The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLV, No. 104

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLV, NO. 104 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018

EDITORIAL PAGE 4

NEWS PAGE 3

SPORTS PAGE 6

We commend the College for making BGLTQ students feel more welcome.

HUBweek is a week-long festival with events around the Boston metro area.

Concussions plunge as Ivy League experiments with new kickoff rule.

UC Reps Defend Shopping Week

By SIMONE C. CHU and SAHAR M. MOHAMMADZADEH

Proposal Could Imperil Sanctions

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Following the cancellation of an Undergraduate Council-led town hall about “Shopping Week,” the UC Education Committee held an “organization meeting” to help students prepare to defend the College’s embattled course registration system in a series of upcoming “listening sessions” with members of a Faculty-led committee.

Roughly 50 undergraduates gathered in Harvard Hall Tuesday evening to prepare to strategize a cohesive message to defend Shopping Week — the weeklong period during which students freely wander in and out of courses before officially enrolling — and address undergraduate concerns about its potential elimination.

“We thought that it was still important for students to realize that we stand behind them and that we want to be able to build this platform together,” said Sruthi Palaniappan ’20, chair of the Council’s Education

By CAROLINE S. ENGELMAYER and MICHAEL E. XIE

­

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Sruthi Palaniappan ’20 leads an Undergraduate Council town hall.

Committee. Amanda J. Claybaugh, dean of undergraduate education, announced Monday that, in lieu of the originally planned town hall, the College

AWNIT SINGH MARTA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

will hold three separate administrator-led events at which students can share their thoughts on Shopping Week. The events will be attended by members of

SEE CAMPAIGNS PAGE 5

Cambridge to the Campaign Trail

a recently formed committee tasked with considering alternatives to Shopping Week.

SEE SHOPPING PAGE 5

When Republicans proposed a December 2017 amendment to a congressional higher education bill that would bar universities from punishing students who join single-gender social groups, the legislation seemed explicitly targeted at Harvard — but it wasn’t quite that simple.

It was unclear at the time whether the bill, a suggested revision to the Higher Education Act, actually applied to the College.

The legislation — titled the PROSPER Act — refers only to “recognized” social groups. But Harvard’s controversial sanctions, which took effect with the Class of 2021, only penalize members of “unrecognized” single-gender social organizations.

Opponents of the sanctions have long said they hope to up-

date the wording of the amendment to ensure it would force the University to choose between its sanctions and millions of dollars in federal funding. Now, they’re one step closer to making that happen.

Three weeks ago, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education — an advocacy group that says it aims to protect freedom of speech and freedom of association on college campuses— proposed an amendment to the PROSPER Act that would shift the bill’s wording to guarantee it endangers Harvard’s social group penalties.

The proposed amendment would prevent any “institution of higher education that receives funds” under the Higher Education Act from punishing students for joining any “constitutionally protected” group — whether or not that group is affiliated with the school.

SEE BILL PAGE 5

Abramson, Mayer Talk Press

Harvard students take time off to campaign ahead of this November’s midterm elections

By BENJAMIN E. FRIMODIG, IRIS M. LEWIS and MEENA VENKATARAMANAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

During a summer road trip from Killeen to Amarillo, Texas, Noah D. Zunker ’21 decided he wanted to take a semester off from Harvard in the fall of 2018 to work for Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s U.S. Senate campaign.

“It was my first campaign trip and we were in a small town called Paducah, Texas. It was our second day on the road. It was a super early morning — a Sunday morning — and 25 people showed up to Beto’s event, five of whom were Trump supporters and actually protested the event,” Zunker said. “For Paducah, that was a really good turnout.”

A Round Rock, Texas native and prospective Government concentrator, Zunker said he has always been passionate about politics.

He had originally planned to work on O’Rourke’s campaign for the summer and return to Harvard this fall, but his trip to Paducah convinced him to stay on the campaign until Election Day. “I fell in love with the campaign and what it stood for that day,” Zunker said, adding he felt he had to be “really convinced” to take time off from school to work on a Democratic campaign in his traditionally Republican home state.

Since May, he has been working on O’Rourke’s campaign to unseat Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.

While his job primarily consists of working in the Austin campaign office, Zunker said he regularly accompanies O’Rourke on road trips across the Lone Star State.

“On some of the more intense days you wake up at 5:30 in the morning and travel two hours to a middle-of-nowhere town and by the time you’re in bed it’s 2 a.m. because you just finished up,” he said.

Zunker is not the only Harvard undergraduate taking time off to pursue political activism.

Caroline M. Cohen ’19, who is working on a Kentucky congressional campaign, and Sarah S. Fellman ’18-19, who is working in Pennsylvania state politics.

Cohen declined to comment, while Fellman did not respond to a request for

Former New York Times executive editor Jill E. Abramson ’76 talks at IOP. QUINN G. PERINI—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

By ELLEN M. BURSTEIN and JANIA J. TUMEY CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Former executive editor of the New York Times Jill E. Abramson ’76 and New Yorker investigative journalist Jane M. Mayer discussed the intersection of politics and press in an era of partisan discord at the Institute of Politics Tuesday.

In a conversation with Nicco Mele — the director of the Har­

vard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy — Abramson and Mayer reflected on their recently published essay, “The Press Has Never Been More Vital to the Success of Democracy,” as well as on their decades of experience covering both the executive branch and sexual harassment at the highest levels of the American government.

In recent weeks, Mayer has played a critical role in report-

ing the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, which emerged shortly before his confirmation. She and fellow New Yorker writer Ronan Farrow reported the existence of a letter from one of Kavanaugh’s high school classmates — later revealed to be Christine Blasey Ford — that detailed an allegation of sexual assault at a high

SEE ABRAMSON PAGE 5

Med School Capital Campaign Concludes

By LUKE W. VROTSOS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Harvard Medical School completed its capital campaign with $789 million raised, slightly exceeding its goal of $750 million, according to data provided by the school.

The school’s campaign, entitled “The World Is Waiting: The Campaign for Harvard Medicine,” was divided between four priorities: education, discovery, service, and leadership.

Discovery — which mostly entails research — brought in by far the largest tally at $496 million, school spokesperson Gina Vild wrote in an email. Education garnered the least, at $70 million.

Roughly $1 million have yet to be designated to one of the four priorities.

Campaign chair Joshua Boger said the campaign drew ­

NANCY PELOSI

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi visited the Institute of Politics Tuesday afternoon, where she had a discussion with IOP Director Mark D. Gearan’78 and members of the public during a lotteried event. KATHRYN S. KUHAR—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Harvard Today 2

News 3

Editorial 4

Sports 6

TODAY’S FORECAST

RAINY High: 55 Low: 51

mostly upon donors who did not attend the Medical School because the school has a relatively small number of alumni.

“Very little of the money that we raised came from alumni of Harvard Medical School. That’s not because Harvard Medical School alumni aren’t generous; there just aren’t very many of them,” he said.

Boger added that the small alumni base can make it more difficult to fundraise for education as opposed to research because people are more inclined to give to a school they attended.

“I think the place where the campaign probably had the hardest time was in some of the education facilities ideas,” he said, referring to renovating or expanding classroom spaces.

“When you’re not talking principally to people who

SEE HMS PAGE 5

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

PAGE 2

HARVARD TODAY

For Lunch Meatball Sub Shrimp with Fettucine Spicy Rice, Bean and Lentil Casserole

For Dinner Breaded and Baked Pork Chops Red’s Best Fresh Local Fish Basil Pesto Roasted Tofu

TODAY’S EVENTS

IN THE REAL WORLD

Tours (in Spanish): Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World Harvard Art Museums, 3:30 p.m.

Elizabeth Warren’s DNA Results Draw Rebuke from Trump and Raise Questions

Take a tour of the Harvard Art Museums’ newest exhibit on ancient animal-shaped vessels — in Spanish.

These special tours will take place on certain Wednesdays and Saturdays and are open only to 15 guests.

In response to President Trump’s skepticism about her Native American ancestry, Elizabeth Warren released results from a DNA test proving that she had Native American roots dating back “6-10 generations ago.” Warren also created a website that elaborates on her ancestry and her Oklahoma roots. Based on these extensive measures to refute Trump’s claims, many are assuming that Warren intends to run in 2020.

Mar-A-Lago, Bedminster and Trump Hotels Institute of Politics, 4:30 p.m.

Join Margaret Talev’s study group on the interactions that shape Trump’s presidency but are unseen by the public. Learn more about the international summits and golf matches that play a crucial role.

Undergrad Dinner with Ambassador Rufus Gifford Institute of Politics, 6 p.m.

As part of the fall 2018 Gender and Sexuality in Politics series, the Institute of Politics is hosting a dinner with Rufus Gifford, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark from 2013 to 2017.

Cakewalk opens for Hayden James at Sonia. NAOMI S. CASTELLON-PEREZ—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

DAILY BRIEFING Undergraduates talked tactics for defending the College’s course registration system Tuesday evening ahead of “listening sessions” with administrators and faculty next week. An Undergraduate Council committee organized the strategy meeting after the UC canceled a town hall to discuss Shopping Week. In other news, the advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is trying to add language to a bill in Congress that would prevent Harvard from receiving federal funding if it penalizes social groups, students are taking time off to campaign ahead of the midterm elections next month, and Harvard’s admissions trial wrapped up its second day.

Paralyzing Polio-like Illness Mainly Affecting Children Confirmed in 22 States, CDC Says Yesterday, federal health officials officially issued a warning to the public about an increase in a mysterious condition that seems to mostly affect young children and can cause paralysis. This year, there have been 127 reported cases of acute flaccid myelitis, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Of these cases, more than 90 percent have targeted children ages 18 and younger. Officials are raising awareness about the condition, which has seen a significant increase in cases since 2014.

AROUND THE IVIES YALE Yale’s STEM fields continue to face a persistent gender imbalance, despite the efforts of a $50 million dollar diversity initiative, the Yale Daily News reported. The initiative is a five-year push to increase diversity in Yale’s faculty, undertaken starting in 2015 after several faculty members of color left Yale. One of its main goals has been to hire more women in STEM fields, but some female students and faculty claim STEM departments at the university still lack adequate female representations.

PRINCETON The Princeton University Art Museum unveiled an exhibit that the museum’s curator and a professor have spent seven years creating, according to the Daily Princetonian. Titled “Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment,” the exhibit encompasses over 100 works focused around the relationship between humans and the environment and features a range of famous artists from Jackson Pollock to Georgia O’Keefe. The exhibit will run in the Princeton Art Museum until January 2019, after which it will go on tour.

COLUMBIA The Barnard Contingent Faculty Union sought the support of Barnard students amid a teaching stipend conflict, the Columbia Daily Spectator reported. The controversy involves payment tied to First-Year Seminar teachers: non-union faculty will continue to receive a stipend for teaching the courses, but union members will no longer receive a stipend directly. The university’s provost said the stipend included in base pay for three-credit courses, an amount which has increased with the new contract.The union sent a representative to a Student Government Association meeting, and an SGA member started a petition to Barnard’s president to restore the stipend to all faculty.

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STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Arts Chairs Mila Gauvini II ’19 Grace Z. Li ’19

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Technology Chairs Nenya A. Edjah ’20 Theodore T. Liu ’20

Sports Chairs Cade S. Palmer ’20 Jack R. Stockless ’19

Copyright 2018, 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.

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CORRECTIONS The Harvard Crimson is committed to accuracy in its reporting. Factual errors are corrected promptly on this page. Readers with information about errors are asked to e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@thecrimson.com.

PAGE 3

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | OCTOBER 17, 2018

Staff Rally for Rehiring of HUHS Worker

By MOLLY C. MCCAFFERTY CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Chanting through the halls of Harvard’s Office of Employee and Labor Relations, a delegation of around a dozen students and employees attempted to confront University Director of Labor and Employee Relations Paul R. Curran over the controversial firing of former Harvard University Health Services employee Mayli Shing. The group — comprised of undergraduates, graduate students, and members of three campus labor unions — sought to convince Curran to reinstate Shing, who was fired in February. Shing claims she was fired in retaliation after she made allegations of workplace racism and sexual harassment.

The group specifically chose to march to Curran’s office on Tuesday in light of Shing’s Wednesday hearing at the Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance. Shing be-

gan receiving unemployment benefits from the state of Massachusetts in July, according to Geoffrey Carens, a member of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers who represents Shing. Carens said Shing and her supporters are asking the University to compensate her for the five-month period between her firing and the awarding of unemployment benefits — and to rehire her.

“Going without income all that time put a very severe financial strain on Mayli and really affected her life very gravely,” Carens said. According to her termination letter, Shing was fired because of “insubordinate conduct in repeatedly disregarding instructions and previous warnings.” The letter specifically cites an incident in which Shing arrived at work 30 minutes before her shift began, despite having been told not to do so. Thursday’s demonstration was the latest effort in an on-

going campaign calling on the University to rehire and reimburse Shing. Since her termination, a loose coalition of student and employee groups — including the Harvard Student Labor Action Movement, the Harvard No Layoffs Campaign, and anti-sexual assault advocacy group Our Harvard Can Do Better — hosted four rallies to support her.

Most recently, the group picketed in front of the Smith Campus Center during the inauguration of University President Lawrence S. Bacow, calling on Bacow to support Shing’s reinstatement.

On Thursday, the activists didn’t make it past Curran’s door.When they arrived at the Labor Relations Office, a staffer informed them that Curran, along with most of the office’s personnel, was negotiating a contract with the HUCTW and could not meet with them. After leaving a message for Curran with the staffer, the group retreated through the halls of 124 Mount Auburn St.

chanting, “What do we want? Rehire Mayli! When do we want it?

Now!”Afterwards, they gathered on the front steps of the office to place calls to Curran’s office phone.“Harvard is trying to claw back unemployment benefits that HUCTW member Mayli Shing has already received. Please drop this vindictive effort immediately and see that Mayli is rehired in a new, full-time job with a new supervisor and full back pay!,” their suggested call script read.

University representatives declined to comment. SLAM member Saul A. Glist ’22, who participated in Thursday’s action, said he feels it is crucial that students support and advocate for employees like Mayli who “make this place run.” “It’s really important right now, just given the culture around sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace,” Glist said.

The latest on student life.

molly.mccafferty@thecrimson. com.

Nancy Pelosi Talks Midterms at IOP CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke to College and Kennedy School students about the upcoming midterm elections and the Democratic agenda Tuesday, predicting significant gains for her party. Pelosi’s remarks emphasized unity, mobilization, and transparency in government, asserting that those principles “are important to anyone who takes public service seriously in our country.”

Caroline B. Kennedy ’80, former U.S. ambassador to Japan and honorary chair of the IOP’s Senior Advisory Committee, introduced the discussion with Pelosi and moderator Mark D. Gearan ’78, director of the Institute of Politics. Pelosi expressed confidence in a Democratic victory in the November midterm elections. “If the election were today, we would win the major-

ity,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi emphasized the importance of organizing one’s own agenda before worrying about opponents, repeating multiple times that Democrats “don’t agonize, we organize.” The Democratic leader also praised the slate of Democratic candidates running for Congress this year.

“They know their why. They know what their vision is about America. They know their subject matter, whatever it is that drew them in: whether it’s climate, LGBTQ, women’s right to choose, gun violence, immigration,” Pelosi said. “These candidates are authentic. They know who they are, why they’re running, what they’re talking about, and how to do it.” Pelosi also addressed plans for the Democratic agenda if her party retakes the House. According to Pelosi, Democrats plan to “rebuild our agenda by consensus,” welcoming the “revitalization” brought by new representatives. She pre-

dicted the first bills likely proposed by a Democrat-controlled House will concern campaign finance reform and increased openness and accountability in the House. Other priorities Pelosi highlighted included lowering healthcare costs, developing climate-friendly infrastructure, protecting DACA recipients, and establishing “common sense background checks” to prevent gun violence.

Throughout the discussion, Pelosi emphasized the importance of voter mobilization and encouraged students to get involved in campaigns. “Uncross your fingers and ring a doorbell. Take action instead of hoping that others will,” Pelosi said.

Students who attended the discussion said they were motivated to take action in this year’s midterms. “I really liked when Nancy Pelosi tells people to uncross their fingers and ring a doorbell,” Katherine K. Roberts ’22 said. “It was a cool way to ex-

plain how to not just sit in your room and hope the election goes well but to get out and get people active.” Attendees also highlighted Pelosi’s focus on the significant number of female Democrats running for Congress. “ In her speech, Leader Pelosi encouraged women to own their power and run for office themselves, which is a message that is empowering for all women at Harvard, regardless of political affiliation,” Olivia M. Ferdinand ’21, chair of the Women’s Initiative in Leadership at the IOP, said. Pelosi, who will face reelection to become speaker of the House should the Democrats retake the chamber, said she was aware of potential challengers within her party. “It’s the Democratic Party, it’s what you expect, the vitality. None of that frightens me. It’s what I anticipate, what I expect, and what I thrive on,” she said to applause. “I’ve said to my colleagues, ‘Do what you have to do. Just win, baby.’”

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HUBweek Inspires Innovation

By NINA H. PASQUINI and JORDAN E. VIRTUE CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Ranging from a forum on emerging technologies to aid those with disabilities, to a drone exhibition, to an “innovation playground” in Kendall Square, Boston’s HUBweek follows the philosophy that the air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.HUBweek — a week-long “ideas festival” founded by Harvard, MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Boston Globe — ran from Oct. 8 to Oct. 14. With 200 sessions and 38 industries represented, innovators and Boston residents engaged with events, installations, and talks on subjects ranging from art to science to technology.

The week also brought together thought leaders and political activists. Some of those included David Hogg, a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting who co-founded the March for Our Lives movement; Maureen B. Dowd, a columnist for the New York Times; and Walter S. Isaacson ’74, a renowned biography author.

In a written statement, Harvard spokesperson Brigid O’Rourke wrote that HUBweek is a platform where Boston-area innovators can come together to collaborate and display their work. “Throughout the Greater Boston region and on Harvard’s campus, groups and individuals have long explored innovative answers to challenging problems. HUBweek provides a platform for industry leaders and young entrepreneurs to collaborate and showcase their work with peers and the public,” O’Rourke wrote. Now in its fourth year, HUBweek drew thousands of attendees. “We’re very pleased with the breadth of innovative content in the programs offered this year,” wrote O’Rourke. “Audiences were engaged at a wide variety of events throughout the week, with thousands of people coming from the Greater Boston area and around the world to take part.”

On campus, Nicole Mills, senior preceptor senior in Romance Languages and Literatures, and Rus Gant, a virtual reality technology specialist, offered a HUB week session in Cabot Library detailing their in-

tegration of virtual reality into the curriculum of French 11: “Beginning French II: Exploring Parisian Life and Identity.”

After students imagined themselves living in a Parisian quarter over the course of the semester, Mills hired four different Parisians from that same residential quarter to document their daily lives and diverse cultural practices within the same geographic space. “It moves away from the clichés of culture towards a multiplicity of understanding,” Mills said. “I really just wanted to talk about the notion of cultural immersion through VR — this idea that the ability to be able to walk in someone else’s shoes,” Mills said. “Research shows that if you can embody another person through VR, you’re more apt to show empathy towards that person.”

Other Harvard affiliates also organized events in Boston. Harvard Medical School professor Reisa A. Sperling presented on developments in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

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HUBweek is an innovation and ideas festival in Boston. KARINA G. GONZALEZ-ESPINOZA —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | October 17, 2018

Page 4

Editorial The Crimson Editorial board

Celebrating the College’s New BGLTQ Programming and Resources

T

his past Thursday marked National Coming Out Day, a holiday that commemorates both the difficulties of coming out and awareness of the BGLTQ community and its history. This year, the celebrations at the College were colored with multiple festivities. Students across campus celebrated the day with rainbow cake in dining halls, yoga, and an open mic event.

The day was also highlighted by the release of a preliminary information guide for BGLTQ-identifying individuals, the product of a joint effort between the College’s Office of BGLTQ Student Life and the University’s Title IX Office in an effort to disseminate resources clearly to BGLTQ students.

It includes contact information for both administrative offices at the University (such as Office of Sexual Assault and Response and the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership) as well as particular school affinity groups (such as Harvard Law School Lambda and Queer Rites Harvard Divinity School). A more comprehensive guide for BGLTQ students will be released in the spring.

We commend Harvard for making efforts to make the College a more accommodating space for

BGLTQ students. Both the celebratory events held by the College and the University-wide information guide will work toward making BGLTQ students, faculty, and staff feel welcome and appreciated in our community.

While these events were organized primarily by the College’s Office of BGLTQ Student Life, we would urge Harvard to expand these initiatives to all the other schools of the University. This may manifest itself in the form of a centralized affinity space for BGLTQ graduate students where members could interact. Such a space could also support the graduate BGLTQ community by hosting events similar to the ones debuted at the College’s National Coming Out Day celebrations. Institutionalizing festivities that celebrate days like National Coming Out Day and other BGLTQ-awareness days would further demonstrate University support for BGLTQ individuals in any and all spaces on campus.

As the College’s BGLTQ Office and Title IX Office work together to compile the new and improved information guide, we are hopeful that they incorporate information about mental health resources

Becina J. Ganther — The Feminist Closet

both at the College and throughout the rest of the University. Being BGLTQ can present its own challenges, and including this information in the guide would start an important dialogue concerning how being BGLTQ can affect students’ mental health.

The information guide should also be more widely publicized to all students, both now and again upon completion of the new guide, so that those who comb through the BGLTQ website looking for these resources or are members of the appropriate email lists are not the only ones accessing this information. All students — BGLTQ-identifying, questioning, or otherwise — should be made aware of this guide so that it can better inform their decisions and experiences as they navigate their time here at Harvard.

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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Cis Queers, We Have a Problem Transphobia within the BGLTQ community

L

ast week, I was watching Pose, a TV show about transgender women of color and the ballroom scene in the 1980s, during the AIDS crisis. Produced by trans activist Janet Mock, Pose is making history by having the most trans series regulars on any TV show ever.

In one episode, there’s a scene where Blanca, a trans woman of color, stages a protest at a bar that caters to cisgender gay white men after the bartender and manager refuse to serve her. Here, we see a trans woman who already faces discrimination from cis straight people trying to find solidarity with other queer people at the bar, but she is shunned.

The cis gay white men are more interested in upholding their own privilege than building community with trans women of color. This in itself is a strong message, but the show’s creators took it one step further.

While at the bar, Blanca notices that she’s not the only person of color in the room; there’s also a black cis gay man there. Hoping to find an ally in the room, Blanca points out that they’re the only two people of color in the room and tells him, “They don’t want us here.” His response? “No, they don’t want you here.”

Upon hearing this, the manager gives him a free drink, “compliments of the house.”

This cis gay black man is both queer and a racial minority, like Blanca. He doesn’t have to imagine oppression; he’s experienced it many times over. Even so, he is too invested in upholding his cis privilege to side with Blanca as she faces blatant discrimination. And he’s rewarded for this with the approval of a white person.

I’ll be honest: I was surprised with this scene. I thought the show was going to call out cis straight white men (the usual suspect for privileged people being problematic) and cis gay white men (one of the usual suspects for marginalized people being problematic) and move on. After all, cis white men of all sexualities do benefit from many privileges, and having more privileges gives you more avenues to oppress people, whether intentional or not. But instead, Pose pointed out how anyone with privilege, even marginalized people, even people with multiple marginalizations, can oppress others to uphold their own privilege. And specifically in this case, how cis queer people (and not just the white ones) are far too comfortable perpetuating transphobia. And more personally, how I have been and continue to be far too comfortable perpetuating transphobia, even if I don’t realize it.

And how we need to change.

BGLTQ people may be in the same community, but that doesn’t mean we all face the same issues. Let’s not “All Lives Matter” this. There are specific and real barriers that trans, non-binary, and genderqueer people face that cis people do not, or at least not to the same degree.

These include lack of healthcare access, inadequate or nonexistent protections from employment discrimination, and a high murder rate — one in 2,600 for young black trans women in America compared to one in 12,000 for all young adults. These barriers are symptoms of a structural imbalance that cis people benefit from and continue to uphold.

Drawing attention to this isn’t divisive; it’s the only way that we can achieve true equality for our entire community.

It’s abhorrent that cisgender queer people would benefit from and perpetuate transphobia while reluctantly throwing in a “T” to the acronym as an after-

thought.

While today’s mainstream BGLTQ movement can be notoriously cis-centric, we shouldn’t forget that the first Pride marches were in commemoration of the Stonewall riots, led by trans women of color Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. It’s no coincidence that a key turning point in the movement was catalyzed by trans women of color, yet they continue to be erased from our community. In fact, just this past year, anti-trans protesters disrupted London’s Pride march and were eventually allowed to lead the march. The fact that transphobes felt comfortable sharing harmful rhetoric at a Pride march — and were even rewarded with the honor of leading the march — is a red flag for the ways in which mainstream queer culture does not force cisgender people to interrogate their own transphobic biases.

The first step in fighting transphobia is listening to trans people. They deserve more than just a seat at the table; they helped create the table and should be leading our movement with a strong voice in any decision made. A movement that is not inclusive of the most marginalized is not a movement at all. Countless trans, non-binary, and genderqueer activists have already pointed out the transphobia in the BGLTQ community and how we can be better, but cisgender queer people just haven’t always been listening.

Sam Dylan Finch, a trans activist who blogs at “Let’s Queer Things Up,” highlights the importance of respecting and using people’s correct pronouns, writing on Everyday Feminism that “When you make the decision to not respect someone’s pronouns, what you are ultimately saying is that their personal truth is something you are more knowledgeable about than them.” Shige N. Sakurai from mypronouns.org explains that “sharing pronouns is a great way to disrupt the normalization and privilege of assumption,” so cisgender people should make it a habit to introduce ourselves with pronouns. Adrian Ballou, a genderqueer writer and activist, explains how ungendering our language “can bring us all closer to gender-based freedom.”

Lourdes Ashley Hunter, the co-founder of the Trans Women of Color Collective, tells cisgender people to “Leverage your access to resources to create opportunities for our community,” whether that be access to educational resources, money, or certain professions. This list of behaviors that trans, non-binary, and genderqueer people have told cis people to do to help dismantle cisnormativity is far from exhaustive.

To my fellow cis queer people, we need to do a better job of listening to trans people and then interrogating our own actions and biases. It’s hypocritical for us to demand more than performative allyship from cis straight people and then turn around and perform the bare minimum of allyship for trans members of our community. We can’t hide behind queer identities to absolve us from the real harm that cis people create in perpetuating transphobia. It is not enough to just include the “T” when spelling out the acronym. If we aren’t actively dismantling cisnormativity, both within society and within ourselves, then we are part of the problem.

—Becina J. Ganther ’20, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a History and Science concentrator in Leverett House. Her column appears on alternate Wednesdays.

The Crimson @thecrimson

Debunking Life in the Union Dorms

I

By chloe a. shawah

mmediately after accepting Harvard’s offer of admission, I spent many hours daydreaming of dorm life in historic Harvard Yard, where freshmen are housed in quaint, redbrick buildings for their first semesters. While my high school friends headed to other colleges were frantic, hoping that they would get into their first-choice dorms, I was at ease, confidently knowing that I would be living in a building in the heart of Harvard, only steps from Annenberg Hall, Widener Library, and the Science Center.

By the time my rooming assignment finally arrived, I was wellversed in the layout of Harvard Yard.

I knew the names and locations of all the dorms and had an idea of the amenities in each one. Yet, despite my extensive research, I was still not prepared for the result: Pennypacker, a union dorm located outside of the Yard on Harvard Street.

There was an agonizing month between receiving my fateful rooming assignment and arriving at Harvard to see the cursed building for myself. From the information I could glean from the internet, it did not seem nearly as picturesque as Wigglesworth or as historically relevant as Massachusetts Hall. And I know I was not the only one of my union dorm peers to have these concerns.

Looking back, I wish that some former Pennypacker student had a page on the internet that debunked the myth of union dorms.

So, to the next line of Harvard freshmen exiled to Hurlbut, Greenough, and especially Pennypacker, let me tell you sincerely that you are even luckier than the freshmen living in Harvard Yard.

The union dorms are not actually light-years away from civilization: By my calculations, it takes only six minutes and 30 seconds to walk from the front of Pennypacker to Annenberg. To the casual observer, this may seem like a terrible hindrance, but to the seasoned (well, I’ve only been here a month or two) union dorm resident, this walk has many advantages. Easy access to J.P. Licks, Hokkaido Santouka Ramen, and the rest of Harvard Square is ideal. Also, the union dorms are to the Lowell dining hall as Canaday is to the Berg. When you’re in a rush, Harvard University Dining Services is still only a few steps away, and rumor has it that House dining hall food tastes better.

The walk does deter us from leav-

ing Pennypacker when we don’t have to, but this actually works to our benefit. When we become restless in our dorms, we head for the Pennypacker common room on the first floor to talk to each other instead of heading out of the building. The common room is crucial. On Monday night, it’s for comparing problem sets, and on Friday, it’s for sharing pizzas after meandering back in the wee hours of the night. The distance from the Yard forces us to focus our attention on the people in front of us, inevitably creating a sense of community.

Pennypacker is also known for its single, central staircase, which means that all one hundred residents will pass each other multiple times a day. When our problem set buddies can’t be found in the common room,

Many Pennypacker residents would agree that they couldn’t imagine living their freshman year in any other building. we run up the stairs and knock on doors to hunt them down.

When other freshmen find out that we live in Greenough, Hurlbut, or Pennypacker, they respond with, “Where is that anyway?” or grimace with an, “Oof, that sucks.” The union dorms are the Quad of freshman housing: pitied by the outsiders, but loved by the residents. Many Pennypacker residents would agree that they couldn’t imagine living their freshman year in any other building.

Just this weekend, former residents of Pennypacker flooded back into the building during the Class of 1988’s 30th Reunion. When we emerged from our rooms to investigate, the alumni eagerly pointed out which suites they lived in and told us about the memories and friends that were made within these walls.

Although it’s strange to think of the time when the Class of 2018 will be visiting Harvard as alumni, I can already see that we will have many stories to share with the future residents of our union dorm, from our own little world outside the Yard.

I smile when I catch myself saying that I’m heading “home” to Pennypacker. The union dorm I was so disappointed to receive has grown on me quite a bit. Come take a swing by on Harvard Street to see for yourself.

—Chloe A. Shawah ’22, a Crimson Editorial comper, lives in Pennypacker Hall.

PAGE 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | OCTOBER 17, 2018

CAMPAIGNS FROM PAGE 1

ABRAMSON FROM PAGE 1

Students Campaign

Abramson, Mayer Talk Press, Partisanship at IOP

comment.

But Ryan D. Enos, a Harvard government professor who has written on the topic, offered a different perspective on students taking time off for politics. He said such leaves of absence are sometimes driven by “opportunistic” motives, especially for those who work on campaigns outside of their home states.

“There’s something a little weird — for lack of a better term — when you think about students from a place like Harvard parachuting into different places in the world and going and representing campaigns,” Enos said.

“Every four years, all of a sudden Ohio is a really important place in the country. Well, you have all of these students who spend their time in Cambridge showing up in Ohio and trying to be part of a campaign,” he added.

Zachary D. Steigerwald Schnall ’21, who plans to take time off for the 2020 presidential race, has a more charitable take on out-of-state student campaigners.

“I want to be wherever I can make the biggest impact in 2020,” he said. “I think that anyone’s voice is as valuable as another on a campaign, particularly when a lot of the work that you do is making phone calls, knocking on doors.”

Prior to coming to Harvard, Steigerwald Schnall took a gap ­

year in 2016 to work on the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s statewide coordinated campaign, which included Hillary Clinton’s presidential race and various statewide and congressional races.

“Though we were happy with the results in our state, we were of course unhappy with the results across the country,” he said. “So I decided on November 9, 2016 that I was going to take time off in 2020 — as much time off as I needed — to make sure that we had different outcomes nationally.”

Steigerwald Schnall, who also worked for the Ohio Democratic Party this summer, said he feels confident about his decision to take time off for the 2020 presidential campaign.

He added that he is taking five courses per semester to graduate on time with the class of 2021, and that his academic advisers are helping him through the leave of absence process.

“It’s always a difficult decision to take time off, whether for political reasons or other experiences like starring in a play,” Steigerwald Schnall said.

“There are always so many factors, like friendships, graduating with your incoming class, etc.”

Duffy said she supports students such as Steigerwald Schnall who decide to dedicate their full energies to campaigning.

“I encourage students who

HMS FROM PAGE 1

see the potential to play a part in history to explore the possibility of taking time off for the 2020 elections,” she said.

For Zunker, despite his demanding schedule, he believes his decision to take time off was the right one.

“This has literally been the experience of a lifetime,” he said of working on O’Rourke’s campaign this fall. “I’ve been on the road, and I’ve been able to meet a lot of really cool people and see a lot of Texas.’”

Zunker said his time off this fall has inspired him to run for office one day so that he can engage with other Texans on a deeper level.

“I love interacting with people and learning about people’s lives,” he said.

After Nov. 6, Zunker plans to catch up on sleep this winter and return to Harvard in the spring.

Regardless of the outcome of O’Rourke’s campaign, Zunker said he hopes Texas residents will turn out to vote in future elections.

“If you show up and register to vote and you call your friends and tell them to vote, you can really multiply that effect out and become a lot bigger than you think you are,” he said. benjamin.frimodig@thecrimson.com. iris.lewis@thecrimson.com. meena.venkataramanan@thecrimson.com.

school party. Mayer and Farrow later reported on similar sexual misconduct allegations brought by Deborah Ramirez, one of Kavanaugh’s classmates at Yale.

Covering sexual misconduct amongst members of the judiciary is familiar territory for both Mayer and Abramson, who currently teaches creative writing courses on journalism in the English Department.

In 1994, the pair published “Strange Justice: the Selling of Clarence Thomas,” an indepth account of the sexual harassment allegations raised against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas by Anita Hill during his confirmation hearings.

Abramson noted that there were strong parallels between the Thomas and Kavanaugh confirmation processes.

“To say it is a flashback is an understatement,” she said.

She remarked that the Senate Judiciary Committee’s decision to only have Kavanaugh and Ford testify, rather than call other witnesses, indicated to her that Ford’s allegations would be handled similarly to Hill’s.

“The strategy was to isolate a lone female accuser, to have her testify first, as Anita Hill did, and have the judge go last, ­

as Clarence Thomas famously did,” she said. “That set up was guaranteed to end in a ‘he said, she said’ stalemate with all of those senators saying the same thing that they said in ’91.”

Mayer added that Thomas’s and Kavanaugh’s hearings were so similar that “three of the same senators” were sitting on the Senate Judiciary Committee throughout both confirmations.

Abramson also praised Ford’s courage in coming forward with her allegations, saying Ford “felt the call of citizenship.” Later in their conversation, the 29th annual Theodore H. White Lecture on the Press and Politics, the two women reflected on the challenge of covering politics in an increasingly polarized and media-wary nation.

“Reporters have become unwilling combatants simply for trying to tell the truth,” Mayer said.

She went on to defend objective journalism from politicians who accuse the press’ coverage of being a partisan attack.

“It’s not propaganda, it’s not resistance. It’s reporting,” she said.

Mayer and Abramson also discussed the difficulties of reporting in the digital age, as re-

porters are challenged to capture readers’ attention in the tidal wave of information available on social media. Mayer advised young reporters struggling to capture an audience to tell a story in their writing.

“If you tell a story, you’ll ground your audience,” she said.

Abramson and Mayer delivered their remarks to a packed audience at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum.

“You could tell that everybody here wanted to be here and for better or for worse [we] are on a team now, a team for facts and reporting and the truth,” said Timothy C. Devine ’17, who attended the event.

Megan Gentile, a student at a local high school, said she enjoyed the event as a “budding journalist.”

“They kind of spoke about telling the truth and just emphasizing the truth in this world when everything can kind of get a little bit crazy, which I think is important to tell to journalists, especially young ones like me,” she said.

Abramson said after the event that her main piece of advice for young journalists is “to just be determined to dig out the truth, to work somewhere that values [the truth] and will give you the time to do it.”

BILL FROM PAGE 1

Med School Capital Bill Amendment May Imperil Sanctions Campaign Ends raising about $375 million in “quiet phase” cash.

It passed the $750 million goal in February.

Harvard Medical School has faced difficulties making ends meet in recent years.

The school has ended nine of the 10 most recent years with operating deficits, including a $44 million shortfall in the most recent year.

These budget woes prompted the school to sell its research facility at 4 Blackfan Circle. After receiving at least a dozen bids, the school sold the building to Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation for $272.5 million.

The University-wide capital campaign concluded this year. luke.vrotsos@thecrimson.com

SHOPPING FROM PAGE 1

Students to Defend Shopping Week Palaniappan said that, after the town hall’s cancellation, she thought “being able to organize ourselves as students around this topic and come to a common understanding” around how to best advocate for Shopping Week during the listening sessions was “extremely productive.” Over the course of the hour-long meeting, students discussed concerns that would arise from the potential replacement of Shopping Week, including scheduling difficulties, an inability to explore in-

We deserve to have a right in what we say and how our lives are run.

Samuel M. Thorn ’20 Undergraduate

terests, and an inconsistency with the College’s stated commitment to the “transformative power of a liberal arts and sciences education.”

Students also acknowledged concerns held by administrators and graduate students, many of whom have bemoaned the uncertainty Shopping Week creates for undergraduate teaching assignments and classroom sizes. “The Education Committee does hope to reach out to graduate students so we can better understand what their concerns are,” Palaniappan said.

She added that she thought

the conversations about Shopping Week “have been taking place in bubbles” of administrators and faculty, undergraduates, and graduates, with little communication between all parties involved.

Several students expressed a desire for undergraduate input to be considered seriously, and not merely as a formality. Cara J. Kupferman ’20, who attended the event, said she “definitely” planned to attend one of the listening sessions.

“I was a transfer student to Harvard, and one of my favorite things about being here has been Shopping Week,” she said.

“I think that it really embodies the power of a liberal arts education and has made my experience here so much more impactful and educational.”

Other students expressed a general frustration with the way student input had been considered in the process thus far.

“We deserve to have a right in what we say and how our lives are run,” Samuel M. Throm ’20 said. “We are not children that need to be controlled. That is what this Shopping Week decision feels like.”

Sanika S. Mahajan ’21, a UC Education Committee member, said the current debate was about issues broader than just Shopping Week. “It has to do with the feeling that the student experience at Harvard cannot be something that is just prescribed to us,” she said. simone.chu@thecrimson.com.

ply to institutions that accept federal funding which, obviously, Harvard is one,” Cohn said.

“So I think that, if this amend-

If this amendment were adopted as written, Harvard would have to stop its plan.

Samuel M. Thorn ’20 Undergraduate

ment were adopted as written, Harvard would have to stop its plan to crackdown on single-gender organizations and the people who choose to join them.”

Contacted for comment, a Harvard spokesperson pointed to Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana’s previous statements concerning the PROSPER Act. In multiple interviews, Khurana has said he believes the sanctions are key to achieving Harvard’s educational mission.

“People should respect a private institution’s ability to organize itself around its mission,”

Khurana said in an April 27 interview.

Former University President Drew G. Faust said in a March 2018 interview that she is “distressed” by any congressional attempts to interfere with “internal University affairs.”

In a later letter to Congress, she wrote that attempts by lawmakers to kill the penalties would “undermine [the] diversity of choice and experience” on campus. Though members of FIRE wrote the amendment themselves, they received “feedback” during the drafting process from some congressional offices, according to Cohn.

He said he did not remember which offices chose to offer comments.

FIRE is not the only group seeking to convince Congress to cancel the sanctions. Though roughly a dozen Harvard social groups recently vowed to abandon single-gender status, thus earning College recognition and exemption from the penalties, a handful of holdouts are staunchly campaigning against the policy.

The Cambridge Coalition — comprising all-male final clubs the Fly Club, the A.D. Club, and

the Porcellian Club, along with the Harvard chapters of fraternities Delta Kappa Epsilon, Sigma Chi, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon — sent representatives to the Washington in spring 2018 to urge lawmakers to support the PROSPER Act. Cohn presented FIRE’s amendment to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce during a Sept. 26 hearing on college students’ First Amendment rights.

It is unclear when — or if — the House of Representatives will vote on the PROSPER Act. Though the proposed legislation passed out of committee in December 2017, it has not yet been scheduled for a full vote by the House.

If lawmakers fail to pass the PROSPER Act, the fight over the future of the sanctions could move from Congress to the courthouse.

Some final club affiliates have said they would consider suing Harvard, though they view legal action as a “last resort.” caroline.engelmayer@thecrimson.com. michael.xie@thecrimson.com.

Columbia’s Returns Lag Harvard’s Ivy League Endowment Returns 16%

14.2%

13.2% 12.9%

12% Percent

ever went to Harvard Medical School, that’s a hard sell.”

Using money from the campaign, Harvard Medical School will be able to establish 12 new professorships at the school itself, and 57 at affiliated hospitals, according to Vild. In total, just under 10,000 donors made gifts.

The school’s campaign forms one part of the University’s broader capital campaign, which brought in a record-breaking $9.6 billion, administrators announced last month.

The Medical School’s Longwood neighbor, the School of Public Health, posted a $933 million total.

The Medical School publicly launched its campaign and announced its goal in 2014, after

Still, FIRE’s proposal — dubbed the “HEA Freedom of Association Amendment” — is far from implementation. A member of Congress must formally introduce the amendment before lawmakers can vote on it, according to Neal McCluskey, the director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute.

It is unclear whether any legislators plan to introduce the FIRE amendment, and none have done so to date.

The College’s sanctions, first debuted in May 2016, bar members of unrecognized single-gender final clubs, fraternities, and sororities from holding leadership positions in recognized student groups, serving as the captains of varsity athletic teams, and from receiving College endorsements for certain prestigious fellowships like the Rhodes Scholarship. Joseph Cohn, FIRE’s legislative and policy director, said his organization drafted the amendment specifically to ensure the PROSPER Act, if ultimately passed, applies to Harvard.

“This amendment would specifically prohibit [Harvard’s sanctions] because it would ap-

12.3% 12.2% 10.6%

10.0%

9.0%

8%

4%

0%

Princeton

Penn.

Brown

Dartmouth Yale

Harvard

Cornell

Columbia

ELENA M. RAMOS—CRIMSON DESIGNER

By ANDREW J. ZUCKER CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

C olumbia University announced last week that its endowment investments returned 9 percent during fiscal year 2018, making it the only school in the Ivy League to trail Harvard in endowment returns.

The Columbia Investment Management Company, which manages the New York school’s ­

finances, announced that the gains brought its total endowment to $10.9 billion. This October marks the first full fiscal year group chief Peter Holland’s has overseen its returns.

The school’s endowment returns trail this year’s Ivy League average of 11.8 percent as well as the S&P 500, which returned 14.37 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. Harvard returned 10 per-

cent, an improvement from last year’s return of 8.1 percent, but still behind most of its peers.

In a press release, Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger noted the returns’ impact over the last decade, but he did not directly address the school’s latest fiscal year returns.

“Strong and steady investment performance across market and economic cycles is es-

sential to sustaining our world class scholarship, teaching, research, and patient care,” Bollinger said in a written statement.

“The returns achieved over the past decade and the remarkable generosity of our donors continue to help us expand student access, discover new knowledge, and advance Columbia’s groundbreaking research.”

Columbia’s statement noted part of the endowment’s growth came in part thanks to a “substantial growth in gifts,” including donations from Herbert and Florence Irving, as well as Roy Vagelo. The school’s endowment is made up of over 5000 separate funds.

N.P. Narvekar, CEO of the Harvard Management Company, previously oversaw Columbia’s endowment. During the last reporting cycle, a period in which Narvekar led Columbia’s endowment for the first part of the fiscal year, Columbia returned 13.7 percent, the third best returns in the Ivy League.

Experts said it is too early to judge Narvekar’s strategy at Harvard, instead recommending that Harvard’s investment performance should be judged as Narvekar’s tenure progresses. andrew.zucker@thecrimson. com.

SPORTS

IN OTHER NEWS

MEN’S HOCKEY

The Crimson kicks its season off on Oct. 20 with an exhibition game against the USNTDP U-18 squad. A week later, Harvard trips to Dartmouth to commence a five-month regular season in which it will try to attain the national-stage success of 2017’s Frozen Four run.

FOOTBALL

Concussions Plunge with New Ivy League Kickoff Rule

By CADE PALMER CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The kickoff is the most violent play in college football. Setting up a full sprint of the two teams toward each other, more concussions occur during these kickoffs than any other play, but the Ivy League has been working to change that.

A study released by the Journal of the American Medical Association on Oct. 1 supports the experimental Ivy League kickoff rule’s effectiveness in reducing the incidence of concussions.

The researchers, Douglas J. Wiebe, Bernadette A. D’Alonzo, Robin Harris, Margot Putukian and Carolyn Campbell-McGovern, summarized the study’s results in a research letter titled, “Association Between the Experimental Kickoff Rule and Concussion Rates in Ivy League Football.”

For the past two seasons, the division’s football teams kickoff from the 40-yard line, as opposed to the 30-yard line in previous seasons. Additionally, touchbacks can be called from anywhere behind the 25-yard line and if a touchback is called, the ball is placed at that 25-yard line rather than the 20-yard line of the years past.

The study measured the number of concussions during kickoffs in the three seasons prior to the rule change and during the two seasons following. From 2013 to 2015, the incidence of concussions on kickoffs was 10.93 for every 1000 plays.

In the two years succeeding the rule’s implementation, the incidence rate decreased to 2.04 for every 1000 plays — more than a 68 percent reduction.

“I think it’s a no brainer. I just think it makes so much sense,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “If you move the kickoff line up, you’re definitely going to have more touchbacks ­

HEADS UP The Ivy League’s new kickoff rule has limited the most dangerous play in the sport, the kick return, and in doing so has mitigated head trauma injuries. A study released by the Journal of the American Medical Association supports these findings, stating that concussion incidence rates have dropped by over 68 percent. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

and therefore you’re going to have less high speed collisions.

It’s such a no brainer that I can’t believe that it won’t eventually adopted by the NCAA.” The rule is aimed at increasing the number of touchbacks on kickoffs, thus preventing any full scale contact on the play. In the three years prior to implementation, kickoffs resulted in touchbacks an average of 17.9 percent annually. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons, that mean increased to 48 percent.

“I think it’s good, I think this is what it’s going towards,” said

Harvard senior defensive tackle Richie Ryan. “I think they’ve found something that works so stick with it. Kickoff and kick return are just becoming more old style football that I don’t think is going to last much longer.”

The NCAA has since adopted portions of the rule, allowing any fair catch signaled within the 25-yard line to count as a touchback. In the past, players could only signal a touchback if there caught the ball in their own endzone.

Concussion review in the Ivy

League began in 2010 with the formation of a special ad hoc committee. The committee was chaired by then-Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim and then-President David J. Skorton and was comprised of a number of coaches, administrators, consultants, team physicians and trainers.

The committee’s initial recommendations — taking effect in the 2011 season — limited the number of full contact practices, specified education athletes would receive surrounding head trauma and made the post-

game review of helmet-to-helmet contact more stringent.

This committee also began to review kickoffs, noting in it’s study that while the kicks only accounted for 5.8 percent of plays, the collisions caused during the kickoffs accounted for 23.4 of concussions during games. In 2016, the coaches of the Ancient Eight squads unanimously voted to approve a rule prohibiting full contact football practices, another effort to address concussions. Only weeks later, the National Football League acknowledged for the

first time the link between CTE and playing football.

“The action taken by Ivy League leadership based on epidemiologic evidence demonstrates how targeted policy changes can reduce sport-related concussion,” the researchers wrote in the letter. “Although these results may not generalize beyond the Ivy League, they may inform the NCAA as it considers adjusting the kickoff rules in football in all collegiate conferences.” cade.palmer@thecrimson.com.

SOCCER

Crimson Falls to Brown in Second Straight Shutout Loss

BROWN AND OUT Harvard suffered its second consecutive 1-0 shutout defeat, marking four straight losses. The team is currently stalling on offense, having registered just two goals in its last four contests, providing the defense with little cushion. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

By RONNI CUCCIA CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

On Saturday the Harvard men’s soccer team (3-9-0, 1-2-0 Ivy) participated in a hard-fought match against Brown (6-5-0, 1-2-0) that ultimately ended in a ­

1-0 loss for the Crimson. Brown earned their second straight victory and its first Ivy League win of the season.

After this weekend’s games, Princeton remains at the top of the Ivy League with seven points by keeping an undefeat-

ed conference record (7-4-1, 2-0-1 Ivy). Brown and Harvard are tied for sixth with three points each.

The Crimson went into the game after another very close 1-0 loss against Boston College in a non conference game on

Tuesday October 9th.

“We felt pretty good going into the game even though we lost midweek at Boston College,” Harvard captain Sam Brown said. “We actually played really well and dominated large spells of that game

so I think everyone was pretty confident going into Saturday.

And I think whenever we have a good week of training which we did, guys are more confident and there is no sense of nervousness.”

This most recent match for Harvard went into double overtime. The only goal of the game was scored in the 103rd minute

by Bears’ senior forward Toby Howell. This was the third game of the season that Brown won in overtime this season.

Under the lights at Stevenson-Pincince Field in Providence, R.I., the game winning play began when junior midfielder and Bears’ leading goal-scorer Daniel Schiller ran down the left flank of the field and sent a cross towards the Harvard goal. Howell put himself in striking position and hit the ball first time into the back of the net. It was Howell’s second goal of the season.

Despite the low score, there was plenty of action throughout the match. In the 68th minute Brown had a scoring opportunity when Howell dribbled down the right side of the field and passed the ball to freshman midfielder Nicolas Perez. Perez’ shot went just wide of the net.

With just ten minutes left in regulation, Harvard senior forward Cesar Farias Jr. fired a shot on target, but Bears’ keeper freshman James Swomley managed to leap into the air and knock the ball over the crossbar to keep Brown in the game.

Once regulation play ended, the game went into overtime, which was two ten minute halves. In the first half of overtime, Harvard took the only two shots, even though on the pitch Brown had most of the possession.

“Brown gave us a good

amount of space in the midfield and we probably had most of the ball that we had all year so we had a lot of possession,” Brown said. “So I think that with possession comes more chances to create opportunities which led to more shots obviously. I think we kind of settled down probably midway into the first half and then we kind of carried that momentum into the second half as well and had the ball for large chunks of the second half.”

The Crimson left the match with impressive statistics. Harvard outshot the Bears 8-7 in the first half. The team had a season high of 16 shots with 2 on goal. Sophomore goalie Matt Freese was solid in the net with four saves. Freshman forward Alfred Perez and freshman forward/midfield Nico Garcia- Morillo led the Crimson’s offense with four shots each.

Harvard also had seven corner kicks throughout the game.

This is a significant difference from Harvard’s previous game against Boston College where the Crimson had 10 shots total and 2 on goal.

Looking forward to their next game against Princeton, the team hopes to carry similar momentum and offensive success.

“Everyone was obviously pretty disappointed and down just because we were not happy to lose in overtime and then obviously in the Ivy League it’s tough because each game matters so much,” Brown said. “We haven’t thought of any major changes, maybe one or two minor adjustments, but that also comes with preparing for what Princeton brings. So we will try to look at them and see what they have and see where we can kind of exploit them.” ronni.cuccia@thecrimson.com.