The Harvard Crimson, Volume CXLVI No. 15

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLVI NO. 15 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2019

EDITORIAL PAGE 4

NEWS PAGE 3

SPORTS PAGE 6

The struggle to create an Ethnic Studies program persists.

Harvard Business School Professor Emeritus Wick Skinner dies at age 94.

Women’s Hockey loses an overtime heartbreaker in the Beanpot final.

Univ.

Sanctions Lawsuits Likely Won’t Be Dismissed Faces Title IX Filing

By SANJANA L. NARAYANAN and SAMUEL W. ZWICKEL CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Legal experts say judges will likely not immediately dismiss two lawsuits alleging Harvard’s single-gender social group penalties are illegal.

Lawyers for the University filed two motions to dismiss the suits — one in state court and the other in federal court — Friday evening. But according to analysts, Harvard’s arguments are unlikely to convince the judges to throw out the cases right away.

The lawsuits, filed in December 2018, allege the College’s sanctions on single-gender social organizations constitute sex-based discrimination and infringe upon students’ freedom of association. In their initial complaints, the plaintiffs allege the policy violates the United States Constitution and federal anti-discrimination law Title IX, as well as the Massachusetts Constitution and the state’s Civil Rights Act. The social group policy, which took effect with the Class of 2021, prohibits members of single-gender Greek organizations and final clubs from holding campus leadership positions and athletic team captaincies, as well as receiving College endorsement for prestigious fellowships like the Rhodes. ­

By ALEXANDRA A. CHAIDEZ and AIDAN F. RYAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

A transgender woman filed a lawsuit against Harvard and Title IX officer Brigid Harrington alleging the University violated Title IX law and Massachusetts laws by discriminating and retaliating against her after she reported an admissions officer for sexual harassment.

The 15-page complaint — filed Jan. 22 at the United States District Court for Massachusetts — details several instances in 2017 when the plaintiff, dubbed “Jane Doe” throughout the document, said she was sexually harassed and discriminated against on the basis of her transgender status. The complaint alleges that shortly after she reported an admissions officer for sexually harassing her, she was denied admission to Harvard Business School and the Graduate School of Education.

The lawsuit states the complainant faced “two express incidents of gender-based discrimination” that the “defendants failed to either investigate or act on.” It names the University, the Board of Overseers, the President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Office for Dispute Resolution investigator Brigid Harrington as defendants. Harrington declined to comment. The plaintiff lays out a series of demands in the suit, asking the University and Harrington to issue a “declaratory judgment” admitting they unlawfully retaliated against her in violation of Title IX and state law. Title IX is a federal law prohibiting institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating against people on the basis of gender.

The complaint names several Massachusetts laws that Harvard allegedly violated, including laws that prohibit discrimination and retaliation on the basis of gender or sexuality.

The plaintiff also asks to receive a “permanent injunction requiring Harvard to conduct ­

SEE TITLE IX PAGE 3

SANCTION ANALYSIS

MARGOT E. SHANG—CRIMSON DESIGNER

By ANDREA M. BOSSI and ANNIE C. DORIS CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard students and employees joined thousands of marchers from across the country in Washington D.C. Tuesday to rally for the preservation of Temporary Protected Status, a program that provides some immigrants with temporary refuge in the United States if their home countries are affected by armed conflict or natural disaster.

“I believe in the power of marches like this one. I don’t think Trump is really scared of 5,000 people showing up in D.C. It happens often for various issues,” Salma Abdelrahmam ’20, who traveled to D.C. for the march, said. “I think it’s ­

H UW STL

W

C

H M MIT

C C

B

C

C

UWM

U C

Y

MARGOT E. SHANG—CRIMSON DESIGNER

By MICHELLE G. KURILLA CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Datamatch, a free matchmaking service run by the Harvard Computer Society, is now available to students at 14 schools.

Program organizers expanded Datamatch’s reach ­

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Harvard Today 2

SEE SANCTIONS PAGE 3

Harvard Affiliates March in DC for TPS more about what conversation this sparks. It’s easy to end TPS when no one knows what TPS is.”

The march began at 10 a.m. with a press conference in front of the White House, where Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) spoke to attendees. Then, roughly 5,000 people marched toward Capitol Hill in the rain, ending their demonstration hours later in front of Congress, according to Harvard employee and attendee Julio Perez. Perez, who came to the United States from El Salvador and was granted TPS 18 years ago, is protected until this upcoming September or — potentially — March of 2020, if

MIN JIN LEE TALK

SEE TPS PAGE 3

Bestselling author and Radcliffe Institute Fellow Min Jin Lee gave a talk at the Radcliffe Institute Tuesday titled “Are Koreans Human?” AMANDA Y. SU—CRIMSON

Datamatch Sends Love to More Campuses

B C

Plaintiffs in the Massachusetts case are the international parent group of sorority Alpha Phi, Harvard’s newly reinstated chapter of Alpha Phi, and a management company for chapters of sorority Delta Gamma. In the federal suit, the plaintiffs are the international organizations for two sororities, Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma; the parent groups for two fraternities, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Chi; Harvard’s chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon; and three anonymous College students who are also members of all-male social clubs.

Sean P. Callan, an attorney at Fraternal Law Partners, said he thinks it would be “difficult” for the judges in both cases to dismiss the suits at this stage.

Harvard argued in its Friday filings that the international Greek organizations do not have standing to bring the suits because they are speaking on behalf of their members. Callan, though, said he believes the courts will need more information to evaluate the University’s claims, so the cases will likely proceed.

“I think that the arguments that Harvard’s advancing are inherently fact-driven, and I don’t think that just on the face of these pleadings, that we can say that these plaintiffs have not

from last year, when the service was available at four colleges and universities. HCS, which launched the program in 1994 exclusively for Harvard College students, also offered Datamatch to students at Brown University, Columbia University, and Wellesley College in 2018.

News 3

Editorial 4

Datamatch’s efforts to partner with campus satirical publications was critical for its expansion, according to co-Supreme Cupid Russell F. Pekala ’19, who helps oversee the program at the College.

“We wanted to pair with people that would want to do the stuff we were unable to on the ground at those schools, which included writing school-specific questions, getting the word out about Datamatch, getting people excited about it,” Pekala said. “That’s why we kind of targeted organizations similar to Satire V at other schools.”

This Valentine’s Day, Datamatch will share the love on thirteen other campuses, in addition to Harvard: Boston College, Brown University, Carleton College, the University of Chicago, the Claremont Colleges, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvey Mudd College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wellesley College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.

Michael Dizon, a student at

Sports 6

Washington University in St. Louis, worked alongside two other students to lead Datamatch’s efforts on his campus. Dizon wrote in an email that he enjoyed launching the service on campus.

“At first I became really apprehensive about taking on what felt like a massive task… and I wanted to decline the offer until next year, when I had more time to prepare,” he wrote. “But I had a long call with Russell Pekala, and I remember him saying, ‘As long as you would have fun running this, we would have fun supporting it.’ So I started to have fun with it.”

Pekala said the support Harvard Datamatch organizers have given to students at other schools has helped them bring the program to their campuses. Harvard organizers have overseen the service’s matchmaking algorithm, provided students with materials to help with publicity, and helped them send mass emails to other undergraduates, he said.

Brow n Universit y ’s

SEE VALENTINE PAGE 3

TODAY’S FORECAST

Whitehead Appointed New Head of Library

By ALEXANDRA A. CHAIDEZ and AIDAN F. RYAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Martha Whitehead, the vice provost for digital strategy and university librarian at Queen’s University in Ontario, has been named as the next leader of the Harvard University Library system, the University announced Tuesday.

Whitehead’s appointment comes months after former University Librarian Sarah E. Thomas announced her retirement last year. She led the system for five years.

“I am thrilled to be joining Harvard, where the library and the University’s mission are so interwoven, and where there is such a rich legacy to build upon,” Whitehead said in a press release. “I’m honored to be entrusted with leading the library forward during this complex period in the information realm.”

Her selection comes after an international search conducted by a committee comprising University faculty members, ­

CLOUDY High: 43 Low: 26

administrators, and library leaders. The search process also included two town-hall meetings.

University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay wrote in an email to University affiliates that they are “delighted” that Whitehead will take the helm of the Harvard Library.

“The library is one of Harvard’s greatest jewel,” Garber said in a separate press release.

“Martha recognizes that it is a uniquely valuable resource to our students, researchers, other members of the Harvard community, and to the world.

She is singularly qualified to take this institution to the next level.”

At Queen’s University, Whitehead led strategic planning initiatives and oversaw organizational changes, including fostering digital research infrastructure and implementing new information systems, according to the release.

SEE LIBRARY PAGE 3

VISIT THECRIMSON.COM. FOLLOW @THECRIMSON ON TWITTER.

quesadilla slices

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

PAGE 2

HARVARD TODAY

For Lunch Farfalle with Italian Sasuage Fried Buttermilk Chicken Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza

For Dinner Fresh Seared Swordfish Teriyaki Chicken Chickpea Stew

TODAY’S EVENTS

IN THE REAL WORLD

Deep Dive into the Mueller Investigation 4:30-5:45 p.m.

Drug Lord ‘El Chapo’ Convicted of Smuggling Drugs

If you’ve been falling behind with politics, or maybe living under a rock for the last few years, come by L163 at the Institute Of Politics. CNN legal analyst Michael Zeldin, who served as special counsel to Robert Mueller, will be explaining all you need to know about what’s happened with the Mueller investigation and what could happen next.

The Other Side Speaker Series: Andy Palmer 5:30-7 p.m.

Harvard Innovation Labs will be hosting Andy Palmer, who’s a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.

Interested in founding a startup of your own? Come hear what he’s learned from his experience founding or helping fund more than 50 companies.

After months of deliberation, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, a Mexican drug lord, has been found guilty of offenses that span more than 25 years.

Prosecutors said Guzmán illegally brought more than 200 tons of cocaine into the United States.

The U.S. has already agreed to not seek capital punishment, and Guzmán will be sentenced later this summer. Guzmán has already escaped from prison two times.

Students working on the 10th floor of Smith Campus Center had a view of snow-covered Lowell House. ANYA X. ZHANG—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

A transgender woman filed a lawsuit against Harvard and Title IX officer Brigid Harrington alleging the University violated Title IX law and Massachusetts laws by discriminating and retaliating against her after she reported an admissions officer for sexual harassment. In other news, legal experts say judges likely will not immediately dismiss lawsuits alleging the College’s social group sanctions are discriminatory.

Couple Urges Bonsai Thief to Water Stolen Tree

Seiji Iimura and his wife Fuyumi Iimura were robbed last month of several valuable bonsai trees, which the couple had treated “like our children.”

Seiji Iimura, who comes from generations of bonsai masters, estimates that the most valuable tree stolen, a 400-year-old shimpaku, is worth tens of thousands of dollars. Of course, the couple hopes to reclaim their lost tree, but hopes that no matter what happens, the shimpaku will be well cared for.

AROUND THE IVIES BROWN The Brown Daily Herald reported that participation in sorority recruitment reached a five-year-high this year at Brown University. Of the 252 students that attended the first round of recruitment, 164 students ultimately joined the University’s four sorority houses, which include Kappa Delta, Alpha Chi Omega, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Delta Gamma. The recruitment period lasted from Jan. 31 to Feb. 4.

UPENN According to the Daily Pennsylvanian, criminal justice reform advocate Bryan A. Stevenson will deliver University of Pennsylvania’s commencement speech on May 20. Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that provides legal services to prisoners wrongly convicted of crimes or denied a fair trial.

Stevenson, who received degrees from Harvard Law School and Kennedy School, has won several criminal justice cases before the United States Supreme Court. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Penn’s 263rd graduation ceremony.

CORNELL Cornell announced on Monday that it will raise its tuition by 3.6 percent for the upcoming academic year — their lowest proportional tuition hike in recent years, according to the Cornell Daily Sun. For the last decade, Cornell’s tuition has increased every spring. The upcoming rise — $1,966 for endowed colleges and $1,316 for land-grant schools — is $6 less than that of last year.

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

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

Associate Managing Editors Caroline S. Engelmayer ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Associate Business Manager Amy E. Zhou ’20 Editorial Chairs Jessenia N. Class ’20 Robert Miranda ’20

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Arts Chairs Kaylee S. Kim ’20 Caroline A. Tsai ’20

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

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

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

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

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

Night Editor Luke W. Xu ’20

Design Editor Margot E. Shang ’21

Assistant Night Editors Ahab Chopra ’21 Amanda Y. Su ’22

Photo Editors Kathryn S. Kuhar ’20 Anya X. Zhang ’20

Story Editors Caroline S. Engelmayer ’20 Angela N. Fu ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Andrew J. Zucker ’20

Editorial Editor Robert Miranda ’20 Sports Editor Leon K. Yang ’21

CORRECTIONS The Feb. 12 article “Harvard Unions Work Together” misidentified Felix Owusu as a “union bargaining committee member.” In fact, he is a union organizer.

The Feb. 12 article “Harvard Raised Record $1.42 Billion” incorrectly referred to Dartmouth College as Dartmouth University.

PAGE 3

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | FEBRUARY 13, 2019

HBS Prof. and Philanthropist Dies Harvard Business School Professor Emeritus C. Wickham “Wick” Skinner — an educator, strategist, leader, and philanthropist — died in his home in Fort George, Maine, on Jan. 28 at the age of 94.

Skinner’s research and writings focused on business administration, specifically on the management of manufacturing.

He was a prolific writer, having authored or co-authored 10 books, contributed to multiple business case books, and published more than 75 articles in the Harvard Business Review, including his well-known 1969 piece “Manufacturing — the Missing Link.” In it, he explored the role technology plays on the factory floor and urged factories to alter their manufacturing structures when introducing new equipment.

Lawrence A. Bennigson, a senior fellow at the Business School, who had known Skinner since 1968, said Skinner pioneered new strategies in the administration of manufacturing; such strategies did not exist before Skinner’s research.

“You know, you think of financial strategy, you think of marketing strategy, you’d say, ‘Well of course, there would have been manufacturing strategy.’ But you know, 50 years ago, there really — there wasn’t. And

his work to help the managers and executives to frame manufacturing in a strategic way was just a major step, major step forward,” Bennigson said.

Before attending the Business School, Skinner volunteered for the army and was assigned to work on the Manhattan Project as an engineer.

Following the war, Skinner attended the Business School and graduated in 1948. He then worked in manufacturing at Honeywell, a technology company, for 10 years before returning to the Business School for his doctorate.

“He had this very sound basis — the combination of indepth experience in industry and the master’s and doctoral training of business administration,” Bennigson said.

“That combination, I think, was very important for him in what was eventually his ability to bring a new, a powerful perspective to the world of manufacturing.”

Skinner brought his insights on manufacturing with him to the classroom, as he became a faculty member of the Business School. In his 1960 course about advanced production problems, he taught about industrial situations and the variable approaches one could take to address them. In his course about manufacturing technology, he taught students that the incorporation of technology should

VALENTINE FROM PAGE 1

TITLE IX FROM PAGE 1

By REBECCA S. ARATEN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER ­

be accompanied by other organizational changes. Skinner frequently invited students to his home for dinner and discussion, bringing educational conversations outside of the classroom.

“He would always prepare a provocative statement or question, you know, to put on the table, probably around dessert time,” Bennigson said. “And then he would promote and contribute to it, but really encourage an open, exploratory conversation about that issue.

That was a hallmark of those dinners with Wick.”

When Skinner moved to St. George, Maine after his retirement in 1984, he continued to have productive and educational conversations, according to Mary Alice Byrd, who collaborated with Skinner on a capital campaign for the Farnsworth Art Museum of Rockland, Maine.

“The discussions we always had were very far-ranging about many, many subjects,” she said. “You could always count on Wick to be strong in expressing his opinions but to seek out and want to hear those of other points of view and then to bring them in to try to form a point of consensus.”

John A. Byrd, Mary Alice Byrd’s husband, said Skinner was an “active listener” in these conversations.

“You always felt very good

when you left Wick’s presence.

He was really quite extraordinary,” he said. “To me, that’s what a great teacher does. They lift your horizons and make you feel good about it, like you’re doing it yourself.”

Skinner remained active in his retirement, taking up hobbies like flying planes, painting watercolors, and writing memoirs. He also became involved in local institutions, serving on the boards of the University of Maine and the Farnsworth Art Museum.

“His approach was: if we can make it better, let’s make it better,” Farnsworth Art Museum Director Christopher J. Brownawell said.

Skinner at one point launched himself into saving the local Strand movie theater — a “flagship cultural institution” for Maine residents, according to John Byrd. When the theater’s previous owner died suddenly, Skinner took part in the deliberations over what should be done with the theater, ultimately deciding to hand ownership over to Rockland residents.

“He was right at the epicenter of these things that were happening that were good for the community, and you know, he wasn’t seeking any glory or anything,” John Byrd said. “He just wanted good things to happen.” rebecca.araten@thecrimson.com

TPS FROM PAGE 1

Harvard Affiliates March for TPS legal efforts to prolong protections are successful. Perez said he thinks as many as 60 to 100 Harvard employees are TPS recipients.

The Department of Homeland Security announced in September 2017 that it would end TPS for six of 10 protected countries. Individuals from those countries — El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan — make up about 95 percent of TPS holders. More than 400,000 individuals from those countries are TPS holders.

Perez — who is on the Massachusetts TPS Committee, a member of the Harvard TPS Coalition, and a custodian at the Harvard Art Museums — said the march was like “a flame on the road under the water.”

“The rain was not able to shut it down, turn it off,” he said.

“These people were on fire.”

Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers representative Geoff Carens, who went to D.C. to support fellow Harvard marchers, said the crowd stopped at the Trump International Hotel as they proceeded through the city.

“There was a display created that was basically a wall created out of cardboard or poster-board. There was a destruc-

Datamatch team will host a party on Valentine’s Day this year with Small Victories, an event promotion and management company, to provide students with the opportunity to meet their matches, according to Cashen Conroy, a Brown student who is part of the campus’s Datamatch team.

Conroy said that, though campus Datamatch coordinators worried that the “novelty” of the service would wear off after last year’s debut on campus, the party is already drawing interest among students.

“We had a lot of success with Datamatch last year,” she said.

“So coming into the second year, I was a little apprehensive that a huge part of that may have just been the novelty of it in its first year. But the numbers are looking pretty good. The party is sold out which is exciting.”

Matches will be released on February 14 at all 14 schools across the country. michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com

Admissions at the School of Education Julia B. Deland that reminded Doe of the University’s non-discrimination policy. On March 2, 2018, Doe was denied admission at the School of Education.

The lawsuit states Harvard’s “intentional and knowing re-

HGSE is deeply committed to fostering a campus climate of inclusion and belonging.

Bari E. Walsh School of Education Spokesperson

fusal” to investigate the alleged discrimination violated Title IX policy. The suit alleges the plaintiff was “retaliated against

by Defendants” for reporting the incident.

The suit says she also experienced “sexual harassment” under state law. The January filing is not the first time she has tried to take legal action against Harvard for this alleged discrimination. The plaintiff filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrim-

ination on June 4, 2018, alleging the University discriminated against her based on gender identity.

The University requested the complaint be dismissed for lack of probable cause and alleged the complainant was not a competitive applicant to both Harvard schools, according to the January complaint.

MCAD later issued an investigative disposition that found a lack of probable cause, but the federal complaint said the MCAD disposition statement “totally failed” to sufficiently address the assault and how it violated Title IX policy. The complaint also alleges that the University refused to investigate or acknowledge the assault had occurred.

Business School spokesperson Brian C. Kenny wrote in an email that the University “does not generally comment on pending litigation” and that Harvard had not yet been served with the federal complaint, but they “can confirm” the allegations of discrimination were first raised in the MCAD investigation that was dismissed.

“Harvard Business School has stringent policies against the kind of conduct alleged in the complaint, and has thor-

ough procedures to address it should any such behavior occur,” Kenny wrote. “Further, the School strives to attract and recruit a student population that is diverse in every dimension and to create a campus environment where every student can reach their full potential regardless of race, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religious affiliation or sexual orientation.”

School of Education spokesperson Bari E. Walsh wrote in an emailed statement that the school is “dedicated” to recruiting a diverse set of students, faculty, and staff.

“Harvard and the Harvard Graduate School of Education have strong policies against the kind of conduct alleged in this complaint, and we have comprehensive procedures in place to address it,” Walsh wrote. “In addition, HGSE is deeply committed to fostering a campus climate of inclusion and belonging.”

Doe is requesting a jury trial for the lawsuit. Doe’s lawyer Cynthia MacCausland did not respond to multiple requests for comment. alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com

SANCTIONS FROM PAGE 1

Experts Say Sanctions Suits Won’t Be Dismissed alleged claims. I think it’s going to take further factual development,” he said.

Peter F. Lake, a law professor at Stetson University, said he thinks it is likely the legal proceedings will continue in the short term but that he is “not so sure” that the case will move to trial.

“My instinct is that this is probably going to move forward in some form,” Lake said. “It has the earmarks of something that could be resolved after some discovery at a later date on motions for summary judgement.”

Other legal experts ad-

dressed the specific allegations in the case against Harvard.

Douglas E. Fierberg, an attorney who specializes in cases related to violence in higher education and Greek organizations, said he thinks Harvard’s policy applies equally to men and women. The plaintiffs have argued that the policy punishes students on the basis of sex.

“I do not believe that [the policy] discriminates…I think it gives fair notice to everyone that there will be certain academic privileges that Harvard will withhold for individ-

andrea.bossi@thecrimson.com annie.doris@thecrimson.com

LIBRARY FROM PAGE 1

Online Transgender Applicant Alleges in Lawsuit Matching that Harvard Discriminated Against Her Service Expands all admissions in a manner that does not discriminate against transgender students and individuals,” legal fees and other costs, and “other and further relief” that the Court feels is necessary. The complainant alleges that, in October 2017, a male admissions officer from the Business School forcibly kissed her at a BGLTQ open house and that the University unlawfully discriminated against her in the admissions process. According to the suit, Doe received a message notifying her that she had been denied admission to the Business School “within days” of reporting the misconduct.

A Business School admissions officer allegedly told the plaintiff in 2017 that the University had not admitted any transgender students over the past three admissions cycles, according to the complaint.

The complaint states Doe then emailed “various Harvard University admissions personnel” in February 2018, in which she communicated her concern that she would face discrimination as a transgender individual, referencing the comments made to her by the Business School admissions officer. Several days later, Doe received a response from the Director of

tion, a tearing down of the wall, a symbolic ripping down of barriers,” Carens said. “That was a very affecting display. It got a lot of attention.”

“I am aware that there is a tremendous amount of hatred and harm being afflicted on immigrants by our government and, in particular, our president,” Carens added. “Obviously, many of these people with TPS status have been here for decades, and they really don’t have connections to the places where they are going to be shipped back to. So, it’s a humanitarian crisis.”

Activism surrounding TPS holders is nothing new at Harvard. Last semester TPS advocates met with University President Lawrence S. Bacow about the University’s approach to supporting its TPS workers. Before that, former University President Drew G. Faust also urged lawmakers to protect the program.

For Perez, his advocacy for maintaining TPS protections is not easy, but it is necessary.

“I have no vacations anymore, I only have sick time,” he said.

“But I’m not going to stop doing this.”

uals choosing these particular groups,” Fierberg said. “And I think people have been given notice of that. They can go in eyes wide open to make decisions for themselves, and it doesn’t discriminate.”

He said given these aspects of the policy and its implementation, Harvard’s argument is the “stronger of the two positions.”

Attorney Gregory F. Hauser said he thinks the University took a standard legal route with its filings, while the plaintiffs’ arguments are “ones that push the boundaries of the law.”

“Harvard’s made a polished argument based on very well-established legal principles,”Hauser said. “Harvard has largely confined itself to saying, ‘no, don’t push the boundaries of the law.’

“Precisely because the plaintiffs are plowing some new legal ground, the short answer is I don’t think it’s very easy to predict what the court’s going to do with this. This is a real high-level intellectual clash on what this broad language in the law means,” he added.

Lake said he thinks the outcome of the lawsuits could

set precedents for future cases involving Title IX and gender-based discrimination.

“I think we’re all watching this case as a kind of test case for private colleges in particular that have decided to take management approaches to complying with Title IX,” Lake said.

The plaintiffs will file written responses to Harvard’s motions over the next several weeks. The University has requested oral hearings in each of the lawsuits. sanajana. narayanan@thecrimson.com samuel.zwickel@thecrimson.com

Harvard Announces New Librarian Whitehead joins the Harvard Library system as several of the University’s 25 libraries are in the process of digitizing their collections and renovating their spaces.

Cabot Science Library reopened in 2017 after undergoing a complete renovation.

Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute began renovations in November 2018 and will remain closed until September 2019. In January, the University announced plans to renovate Houghton Library, which houses Harvard’s rare manuscript and book collection.

In December Harvard announced an upcoming merger of Harvard Library and Grossman Library that will provide full Harvard Library access to all Harvard Extension School students.

Gay said in the press release that she is excited Whitehead will be heading the University library system.

“In the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, we are doubly grateful to have Martha joining Harvard,” Gay said. “Not only will we benefit from her exciting vision for the Harvard Library system, but in her role as the Roy E. Larsen Librarian she will be deeply embedded in our community and joined in our efforts to advance knowledge across the broadest spectrum of fields.” alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com

From the Law School to Longwood.

The sights and sounds of Harvard.

The Crimson @crimson_photo

The Crimson @crimsonflyby

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | FEBRUARY 13, 2019

PAGE 4

EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

COLUMN

Ethnic Studies, Yesterday

The Soft Bigotry of Binary Politics

A

n almost half-century-long struggle to create an Ethnic Studies department at Harvard has reignited after the departure of two tenure-track professors who specialize in Asian-American studies. In response, students and alumni penned letters to University President Lawrence S. Bacow and three Harvard organizations — the Harvard Ethnic Studies Coalition, the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance, and the Coalition For A Diverse Harvard — organized a rally calling on the University to establish a formalized program for ethnic studies.

The fight for ethnic studies has longplagued the United States and Harvard, and the loss of these two Asian-American studies professors only highlights the continued lack of resources and infrastructure Harvard provides to students and faculty interested in the field.

Over the past 47 years, the University has witnessed a seemingly constant stream of petitions and demands for the institutionalization of a robust ethnic studies curriculum.

The true importance of the field, however, is not really its popularity, though we hope the University would be more attentive to student interest. The underlying importance of ethnic studies is more an issue of academic focus. Ethnic studies is an established and essential discipline of research universities across the country. Harvard’s lack of a department or center for this field places it woefully behind its peers and severely limits its capacity to be the leader in intellectual progress it claims to be.

Striving to investigate the nuances of ethnoracial identity and power, with an emphasis on the perspectives of people

of color, ethnic studies provides a critical front from which to understand that which is often glossed over in by predominantly Eurocentric course catalogues. Harvard is falling behind other universities across the country in terms of recognizing the need for, and building, a formalized ethnic studies program.

Yale has a Ethnicity, Race, and Migrations major. Stanford has the Center for Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity. And the University of Chicago has a B.A. program in Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies.

The establishment of such a department at Harvard would also help to provide the necessary infrastructure to sup-

Harvard’s lack of a department or center for this field places it woefully behind its peers and severely limits its capacity to be the leader in intellectual progress it claims to be. port smaller already-existing programs and the professors who are struggling to make a difference within them. In 2017, for example, the Committee on Degrees in History and Literature announced a new subfield within the concentration, allowing students to pursue an ethnic studies track. But History and Literature instructors are hired for three-year terms, so the capacity of these instructors to contribute in the long term to the department’s intellectual community is severely limited.

While we appreciate and understand that the specifics of any individual decision on granting tenure are difficult to parse, we hope the University will forge a strong commitment to Asian-American studies – among other ethnic studies fields – by actively recruiting and retaining faculty for these disciplines. The formalization of an ethnic studies program would speak to University support for an important discipline and student interest, and for its faculty. Professors do far more work than teach classes; they provide formal and informal mentorship to their students and pursue pioneering research.

The fight for ethnic studies has been long and fraught, and the field’s place on Harvard’s campus is long overdue. Harvard — embattled by a lawsuit cutting to the core of its approach to diversity — has the opportunity to bring diversity into the classroom, actualizing diversity in what it teaches not merely who it brings on to its campus. In particular, it is time for Bacow to do that which decades of presidents before have not: Introduce an ethnic studies department at Harvard’s campus, deeply affirm his commitment to creating a vibrant culture of diversity and openness across campus, and, in so doing, show he is conscious of the hopes of students, faculty, and alumni.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

Submit an Op-Ed Today!

The Crimson

op-eds@thecrimson.com OP-ED

Harvard, Remove Dean Sullivan

By DANUKSHI A. K. MUDANNAYAKE and REMEDY RYAN

O

n Jan. 25, The Crimson reported Winthrop House Faculty Dean Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr.’s decision to defend in court Harvey Weinstein, the man whose infamous sexual misconduct and assault of over a dozen women initiated the #MeToo movement in 2017.

In the following week, Sullivan upheld his choice to represent Weinstein through an email addressing the Winthrop community. Subsequent reports revealed Sullivan has also come out in public support of Harvard professor Roland G. Fryer, Jr. against allegations of sexual harassment from female employees.

In his comments about Fryer’s case, Sullivan disparaged both the #MeToo movement and Harvard’s Title IX procedures, calling the University’s investigations “deeply flawed and deeply unfair.”

Sullivan’s actions and statements are unfitting of a faculty dean. We condemn Sullivan’s decision to represent Weinstein and defend Fryer while serving as a Winthrop faculty dean. We further condemn the Harvard administration’s inaction in light of these actions.

We believe deeply in every defendant’s right to attorney. But there are many lawyers who could have defended Weinstein. While Sullivan’s defense of Weinstein might be consistent with his precedent of defending the “unpopular defendant,” it is not consistent with his responsibility to Harvard students.

As a faculty dean, he has a responsibility to consider how his actions will affect the environment in which his students learn and live. Winthrop students have already experienced the detrimental effects of his decision to defend Weinstein.

For survivors, hearing about other cases of sexual violence and assault can be triggering, even if only from the daily news cycle. For survivors in Winthrop, living in a House with someone who is a daily reminder of the Weinstein case could be deeply traumatic. Houses are meant to be places of refuge, where all students can feel safe and supported by faculty, administrators, staff, and peers. Sullivan’s role on the case will cer-

tainly hinder his ability to create a safe space for Winthrop survivors. His decision to designate Winthrop House Resident Dean Linda D. M. Chavers as the House’s “point person” for sexual assault reflects his inability to properly support survivors in the community he purports to lead.

Sullivan’s comments regarding Fryer’s case further indicate a complete disregard for survivors at Harvard. Fryer has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple Harvard affiliates, meaning that Sullivan’s public defense entails casting doubt upon the testimony of members of the Harvard community.

Moreover, his comments indicate a disdain for Harvard’s Title IX policy, the same policy students in his House rely on when filing complaints of gender-based discrimination, harassment, or assault.

Faculty deans are not just symbolic roles, but important “pastoral” and administrative positions for which a commitment to the well-being of members of the House community is indispensable.

First, faculty deans hire and oversee all House staff, including those who implement Title IX interim measures such as deadline extensions or room changes (such as the Allston Burr Resident Dean and House Administrator), or those who provide support to survivors (CARE tutors).

It is therefore the responsibility of the faculty dean to uphold the standards of Title IX. Perhaps more importantly, however, faculty deans are meant to make students of their House feel welcomed, supported, and encouraged to raise their voices against any form of discrimination.

Sullivan’s dismissiveness of Winthrop students’ concerns, evident in his decision to take the Weinstein case, his emails, and his perceived intransigence when one of us attended his office hours, is a fundamental failure in his role as faculty dean.

Harvard has a history of inaction when it comes to addressing sexual misconduct and supporting survivors. In 2014, the op-ed “Dear Harvard, You Win” revealed Harvard’s inability to provide justice or even empathy to survivors. Harvard’s last climate survey, in 2015, reported that 16 percent of sur-

veyed Harvard undergraduate females reported they had experienced nonconsensual sexual penetration or attempted nonconsensual penetration during their time at the College. Harvard failed to address sexual misconduct from Government Professor Emeritus Jorge I. Dominguez for nearly 40 years, and he still retains his professor emeritus status today.

The administration cannot continue to be complicit while students suffer. As others have said, the faculty dean system is a top-down structure with limited accountability. Because of this, it is the College’s responsibility to oversee faculty deans and to intervene when they can no longer support healthy House life.

We believe Harvard should do what is right for survivors. For these reasons, we demand that the Harvard administration immediately remove Sullivan from his position as faculty dean of Winthrop House.

Furthermore, we demand that Sullivan formally apologize for making students and survivors feel ignored in their own Houses. Finally, as Lowell House Faculty Dean Diana L. Eck said at a student-led rally on Monday, the faculty dean role entails “a certain amount of hard decision-making.” We believe that this role must be clarified.

We demand that Harvard develop a system of accountability for faculty deans and establish clearer standards for faculty dean behavior.

To start, we suggest that faculty deans should ensure the safety and well-being of all students and workers in their houses, including survivors, transgender and gender non-conforming people, BGLTQ people, undocumented, DACAmented, and TPS people, indigenous people, first generation and low-income people, people of color, people with disabilities, and people otherwise marginalized, and respect the concerns and voices of all people in their House communities.

—Danukshi A. K. Mudannayake ’20, a Crimson Design editor, is a Visual and Environmental Studies concentrator in Eliot House. Remedy Ryan ’21 is a Social Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality concentrator in Lowell House. She is an organizer with Our Harvard Can Do Better.

Aditi T. Sundaram ODDITY

A

few months before the 2016 election, an Indian-American classmate of mine was in conversation with two of his white female peers.

“Who do you plan on voting for?” they inquired. He replied that he was unsure, and that neither candidate had appeared particularly appealing.

“You’re not going to vote for Hillary?” they asked, appalled.

He replied that he wasn’t so inclined, and probably would not vote at all. “You don’t know how to protect your rights as a minority,” they upbraided him.

When I heard of this incident, it set me thinking.

Why do we reflexively associate minorities with liberalism and progressive thinking or, for that matter, religious people with conservatism?

Surely one can be both a minority and disagree with many aspects of progressive ideology, or be religious personally but liberal in accepting others’ beliefs?

More generally, why is it so hard for us to understand that political beliefs don’t come in neat binaries: Republican vs. Democrat, right vs. left, conservative vs. liberal?

As a generation, we appear to have generally rejected perceived forms of binarism; why is it nearly impossible to accept that political views too come in a continuum — and a multi-dimensional one at that?”

Viewing politics in binary form and associating certain groups with certain beliefs (for example, minorities with progressivism) may also have disturbing implications.

A recent study by professors from Yale and Princeton found that white liberals deliberately dumb down their discourse when engaging with racial minorities.

The idea that minorities may consciously and intelligently choose to align themselves with ideas that are in some ways considered more “conservative” in today’s rhetoric appears, in many ways, to be an unthinkable thought.

When Kanye West, an icon of our generation, publicly embraced conservative policies, he was met with a deluge of acerbic criticism from the media.

There was certainly nothing wrong with the idea of this criticism per se. West has the right to choose his beliefs and to make controversial statements; the press and media have the right to criticize him.

The idea that minorities may consciously and intelligently choose to align themselves with ideas that are in some ways considered more “conservative” in today’s rhetoric appears, in many ways, to be an unthinkable thought.

However, West was often not criticized on the substance of his thoughts, but rather on the basis of his identity as a black man which was deemed incompatible with conservative ideas.

Media outlets made deplorable references to West’s documented mental health issues, called him a troll, and one CNN anchor viciously opined that “Kanye West is what happens when [blacks] don’t read.”

I found it curious that people who claim to stand for diversity, and who often berate their political opponents for xenophobia and chauvinism, seem perplexed, even outraged, by the idea that a non-white person may disagree with them.

This behavior continues to pervade the political air on campus.

In the ongoing battle between Harvard’s admissions office and Students For Fair Admissions, a standard remark of those defending the former is to point to the fact that SFFA is led by a white man who is using thousands of Asian students as pawns in his game to achieve white supremacy.

Yes, SFFA is indeed led by a white man. But is

I found it curious that people who claim to stand for diversity, and who often berate their political opponents for xenophobia and chauvinism, seem perplexed, even outraged, by the idea that a non-white person may disagree with them. it not impossibly condescending to assume that his Asian supporters lack the agency and critical thinking ability to have chosen their own path?

I am neither liberal nor conservative, nor do I identify as a Democrat or as a Republican.

But in a world that views political identities in binary form, my refusal to pick a side means that I automatically get labelled as being part of the “other” side; in an overwhelmingly liberal campus, that means, most often, that I must “obviously” be on the right.

We are all used to the open bigotry of the far right, but fighting this soft bigotry and asserting one’s agency and independence can sometimes be just as tiring.

—Aditi T. Sundaram ’19 is a joint concentrator in Mathematics and Philosophy in Eliot House. Her column appears on alternate Wednesdays.

Page 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | february 13, 2019

Everybody gets free, daily coverage of Harvard!

Online 24/7 and in your dining hall five days a week.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

SPORTS

IN OTHER NEWS

WOMEN’S WATER POLO

MEN’S TENNIS

First-year goaltender Zoe Banks was named the Collegiate Water Polo Association Defensive Player of the Week. The team improved to 7-0 with two wins in the Bison Invite.

Men’s Tennis beat Western Michigan, 5-2, in a match Sunday. The team moved to 5-3 for the season.

WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY

BU Beats Harvard in Overtime for Tournament Win

By WILLIAM BOGGS and CONNOR WAGAMAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

A season-high six-game unbeaten streak for Harvard came to a close Tuesday night with an overtime loss in the Beanpot Championship against No. 7/7 Boston University. Freshman goalie Lindsay Reed posted a 51-save effort — complementing her 52-save performance to best Boston College in the semifinals — on her way to earning the Bertagna Award for top goaltender in the Battle for Boston.

The effort would not be enough for the Crimson (10-123, 8-8-2 ECAC), however, as BU redshirt junior and tri-captain Sammy Davis lasered a power-play overtime winner past Reed to give the Terriers (17-67, 13-5-5 WHEA) a 3-2 win. The victory marks their first Beanpot title as a varsity program, and their second title in school history — the first coming in 1981.

Despite BU’s overtime clincher, Harvard earned a considerable share of zone time in extra play, putting up nine shots on goal compared to the Terriers’ six. Halfway through overtime, the Crimson looked poised to score, generating a frenzy of shots that BU sophomore goalie Corinne Schroeder turned away, Terrier defenders blocked, and BU forwards scrapped to chip out of the zone.

“Overtime was honestly our best period,” Harvard coach Katey Stone said. “We had it going. We certainly had a lot of chances. Their goaltender came up big, and once again, our goaltender stood on her head…. I thought our players obviously deserved a better fate, but BU also earned the victory.”

After several minutes of promising chances and near misses, Harvard’s overtime offensive momentum would be quashed with a decisive penalty. With 7:06 of sudden-death remaining, co-captain and forward Lexie Laing took a penalty for roughing.

Just 34 seconds later, BU sophomore forward Jesse Compher threaded a pinpoint pass to an open Davis. Receiving the pass between the dots, Davis rifled the puck into the back of the net to earn the Beanpot title, launching the Terriers’ bench and student section into euphoria.

“I just looked at Jesse [Compher], and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we just won the Beanpot,” ­

TERRIBLE TERRIERS In a classic at Bright-Landry Hockey Center, BU outlasted Harvard in overtime, 3-2, to win the Beanpot Championship. First-year Crimson goalie Lindsay Reed was named the Bertagna Award winner for the best goalie in the tournament after finishing with 51 saves in the final. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

said Davis. “It was crazy — we just made history. We’ve been working really hard this year, and it just paid off.”

As the scoreline would suggest, the game was a battle at all junctures, and the path to overtime was rocky for both teams.

BU needed to come from behind to even the score at two, and Harvard had to fight off consecutive Terrier power plays to close regulation.

With 6:59 to go in the third, co-captain and forward Kate Hallett committed a high-sticking minor. Upon killing Hallett’s minor, a miscommunication on the post-penalty line change resulted in a Harvard penalty for too many players on the ice.

Just seven seconds after the conclusion of her initial trip to the sin bin, Hallett found herself back in the box. Undeterred, the Crimson relied on its season-long traditional defensive strength to earn back-toback penalty kills and send the matchup to OT. “We did a great job of killing penalties up until the very

end of the game tonight,” Stone said. “Just a little miscommunication there at the end for us, but I think we’ve been doing a great job of killing penalties for a while now. We showed it tonight — they’ve got a strong power play. It was business as usual.”

Looking back to the beginning of the contest, the teams played physically and generated a number of chances through the first 18 minutes of play, yet the back of the net eluded both sides. That changed with 1:32 left in the first period when BU tri-captain Reagan Rust squeaked a point shot through traffic and into the top shelf to give the Terriers a power-play goal and 1-0 lead.

Wasting no time, another defender converted on the power play — but this time it was Harvard senior Kaitlin Tse. Gathering the puck in the high slot, Tse strung a wrister into the topright corner to even the game at 1-1 before the first intermission.

“It was just a high-energy last two minutes of the period, both offensively and defen-

sively, and then going back to the locker room, we were going back to the start of the game, 0-0, 1-1, tie game,” Laing said.

“We tried to feed off the energy that we had when we scored the goal and then just tried to carry it out.”

Special teams played a huge role in the game for both sides.

Both Crimson goals came on the power play, and BU would net two of its three scores on the five-on-four advantage.

Building off momentum from the close of the first, Harvard would add its second power-play goal just five minutes into the middle frame.

Controlling the puck on the left side of the net from just a few paces above the goal line, freshman forward Kristin Della Rovere fired to the low far side.

Ricocheting off Schroeder’s pad, the puck bounced back into the slot before caroming back into the goal.

Laing had been standing in front to create the tangle of sticks and skates off which the puck deflected. In fact, the officials initially credited the goal

to Laing, but the scorekeepers later changed the point to a Della Rovere tally. Regardless, Harvard was in the lead.

Just minutes later, still holding a 2-1 lead, Harvard earned its third power-play opportunity of the game. With a flurry of blocked shots, saves, and desperation clearances, however, the Terriers kept the Crimson out of the net.

“It was a huge kill, because 3-1 is a tough hole to get out of playing against an all-world goalie like Lindsay and a team that’s competing in their own building,” BU coach Brian Durocher said.

Fueled by the successful penalty kill, the Terriers emerged with a faceoff win in Harvard territory with just under five minutes left in the second. After a blue-line shot from BU junior defender Abby Cook, the puck deflected through defenders, hit Reed, then trickled off the post. As the puck remained loose, a scrum broke out for possession. Gaining inside position, Tarnowski tapped the puck in to knot the game.

“We get a neat little faceoff play where Abby Cook gets it at the point and sees Tasza Tarnowski and throws a nice little wrist pass down there, and she gets a piece of it, tips it, and Lindsay [Reed] comes up and makes the save, but she [Tarnowski] somehow kept it alive or knocked it out of her equipment, and bingo it’s in the net,” Durocher said. “Now we’re there to hang around until we get deep into OT.” Although Harvard’s Beanpot dreams have come to an end for this year, the Crimson’s season is far from over. With four games to go in ECAC play and playoff positioning still uncertain, Harvard will be flipping its focus to a pair of crucial league games.

The Crimson returns to Bright-Landry at 6 p.m. on Friday to face St. Lawrence in a pivotal matchup before shifting attention to another top-ten opponent in No. 4/4 Clarkson at 3 p.m. on Saturday. william.boggs@thecrimson.com connor.wagaman@thecrimson.com

MENS/WOMEN’S SQUASH

Harvard Grabs Squash Ivy League Titles, Sweeping Brown

By LUCY CONNOR CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Harvard’s squash teams continued to dominate over the weekend, with both teams taking home their respective Men’s and Women’s Ivy League titles. ­

The victories concluded their seasons in perfection.

The women’s Crimson team clinched its fourth straight Ivy League Title. While it clinched a share of the Ivy League title last Friday at No. 4 Yale, Harvard won the title in its entirety

with its win over No. 12 Brown on Sunday.

“We have won it the past four years in a row so we have some expectations for us,” said junior Gina Kennedy. “We do all that we can to prepare and then just do our best to perform on the

DYNASTIES IN THE MAKING Women’s squash took home its fourth-straight conference title, while the men’s team secured its fifth crown in seven years. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

match day.”

The Crimson continued its dominance over the weekend against Yale and Brown. The team cruised to the finish, as Harvard won both matches 9-0, as they have done in every other match this season.

Senior Sabrina Sobhy started off her final regular season match with a win against Brown’s Alexa Jacobs, 11-8, 116, 11-1. Kennedy followed suit dominating her opponent Isabel Young, 11-1, 11-5, 11-7. Similar scores were seen across the board for the following seven games. Harvard has yet to ever lose to Brown, with an all-time record of 49-0.

Consistent trust in each other is how the team has managed to maintain its superiority over the course of this season.

“We are all so confident in our teammates,” said Kennedy.

“Even though it’s a team sport, it is very individually based. I think everyone is very focused on trying to perform the very best they can for the team because everyone is so confident in our ability to win for each other.”

The Crimson’s unbeaten streak was extended to 62 games, which dates back to the 2014-2015 season. Kennedy credited the dominance to

the incredible recruiting of the coaching staff.

“The recruiting is amazing; our coaches recruit from all over the world,” said Kennedy. “We’ve done so well with getting the strongest players to come to Harvard.”

With the continued success over the past few years, it could be perceived as nit-picky to determine how the team could improve. However, in her third year on the team, Kennedy believes this is the strongest squad she’s been apart of.

“I think this year it feels like we know exactly what to do,” she explained. “Our team is so strong this year, probably the strongest team since I’ve been here. There’s just a nice air of confidence around us.”

The men’s squash team appears to be experiencing a very similar air of confidence, riding its longest win streak since the 2013-2014 season at 12 games.

The team clinched a share of the Ivy League title with its win over No. 6 Yale on Friday, and then clinched the entire title with its victory over No. 20 Brown.

Though it is Harvard’s fifth Ivy League title in the last seven years, the team was particularly motivated to win it this time around.

“It was really important to get this title, especially since we didn’t win the title last year,” said freshman Victor Crouin.

“We just wanted to get the trophy back home.”

At the number one spot, Crouin beat Brown opponent Grant Sterman, 11-1, 11-5, 11-1, to kick off the match for the Crimson. Another first-year, Marwan Tarek, defeated his opponent Andrew Wei, 11-6, 11-4, 117, at the number two position to extend his regular season win streak to 11 games.

The success continued for each of Harvard’s players, with only one loss of a game to a Brown player. Just like Harvard’s women’s team, the men’s team has never dropped a contest to conference foe Brown, with an all-time record of 29-0.

The victory resulted in the 42nd Ivy League title for the team.

Both teams are now in their last stretch of the season, preparing for the College Squash Association Team National Championships at Trinity College. The men’s tournament will take place February 15 through February 17, and the women’s tournament from February 22 through February 24. lucy.connor@thecrimson.com