The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 74

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI, No. 74 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | tuesday, september 3, 2019

editorial PAGE 6

Editorial PAGE 6

sports PAGE 8

The question “what do you do?” should be inspiring, not paralyzing.

Real questions may not be solvable within a single discipline.

William Clarence Matthews was a pioneer in the black baseball community.

Student Denied Activists Protest at Convocation Entry Arrives

By Shera S. Avi-Yonah Crimson Staff Writer

By shera s. avi-yonah and delano r. franklin Crimson Staff Writers

Harvard freshman Ismail B. Ajjawi ’23, who United States border officials turned away ten days ago, arrived on campus Monday in time for the start of classes Tuesday.

Ajjawi’s family issued a statement Monday through his lawyer thanking those who voiced support for him and assisted his arrival.

“The last ten days have been difficult and anxiety filled, but we are most grateful for the thousands of messages of support and particularly the work of AMIDEAST,” the statement reads. “We hope now that everyone can respect our and Ismail’s privacy and he can now simply focus on settling into College and his important class work.” ­

Immigration officers barred Ajjawi from entering the United States after he spent eight hours in Boston Logan International Airport on Aug. 23. Ajjawi, a 17-year-old resident of Tyre, Lebanon told The Crimson last week that a Customs and Border Protection officer searched his phone and laptop while he was detained at the airport.

Ajjawi alleged that officer questioned him for hours about posts his friends made on social media and eventually informed him that his visa would be canceled. The officer also allegedly asked him questions about his religious practices in Lebanon.

Shortly after Ajjawi returned to Lebanon, Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Michael S. McCarthy wrote in a statement that officials had “deemed [him] inadmissible.”

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Roughly thirty freshmen raised signs calling on Harvard to divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry as University President Lawrence S. Bacow addressed their class Monday during Harvard’s 11th annual freshman convocation in the Science Center Plaza.

Facing a crowd peppered with orange Divest Harvard signs, Bacow endorsed both student activism and reasoned argument.

“I choose my words intentionally when I say standing up and speaking out are actions.

They are often the most difficult when they are most worthwhile,” he said. “You will not regret the time you spend articulating your argument and pushing for change over the next four years.”

Bacow’s remarks echoed those he made last year amid an increasing number of protests organized by Divest Harvard and the Harvard Prison Divest-

The Class of 2023 gathers to take a class photo on Widener steps despite the rain. kathryn s. kuhar—Crimson photographer

ment Campaign — two campus groups supporting fossil fuel divestment and divestment from companies with ties to prisons, respectively.

His speech Monday also touched upon his own time as

a college freshman in 1969. He recalled watching students protest the Vietnam War as he moved into a MIT dorm.

“It was the height of the Vietnam War, the police were present in riot gear, there were

Injured Football Player Returns After Two Years By devin b. srivastava Crimson Staff Writer

A lmost two years after a sideline tackle left freshman football player Ben M. Abercrombie ’21-’23 paralyzed from the neck down, he returned to Harvard last month.

Abercrombie, an Alabama native recruited by Harvard from high school football powerhouse Hoover High School, originally entered the College as a member of the Class of 2021.

He suffered a broken neck and spinal cord injury in the first game of his Harvard career in fall 2017.

The past two years, Abercrombie has undergone multiple surgeries and intensive physical rehabilitation to enable his return this fall as a member of the Class of 2023.

“The goal was always to come back. It was just a matter of when I was healthy enough,” Abercrombie said. ­

Ben Abercrombie arrives back at campus as a part of the class of 2023 and is greeted with open arms by his peers. kai r. mcnamee—Crimson photographer

After Abercrombie’s injury, he spent four months recovering in a spinal cord specialty center in Atlanta, Ga., before returning to his home in Hoover.

There, he worked out almost daily at the University of Alabama’s Spain Rehabilitation Center to keep his muscles from atrophying while he waits for research scientists to find a way to re-allow his spinal cord functionality.

In preparation for his return, Abercrombie worked with Harvard’s Accessible Educawwtion Office, which has provided him with classroom accommodations and a modified dorm room. His family has also shifted medical care to Cambridge.

Nekesa C. Straker, the Senior Assistant Dean of Residential Life and First-Year Students, wrote in an email that the College is “delighted” to welcome Abercrombie back to campus.

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Harvard Workers Gather in Boston for Labor Day March

By Ruoqi Zhang Crimson Staff Writer

More than 100 workers and union supporters gathered in Boston’s Copley Square in an annual Labor Day rally in solidarity with immigrant workers on Monday.

Marchers chanted “Sí, se puede” — Spanish for “Yes, we can” — as they paraded down Boylston Street. Over the course of the nearly mile-long walk, advocates voiced support for workers with Temporary Protected Status and legislation enabling immigrant workers to obtain driver licenses.

Members of Harvard’s TPS Coalition, organizers for unions, and Harvard students, held up a banner reading “No borders in the worker’s struggle” during the three-hour long event.

“I’m here today, because I

Inside this issue

Harvard Today 2

want to keep my family together,” said Doris E. Landaverde, a Harvard custodial staff member from El Salvador who has TPS status and could face deportation if her TPS status expires.

TPS, a humanitarian program administered by the United States Department of Homeland Security, is a designation given to immigrants from certain countries who cannot return home due to circumstances such as ongoing armed conflict and environmental disaster.

Individuals granted TPS are protected from deportation and are able to live and work in the U.S. The Trump administration intends to end TPS protections for individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and Sudan. That policy is currently

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News 3

Editorial 6

The Harvard TPS gathered in support of the immigrant workers and marched alongside the protesters as they walked through downtown Boston. quinn g. perini—Crimson photographer

Sports 8

Today’s Forecast

mostly sunny High: 79 Low: 64

a bunch of students with bull horns, and there was lots of chanting going on,” Bacow said.

“My father picked this exact moment to turn to me and say,

See convocation Page 4

Div. School Professor Dies at 54 By rebecca s. araten Crimson Staff Writer

When a former student went job hunting and asked Harvard Divinity School professor Anne E. Monius for a generic recommendation, Monius insisted upon writing a tailored recommendation for each job — all 60 of them.

Students and colleagues say Monius, who died on Aug. 3 at the age of 54, was an extraordinary teacher who closely mentored her students while conducting groundbreaking research.

Monius was a professor at the Divinity School for 17 years, during which she taught about the history and writings of South Asian religions. She joined the Divinity School faculty in 2002, after teaching at the University of Virginia for five years, and earned tenure two years later.

Monius’s research spanned centuries and multiple religions, a breadth one of her former masters students Sarah Pierce Taylor said is exceptional among academics, who generally have a research focus in one religion and can teach about two others. Monius’s first book “Imagining a Place for Buddhism: Literary Culture and Religious Community in Tamil-Speaking South India” is the “definitive” book on Buddhism, according to Pierce Taylor.

She also studied Jainism and co-founded the Jainism group at the American Academy of Religion.

“She had a perspective on her field that really integrated the study of religion and literary texts, and that really brought aesthetics and ethics together,” said Divinity School ­

See monius Page 4

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welcome back

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

september 3, 2019

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Harvard Today

For Lunch Chicken Vindaloo Philly Cheese Steak Sub White Bean Ragout

For Dinner Coq Au Vin Mussels with Pesto Vegetable Quinoa Paella

Today’s Events Willie T & Doctor X Science Center Plaza, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

in The Real World

Jam out to the folk rock sounds of Boston-based Willie T and Doctor X in the Science Center Plaza, brought to you by the Harvard Common Spaces.

It’s practically a first day of classes Coachella.

Hurricane Dorian Kills Five in the Bahamas Forecasters warn that the storm, which hung over the Bahamas on Monday, may move through Florida and Virginia. In the Bahamas, winds were as high as 180 miles per hour, and thousands of homes are likely destroyed, though officials say it is too early to accurately assess the damage.

Auditions for the Harvard University Choir Memorial Church Choir Room, 2-4 p.m.

Show off your pipes and audition for the Harvard University Choir in the Choir Room of Memorial Church.

You can sing anything from Happy Birthday to your favorite solo work, so anybody can give auditions a whirl.

Diving Boat Fire Leaves Eight Dead

After the College’s convocation ceremony, Bacow walks to his place alongside the Class of 2023 for their class photo. Kathryn S. Kuhar—Crimson photographer

Beginning early Monday, a fire on a diving boat anchored by the shore of Santa Cruz island burned through the galley. Five members of the crew escaped, and 26 people are still unaccounted for.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Odessa Gunman Called FBI Prior to Rampage

Daily Briefing Harvard freshman Ismail B. Ajjawi ‘23 arrived on campus Monday after previously being denied entry to the United States last month. Ajjawi, a Palestinian resident of Tyre, Lebanon, has alleged that he was detained and questioned for hours at Boston Logan International Airport, and a Customs and Border Protection officer canceled his visa after searching his phone and laptop. The officer reportedly told him that she had found anti-American social media posts made by his friends. In other news, protesters at Harvard’s freshman convocation called on the University to divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry.

After getting fired from his job on Friday, Seth Aaron Ator — who would go on to kill seven people in a shooting spree in West Texas — called both the police and FBI. His former employer also called the police, but Ator was gone by the time the authorities arrived on the scene.

Around the Ivies cornell An undercover sting operation by the New York State Liquor Authority exposed three Ithaca businesses for selling alcohol to underage customers. The SLA typically conducts random sting operations every week and also investigates referrals from local police departments. The SLA often recruits undercover decoys from local colleges or criminal justice programs. Fines for implicated businesses range from $2,500 to $10,000 per violation. Additionally, employees who sell alcohol to minors can be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.

princeton

Princeton’s Interclub Council decided to close the eating clubs to freshmen until the end of the university’s orientation program, citing concerns regarding student safety and the desire to support the goals of orientation. Last year, the council banned freshmen from entering the eating clubs on the final day of orientation week because 28 students were hospitalized for alcohol-related emergencies in the days prior to the ban.

yale

The Yale admissions office will begin to audit a portion of its applications each year in the wake of revelations that former Yale Women’s Soccer Coach Rudolph Meredith gave fraudulent athletic endorsements to two applicants in exchange for a total of $850,000. The admissions and athletic offices will conduct preliminary reviews to verify applicants’ athletic credentials, and athletic recruits who do not play their recruited sport for four years at Yale will have to take exit interviews.

Additionally, all coaches will be required to report all athletic-related income.

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

The Harvard Crimson Kristine E. Guillaume President Angela N. Fu Managing Editor Charlie B. Zhu Business Manager

Staff for This Issue

Associate Managing Editor Jamie D. Halper ’20

Arts Chairs Kaylee S. Kim ’20 Caroline A. Tsai ’20

Design Chairs Elena M. Ramos ’20 Akhil S. Waghmare ’20

Associate Business Manager Amy E. Zhou ’20

FM Chairs Norah M. Murphy ’20 Abigail L. Simon ’20

Multimedia Chairs Kathryn S. Kuhar ’20 Kai R. McNamee ’21

Editorial Chairs Jessenia N. Class ’20 Robert Miranda ’20

Blog Chairs Lorenzo F. Manuali ’21 Trula J. Rael ’21

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

Night Editor Sonia Kim ’20

Design Editor Matthew J. Tyler ’22

Assistant Night Editors Kevin R. Chen ’22 Iris M. Lewis ’21

Photo Editor Quinn G. Perini ’22

Story Editors Angela N. Fu ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20

Editorial Editor Kristine E. Guillaume ’20 Sports Editor Henry Zhu ’20

Sports Chairs Joseph W. Minatel ’21 Henry Zhu ’20

Copyright 2019, The Harvard Crimson (USPS 236-560). No articles, editorials, cartoons or any part thereof appearing in The Crimson may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the President. The Associated Press holds the right to reprint any materials published in The Crimson. The Crimson is a non-profit, independent corporation, founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1967. Second-class postage paid in Boston, Massachusetts. Published Monday through Friday except holidays and during vacations, three times weekly during reading and exam periods by The Harvard Crimson Inc., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Weather icons made by Freepik, Yannick, Situ Herrera, OCHA, SimpleIcon, Catalin Fertu from flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0.

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

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | september 3, 2019

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

september 3, 2019

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Rally From Page 1

monius From Page 1

Workers Rally for Immigrants

Divinity School Professor Dies

facing multiple legal challenges and a court injunction, and has been extended for these countries through January 2020.

Jose E. Portillo, another Harvard employee and TPS recipient from El Savaldor, said he hopes one day to gain permanent residency.

Portillo said that working in the U.S. allows him to send money back to El Salvador to support his family.

He said he will no longer be able to support his family members studying at El Salvadoran universities if his TPS status expires.

Roxana Rivera — vice president of 32BJ Service Employees International Union which organized the event and represents workers at Harvard — said that it remains unknown what will happen after the TPS extension ends in January.

“That’s why we have to continue to fight in the court,” Rivera said.

“We have to actually be educating each other, we have to be marching on the street, we have to be making sure that we’re doing everything to make sure that these families are not torn apart.”

Harvard union organizers also joined the march in support of TPS recipients.

Edward “Ed” B. Childs — the former chief shop stewards for UNITE HERE Local 26, which

represents Harvard’s dining workers — called the march “extremely significant.”

“It’s the unions calling for unity amongst the unions and community groups to support the TPS struggle,” Childs said.

“We see that these struggles interconnect with each other, and TPS is one of the biggest interconnectors — the immigration movement, the anti-racist movement, and the union movement all coming together.”

“That’s why I’m here,” he

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Yesterday hundreds of individuals gathered in Copley Square to rally for immigrant workers in search of opportunities. Protesters held posters high in the air as they marched. Quinn G. Perini—Crimson photographer

added.

Rally participants also called for passing the Work and Family Mobility Act through the Massachusetts legislature.

If passed, the bill would allow immigrant workers who cannot prove lawful presence or present a social security number to apply for a Massachusetts driver’s license.

“Driving should not be connected to immigration status,” Rivera said. “It’s the safety for everybody...as well as allows

people to provide continue providing for their families.”

As the march reached its end, Childs — who retired just last month from Harvard after more than 40 years at the University — said the event was encouraging.

“A lot of the workers are out today. They’re ready to fight,” he said “An injury to one is an injury to all,” he added. ruoqi.zhang@thecrimson.com

Student Ben Abercrombie Returns to Arrives Harvard After Sports Injury on Campus McCarthy did not specify the reason for the decision.

Ajjawi’s immigration difficulties sparked outcry from Harvard student groups, several of which organized a petition supporting him that has garnered more than 7,000 signatures as of Monday night.

Ajjawi’s story has also drawn international media attention and elicited statements of support from several organizations including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

Staff from both Harvard and AMIDEAST, a scholarship organization sponsoring Ajjawi’s education, worked with federal officials to ensure he could matriculate on time.

University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain wrote in a statement last week that Harvard was working to bring Ajjawi to campus before classes begin Sept. 3.

“The University is working closely with the student’s family and appropriate authorities to resolve this matter so that he can join his classmates in the coming days,” he wrote.

The Ajjawi family’s statement acknowledged the groups that advocated for their son, both in Lebanon and in the United States.

“We truly appreciate the efforts of so many individuals and officials in Lebanon, Washington, Massachusetts and at Harvard that have made it possible for our son Ismail Ajjawi to begin his studies at Harvard with his class,” they wrote. ­

shera.aviyonah@thecrimson.com delano.franklin@thecrimson.com

“Ben’s perseverance and determination to continue his studies in the face of enormous adversity is truly an inspiration, and we are happy to be supportive in any way that we can,” Straker wrote.

Abercrombie is living with his mother — who he fondly described as his roommate — in a modified suite in Weld Hall, complete with a 65 inch flatscreen television gifted to Abercrombie by the Harvard football team’s administrative coordinators.

Abercrombie, who received an “A” in an online Harvard class over the summer, will take two classes this term as he readjusts to life on campus.

He has previously stated that completing his Harvard degree has been a goal since the initial injury.

“I’m just excited to get everything going again. It’s been a while, and I’ve been waiting forever to start school again here.

I’m just ready to go.”

Back in Cambridge

Abercrombie’s return has been marked by constant surgeries and doctor’s visits. Just seven months ago, he underwent a surgery to complete a phrenic nerve graft, which he hopes will eventually help him regain his ability to breathe without the help of a ventilator.

He will continue physical rehabilitation in Cambridge. Currently, Abercrombie works out on a specialized bike three times a week in his dorm room to keep his muscles from atrophying, and he will receive treatments at Journey Forward, a Massachusetts-based non-profit that works to improve the lives of those with spinal cord injuries.

While most freshmen spent Orientation Week learning their way around campus and preparing for upcoming classes, Abercrombie also had to plan for his medical care.

“We have to train the new

Harvard, from the Law School to Longwood.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

nurses, go to doctor’s visits.

We’re still really busy in trying to establish a schedule,” Abercrombie said.

“The main thing you worry about is having enough time to do everything that you need to do on a daily basis while getting your school work done and being successful in school.”

Abercrombie will take two classes this term instead of

“I’m just excited to get everything going again.”

Ben M. Abercrombie ’21-’23 Student

the normal course load of four classes, as he readjusts to college life. Over the summer, he learned to use technology to read, write, and even solve math equations in preparation for academic coursework.

In addition to his academic focus, Abercrombie remains committed to a full recovery.

“Right now, obviously the main goal is to be healthy and heal up,” he said.

Abercrombie stays up to date with the most current research into spinal cord injuries and is in contact with a pharmaceutical company called NerveGen, which researches treatments for nerve damage.

“They have a really intriguing study and they plan to go into clinical trials in 2020. They have this enzyme that they inject in the spinal cord that will deplete scar tissue around the injury that will allow your body to heal itself,” Abercrombie said.

Inspiring from the Sidelines

Despite his injury, Abercrombie plans to continue to be a part of the Harvard football family.

“I just like to be around, be a part of the guys,” he said. “I’ll

maybe help with analyzing film or something. I’ll just be there, be around with the guys and everything. Help out with whatever they need.”

The football team and coaching staff welcomed Abercrombie back to campus last month by hosting a college football watch party. Several players have dropped by his room in Weld to say hello, and Head Football Coach Tim Murphy checked in with Abercrombie and his family when they arrived on campus.

“As usual Ben was incredibly upbeat, chatty and gregarious, a profile in courage. And that is the reason he is such an inspiration to our team and program,” Murphy wrote in an email.

Edward “Isaiah” Wingfield ’21, who plays the same position as Abercrombie, also called Abercrombie an role model.

“It’s just really inspiring — staying so positive, for him to stay so positive and having him joke with us. It meant a lot to the team,” he said.

Wingfield, who will return to the field this fall after tearing his ACL last year, said he wears a “Stand Up for Ben” armband every day in honor of Abercrombie.

“Having him on the sidelines with us, in the locker room with us, is just an extra bonus,” Wingfield said.

“Knowing how much of a beast that he was out on that field, knowing that he wants to be out there, and us doing it for him and having him inspire us — it’s going to do even more as far as bring this team together and make us play harder.”

In between attending class and Harvard football games, Abercrombie plans to continue to work out daily to keep his body in shape for his ultimate goal — to walk again.

“I’m just keeping my body ready to go for when I’m ready to be healed.” devin.srivastava@thecrimson.com

Professor and interim minister at Memorial Church Stephanie A. Paulsell, who co-taught a course with Monius.

“She was really interested in that: the relationship between beauty and goodness, and how ethics and aesthetics worked on each other in the texts that she studied.”

At the time of her death, Monius was working on multiple projects about Shaivism.

“She just was writing this magnum opus, and I only hope that that book can be shepherded to publication because she is a scholar of such immense merit that for us not to have that book would be such an incredible loss to the field,” Pierce Taylor said.

Amidst all of her research projects, Monius was an advisor and mentor to many students, earning the Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2014 from the Graduate School Council for her impact on students.

“Maybe more than any faculty member I’ve ever known, she was extremely generous with her time,” Paulsell said.

Monius often taught six reading courses a semester and was willing to put in time to help any student pursue their research interests, according to Paulsell.

She met with thesis advisees each week and successfully led many of her students through applications to Ph.D. programs.

Those who learned with her had to be prepared for a rigorous course of study.

“She had very high standards,” Paulsell said. “Now if Anne was your advisor, you knew you had to come in with new writing every week. But the students who wanted to do that really flourished under her guidance.”

In nominating Monius for the Excellence in Mentoring Award, AnnMarie M. Bridges, who studied Christian theology at the Divinity School, described how thoroughly involved Monius was in her personal academic success—even though she was never Monius’s student.

Monius not only met with Bridges but also read through hundreds of pages of John Calvin’s writings to prepare for those meetings.

“I know of no other faculty member in my field who regularly spends an hour a week with the students she mentors (and it is worth noting, in this context, that Prof. Monius is not even my advisor),” Bridges

wrote in an email.

“Prof. Monius does not just lend me her mind when I am sitting in her office; she invests time outside of our meetings to become an even better guide and interlocutor for me.”

Pierce Taylor had a similar story and described how Monius had supported her, even after she graduated from the Divinity School.

Over the course of her eightyear-long Ph.D. program, she continued to turn to Monius for advice. Monius read every word and every draft of the dissertation.

“The thing that’s really important to remember is that she was under no institutional obligation to me,” Taylor said. “I was a Ph.D. student at [The University of Pennsylvania], not at Harvard. But she treated me as if I were her responsibility.”

Pierce Taylor later received 60 tailored recommendation letters from Monius while job hunting.

“Anne made me feel incredibly special, she did all of these things for me that changed my life, changed my career, and it was very special,” Pierce Taylor said.

“But actually Anne did that for so many people.”

Monius’s generosity extended beyond her students, according to Paulsell.

When Paulsell’s daughter returned from a summer spent in India, Monius helped her process the experience and find her footing in American culture. The two sat together on the couch for hours, with Monius listening intently while Paulsell’s daughter shared her experiences.

“I could just see on my daughter’s face this incredible relief, that here was somebody who understood where she’d been, understood the people she’d been with, understood what she had been learning, understood the struggle she was having coming home,” Paulsell said.

Pierce Taylor said she sees Monius as a model for advising and teaching.

“I think the imprint there is hard to describe,” Pierce Taylor said.

“I know how to be an advisor, I know how to be a professor, because I saw how Anne did it. And I saw the incredible model that I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to live up to that, but I know that I want to.” rebecca.araten@thecrimson.com

convocation From Page 1

Convocation Draws Divestment Protesters ‘If you decide to do that, and you get arrested, don’t call home.’”

Divest Harvard organizer Ilana A. Cohen ’22 said the group has set an April 22, 2020 deadline for the University to divest, marking Earth Day’s 50th anniversary. She added that they have plans to ramp up their efforts in order to achieve that goal — including recruiting new members from the freshman class.

“We’re planning a lot of actions for the upcoming year, particularly because we take this deadline of Earth Day 2020 very seriously,” Cohen said.

“Last year was really kind of a question of groundwork organizing, and we’ve done a lot of recruitment since then.”

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on the signs and calls for divestment.

Before and after the protest, several University administrators joined Bacow in addressing the freshmen.

In a prayer kicking off the event, Harvard Divinity School professor Stephanie A. Paulsell referenced Ismail B. Ajjawi ’23, who came to campus Monday after being denied entry to the United States ten days prior.

Ajjawi was not on campus at the start of the ceremony.

“Not everybody has arrived on campus today. We pray that soon the entire class will have assembled,” she said.

Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana repeated statements from previous convocation addresses, noting that he did not gain admission to the College and urging students to make their time at Harvard “transformational” rather than “transactional.”

But he also advised the freshmen to reflect upon Harvard’s motto, “veritas,” and seek difficult truths.

“Sociologists and social psychologists find that conformity, our need for approval and positive feedback, to be one of the most powerful of all social forces. We all have probably experienced that tension between identifying with a particular group and then speaking up or questioning that group,” Khurana said.

“But if we’re committed to finding the truth, we need to sincerely engage in listening to those who don’t agree with us,” he added. shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | september 3, 2019

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

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Editorial Op-ED

Op-ed

In Response to ‘What Do You Do?’

What Harvard Has Stolen

By Linda Lee

W

e all dread this question. It’s what makes us start sweating when we arrive home during break (though for some of us, that may just be due to the summer heat of where we live). It’s what makes or breaks the first five minutes of those ephemeral interactions between prefrosh during Visitas. Ironically, it’s also what we face during dreaded networking events — the purpose of which, ironically, is to secure us with jobs so that we can actually attempt to answer this question.

In these cases of job insecurity, are we simply not doing anything? When faced with the question, do we just sit in silence?

Yet what limits us to regard what we do simply in terms of our profession or academic discipline? For many of us, we may not have an internship offer lined up for the next three summers; we may be struggling to find options for the upcoming summer alone. In these cases of job insecurity, are we simply not doing anything? When faced with the question, do we just sit in silence?

I sometimes wonder how I would have answered this question as an adolescent, when my greatest worry was snagging a spot at the monkey bars. It’s likely I would have enthusiastically responded with the fact that I doodle and build stories for my original character designs. I would ramble about what piece I’m currently learning on the cello or shyly show my growing list of webcom-

ics that I stay updated on every week. In response to “what do you do,” I would say I am an artist, a musician, a reader, and a writer. I would laugh and wonder how one could possibly have just one answer — people are capable of doing many things, after all.

Now, however, I freeze up in front of this question and struggle to dredge up even a single answer. My mind races through a midlife crisis in three seconds, and I balk at the fact that I don’t have a five-year plan to recite to my relatives or a recruiter.

Nonetheless, we are all definitely “doing” something with our lives everyday.

We attend a university brimming with opportunities to learn and grow, we take courses on intriguing topics, and we explore new sides of ourselves and invest our time in extracurriculars that support our campus culture. How can it be possible, then, that we don’t know what it is that we do?

Perhaps it is because of the societal perception in which we have grown to regard this question. How unfortunate it is that those with such passion in their eyes must question their own worth because they are not yet sure of their professional future. What if we grew to let go of our expectations regarding this question? What we do should not just be limited to our career prospects or academic concentration. The things we do — the things in which we willingly choose to invest our time, energy, and passion — extend to all aspects of ourselves beyond professional or academic development, be it for personal growth, self discovery, mental health, or recreational enjoyment. With this in mind, it should follow that the question of what we do should accept answers within these fields as well.

So what do I do? Yes, I program and make websites. I concentrate in Computer Science at Harvard College. But no, I also do more than that. I dance with some of the sweetest people I have met on campus. I write my heart out about issues close to my heart for my school’s

The next time we are faced with the question of “what do you do,” it is my hope that rather than feeling boxed in, we are bursting with answers of everything we are and everything we are capable of. publication. I take photos of the beautiful crevices in life such as glimpses of sunsets or the aesthetic display of food that people are too busy to fully appreciate.

I stay up into the late hours of the night making sure my friends don’t go to bed with a heavy heart. These are also things I do, and they are just as valid and important as my four-year academic plan.

Despite how it may feel, we are all so more than our concentrations or professional experiences. We are fighters, dreamers, scholars, lovers, and envisionaries. We laugh, we cry, we learn, and we grow. The next time we are faced with the question of “what do you do,” it is my hope that rather than feeling boxed in, we are bursting with answers of everything we are and everything we are capable of.

—Linda Lee ’21, a Crimson Editorial editor and Crimson Blog Comp Director, is a Computer Science concentrator in Eliot House.

—Ari E. Benkler ’21, a Crimson Associate Editorial Editor, is a Social Studies concentrator in Leverett House.

—Patrick C. Barham ’21, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Government concentrator in Pforzheimer House.

@thecrimson Op-ed

Real Life is Interdisciplinary

I

f you ask any undergraduate about their concentration, you will likely hear about the courses they have taken, the problems they have been asked to think about, and the methods they have been taught to use. Economics students will mention their econometrics classes, students in the sciences will describe the work they have done in labs, and students in the humanities and other social sciences will describe a myriad of research and writing conventions that set each of their disciplines apart from the others.

These methodological silos are important, and it is appropriate that undergraduate concentrators understand the epistemology and the expectations of their discipline. Concentrations can and should instill that knowledge.

Learning each discipline equips students to read and eventually produce academic work that can engage with broader conversations in their disciplines.

Ultimately, the purpose of teaching method is to enable the study of complex problems in conversation with others in the discipline who have studied those problems already.

Biology concentrators may hope to go to medical school, economics concentrators may hope to consult or study public policy, engineers may hope to learn the way the complex material world around us is constructed, and to work at the forefront of that world, building the engineering solutions to the future that may help alleviate poverty, combat climate change, or simply increase our standard of living.

Still, why limit that conversation within the discipline? None of these problems — providing healthcare, alleviating poverty, or combating climate change — is best understood in the isolation of a single way of thinking. Doctors’ work can be made more impactful by the work of policy experts, Environmental Science & Engineering concentrators who want to build a climate-proof future need the help of earth and climate scientists, as well as economists.

History’s attempts to understand the

The kinds of questions we will confront as adults in the world may not be solvable within the confines of a single discipline.

This learning can even be done in the context of posing complex problems that require us to consider what insights other disciplines might have. Programs like the General Education requirements already seek to do this to some extent, and their efforts are laudable, but deserve expansion.

Engineering students might study the process of scaling up structural innovations to the entire economy, premed students might examine the challenge of delivering affordable, equitable, high-quality healthcare to everyone, and government students might consider the process of solving a salient political problem, like gun violence, in the context of public health.

Such an approach has the added benefit of asking students to consider realistic, meaningful scenarios to connect their work to the real world, as well as encouraging interdisciplinary thinking.

The Embedded EthiCS program, an interdisciplinary collaboration between the philosophy and computer science departments, is an encouraging step in this

Harvard’s museums should apply their current standards of refusing stolen or wrongfully expropriated art not just to new acquisitions but to their entire collections.

direction. It recognizes and preserves the centrality of excellence in the core discipline — Computer Science — but forces students to reckon with the ethical implications of the systems that others before them have designed and they will soon go on to manage themselves.

An even more impressive step would be to put those ethical discussions in the context of policy dilemmas in the sphere of big tech. One professor in the program has already expressed hope that the approach will encourage reflection for those in it who may seek careers in government.

Methodological and academic divisions represent genuine differences in approaching the hard questions of the world today.

Those differences are legitimate, and it is important for students to develop real expertise in the methodologies of their field of choice. But it cannot be the only priority.

To prepare students to tackle the challenges we hope to overcome as a society in the coming decades and beyond, Harvard should encourage us to think about real-life problems.

In so doing, the University will spur us to discover insights that disciplines we never bothered to examine before have to offer and to marshal as many ways of thinking as possible.

As well as pedagogically useful, this approach has a deeper benefit. Knowing from real, lived experience that your own way of thinking will not yield as full an understanding of a complex issue as addressing it from multiple perspectives is simply a useful life lesson. Skepticism about the totality of one’s own expertise, willingness to listen to diverse perspectives, and the ability to understand how different thought processes yield different conclusions foster intellectual rigor, inclusive collaboration, and plain old empathy.

Learning those lessons should be as much a goal of our time at Harvard as any others.

The Crimson

arc of the past are incomplete without the tools of literature, archaeology, and anthropology for understanding the social and material character of a culture.

Real life is interdisciplinary. The kinds of questions we will confront as adults in the world may not be solvable within the confines of a single discipline.

That is not to say these disciplinary strictures are not worth learning. They are, and Harvard should continue to teach them. But our courses should also reflect an understanding of the kinds of problems we will be asked to face.

That means that being conversant in the methods and insights of complementary disciplines at some basic level should be part of the educational approach of all concentrations.

H

arvard’s museums are a centerpiece of our university’s intellectual offerings, and rightfully so — their collections are vast and provide students an opportunity to study art and artifacts from around the world, just a few feet from their dorms. However, many of the items in Harvard’s museums were acquired before international restrictions on the expropriation of cultural artifacts were imposed and with disregard for countries’ preservation of their native culture. While Harvard’s collections are impressive, they were often taken at times when their native cultures were neither highly protected nor regarded. Harvard must return any such artifacts and hold all its collections to the same standards.

Visit the Peabody Museum in particular and one can explore the world through an ethnographic lens. You can find beautiful, intricate and breathtaking artifacts from countries around the world and from native nations in this country.

Many of these collections are not new. The Peabody Museum was founded in the 19th century and has long housed collections from around the world. However, its older collections are troublesome because of how they came to rest in Cambridge.

The museum is largely a testament to imperialism — opened in 1866, a few years before

the rise of the United States as an imperial power, and at a time when wealthy Americans could plunder foreign lands seemingly at-will with few protections for countries whose cultural and ethnographic heritage was being stolen.

Through these collections, Harvard and its students today benefit from the spoils of imperialism and colonialism that maimed and depleted the resources and populations of countries around the world.

As such, these artifacts should not be Harvard’s to keep. Though Harvard might legally own all the items in its collection, their origins might largely be incompatible with modern international standards.

The Peabody Museum currently requires proof of the provenance of donated or acquired items, and the Harvard Art Museums’ policy states that it “will not acquire an object if there is reasonable cause to believe that, since November 17, 1970, it may have been stolen, illegally excavated or removed from a monument, site, or wreck contrary to local law or otherwise acquired in or exported from its country of origin or any intermediate country, in violation of that country’s laws or any international treaties.” The seemingly arbitrary date originates from the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. While this prohibition on the acquisition of stolen artifacts is an important step toward ensuring that countries retain and preserve their own culture and heritage, this rule does not apply retroactively to the immense amount of items collected before this date.

Harvard’s museums should apply their current standards of refusing stolen or wrongfully expropriated art not just to new acquisitions but to their entire collections.

The Peabody Museum has an extensive collection of prehistoric artifacts from Costa Rica, my own home country. These artifacts reveal an incredible amount about the abilities and artistry of the first Americans, but Costa Ricans who do not have the means to travel to Cambridge will never have the opportunity to view their ancestors’ work because Harvard owns them.

One of the biggest items in Harvard’s collection from the small Central American country is the “Diquís Ball,” a 4,800 pound stone sphere made some time between 700 and 1300 C.E. Today, Harvard would not be able to expatriate that artifact from Costa Rica.

The country’s current law prohibits the movement of these spheres from their resting place and considers them “patrimonio nacional,” national heritage that belongs to the state. Yet, because Harvard’s collections were put together centuries ago, this and many other items are exempt from laws seeking to protect cultural artifacts and to preserve national heritage around the world.

This is not an issue unique to our university’s museums. There have been and will continue to be calls from around the world to American museums for them to return and repatriate articles with foreign origins. Our university should take the lead on this issue – our museum collections should always be a source of pride for Harvard and the United States, but our pride must not come at the cost of other countries’ ability to preserve their native art.

As a leader in higher education, Harvard has the moral responsibility to lead the repatriation of cultural artifacts and set an example for other museums to follow, returning these works to their native lands. Though it may greatly diminish our collections, this a correction long overdue for centuries of American and European looting that stole aboriginal culture in the name of museums, preservation and education.

It’s time we accept the fact that our collections house stolen culture and act to right this centuries-old wrong.

Be a Crimson Cartoonist!

By Ari E. Benkler

By Patrick C. Barham

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | september 3, 2019

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

September 3, 2019

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Baseball

Race and Harvard Baseball: William C. Matthews

By JOSEPH w. minatel Crimson Staff Writer

Charles Eliot, the longest serving president in Harvard’s long history, was not an ally of expanding college athletics. A proponent of rowing and tennis, the only “clean sports” in his mind, Eliot opposed football and other brutal athletic activities. Even baseball, a relatively clean sport in today’s society, received Eliot’s criticism.

The former president once said, “This year I’m told the team did well because one pitcher had a fine curveball. I understand that a curve ball is thrown with a deliberate attempt to deceive.

Surely this is not an ability we should want to foster at Harvard.”

While Eliot’s understanding of off-speed pitches may have missed the strike zone, he was correct to highlight that the baseball team during his tenure had a skewed moral compass.

For some players on the team, the curves off the field proved more troublesome than those on the diamond.

Nearly a half century before Jackie Robinson’s famous debut in 1947, William Clarence Matthews ‘05 defied standards and served as a pioneer in the black baseball community. Despite his modest background as a poor man from Alabama, the future United States Assistant Attorney General worked his way to Phillips Andover Academy and Harvard University to become one of the most talented baseball players of his time.

Although his professional career was cut short, succumbing to the racism of the early 20th century, Matthews was able to accomplish major feats for Harvard’s baseball team from 1902 to 1905. While his time at Harvard and after as a baseball standout contains impressive achievements, a more important story regarding race, society, and baseball is tucked within his years as a varsity hero.

Leading up to 1905, Harvard baseball consistently honored the annual tradition of its southern road trip. The Crimson would travel into Dixie to take on teams such as Navy, Virginia, Georgetown, and Trinity (now Duke). These early-season trips allowed Harvard to escape the waning Cambridge winters of early April and play in a more suitable climate.

When Matthews joined the Harvard nine, however, the southern trip fell into peril.

With a black player on the team, the beginning of the season was now much more complicated than in previous years. From 1902 to 1904, however, Harvard started its season as usual, venturing into territory that was not a part of the Union just 40 years prior.

Matthews was left behind, forced to remain in Cambridge so that Harvard’s hosts would not forfeit. Understanding that southern hospitality had its racial limits in early 20th century Virginia, Matthews stayed in Yankee territory without much incident for his first three seasons.

In Matthews’ senior year, however, Harvard elected to start its season in the north, playing Vermont at home in its first game. Harvard’s cancelled trip went without much incident, as the team’s files said nothing of the change, simply recording the new schedule. Harvard’s refusal to make a public spectacle of the previous trips of 1902 through 1904 and cancelled trip of 1905 possibly serve as a testament to its positive reputation with race.

Matthews chose Harvard in the first place due to its more progressive record, telling the New York Tribune that he preferred Harvard’s racial climate to Yale’s, a school with “more Southern students.” However, Harvard’s relatively “cleaner” record on race for the time does not tell the entire story of Matthews and the annual southern trip. Harvard still had strong racial divides prevalent ­

BEFORE HIS TIME Matthews, one of the best players of his time, had his professional baseball chances dashed by Major League Baseball’s systemized racism.y. JOSEPH W. MINATEL—Crimson photographer

in higher education, and a truly progressive team would not have left behind a member of its team due to racist hostility, certainly not after he was an established star. What, then, explains Harvard’s trips without Matthews of 1902 through 1904 and its subsequent cancellation of the southern tour in 1905?

While Harvard kept—and possibly recorded at the time—very little within its files regarding Matthews and the southern campaigns, archival materials, media reports, and historiography suggest possible reasons for Harvard baseball’s decision-making during Matthews’ tenure.

Due to the rapid growth of Matthews’ notoriety popularized by the media and his impressive athletic performance, Harvard decided against excluding him from the southern visit and thus reconsidered the trip altogether. However, contrary evidence explains why Harvard was delayed in making a statement on the racist south until 1905.

Harvard’s role as a fair and just savior, when paired with its ability and tendency to make racist decisions in line with societal norms, could not be completely overcome by these positive factors, allowing Harvard to leave him behind from 1902 to 1904. Matthews did not completely alter fix Harvard’s role in a sport with a troubled racial past.

The historiography concerning race and baseball from this time period is almost nonexistent. Matthews’ historiography is understandably slim; while important in his time, Matthews does not demand the scholarship of famous black pioneers in the game such as Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson, as he never broke the professional color barrier.

Overall, race and baseball in the early 20th century has also gone largely uncovered. Due to the exclusion of blacks from baseball narratives following Major League Baseball’s instituted color barrier in 1887, the American League and National League merger and its inaugural World Series in 1903, and

the formation and popularity of the Negro Leagues in the 1920s commanding academic scholarship, race within baseball has been largely ignored from 1887 to 1920. Matthews thus suffers from this lack in coverage.

For these reasons, an investigation into Matthews—specifically the racially-charged Harvard baseball team’s southern trips from 1902 to 1905—relies mostly on the available primary sources of archival materials and newspaper articles.

By looking at Matthews’ college career, we can examine the early troubles facing black ballplayers in a time devoid of open leagues and full of open racism, where talented black players of all skill levels were left nowhere to turn.

a media phenomenon

Matthews played during an era of waning amateurism and rising professionalism. Independent summer leagues grew as baseball gained popularity, entering its fourth decade in America. College players could join these professional leagues when not in school and play for pay.

These professional leagues, chock full of talent, attracted thousands of spectators every summer to see the best young players around. Leagues would even pay, in addition to weekly salaries, to house and feed the players for the summer.

These opportunities were available even to black players.

While historian Karl Lindholm notes that “as a black man, Matthews would have had a harder time than others” in breaking the rules for these lucrative summer leagues, the actual policing of athletes was subpar, a process described by Lindholm as a “skimpy enforcement of amateur rules.”

As commercialism and professionalism of sports grew, scrutiny of the erosion of amateurism began. In the June and July 1905 issues of McClure’s Magazine, journalist Henry Beech Needham examined failing amateur athletics in a lengthy two-part exposé. Needham attacked what he called “evils which destroy

sport for sport’s sake.” Not all athletes were guilty, however.

Needham gave high praise to “a little colored chap at Harvard” who exemplified the ideal athlete: William Clarence Matthews.

Needham lauded Matthews’ character, a poor man who only received “a Price Greenleaf Aid” grant of $200 freshman year, but since had paid his way through Harvard without the help of baseball paychecks.

Matthews worked as a “screen boy” in Memorial Hall, in local hotels, on pulling cars, and as a teacher, rejecting offers of “40 dollars per week and board” in the professional leagues. Needham ends his glowing account with a quote from Matthews: “Mr. [Booker T.] Washington taught us at Tuskegee… that the best help a man can get is an opportunity to help himself.”

Needham clearly played on Matthews’ race, referring to the “little colored chap” as a product of hard work and grit, determined to personally succeed in a way that other black athletes or students at the time could not. Needham’s gushing played a large role in Matthews’ career in the early 20th century with the McClure’s piece further elevating his growing image. As the media took ahold and ran with Matthews, his popularity would make it impossible to ignore the racial issues that manifested due to his position on Harvard’s team.

Matthews quickly attracted even more media attention. The standout player was already a regular starter by the end of his freshman season, playing multiple positions in order for the team to fit him into the lineup.

Harvard’s new star showed his leadership early on, and his exceptional play baited press coverage. Not only was he dominating competition, but the novelty of a black player on Harvard’s squad also added to his potential for attention.

Needham seized on the “little colored chap at Harvard” as a source of inspiration, stirring his character, race, and playing ability into a perfect journalistic stew. Writers licked their chops at opportunities to cap-

italize on a new phenomenon: a black baseball player at the prestigious Harvard. This offered the opportunity for journalists to create novelistic situations of grit, racial equality, and talent. The formula of presenting a hard-working black player that excelled through determination never seemed to tire. The Boston Globe, upon Matthews’ historic placement on one of the honorary class committees in his senior year, made sweeping claims of his position as a black man on the Harvard baseball team. The article snatches at the opportunity for a popular narrative, stating, “By being placed on the committee he has been made to feel that Harvard has treated him as a man, not as a white man, not as a black man, but as a man, no more, no less, and given him what he earned.” Capitalizing on his rare position as black man at Harvard excelling in a sport dominated by white players, the media consistently found a story in Matthews.

If Matthews served as the machine the media cranked to create its stories, his race was the fuel. As exemplified by McClure’s and the Boston Globe, Matthews’ laudable character and gifted ability, when combined with his position as a black player at Harvard, allowed for a story that kept readers returning even outside of the local area. In the summer following Matthews’ sophomore year, the New York Tribune highlighted the achievements of Matthews and three other black students at Harvard.

The Tribune obviously engages in pinpointed journalism to use Matthews as a source of inspiration, starting its story, “The fact that a negro can succeed as an athlete and a student, although he attends one of the richest universities in the world, has been demonstrated at Harvard the last few years.” The Tribune accompanied this praise with a dash of adversity to set up its message, continuing, “When Matthews came to Harvard, there was considerable speculation

as to just what his reception would be. All knew of his ability, but some wondered whether or not his color would prevent him from achieving any great success.” Following the reliable recipe, the Tribune continued its admiration of Matthews with a matched admiration for Harvard’s role as a savoir, stating immediately after, “That which followed, however, soon showed that Harvard is decidedly democratic, impartial, and fair.”

This reliable strategy was repeated countless times by many publications, utilizing Matthews as the dependable subject of these narratives. Displaying a hard-working, bright, and talented black student from Harvard as a source of inspiration captivated readers, never seeming to grow old during Matthews’ tenure. Upon the press’s discovery of Matthews’ untapped potential as a source for inspirational stories, his popularity in the newspapers soared.

This popularity grew beyond just the local papers, such as the Boston Globe, and expanded across the region, with stories in the New York Tribune and local papers of New Haven, Princeton, and other collegiate cities. As his career continued, the ever-present media made it difficult to sweep issues under the rug, likely contributing to Harvard’s later decisions regarding Matthews and the southern baseball tour.

generational talent

While the excitement around a black baseball player at the country’s oldest university was enough novelty to create a news frenzy, the media fervor was not the only source of his fame. As made evident by the later controversy on his entrance into professional leagues, Matthews was obviously a talented baseball player. With his superior play and command of media attention, Matthews was difficult to ignore, especially when caught in controversy. The young star shined from the beginning, recording two hits, two runs, and a stolen base playing shortstop

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A Complex Analysis into the Program’s Racial Past against the University of Maine in his debut. Matthews excelled his freshman year, scoring the winning run against rival Yale University and earning praise—a rare praise devoid of racial language—from the New York Times for his performance. Matthews continued to dominate throughout his career, leading his team in multiple statistical categories.

In his senior season, Matthews recorded a .400 batting average, a feat accomplished at Harvard only seven times in the last 114 years, and stole 22 bases in only 25 games, good enough for fifth-best in Harvard’s record books. The standout left his mark for posterity, not to mention the vast popularity that he gained in his own time.

Matthews’ impressive ability is proved by more than his statistical record. Even with the 1887 ban on black players joining Major League Baseball, many saw Matthews as the player with the best chance to break the color barrier.

In his impressive History of Colored Baseball—possibly the most comprehensive account of black players in baseball from 1887 to 1920—Sol White praised Matthews as one of the best black players to ever play.

White wrote of Matthews before his attempt to enter professional baseball, “It is said on good authority that one of the leading players and managers of the National League is advocating the entrance of colored players in the National League with a view of signing Matthew [sic], the colored man, late of Harvard.” White was not alone in his praise: Ocania Chalk claims in Black College Sport that “had he [Matthews] been white, the majors would have been fight-

ing to sign up this awesome talent.”

Any black player who was pegged as a candidate to break a largely unchallenged color line of 18 years clearly commanded a gift for baseball that could not be ignored. When shunned by the National League, Matthews turned to the Northern League in Vermont, where he further proved his abilities. In the season’s first half, Matthews hit for an average of .314.

Upon leaving the Vermont league amid rampant racism, Matthews nearly proved that he truly was the “Jackie Robinson of his age,” as sportswriter Harold Kaese claimed sixty years later. Fred Tenney, the manager of the lowly Boston Beaneaters—later the Boston and then Atlanta Braves—saw Matthews’ talent and attempted to violate the National League’s color barrier by signing Matthews.

Tenney saw Matthews’ talent matched with his exemplary character and considered it great enough to overcome baseball’s color line.

Alas, Matthews’ potential signing was rebuffed by the rest of the National League, forcing Tenney to back down. While Matthews did not beat Jackie Robinson to integrating baseball, he showcased the talent needed to do so, further proving his achievements as a player.

A “Jackie Robinson of his age” hardly earns this distinction without impressive abilities. Matthews, through his tenure at Harvard, entrance into the Northern League in Vermont, and near break of the National League’s color barrier, proved that he commanded a remarkable set of skills throughout his entire career.

Such an extraordinary tal-

ent, likened with once-in-a-generation players, could hardly be overlooked for any reason.

As fans scoured the box scores for his name, his absence from Harvard’s southern visit would surely be noticed. As he proved his progressively rising athletic ability, it became harder for Harvard to simply hold out a player without comment explaining its capitulation to southern racism. Due to his remarkable playing ability, Harvard came to an unavoidable crossroads in 1905 that it had not seen from 1902 to 1904. The team, in respect of its beloved best player, chose to cancel the southern trip.

a COMPLEX RACIAL PAST

While it is important to note why Harvard chose to cancel its trip in 1905, it is also essential to understand why the team stayed north of Dixie only in Matthews’ final season.

Despite the commitment to equality that Matthews saw in Harvard when choosing to attend the institution, Cambridge was not a utopia where Matthews could escape all troubles. Even as one of Harvard’s best players to ever take its field, Matthews never commanded the position of captain.

According to the team’s archival material, there is no indication that Matthews was even considered for the job. While the captainship is not a position based solely on playing ability, Matthews had clearly proven his leadership and character throughout his Harvard years.

The player touted as “An Example and A Moral” was constantly commended for his superior character on the diamond, in the classroom, and everywhere in between.

A man who was praised for “the sedulous manner in which he kept his record clean” surely exemplified the abilities of a captain. While at Andover, Matthews’ race did not stop him from quickly proving his athletic and leadership ability to become the captain of the baseball team, chosen over his white teammates.

Even in his second sport, football, in which Matthews could hardly be regarded as the best on the field as he was on the baseball diamond, he was named the first black captain of that Andover team as well. Despite his seemingly perfect mix of athletic and leadership ability, Matthews was not named captain of the Harvard team that he led, most likely due to his race.

While it was never clearly indicated by Harvard, the only visible evidence for snubbing Matthews for the leadership position only fit for a white man was the color of skin. Harvard loved to promote its support of Matthews pulling up his own bootstraps, yet would not allow a black man to lead a team of white players. Harvard was only so committed to equality for its players, whether it be in regard to team bureaucracy or a southern trip.

Even the relatively tolerant Ivy League showed racist tendencies, allowing Harvard to keep Matthews at home without protest from 1902 to 1904.

Confirming Matthews’ previous suspicions, Yale did not serve as a welcoming environment for Matthews during his tenure with the rival Crimson.

Archival clippings from an unmarked newspaper—possibly the Yale Daily News or New Haven Register—rarely compli-

Transformative coverage.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

mented Matthews.

Even his local papers, the very publications that granted Matthews his fame, were not innocent of occasional racial prejudice, as made apparent by the Boston Herald’s recap of Harvard’s 1905 season finale against Yale. Harvard suffered a resounding 7-2 defeat at the hands of Yale, a game that was essentially finished by the sixth inning. Instead of crediting Yale with an impressive win or pegging Harvard with a team loss, the Herald peculiarly placed blame onto Matthews.

In multiple paragraphs throughout the story, the Herald picks on two simple mistakes from Matthews in a game rife with Harvard blunders.

The original scorecard from the game faults the Crimson with six errors, only one of which was made by Matthews. Furthermore, the newspaper published a political cartoon faulting Matthews with the loss. The shortstop is seen collapsed on the field, exasperated at having fallen “asleep at the switch.”

Even in his final year, Matthews was not regarded on equal footing with his fellow ballplayers, making it easier for Harvard to delay making a decision on the southern trip. As the team likely predicted, the media did not comment on the southern trip’s cancellation.

While Matthews served as a helpful source for determination in many feel-good stories, newspapers still seized the opportunity to shift blame to the lone black Harvard player. Harvard, despite its progressive leanings, did not allow Matthews to change the future of the baseball team.

Sadly, his presence on the Harvard nine was only missed

from a competitve standpoint; the societal impacts were quickly forgotten. In 1906, with Matthews now in law school across the Charles River at Boston University and no longer on the baseball team, an allwhite Harvard team resumed its southern road trip without a hint of controversy.

While Matthews undoubtedly changed baseball in his time, it would take years for even the most progressive members of the game to substantially even the playing field for all players.

It would be over 40 years before a black player donned a major league uniform, and those many decades hardly softened the racism of the game. A man the Boston Post dubbed, “the best infielder Harvard ever had” and “no doubt the greatest colored athlete of all time” never made it to the professional level, and his effects on baseball were limited by the racism of his time.

Even so, by breaking the color barrier at the country’s oldest university, Matthews shoved forward a slugging push for equality. Upon launching his career in the Vermont leagues, Matthews said of professional baseball, “A negro is just as good as a white man and has just as much right to play ball… this negro question on the diamond might as well be settled now as any time. If Burlington sticks to her guns as Harvard did, men of my race will soon be playing in the big leagues.”

As baseball continues to struggle with diversity at its amateur levels, Matthews’ story is one deserving of modern attention. joseph.minatel@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

September 3, 2019

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In Photos: The Freshman Class of 2023 Convocation Freshmen attended the Convocation ceremony Monday afternoon, officially starting their first year at Harvard. Students and Harvard affiliates processed through the Yard before the ceremony began in the Science Center Plaza. University President Lawrence S. Bacow addressed the class of 2023 before students posed for a photo on the Widener steps.

Before heading to the Science Center Plaza for the Convocation ceremony, students from Holworthy Hall all took entryway pictures in front of their building, passing the dorm banner from one group to the next. Kathryn s. Kuhar—Crimson photographer

Thuan H. Tran’23 puts his hand out to receive his class pin. Kathryn s. Kuhar—Crimson photographer

Caroline Yun’23 and Mina Lee’23 pose for a picture outside their freshman dorm, Thayer. Kathryn

Peer Advising Fellows high five freshmen as they exit the Yard on the way to the Science Center Plaza tent. Kathryn s. Kuhar—Crim-

s. Kuhar—Crimson photographer

son photographer

University President Lawrence S. Bacow speaks during Convocation. Convocation ceremonies took place for the Class of 2023 in the tent in the Science Center Plaza due to rain. Kathryn s. Kuhar —Crimson photographer

The Class of 2023 poses with their class banner on the Widener steps with Undergraduate Council President Sruthi Palaniappan and and Vice President Julia Huesa. Kathryn s. Kuhar—Crimson photographer

Members of Divest Harvard raised a banner calling on Harvard to divest its endowment from fossil fuel industries during University President Bacow’s address.

Kathryn s. Kuhar —Crimson photographer

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B:11.5” T:11.5” S:11.5”

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T:10.25”

S:10.25”

is in session.