The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 4 |
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022
EDITORIAL PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 6
NEWS PAGE 5
No standardized test will change Harvard admissions’ wealth bias.
Men’s tennis fell to No. 6 Virginia over the weekend.
For the 22nd consecutive year, Harvard is Cambridge’s top employer.
Science Profs ‘Shocked’ by Lieber Ruling By ARIEL H. KIM and MEIMEI XU CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Following Chemistry professor Charles M. Lieber’s conviction last month, Harvard scientists say they are “shocked” and “saddened” about the prolific research chemist’s fall from grace — and apprehensive about the future of international scientific collaboration. A federal jury found Lieber guilty of lying to government authorities who were investigating his ties to China and committing tax fraud. He has been on paid administrative leave at Harvard since his arrest in January 2020. During a six-day trial in December, federal prosecutors charged that Lieber lied about his connections to a Chinese recruitment iniative — the Thousand Talents Program — in pursuit of money and noteriety. But in interviews with The Crimson this month, some Harvard scientists voiced support for Lieber, who has not spoken publicly since his arrest. Professor of Physics and Applied Physics Philip Kim, who did his doctoral research in Li
eber’s lab, said the news of the verdict shocked him, especially given Lieber’s international prominence. “A scientist [of] his status — I think this came as a complete shock,” Kim said. Theodore Betley, who succeeded Lieber as chair of the Harvard Chemistry Department, said he was “stunned” at the initial news of Lieber’s arrest. “I was dismayed because I saw somebody I care deeply about suffering,” Betley said. “You don’t want to see any of your colleagues, friends, in that intense duress.” Several professors reminisced about Lieber’s scientific contributions and their personal memories of his work. James G. Anderson, a professor of atmospheric chemistry, said he admired Lieber for his innovation and generosity. “He’s a treasured colleague, not just for his dedication and leadership — placing him in the pantheon of science in the latter part of the 20th century and in this century — but also for his unwavering, unselfish focus on
SEE LIEBER PAGE 3
City Weighs Policing Options By SARAH GIRMA and BRANDON L. KINGDOLLAR CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
iar with The Garage, neat location, but you are inside a building and so people walking along on the sidewalk don’t necessarily know you’re there.” Marcus added that the store’s lease was set to expire in August 2020, five months after it closed due to the pandemic. “I just let it expire and hoped for the best that I find a new location, and then this location on JFK street came along,” Marcus said. The close proximity to Ben and Jerry’s original location in The Garage was an added benefit, according to Marcus. “People don’t have to look that hard to find us again,” he said. Rana J. Mesibor, the store manager for the new location, added that the shop’s increase
The Cambridge government is considering two public safety alternatives to traditional policing, which now await action from the city manager before a vote by the City Council. Following a May report from the City’s Future of Public Safety Task Force, Cambridge officials are considering two proposals for policing alternatives — funding a non-governmental Holistic Emergency Alternative Response Team developed by local police abolition organization The Black Response, and establishing a city-led Cambridge Department of Community Safety. Under both initiatives, trained civilians — in place of police officers — would respond to some emergency calls, including ones involving mental health or unhoused residents. However, while the CDCS would work in tandem with the Cambridge Police Department, HEART has pledged to not coordinate with the police under any circumstances. The Council unanimously passed a policy order in June requesting City Manager Louis A. DePasquale to consider funding the HEART proposal. As of Wednesday, the Council is still awaiting a report from the city manager summarizing his conclusions, according to the city’s meeting agenda. Councilor Quinton Y. Zondervan, who sponsored the June policy order, noted an “inherent tension” between the values of CDCS and HEART. He said CDCS, which was designed by the city manager’s office, lacks the resident perspective that is central to HEART. “We’re trying to create a community-based alternative response that is not an extension of the state,” Zondervan said. “This department isn’t
SEE B&J PAGE 5
SEE POLICE PAGE 3
Harvard professor Charles M. Lieber exits the John J. Moakley United States Courthouse on December 21, 2021 after being convicted of lying about his ties to China. MAYESHA R. SOSHI—CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Ben and Jerry’s Reopens in Square By KATHERINE M. BURSTEIN and SAGE S. LATTMAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Ben and Jerry’s reopened its Harvard Square location on Dec. 21 following a nearly twoyear-long hiatus. The shop — once located inside The Garage shopping mall on John F. Kennedy St. — closed in 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Its new location sits across the street at 35 JFK St., formerly David’s Tea. Unlike its previous shop, which was only accessible inside The Garage, the reopened Ben and Jerry’s has a streetside storefront. “When I bought the shop, I had visions of someday getting out onto the street,” Stephen A. Marcus, the franchisee who owns the Cambridge location, said. “If you’re famil
The ice cream shop Ben and Jerry’s reopened in a new location in Harvard Square after closing in 2020 because of Covid. TRUONG L. NGUYEN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Harvard is the Top Reporters Discuss Biden’s First Year at IOP Employer in the City By MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
By KALEIGH M. KUDDAR CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Harvard has been named the largest employer in the City of Cambridge for the twenty-second consecutive year. The University was given this title by the Cambridge Community Development Department — the city’s planning agency — which releases a list of Cambridge’s top 25 employers each year. To effectively compare the city’s employers, the department counts Full Time Equivalents, which they define as employees who work 35 to 40 hours a week. In 2021, Harvard employed 11,867 FTEs, a stark decrease from the previous year’s 12,858. University spokesperson Brigid O’Rourke wrote in an emailed statement that Harvard has aided in efforts to “advance educational opportunities, support economic development, and address a range of community needs including affordable housing, food insecurity, sustainability, and climate change.” “Harvard is proud of its role as a cornerstone institution in INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
Cambridge as well as its partnerships and shared commitments with city government and local non-profits,” she wrote. The second and third largest employers were MIT and the City of Cambridge, respectively. MIT employed 8,777 FTEs, while the City employed 3,564. The annual report features “regulars” that continue to appear on the listing year after year. Since 1986, Harvard and MIT have held the top two positions on the list, with MIT surpassing Harvard only twice. The City of Cambridge, Mount Auburn Hospital, and Draper Laboratories have also held positions on the list since 1986. Beyond the regulars, 67 other employers have appeared on the list throughout the years. These organizations spread across a variety of industries, including internet and software innovation, electronics and healthcare technology, and educational services. Nearly half of the top employers — 11 out of 25 — are
Four veteran White House correspondents examined the challenges facing President Joe Biden after concluding his first year in office, ranging from foreign policy to the Covid-19 pandemic, during the Institute of Politics’ first John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum of the year. In a virtual forum held on Wednesday, David E. Sanger ’82, White House and national security correspondent for the New York Times; Abby D. Phillip ’10, senior political correspondent for CNN; Kelly O’Donnell, senior White House correspondent for NBC News; and Dan Balz, chief correspondent for the Washington Post and IOP senior fellow, analyzed the major issues troubling Biden as he prepares to lead the Democrats to the midterm elections this November. The journalists kicked off the event by discussing news that broke Wednesday that Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer plans to retire. Phillip, a former Crimson News editor, said his retirement is indicative of diminishing bipartisanship in Washington,
SEE EMPLOYER PAGE 5
SEE IOP PAGE 5
News 3
Sports 6
Editorial 4
The John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Institute of Politics hosted a virtual event on Wednesday featuring prominent journalists discussing the first year of the Biden-Harris administration. JOEY HUANG—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
TODAY’S FORECAST
PARTLY CLOUDY High: 28 Low: 21
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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
JANUARY 27, 2022
PAGE 2
HARVARD TODAY
For Lunch Spicy Jalapeno Mac and Cheese Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken Beyond Sausage with Peppers
For Dinner Emerald Beef & Vegetable Stir-fry Teriyaki Chicken with Scallions Sticky Rice
TODAY’S EVENTS Harvard China Internship Seminar Virtual, 4-5 p.m.
IN THE REAL WORLD
If you are interested in a summer internship in China, come to this information session to learn more about the Harvard China Student Internship Program.
38 People Missing off the Coast of Florida After Boat Capsized
A suspected human smuggling boat capsized in a storm on Saturday which killed one person and left one survivor. The Coast Guard is searching for 38 people who were on the boat and are currently missing. The lone survivor said that the boat was carrying forty people.
PRISE and SPUDS Application Strategy Session 4-5 p.m., Virtual
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to Retire
Applying to PRISE or SPUDS and looking for some advice on how to boost your application? URAF is here to help with an application strategy session to help students create successful applications to these programs.
Biotech and Pharma Career Pathways Panel 4:30-6 p.m., Virtual
PEI CHAO ZHUO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
DAILY BRIEFING Following Chemistry professor Charles M. Lieber’s conviction last month, Harvard scientists say they are “shocked” and “saddened” about the prolific research chemist’s fall from grace — and apprehensive about the future of international scientific collaboration. Several professors voiced their support for Lieber and reminisced about his scientific contributions and their personal memories of his work. In other news, the Cambridge government is considering two public safety alternatives to traditional policing, which now await action from the city manager before a vote by the City Council.
Two Men Arrested in Investigation into Texas Synagogue Attack
During an attack on a synagogue in Texas on January 15, four people were held hostage by a gunman. Malik Faisal Akram, who was from Blackburn in Lancashire, was shot and killed by the FBI after a 10-hour stand-off that day. The Greater Manchester Police reported that two men had been arrested in Manchester.
COVID UPDATES
CAMPUS LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY
Questions about the opportunities in biotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations keeping you up at night? Join the Office of Career Services as they invite five alumni panelists to discuss their work in the life sciences and healthcare fields.
The tower of Memorial Hall is illuminated by the setting sun on a chilly Wednesday afternoon.
Justice Stephen Breyer will be retiring from the Supreme Court at the end of the current term after more than 27 years on the court. This gives Biden the opportunity to select a successor who could serve for many decades. Breyer was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994 and is currently the court’s oldest member at 83 years old.
281
In Isolation
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Positivity Rate
LAST 7 DAYS
CAMBRIDGE
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ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Radcliffe Students to Live in All Houses
Women were able to live in all Harvard Houses in the following year if Mather and Leverett House sophomores, along with current Harvard freshmen, were willing to move to Radcliffe. This announcement was made in part to alleviate the imbalance of sophomores in Mather and Leverett Houses by inviting as large a number of these sophomores as possible to move mainly up to Radcliffe, but also to Quincy and Adams. January 27, 1971
Harvard Square Theatre Bomb Scare
Moviegoers waited outside the Harvard Square Theatre for 45 minutes in the afternoon while members of the Cambridge Police and Fire Departments searched the theatre for a bomb that wasn’t there. January 27, 1964
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
The Harvard Crimson Raquel Coronell Uribe ’22-’23 Associate Managing Editors President Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24 Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Managing Editor Associate Business Managers Amy X. Zhou ’23 Taia M.Y. Cheng ’23-’24 Business Manager Isabelle L. Guillaume ’24
STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Arts Chairs Sofia Andrade ’23-’24 Jaden S. Thompson ’23
Design Chairs Yuen Ting Chow ’23 Madison A. Shirazi ’23-’24
Magazine Chairs Maliya V. Ellis ’23-’24 Sophia S. Liang ’23
Multimedia Chairs Aiyana G. White ’23 Pei Chao Zhuo ’23
Blog Chairs Ellen S. Deng ’23-’24 Janani Sekar ’23-’24
Technology Chairs Ziyong Cui ’24 Justin Y. Ye ’24
Editorial Chairs Guillermo S. Hava ’23-24 Orlee G.S. Marini-Rapoport ’23-24 Sports Chairs Alexandra N. Wilson ’23-’24 Griffin H. Wong ’24
Night Editor Virginia L. Ma ’23 Assistant Night Editors Audrey M. Apollon ’24 Meimei Xu ’24 Story Editors Natalie L. Kahn ’23 Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Alex M. Koller ’22-’23 Andy Z. Wang ’23-’24 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24
Design Editors Margaret A. Yin ’25 Toby R. Ma ’24 Madison A. Shirazi ’23 Photo Editor Pei Chao Zhuo ’23 Editorial Editor Christina M. Xiao ’24 Sports Editor Griffin H. Wong ’24
CORRECTIONS
Copyright 2022, The Harvard Crimson (USPS 236-560). No articles, editorials, cartoons or any part thereof appearing in The Crimson may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the President. The Associated Press holds the right to reprint any materials published in The Crimson. The Crimson is a non-profit, independent corporation, founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1967. Second-class postage paid in Boston, Massachusetts. Published Monday through Friday except holidays and during vacations, three times weekly during reading and exam periods by The Harvard Crimson Inc., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Weather icons made by Freepik, Yannick, Situ Herrera, OCHA, SimpleIcon, Catalin Fertu from flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0.
The Jan. 25 story “Harvard Law School Clinic Sues Immigration Authorities Over Public Records Requests” incorrectly stated federal immigration agencies turned over 31 censored pages out of thousands requested by the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic via Freedom of Information Requests. In fact, the government turned over 30 censored pages. The Jan. 26 story “Two Harvard Affiliates Tapped for Churchill Scholarship” incorrectly stated James A. Diao’s research was published in Nature and Science. In fact, those publications featured news stories about his work.
PAGE 3
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
LIEBER FROM PAGE 1
JANUARY 27, 2022
POLICE FROM PAGE 1
Scientists Discuss Lieber Ruling City Considers Policing Proposals advancing his colleagues’ research in any way he can,” Anderson said. Both Betley and Evelyn L. Hu, a professor of applied physics and electrical engineering, noted Lieber’s support of aspiring scientists and junior colleagues. “The list of his former students and postdocs — their current success, it’s a tremendous list — is evidence that Charles Lieber has dedicated his career to sharing and showing that joy of discovery to others,” Hu said. Hu took aim at prosecutors, saying that Lieber’s trial has caused the public to view him as a “one-dimensional, self-serving” person who attempted to “subvert” national security. “That is a disastrously incorrect view of Charles, of any dedicated researcher,” Hu said. “It’s a tremendously flawed picture of what open research means and what it can mean.” Lieber’s conviction was a high-profile victory for the Department of Justice’s China Initiative, which aims to prosecute people involved in “trade secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage,” according to the
DOJ’s website. Last March, 41 science professors from several American universities, including Harvard, signed onto a letter voicing concerns over the “chilling effect” that the government’s scrutiny of academics could have on international scientific research. Hu said that despite holding long-standing academic connections to Hong Kong universities, she now feels a need to be more careful in her international engagements. “Now I’m very cautious if a university in Hong Kong with whom I have very close associations asks me to serve on an advisory board,” she said. “We believe that there is now a closer scrutiny — and perhaps not an entirely transparent and well-informed scrutiny — that’s being placed on all of those activities.” Eugene I. Shakhnovich, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology, said he saw “parallels” between recently increasing suspicions of academic espionage in the U.S. and his time as a young scientist in the Soviet Union.
“My instinctive feeling [is] that science should be open, and there should be free exchange of ideas, results, intermediate things, without being scared of some sort of espionage,” he said. Shakhnovich added that as a result of closer scrutiny on their research activities, some of his colleagues of Chinese origin at other institutions are even considering moving back to China despite holding “prominent positions” in the U.S. Other Harvard scientists, including Sciences Dean Christopher W. Stubbs, say Lieber’s trial is unique, even from other cases brought under the China Initiative. Stubbs said Lieber “fell short of institutional expectations and federal expectations” for research disclosure, but added that he holds broader concerns about the government’s crackdown on so-called academic espionage. “I would separate the specific circumstances of Professor Lieber’s situation from the broader context of how the federal government is approaching strategic competition with China,” Stubbs said.
Sean R. Eddy, a professor of molecular and cellular biology and of applied mathematics, noted that Lieber was expressly convicted of lying to federal authorities and of tax fraud, which makes it an “unusual” case. Still, he said the trial has “ramifications for international science.” “We have a free exchange of ideas and people across international borders, and the idea that basic research results can be stolen across international lines is something that rubs all of us in the scientific community the wrong way,” Eddy said. Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in an emailed statement that University President Lawrence S. Bacow “has emphasized the University’s broad support for and advocated on behalf of international collaboration for faculty and scholars, at Harvard and other institutions.” Caroline E. Ferguson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, declined to comment.
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rooted in the community the way that HEART would be, and so even if it incorporates some of those ideas, it still can’t ultimately accomplish the same purpose.” Several HEART members highlighted other differences. For example, HEART would prioritize consent in their interactions with residents, such as when referring them to transition houses and shelters, they said. “We are not forcing anything upon anybody,” said Ilham Elazri, a community engagement coordinator with HEART. “We’re just there to listen and to see where we can be of service to you.” Samuel M. Gebru, who served on the city’s public safety task force, said the abolitionist goals of HEART are “commendable,” but that he does not believe a policy of “zero coordination” with the police is practical. HEART member Sarah Suzuki said the organization’s zero coordination policy is a direct response to the “community need” for a public safety option entirely independent of the police, calling it a “core principle” of HEART. “HEART would never compromise or change its structure to include cooperation with police or include police involvement,” Suzuki said. Suzuki added that many Cambridge residents are afraid to call the police due to negative past experiences. “Those people deserve to have an option for safety as well,” she said. The Council has been exploring public safety reform since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. Less than a month after Floyd’s murder, councilors unanimously passed an order
asking the City to examine alternatives to policing. According to Reverend Irene Monroe, police reform debates have raged in Cambridge since the 2009 wrongful arrest of renowned Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. She said Gates’ arrest was crucial to her decision to join the City’s Future of Public Safety Task Force. “It was quite unnerving,” Monroe said of the arrest. “While we don’t supposedly live in segregated America or segregated Cambridge, we are segregated by virtue of zip code, as well as square.” “This did not need to escalate to the level that it did, but it does say a lot about white space and Black folks in perceived white space,” she added. Imam Khalil Abdur-Rashid, a member of the task force, said he supports a “hybrid model,” which he said would take the best of both the HEART and CDCS proposals. “I do think that there can be hope and effectiveness in a cooperative hybrid model,” Abdur-Rashid said. “The old adage of ‘it takes a village’ really does apply in this case.” Gebru, who also serves on the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, said he wants to give new CPD Commissioner Christine A. Elow time to implement her vision for departmental reform before making seismic changes. “We have a really strong new police commissioner, and I want to give her the window that she needs to be able to make any reforms that she sees fit,” Gebru said. “I think the HEART proposal is terrific, but I don’t see our city pursuing something that would be totally disconnected from any city agency.” sarah.girma@thecrimson.com brandon.kingdollar@thecrimson.com
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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
JANUARY 27, 2022
PAGE 4
EDITORIAL OP-ED
COLUMN
The SAT Doesn’t Matter: A Case for Economic Affirmative Action
The Real Price of the Snack Thief in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”
By TOMMY BARONE
U
ntil it admits the Class of 2030, Harvard will no longer require applicants to submit standardized testing. For some, this decision is cause for celebration, a rare victory for equity in the “Evil Empire” of college admissions. Critics rightly point out that the SAT is unfairly wealth-biased, skewed by private schools and private tutors in favor of the well-off. A smaller group sees this as a loss for equity. Against the backdrop of an admissions system characterized by backdoors for the uber-wealthy, front doors for those with the means to build an impressive resume, and a red carpet for legacies, the SAT — if imperfect — offers a comfortingly simple way for applicants to perform well and know they will be rewarded. Standardized testing is only a middling heuristic for ability, sure, but members of the pro-testing camp argue that it at least makes it hard for Harvard to accept a billionaire’s kid with a 900 on the SAT. But the problem is not that there are too few trust-fund kids with decent SAT scores for Harvard to accept — it’s that there are too many.A lifetime of accumulated privileges ensures that the applicants with the most money also tend to be those with the best scores. There are few billionaire’s kids with 900s on the SAT. Besides, they already have plenty of backdoors, like the Z-list, a hush-hush group of mostly white, very wealthy applicants with underwhelming academics whom Harvard guarantees admission on the condition that they take a gap year. Even so, let’s assume for a moment that this policy change will allow a few more underperforming billionaires’ kids to slip through. So what? It would be unfair, sure. But a few questionable acceptances on the margins could not even begin to rival the far vaster economic in-
justice at the heart of Harvard: that 67 percent of its students come from the top 20 percent of the income distribution. The SAT, while inequitable, has nothing to do with this. In every single element of the college application, wealth puts you ahead. Take the personal essay. Wealthy applicants attend elite private schools with rigorous humanities curricula that teach you how to write. They have well-educated parents who read their work and older peers who tell them what sort of essay gained them admission. They have a crack team of tutors and college admissions counselors who polish every line and, better yet, strategize with them from the beginning of high school to develop unique interests that they can later write about. How about extracurriculars? Well, the sort of great schools these kids attend also have great teams, clubs, and publications. Successful parents have successful friends whom their children can follow around for a few summer weeks and call it an internship. And, of course, that same advising crack team can help them doll it all up in a 150-character description on the Common App. Yes, the SAT is wealth-biased, but so is nearly every other part of the college application. So is life. No metric can see through the privilege of a childhood spent soaked in opportunity to reveal some inherent, universally comparable degree of merit. Those who seek to make the college admissions process fairer in advocating for one metric over another — tests, essays, interviews — misplace their hope in inputs to a system that is structurally unfair. And in arguing over standardized tests, they relocate the responsibility to create a fairer college admissions process away from those doing the admit-
ting. The blame lies solely with Harvard. This University speaks often of how diversity enriches our learning environment. And it is right — the myriad backgrounds, cultures, and experiences of its students are the greatest thing about this school. The University just doesn’t seem to believe this extends to class. As kaleidoscopically diverse as Harvard is, it is far less vibrant for its lack of low- and middle-income students. Without them, this student body remains siloed to the experiences of the better-off, seeing and hearing little of how most of this world lives. The diversity of experience we encounter remains, for the most part, a diversity of the wealthy. The “leaders of the future” Harvard says it trains will one day enter leadership positions with only abstract notions of what economic struggle is. This is how systems of economic unfairness remain and fester. If you believe in the promise of this University, if you think Harvard is a special place, it should strike you as a moral catastrophe that it nearly only accepts the wealthy. Surely Harvard doesn’t believe that 67 percent of its best applicants come from the same income bracket. The solution, I think, is simple: if Harvard cares about diversity of perspective, about being a place for ordinary people, and about being plain old fair, it must drastically alter how it accounts for wealth in admissions. Just as it gives applicants a “tip” for race, Harvard should give a comparably large boost for class, one carefully designed to come as close to economic parity as practicably possible. Until it does so, no standardized test — fair or not — will change the fact that this school was built as and chooses to remain a place for the wealthy. —Tommy Barone ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Weld Hall.
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OP-ED
Why Standardized Tests Need to Make a Comeback By ISHRAQ A. HAQUE
H
arvard’s decision to suspend the standardized testing requirement for at least the next four application cycles comes with many implications. Since as far as many of us remember, submitting SAT and/or ACT scores has been a requisite for applying to college. We were told that these scores helped admissions boards decide on who could be accepted into their school. When Harvard initially went test-optional, their decision came alongside a slew of other colleges during the unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic. This suspension was later extended through the Class of 2026’s application year and, most recently, to the Class of 2030. Removing the standardized test score requirement had to happen in 2020 due to the devastation the Covid-19 pandemic caused to society. In many cases, students quite literally couldn’t take the SAT or ACT due to public health restrictions in place. However, this suspension must end now. Nearly two years into the pandemic, we now know more about the virus and how to reduce the risk of contracting it. Vaccines are now widely available as well, helping reduce the transmission of the coronavirus. Covid-19 is a dangerous disease and its variants pose a threat to public health, but we are learning how to live with the virus as we establish the standards of a “new normal” society. Thus, just as in pre-pandemic times, we should resume the standardized testing requirement.Students across the world apply to Harvard. These students come from various education sys-
tems and school programs, each with their own unique experiences. Grade point averages alone, while indicative of one’s success in a particular place, may not be able to predict academic performance in another school. Standardized tests, namely the SAT and ACT, are assessments that are provided nearly everywhere. They can determine how prepared a student is for college, regardless of their background. Suspending the test requirement prevents Harvard’s admissions board from gaining a full understanding of many students’ potential ability to perform well at Harvard. There are various concerns with using standardized tests to help determine college admissions, namely how they disadvantage people in lower socioeconomic classes and favor richer students. Although the pandemic exacerbated dire economic conditions of underprivileged individuals, using the SAT and/or ACT as universal tools to determine potential success in college can help low-income students. Richer students have greater access to counselors, extracurricular activities, and advanced courses compared to the less well-off, making it difficult for those in lower socioeconomic backgrounds to stand out as a worthy candidate for competitive schools like Harvard. Scoring high on standardized tests allows low-income students to catch the eye of admissions officers. The concern regarding the disparity in scores between different economic classes should be addressed by finding equitable ways for students to succeed in the SAT or ACT, not by suspending the requirement to submit scores to colleges
altogether. Going test optional makes it difficult to determine who should be accepted into a college. William R. Fitzsimmons ’67, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, stated that students who don’t submit scores will not be disadvantaged due to Harvard’s holistic analysis of applications, but there may be hidden consequences to declining to submit test scores that can affect the future of college applications to Harvard. For example, students with lower test scores could decline to provide their results, inflating test averages for Harvard. The resulting higher SAT and ACT averages can discourage potential applicants from submitting test scores that are not at all low, but appear so in comparison to the inflated average. This would remove one factor in these students’ applications that could have made them look better and boosted their chances in the admissions process. Harvard is a social and intellectual hub where people go to change society and make a positive impact on the world. As such, we should have a universal system to measure college readiness and to help determine who might excel at embodying Harvard’s mission of creating change. Standardized tests are not the only part of college applications, but they can even out the necessarily irregular system of college readiness measurement that comes with a diverse pool of candidates from many different backgrounds. —Ishraq A. Haque ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Apley Court.
Nour L. Khachemoune NOSTALGIA: WHAT’S IT HIDING
S
hare, read, explore! I’m sure most of us are all too familiar with these overt encouragements conveyed by smiling faces in children’s media. What is less obvious are the many themes interwoven into children’s media as a product of the society that created them, speaking to millions of children during their most impressionable years and creating intensely relatable worlds, even when populated by aardvarks like “Arthur.” In stories for young children, food is inherently positive and encouraged, such as in “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and even in “Green Eggs and Ham,” despite the food’s odd appearance. Young children are encouraged to explore whatever foods they desire without concern or restriction. But, as we graduated from the youngest sections of the library and fought to show our parents just how old we were, Jeff Kinney masterfully captured some of the thoughts running through all of our heads in the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” novels, some of which were new relationships with food brought about by our society. Despite his mom’s extensive efforts, Greg Heffley, the main protagonist, ultimately has a threetrack mind: video games, girls, and food. You’d be hard-pressed to find a middle school where the student body doesn’t share most of these interests, but Greg’s relationship with food is more focused and influences his narrative more than anything else. In “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” the characters’ relationships with food become far more complicated than in books for young children. Greg spends time with his grandmother purely to put himself in close proximity to her fridge stocked with soda and cake, all the while avoiding other elderly relatives. When his mom packs him two fruits for lunch instead of his usual sugary snacks, he panics and spends hours playing bingo in an effort to earn the money to keep up his habit. He devotes a significant portion of each book to seeking out junk food, often in a compulsive way, and even notes that “ALL of my current problems can be traced back to when someone in my family started stealing the lunch snacks.” Perhaps this habit isn’t simply a product of teenage growth spurts, as his father displays similar tendencies yet, ironically, is often the butt of Greg’s jokes for it. His dad ends up being the snack thief, of course, as he sneaks around to eat them as if they were the forbidden fruit. Greg’s mom is unabashedly opposed to their dietary habits, restricting the snacks available to the family and assigning moral values to their consumption. This imparts a taboo status upon snacks, making Greg and his dad desire them even more and leading to their desperate nature. Kinney’s illustrations also emphasize this urgent way food is devoured, with Greg’s dad crazily wide-eyed as he noshes and the inclusion of onomatopoeic words like “gobble,” “smack,” and a personal favorite, “slork.” Greg devotes most of his daily thoughts to food, and his family’s eating habits place food on a pedestal. He is certainly enthusiastic about background pleasures like comfortable clothing (read: fuzzy robes) and comics, but exhibits no compulsion related to them. Perhaps Greg’s attitudes towards food have never been of note to us, or seem as exceedingly average as Greg is. But his obsession with acquiring certain foods above all else is a product of the moral value assigned to them and the restrictions placed on him by his mom, who is also portrayed as an average, overbearing presence that any one of us might recognize. In our society, the restriction of certain foods through feelings of guilt is a subtle voice in the backs of our minds encouraging us to put that cookie down. Greg reflects, and perhaps encourages in developing minds, a broader culture of viewing certain foods as a guilty pleasure that must be consumed obsessively and in secret. In a reversal of Greg’s broad enthusiasm for food, some of the most iconic images from the entire series are food-related, such as the career-ending Cheese Touch. The perversion of a favorite comfort food, cheese, as it grows moldy on the blacktop, renders it all the more shocking to food-engrossed Greg. When Rowley (spoiler alert) eats the cheese, it is a horror that Greg might never have imagined. In a milder form of torture, Greg forces Grandpa’s watercress salad down in order to spare his feelings. The half-page sized image of amorphous vegetables dripping in vinegar inspired true disgust in a generation of readers, and the way Greg’s description drips with despair as he eats underlines how important food is to him, and how bad food can shape the plot of his story much as the pursuit of food drives most of his day. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is iconic and timeless—Greg could be any kid from your school, or maybe even you. The relationship he has with food, and the way it is elevated to a forbidden commodity that he constantly pursues could also be many of us. It’s a surprisingly large part of the way Greg is, and perhaps forms just as large a part of why he is so relatable and fascinating to us. He often puts thoughts to words that many youngsters never would, or at least would never admit to. It is his diary, after all.
—Nour L. Khachemoune ’22-’23 is a joint concentrator in Chemistry and Anthropology in Dunster House. Her column “Nostalgia: What’s it Hiding” appears on alternate Thursdays.
PAGE 5
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
B&J FROM PAGE 1
JANUARY 27, 2022
EMPLOYER FROM PAGE 1
Ben and Jerry’s to Move Harvard is Cambridge’s Top Employer Again
in square footage opens up more possibilities for the business, such as making ice cream cakes. “Obviously, that’s a little part of the Ben and Jerry’s business, but it’s just something extra that we can bring to the community,” Mesibor said. College first-year Talon C. Flodman ’25 said he was pleased to hear of the store’s nearby location. “I love Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and it sounds like a fun
night-snack when I’m feeling down,” Flodman said. But the reopening was not without challenges. Mesibor explained that the timing of the store’s December reopening made for an “extremely slow” start — coinciding with colder weather, the College’s winter break, and the Omicron variant surge. Despite a quiet first month, Marcus said he is confident the store’s business will pick up in the spring.
“Having been in Harvard Square since 2013, I know what’s coming when we get nice weather and hopefully the worst of the pandemic behind us,” he said. Marcus, who owns three other Ben and Jerry’s locations in the Boston area, plans to open a fifth storefront in Porter Square later this year. katherine.burstein@thecrimson.com sage.lattman@thecrimson.com
affiliated with the city’s hub of biotechnology companies, which have received criticism from local housing advocates. Executive director of Cambridge Local First — a non-profit network of local businesses — Theodora M. “Theo” Skeadas ’16 said in an interview that the need for biotechnology employ-
ees to live close to where they work has raised housing prices. “The reality is that a lot more jobs have been added to Cambridge than housing units,” Skeadas said. She noted workers in biotechnology tend to outearn many other Cambridge residents, inflating local home val-
ues. “I definitely think that having a booming biotech industry in Cambridge has made it more difficult for people who don’t make very high incomes at the biotech level, which can easily start at $200,000,” she said.
IOP FROM PAGE 1
Correspondents Discuss Biden’s Presidency at IOP D.C. “The partisanship of confirmations is probably here to stay,” Phillip said. “I think it’s probably the case that if there is a Senate that is different from the party of the president sitting in the White House, it is unlikely that there will be any movement on a Supreme Court justice.” O’Donnell said the Biden administration would welcome the announcement of Breyer’s retirement at a time when polls are showing African American voters losing faith in the president. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden promised to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court. “Here is a moment where he can choose a woman of color who is distinguished, and
will be the focus of a lot of national discussion, and will have a chance to have a huge impact in the future,” she said. “That’s a big legacy opportunity for President Biden.” The panel also discussed the legislative setbacks Biden has faced and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. “The Biden administration came in knowing that this was job one – that they had to deal with the pandemic, and they had to do something about it as rapidly as possible,” Balz said. “Just at the moment where they were hoping to declare, if not full victory, at least freedom is around the corner, they were slammed by the Delta variant.” Sanger, an adjunct lecturer at the Kennedy School, spoke about the buildup of Russian troops on the border to Ukraine
and its implications for U.S. foreign policy. “I can’t stress to you enough the degree to which the Biden administration is really in crisis mode on this,” he said. The event concluded with a discussion about how the Biden administration’s desire to focus its foreign policy agenda on China has been sidelined by the Russian military presence on the Ukrainian border. In an interview after the forum, Sanger — a former Crimson News editor — said his love for the IOP stems from his time as a Harvard undergraduate. “It’s just a wonderful place where the real world meets the theory and sometimes the practice of what’s taught in the Kennedy School,” he said.
Harvard, from the Law School to Longwood.
The Crimson thecrimson.com
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Transformative coverage.
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SPORTS
WEEKLY RECAP
SCORES
MEN’S HOCKEY VS. RPI L, 2-0 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S HOCKEY VS CLARKSON L, 4-3 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S SQUASH VS. AMHERST W, 9-0 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL VS. KING UNIVERSITY (TENN.) W, 3-0 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S SQUASH VS. AMHERST W, 9-0 ___________________________________________________________
WOMEN’S FENCING AT ST. JOHN’S W, 21-6 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S TENNIS AT VIRGINIA L, 6-1 ___________________________________________________________
MEN’S TENNIS
Harvard Falls to No. 6 Virginia, 6-1, on the Road By DAVID ALEY CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Coming off two straight statement victories against the likes of Boston College and Georgetown, with a clean sweep across the board in both singles and doubles play resulting in final scores of 7-0 in each competition, No. 24 Men’s Tennis capped off it’s third match of January with a hard-fought 6-1 loss to No. 6 Virginia. The Crimson dropped five out of six matches in singles play. Senior captain Brian Shi recorded the lone victory in a back-and-forth, three-set match against Virginia’s Bar Botzer, winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. Shi was the last member of the team left on the courts after the other five matches wrapped up, and noted that while the team victory was out of reach, he wanted to set a precedent for resilience for the rest of the team to see. “Something that our team possesses that has helped us become so successful in recent months and years is our resilience,” Shi said. “No matter the circumstance, I’ve always observed my current and past teammates bouncing back and competing hard. I felt like I owed it to my teammates and the tennis program to do the same.” In doubles play, Shi once again played in the longest-lasting match of the competition. Harvard dropped its first two doubles matches, with sophomore Ronan Jachuck and junior Harris Walker falling by a margin of 6-4, while the pairing of junior Steven Sun and first-year David Lins were bested by a final score of 6-3. Shi and
first-year Daniel Milavsky, who rank as the No. 11 doubles team nationally, secured a tight 7-5 victory over Virginia’s Chris Rodesch and William Woodall. The captain also noted that much of his success with Milavsky has been due to developing great chemistry, both on and off the court. “Me and Daniel have great off-court chemistry which has definitely helped us on-court. Our doubles games complement each other well and we’ve been working hard to continue improving our net play,” Shi said. “Doubles results can be very up and down but we’re ready for anything that’s thrown our way.” This was Harvard’s toughest test yet, and while the team didn’t fully accomplish exactly what they sought out to do, Shi noted that there were numerous positive takeaways from the performance. Particularly, the senior mentioned that the team walked into the anticipated matches at less than 100% health-wise, yet still managed to step up to the task in ensuring Virginia would not have an easy path to victory. “While [Boston College] and Georgetown have great teams, [Virginia] is definitely [on] another level, reflected in their top-10 ranking. With many of the injuries on the team beginning to heal up and a few of our players getting back to playing form, our level is only getting better,” Shi said. “We have many more opportunities against highly-ranked opponents and I know we’ll be able to bring it when it comes time.” The Crimson men have set lofty goals for this season. De-
A SPOOKY ACE Harvard men’s tennis participates in its Crimson Halloween Invite, which it hosted between Oct. 29 and Oct. 31. The Crimson lost to No. 6 Virginia on Sunday. OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
spite Sunday’s result, Shi has confidence that there is enough talent on the team to win future big competitions against other top-ten opponents like the Cavaliers. He believes that with time and improved team chemistry, Harvard can make a national statement in collegiate tennis. “It does feel a bit different this year. The individuals on the
team know the immense talent that we possess and what we are capable of,” Shi explained. “We know we have a tough schedule this year and many opportunities to go up against top-10, top15 teams. The guys have been doing a great job of managing their health and working hard in training. I have no doubt that we’re going to do some incredible things this season.”
The road ahead won’t be getting much easier for the Crimson as it travels to Los Angeles this Saturday to face No. 8 USC in the ITA Kickoff before returning to Cambridge the following weekend to host No. 16 Michigan. But the senior captain believes that with proper preparation and the right mentality, Harvard can hold its own against anyone.
“As we head off to USC and prepare for Michigan, we’re focused on doing what we do every game – compete hard and bring high energy,” Shi said. “We know what is needed out of each and everyone one of us and we’re ready to step up when it comes our time.” david.aley@thecrimson.com
SQUASH
No. 1 Women and No. 2 Men Capture a Pair of Wins By KATHARINE FORST CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Coming off of a big win against No.3 Princeton, Harvard Women’s Squash (11-0, 6-0) earned their No. 1 ranking in a 9-0 sweep against Amherst and a dominant 7-2 victory against Cornell. The victories improved the team’s record to 92-0 in the College Squash Association (CSA). The No.2 Men’s program (10-1, 5-1 Ivy) swept both Cornell and Amherst 9-0, raising its tally of clean sweeps to seven this season.
Brecon Welch, playing in the ninth spot, dispatched her Cornell opponent in straight sets, looking strong from the outset and never looking back. The first-year from Greenwich, Connecticut pulled out an 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 victory for the Crimson. First-year Habiba El Dafrawy, sophomore Serena Daniel, junior Evie Coxon, and junior Charlotte Orcutt also won in straight sets for Harvard. Orcutt managed the only 11-0 game of the match against Cornell’s McKenna Stoltz,
whose brother Conner Stoltz is a first-semester sophomore on Harvard’s Men’s Squash team. Orcutt won her match 11-3, 112, 11-0. “It was great to be able to have a family affair at the match. We grew up playing together so it’s super cool to now be playing together at the collegiate level, and to share friends across teams,” said Stoltz when asked about the dynamic that comes with playing against a sibling. The momentum generated by commanding wins like Orcutt’s fueled the team as they
took on their second opponent. Harvard didn’t drop a set against the Mammoths, scoring 27-0, with dominant match play like the straight-set win in exhibition by Harbour Woodward ‘24. The Crimson maintained a strong victory margin throughout, with first-year Emma Carney winning 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 in the ninth spot, and junior Brittany Sun cleaning up 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 in the eighth position. Coxon had a particularly strong showing throughout the play-day, losing just 26 points
throughout both of her matches. She dropped the fewest points of any player competing in two matches that day. “I was proud of how the team dealt with playing two matches on the same day. Amherst was our second match and we were still able to hold strong and beat them without dropping a set. I felt that the team was mentally tough and handled the pressure of playing two opponents really well,” El Dafrawy said. Harvard now holds a 28-0 record against Cornell, and a 12-0 record against Amherst.
MAMMOTHS GO EXTINCT AGAIN Both the men’s and women’s squash teams (pictured against Dartmouth on Dec. 1) swept Amherst, 9-0. OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
The men’s program also showed well this past weekend. The Crimson outscored Cornell 27-5, securing its twelfth consecutive win against the program; Harvard is now 51-2 all time against the Big Red. Adam Corcoran had a particularly strong day, winning both of his matches. The senior lost only 16 total points between his two matches, and he boasted the only 11-0 game in his match against Cornell’s Charles Culhane. Corcoran was far from the only Harvard player to produce a strong showing. Senior Victor Crouin, junior Marwan Tarek, senior Samuel Scherl, junior George Crowne and sophomore Ido Burstein also went 2-0 individually on the day. Scherl and Corcoran’s wins in the third and fourth spots maintain Harvard’s undefeated record at the positions this season. Playing once on the day, sophomore Conner Stoltz edged out a five-set match against his Cornell opponent, pulling off a 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9 victory. “Tate Harms and I both won our matches 11-9 in the fifth, as close as things can get, so I think there was some good energy surrounding those matches,” said Stoltz. Carrying momentum from its showing against Cornell, the Crimson swept Amherst 27-0, recording its tenth win for the season. The victory marks the fifth consecutive season in which the team has earned double-digit wins. Showcasing this strength was first-year Neel Joshi, who had a dominant match against his Mammoths challenger, pulling out an 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 victory in the seventh spot. Harvard is now 50-0 alltime against Amherst. Next, the men’s and women’s teams will travel to Trinity College on Friday to take on the No. 2 Bantams. katharine.forst@thecrimson.com