The Harvard Crimson - Volume CLI, No. 30

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

Why Donald Trump’s Return Could Spell Trouble for Harvard

Hoekstra Defends 2-Week Library Bans for C ampus Activists

Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 always knew it would be difficult for him to mend the University’s relationship with Washington. It just became a lot harder. Donald Trump’s return to the White House and a Republican majority in the Senate — and, possibly, control of the House — give Harvard officials plenty to worry about.

Republicans have vowed to cut federal funding to elite institutions of higher education, increase taxes on university endowments, reverse Biden-era Title IX protections, and deport “pro-Hamas radicals” on college campuses.

Since taking over as interim president, Garber has met with lawmakers and White House officials several times in an attempt to convince the University’s critics in Washington that Harvard is addressing antisemitism forcefully.

But with Trump back in the White House and in control of the Education Department, none of that may matter.

“I fear we have to be very concerned,” said former Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine.

“We’re in a very difficult situation with the current House membership and its current attitudes toward universities. I really do think we have to be very much on our guard.”

‘Jurisdiction as President’

The political attacks against higher education only increased over the past four years under a Democratic administration — except most of the criticism did not come from Democrats.

Since December, the most direct threat to Harvard has come from the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

The committee called former Harvard President Claudine Gay to testify before Congress during a hearing about campus antisemitism in December 2023. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.)

“We can’t just roll over and give in to them,” Rudenstine added. “But at the same time, we’ve got to recognize the fact that they just have a lot of power.”

SEE PAGE 7

Harvard Conservatives Cheer Trump at Watch Party

PAGE 6. The Harvard Republican Club and the Institute of Politics Conservative Coalition hosted a boisterous election night watch party at the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub.

BY TILLY R. ROBINSON AND NEIL H. SHAH

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra gave a full-throated endorsement of Harvard Library’s decision to temporarily ban protesters who staged library study-ins Tuesday, delivering a pointed rebuke to faculty who criticized the two-week bans as a threat to free speech.

Hoekstra’s remarks, at a Tuesday meeting of the FAS, make her the first top administrator outside the library system to throw her support behind the penalties — and mark an unusually bold statement from a dean who typically avoids staking out public stances on campus politics.

“Protests are a normal part of

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Glides to Third Term

PAGE 8. The former Harvard Law School professor easily secured a third six-year term in the Senate. At an election watch party, Warren did not say whether this would be her last term in office.

university life, and so are rules to govern the times and places they occur,” Hoekstra said. “Our current rules clearly state that libraries are not the place for organized group demonstrations.”

“I fully support Martha Whitehead in her implementation of this University policy,” she added, referring to the head of Harvard’s library system. Whitehead reports jointly to Hoekstra and Provost John F. Manning ’82.

Since late September, library study-ins have become the protest of choice for Harvard’s campus activists. Five groups of students have held silent library protests this semester, and one group of faculty members held a study-in of their own to protest the suspensions against students.

As a result, more than 100 students and roughly 25 faculty

members have temporarily lost their access to the respective libraries they protested in. Many have elected to appeal these decisions to library leadership. Until Tuesday, the justifications for the suspensions came from Harvard Library leadership alone. In a statement on the library’s website, Whitehead defended the suspensions, saying the protests’ use of coordinated signage made them disruptive. Hoekstra’s decision to explicitly back the bans positions her in front of other University leaders, who have largely skirted around the issue even when pressed. In an interview last month, Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana repeatedly refused to address the suspensions, saying he

Professors Cancel Classes After Trump Wins

PAGE 9. Students awoke to a somber campus after Trump’s victory early Wednesday morning. Some professors cancelled classes or extended assignment deadlines to help students process the election.

ultimately feeling like their votes in Connecticut “won’t have an impact,” the Yale Daily News reported. THE YALE DAILY NEWS

Ruth J. Simmons, who served as Brown University’s president from 2001-2012, received Presi-

REPUBLICANS SEIZE SENATE

IN U.S. ELECTIONS

Republicans captured a majority in the Senate, bringing their total in the chamber to 53 as of early Friday morning. With Donald Trump elected as the 47th president, Republicans have control of both the presidency and the Senate as they await outstanding results in the House of Rpresentatives. The first Republican seat to flip came in West Virginia, where Gov. Jim Justice flipped the seat formerly held by Joe Manchin (I-W.V.), a former Democrat, early Tuesday evening.

NORTH KOREA JOINS

RUSSIA’S FIGHT AGAINST

North Korean troops joined Russia’s 810 Separate Naval Infantry Brigade against Ukrainian forces occupying a portion of the Russian Kursk region, according to the New York Times. Ukrainian and Western officials said that the troops joining Russia in the fight are a portion of the roughly 10,000 soldiers Kim Jong-un sent to assist Russia in evacuating Ukraine’s military from the Kursk region. A U.S. official said North Korea lost many troops in the fight, their first with Ukraine since the start of the war.

HURRICANE RAFAEL BLOWS THROUGH CUBA

Hurricane Rafael began its path across Cuba Wednesday, bringing with it destruction and a series of power outages, according to the New York Times. The Category 3 storm sustained wind gusts near 115 m.p.h. and carried heavy rains onto the island. Cuba, hit by Hurricane Oscar just last month, has been facing national blackouts for months as a result of weather phenomena, the most recent coming as a result of extreme winds before Rafael came to shore.

NETANYAHU FIRES ISRAEL’S DEFENSE MINISTER

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after claiming the two disagreed on how the war in Gaza should proceed. Gallant was encouraging a ceasefire in Gaza that would help Israel in the release of its hostages still being held. His firing marks the loss of Israel’s main proponent of a ceasefire. Crowds of people rallied on a major highway in Tel Aviv, blocking traffic.

BIDEN MOVES TO LIMIT OIL DRILLING IN ARCTIC NATIONAL

Trump was elected president in an effort to protect the administration’s environmental policies before he takes office, according to the Washington Post. Trump previously promised to drill more oil in the refuge, signing a tax bill in 2017 that requires a minimum of two lease sales in the area — where drilling was banned for the previous four decades.

What’s Next

Start every week with a preview of what’s on the agenda around Harvard University

Friday 12/8

PBHA COLES CALL OF SERVICE

LECTURE

First Parish Church, 6-8:30 p.m.

Phillips Brooks House Association’s annual social justice lecture will feature Judy Norsigian, a reproductive rights activist, author, and scholar. Tickets are free, and the event will kick off PBHA’s alumni weekend, in honor of it’s 120th anniversary.

Saturday 12/9

ASIAN AMERICAN DANCE TROUPE

SHOW

Lowell Lecture Hall, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m.

AADT’s fall show — Horizon 2024 — will showcase a variety of Asian dances and musical artists, from Chinese traditional dance, to energetic artists like Stray Kids, P-Lo, and Lana Lubany, to emotional artists like Dhruv.

Sunday 12/10

HARVARD UNIVERSITY MEN’S

WATER POLO VS IONA UNIVERSITY

Blodgett Pool, 3-4:30 p.m.

Support the men’s water polo team for their last game of the regular season, as they look to defend their undefeated record before heading into the playoffs, which begin on Nov. 22. Harvard remains the only undefeated team in the conference.

Monday 12/11

FILM SCREENING OF THE NIGHT

WATCHMAN

Carpenter Center Theater, 7 p.m.

Films by award-winning director Natalia Almada tell the deeply emotional stories of the current violence in Mexico’s Sinaloa region, as well her family’s personal tragedies. Tickets are free for Harvard affiliates, and $15 for the general public.

Tuesday 12/12

A CONVERSATION WITH SECRETARY PETE BUTTIGIEG

JFK Jr. Forum, Institute of Politics, 6-7:00 p.m.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will discuss a variety of topics, including his tenure in the Biden-Harris administration, the state of the nation, and the most pressing issues facing President-elect Donald Trump in a conversation at the IOP.

Wednesday 12/13

FGLI

Thursday 12/14

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Friday 12/15

MEDIA MYTHMAKING OF PUNISHMENT AND SAFETY Wasserstein Hall 2nd Floor, 8:30 a.m.

and

AUTUMN IN FULL FLAME

Khurana Confronted at Faculty Meeting

FACULTY ROOM. A professor accused Rakesh Khurana of falsely describing Walter Johnson’s role in the pro-Palestine encampment.

BY TILLY R. ROBINSON AND NEIL H. SHAH CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

The aftermath of House Republicans’ report on antisemitism at Harvard played out dramatically on the floor of the Faculty Room on Tuesday as a professor accused College Dean Rakesh Khurana of falsely characterizing History professor Walter Johnson’s role in the pro-Palestine encampment.

Classics professor Richard F. Thomas stepped up to the podium during a meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to demand answers from Khurana, who painted Johnson as a key instigator of the encampment in a series of texts sent to Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 on May 6. The texts, which were published in a 325-page report released by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce last week, alleged that Johnson led student activists in pro-Palestine chants and told them he “deplore[d] caving in” as tensions rose with adminis

trators. But Thomas said the texts “both misrepresented the words of our colleague and attributed to him words he did not say and actions he did not take.”

Thomas also accused Khurana and Garber of recklessly naming faculty members in private communications they knew could be subject to congressional discovery — and released to the public.

ly asked Khurana whether he and Garber had named other professors in his texts. Before Khurana could answer, FAS Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra stepped in, saying Thomas’s queries were complex and best saved for a private meeting. Thomas, still at the mic and visibly angered, rebuffed Hoekstra’s intervention and asserted that his questions had simple answers. Khurana stepped up to the podium and delivered a short statement asking faculty to “withhold judgment until

protect colleagues from being named in the report. Khurana indicated that he intends to respond to the letter.

After Thomas criticized Khurana’s response as a non-answer, Hoekstra added that Harvard had a limited ability to redact information,

“Whatever our views of the issues that gave rise to our student and faculty protests, our colleague, and this entire faculty, deserve that correction.”

Federal Judge Consolidates Antisemitism Lawsuits Against Harvard Hoekstra Defends Library Bans

BY JOYCE E. KIM CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

A U.S. district judge consolidated two lawsuits alleging Harvard failed to address campus antisemitism — one filed in January and the other in May — “for discovery purposes” on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns set a joint discovery deadline for May 23, 2025 in his Tuesday ruling. The motion to consolidate the lawsuits came after Stearns partially denied Harvard’s motion to dismiss both suits earlier this year. Both lawsuits, filed by separate groups, allege that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

The January lawsuit was filed by a group of six Jewish Harvard students — including recent Harvard Divinity School graduate Shabbos “Alexander” Kestenbaum, the only named plaintiff — who alleged that the University failed to address “severe and pervasive” campus antisemitism.

The students argued that Harvard had “become a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment” in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Harvard filed a motion to dismiss Kestenbaum’s lawsuit in April, and both sides presented arguments during a hearing in July.

Stearns partially denied the motion in August, writing that the plaintiffs’ examples were sufficient for a breach of contract claim, but dismissed the claim that Harvard directly discriminated against Jewish students.

The May lawsuit was filed by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans, which similarly accused Harvard of “deliberately” ignoring antisemitism on campus. The lawsuit centers particularly on an incident at the Harvard Kennedy School in which

three Israeli alleged discrimination on the basis of ethnic identity by lecturer Marshall L. Ganz ’64. Though HKS Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf conducted an investigation that “found sufficient evidence” of discrimination, the students argued in the suit that the University “failed to take prompt or effective remedial action in response.” Harvard filed a motion to dismiss the Brandeis Center lawsuit in July, and a hearing was held on Oct. 23.

On Tuesday, Stearns dismissed the claims that Harvard directly discriminated against Jewish students and that it retaliated against them for complaints about antisemitism, but granted the claim that Harvard created a “hostile educational environment.”

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that the University appreciates “that the Court dismissed the claim that Harvard directly discriminated or retaliated against

members of our community, and we understand that the court considers it too early to make determinations on other claims.”

“Harvard is confident that once the facts in this case are made clear, it will be evident that Harvard has taken significant steps to strengthen and clarify our policies and procedures, as well as engage our community around civil dialogue to bridge divides,” Newton added.

invited “feedback and dialogue” regarding campus protest rules.

University President Alan M. Garber ’76 similarly said he thought it was “appropriate” to discipline participants but stopped short of endorsing the two-week bans.

Study-in participants have argued that the measures selectively penalize them for expressing their political beliefs while using campus libraries for precisely their intended purpose: silently studying.

But Hoekstra contended that punishing students and faculty for holding organized protests in a library is not the same as punishing them for sporting clothing or laptop stickers that broadcast a political message.

She also rebuffed activists’ assertion that the study-ins were not, in fact, protests — arguing that the actions, organized and advertised in advance and often recorded by camera-toting students, bore all the hallmarks of demonstrations.

“These are events with a start and end point, with a clear set of participants, and a clear message,” Hoekstra said. “They are not simply individuals reading.”

Government professor Ryan D. Enos, who participated in an Oct. 16 faculty study-in against the first round of student suspensions, wrote in a statement that he was not convinced by Hoekstra’s reasoning.

“Dean Hoekstra has a difficult job, but she’s on the wrong side of this issue,” Enos wrote. “Universities are places that must favor free expression. Especially at times when free expression is under threat.”

An FAS spokesperson declined to comment on Enos’ criticism. In her Tuesday remarks, Hoekstra also said the two-week suspensions were “consciously structured to not impede academic work,” noting that students could request to pick up library materials at other locations and receive exemptions to attend classes held in Widener.

She cast the suspensions as consistent with decades of University policy, describing the ban on library protests as “part of the University-wide Statement on Rights and Responsibilities,” a 1970 document governing speech and protest on campus. The USRR does not mention restrictions on protests in libraries, though it does grant University officials “the right to establish orderly procedures consistent with imperatives of academic freedom.”

The ban on library protests was rolled out in a January statement that set out more specific time, place, and manner restrictions on campus dissent. The new guidance — billed as a clarification to the USRR — was signed by Harvard’s top academic officials, including Hoekstra, and endorsed by the Harvard Corporation. Hoekstra told faculty they could use other venues for protest, such as writing editorials, participating in panel discussions, or holding outdoor demonstrations.

“These policies, in fact, protect your right to do so,” she said.

joyce.kim@thecrimson.com tilly.robinson@thecrimson.com neil.shah@thecrimson.com

Thomas then asked Khurana and Marc L. Goodheart ’81, chief administrative officer of Har-

vard’s governing boards, whether Harvard planned to issue a statement disavowing the texts and “correcting the record” of John-

son’s actions. Thomas separate

Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana was confronted by a professor on the floor of the Faculty Room Tuesady. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

A U.S. district judge consolidated two lawsuits over Harvard’s alleged failure to address campus antisemitism. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Hoekstra defended Harvard’s decision to issue student protesters with twoweek bans from campus libraries. JULIAN

McKrell to Lead The Crimson’s 152nd Guard

McKenna E. McKrell ’26 will lead The Harvard Crimson’s 152nd guard as its next president, becoming the first member of the paper’s editorial board to serve in the role since 2017. McKrell will be joined atop the masthead by incoming managing editor Tilly R. Robinson ’26 and incoming business manager Jack D. Jassy ’26, the organization announced on Sunday.

McKrell, a Classics concentrator from Sacramento, California, will become president after serving for a year as the paper’s associate editorial editor for op-eds. In her role, McKrell solicited and edited some of The Crimson’s most sensitive op-ed pieces from notable professors, campus leaders, and external pundits.

As a member of the Editorial Board, McKrell also authored a reported column about the history of Radcliffe College and women at Harvard.

A resident of Adams House, McKrell will begin her tenure as president on Jan. 1, 2025.

J. Sellers Hill ’25, The Crimson’s outgoing president, wrote in a statement that the paper is “so excited by the talent and vision represented throughout the 152nd Guard and embodied by these exceptional leaders.”

“Following a year where so many have gained a renewed appreciation for the essential importance of student journalism, this masthead is well-positioned to continue The Crimson’s tradition of excellence,” Hill added.

The Crimson, which was found-

ed in 1873 as Harvard University’s student newspaper, selects its leaders and top editors through an election known as the Turkey Shoot. All outgoing members of the paper’s masthead are allowed to participate in the process, which requires candidates for senior positions to receive 75 percent of the vote.

Robinson, who currently covers the administration of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, will lead The Crimson’s coverage as its next managing editor.

Alongside associate managing editors Cam E. Kettles ’26 and Sally E. Edwards ’26, Robinson will direct the paper’s daily news coverage and oversee its magazine, arts, and sports sections, as well as its blog.

Hailing from Bloomington, Indiana, Robinson has covered the rising tensions between faculty members and top Harvard administrators, including FAS Dean Hopi

E. Hoekstra and University President Alan M. Garber ’76.

A Mather House resident, Robinson broke the news that the University would consider adopting institutional neutrality and revealed that Harvard Business School professor Raffaella Sadun had resigned from Garber’s presidential task force on combating antisemitism. As The Crimson’s next business manager, Jassy will helm the newspaper’s financial operations and business affairs. A History concentrator from Seattle, Washington, Jassy currently serves as the Business Board’s advertising manager.

A Dunster House resident, Jassy managed a team of 19 associates over the past year who were responsible for selling advertising inventory and creating new advertising product opportunities. Jassy, who has closed more than

$225,000 in advertisement sales since joining The Crimson, also reestablished products such as The Crimson Career Guide and the paper’s “Tourist Map.” Joining McKrell, Robinson, and Jassy on the masthead are:

News

Sally E. Edwards ’26, Associate Managing Editor Cam E. Kettles ’26, Associate Managing Editor

Business Claire S. Pak ’26, Associate Business Manager Matthew G. Pantaleo ’26, Associate Business Manager

Editorial Saul I. M. Arnow ’26, Editorial Chair Max A. Palys ’26, Editorial Chair

Students Stage Pro-Palestine ‘Pray-In’ at Harvard Divinity School

BY RACHAEL A.

More than 55 graduate students called on the University to divest from Israel’s war in Gaza and end censorship on campus during a “pray-in” protest at the Harvard Divinity School’s library on Monday.

The demonstration, which was led by Jewish students at HDS, lasted for roughly 45 minutes and was open to participants from all religious traditions. Several students brought their own religious texts – like the Quran, Torah, and Bible –and silently prayed.

Attendees also read books or worked on their computers, which displayed signs such as “Harvard Jewish Students Say: Harvard Divest From Genocide,” “No Normalcy During Genocide,” and “Praying For Palestinian Liberation.” Many of the attendees also wore keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves.

Though Monday’s “pray-in” continued a trend of pro-Palestine campus activists staging protests in campus libraries, it was the first action to occur at the Divinity School this semester. Similar studyins have been organized at the Harvard Law School and at Widener Library. As have occurred in past library demonstrations, security guards at the Divinity School began photographing the Harvard Univer-

sity IDs of participants. Protesters at other library study-ins have received two-week suspensions from entering the library, but retained access to Harvard Library resources and could access library materials from other campus locations.

Alexandra D. Potter, a first-year at HDS and a member of HDS Students for Justice in Palestine, said that it “was not a demonstration” but rather a group of Jewish students and others who “were looking to just pray together in the library.”

Participants were given pamphlets by event organizers that featured Jewish prayers like the Mourner’s Kaddish, a prayer that observant Jews recite daily for one year after the death of a parent. Other attendees prayed over a rosary and a misbaha.

The pamphlets also levied criticism against Harvard Chabad and Harvard Hillel, calling on Jewish leaders “to stop weaponizing Jewish feelings as a means of suppressing free speech and solidarity with Palestinians.”

A representative for Harvard Hillel declined to comment. Harvard Chabad did not reply immediately to a request for comment.

“Our concern is that Jewishness, and Judaism, and Jewish safety is being co-opted to justify acts by the administration,” said Stephanie L. Tabashneck, an HDS student who helped organize the demonstration.

“I think you can both adamant-

ly oppose antisemitism and also oppose our complicitness in genocide and the suppression of free speech,” Tabashneck added.

The back of the pamphlets also listed explicit instructions for students asked to show their identification, including asking administrators to identify themselves and to inquire why their ID had been recorded. Participants were also encouraged to ask administrators why they were “being surveilled in your own study space.”

Potter criticized the decision to note down the HUIDs of students participating in the “pray-in.”

“To choose to ID students for praying together is really despicable,” Potter said.

“What are we doing studying religion if this can’t be a place for people to use their faith to reflect on what is going on around the world?” Potter added.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that “the University and Harvard Divinity School administration will continue to gather information about the action that took place inside the Harvard Divinity School library today before determining next steps.”

Two counterprotesters also sat in the library to observe the pray-in.

Gidon Ben Rivka, who is Jewish and has frequently attended pro-Palestine protests as a counterprotester, said the library is “supposed to be a space for learning and studying.”

“I feel like people should be able to come to a library and not see a blood libel against them,” he added. “That doesn’t seem like a prayer to me. That seems much more political.”

While it is still unclear if the University will move to discipline the

students who participated in the “pray-in,” Tabashneck said that Divinity School students had an obligation to denounce human rights abuses.

We at the Divinity School are training to be chaplains, ministers, and act in social justice, and our re-

ligious and traditional faiths call on us to pray,” Tabashneck said. “Our Jewish faith calls on us to act out against oppression and genocide,” she added.

HMS Receives Federal Warning Over Animal Welfare Violation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an official warning notice that Harvard Medical School researchers violated federal animal welfare laws after the school self-reported the incident. Wednesday’s notice stated that in September of last year, an HMS primary investigator failed to place a barrier between two primate subjects after returning them to their cages. The oversight resulted in injury, according to the notice, as one primate fractured and lacerated the tail of another.

inspection in February of this year, the notice said. The injured animals received prompt veterinary care.

“Harvard Medical School (HMS) failed to handle animals as expeditiously and carefully as possible in a manner that does not cause trauma,” the notice stated. After reporting the incident, HMS implemented corrective measures before a Department

In a statement to The Crimson, HMS spokesperson Ekaterina D. Pesheva wrote that HMS has “rigorous protocols and guidelines” regarding the treatment of animals involved in research.

“This incident was the result of an oversight, which Harvard Medical School self-reported and took immediate corrective measures to safeguard against sim-

ilar occurrences in the future,” she added. The warning is the latest in allegations of animal cruelty against HMS researchers. In February, the advocacy group Stop Animal Exploitation Now filed a federal complaint over the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s use of mouse models in cancer research.

In Feb. 2023, over 380 researchers signed a letter calling on the National Institute of Health to stop funding pri-

mate experiments at HMS. A few months later, at Harvard Alumni Day, an animal rights protester dumped glitter on Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, demanding he shut down the labs conducting primate experiments.

In June, Garber was met with more pushback as he attended an alumni event in Madrid, as activists with the group Abolición Vivisección protested the use of monkeys in the lab of HMS professor Margaret S. Livingston. Despite the protests, however,

Pesheva maintained that the use of animals in biological research

“remains indispensable for understanding the mechanisms that underlie disease.”

“HMS continuously strives to refine the use and care of animals, reduce the number of animals used in research, and replace animals with nonanimal models whenever possible,” she added.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a warning notice to Harvard Medical School Wednesday, saying that the school violated federal animal welfare laws. JONATHAN G. YUAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

ELECTION 2024

Donald Trump Wins Back the White House

hoped for.

“When we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle distinguishes a democracy from a monarchy or tyranny,” Harris said.

Still, Harris urged supporters to continue to fight for what they believe.

“While I concede the election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris said.

Former President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States, sweeping away two impeachments, four indictments, and two assassination attempts on his way to winning back the White House.

The Associated Press called the election for Trump shortly after 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, after he clinched 10 electoral college votes from Wisconsin to pass the 270-vote threshold. Trump previously won the critical battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania to virtually eliminate a path to victory for Harris.

Harris called Trump Wednesday afternoon to formally concede the election. She also addressed her loss hours later in a speech to a crowd of supporters at Howard University, where Harris was initially expected to speak at an election night watch party on Tuesday.

Harris emphasized that it was essential to “engage in a peaceful exchange of power” even though the results of the election were not what her supporters had

“Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place.”

Trump’s reelection comes after he has been convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York State Court. Once he assumes office in January, Trump will gain presidential immunity from the federal charges.

During the race, both candidates portrayed the election as a battle for the future of the country.

Democrats warned that Trump, who didn’t accept the results of his loss to President Joe

Biden in 2020, would be dangerous for democracy. In the weeks leading up to election, John F. Kelly — who was Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff during his first term in office — said that he believed the former president met the definition of a fascist.

Meanwhile, Trump rode a wave of anger directed at the Biden-Harris administration over rising inflation and illegal

jority.

Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), will take office on Jan. 20, 2025, when Trump will become the first U.S. president to serve two non-consecutive terms since former President Grover Cleveland won reelection in 1892.

As his victory became increasingly apparent, Trump delivered a victory speech early Wednesday morning to an awaiting crowd in West Palm Beach, Fla.

In his speech, Trump promised the country his time in office will result in the “greatest economic comeback.”

“I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous learning that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America,” he said.

As Trump’s lead in electoral votes grew, shockwaves were sent through Harris watch party attendees earlier in the night.

immigration to victory. Trump also repeatedly claimed through the campaign that his four indictments demonstrated that he was the victim of a politically motivated prosecution — capitalizing on his supporters’ diminishing trust in public institutions.

Trump’s reelection secured a huge victory for Republicans on Tuesday, which saw the GOP regain control of the Senate for the first time in four years. Republicans are also hoping to hold onto their control of the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) currently has a three-person ma-

Democrats were briefly optimistic that Harris could defeat Trump after Biden dropped out of the race in late July and endorsed Harris to become the Democratic Party’s nominee.

Harris, however, failed to replicate Biden’s success in 2020, as Trump flipped Pennsylvania and Georgia — two key battleground states that Biden carried in the last election. At her election night watch party at Howard, attendees grew increasingly despondent before Harris canceled her appearance as Trump pulled ahead in the race.

In an attempt to inject enthu-

siasm into the crowd, campaign staffers started handing out American flags by the bundle to attendees.

But the flag waving quickly ended when a visibly disappointed audience watched CNN call Ohio for Trump. As CNN anchor John King broke down a bleak picture for Harris in Kent County, Michigan, one attendee said, “This is ridiculous.”

Despite the growing frustration with election results, the energy at the Harris watch party was briefly revived after Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Maryland, gave a speech after her victory was confirmed.

But the election results from North Carolina quickly deflated any lingering energy from Alsobrooks’ speech. As Trump’s win in the swing state was announced, more than 100 attendees of the Harris watch party began to trickle out, expressing disappointment and frustration with the incoming results.

Noticing the dampening mood, the Harris campaign shifted away from broadcasting CNN’s live stream and began blasting loud music in an attempt to cheer up the audience. At Harvard University, students and faculty members were closely watching results trickle in at several election night watch parties on campus. Hundreds of students packed Sanders Theatre for an event co-hosted by the Dean of Students Office, the Institute of Politics, and Harvard College Intellectual Vitality.

Many students expressed excitement as they watched the results come in with their friends in the crowded theater.

“I’m just so grateful that in my first year here, I get the chance to experience such an amazing event,” said Prisha Sheth ’28.

“We’re all together as we watch this historic moment,” Sheth said. Outside of Harvard, Cambridge voters were concerned about the possibility — now reality — of a second Trump term.

“When you’re a CEO, you’re in charge, and you often don’t even have to report to a board of directors,”said Cambridge resident Fen Portman. “But in a democracy, you’re part of a larger system, and there’s lots of checks and balances.” Jeffrey Richards said in an interview from a polling site at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School that he thought Trump winning back the White House would be bad for the country.

“If Trump wins, chaos,” Richards said.

Brett D. “David” Brannon ‘21, who attended the watch party, disagreed with the pessimistic views on Trump’s reelection.

“Over half of Americans agree with President Trump on issues like immigration, the economy,” Brannon said.

“If they can’t connect with those people, that’s a problem with their education — not with those people,” he added.

samuel.church@thecrimson.com grace.yoon@thecrimson.com frank.zhou@thecrimson.com

Harvard Republicans Cheer Donald Trump at Election Watch Party

Republican Club and the Institute of Politics Conservative Coalition hosted a boisterous election night watch party at the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub on Thursday night, cheering on former President Donald Trump as a Fox News live stream provided attendees with the latest election results. The watch party, which was located one floor below the official election night watch party sponsored by the Dean of Students Office at Sanders Theater, provided a more intimate gathering for roughly 300 people who were largely Republicans. Michael Oved ’25, the president of both the Harvard Republican Club and the Conservative Coalition, said that the event provided a space for conservatives and Republicans at Harvard to come together.

“It really is buzzing with energy,” Oved said. “There’s a lot of students who are just really excited to meet other Republicans, other conservatives.” Robert J. Oswald, a current student at the Harvard Kennedy School, expressed his appreciation for the space that the watch party provided considering that most students at Harvard tend to support Democrats.

“It’s not unknown that most people lean left, at the very least,” Oswald said. “So the fact that this is a smaller get-together, I think, is rather obvious.”

As Trump took an early lead over Harris, Oved expressed optimism about the former president’s chances for winning back the White House.

“We’re gonna know that Trump is our next president by midnight tonight,” Oved told attendees, drawing cheers from the crowd.

As results rolled in, the room’s reactions ranged from cheers accompanying Trump’s victories like that in Texas,

while the announcement of Harris’ wins were met with passionate boos.

Oved closely followed the projected outcome of the election by the New York Times alongside his own speculations, announcing updates periodically.

According to Oved, the Harvard Republican Club had been “dead” since 2016, but was revived over the past year with an increase in club events including talks with government officials.

Many attendees expressed the importance of engaging in dialogue with one another, especially amidst the current election.

“I’ve had a lot of productive conversations on all things political and cultural, with people who disagree with me politically, and it’s been very productive and civil,” Oswald said. “And, you know, it’s even created a good friendship between us.”

Susan Hutchinson, the former First Lady of Arkansas, was also present at the event and en-

couraged dialogue between people with different political views.

“I hope we talk to each other with open ears, to really try to understand each other and see where people are coming from and what their lives and experiences are that has them thinking a certain way or approaching things a certain way,” Hutchinson said.

However, Oved acknowledged that not everyone was eager to engage in dialogue on Tuesday. After delivering brief remarks at the larger watch party in Sanders Theater, Oved returned to the conservative watch party to tell attendees that he had received a chilly reception.

“I went upstairs, I went on the stage and I told them, ‘Guys, I’m president of the Harvard Republican Club’ — the whole place starts booing me,” Oved said. “And then I tell them that Trump is gonna win and he’s gonna beat them, and they didn’t applaud.”

“I left the stage with that,” he

added. As the event ended, volun

teers cleaned Queen’s Head while quick passerby and attendees took turns taking

How Trump’s Win Will Impact Harvard

grilled Gay over the University’s policies and why it had not done more to protect its Jewish students, which contributed to her resignation one month later.

Despite Gay’s resignation, the committee has been investigating the University’s alleged failure to combat campus antisemitism for nearly one year. In February, the committee subpoenaed Garber and two other senior members of Harvard’s leadership.

Last week, five days before the election, the committee dropped a bombshell report about the University’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that argued Harvard “likely violated” Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The committee also indicated that it was prepared to pass the baton to the White House.

“It is time for the executive branch to enforce the laws and ensure colleges and universities restore order and guarantee that all students have a safe learning environment,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), the committee’s chair, wrote in a statement.

After Trump is sworn into office in January, he will have the option to take up the baton.

But that claim, which is also at the heart of two lawsuits currently making their way through federal court, cannot be enforced by the committee itself without legislation.

Instead, Stanley M. Brand, the former general counsel to the House of Representatives, said that enforcement will be up to the Department of Education.

“I think what it opens up is — with a change in administrations and a wholly different view of how the executive branch is going to enforce these laws — there could well be a stimulus for the new Education Department to take a different posture towards this whole issue,” Brand said.

“I would expect that if the new administration believes there’s still mileage in this issue for them, they will take a look at it,” he added. University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain wrote in an October statement that “Harvard has and will continue to be unequivocal that antisemitism will not be tolerated on our campus.”

“We have taken, and continue to take, actions to combat hate and to promote and nurture civil dialogue and respectful engagement,” he added.

While Trump is unlikely to get enough votes from Congress to fulfill his pledge of dissolving the department entirely, he may be able to use the Education Department to push forward pledges to tax and defund colleges and universities.

Stefanik, who led the crusade against Gay, has been floated as a potential candidate for secretary of education in Trump’s administration — a nightmare scenario for Harvard.

After her viral moment questioning Gay at the congressional hearing, Stefanik told the New York Post she intends to “use every tool at our disposal to ensure that schools that protect and encourage antisemitism are cut off from any and all federal funds.”

During a private meeting in October with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) even floated revoking Harvard’s national accreditation entirely with Trump in office again.

While stripping accreditation — which is necessary for Harvard to receive federal funding — is an extremely unlikely outcome, Scalise’ scomments indicate that Republicans will, at a minimum, continue to make Harvard sweat.

A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to questions about whether cutting university funding will be a priority for the president-elect.

But Peter F. Lake ’81, a law professor at Stetson University, said that even if Republicans try to defund Harvard, it won’t be an easy process.

“There are a lot of steps to get to that place,” Lake said. “It would be probably no less challenging than skipping down the yellow brick road.”

In Congress, five other House committees have also been instructed to investigate Harvard’s federal funding.

AnnMarie Graham-Barnes, a spokesperson for the Committee on Education and the Workforce, did not answer questions about whether the investigation has formally concluded.

“As long as Jewish students are facing discrimination and harassment, the Committee will continue to demand better from universities,” Graham-Barnes wrote in a statement.

A Test of Institutional Voice Trump’s administration will also put new strain on the University’s new institutional voice policy, de-

fining which public policy issues Garber and other members of University leadership consider to be directly relevant to the University.

Harvard’s policy guidelines for the modified neutrality statement support the University’s decision to issue a statement on Trumpera travel restrictions from several Muslim-majority countries. But with lingering scrutiny over Harvard and its public statements, Garber may feel pressure to remain silent on similar issues after Trump takes office.

When Trump was first elected into office in 2016, former Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust issued a University-wide statement reflecting on what she called the “most divisive and contentious election any of us has ever known.”

“And not just acrimonious words but escalating numbers of cruel and frightening incidents — around the country, including on college campuses — now threaten our profoundest national and human values,” Faust wrote.

Faust’s advocacy also extended beyond issuing statements. She met with officials in the Department of Homeland Security and members of Congress to discuss how to best protect undocumented students if Trump repealed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Other top Harvard administrators, including Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana, also spoke out against Trump’s rhetoric targeting undocumented immigrants and transgender rights during Trump’s first term.

When the Department of Education rolled back protections which allowed transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity in February 2017, Khurana denounced the decision, saying that supporting trans

rights was the “right thing to do.”

“It’s a moral and ethical issue about treating people with dignity and I think Harvard College is committed to that,” Khurana said. “Period.”

Paul Reville, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, acknowledged in an interview that Trump’s second term could test Harvard’s new institutional voice policy.

“The neutrality decision seemed like a good solution for the challenges the University was facing at the time, and yet there are so many gray areas associated with the implementation of that policy that those are going to be put to the test now,” Reville said.

‘Continue to Engage’ Garber has spent the past 10 months quietly reasoning with lawmakers and shoring up the University’s policies for responding to protests and free speech concerns. But that may not be enough to spare Harvard from a Republican movement determined to combat higher education institutions they increasingly see as liberal bastions that indoctrinate students into “wokeism.”

University Professor Gary King said the tension between Harvard and Washington reflects a growing divide between the political parties over education.

“We — that is the universities, intellectuals, the academics, the scholars, the students — we find ourselves on one side of the divide,” King said.

“The majority of the American public of an age to have a college degree do not have a college degree. So the Republicans looked at that, and they said, ‘Oh, we’ll take those, thank you very much.’ And they

found a way of splitting them off,” he added. “That is really unfortunate for us.” Trump himself has voiced support for increasing the tax on Harvard’s endowment, and Vice President-elect JD Vance authored a 2023 bill to increase the endowment tax from 1.4 percent to 35 percent — a threat which has long made Harvard officials nervous.

Trump’s national party platform also includes a promise to “deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again,” a threat to use immigration orders against pro-Palestine protesters in the coming years. Each policy will force Garber to choose between quietly working to win over legislators and mounting a public defense of higher education at the behest of students and faculty.

A University spokesperson wrote in a statement that “the University will continue to engage in Washington and with federal leaders to make the case for the partnership between the government and universities that supports students, vital research and innovation that fuel economic growth, as well as improvements in health and wellbeing.” But even as Garber continues to meet with lawmakers in Washington, he also indicated in an interview in April that he is prepared to advocate for Harvard when it is threatened.

“I believe that the attacks on Harvard for the most part are attacks on higher ed, particularly attacks on our peer institutions,” he said. “It’s very important to defend the principles that our universities stand behind.”

ELECTION 2024

STATE POLITICS

Warren Glides to Win Third Senate Term

BY AVANI B. RAI AND JACK R. TRAPANICK CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Senator Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass.) cruised to reelection on Tuesday, winning a third six-year term and roundly defeating her Republican opponent John Deaton in deep-blue Massachusetts.

The Associated Press called the race for Warren just minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m. With her win, Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor, cemented her status as Massachusetts’ most prominent politician and — following her unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 — one of Washington’s top progressive champions. At home, Warren is known for having mentored many progressive politicians — including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 and Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune — and top-ranking staff of federal economic agencies.

A Cambridge resident often spotted by Harvard students walking her dog near the Radcliffe Quadrangle, Warren cast her vote Tuesday morning at the Graham and Parks Elementary School.

Deaton, an attorney and firsttime political candidate, ran on a decidedly moderate platform: distancing himself from Trump, supporting abortion rights, and comparing himself to former prominent Massachusetts Re -

publicans.

Still, in a state that — despite its progressive bona fides — has elected centrist Republicans to the governor’s mansion, Deaton’s attempt to cast himself in the style of former Governors Charlie D. Baker ’79 and Mitt Romney failed to propel him over the finish line.

In a statement Tuesday night, Deaton wrote that he had “achieved the American dream” in running his campaign, although he did not mention his platform or his opponent. “When you come from that kind of life, when you get to run

against one of the most powerful and influential people in Washington and hold your own on the debate stage — that only happens in America,” he wrote.

At the Warren campaign, spirits ran high at an election watch party in Boston’s South End Tuesday night, as prominent Democrats took the stage before Warren to hype up the crowd, including Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscroll, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07, Rep. Ayanna S. Pressley (D-Mass.), and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.).

Warren, the final speaker of

Massachusetts Voters Approve Proposition to Eliminate MCAS

test is stressful and demoralizing — disproportionately affecting students of color, students with disabilities, and students from low-income backgrounds.

Massachusetts voters approved a contentious ballot question to eliminate the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam as a graduation requirement on Tuesday, marking a major victory for the state’s teachers union. The results for the closely-watched race, called around 4:00 a.m. by the Associated Press, mean that tenth grade students will no longer need to receive a passing score on the exam to graduate for the first time in 20 years. Nearly 60 percent of residents voted “yes” as of early Wednesday morning with 87 percent of votes counted, according to the AP. The debate over the test divided Cambridge residents and voters across the Bay State, drawing endorsements from celebrities and political powerhouses and racking up more than $21 million in donations from both sides.

The proposition’s supporters, led by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, have said that the

But critics of the proposition say that without statewide standards, these same students often fall through the cracks. They argue the exam holds teachers and schools accountable and makes expectations consistent across districts and demographics. In an email to The Crimson Wednesday morning, Dominic Slowey, a spokesperson for the opposition campaign, said the decision to eliminate the requirement without a clear replacement was “reckless.”

“The passage of Question 2 opens the door to greater inequity; our coalition intends to ensure that door does not stay open,” Slowey wrote.

Slowey added that “elected officials, teachers, parents, students, and business groups” need to take a comprehensive look at establishing statewide graduation standards to prepare students for college and the workforce.

“We hope the teachers unions

will join us in that effort,” he wrote.

In Cambridge, only 37 students did not receive a diploma due to failing the MCAS over the past 11 years. Of them, only 8 percent were white and 56 percent had an Individualized Education Plan, according to a memo from interim Superintendent David G. Murphy obtained by The Crimson.

The question split local officials and scores of parents and educators, who had competing ideas of how the measure would impact the city’s long fight to close racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps in its schools.

At the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School polling station, some residents who voted for the proposition said that the current standard cut against equity goals in Cambridge Public Schools.

“We are treating it like it’s an equitable test and that it demonstrates how you will do in the future, which is not true,” Grace Kyrk said.

Tracie Konopinski, a clinician at the Cambridge Health Alliance, said that the requirement was harmful to students’ overall career prospects.

“A high school diploma is really needed for any post-secondary education or even a lot of jobs,” she said. “That’s like the ticket to success now, and we shouldn’t be using a flawed system to grade that.”

But Riley P. Malone ’23, who voted against the proposition, said that the state needed “some sort of standardized measure” in its schools.

“My hope for the future — down the road — is that we don’t have a system in which we need some sort of state testing,” she said. “But I think right now, we do need it.

the night, walked out to cheers, with Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” accompanying her entrance.

“Twelve years ago you took a chance on a candidate who had never run for office,” Warren said, thanking her supporters. “You sent me to Washington to fight for working class people and middle class families.”

“I am grateful down to my toes that you are sending me back to the Senate,” she continued.

Warren also referenced key issues that resonated with her supporters, specifically calling out abortion.

“Enough is enough,” Warren

said. “We are fighting back, and we will restore the protection of Roe all across this nation.”

The jubilant night did not escape the pro-Palestine activism that has marked both Democratic and Republican political events across the country for more than a year. As Markey was speaking, three protestors raised a sign that read “Arms Embargo Now,” a reference to demands that the United States cease shipping arms to Israel to aid its war effort in Gaza.

Warren later addressed the war in Israel, although she held to the Democratic party’s typical

position, calling for the return of hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“For everybody who prays for peace in the Middle East, I see you and fight for you,” she said.

Markey — Warren’s counterpart in the Senate — took the stage to praise Warren’s accomplishments in Congress.

“Fighting and winning is exactly what I have seen Elizabeth do in the Senate,” Markey said.

“When she takes the microphone the Republicans back out from their microphones, and for the past decade, she has been a crusader of what is right for the people of Massachusetts and all families in our country.

“She knows that it is our job in government to make the dream for every person in this country in reality, no matter race, gender, sexual identity,” he added. Pressley, who ran unopposed, celebrated both Warren and Vice President Kamala Harris in her remarks, lauding their success as women in politics — a recurring theme throughout the night.

“Our labor as the women of this country is too often rendered invisible,” she said. “In their memory, in their honor, we are doing the battle for America.”

“You, me, we the people are powerful,” Pressley added.

While Warren’s reelection was largely anticipated, Democrats are already looking for indications of whether or not this stint in the Senate will be her last. At 75, she is the fourth-oldest Senator seeking reelection, and would be 81-years-old by the beginning of a fourth term.

The end of Warren’s stint in Congress, however, would signify a drastic shift in Massachusetts politics as the Democratic party loses a significant figurehead, opening the doors for the state’s prominent local politicians to enter the race.

Yet, Warren gave no signal that she was starting to slow down.

“Today is the start of the next chapter,” Warren said. “We have a lot we want to get done.”

Absentee Anxiety: Harvard Students Struggle to Vote by Mail

BY HIRAL M. CHAVRE AND AZUSA M. LIPPIT CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

After dozens of Harvard students were unable to cast their votes in the 2024 election Tuesday due to missing or delayed absentee ballots, several undergraduates from battleground states resorted to desperate measures — even flying home to cast in-person votes.

Mallory E. Rogers ’25, who applied to get a mail-in ballot but never received it, instead voted in-person in Georgia on Tuesday.

“I just didn’t want to deal with the anxiety of not knowing if my vote was going to count,” Rogers said.

“It felt like it was necessary to go home and vote in-person and have that security of knowing,” she added.

Sammy Duggasani ’25, who also returned to Georgia to vote, called the ability to fly home to vote a “privilege.”

“Not everybody has this luxury of flying back home to vote,” Duggasani said, adding that he was “fortunate” to find a $70 plane ticket. “This took a lot of time out of my week.”

But according to Duggasani, a former Crimson Magazine editor, his professors have been accommodating.

He said his Computer Science 109 professor offered a problem set extension to anyone going home to vote in a “pivotal” state.

“If I were from California — or Texas, even — I wouldn’t feel as compelled to find a way around the mail-in process, or some backup plan,” he added.

Cody A. Vasquez ’25, who is from Maricopa County, Arizo -

na, canceled his absentee ballot after 14 days of waiting — only for it to arrive in the Cabot House mail center on the 15th day, just last week. Vasquez ordered a second ballot, which never arrived.

“It was the biggest pit in my

stomach because I had been waiting so long, and then I finally canceled the ballot and it’s sitting there, right in my mailbox,” he said. To make up for his missing ballot, Vasquez said he reached out to friends from home encouraging them to vote.

“I got 14 of my friends in Arizona to vote, which makes me feel a little bit better,” he said.

It felt like it was necessary to go home and vote in-person and have that security of knowing.

Mallory E. Rogers ’25

“At some moments I was so close to flying home and voting in person, but the tickets as of yesterday were like $550, and like a twelve hour travel day,” he added.

Vasquez said upon calling the Cabot House mail center, he was told the average wait time for packages was 24 to 48 hours, and that “over the past couple of weeks they’ve been prioritizing ballots that they may have received.”

Joseph A. Johnson ’26 said he had similar concerns about the loss of his Missouri mailin ballot, which never reached the voting center after he sent

it through the Pforzheimer House mail system.

“It’s only speculation what happened to my mail, but apparently it was never picked up,” Johnson said. “At least during election time, they should be getting the mail picked up every day.” Johnson said the outcome was doubly disappointing considering that “the College pushes voting really, really hard.”

“They’re always pushing us to sign up for voting, to sign up for mail-in voting, and the fact that my vote isn’t counted makes all of that effort totally futile,” Johnson said.

Harvard Campus Services Director of Communications Michael Conner wrote in a Tuesday statement that Harvard University Mail Services receives mail from the USPS.

“Once on campus, absentee ballots are prioritized and delivered the same day,” Conner wrote. “HUMS has continued to receive absentee ballots from the USPS through the afternoon on election day and those ballots have been delivered.”

Anaïs D. Colin ’25, whose Texas absentee ballot never arrived, said it was particularly disappointing not to vote in this year’s election because “it feels like democracy is on the table.”

“It’s also the first Black woman that we could be voting in as president, which is really exciting, and it would’ve been a very historic election to be able to be a part of,” Colin said.

“I am upset in that sense, even from a symbolic perspective of not having been able to cast my vote,” she added.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), pictured at an election night party, celebrated

EASY WIN. Senator Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass.) won an easy reelection to the Senate on Tuesday.

Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) Massachusetts Senator Fighting and winning is exactly what I have seen Elizabeth do in the Senate.

Campus Somber After Trump Victory

DESPONDENT. Some

fessors cancelled classes as Harvard students processed Trumps’ reelection.

At 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Sophia R. Mammucari ’28 woke up to a phone call from her mom — and the news that Donald Trump had been officially reelected.

“I still had some hope that she was going to win by a small amount. And then I woke up this morning, and that’s not what happened,” Mammucari said. “I probably cried for like an hour.”

On election night, students gathered at viewing parties hosted by friends, House tutors, the Institute of Politics, and the Harvard Republican Club to watch results roll in.

The next morning, they woke up to a somber campus.

When Samantha M. Holtz ’28 googled the presidential election’s outcome before her Wednesday morning swim practice, her “heart dropped a little bit.”

“Being at Harvard, I was surrounded by a lot of people who were very pro-Harris, so in my mind it was already a decided election,” Holtz said. “It was a little bit shocking to me.” Luke P. Kushner ’27 said he was “really, really disappointed” by the presidential election results.

“Very early on in the night, it became pretty clear that it was going to go in the direction of Trump,” Kushner said. “I went to bed before they called it, and at that point I was pretty resigned.”

‘Space to Process’ In Harvard’s freshman dining hall Wednesday morning, Holtz joined a teammate to eat breakfast with

College Dean Rakesh Khurana.

According to Holtz, Khurana told students to “let yourself feel a bunch of emotions about how this is going to impact us in the future, and listen to other people and how they feel about it too.”

Some professors also encouraged students to process in the aftermath of the election, adjusting course requirements in kind.

Courses such as Sociology 1156: “Statistics for Social Sciences” and Applied Math 22a: “Solving and Optimizing,” as well as several General Education courses — 1074: “The Ancient Greek Hero” and 1111: “Popular Culture and Modern China” among them — canceled their Wednesday classes, made attendance optional, or extended assignment deadlines.

The move echoes the aftermath of Trump’s first win in 2016, when professors postponed exams and changed lesson plans to lighten students’ schedules.

Economics lecturer Maxim Boycko wrote in a Wednesday email to students in Economics 1010a: “Intermediate Microeconomics” that the course’s typical in-class quizzes would be optional.

“As we recover from the eventful election night and process the implications of Trump’s victory, please know that class will proceed as usual today, except that classroom quizzes will not be for credit,” Boycko wrote. “Feel free to take time off if needed.”

Jack A. Kelly ’26 said he “was tempted to say ‘no’ to class today.”

“I had some professors that have been like, ‘If you need to not come to class, that’s understandable,’” he added.

“This definitely takes a toll on people’s mental wellbeing.”

Throughout Wednesday, student organizations, faculty, and House tutors also offered chances to come to terms with the election results.

Physics professor Jennifer E. Hoffman ’99 wrote in an email to physics students and faculty that

her office would be “a space to process the election.”

“Many in our community are sleep-deprived, again grieving for glass ceilings that weren’t shattered, fearful for the future, or embarrassed to face our international colleagues,” she wrote. “I stress-baked several pans of lemon bars to share.”

A ‘Very Dark Moment’

For many College students, Trump’s policy proposals mark a source of despair for the next four years.

“Long term, I’m very concerned about Trump’s policies and the things that he has endorsed,” Kushner said. “Trump’s attitude towards democracy and the norms that we have in this country are really, really concerning.”

Kelly, who is enrolled in a class

about healthcare, said he is particularly aware of Trump’s potential impact on American medical systems.

“We have an exam next week about the Affordable Care Act and other kinds of healthcare policies,” he said. “A lot of what we’re learning might become moot if the ACA and the progress that was made under that law is repealed in the second Trump administration.”

Eleanor M. Powell ’25 said she is especially worried about Trump’s impact on the judicial system.

“I’m really worried about the court — and not just the Supreme Court, all of the courts where he will be able to appoint judges,” Powell said. “I think we’re in for a very dark moment in the 21st century’s history.”

Several students attributed their emotional reactions to Trump’s rhetoric toward minority groups across the U.S.

“I just couldn’t believe that Donald Trump won, because he is literally a felon, he’s a criminal, and he’s a racist,” Rachele D. Chung ’28 said.

“I just can’t believe America voted that way.”

“I feel really sad for the state of women,” Claire V. Miller ’28 said.

“If the candidate hadn’t been a Black woman — like if it had been a white man who was just younger than Trump and mentally sharp — I think they could’ve won.”

Victor E. Flores ’25, co-president of the Harvard College Democrats, said he was afraid for the “countless people” who could be affected by Trump’s policies.

“There are marginalized communities across the country that are waiting and watching to see what will happen,” he said. “I am certainly disappointed by these results.”

‘We’re Not Going Anywhere’

For politically engaged Harvard students in groups like Harvard College Democrats and the IOP, Trump’s win marked the conclusion of months of heavy cam-

paigning.

Harvard College Democrats Co-President Tova L. Kaplan ’26 praised the students who have been “working incredibly hard” campaigning for Kamala Harris.

“Those networks that we’ve built and the skills that we’ve built — in students organizing, canvassing, political communications, community building, issue area, advocacy and more — are going to be all the more crucial in this fight ahead,” she said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Alexander H. Lee ’27 said while results were not what he was hoping for, he is motivated to focus on local politics and “make the best out of what we have right now.”

Though students on both sides of the political aisle fought hard for their preferred candidate, IOP President Pratyush Mallick ’25 said he enjoyed seeing bipartisan “unity” at the IOP watch party and “super high” voter turnout.

With the end of the presidential campaigns, Mallick added that students interested in careers in presidential administration have entered a “transition process.”

“Many people who are thinking about pursuing careers in a Harris administration might explore opportunities and other avenues of public service and walk down those pathways,” he said. “And people who are kind of doing the vice versa might look to transition over to the Trump administration.”

‘A Lot More Vocal’

With Trump’s return to the Oval Office, some students said, Harvard’s campus may see a surge in conservative activism despite its usual “blue tint.”

Many students agreed that support for Trump is strong in limited conservative pockets, including the Harvard Republican Club — which endorsed Trump in July — and the Salient, a conservative student

magazine which has published proTrump content this year. According to Chung, Harvard students with more conservative beliefs tend to be quieter, but student Democrats “scream it from the rooftops.”

But in the aftermath of the election, some students predict a change.

“I’m very clear eyed about what this election means in terms of emboldening misogynistic, racist, hateful rhetoric,” Kaplan said.

“I don’t know to what extent that will trickle down to Harvard,” she added, but “we’re going to do our best to make sure that it doesn’t.”

“I think that the Trump supporters will now be a lot more vocal on this campus which, free speech is great, but there might be more animosity,” Mammacuri said.

Jara A. Emtage-Cave ’25, a student on the women’s rugby team, said pro-Trump sentiment seemed to gain traction even before November.

“In the past two weeks before the election, I’ve encountered a lot more people who are pro-Trump, specifically in the athletics community,” Emtage-Cave said. Following the election, Akash D. Anandam ’28 said he assumed a handful of Harvard students were “popping champagne.”

On Tuesday night, HRC was indeed gleefully ushering in a second Trump presidency.

“It is morning again in America!” HRC President Michael Oved ’25 wrote in a statement to The Crimson Wednesday morning.

“I am pleased that the Harvard Republican Club played a part in this remarkable victory and historic comeback of President Trump,” Oved wrote. “It’s now time for us all to come together, unite around our new President, and tackle the issues that face our country.”

How Voters Decided Massachusetts’ 5 Ballot Questions

Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure to eliminate the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam as a

high school graduation requirement but rejected pushes to legalize psychedelics and raise the minimum wage for tipped workers during Tuesday’s elections.

The election also saw votes in favor of expanding the state auditor’s power to investigate the state legislature and allowing rideshare drivers to unionize, according to the Associated Press.

Ballot Question 2 — the most contested of the five measures — passed with nearly 60 percent of the vote as of early Wednesday morning, successfully removing the MCAS exam as a high school graduation requirement.

While the measure’s opponents, including Governor Maura T. Healey ’92, stressed the necessity of standardizing graduation expectations statewide, the influential Massachusetts Teachers Association — which poured millions into the “yes” campaign — said the requirement creates unnecessary stress for students, particularly those from marginalized groups.

Voters also rejected a measure to raise the minimum wage

for tipped workers, an initiative that was heavily promoted by national non-profit One Fair Wage. In interviews with The Crimson, tipped workers said they feared the measure would impact their tips and hours, as well as lead to lower employment across the restaurant industry.

The Massachusetts Restaurant Association led the opposition to the proposal, arguing that the wage hike would lead to rising prices due to higher operating costs. About 64 percent of voters rejected the measure, according to the AP, which called the race shortly before 1 a.m with 71 percent of votes reported.

The failure of Ballot Question 4, which would have allowed Massachusetts residents over the age of 21 to grow, possess and use certain natural psychedelics, comes as a disappointment to its supporters — including the Harvard Undergraduate Psychedelics Club. Still, skepticism over the rapid legalization of psychedelic drugs drove around 57 percent of voters to oppose the measure as of Wednesday morning,

though not all votes had been counted.

Massachusetts residents voted resoundingly in favor of Ballot Question 1, which will allow the state auditor to investigate the state legislature.

The State House, whose operations remain largely opaque to the public, has attracted increasing scrutiny from many residents who feel it has remained dysfunctional and unaccountable for too long. About 72 percent of voters approved the ballot measure, according to the AP, which called the race just before midnight Tuesday.

Massachusetts is currently the only state where the legislature claims full exemption from the public records law, keeping almost all of its internal operations barred from the public. The legislature has delivered the state budget late for the past 14 years and left a slew of bills untouched after the last executive session.

Frustration with the legislature manifested acutely in Cambridge in September, as voters nearly unseated State Rep. Mar-

jorie C. Decker in favor of Harvard graduate student and labor leader Evan C. MacKay ’19, a progressive challenger who charged Decker with upholding the status quo on Beacon Hill. Decker won by only 41 votes. While

The Harvard Institute of Politics hosted an election watch party in Sanders Theater on Tuesday.

PHOTOGRAPHER

FAS in Talks to Expand Center for Public Service

Khurana, Reuben, and Hoekstra had met about the proposal in recent months, but did not have any other update about its status.

BY

Faculty of Arts and Sciences administrators are consid-

ering a proposal to transform the Center for Public Service and Engaged Scholarship into a new “Center for Public Engagement” with expanded academic offerings, according to a draft document obtained by The Crimson.

The document was created in fall 2022 by CPSES Faculty Director Julie A. Reuben, but has sat on the desk of FAS Dean Hopi E. Hoesktra since she took office in 2023. While several people affiliated with CPSES said the proposal remains under consideration by Harvard leadership, it was largely stalled as administrators struggled to contain the fallout on campus over Oct. 7. According to the document, the new center would support increased public service-focused research opportunities and faculty grants, establish a University-wide faculty network, and expand coursework and career opportunities involving public service.

Phillips Brooks House Association President Cody Vasquez ’25 confirmed that CPSES — the umbrella organization for the PBHA — remains interested in “expanding across FAS.”

“We support measures that hope to advance public service for College students in particular, because that’s where our mission lies,” Vasquez added.

Assistant Dean of Civic Engagement and Service Travis Lovett said in an interview that Harvard College Dean Rakesh

Dunne Says Harvard Will Support Students of All Political Views NEWS 10

“They talked about elements of the white paper and how to keep civic work at the forefront,” Lovett said, referring to the 2022 document. “I know that they’re actively considering this white paper as a strategy.”

Lovett said he believed the delay stemmed in part from the leadership upheaval Harvard has experienced over the past year.

Claudine Gay had supported raising funds for the new Center for Public Engagement while she was transitioning from her role as FAS dean to University president, according to Lovett. When Alan M. Garber ’76 succeeded Gay after her sudden resignation in January, discussions about the center took a backseat as senior administrators struggled to grapple with a leadership crisis.

And Khurana, who was described by Lovett as “a real advocate for the Center for Public Service and Engaged Scholarship being an academically interfacing unit,” will depart office at the end of the 2024-25 academic year.

“Conversations that were well underway are now conversations that — we have new leadership in place that’s considering these measures,” Lovett said.

Harvard College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo declined to comment on the draft document or the current status of talks between CPSES and the FAS, but wrote that “work to support public service at the College has continued to expand thanks to ongoing and developing partnerships.”

Palumbo highlighted a new CPSES fellowship for student internships with elected officials, rising applications to the SPARK public service program for incoming freshmen, and the launch of a new Certificate for Civic Engagement, among other public service initiatives.

“There remains a strong commitment to supporting students interested in pursuing public service at the College and as a career,” Palumbo wrote.

Though the new center would likely replace CPSES, it would not seem to have a major impact on student groups already affiliated with the organization, such as the PBHA and certain service-oriented Institute of Politics programs.

Vasquez said that under the new center, PBHA would “continue what we’ve been doing for the past 120 years in ensuring that

College students are engaging in meaningful service in Cambridge and Boston.” Mindich Program in Engaged Scholarship Director Flavia C. Peréa said the new center would fill a gap Harvard has in public service-related academic programming, compared to schools of similar caliber.

“We have a very well-developed portfolio of students-facing extracurricular programming,” Peréa said. However, according to Peréa, the Mindich Program is among few programs that connect public service to academic

study in the FAS. The 2022 proposal suggested collaborations with the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Graduate School of Design to offer secondary fields for undergraduates in public policy and urban studies, respectively. It also called to scale up the SPARK program, a summer volunteer program for incoming first-years to engage in civic work in their hometowns before moving to campus. Palumbo said 10 percent of the Class of 2027 applied to participate in SPARK — a record high for the program.

The new center, according to the proposal, would also “support programs that help students explore careers in public service,” and “expand post-graduation support for students who enter public service careers or have viable social entrepreneurship plans.” Peréa described the center as a necessary step toward advancing public engagement on campus. “What the center would do is elevate public service and civic engagement as a cornerstone of what happens in the FAS,” Peréa said.

need help planning a celebration,’” he added. “Both things could happen in one afternoon in my job.”

As the dust settled on Tuesday’s election results, Harvard Dean of Students Thomas Dunne said his office will offer support to students devastated by Donald Trump’s win, but stressed that the College will remain nonpartisan and inclusive of conservative students.

“There is, and should be, a diverse range of experiences and opinions,” Dunne said in a Thursday interview. “That’s what a university is all about.”

Dunne’s remarks come as the College prepares to walk a fine line through the aftermath of the election, aiming to be responsive to liberal students fearful of a second Trump administration while maintaining Harvard’s new policy of not commenting on controversial political issues. In his interview, Dunne emphasized that the DSO would serve students of all political stripes.

“What can be sometimes hard for people to realize is there is support and care for students broadly, in the same way that people reach out to students if they are from a particular region of the world that has a natural disaster,” Dunne said. “People have a sense that, ‘Oh, this is because they’re upset that Trump won an election’ — and it’s actually more nuanced than that.”

“We respond to students who have needs. Those needs could be, ‘I need support,’ or it could be, ‘I

Despite Crimson surveys showing that Harvard faculty and students are overwhelmingly liberal, Dunne objected to “distorted” characterizations of the University as a hub of political orthodoxy in certain mainstream outlets, including the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal.

He specifically rejected the notion “that everyone here, every student, has the same political views and ideology — which we know is not the case — or reacts in the same way, or is navigating the same concerns about what this election means for themselves, their families.”

Dunne added that the intellectual vitality initiative — a College-wide push to improve campus discourse — could help students concerned that the outcome could lead to increased campus divisions and racist or misogynistic rhetoric.

“One of the things that’s been a thread with intellectual vitality work has been assuming good intentions, asking clarifying questions, and at the very least initially give someone the benefit of the doubt,” he said.

“Irrespective of how the election played out at that level, we have work to do here of fostering a campus environment that is inclusive and respectful and community oriented,” he said.

On election night, the DSO co-organized two watch parties — one with the Institute of Politics in Sanders Theatre and an-

other with the Harvard Republican Club in the Cambridge Queen’s Head venue directly below Sanders. Dunne emphasized that the DSO wanted to oblige the HRC’s request to have a watch party featuring a feed from Fox News, rather than CNN.

“It was really important to us to make sure that conservative student groups and the College Republicans were part of the event,” Dunne said.

“There’s a very comfortable stereotype of, ‘An office would support one group or care about one group of students and not the others,’” he added. “And that’s not the case.” During the interview, Dunne also acknowledged that Trump’s reelection killed some liberal students’ dreams of working in a Democratic White House once they graduate, but said he would encourage them to get involved with local politics.

“If your dream of working in politics is working at the White House, okay, that’s a little bit challenging for the left-leaning progressive student,” he said. “If you want to work in politics in elected office and make a difference, Cambridge City Hall is like — we could walk there.”

“There’s all these other opportunities where we can do stuff and use the benefit of a Harvard education to make our home community better, which would be a great service to the nation,” Dunne added.

The Phillips Brooks House, which houses the Phillips Brooks House Assocation, is located in Harvard Yard.

Harvard Demanded to Up PILOT Payments

In the 2023 fiscal year, Harvard paid the City of Cambridge $4.3 million in lieu of property taxes. Some activists — including a sitting city councilor — are demanding the University cough up $96 million more. Cambridge City Councilor Jivan G. Sobrinho-Wheeler and the Cambridge Working Group of the Boston Democratic Socialists of America are circulating a petition calling on Harvard to pay the full total they would owe were they subject to property taxes. According to the petition, this would amount to just more than $100 million — a more than twenty-fold increase from what Harvard currently contributes to the city. In an interview, Sobrinho-Wheeler said he would also be satisfied if Harvard agreed to pay 25 percent of that total, which he said was in line with a bill currently being considered by state legislators.

said, adding that as the city faces a budget crunch, demanding more from the University is an alternative to raising property taxes for Cambridge residents.

role beyond expressing our hopes to the City Manager,” Toner wrote in a statement to The Crimson.

specific percentage or dollar contribution during the meeting.”

On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump has championed “mass deportations” of undocumented immigrants. Cambridge officials say they won’t let it happen in their backyard.

Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern doubled down on the city’s commitment to honoring Cambridge’s status as a sanctuary city, which limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

“Cambridge has been a sanctuary city since the mid ’80s,” McGovern wrote in a statement to The Crimson. “We are a welcoming and supportive community, and I expect us to stay that way.”

Immigration took center stage this campaign cycle, as voters sounded the alarm about increasing illegal immigration at the southern border and Trump pledged to implement the “largest deportation program in American history.” Cambridge — and Massachusetts at large — have been especially impacted by the recent waves of immigration. The area has become a popular destination among asylum seekers, in-

Sobrinho-Wheeler, who tabled for the petition outside of polling stations during Tuesday’s election, said the response from residents was “overwhelmingly positive.”

“Hardly anyone is against the idea of pushing for more PILOT contributions from Harvard,” he

Harvard, as a nonprofit, is not subject to local property taxes, but makes voluntary contributions to both Cambridge and Boston known as payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT payments. Currently, Harvard and the city are in the process of renegotiating their PILOT agreement for the first time in 21 years, and City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 expressed optimism that negotiations would conclude within the calendar year.

But the push is unlikely to make much of an impact on the negotiations. Councilor Paul F. Toner, who chairs the city’s Economic Development & University Relations committee, said the Council is largely uninvolved in the negotiations, which are led by Huang.

“The City Council has no official

Deportation.

Cooperate.

cluding a recent influx of Haitian immigrants, contributing to a strain on the state’s emergency shelter system.

In the summer of 2023, Governor Maura T. Healey ’92 declared a state of emergency due to “rapidly rising numbers of migrant families” arriving in the state. But as an impending Trump administration begins its crackdown on migrants, city spokesperson Jeremy C. Warnick wrote in a statement that Cambridge “remains unwavering in its commitment to supporting and promoting the safety, health, and well-being of all of its residents.”

“As a Sanctuary City, Cambridge affirms the basic human rights and dignity of every human being and provides education, health and other critical services to all residents of Cambridge, regardless of their immigration status,” Warnick added, echoing nearly word-for-word the city’s response to Trump’s original threats of mass deportation in 2017.

Trump demonized migrants throughout his presidential bid, saying they were “poisoning the blood” of America. He focused in particular on debunked rumors that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating locals’ pets. Closer to home, Republican

John Deaton — who lost to Sen. Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass) during her reelection bid Tuesday — also made immigration a key issue of his campaign, though he framed himself as an anti-Trump Republican.

“Today, our country faces an unprecedented crisis at our southern border. MA guarantees a right to shelter to the homeless, and because of that law enacted in 1983, the Commonwealth has become Ground Zero in the migrant crisis,” Deaton’s website reads.

Warnick, in his statement, stressed that Cambridge’s status as a Sanctuary City was part of a longstanding tradition of supporting refugees and newcomers.

“The City of Cambridge has been a Sanctuary City since April 1985, when the City Council first took steps to protect and support refugees fleeing from political violence and human rights violations in El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti,” Warnick wrote.

“In 1999, the City Council expanded that support to all residents, no matter their immigration status, and has regularly reaffirmed that over the last 25 years,” Warnick added.

He added that the DSA’s request goes beyond what most city officials have expressed about the negotiations.

During a committee meeting in August, “the Council members expressed interest in City Manager negotiating with Harvard to make greater direct financial or in-kind contributions,” Toner wrote. “None of the Councillors expressed any

Huang declined to comment on ongoing negotiations with the University.

The DSA’s petition echoes longstanding complaints from advocates in Boston that Harvard has consistently failed to meet the city’s requested contributions. In the petition, the group accused Harvard of contributing to Cambridge’s budget crisis through its meager contributions.

benjamin.isaac@thecrimson.com avani.rai@thecrimson.com

strength, and steadfast leadership throughout her life.”

sharply disagreed with Zusy’s concern that Sqa Sachem may not be closely tied to the area.

The Cambridge City Council acknowledged the “Massachusett Tribal Nation as the original inhabitants of Cambridge” and pledged to establish a memorial for the tribe and hang a plaque in City Hall during a meeting Monday evening.

The Council also committed to “prominently incorporate recognition of the Massachusett Tribe during key official events, documents, websites, and communications,” according to the policy order.

With the vote, Cambridge joins Boston, which formally acknowledged the Massachusett Tribe as indigenous to the land in 2021.

The memorial and language commemorating the tribe will specifically recognize Sqa Sachem — a chieftain of the Massachussett people from 1619 to 1667 — who, according to the policy order, demonstrated “resilience,

Although the Council was unanimous in agreement on the importance of honoring the Massachusett Tribe during their regularly scheduled Monday meeting, Councilor Catherine ‘Cathie’ Zusy questioned the decision to feature Sqa Sachem despite a lack of historical record about her life — including any specific ties to Cambridge.

“Why would we have a memorial to someone that we don’t know about,” said Zusy, a former museum curator, “when we don’t have a specific location that she’s associated with here.”

“I am a historian, and in museum exhibits, you never say something that you don’t have concrete evidence, unless you can really support it,” Zusy added. “You don’t say something you don’t know.”

Instead, Zusy suggested an amended version of the policy order, striking the language about Sqa Sachem in the land acknowledgement.

But Mayor E. Denise Simmons

“We’re not affiliated to this area,” she said, because Cambridge sits on “land that was stolen from folks, and we don’t have the crisp history that we might want to have, particularly around Sqa Sachem, because she was deliberately marginalized.”

Zusy’s amended order failed by vote of 8-1, with all other Councilors voting no. Zusy ultimately voted present on the original policy order, which passed with eight votes in favor.

Simmons said the lack of historical information about Sqa Sachem was itself a reason to highlight her.

“It is true that we do not have a wealth of information about her and that’s sort of the point,” Simmons said. “So let’s do our due diligence. Let’s undo the harm that we’ve caused to her community by putting that story back together.”

Cambridge City Councilor Jivan G. Sobrinho-Wheeler pictured during a Council meeting. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Cambridge City Hall is located in Central Square. The City Council recognized the Massachusett Tribal Nation

On Tuesday, America made a choice. But nearly 70 million Americans did not vote for election denialism, violence against their compatriots, or the elimination of basic human rights. Today, Harvard’s Institute of Politics has a choice to make too. Nonpartisanship — a founding principle of the IOP — is no longer a tenable position in today’s political environment. Donald Trump’s imminent return to power underscores the importance of the IOP finally breaking from our long-standing commitment to it.

As this incoming administration charts its course, we must resist platforming anti-democratic voices in the guise of nonpartisanship. In fact, we must strive to defend principles of democracy, due process, and justice precisely to ensure that we can continue carrying out our age-old mission of nonpartisanship.

From the Jan. 6 insurrection to the wave of conservative voter suppression laws, anti-democratic action and rhetoric sits staunchly at the core of MAGA’s platform.

When democracy itself is under attack, nonpartisanship is not the hill to die on. And it certainly should not be used as an excuse to platform election deniers and those who seek to dismantle our democracy. People and rhetoric that enable violent, authoritarian, and oppressive governance have no place at an institute for civil political disagreement like the IOP.

On election night, with his unfounded claims of “massive cheating” in Pennsylvania, Trump once again signaled his interest in the erosion of American democracy. In stark contrast, the very next day Vice President Kamala Harris conceded electoral defeat, demonstrating a commitment to the peaceful transition of power.

The essence of democracy lies not just in constituents casting votes but also in candidates respecting the results of these votes. The IOP cannot ignore the

reality that, as it stands, one party’s leadership actively betrays these democratic processes. True bipartisanship — and healthy nonpartisanship — is only possible when both sides of the aisle share a basic commitment to our country’s norms. Trump and his supporters have demonstrated that such a commitment can no longer be assumed.

My time in IOP leadership has been defined by a desire to navigate a space where both major political parties can find common ground. Nonpartisanship should not suppose moral equivalence between those upholding democratic norms and those actively tearing them down.

Let me be clear: The IOP has played and will always play an essential role in fostering intellectual vitality, promoting engaged citizenship, and facilitating meaningful political discourse on our campus. Over the course of the next four years, if the IOP’s pursuit of nonpartisanship fails to address this threat, it risks becoming complicit in the erosion of the values it seeks to uphold. Election night felt like the culmination of my

time at the IOP. It was a night when our Harvard community came together to show our shared respect for the democratic process. And yet, even as I worked to create a watch party that balanced the perspectives of Democrats, Republicans, and everyone in between, it became clear that democracy itself was being dismantled at the ballot box. The IOP is a civic institution. We must do more than merely observe democracy; we must defend and champion it when it is

The 2024 election is over, but for student organizers, the fight is just beginning.

Until Election Day, we ran Harvard for Harris, the student group organizing for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign on campus. The outpouring of enthusiasm and effort we witnessed over the last three months has been remarkable. Now, we write to say that that energy cannot end here — indeed, that it’s never been more important.

No matter how much this loss pains us, the rights of millions still remain in jeopardy — and are still worth fighting for, no matter how steep the climb. Countless families lack the healthcare they need, millions now confront the prospect of deportation, and women across the nation fear a national ban on their reproductive freedoms. The bitter pain that comes from these truths will only grow deeper if not met with action. To respond, we must first consider what worked in this election.

Students across Harvard — like campuses nationwide — mobilized like never before, and found both place and purpose in the cause of this campaign. Over the course of only 107 days, we engaged hundreds of students on this campus and throughout the Boston area in defending democracy. We phone-banked thousands of voters and knocked more than 10,000 doors across five different swing states, proving that a blue campus at the heart of a blue state can still make an impact.

Over the past three months, our group hit the campaign trail, from Dearborn to Scranton and from Maine’s second district down to the collar counties of Atlanta. Our membership turned strategy into practice, words into action. Day by day and door by door, we realized our vision for Harvard as a place for people who don’t just talk about change but make it. Every one of us, each for our own unique reasons and bearing our own hopes for America, fought in this battle until the end. We did so for our friends and our families — for the future of democracy and freedom itself. We fought like our very existence depended on it, because for many on our team and across this campus,

it does.

We devoted countless sleepless nights to that cause. We forfeited our academic and social lives and put professional prospects on the backburner. We woke up each morning in a new swing state, weary and overstretched and still reeling from the last canvassing trip, and we kept going.

We did everything we could, but we lost.

That’s the hard truth. At moments like these — when you’ve given it your all and still find yourself knocked down — it’s easy to slip into apathy. But now must come the hard work.

Organize. Champion the causes you believe in. The struggle for our rights will shift to states under Republican governance; meet the power where it’s at. Get involved in state and local campaigns — focus your energies on state legislatures, school boards, and ballot measures. Gear up for midterms in 2026 — go home to your congressional district in due time, join a campaign early, find a candidate that cares about what you care about. Lend them your time and heart. And, hell yes, get back up for 2028. These next four years will bring hardship — not just for those who fought and lost, but the nation writ large. It won’t be easy for anyone. America will see unsta-

Trans people represent less than 1 percent of the country’s population. You wouldn’t guess it based on how much you hear about us in American politics.

An unprecedented number of anti-trans bills — targeting nearly everything from healthcare to education — have swept state legislatures across the country. At least a dozen speakers at the Republican National Convention made transphobic or homophobic remarks, according to NBC News. Project 2025 likens trans identity to “pornography”.

The right wants to legislate transgender people out of existence, and, for all the shortcomings of Democrats on trans issues, it’s imperative we vote to stop them.

This Election Day, trans people’s futures hang in the balance. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has promised a laundry list of anti-trans policies, including eliminating federal funding for schools with trans-inclusive teachers and declaring hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to be in violation of federal health and safety standards. These proposals would have devastating impacts, particularly for

trans people dependent on federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

He seems to believe this is a winning issue. From Oct. 7 to Oct. 20 alone, more than 41 percent of the campaign’s ad spending went towards anti-trans advertisements — more than the amount spent on immigration, housing, or the economy, or any other issue. As the right’s anti-trans rhetoric has gotten louder and louder, Democrats have largely kept quiet.

When asked about gender-affirming healthcare in a recent interview with NBC, Vice President Kamala Harris said “I think we should follow the law,” adding, when pressed, “that is a decision that doctors will make in terms of what is medically necessary.”

I would’ve preferred a more full-throated defense. But what’s more worrying by far is that in this political climate, anything more direct might actually be counterproductive. In a recent Gallup poll, transgender issues ranked dead last (out of 22 total areas) in importance to voters. Frankly, the average American spends little time thinking about trans people, the bathrooms we use, or the healthcare we receive. And while I long for a future where we are enthusiastically embraced, visibility can be a double-edged sword.

Our community is more prominent than ever — and more politically besieged. So if the choice is between visibility and safety, I’ll choose safety every time.

Trans people don’t need political lip-service or empty virtue signaling. We need politicians who will do the work to protect us. Whether that work is done vocally or behind the scenes makes little effective difference.

The Biden-Harris administration has overseen the defeat of dozens of anti-trans policy riders in congressional bills and litigated against gender-affirming healthcare bans in the landmark Supreme Court case U.S. v. Skrmetti.

It’s true that Harris’ record on trans issues is far from perfect and by no means above criticism. But she’s done a lot of good, too. And when the alternative is so dangerous, electing a president who plans to “follow the law” and keep medical decisions between doctors and their patients may very well be the best thing we can do to help protect access to gender-affirming care.

Of course, the safety of the trans community depends on much more than the top of the ballot. In the past year, one in five transgender Americans lost access to healthcare because of anti-trans policies at

ble and irresponsible leadership; we will see retribution and hate from the nation’s highest office; we may see families broken up, alliances shattered, minorities disenfranchised, institutions dismantled, women stripped of their reproductive rights, and the environment set ablaze.

For the very survival of this nation and for the freedoms of our loved ones, this election demands that we keep fighting the good fight. As Vice President Harris affirmed in her concession speech: “The fight for our country is always worth it.” No matter how grim the hour. Donald Trump is our president for the next four years. It is on each of us to feel that loss today, learn from it, and rebuild tomorrow. We have no other choice.

the state and local levels, according to a report from FOLX. No matter which candidate wins, there’s still far more to be done to protect the rights and autonomy of all trans people. But today, all we can do is cast our ballots. To say that I’m worried about the outcome of the election is an understatement. I’m worried about the most vulnerable members of my community — those who can’t afford to pay for healthcare out of pocket or move to safer climes if things get too dire. I’m worried about all those who’ve already lost access to these basic rights.

I’m worried because when my parents ask me what this election means for my future, I don’t have a good answer for them.

Nevertheless, I remain hopeful. Hopeful because relying on anti-trans hate has cost Republicans elections before. Hopeful because trans people have always existed, and because our community is resilient. Hopeful because I don’t know how to be anything else.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

STAFF EDITORIAL

The Editors, on 4 More Years of Trump

NOT AGAIN. Following a campaign even more extreme than his previous two, the members of The Crimson’s Editorial Board react to a second Trump presidency with fear, tears, rage, and reckoning.

BY CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

Ysterday, former President Donald Trump became future President Donald Trump, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Today, our editors react.

—Tommy Barone ’25 and Jacob M. Miller ’25, Crimson Editorial Chairs ***

I am scared of another Trump presidency.

I am scared for people who look like me, for those living in border communities, and for U.S. citizens — including my family members — who don’t speak English. I am scared that an entire population will be terrorized, profiled, and questioned by law enforcement with little accountability because of how they look. I am scared that communities filled with love and compassion will vanish from our streets, as people live in constant fear, wondering if today or tomorrow will be the day they’re torn away from their homes, families and friends.

Trump ran on mass deportation, and he won. For years, his dehumanizing language surrounding immigrants has been normalized, and I fear we will now face its most dire consequence: mass deportations. Last night, I sat in my common room watching exit poll after exit poll come in, each update like a punch to the gut. But nothing hurt more than Trump’s strong performance among Hispanics, particularly men. I thought the Hispanic vote would turn out for Harris. I was wrong. As a young Mexican man, it is hard for me to fathom how Hispanics could vote for Trump, knowing his promises on immigration. Today is a sad day. For me, my family, and all the Hispanic families who may be torn apart, both literally and politically.

—David I. Gonzalez ’25, Crimson Editorial editor

I’ve started seriously considering the possibility of pursuing job opportunities outside of the United States. As I watched the map turn red, I couldn’t help but look into how employment visas work.

—Hailey E. Krasnikov ’25, Crimson Diversity & Inclusion Chair

I’ve cried a lot today. I’m lucky to have grown up in a family where men are allowed to cry. Dread fills me. Right now I just want to give my mom and sister and grandma and aunts and cousins a hug.

—Matthew E. Nekritz ’25, Associate Editorial editor

As a left-wing electoral organizer, I find some reassurance in flipped House districts and successful pro-abortion ballot measures. As a person, I feel sickening fear for my friends that are transgender, non-citizen, or female. A second Trump term spells nothing but trouble for the people I hold the closest to my heart.

I was doubtful that America would be willing to embrace a Black woman as president. People do not like when we lead — just look at Claudine Gay. I’m not surprised that I was proven right.

—Jasmine N. Wynn ’27, Crimson Editorial editor

In 2016, Donald Trump lost the popular vote, so we blamed the system. He campaigned by appealing to racism and xenophobia, so we blamed him.

Those excuses can hold no longer. Yesterday, the American people delivered a resounding message: After one term of botched crisis management and embarrassment on the world stage and eight years of relentless bigotry, we somehow want more.

Remember: No matter what people say, Donald Trump isn’t good for the economy, tough on crime, or pro-military — he’s a dirty crook who called 1,800 American Marines “suckers” for giving their lives for their country. He has shown that his only ideal is himself — and somehow, America forgave him. Don’t get me wrong — we can disagree all we want about policy, and there’s nothing wrong with being a conservative. But Trump isn’t a conservative — he’s a fraud.

This race was the Harris campaign’s to lose, but Democrats shot themselves in the foot with performative progressivism. Feeling left behind by a movement that seems to care more about renaming bridges than solving real problems, tens of millions of Americans with legitimate grievances voted for a populist outsider. Today is the day to brush off this loss and stop looking for excuses.

—Rohan Nambiar ’27, Crimson Editorial editor

We don’t know our neighbors. No one should have been surprised by the outcome of this election. But convinced by TikTok campaigns, echo chambers, and a complete sense of detachment from the prevailing values of the average American, Harvard students were still shocked. In the coming four years, the least we can do is step out of our ideological bubble and engage meaningfully with our compatriots.

—Julia S. Dan ‘26, Associate Editorial editor

This is the second time I’ve watched in horror while our country elected Donald Trump. I’m less surprised. I’m even more scared. It still feels just as hard to find the right words.

It’s a terrifying day to be an American. And it’s an especially terrifying day to be transgender.

One in five trans Americans lost access to healthcare in the last year due to anti-trans policies, according to a report from FOLX. This number will undoubtedly skyrocket under the presidency of a convicted felon who has promised to order “every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age.”

I am worried for my own safety. Worried that I’ll lose access to essential healthcare or that I’ll have to leave the country. Worried because it feels impossible to imagine my future as an openly, unapologetically transgender American.

But even more, I am worried for my community. Worried because the ability to leave is itself a luxury that most do not have. Worried because the right is waging a war on trans existence. Worried that they might be winning. I am right to worry. We all are. But we must not let the worry overwhelm us; now, more than ever, is the time to get to work. We have always been here, and

we will still be here tomorrow. As long as we keep imagining our futures. As long as we keep fighting for them.

—E. Matteo Diaz ’27, Crimson Editorial Comp Director I have watched the Supreme Court limit my rights, observed a genocide in Gaza, experienced voter suppression firsthand, and now I have witnessed Donald Trump win a second term. I worry for my family back in my small-town in Oklahoma. I worry for all those who — like me — have watched millions vote their rights away. I worry for the unknown future we have brought on ourselves. But no matter what happens, my focus will remain the same: to march through the streets, protest, and organize for a world I’d want to live in and that I’d want my kids to live in.

—Hea Pushpraj ’25, Editorial Comp Director I woke up this morning to a text from my mom: “I love you. You live and study in a blue state. You are safe.” She’s right. Over the next four years, I, personally, will be okay. But today I am mourning for all those who won’t.

Women, who have already lost their right to reproductive healthcare, some of whom will die. My queer friends, who may not be able to love who they love and live as they are. People facing dire threats worldwide who will lose crucial support from the U.S. The future generations that will inherit a warmer world with more devastating natural disasters. It’s 80 degrees today, in November, in Massachusetts.

Above all, I am demoralized. I believe in the American experiment. I believe the way forward is to talk to those I disagree with and attempt to reach consensus. But at the moment, it is hard to imagine talking to people who would sooner support a convicted felon found liable for sexual abuse over a qualified, talented woman.

If Kamala Harris had done half of what Trump did in this campaign — threatening to “knock the hell out of people backstage” and appearing to mime oral sex on a microphone in one night alone — she wouldn’t have gone on to win the election. She would have been crucified.

We cannot keep pretending that misogyny and racism are vestiges of the past. They are alive and well. We must call them out when we see them and work to change the culture that has reelected Trump.

—Heidi S. Enger ’27, Crimson Editorial editor

To the men who depend on the gender gap: Do not look to women to make ends meet and provide food at the dinner table with the economy you have given us. We will not console you when you are laid off from the company that you voted to be given a tax cut. Do not turn to us when your back hurts from the job you had to take because you refused higher education. Refrain from holding our hands when we die in the emergency room from a curable complication during pregnancy. Do not weep for your daughter when she has to bring the unwanted pregnancy that resulted from an assault to term.

To the men in America who came from their mother’s wombs and held their sister’s hands in youth: These were preventable tragedies. You have turned your backs on the gifts of life and have blos-

somed into something malicious and without empathy. To the men who voted for Donald Trump, you are America’s strange and bitter crop.

—Kelisha M. Williams ’25, Crimson Editorial editor I fought for Kamala — hard — and lost. It hurts, but today’s pain is only the beginning. For this campaign, I forfeited sleep and stability, skipped classes, missed parties, spent less time with friends and family than I did with strangers in swing states. I uprooted my life for a woman who does not know my name, with whom I do not agree absolutely, and whose success both at the polls and in power was never guaranteed.

Why? Not because I adore the Democratic Party. Not because it was convenient. Surely not for the resume line. Like countless students at Harvard, including my very closest friends, I entered this campaign because of the stakes. The fight for freedom is not a platitude — it’s an imperative. Women, our sisters and mothers, are dying for lack of healthcare and basic bodily autonomy. Our democratic process now rests in the palms of a man who tried to end it, full stop. Bigotry and hatred are not just ascendant but triumphant.

This is where we stand today. The confusion and anger can be overwhelming. We fear for ourselves and our loved ones — and for all those whose fundamental freedoms hang in the balance. It is not okay. Everything will not be alright. We lost. But when you lose, the fight doesn’t end — it becomes all the more important. Everything remains on the line. We need to take a breath, pick up the pieces, and organize — on behalf of our country, our rights, and our democracy.

—Lorenzo Z. Ruiz ’27, Crimson Editorial editor

As I said after Claudine Gay’s resignation, many Black Americans work twice as hard to earn half as much.

While I mourn Kamala Harris’ loss, I am drawn to reflect on what it says about the nation we live in today. Kamala Harris was just the second Black woman to ever serve in the United States Senate. She was the first Black person and woman to be elected vice president. Before that, she served as the attorney general of the most populous state in our nation. There is no doubt — none — she is qualified to assume the presidency. It was not enough. Rather than choosing a path forward, we chose to embark on a journey into the past. Simply put, we have seen this movie before. We have seen our now president-elect separate migrant children from their parents, inspire an attack on our democracy, engage in racially-charged rhetoric — and so much more. And yet Americans have chosen to reward him with four more years in office. I am dumbfounded — though not surprised — by the decision of my fellow voters. But this doesn’t mean we can give up. There are too many issues at stake to give up. Lastly, we owe a great deal of respect for Vice President Harris. She was dealt a bad card, but she handled it with grace, resilience, and class. Moving forward, we must commit ourselves to the imperative she uttered after the 2020 election: “Dream with ambition, lead with conviction.”

—M. Austen Wyche ’27, Crimson Editorial editor

ON CAMPUS

Amina T. Salahou ’25 on Les Adore

Almost a year after its first magazine issue on Nov. 11, 2023, the creative production network Les Adore has already released three magazine issues, helped with production on films, and had a popup event at New York Fashion Week. They have also started The Argent Club — a platform for longer-form writing on fashion and culture — launched a newsletter called Slice of Life, and hosted several parties and events. The founder and creative director of this undertaking is Amina T. Salahou ’25, a resident of Leverett House who is concentrating in History of Science with a secondary in Computer Science. For Salahou, the seed of this creativity and passion goes back to her childhood, where playing around with fashion and shopping was

a hobby that she shared with her two sisters. In college, she realized that it was time to take her hobby more seriously, although it took a hard semester to realize she needed to take action.

During her sophomore fall, Salahou went through a transitional period after losing one of her good friends, Luke T. Balstad ’25.

“He was such a great person, and he always motivated me to always feel my best, look my best. He definitely was someone who put a lot of confidence in me, which is something that I definitely needed in trying to take this thing off the ground,” Salahou said.

Going back home for winter break, Salahou was inspired to take action to make a change in how she was feeling. With winter New York Fashion Week coming up, Salahou sent out cold emails and was able to connect with people who she now considers mentors.

“It sucks that it stems from a lot of hurt, but I think that’s also kind of the beauty of life,

and art, and creativity,” Salahou said. “It always will be tied to emotions.”

Last fall, Salahou launched Les Adore with the hope of bringing the inspiration and confidence she felt when engaging with the fashion scene in New York City to campus.

“I wanted to be able to cultivate that same sort of emotion and feeling being on campus, and I didn’t really see any spaces, environments, or events where I felt the same way,” Salahou said.

Salahou launched the first magazine issue, “Embracing Girlhood: More Than a Pretty Face,” which she produced alone, on Nov. 11 of last year, interviewing and shooting photos of different friends from Harvard. Salahou is grateful for the support of her friends, especially at the start of the project.

“It just means so much to me how many people have been wanting to be involved, like my first friends that I featured in Issue One,” Salahou said. In Issue 2, “2024: Year of the Dragon,” Salahou had a much

larger group of collaborators, including Editor-In-Chief Emma Lawrence, who attends Vassar College with Salahou’s twin sister. This issue, which was released while Salahou was on her semester abroad in Paris, is the one she is the most proud of. Issue 3, “The Race To Beauty,” was Les Adore’s first time doing a professional shoot from a modeling agency. The issue, which was shot by Jo Rennee, features tennis skirts, elevated accessories, and bold heels, inspired by the Paris Olympics and “their promise of liberté.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to take a step back and realize all of these things that have happened,” Salahou said. “I’m definitely extremely proud that everything that we create comes from a genuine place, and it all has a meaning.” For Salahou, Les Adore has been an opportunity to expand what creativity means to her, learning how to creatively arrange everything from photoshoots, magazine design, and event logistics. More than that,

it has become a way to give other people the platform to create art and a way to create a meaningful community.

“One of the biggest elements that it’s been is a community, whether that’s bridging the gap between different types of arts, and also just making art accessible, whether it’s on campus or just in general. Sometimes art can honestly be an inaccessible thing,” Salahou said.

Salahou has been careful to make Les Adore not just “a Harvard thing,” being intentional about developing supporters from beyond the university who really care about the idea. Les Adore’s team has other members from Harvard, but also from schools such as Vassar, Yale, Cornell, and Washington University in St. Louis. Les Adore’s team, models, and messages are predominantly female, which Salahou sees as incredibly empowering.

“Unapologetically having that space is really important because even though things are different nowadays, and standards are more equal, a lot of

Winthrop Roommates Revive ‘The Lion Rampant’

BY SARA R.

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Read student writers, for then you are reading closest to yourselves.” These were the words of “The Lion Rampant” contributor David L. Rockwood ’67, speaking to the importance of reading collegiate student writing — a motivation that fueled both the original publication and its recent revival by a trio of Winthrop house seniors.

“The Lion Rampant” was originally founded in 1961 by a group of blockmates in Winthrop House who were looking for a venue to publish some of their own work while also reviewing and editing the other local art of the ’60s. Now, another collection of roommates — Katherine M. Burstein ’25, Julia A. Mansfield ’25, and Eleanor

M. Powell ’25 — has decided it’s time for a revival of this historical Harvard publication. In an interview with The Crimson, Burstein and Mansfield shared the story of the magazine’s historical conception and recent revival.

“It’s just a beautiful way of understanding that 50 years ago, there were also students who were trying to make a ramshackle magazine out of the common room,” Burstein said. The three Winthropians were first introduced to the ’60s publication from a collection of original covers of “The Lion Rampant,” which had coincidentally been placed right by Winthrop’s trash room. When one of the house tutors proposed ideas for getting students engaged in writing and the arts in the house, it quickly became clear to the roommates that they had found their future pas -

sion project. Mansfield, Powell, and Burstein used email to discover talented arts students from Winthrop who would be willing to share their work, with their first edition — published last year — composed only of artists and writers from Winthrop. Since then, this revival of “The Lion Rampant” has changed scope after learning more about the original publication.

“We sort of thought it was like an internal WinthropComstock publication,” Mansfield said, referencing Winthrop’s historical affiliation with the hall at Radcliffe University.

“But most of the writers and contributors were actually from beyond Winthrop and from within the broader Harvard community and even Cambridge communities,” Mansfield said.

The original magazine included works from alums, graduate students, prospective writers from local areas, and more, an idea that inspired the seniors to expand their call to represent a more even cross section of the university in their publication.

Along with broadening the demographics in this modern interpretation of “The Lion Rampant,” the publication is also attempting to diversify the art mediums and styles included as much as possible.

“In the early editions — I mean through the ’60s — you see the advent of new types of printing media and new types of art making, so the original editions were purely literary magazines,” Burstein said.

These early transitions toward media diversification reflect their current goals of accepting “more different types of art.”

“By the second go around, they’re introducing photography. They’re introducing copies of photos, and that’s a very fun thing, that even in the history of its existence, in the early days. You actually get to see the advent of new technology,” Burstein said.

Similar to their diverse publication, each of the three contributors bring their own set of talents and interests to the table: English concentrator Powell edits and writes pieces, specifically short satirical works; Mansfield works with film and photography; and Burstein’s eye for aesthetics takes care of the photography as well as the design of the publication.

“Having something that’s internal for us to celebrate all of the different art that we are so lucky to live with — our peers, that they make — was the idea, just something to celebrate all

those things still exist,” Salahou said.

Salahou is also the founder of the Harvard chapter of GirlUp, a United Nations program that expands girls’ skills, rights, and opportunities to lead. Salahou has been involved in Girl Up since before Harvard, and her passion for women’s issues and rights has influenced her dedication to social activism. Even though Salahou will be graduating next spring, she feels confident that Les Adore will continue to exist in some capacity, and the magazine will most likely continue to have a team at Harvard. While she realizes that priorities may shift after graduation, Salahou believes that her vision and the network of Les Adore — which reaches New York City, Paris, and beyond — will persist. She is grateful for her entire team and looks forward to the future. “It’s been cool to see how much we’ve grown, and I’m excited to see what that can lead to,” Salahou said.

hannah.wilkoff@thecrimson.com

that Winthrop House has to offer,” Burstein said. With two editions this year left to be released, one in December and one in the spring, the types of works submitted continue to diversify in their content and style, according to Mansfield. As the graduation of these three seniors approaches in May, their hope is that this celebration of the Winthrop community and art as a whole will continue to grow. “This is a part of our history, and we spent a little bit of time putting it together, but bringing life and color to Winthrop House is definitely one of the goals of the project,” Mansfield said.

While the seniors’ time as Harvard undergraduates will come to a close in May, their impact on Winthrop’s artistic and literary community is undeniable.

BY HANNAH M. WILKOFF CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Amina T. Salahou ’25 is a senior in Leverett House concentrating in History of Science with a secondary in Computer Science.

COURTESY OF AMINA T. SALAHOU

From the Boston Book Festival: Author Louise Erdrich on Writing to Learn

BY MADELYN E. MCKENZIE CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, readers of all ages gathered in the sanctuary of the Church of the Covenant, a grandiose venue enlivened with stained glass and ornate architecture, for the Boston Book Festival’s Fiction keynote speaker, Louise Erdrich. She spoke to a crowded audience about her latest novel, “The Mighty Red,” and her approach to writing. For Erdrich, writing books is not about playing puppet master or even the act of creation — she writes to learn.

Her latest book, “The Mighty Red,” was the latest iteration in this pedagogical writing process. Erdrich remarked that she mainly wrote the book “to get to know more about farming.” During this process, she encountered an increased appreciation for the work of farming and emphasized the vast knowledge farmers need to be successful. This approach motivates her writing, allowing

her to explore new topics and people as a method of learning about the world.

Even the setting of the work itself was designed to be a learning experience. For Erdich and her readers, this book was an exercise in learning through reflecting on the trials of the past.

“I set it in 2008 to 2009 partly because I don’t think we’ve ever really dealt with 2008 to 2009,” Erdrich said.

In a second learning opportunity, she reflected on the meaning of a home through her character Kismet, who marries into a welloff family. Erdrich emphasized Kismet’s infatuation with this new way of life but highlighted a moment of melancholy — Kismet now lives “ in a silent house.” Kismet considers the “violence” of this house alongside Erdrich herself, who, during her talk, said that “a silent house is not right.”

Ultimately, Kismet’s reflection on her new life serves as Erdrich’s exploration of a way of life different from her own.

On a content level, Erdrich emphasized the themes of “dispossession” that she explored in

this novel. To convey this theme, her characters partake in the “marrying in and out of reservation families,” a phenomenon she observes “a lot” in her own life. Yet, she does not set out to directly convey lived experiences, as she believes books cannot accurately reflect life.

“Books are not real life, but a reflection of some mirror up to life,” Erdrich said.

Erdrich’s identity as an author of Native American heritage plays a major role in the themes of her novel, augmenting her ability to impact readers. For audience member Jack C. Tripp, Erdrich’s dedication to authentically relaying Indigenous experiences was evident.

“Seeing the unique perspective from an Indigenous author felt like a very true representation of a place to me that I’ve never been to,” Tripp said.

Erdrich’s identity, fueled by her descriptive prose, contributes to her storytelling capabilities. Attendee Stephanie Parry remarked on her love of fiction broadly for its ability to transport people through time and space.

“I love having places described to me that I’ve never seen, or times that I’ve never thought of or none of us will have ever experienced in the present day,” Parry said.

As a seasoned author, Erdrich offered straightforward advice to readers and writers alike in the audience. During a short Q&A session, audience members learned about how to write fiction and heard tips on how to develop characters and generate “emotional resonance” between them. This emotional connection between characters plays a key role in Erdrich’s writing.

“I think [this emotional resonance] is something that readers often sense subconsciously, but to hear it vocalized articulately by a writer was really powerful,” Tripp said.

The connection between characters, to Erdrich, is more about authenticity than concocting relationships. During the open Q&A portion, an audience member inquired about the evolution of Erdrich’s voice. While she acknowledged changes in her authorial voice, she shared her own sure-fire way to develop

a clear, authorial voice: “You just become who you are.” This voice is palpable both in Erdrich’s writing and in her stage presence. Attendee Brenda Barry noted the tangibility of Erdrich’s authenticity from her seat in the front row.

“You could really feel what kind of a person she is and her genuineness and her concern,” Barry said.

Erdrich concluded her talk with a dedication to the booksellers of Hong Kong who went missing following their smuggling of banned books. This marked the latest in her recent series of dedications to poets who have been “silenced” and other marginalized authorial voices. As the owner of a bookstore, Birchbark Books, herself, Erdrich recognized the stakes held by this role.

“We are keeping every kind of hope alive in a democracy,” Erdrich said. Erdrich left audience members with a final call to action in the modern literary climate: “Don’t forget the booksellers.”

madelyn.mckenzie@thecrimson.com

‘Nightbitch’ at IFFBoston: Empty Barks of Motherhood

BY JORDEN S. WALLICAN-OKYERE

Come see six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams take on her most daring role yet: A dog. Based on the 2021 novel by Rachel Yoder, the film adaption of “Nightbitch” follows Adams as Mother, a woman who becomes increasingly exasperated by the pressures of motherhood. This frustration unleashes a primal transformation into a dog — and a cute one at that. As the title suggests, the film wants its social commentary to be as daring as it is blunt. Unfortunately, the desire to achieve this goal comes at the expense of underdeveloping everything else in the film. The film opens with Mother bumping into a friend in the supermarket. When her friend expresses how jealous she is of the time Mother gets to spend with her child, Mother jarringly launches into an expansive monologue about the burdens that gender roles and society place on mothers. As the opening credits roll, audiences are drawn into Mother’s world: She makes breakfast, walks her child, goes to the park, plays with toys, and struggles to sleep. These actions repeat, repeat, and repeat. Right at the beginning, there is a cumulative anxiety as the noise of domestic life starts sounding like knives that cut deep into Mother’s sense of self. Her husband — similarly named Husband (Scoot Nairy) — has an unnamed job that requires him to take week-long business trips. His absence makes motherhood a full-time job, and even when he’s home, his presence is unhelpful as he plays video games late into the night. The film does an excellent job immersing viewers in Mother’s separation from her individuality as she is increasingly bound to her irritating and irresistibly cute son. Even the sound of his coos as she tries to sleep is enough to become a shared vex -

ation for the audience. Dynamics begin to shift when Mother’s sense of smell becomes suspiciously acute, random dogs at the park approach her, and hair and nipples start to grow in odd places on her body. Soon enough, she’s a liberated dog basking in the expansiveness of monotonous suburban streets. Adams brings subtlety to a script that lacks it, as she is able to convey Mother’s unraveling psyche in every glance, smile, and tiresome cry. Since Amy Adams is a mother herself, she can brilliantly traverse into emotions that easily become taboo when associated with motherhood: regret, disappointment, and unbridled anger. Motherhood is both a universal responsibility and a unique experience, and Adams manages to convey both by cathartically accessing the anxieties of the experience that she can personally relate to. She also oscillates into her comedic side, delivering macabre and off-putting jokes that only accentuate the film’s broader themes on moth -

erhood. The comedy of “Nightbitch” is thematically appropriate, as the dark humor works as a coping mechanism to Mother’s visceral experience of motherhood. However, the rest of the cast fails to find the same beats of humor when the writing sounds more like a late-night Hollywood comedy. The film’s wacky premise is also delivered with masterful bravado, especially in scenes where Adams toes the line between pretending to be a dog for fun with her son and then passionately succumbing to her newfound canine instincts. These scenes perfectly merge the absurdity and human aspects of Mother’s transformation. However, for those hoping for squeamish body horror in Mother’s transformation, this adaptation leaves much to be desired. “Nightbitch” doesn’t lean into the novel’s obscurity in any cinematic form. The practical effects are minimal, the cinematography feels flat and formulaic, and the color palette lacks the vibrancy ex -

pected from a story as bizarre as this. “Nightbitch” never uses the opportunity to fully commit to its absurdity, and the bland visuals simply emphasize the lackluster direction applied to such a potent story. While films like “The Babadook” use allegorical horror to convey the self-sacrifices and anxieties that come with motherhood, “Nightbitch” struggles to let its metaphor breathe, leaning instead on heavy-handed commentary. Moments from the script that do deliver depth to the narrative — such as “a child’s first act of violence is against the mother that birthed them” — are delivered with sincerity. However, similar sentiments are recycled so often throughout the film that their thematic effect is diluted. “Nightbitch” addresses the social abandonment of the “it takes a village” philosophy, unpaid maternity leave, the expected hard labor of domestic chores, and the ethics of regretting motherhood. All of these points had the potential to in -

cite nuanced conversations among the characters and the audience, but instead they read as a thematic checklist that the director simply wished to mention rather than explore. Mother’s primal transformation tries to symbolize a kind of rebirth, a blending of one’s preand post-motherhood identities. Unfortunately this allegory is ultimately gimmicky, as the heavy narration scrambles any potential silences that could allow for audience interpretation. These flaws then raise the question: Why use allegory when there is no room left for ambiguity?

“Nightbitch” is a humorous watch that points toward nuanced conversations about motherhood but refuses to fully explore them. At best, it’s a gentle reminder to appreciate your mother’s love and care. At worst, it’s a shallow depiction of motherhood, redeemed only by its concept and Amy Adams’s committed performance.

COURTESY OF MARIA S. CHENG kai.lewis@thecrimson.com

Louise Erdrich, author of “The Mighty Red,” gave the Fiction keynote speech at the Boston Book Festival on October 26. This keynote took place in the sanctuary of the Church of the Covenant.. COURTESY OF MADELYN E. MCKENZIE

Victory in Season Opener

cruited Hinton during his sophomore summer of high school.

“Since my first day here, even when I was being recruited by coach Amaker, he said that when I’m here, he wants me to take advantage of my creativity,” Hinton reflected. “He’s given me a long enough leash, free -

es (0-1, 0-0 MAAC) — a team ranked fifth in the nation last year in points allowed per game — the Harvard offense had its way, shooting a healthy 63 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Down senior guard Louis Lesmond, who won the program’s “Iron Man Award” last season, the Harvard defense still held firm, limiting Marist to only 41.3 percent shooting from the field.

Offensively, the story of the night for Harvard was undoubtedly the debut of Hinton, a Harvard-Westlake product who Crimson fans hope will fill the shoes of Malik Mack.

dom with the ball, and trusted in me so much that I feel comfortable out there doing those things,” he added.

Hinton’s older brother, Adam, is a junior guard for the Cornell Big Red. The rookie reflected after the game about the influence that his brother playing in the Ivy League has had on him.

“He’s been my role model since I was young,” Hinton said.

“That constant pursuit of trying to be better than your older brother, I mean, it pushes, it

“Obviously, you can see that Robert Hinton is what he’s built up to be,” Head Coach Tommy Amaker said after the game.

“He’s an outstanding player, he’s creative, he’s fearless — a spectacular performance by him, a very efficient game.”

Hinton scored his 27 points off of just 12 shots, making nine and adding eight more from the charity stripe. After the game, Amaker praised Hinton’s creativity on the court, an aspect of his game that Amaker said was apparent since before he re -

pushes you so hard. Even to this day, he’s still the best role model, his personality, his character, he’s relentless. He’s a really relentless guy, and he pushes me so much, and I can’t wait to beat him twice this year.”

to the game for the home crowd. In a team composed of more freshman and sophomores than upperclassmen, Amaker credited the team’s depth in wearing down a strong Marist offense.

Harvard had six players score eight or more points, including Hinton, Ace-Nasteski, sophomore forward Thomas Batties II, and senior guard Evan Nelson, who marked his first game back after missing last season due to injury.

“I’ve always talked about when we’ve been at our best and had our better teams, our philosophy has always been bench and balance, and you can see that here with this game tonight,” Amaker added. The Crimson will continue its season next with a four game road trip, including two more games

After falling into an early 10-3 hole, the Red Foxes showed resilience and bounced back to take a 28-27 lead with 6:49 left in the first half. Unfortunately for Marist, however, that would be their only lead of the game, as the Crimson turned it on to pull away offensively, leading by as much as 20 points midway through the second half. Despite letting the Red Foxes come within ten points after a pair of sloppy turnovers, an emphatic dunk from sophomore forward Luca Ace-Nasteski and a triple from Hinton ensured a comfortable ending

Harvard Hunts Ivy Glory

HARVARD’S SQUAD enters the Ivy League tournament with an impressive lineup, a dominant record and a determination to defend its title from its rivals.

BY ISABEL SMAIL CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

No. 11 Harvard field hockey has had a dominant season. While not unexpected given its deep bench and impressive lineup of returning players, the team is hungrier than ever for a chance to defend its title of Ivy League Tournament Champions.

No. 13 Princeton (14-4, 7-0 Ivy) derailed the Crimson’s hopes of hosting the tournament in Cambridge, after a showdown in October that ended with an overtime heartbreak for Harvard. Not only did the loss quash any hopes for the team being crowned the outright regular-season champion, but it also set a fire under

and, notably, No. 4 Saint Joseph’s (15-3, 6-1 A10). Most recently, the Crimson stoutly defended the Berylson Family Field, earning a 4-0 win against Cornell (7-9, 3-4 Ivy) in its final regular season game. With the win, Harvard firmly ended the Big Red’s dreams of a playoff berth, and gave its graduating class a victory to celebrate on senior day.

Both goalkeepers, captain Sofia Castore and junior Tessa Shahbo, contributed largely to the shutout. Shahbo specifically tallied six saves, a few of which were worthy of her highlight reel, as the game clock dwindled down to zero. In general, Harvard’s defensive unit played tough, preventing the Big Red from capitalizing on any of its eight penalty corner opportunities. 37 scoreless minutes defined the first three quarters of the game. While the team was able to stymie any hope of a Cornell breakaway, the Harvard offense had trouble creating momentum of its own. It was not until the back-to-back strikes from Piekarski that the team was able

Sept. 28, Harvard ventured down to Providence to compete against the Bears on the Goldberger Family Field. The Crimson defeated Brown solidly, with a final score of 4-0. From an offensive perspective, the team excelled, with four different players – Oerlemans, junior Kate Oliver, Lara Beekhuis, and Piekarski – each adding a point to the scoreboard.

Harvard pummeled Brown’s goalkeeper Kylee Del Monte with shots, firing an impressive total of 18 throughout the match. The defense, powered by First Team AllIvy Bronte May-Bourgh, recorded similarly admirable statistics, keeping the Bears to a mere six shots, only four of which made it through to Shahbo during the contest.

However, the upcoming semifinal match is certainly not one to be overlooked by Harvard. Since facing off against the Crimson in September, the Bears have recorded a winning 9-2 record, only posting losses against Cornell and Princeton – the latter of which is the first seed in the tournament this weekend. Harvard,

The Harvard field hockey team will look to beat Brown for a second time this season on Friday as it takes on the Bears in the first round of the Ivy League Tournament. COURTESY OF HARVARD ATHLETICS

Harvard’s defense dominated Ivy foe Cornell, shutting them out 4-0 and ending their playoff hopes. COURTESY OF HARVARD ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS

Election Night: From Capitol to Campus

BY CRIMSON MULTIMEDIA STAFF