percent of the vote and you got two people splitting that vote,” he said. He also predicted that gender could factor into the race, with four men running against two female candidates. “This is the year that you’re probably going to see a major sweep statewide of women,” Paleologos said. This predicted trend could benefit either Gouveia or Driscoll. Paleologos also noted that Driscoll carries political advantages from her current role as mayor. “She has the support of many

Mass. State Sen. Eric P. Lesser ‘07 PHOTO COURTSEY OFFICE OF ERIC LESSER

other mayors across the state,” he said. “Those may play a bigger role in this.” Lesser, who previously worked as a special assistant to former President Barack Obama’s senior advisor, said that his time as a student at Harvard influenced his desire

SEE ALUMNI PAGE 5

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