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THE HARVARD CRIMSON
NEWS
JANUARY 27, 2023
VIGIL
Vigil Held for Mass Shootings Victims MULTIPLE SHOOTINGS. In just three days, California has experienced three mass shootings, resulting in 20 deaths. BY MADELEINE A. HUNG JOYCE E. KIM AND MAKANAKA NYANDORO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
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arvard students, staff, and faculty gathered on the steps of University Hall Thursday evening for a candlelight vigil to honor the victims — who were predominantly Asian and Asian American — of three shootings in California in the last week. Attacks in Oakland and Half Moon Bay occurred on Jan. 23, while a shooting in Monterey Park occurred on Jan. 21, the eve of the Lunar New Year. In all, the
shootings left 20 people dead and 14 injured. Chinese immigrant farmer Chunli Zhao has been charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the Half Moon Bay shooting. Huu Can Tran, an immigrant from China who California police suspected of killing 11 people in Monterey Park, was found dead after the shooting. Police are still investigating the Oakland shooting. Jada Pisani Lee ’26 said hearing about the attack in Monterey Park was a “punch to the gut,” especially as she prepared for the Lunar New Year festivities with her family. Pisani Lee, who is from San Mateo, California, said hearing about the subsequent shooting in neighboring Half Moon Bay was “a second punch I got right after the first one.”
Graduate School of Education student and vigil organizer Catherine G. Huang said that the loss “hits our Asian American and Pacific Islander community particularly hard.” “The shootings happened the weekend of Lunar New Year and targeted members and elders from our AAPI community in California,” Huang said in a speech. “On a day and during a time when we should be celebrating with our communities, we are instead forced to learn how to mourn, process, and grieve the loss of life and safety.” The vigil was intended as a space for people to “come together” and “recognize that this grief is real,” Huang said in an interview following the event. “We have the right to take the time for ourselves. We have the right to grieve. We have the right to care for our mental health, es-
pecially when Harvard keeps moving and the world kind of keeps moving, too,” Huang said. “I just wanted to offer that space for those who might be seeking it.” Huang said that she felt a “sense of frustration” over the “lack of a statement from Harvard even recognizing that this incident even happened.” A University spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night. Margarita Rosa, a 2021 Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow and a resident scholar at Adams House, emphasized the importance of solidarity with students of color. “I thought it was very important to show support for the people affected, and it’s not only the Asian American community,” Rosa said in an interview after the
vigil. “I think it’s all people of the faith, who really care about other humans and are grieving the most recent loss of members of our community.” The vigil was followed by a space for support and solidarity hosted by the Harvard Foundation, where attendees and organizers reflected on the shootings and their grief. Harvard Kennedy School student Jonathan Loc, who grew up just one mile from Monterey Park, said he attended the vigil because he “wanted to pay respects in some way.” “I knew that probably other people like me are from that area or identify in some way with the community and are looking for support, and I’m looking for support,” Loc said. “It just helps to be together and to support each other.” Loc also said that “it feels espe-
cially difficult this time” because the Monterey Park shooter was himself Asian. “I think it’s important to rely on one another, to seek help from one another, and also to destigmatize seeking mental health care or even just counseling in general,” he said. If you or someone you know needs help at Harvard, contact Counseling and Mental Health Services at (617) 495-2042 or the Harvard University Police Department at (617) 495-1212. Several peer counseling groups offer confidential peer conversations; learn more here. You can contact a University Chaplain to speak one-on-one at chaplains@harvard. edu or here. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741. madeleine.hung@thecrimson.com joyce.kim@thecrimson.com makanaka.nyandoro@thecrimson.com
COMAROFF WALK OUT FROM PAGE 1
Students Walk Out of Professor Comaroff’s First Class of Semester Protesters chanted, “Time’s up,” and “Shut it down,” as they marched to the Barker Center, where several taped posters and pages from a 2022 lawsuit filed against Harvard to his office door. The lawsuit, filed against the school by Anthropology graduate students Margaret G. Czerwienski, Lilia M. Kilburn, and Amulya Mandava, alleges that Harvard ignored and mishandled allegations of sexual harassment and professional retaliation by Comaroff. Comaroff returned to the classroom for the fall 2022 semester, and his first class faced a similar walkout and protest. Gay first put Comaroff on paid leave in 2020 after an investigation by The Crimson found that at least three female graduate students had contacted Harvard’s Title IX office with complaints of harassment and professional retaliation against the professor. Comaroff’s class — which began at 3 p.m. — was nearly empty within 10 minutes, with only two other individuals remaining. Three students were enrolled in the course as of Tuesday morning, per the FAS Registrar’s office. The other course that Comaroff teaches, African and African American Studies 190X: “The Anthropology of Law,” has one student enrolled. A plainclothes Harvard University Police Department officer at the Barker Center declined to comment. HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano declined to comment on the presence of officers at the walkout, citing a longstanding department policy not to comment on personnel and security measures. Austin Siebold ’23, who said she was the first to flag Comaroff’s courses to the walkout’s organizers, said she learned Comaroff was teaching this semester after scrolling through Harvard’s course catalog. “I saw this class, it was on colonialism, postcolonialism and decolonialism, and I thought that sounded really interesting and it fit on my schedule,” she said. “And then I clicked on it and it was taught by John Comaroff and I was like, ‘Holy.’” Siebold then reached out to activist groups to help plan the event. “I enrolled in the class and used information I was able to gather from that to help me plan this,” she said. “I was the first person in that room.” Our Harvard Can Do Better — an organization focused on combating campus rape culture — described Comaroff’s continued presence at the University as “shameful.” The organization called for his resignation in a statement endorsing Tuesday’s demonstration. “This man is not safe to interact with undergraduate students,” said organizer Rebecca S. Araten ’23. “Harvard is marketed as a place where all students should be able to succeed and get the
Students demonstrate against the University’s handling of allegations against Comaroff in the Yard. CHRISTOPHER L. LI—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
best education in the world. And the reality is that our campus promotes a culture of sexual abuse, aculture of misogyny and harassment and discrimination,” added Rosalie P. Couture ’26, another organizer. In an emailed statement, Comaroff’s attorneys Norman S. Zalkin, Ruth K. O’Meara-Costello ’02, and Janet E. Halley wrote that Comaroff “categorically denies that he ought to resign” and that he “is doing nothing to create unsafe conditions for any Harvard student.” “He is fully authorized to teach Harvard students who sign up for his courses,” they wrote, adding “the claim that he poses a danger is ludicrous in light of the actual facts.” Harvard spokesperson Rachael Dane declined to comment. Tenzin R. Gund-Morrow ’26, a Crimson editorial editor, said he hopes a new administration will bring changes to the University’s policies around handling allegations of harassment and misconduct by faculty. “I’m just hoping that with any change in the administration, there will be some shift in the policy,” Gund-Morrow said. “But obviously, as the organizers said, that is sadly a low chance.” Hannah L. Munzberg ’25, who attended the demonstration, said seeing so many other students protesting made her feel “hopeful.” “It’s nice to see that it’s not just me that’s angry,” Munzberg said. Koby D. Ljunggren, president of HGSU-UAW and a Ph.D. candidate in Biophysics, said they were “so proud of our undergrads for collectively getting together and planning this.” “It really warms my heart,” they said. Ljunggren added that while the protest “might be symbolic in nature,” putting continued pressure on University administration is critical. Kilburn, another plaintiff in the lawsuit against Harvard, tweeted that she “wept” upon seeing photos of the protest. “Because no one should have to go through what I went through with John Comaroff to get an education,” Kilburn wrote. “Because Harvard was warned about Comaroff and did nothing, but these students are making sure warnings reach everyone,” she added. darley.boit@thecrimson.com rahem.hamid@thecrimson.com elias.schisgall@thecrimson.com
THC View the related video on our website THECRIMSON.COM
Syd D. Sanders ’24 leads a march as students voice their dissent. ADDISON
Students walk out of Comaroff’s first class of the semester. ADDISON Y. LIU—
Y. LIU—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
