The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 11
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CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2022
EDITORIAL PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 7
IN PHOTOS PAGE 8
This is your cue to fill out the Q guide (in earnest)
Women’s basketball earns critical pair of conference victories
In Photos: Actress Jennifer Garner honored by the Hasty Pudding
Dining Returns to Full Capacity By LUCAS J. WALSH and VIVIAN ZHAO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
After making it through two weeks of the semester without a major spike in Covid-19 cases, Harvard loosened its public health restrictions last Friday. Dining halls are once again operating at full capacity, and undergraduate testing cadence was reduced to twice per week. The changes come as Covid-19 cases are declining rapidly in the greater Boston area. In Cambridge, just nine new cases were reported on Saturday, compared to 449 one month prior. Harvard’s Dean of Students Office announced the updates in an email to undergraduates on Friday. The changes bring the school’s dining and testing policies back in line with what they looked like last fall, prior to the arrival of the Omicron variant.
In addition to relaxed dining and testing policies, indoor events will again be allowed to have food and beverages if they follow other University health guidelines, such as providing space for social distancing and notifying attendees that food will be available. But several other precautions remain in place. Non-sponsored informal gatherings remained capped at 10 people, and students who test positive will continue to isolate in place and conduct their own contact tracing. Harvard changed its Covid-19 restrictions at the start of the spring term to adapt to the fast-spreading Omicron variant, which is highly transmissible but poses a reduced risk of severe illness to most young people. Many classes went remote for the first week of school, dining was
SEE DINING PAGE 3
Bacow Defends Collab. Policy By CARA J. CHANG and ISABELLA B. CHO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
said in a press release. “Submitting a score is optional for every type of college, and we want the SAT to be the best possible option for students.” Some admissions consultants said the decision is an effort by the College Board to maintain relevance as more colleges make standardized tests optional. “The million dollar question — or the $2.2 million question — is, can the SAT come back to relevancy?” said Daniel L. Valenti ’09, a managing director for admissions consulting firm InGenius Prep. “Their goal is to both have as many customers — as many students — take the test as possible, and also keep the test as accurate or as relevant or as predictive as possible,” Velanti added. Katie Burns, a counselor at admissions consulting firm IvyWise, said the move was made in an attempt to keep up with an “increasingly digital” world. Admissions consultant Steven R. Goodman said the Col-
University President Lawrence S. Bacow reiterated in a Thursday interview Harvard’s commitment to academic collaboration with foreign scholars following the federal conviction of Chemistry professor Charles M. Lieber. Lieber was found guilty in December on six federal charges, including two counts of making false statements to government agencies and four related tax fraud offenses. Bacow called the situation “unfortunate” but said he is “comfortable” with the University’s policies on disclosing research collaborations and obtaining permission to use the Harvard name. “We’ve always had policies requiring the use of the Harvard name,” he said. “These are policies which are well known to our faculty.” Bacow also said it is important for Harvard affiliates to continue collaborating with foreign talent. “It’s important that the United States continue to be open to scholars around the world,” he said. “I have tried to support the efforts of students and faculty to continue to gain entrance into this country from wherever they come from and will continue to do so.” Bacow added that Harvard benefits from collaboration with foreign scholars, noting that some of the University’s brightest minds hail from China. “As an institution, we have responsibilities to continue to protect our own intellectual property and we’ll do that, but I think it’s wrong to single out any particular group for scrutiny,” he said. “Some of the finest students and scholars we have in this University come from China and will continue to come from China.”
SEE SAT PAGE 5
SEE BACOW PAGE 3
Students in Quincy House eat side by side following the new changes in dining hall restrictions. AIYANA G. WHITE— CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Experts Commend College Board For Virtual SAT By RAHEM D. HAMID and NIA L. ORAKWUE CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Admissions experts welcomed the College Board’s move to shift the SAT to a virtual format, but described the change as an effort to stay relevant amid a rise in test-optional admissions policies. The College Board announced last month that it would administer the SAT exclusively in a virtual format starting in 2024, following a pilot program last year. The move comes after just 1.5 million members of the class of 2021 took the SAT — a drop from the 2.2 million who took the test the year prior. Harvard announced in December it would implement a test-optional policy through the Class of 2030 in light of Covid-19. “‘In a largely test-optional world, the SAT is a lower-stakes test in college admissions,” Priscilla C. Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at the College Board,
MARGARET A. YIN—CRIMSON DESIGNER
New Class at HGSE City Officials Advocate for MBTA Fare Changes on Legacy of Slavery By YUSUF S. MIAN and CHARLOTTE P. RITZ-JACK CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
By PATON D. ROBERTS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
A new Harvard Graduate School of Education class is developing a series of case studies as a part of the University’s Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, which began in 2019. Students enrolled in “Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery: A Normative Case-Study Writing Initiative” — taught by Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Meira Levinson — are creating case studies and teaching guides that will focus on the “complicated and ambiguous ethical choices” departments and institutions face, according to the course description. Levinson serves on the initiative’s curriculum subcommittee, which is examining how educators and students can best approach their study of Harvard’s historical relationship with slavery. “We all have learning to do, and we can’t expect students to learn things if, as faculty and staff and alumni, we remain ignorant,” Levinson said. INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
“The learning needs to be much more broad-based,” he added. Harvard Graduate School of Education student Catherine G. Huang was drawn to the topic of universities’ ties to slavery after her experience as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia during the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally, where white nationalist groups marched in Charlottesville. “I think what’s unique about this class is that it’s not necessarily solution-oriented,” Huang said. “It really leans into the uncertainty that generates new possibilities of action, because they don’t know what exactly is the right thing to do just now.” Huang also said she values the complexity of the ethical dilemmas students discuss in the course, such as what universities can do with endowments obtained through unethical labor practices. “What should we do with a university’s endowment if that endowment was historically a
MBTA officials and municipal policymakers are considering changing fare structures to increase access to public transportation services. The MBTA proposed changes in late January to expand reduced-fare options for riders. Some of these proposals expand no-cost transfers to all riders, while others include a five-day unlimited pass on commuter rail and lower costs of oneday unlimited transfer passes available to all riders. For reduced-fare riders, the MBTA proposed seven-day and monthly unlimited passes. Mayors across the state have introduced their own proposals, with some calling for the complete elimination of bus fares. On Jan. 27, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui sent a letter calling on the MBTA to implement a fare-free bus service pilot with the possibility of transitioning it to a permanent program. Nearly 30 elected officials representing 15 neighboring towns and cities joined Siddiqui in signing the letter.
SEE HGSE PAGE 3
SEE MBTA PAGE 3
News 3
Editorial 4
Sports 6
Municipal policymakers are considering new fare structures to increase equity within the MBTA. AIYANA G. WHITE— CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
TODAY’S FORECAST
RAINY High: 40 Low: 36
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5 percent
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 7, 2022
PAGE 2
HARVARD TODAY
For Lunch Meatball Sub Shrimp with Fettuccine Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes
For Dinner Mexican Chicken Fried Cod with Chipotle Aioli Kale and Potato Enchilada Bake
TODAY’S EVENTS Managing Emotions Virtual, 4-5:30 p.m.
IN THE REAL WORLD Boy Trapped in Well in Morocco Has Died After Rescue Attempts
With this CAMHS workshop, learn techniques that will help you recognize, understand, and manage your emotions as you take on this semester and the world.
The 5-year-old boy who was trapped in the well since Tuesday and was rescued on Saturday, but did not survive the ordeal. King Mohammed VI of Morocco offered his condolences in a phone call to the family. As rescue efforts continued, the hashtag #SaveRayan went viral in north Africa.
Academic Self-Care Virtual, 5-5:30 p.m. If you think self-care and academics don’t go together, think again! Just like it’s important to eat your fair share of HUDS vegetables and perfect your skin care routine, practicing selfcare and mindfulness in relation to academics is as important in keeping you sane, happy, and healthy. Join this ARC session to figure out how. Memento: Panel Discussion Virtual, 6-7 p.m. Join this panel discussion to learn more about the movie Memento, a film directed by Christopher Nolan, and its insights on memory.efficiently and effectively.
Thousands of Canadians Have Taken to the Streets in COVID-19 Trucker Protests
Outside of Winthrop House, the frozen-over Charles River is a picturesque scene for those walking along its banks. CHRISTOPHER HIDALGO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
AROUND THE IVIES YALE: With add/drop here to stay, University looks to improve —THE YALE DAILY NEWS COLUMBIA: Astronomy professor David Kipping part of breakthrough exomoon
discovery —THE COLUMBIA SPECTATOR
BROWN: “We continue to move forward:” a history of Black student activism at Brown —THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PENN: Penn taps former Provost Wendell Pritchett as interim president —THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN
Canadian protesters in cars, trucks, and other vehicles loudly protested and demanded that the government lift its vaccine and mask mandates, lockdowns, and other restrictions. Dubbed the “Freedom Convoy,” this movement was started by truckers who were upset about a recent mandate requiring drivers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated. Ottawa’s police force called for more reinforcements to address this situation.
Third deadly avalanche hits Austria, killing eight in two days
An avalanche in western Austria injured four and killed one person on Saturday after two other deadly avalanches. The man who was killed was a 58 year old local man. In the same province, 5 men were completely buried on Friday while the last member of their group was able to phone for help.
COVID UPDATES
LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY
CAMPUS
111
In Isolation
209 0.60% Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
LAST 7 DAYS
CAMBRIDGE
390 3.20% 75%
Total New Cases
Positivity Rate
Fully Vaccinated
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Women Will Enter Graduate School of Design
The Graduate School of Design allowed women to be admitted as candidates for a degree during the duration of World War II, following the decision by the Cambridge School of Architecture – an affiliate of the all female Smith College – to discontinue instruction during the emergency. February 7, 1977
Faculty Council Approves Fox Housing Proposal, Decision Left to Rosovsky The Faculty Council unanimously approved a plan to revamp the housing system, eliminating sophomore housing in Canaday and ending four-year housing in the Quad in favor of three-year housing like its River House counterparts.
January 24, 1990
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
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Magazine Chairs Maliya V. Ellis ’23-’24 Sophia S. Liang ’23
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Blog Chairs Ellen S. Deng ’23-’24 Janani Sekar ’23-’24
Technology Chairs Ziyong Cui ’24 Justin Y. Ye ’24
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.
Night Editor Virginia L. Ma ’23 Assistant Night Editors Eric Yan ’24 Claire Yuan ’25 Story Editors Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Natalie L. Kahn ’23 Simon J. Levien ’23-’24 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24
Design Editors Margaret A. Yin ’25 Ashley R. Masci ’24 Camille G. Caldera ‘22 Photo Editor Aiyana G. White ’23 Editorial Editor Orlee G.S. Marini-Rapoport ’23-’24 Sports Editor William C. Boggs ’22 Calum 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.
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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
DINING FROM PAGE 1
BACOW FROM PAGE 1
HGSE FROM PAGE 1
Dining Halls Return to Bacow Defends Full Capacity Amid Covid Research Policy grab-and-go for the first two weeks, and students were instructed to test three times per week up until the Friday announcement. Over the past seven days, 209 Harvard affiliates tested positive for Covid-19, including 47 undergrads, per the University’s Covid-19 Dashboard. The positivity rate on campus has been steadily decreasing over the past month — from 5.07 percent during the first week of January to 0.60 percent last week. The updates also come after some students have spoken out against continued Covid-19 restrictions in recent weeks. Sophomore Rajiv M. Sastry
’24 said he thought the initial policies were a “wise choice,” for the first few days but needed to be loosened as the semester kicked off safely.
It makes it a lot easier to socialize and have a community, especially in some houses. Ben Meron ’23
“Once it became clear that there was not going to be a significant spike in cases, I thought that the policies were a little bit
heavy-handed,” he said. “And [they] especially disadvantaged kids who didn’t live in the river houses.” Ben Meron ’23 said the dining hall reopenings provided a needed space to get to know housemates. “It makes it a lot easier to socialize and have a community, especially in some houses where there’s not one central building. The dining hall really is the center of the community,” Meron said. “A lot of people agreed that at the beginning of the semester, it didn’t really feel like the semester really started.” vivian.zhao@thecrimson.com lucas.walsh@thecrimson.com
MBTA FROM PAGE 1
City Officials Advocate for More Affordable MBTA Fares The letter calls for “a fair, equitable, and standardized process for implementing fare-free bus pilots, and potentially permanent fare-free service on specific MBTA bus routes.” The City of Cambridge is also taking the initiative on expanding fare-free service. City Councilor Burhan Azeem wrote on Twitter last Thursday he will be chairing a working group piloting fare-free buses in the city. The letter argued free bus fares will eliminate barriers to public transportation and that this will encourage people to leave their cars at home and opt for the bus, reducing emissions and improving traffic safety.
Moreover, it argued riders need the incentive of free fares to return to buses post-pandemic, which experienced lower ridership in January. Municipalities offered to compensate the MBTA in lieu of fares in the letter. The letter cited a previous fare-free bus program that made the popular bus route 28 free as evidence for the policy’s success. “The Route 28 bus carried more than 12,000 daily riders before the pandemic,” the letter reads. “The pilot provided valuable insight into the effects that eliminating fares has on ridership, transit costs for residents, boarding times, and the experience of bus riders and drivers.”
The cited program included an initial $500,000 investment in the route to make ridership free. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 included fare-free transit in her platform during her recent mayoral campaign. On her first day in office on Nov. 16, she asked the Boston City Council for funds to eliminate fares on three bus lines for two years. The MBTA will hold public meetings on Feb. 10 and Feb. 17 to gather resident feedback on the proposed fare changes. Any changes to fares would go into effect July 1. yusuf.mian@thecrimson.com charlotte.ritz-jack@thecrimson.com
More than 2,300 Harvard students and scholars hailed from China during the 2019-2020 academic year – about 23 percent of the University’s international population, according to the Harvard International Office. “Information flows in both directions,” Bacow said. “That’s the way scholarship is done, and it’s the way scholarship must continue to be done.” Experts predict that Lieber’s conviction could provide momentum for the Department of Justice’s controversial China Initiative, which targets espionage. Harvard faculty said they were “shocked,” “saddened,” and concerned about future international collaborations following Lieber’s conviction. Some criticized the way prosecutors targeted Lieber, who is set to be sentenced at a later hearing. Asked Thursday about Harvard programs that accept funding from firms in the fossil fuel industry — which have come under fire from student climate advocacy groups in recent months — Bacow defended the University’s collaboration with industry, saying faculty have the “right to engage and work with people from across the spectrum of industry, ideology, and different groups.” “I think it’s important, if we are going to influence and change the world, that we need to collaborate and work closely with those whose behavior we seek to change. And that requires us to engage with industry,” he said. “And so we will continue to engage with industry in the hope of accelerating the transition to a decarbonized economy.” Still, the University’s climate plan continues to push Harvard’s operations and invest-
FEBRUARY 7, 2022
ments away from fossil fuel ties. The University announced in September it would allow its remaining indirect investments in fossil fuels to expire, but still does not have a timeline for total divestment. Bacow was also asked about the following: Search for New Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow William F. Lee ’72 — the senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing body — is set to step down from his role in June. Bacow said picking Lee’s successor is “a consultative process” involving every Corporation member. “It’s not my decision, nor should it be my decision,” he said. “Bill Lee, the current Senior Fellow, is managing the process.” Bacow added that he would stand behind any current member of the body as a potential candidate. Omicron and Campus Life Amid Covid Bacow defended the University’s transition away from requiring Covid-positive affiliates to move into school-provided isolation housing, citing high vaccination rates and the school’s limited isolation housing capacity. “We felt that this was, in fact, the right way to go — and it’s proven to be the case,” he said. Bacow added the University has “managed to contain” the virus on campus, noting the current positivity rate is below one percent. cara.chang@thecrimson.com isabella.cho@thecrimson.com
HGSE Class to Study Slavery direct profit of enslaved laborers’ work or forced labor, plantations, or things that they produced?” she said. Huang said she hopes for broader intellectual participation from Harvard affiliates on the issues covered by the course, noting that “only some people are doing the work” to grapple with the University’s historical connection to slavery right now. “What I would like to see is that responsibility being shared and action being taken by larger and wider coalitions of Harvard affiliates,” she said.
We think that Harvard can learn from other universities and that other universities can learn from Harvard. Meira Levinson HGSE Professor
Levinson said she intends for the case studies produced in the course to be used in and outside of the University, noting that none of the topics addressed in the course are unique to Harvard. “We think that Harvard can learn from other universities and that other universities can learn from Harvard,” Levinson said. “We’re all part of a much bigger conversation about the questions about universities’ responsibility,” he said. paton.roberts@thecrimson.com
From Weeks to Weld.
The Crimson thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 7, 2022
PAGE 4
EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD
COLUMN
This is your cue to fill out the Q (in earnest) If you care about the Q’s credibility and utility, then you must all take care and consideration into what you put into it — because that is exactly what you will get out of it.
F
or many Harvard students, navigating Cambridge and Boston comes down to one letter: the T. For navigating courses at Harvard, however, it often comes down to the Q, a database of student evaluations of prior courses and teaching staff. In the often highly exclusive environment that is Harvard, the Q Guide democratizes access to knowledge about this institution and provides vital information from students’ own experiences on a widely accessible platform. This is especially relevant for students who arrive on campus without a network of peers — First-Generation, Low-Income students; students from underrepresented backgrounds; students not from preparatory high schools; and so on. Critically, the Q also allows for these students to share their experiences, to highlight the issues they face, and create a virtual network of peers. At its best, the Q Guide is a campus-wide effort by students to look out for one another’s academic endeavors. At its worst, the Q Guide provides a platform where students weaponize anonymity and leave mean-spirited reviews that transform the Q into their personal hate mail pigeon. When some comments published in the Q Guide for all students to read condemn and only condemn, we question the extent to which they are useful. Such behavior conveys a disappointing lack of empathy for teaching staff, as if trying to exact retribution for a course that has personally “wronged” them. Beyond unconstructive criticism, the credibility of Q Guide comments can be discounted by our implicit biases that color our judgments and subtly dictate the vocabulary we use in evaluating teaching staff. As a result, multiple Harvard faculty have expressed doubt
in Q Guide reviews’ capacity to reflect instructors’ true teaching ability. Seth Robertson, a lecturer in Philosophy, explained: “White, male, cis, able-bodied instructors with regular voices get repeated as much more credible.” For instructors whose identities and appearances may not align with unspoken expectations of competency, Q Guide reviews can be guided by unjust preconceptions and run the risk of reinforcing harmful stereotypes that endanger the quality of scholarship and pedagogy at Harvard and beyond. Professors and their teaching staff need feedback on how to better cater their courses to their students, and we should give it to them. Yet, the bottom line remains: Teaching staff — no matter their perception as the best or the worst in students’ minds — deserve to be treated with and spoken about with respect and dignity. Empathy should not be an ideal; it is the bare minimum. We must always remember that our words fall upon real people, whose professional careers and characters can be marred by unnecessarily harsh and insensitive reviews. By acknowledging this responsibility and the potential consequences, students, faculty, and employers alike should be mindful both in writing reviews and forming judgments based on them. Given the Q’s spacious room for error and uncertainty, a negative review should never be the irreversible verdict of an academic career. Still, the Q, or some iteration of it, will always be in circulation by students seeking insight into courses. With that in mind, students should leave comments in earnest. Currently, the largely polarizing, either extremely positive or extremely negative comments on the Q, while sketching a vague
contour of past experiences, do not truly reflect any course. Individual experiences are valuable cornerstones that help build our current understanding and later institutional memory of courses at Harvard, but to only express the overtly positive or negative prescribes an overwhelming absolutism: creating the illusion of a singularly possible learning experience that fails to capture an entire world of academic pursuits at Harvard. We ask that you exercise your power as a reviewer wisely: Just as you hope to find fair and useful comments on a course you’re interested in, others rely on your thoughtful, dependable feedback too. Similarly, in your capacity as a reader of the Q Guide, we ask that you read it wisely, much like how you would (hopefully) read The Crimson: Carefully, with respect for both yourself and the writer as humans that can differ in experience and perspective, and with your own judgment. Aside from the Q, utilize Canvas sites, course syllabi, and external evaluations on teaching staff to formulate a better-informed characterization of a course. So take this as our cue to you: If you care about the Q’s credibility and utility, then you must all take care and consideration into what you put into it — because that is exactly what you will get out of it. 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
Can Harvard Truly Address Its Legacy of Slavery? By CHRISTIAN A. GINES
I
stepped onto Harvard’s campus as a first-year last semester on the backs of greats. I entered Harvard revering the legacies of scholars like W.E.B DuBois, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, and Cornel West, just to name a few, but that wasn’t the selling point for me. It wasn’t until I found out that one of my favorite scholars, Fred Moten, attended Harvard as an undergraduate that I really felt secure in my decision. Now, as I have made it through my first semester at Harvard, none of their legacies bring me ease or satisfaction. The more I learn about Harvard, the more I realize that every student — past, present, and future — enters Harvard on the backs of slaves. Slaves who served as janitors, as kitchen maids, and as personal servants for the University and its students. Even University administrators and professors owned slaves, all of which has been documented in a publication about the legacy of slavery at Harvard. As Frank Wilderson says, “Where there are Slaves it is unethical to be free.” No institution has been untouched by slavery and anti-Blackness in the U.S., and like anti-Blackness, Harvard also precedes the founding of the United States. Harvard was the first institution of higher learning in what is now known as the U.S., and because of this Harvard has played a large role in higher education in America. However, this influence
has a dark side, as many of Harvard’s benefactors, students, and faculty were deeply involved in the slave trade. While Harvard carves out spaces for Black scholarship through its African and African American Studies Department and its Legacy of Slavery Research Grants, its legacy of slavery continues to extend into the present. Harvard currently invests in prisons, refuses to give back photographs of slaves to their descendants, and disposseses indigenous populations worldwide by purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of land in Brazil, Africa, and the United States. We also can see with the refusals of tenure for Professors Lorgia García Peña and Cornel West that Harvard’s legacy of slavery affects the present, as Black people are still seen as disposable and fungible by the University. This illuminates why it is impossible to see the legacy of Harvard as extricable from slavery. Slavery has always been and always will be a part of Harvard, and acknowledging this legacy brings up an ethical dilemma that calls into question the legitimacy of Harvard all together. If Harvard — or any colonial institution — wanted to truly address the harms that they have perpetrated over the past 500 plus years, all they would have to do is “Return Turtle Island to the ‘Savage.’ Repair the demolished subjectivity of the Slave,” as Wilderson writes in his book Red, White, and Black. Harvard claims to want to address its lega-
cy of slavery, but instead they use their money and resources to fight a court battle where Tamara Lanier is trying to get her ancestor’s daguerreotypes back from the University. And yes, Harvard gives $1500 grants to students to research about Harvard’s connection to slavery, but at the bare minimum that should be coupled with a pledge to give reparations to the descendants of slaves that were owned by the University, administrators, professors, or anyone else that worked or studied at Harvard. A commitment to addressing the harms of slavery is a commitment to addressing the harms of anti-Blackness. There is no way to address the effects and legacies of slavery without addressing how slavery still seeps into our everyday lives, from our political institutions to even the ways that we study, learn, and interact with knowledge — especially at Harvard. If Harvard truly wanted to address its continuing legacy of slavery, Harvard’s educational practices, their investment strategies, and overall ways of existing as a University would be different.
My List of “Ands”
Alvira Tyagi RECKONINGS & REVELATIONS
T
he word “and” best characterizes my life. I have Indian-American cultural roots and I am a spirited New Yorker. I am a neuroscience enthusiast and a fervent journalist. A news junkie and an Adirondacks backpacker. A bold leader and a thoughtful team player. I am this and that, never one or the other. Upon entering college this past fall, I was exposed to the “ands” that others cared passionately about — “ands” I never could have even imagined. My residential proctor enlightened me about her previous job as a traveling church singer and published writer during an advising meeting. My roommate and I ate mouthwatering waffles at Zinneken’s while she vividly described her athletic journey as a track and field hurdler in Canada and as an international sprint competitor in Kenya. My fellow health policy team member bewildered me with his keen infatuation for tomato soup and his simultaneous deep distaste for ketchup as we enjoyed a meal in Annenberg. These newfound “ands” kept encouraging me to pause and reflect. For years, I had been satisfied and grown comfortable with which traits I attributed to myself. After stepping foot in Cambridge, however, I found myself yearning for new perspectives to inspire me to accumulate more “ands.” In September, I auditioned for the Harvard Bhangra team on a whim, looking for a way to stay active while exploring a new technique of Indian dance. After two hours of navigating the various arm, leg, and facial movements, I truly attained an appreciation for the dance and its intricacies. Since then, sharing smiles and joy with my team members at our twice-a-week practices has been a hallmark of my Harvard experience. Through Bhangra, I discovered the value of genuine love within a group of individuals and how a tight-knit community enables more fulfilling successes all around. I began recognizing that the experiences I was tacking on to my “ands” facilitated a greater sense of both self and collective purpose. Soon, however, I came to the difficult realization that not all “ands” originate from heartwarming circumstances. My life took a drastic turn in November. I found out that my grandfather in India had lost complete respiratory function in his right lung and only had 60 percent function remaining in his left lung. The warm grin I had long seen on FaceTimes rapidly faded away as my grandfather spiraled into unconsciousness, unable to recognize his own grandchildren. Within mere weeks, he passed away. Helplessness overwhelmed me. Separated by 3,000 miles from my parents who had traveled to India on emergency grounds, I was left to secure individual strength alone while my academic and extracurricular commitments forged onward. Resiliency entered my toolkit of “ands.” During those arduous weeks, I spent meaningful time with friends, provided virtual support to my younger brother, and recognized that it was okay to ask for help. I had always assumed that Harvard students were warriors who never struggled. Warriors who came to college from the ranks of valedictorians, world-class musicians, and Olympics-bound athletes with an indisputable upward trajectory. From both personal and outside experience, I have come to find that this absolutely is not the case — and that is exactly how it should be. Vulnerability is an essential component of growth. By allowing ourselves as Harvard students to take a pause and reflect on our losses, we procure the agency to better alleviate the struggles of others during their times of difficulty. The painful weeks after losing my grandfather imparted to me the strength to be courageous both in times of internal battles and to never cease lending a helping hand to others. During the last two weeks of the fall semester, the “freshman plague,” more commonly known as the flu, invaded campus. My friends began succumbing in a domino-like fashion. In response, I headed to CVS and assembled packages with self-care products, chocolate, and cards that I filled with positive affirmations for a quick recovery. After some of my classmates began isolating themselves in their dorms to avoid spreading their illnesses, I emulated a part-time food delivery service, picking up meals at Annenberg and dropping them off at the doors of their dorms as they recovered in isolation.
These moments of help were simple, yet quite meaningful to me.
—Christian A. Gines ‘25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Massachusetts Hall.
These moments of help were simple, yet quite meaningful to me. The “and” of embodying an individual of confidence, loyalty, and unwavering support became the “and” I am the proudest of. During my first semester living and breathing in the ever-evolving, vibrant, and diverse Harvard community, I am grateful to have tacked on so many more “ands” to my list. I am now a lover of Belgian waffles and a dining hall conversationalist. I am a confident Bhangra team dancer and a care package maker. Above all, I am a woman of resilience and I am an individual who people can always firmly trust and depend on. I have come to believe that to be a person of “ands” involves galvanizing the communities and individuals around you to embrace challenges with an open heart and sincere love. Let us cherish the “ands” in the people around us, and let us strive to never be content with only the “ands” we carry now.
This piece is a part of a focus on Black authors and experiences for Black History Month.
—Alvira Tyagi ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Pennypacker Hall. Her column “Reckonings & Revelations” appears on alternate Mondays.
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FEBRUARY 7, 2022
HSPH Study Analyzes College Board Praised for Expense of New Diseases Shifting to Virtual SAT SAT FROM PAGE 1
By PAUL E. ALEXIS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
A study led by Harvard School of Public Health researcher Aaron S. Bernstein found that the cost of preventing diseases transmitted from animals to humans is just five percent of the estimated value of lives lost from emerging infectious diseases. Bernstein — the interim director of Harvard School of Public Health’s Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment — and his team estimated the value of lives lost to all viral diseases transmitted from animals that resulted in 10 or more deaths since the 1918 flu pandemic. “We chose to look at a century’s worth of [diseases] to understand that these costs are not just one-offs. They’re not, ‘We have a Covid pandemic and all of a sudden all those damages go away.’” Bernstein said. “We have ongoing losses every year, and diseases like HIV, which have persisted for decades now, have enormous aggregate tolls upon economies and lives.” The study builds on a paper
published last summer analyzing the financial cost of the Covid-19 pandemic compared to that of primary preventative measures. The researchers used an estimated willingness to pay for life-saving measures to calculate the value of the loss of life. Depending on the country, the willingness to pay to prevent the loss of a life spans from $107,000 to $6.4 million. Applying this estimate, researchers found that the cost of deaths due to diseases from animals equals $350 billion to $21 trillion annually. To mitigate these losses, the researchers suggest spending $20 billion on preventative measures, such as suppressing deforestation, surveying wildlife trade, and monitoring and suppressing wet markets. The researchers said such prevention methods will have benefits beyond stopping new pandemics, such as biodiversity protection and carbon sequestration. “The list of things that we’ve suggested are all things that we know how to do and have all sorts of other benefits,” Stu-
art L. Pimm, an author of the study and professor of conservation ecology at Duke University, said. “It also has returns to the environment, has returns to local culture in indigenous communities, and it has returns to economic development,” Marcia C. Castro, an author of the study and professor of demography at the School of Public Health, added. Bernstein also said these preventative measures can serve as “equity-promoting actions.” “Vaccines benefit the wealthiest people first and the least wealthy people with the least access to health care last,” Bernstein said. “Primary prevention actions, on the other hand, benefit those most vulnerable first.” Bernstein said it is imperative to take a preventative approach, rather than waiting to deal with the consequences of future diseases and pandemics. “We simply cannot afford to take a post-spillover approach,” he said.
paul.alexis@thecrimson.com
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lege Board was motivated by its own interests. “The College Board, surprise, surprise, does what’s good for the College Board,” Goodman said. “They’re going to continue producing tests that they perceive to be something that they can distribute.” Still, some admissions counselors praised the move as being beneficial for students. Goodman said he welcomes any simplification to a process that disadvantages students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. “The admissions process is inherently skewed against those students, simply because the admissions process is so complex,” he said. “Anything that simplifies the process makes it easier for more students to apply and therefore reduces barriers.” Burns said she hopes the shift to a virtual SAT will alleviate some of the stress in admissions processes that can be “the most anxiety most 17- and 18-year-olds experience in life.” Some experts also praised
the SAT’s adoption of an adaptive testing model in which the test’s difficulty changes depending on the student’s performance in previous sections. Standardized tests like the GMAT and GRE have used adaptive testing for years. Valenti called the test’s new adaptive approach “a positive change.”
Anything that simplifies the process makes it easier for more students to apply. Steven R. Goodman Admissions Consultant
“Using technology to pinpoint where somebody’s strengths and weaknesses are is typically helpful,” he said. “It can be more targeted that way as well.” But Jay Rosner, executive director of the Princeton Review
Foundation, said any change would be minimal. “The test will produce results that are similar to the results that are always produced by the tests — by the SAT in particular,” he said.“The same disparities along the same lines.” Consultants were mixed on the effect the virtual shift would have on admissions as a whole. Burns said standardized testing, in some form, is here to stay. “I don’t know that most admissions offices will ever get away from having standardized testing be an option in how they evaluate applicants,” she said. Rosner said the success of colleges’ move toward test-optional policies during the pandemic, however, spells bad news for the College Board. “That’s the nightmare of the College Board and ACT,” Rosner said. “It’s one thing to think about test-optional in theory. It’s another thing to experience it.” nia.orakwue@thecrimson.com rahem.hamid@thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
FEBRUARY 7, 2022
PAGE 6
SPORTS
THIS WEEKEND’S
SCORES
TRACK & FIELD AT CRIMSON ELITE 1ST (M), 1ST (W) ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S WATER POLO VS. NO. 14 WAGNER L, 11-6 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S HOCKEY AT NO. 7/8 COLGATE L, 6-2 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S TENNIS VS. BOSTON UNIVERSITY W, 5-2 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S HOCKEY VS. DARTMOUTH W, 3-1 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S TENNIS VS. SACRED HEART W, 7-0 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S BASKETBALL AT BROWN W, 65-50 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Crimson Falls to Purdue Fort Wayne to End Preseason By NOAH JUN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The Harvard men’s volleyball team (2-4) fell to Purdue Fort Wayne (6-4) on Saturday, abruptly ending the team’s twogame win streak at the Malkin Athletic Center. Shouts and cheers from fans and players alike reverberated through the vaulted ceilings of the MAC’s top floor in the first match of the spring semester but ultimately resulted in a Harvard loss. The Mastodons got off to a strong start in the first set — 6-2 — before the Crimson could stop the damage. Although Harvard managed to dig its way out of this early deficit, subsequent Mastodon runs proved too much to counteract. Although Purdue Fort Wayne took the first set 25-17, the Crimson’s competitive advantages, such as senior outside hitter Eric Li, were quick to warm up despite the team’s two-week hiatus. Li had 11 kills and seven digs overall. “There’s always a mental and physical aspect to not playing in two weeks,” Li said. “It’s certainly there, though I thought we did a good job to minimize it. It was mainly our own mistakes getting to us in that first set, and [those] are things that, regardless of whether you haven’t played in one month or a few days, you always have to be ready for and be as sharp as you can.” Service errors plagued both teams, as each side missed 18 serves over the course of the match. Going into the second set, Harvard looked to pick up its energy and forget its previous mistakes. Nevertheless, the Mastodons continued their momentum by once again taking an early lead of 6-2. Three service errors and a couple kills gave Harvard its second lead of the match at 9-8; the other came at 2-1 in the first set. “We [settled] in and had a new gear,” Li said. “[It was] the most energy we’ve played with this whole preseason.” This energy came in the form of attacks from first-year outside and opposite hitters Logan Shepherd and Kade McGovern, who notched 10 and seven kills, respectively. Sophomore middle blocker Ethan McCrary also recorded seven kills. This offense was supported by first-year setter James Bardin, who had a career-high 37 assists on the night and has tallied 177 through his first six collegiate games.
SKY HIGH Harvard takes on No. 5 Penn State next. The Crimson fell to the Nittany Lions 3-0 in their last matchup on Feb. 22, 2020, pictured above. ZADOC I. N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
“Coming out of a first set like that, the guys did really well to bounce back in the second,” senior captain Jason Shen said. “We talked a lot about ‘0-0,’ resetting — and the guys came out with energy.” Shen led the defensive effort on Saturday, digging out 11 balls that otherwise would have been Mastodon kills. Three-point runs from each team tipped the scales back and forth, but the Crimson managed to pull out two four-point runs, starting at 15-15, to take the second set 2520. “We had moments in the second set where we were playing really good volleyball,” Shen said. “We set out for ‘first pass, first set, first swing.’ That’s what we have to do against every team.” Shen was drawing on lessons he and the rest of his team took from their previous five matches of the season, which began on Jan. 12. Harvard took the court for the first time in 683 days, replacing the frigid, snow-filled streets of Cambridge with sunny California to begin its season with three top-15 matchups. The Crimson started its Golden State campaign at No.
15 UC Irvine (3-5), playing three competitive sets but falling to the Anteaters 25-19, 25-22, and 25-21. Harvard’s persistence was spearheaded by the team’s younger players, as sophomore blocker Ethan Smith and McGovern posted nine and eight kills, respectively. Bardin led the team with 26 assists in his first collegiate match. The team matched UC Irvine at 33 kills but fell short in aces and blocks, thus paving the way for the Anteaters to go on runs in otherwise deadlocked sets. The team made its way down the coast to La Jolla to play No. 10 UC San Diego (3-3). The Crimson drew first blood, stunning the Tritons to win its first set of the season, 25-16. Senior outside hitter Campbell Schoenfeld and Li contributed 11 and seven kills, respectively, and McGovern continued his stellar start to collegiate volleyball with 11 more kills. Despite the early success, Harvard lost the next three sets 25-16, 25-20, and 25-23. In the loss, however, Bardin racked up 34 more assists, and Shen fulfilled his libero duties with a strong defensive performance of 12 digs. Shen’s contribution led the Crimson to
out-dig UC San Diego 42 to 40, but Triton senior outside hitter Kyle McCauley and middle blocker Logan Clark each posted double-digit kills to give the Californians the edge in the last three sets. Rounding out its west coast tour, Harvard went up against fifth-ranked Long Beach State (5-1), but the Sharks proved too much, running away with the match 25-18, 25-16, and 25-23. Schoenfeld was the only Crimson player to reach double-digit kills, and Bardin posted 20 more assists. Despite trading points early in each set, Harvard could not stop the onslaught from Long Beach hitters like Clarke Godbold and Spencer Olivier. The team would have to wait for its first win of the season on the east coast. “Coming out of the west coast tour, it was great because we played a lot of really good teams and knew we could play at that high level of competition,” Shen said. “It showed us we can hold up against big dogs.” The Crimson would not have to wait long for its first victory of the season, however, as it handily won the first two matches it played at the MAC. In its home
debut, the team faced off against Queens University of Charlotte (4-3) and King University (1-6). Harvard easily defeated Queens, 25-20, 25-14, and 25-19 in its first match at home in 699 days and kept the momentum going against King, walloping the Tornado 25-16, 25-19, and 25-16. In all six sets, the Crimson came out firing, gaining early leads and never looking back. Schoenfeld tallied 22 kills over the weekend, many of which were assisted by Bardin, who had 30 assists in both games. “Despite coming back and our conference maybe not being the same caliber as those West Coast teams, there are still good teams — teams that have beat West Coast teams,” Li said. “We have to take forward the mentality that we’re winning this conference because we can beat anyone.” Returning to Saturday’s game against the Mastodons, a contest leveled at a set apiece, both teams fought hard to gain the advantage in the third. This task would prove difficult, as neither team had more than a one-point edge over the other until Harvard took a 12-10 lead. The Crimson opened the gap to
SET FOR CONFERENCE PLAY The Harvard squad will look to build momentum from its preseason campaign with the EIVA season on the horizon. ZADOC I.N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
19-15 before Purdue Fort Wayne took a crucial timeout, stopping the slide. Harvard fought to gain a 24-22 advantage and two set points, but attack errrors from Li and Smith gave the Mastodons four straight points and the third set, 26-24. The fourth set saw the Crimson reeling from the disappointing end to the previous one, with Purdue Fort Wayne taking an early lead that soon faded at 14-14 as the home team recovered. Mastodon runs once again opened the gap, but this time Harvard did not have the chance to redeem itself, as the match ended with the Mastodons taking the fourth set, 2520. “I’m proud of the fact that we were able to battle in a bunch of big rallies that ended our way, but [there were also] a bunch of others that didn’t go our way,” Li said. We have to figure out how to convert those in the future.” The loss to Purdue Fort Wayne marks a disappointing end to the Crimson’s preseason. The team begins its conference campaign at home next Friday against No. 5 Penn State (7-3, 2-0 EIVA). Despite this defeat, the senior leaders of the team remain optimistic moving forward. “If we execute what we know how to do, we’ll be able to take [Penn State] down,” Shen said. “I’m excited to see our guys play to their potential on the court in match time, especially in the big moments. That’s going to let everyone have a lot of fun and win the matches we know we can win.” “Throughout the preseason, the team was able to spend so much time with each other, on and off the court,” Li said. “That’s definitely going to continue as we go through the season, and that’s something I’m really excited about.” Li also noted the growing pains of meshing a team of veterans like Shen and himself, who had not seen college play since 2020, with rookies such as Bardin, McGovern, and Shepherd, who had never donned Crimson uniforms until this year. The preseason was an opportunity to develop the trust and chemistry that is necessary for the team’s success. “As we play more, as we see more of each other on the court, that trust is going to continue to build,” Li said. “I think that what’s going to take us the furthest is that we trust in our abilities, we trust in what we train and practice, and that’ll show through in the games.” noah.jun@thecrimson.com
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FEBRUARY 7, 2022
SPORTS
THIS WEEKEND’S
SCORES
WOMEN’S HOCKEY AT CORNELL W, 6-3 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S WATER POLO VS. POMONA-PITZER W, 17-4 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S SQUASH VS. STANFORD W, 6-1 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S TENNIS VS. MICHIGAN W, 4-3 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S WATER POLO VS. NO. 24 CAL. BAPTIST W, 13-5 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S WATER POLO VS. LA SALLE W, 15-5 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S BASKETBALL AT YALE L, 58-55 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Harvard Earns Critical Pair of Conference Victories By NICHOLAS DALEY, A.J. DILTS, and OSCAR E. MERCADO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
After notching three consecutive wins over Ivy League opponents, Harvard women’s basketball returned to Lavietes Pavilion this past weekend in triumphant fashion. On Friday night, the Crimson (12-9, 6-3 Ivy League) earned a hard-fought 77-73 victory over the Brown Bears (5-15, 0-8). The following night, Harvard treated its large home crowd to a 65-59 win over the Yale Bulldogs (13-8, 6-3), extending the Crimson’s winning streak to a season-best five games. HARVARD 65, YALE 59 Harvard (12-9, 6-3 Ivy League) continued its winning ways after toppling conference rival Yale (13-8, 6-3), evening the season series at 1-1. First-year guard Harmoni Turner was the star of the contest, stuffing the statsheet with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Her running mate, junior guard McKenzie Forbes, contributed 15 points, 8 boards, and 4 steals of her own to help lift the Crimson over the Bulldogs. “The [team’s] chemistry is getting stronger,” Turner said. “Considering that we are the underdogs, we take that really personally. This is our home court and we wanted to defend [it].” The first quarter of the pivotal Ivy League matchup proved to be a defensive battle, as Harvard was held scoreless for over three and a half minutes to open the game. The drought ended when Forbes converted an andone layup to even the score at 3-3. The teams split free throws before Yale junior forward Camilla Emsbo took over, going on a personal 6-0 run, widening the Bulldogs’ lead to 10-4. Sophomore forward Lindsey Lawson converted the final basket of the quarter off of a Turner assist, cutting the deficit to 10-6. Harvard came out in the second quarter on fire, going on a 13-2 run and holding Yale scoreless for over 5 minutes in the quarter to take its first lead of the game, 19-12. The Bulldogs fought back, reducing the Crimson’s advantage to 21-17. Harvard would have the last word of the quarter once more, as Forbes dropped a dime for senior guard Tess Sussman, who converted the layup. Harvard forced 15 turnovers in the open-
ing 20 minutes and held Yale to 7-for-26 shooting, claiming a 23-17 lead at the half. That advantage quickly evaporated, though. Harvard started the second half shooting 0-5 from the field, allowing Yale to go on an 8-1 run in the first two minutes of the 3rd quarter and go on top, 25-24. That would be the Bulldogs’ last lead of the game, however, as Forbes responded by muscling in a layup through contact and sending Yale’s Emsbo to the bench with three fouls. In the 6’5” forward’s absence, Harvard began attacking the paint and getting to the free throw line, extending its lead to seven before Yale sent their star back out onto the floor. For Harvard head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith, the stretches of poor shooting from the Crimson were indicative of an offense that was settling too early rather than keeping their opponents off balance by moving the ball, but she lauded the fast-paced, attacking style that sparked her team’s run in the second half. “We weren’t running our offenses, so we just decided to run and gun,” Delaney-Smith said. “We did it to tire [Emsbo] out, and it worked.” What offense Harvard did drum up in the second half largely came from the hands of the electrifying Turner. After the Bulldogs held her to six points in the first two quarters, the first-year got going after the break by drawing fouls (8 of her 25 points came from the charity stripe) and creating shots for herself in the midrange and from beyond the arc. Turner’s performance, which matched her career high in points, was another positive chapter in a rookie season that already has Delaney-Smith describing her leading scorer as a “superstar.” The Texas native also led the team in assists (including a nifty no-look pass to junior guard Maggie McCarthy in the corner to close out the third quarter), evidence of the growth that Turner has exhibited all year long. This growth has lifted up all members of the young team, and is a big part of the Crimson’s five-game winning streak that clearly has Harvard’s players enjoying themselves on the court. On Saturday, the squad exhibited confidence, smiling and laughing with each other deep into the fourth quarter and always seeming to have the game under control, never letting their lead fall below six for the entire fourth quarter.
MAGGIE IN HER BAGGIE Junior guard Maggie McCarthy dribbles up the court in a 99-75 victory over Merrimack on Nov. 30. McCarthy contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds over the course of the conference wins this past weekend. OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Yale gave the home crowd a scare with just over a minute to go with a 3-pointer that brought the game within two possessions, but Turner came right back down and hit a dagger from NBA range to effectively seal the Bulldogs’ fate. Entering the home stretch of the Ivy League season, Delaney-Smith praised Harvard’s defensive effort against their rivals. A night after being frustrated by inconsistent play on the defensive end, the 40th-year head coach was proud of her team for rising to meet a difficult assignment as an undersized team playing against bigs like Emsbo. “The whole premise of what we were trying to do was not to be beat on the drive, because we have to double down [on their bigs] and scramble up,” she said. “And we were almost 100% effective at it. I couldn’t ask us to do it any better than we did.” The Crimson will hope to keep its defensive momentum going as they look ahead to the Ivy League tournament, which
Harvard will host at Lavietes Pavilion on March 11-12. Conference leaders Princeton and Columbia have been formidable all season, but Delaney-Smith has seen enough to not put limits on her group’s potential. “Having the tournament here is motivation to dig deep and make it,” Delaney-Smith said. “Then, anything can happen.” HARVARD 77, BROWN 73 Harvard began Friday night’s matchup with Brown looking to replicate its convincing 89-58 road win against the Bears on Jan. 7. Although the Crimson raced out to a 21-9 lead through the middle of the first quarter, Brown’s two-three zone defense and Harvard’s shooting struggles from the perimeter produced a tight first quarter, with the Crimson holding a 24-19 lead. Delaney-Smith noted that with Harvard now facing its conference opponents for the
second time in the season, adjustments from both sides can lead to much different outcomes than the first matchup. “I think the first game [against Brown] was an enigma,” Delaney-Smith said. “Half their team was missing, so the first game was not indicative [of their play] at all, and we crushed them in the first game. That’s always a bad omen. I tried to warn everybody that wasn’t the Brown team we’re going to see tonight, and it wasn’t. They were far better tonight.” Central to Harvard’s early lead was Turner, who recorded eight of the team’s first 14 points and continually pushed the pace to generate open shots for her teammates. Turner leads Harvard in scoring at 15.5 points per game, and her 16-point, 11-rebound performance Friday against Brown represented another big step in her development at the college level. “In terms of development, I have definitely trusted the process,” said Turner. “I had
TURNER RALLIES THE TROOPS The Crimson women’s basketball team struggled at the start of Ivy play, opening with a 1-3 Ancient Eight record. Since, however, the squad has found its stride, rattling off five consecutive victories and currently standing at 6-3 in the league. OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
a rough start at the beginning of the season, and that was because I did not trust the process, I’m gonna just be brutally honest. But as soon as I started feeding into the system, and trusting my coaches and the team, then I think we definitely capitalized on that.” After both teams traded baskets in a physical second quarter, the Crimson entered halftime holding onto a 41-36 lead. To energize Harvard’s offense in the second-half, Delaney-Smith placed junior guard McKenzie Forbes in the middle of the Bears’ two-three zone defense. Although Forbes, who averages 13.3 points per game this season, was held scoreless in the first-half, her shooting ability and offensive versatility allowed her to explode for 19 points in the final two quarters. After the game, Turner explained the importance of Forbes for this Harvard team. “I think we definitely feed off each other very well,” said Turner. “Kenzie [Forbes], she was getting the shots in the beginning of the game, they just weren’t falling. I think what made her keep going was her continuous shooting. And us as a team, we all have trust in each other.” As the game approached the final buzzer, the Crimson grasped a 75-73 lead. Brown’s out-of-bounds play with 1 minute left, however, resulted in a turnover. After a three-point attempt from McCarthy rimmed out, Brown’s Kyla Jones raced up the court for a chance to win the game. Blanketing her on defense was Harvard junior guard Annie Stritzel, who ripped the ball from Jones with 11 seconds remaining. A pair of free throws from Forbes sealed the nail-biting 77-73 victory for the Crimson. “Annie [Stritzel] is one of our best defenders,” Delaney-Smith said. “She switched on to [Jones], who was driving on us [all game]. And Annie did a great job. She picked her pocket and she forced her right, which is what we were supposed to be doing instead of letting her go left all night long.” The Crimson will look to continue its string of success when the team returns to Lavietes Pavilion for a matchup with the Penn Quakers this Saturday, Feb. 12 at five p.m. nicholas.daley@thecrimson.com aj.dilts@thecrimson.com oscar.mercado@thecrimson.com
IN PHOTOS
Actress Jennifer Garner Honored by Hasty Pudding Actress Jennifer Garner was honored by Hasty Pudding Theatricals as the organization’s Woman of the Year on Saturday. The annual celebration returned to its traditional in-person format after being held virtually in 2021 due to Covid-19. The ceremony began with a parade through Harvard Square, and was followed by a roast and press conference in Farkas Hall. BY JULIAN J. GIORDANO, CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
The Harvard University Band performed in the parade, which began in front of the Inn and ended at Farkas Hall.
Garner paraded through the streets of Harvard Square in a Bentley, flanked by members of the Pudding in drag.
Members of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals in colorful costumes posed for photographs on Harvard Street.
At the start of the parade, Garner showed off the medal around her neck.
Throughout the procession, Garner waved to the onlookers who crowded the streets of Harvard Square, undeterred by the frigid winter weather.
Garner posed for pictures with members of Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
After the parade, Garner posed for photographs with fans, including members of the Harvard University Band.
Garner pretended to play the saxophone at her roast. A saxophonist in the pit was producing the actual sounds.
Garner kissed her Pudding Pot — the award gifted by the Pudding — at the press conference after the roast.