The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLV, No. 38

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLV, NO. 38 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018

The Harvard Crimson In light of the sanctions, the University should devote resources to women’s issues. EDITORIAL PAGE 10

Baseball goes 1-5 on tough road trip in the Carolinas over spring break last week. SPORTS PAGE 11

FAS Dean Michael D. Smith to Resign Position Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Smith to Step Down

Faculty Praise Dean Smith’s ‘Brilliance,’ Leadership

Smith’s Leave Follows a Historic Trend: News Analysis

By ANGELA N. FU and LUCY WANG

By ANGELA N. FU, LUCY WANG, and, LUKE W. XU

By LUKE W. XU

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith announced he will step down from his position in an email sent to FAS affiliates Monday morning.

Smith’s decision to resign comes as he wraps up his 11th year overseeing the University’s largest faculty.

During his tenure, Smith steered Harvard through budget cuts during the 2008 financial crisis and helped lead the FAS portion of the University’s record-breaking capital campaign. He also supervised the ongoing undergraduate House renewal project, as well as preparations for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences’s scheduled move across the river to Allston.

In his email Monday, Smith wrote he is “enormously thankful” for his colleagues and the faculty, staff, and students at Harvard.

“I am extremely proud to be part

SEE RESIGNATION PAGE 7

Colleagues praised Michael D. Smith’s tackling of difficult situations and “brilliant” leadership during his 11year tenure as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences after he announced Monday he plans to step down from the position.

Smith announced his plans to resign Monday morning in an email sent to FAS affiliates. In his message, Smith, a Computer Science professor, wrote he will return to teaching as soon as University President-elect Lawrence S. Bacow appoints his successor.

Smith’s departure will coincide with the departure of current University President Drew G. Faust, who appointed him shortly before she took office.

Several professors praised Smith’s leadership over the past decade, highlighting his handling of the 2008

The decision of Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, to step down shortly before President-elect Lawrence S. Bacow takes Harvard’s top job follows a pattern set by multiple of Smith’s predecessors across several decades.

Over the past 70 years, four presidential transitions have brought a subsequent resignation from the FAS dean—the leader of Harvard’s flagship faculty.

Smith announced his departure Monday morning in an email sent to FAS affiliates, writing he plans to step down as soon as Bacow appoints his replacement. Bacow will take Harvard’s helm on July 1, succeeding University President Drew G. Faust. Faust and Smith have both held their respective positions since 2007; Faust appointed Smith weeks before she took office.

Smith—a Computer Science professor—wrote in his Monday email that he

SEE PRAISE PAGE 7

SEE ANALYSIS PAGE 7

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

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Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, addresses a crowd at Commencement in 2017. MEGAN M. ROSS—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Admins to Respond to Gov Prof Charges

Harvard Drops SAT Writing in Application

By CAROLINE S. ENGELMAYER and MICHAEL E. XIE

By DELANO R. FRANKLIN and SAMUEL W. ZWICKEL

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

College administrators are “working in collaboration” with the Government Department to manage fallout from recent sexual harassment allegations made against Government professor Jorge I. Dominguez, Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana said in an interview Monday.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in late February that at least 10 women are alleging Dominguez committed repeated acts of sexual harassment across the past three decades. Now, the total count of women making allegations against Dominguez has risen to at least 18.

The accusations have sparked turmoil on Harvard’s campus, prompting administrators to put Dominguez

Harvard College will no longer require applicants to submit scores from the optional writing portions of the ACT and SAT beginning with the Class of 2023, according to a Monday statement.

“Harvard will accept the ACT/SAT with or without writing, starting with the Class of 2023, entering in August 2019,” College spokesperson Rachael Dane wrote in an emailed statement.

“This change will add an additional component to the comprehensive outreach of the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI), which seeks outstanding students from all economic backgrounds.”

Students who choose to take the writing portion of either exam pay an

SEE DOMINGUEZ PAGE 7

SEE APPLICATION PAGE 7

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CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

SEE PAGE 6

HARVARD FRANCO PROTEST

People rally in fron of University Hall Monday to honor the life of Marielle Franco, a Brazilian politician and outspoken human rights activist, who was shot and killed Wednesday. CALEB D. SCHWARTZ—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

UC to Bar HCFA From Funding

Admissions Lawsuit Date Set for January

By JONAH S. BERGER

By DELANO R. FRANKLIN and SAMUEL W. ZWICKEL

CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Undergraduate Council voted Monday to bar Harvard College Faith and Action from receiving UC funding after an at-times contentious debate that lasted nearly an hour.

The approved UC legislation prevents the religious group from receiving any Council funding for the remainder of spring 2018. The UC’s legislation also stipulates that the moratorium on funding could last “until new leadership takes tangible action to reform the organization.”

Any move to reinstate funding for the group will be subject to the approval of two of the Council’s internal bodies, the Finance Committee and the ­

Henry S. Atkins ‘20 (center), Andréa G. Martinez ‘20 (background left), and Seth D. Billiau ‘21 respond to questions and debate on legislation they sponsored to revoke funding for Harvard College Faith and Action. CALEB D. SCHWARTZ—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Harvard Today 2

News 7

Editorial 10

Sports 11

TODAY’S FORECAST

SEE UC PAGE 9 PARTLY CLOUDY High: 39 Low: 29

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

A lawsuit alleging discrimination against Asian-American students in the College’s admissions process may now be scheduled for trial in Jan. 2019, according to a March 14 case filing.

The case filing comes only a few days after a previous March 9 filing which had indicated a trial may commence as early as July 2018.

Allison D. Burroughs, a U.S. district court judge who is hearing the case in Boston, laid out a timeline for forthcoming stages of the lawsuit, including consideration of an anticipated dispositive motion over the summer—something the plaintiffs hope may lead to a

SEE LAWSUIT PAGE 7

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Vegan Pizza

HARVARD TODAY

FOR LUNCH

FOR DINNER

Crispy Fish Sandwich

Breaded and Baked Pork Chops

Suashuka Bolognese

TUESDAY | MARCH 20, 2018

Spicy Rice, Bean and Lentil Casserole Tater Tots

Fried Buttermilk Chicken Multigrain Rotini with Peas and Mushrooms

AROUND THE IVIES Penn Study Finds Human Genes Evolve Towards Alcohol Intolerability According to the Daily Pennsylvanian, Cell and Molecular Biology doctoral student Kelsey Johnson and Pharmacology Professor Benjamin Voight found that human genes are evolving towards alcohol intolerability. The professors analyzed data from the 1000 genomes project for their study. This newly discovered gene variant causes alcohol to be broken down into a toxic substance resulting in people having an unfavorable reaction to alcohol consumption.

Brown Holds Brain Science Fair on Campus

DEAN KHURANA Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana, pictured at his desk in University Hall. Khurana said he was not aware about accusations against Government professor Jorge I. Dominguez, who retired earlier this month following allegations that he sexually harrassed at least 18 women.

KAI R. MCNAMEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

HAPPY TUESDAY, HARVARD! There are 27 days of class left this semester (including today). We can totally handle that! If only getting up for class today was easier than it was yesterday…on second thought, it’s time for another break.

In the Atmosphere…

Enjoy today’s high of 39 degrees and partly cloudy weather, because it is

quite literally the calm before the storm.

EVENTS Climate Change and Global Health Seminar: Dr. Patrick Kinney 1 p.m.

The Harvard Global Health Institute will be hosting a session with Patrick Kinney, professor of urban health at Boston University. He will speak on climate change and air pollution.

Sign up is required. Need another incentive? Two words: free lunch.

Study Group: Practitioners in American Democracy 4:30 p.m.

Head to the Harvard Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation for a study group with people who have worked in the field of democratic governance.

Topics include strategies and organizations. As a bonus, there will be refreshments.

Andy Fan & Kyle E. O’Hara STAFF WRITERS

The Brown Daily Herald reported that the Brown Institute for Brain Science sponsored a weeklong brain science fair as a part of the thirdannual Rhode Island Brain Week. Brain Week Rhode Island founder Victoria Heimer-McGinn created the event with the intention of making brain research accessible and fun to the public.

According to the Brown Daily Herald, “an army of neuroscientists” traveled to Rhode Island with preserved human brains.

Students in New Haven Protest Against Gun Violence Through Walkouts New Haven public school students participated in walkouts against gun violence, part of a national wave of student protests on Mar. 14, according to the Yale Daily News. A month earlier, there was a deadly school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Students across the United States walked out of school and held a 17-minute moment of silence in order to commemorate the 17 people that lost their lives in the Feb. shooting.

IN THE REAL WORLD Serial Bomber in Austin Austin folks, tell family and friends back home to stay vigilant. Sunday night’s incident marked the fourth explosion in Austin just this month.

Officials are still uncertain about the motives or perpetrators behind these bombings, but fear a level of increasing sophistication in techniques and strategies. This fourth incident in particular represented a departure from previous explosions; it was tripwire-based and not targeted at specific homes.

Hit the Brakes on Self-Driving Cars It might be time to head back to the drawing board for proponents of self-driving cars. One of Uber’s autonomous vehicles in Arizona hit and killed a pedestrian Sunday night. Experts are concerned that the rushed deployment of self-driving technologies may have contributed to the fatal accident, and are calling for increased regulations with testing these innovations.

Possible Native American Congresswomen?

There has never been a Native American Congresswoman before, and this election cycle, a historic number of Native American women are running for various state and national positions on a variety of platforms.

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 Derek G. Xiao, President Hannah Natanson, Managing Editor Nathan Y. Lee, Business Manager Copyright 2018, 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.

WAITING AT THE DOT

FISHER FAMILY ROTUNDA The Fisher Family Rotunda is part of the Kennedy School campus. The school completed major renovations in 2017.

JACQUELINE S. CHEA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

QUOTE OF THE DAY “‘I think people all are going through transition times. It’s a natural time to think about ‘Do I want to continue doing this? ’” Michael D. Smith Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

CORRECTIONS The Harvard Crimson is committed to accuracy in its reporting. Factual errors are corrected promptly on this page.

Readers with information about errors are asked to e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@thecrimson.com.

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Night Editor Kenton K. Shimozaki ’19

Design Editor Elena Ramos ’20 Simon S. Sun ’19

Assistant Night Editors Ashley M. Cooper ’21 Editorial Editor Patricia J. Liu ’21 Lorenzo F. Manuali ’21 Story Editors Joshua J. Florence ’19 Mia C. Karr ’19 Hannah Natanson ’19 Claire E. Parker ’19 Brian P. Yu ’19 Phelan Yu ’19

Photo Editors Caleb D. Schwartz Sports Editors Cade Palmer ’20 Jack Stockless ’19

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MARCH 20, 2018 | PAGE 3

ARTS

. campus

Bardic Divas:

the week in arts

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TUESDAY

MARY PILON PRESENTS THE KEVIN SHOW: AN OLYMPIC ATHLETE’S BATTLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS The Harvard Book Store will be hosting awardwinning journalist Mary Pilon for a conversation about her latest book The Kevin Show: An Olympic Athlete’s Battle with Mental Illness. Journalist, historian, and New Yorker contributor Louisa Thomas will join Pilon in this discussion.

Harvard Book Store. 7 p.m. Free admission.

An Epic Celebration of Women Warriors of wednesday 21 Central Asia

THE WHITE CARD Written by Claudia Rankine and directed by Diane Paulus, The White Card revolves around a dinner party conversation thrown by an influential Manhattan couple for an up-and-coming artist and prompts questions about what and who are at the center of attention. The play poses the question, “Can American society progress if whiteness stays invisible?”

Emerson Paramount Center Robert J. Orchard Stage. 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Tickets from $15.

FAITH A. PAK

CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

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Hailing from the windswept steppes of Central Asia, eight cast members of the multimedia production of “Qyrq Qyz” (Forty Girls), an ancient epic about a nomadic band of Turkic women warriors, brought their music to Harvard’s Paine Hall on March 6.

They played with a wide array of traditional instruments from Central Asian nomadic life, including a two-stringed instrument called a “qobyz” and a “jygach ooz komuz,” a wooden plate held at the lips with strings attached to it that create a unique bouncing sound. The women sang in plaintive wails evoking the distant horizons of an arid desert, accompanied by hand drums that beat like the hoofbeats of the horses which the Forty Girls rode so skillfully in the legends. Warm and mesmerizing, their voices and the unfamiliar rhythms played on the instruments transport the audience to an entirely different landscape: terribly open, beautiful, and lonely.

Directed by Saodat Ismailova, a filmmaker from Uzbekistan, the music was certainly cinematic in scale.

The original production featured film scenes that depicted Gulaim, the teenage leader of the Forty Girls, who defended her land from Eastern invaders in the legend, along with gorgeous shots of the steppes. The epic of the female warrior is known throughout Central Asia in its myriad variations in the oral traditions of the region, and it is often compared to the stories of the Amazons in Greek mythology. It is a remnant of ancient matriarchal societies of Central Asia, and though the stories have faded, their mark still remains in those cultures today.

The eight women sat in a semi-circle on the Paine Hall stage and took turns singing and playing their instruments, concluding the performance with a final collaboration.

Some of the musicians displayed exceptional virtuosity— Makhabat Kobogonova, who sang and played four different

Arts Chairs Mila Gauvin II ’19 Arts Chairs Grace Z. Li ’19

Elizabeth C. Keto ’18 J. Thomas Westbrook ’18

instruments, played the “komuz” with distinct flairs of hand movements fluttering in four directions across the strings at breakneck pace. Raushan Urazbayeva, the lead musician, performed a beautiful solo performance on the qobyz.

The musicians seemed just as heroic as the women they were singing of in their almost martial skillfulness and poise with their instruments, while the singers sang in strong, open cries that seemed to sweep across vast plains. They often broke into grand recitative-like passages of speaksinging, and although it was in a foreign language, it was impossible not to feel the depth of emotion in their voices, and to deduce the heroic content.

The program notes also provided translations of the lyrics of some of the songs, offering a window into their poetic depth. One verse reads: “When Gulayim opened her eyes, / Moonless darkness was transformed into dawn. / Gulayim was like a hundred-colored wreath, / And if the sun’s flames were to fade, / The light from her moonlike face / Would fill the farthest reaches of the universe.”

It was a breath of fresh air to hear the music of women of a non-Western culture. The eight Central Asian women on stage struck a contrast with the names of the composers that lined the top of Paine Hall, all male and from the European tradition, including names like Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart.

According to Ismailova, despite Central Asia’s tradition of epics featuring powerful women, music-making has always been traditionally a man’s role, and it has only been since the middle of the last century that women have been beginning to learn how to play. Deeply moving and gorgeous, the concert seemed to brim over with pride and appreciation for the woman’s spiritual experience.

Thursday

ICA FREE THURSDAY NIGHT The Institute of Contemporary Art is free for all visitors on Thursday evenings and offers a multitude of exhibitions, music, dance, film, talks, tours, family activities, and teen programming throughout the year.

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. 5-9 p.m. Free admission.

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saturday

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sunday

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monday

DRAGON LADY Dragon Lady, written by Sara Porkalob and directed

by Andrew Russell, tells the story of Grandma Maria in the year of the Water Dragon as she shares a dark secret from her Filipino gangster past with a grandchild. Porkalob’s new musical provides an original insight into what it means to come to America.

OBERON. 7:30 p.m. Tickets from $25.

THE HARVARD UNDERGRADUATE DRUMMERS: THUDLASH The Harvard Undergraduate Drummers, THUD, is an undergraduate ensemble that primarily plays original pieces with everyday objects. They will be performing their spring concert this Saturday at the Lowell Lecture Hall.

Lowell Lecture Hall. 8:00 p.m. $5.00 pre-sale, $7.00 at the door.

Staff writer Faith A. Pak can be reached at faith.pak@thecrimson.com

THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD The Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players will be performing The Yeomen of the Guard, a story about the unjust death sentence of Colonel Fairfax. Phobe Meryll and her father Sergeant devise a plan to save him in a story of romance, drama, and comedy.

Agassiz Theatre. 2:00 p.m. Tickets from $10.00.

RAILWAY SLEEPERS Directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse, this documentary is shot over eight years on every active line of Thailand’s rail system. Showcasing Thailand’s countryside and passengers of the trians, “Railway Sleepers” is a glimpse into the country’s culture and the impact of the rail system.

The Brattle Theatre. 7:00 p.m. Tickets from $10.00.

20 March 2018 | VOL CXLv, ISSUE vII 11 APRIL 2017 | VOL CXLIV, ISSUE LIII EDITOR Associates Kaylee S. Kim ’20 EDITOR Associates Caroline A. Tsai ’20 Aziz B. Yakub ’18 Aline G. Damas ’20 Tianxing V. Lan ’18 Noah F. Houghton ’20 Grace Z. Li ’19 Edward M. Litwin ’19 Marianne T. Aguilar ’19 Petra Laura Oreskovic ’20 Mila Gauvin II ’19 Ethan B. Reichsman ’19 Rebecca H. Dolan ’19 Yael M. Saiger ’19

Caroline E. Tew ’20 Jonathan P. Trang ’19 Trevor J. Levin ’19 Lucy Wang ’20 Caroline A. Tsai ’20 Kaylee Kim ’20

Executive Designer Hanna Kim ‘21 Executive Designers Tiffany K. Lam ’18 Vivian W. Wan ’18

Design Associates Emily Y. Chan ‘21 Design Associates Emily H. Hong ‘21 Noelle S. Adler ’19 Jessica N. Morandi ‘21 Austin Eder ’20 Julia Reed-Betts ’19 Natalie Vega ’18 Jeanine Zheng ’20

Executive PhotographerS Kathryn S. Kuhar ‘20 Executive PhotographerS Zennie L. Wey ’20 Casey M. Allen ’20 Zennie L. Wey ’20

ARTS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MARCH 20, 2018 | PAGE 4

music

THE BATTLE FOR

YARDFEST RAJ KARAN S. GAMBHIR, LUCY WANG & UZOCHI P. NWOKO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS & CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ten student performance groups will be competing for two spots to open for this year’s Yardfest headliner. While the battle is set for March 22, The Harvard Crimson caught up with some of the bands to talk about their music and what they’re excited for.

AVANTI NAGRAL ’20, ALAISHA SHARMA ’20, MARGARET CANADY ’20

NEW DAKOTAS This four-man band plays a diverse range of music including folk, pop, rock, and indie. “We’re going to try really hard to be very engaging with the audience, band member Chris G. Haley ’19 said. “And also, we’re going to play an original song.” This song, “Walking on Air,” is from New Dakota’s EP that is to be released in April, according to Haley.

Avanti Nagral ’20 grew up surrounded by rhythm. With a background in broadway, Sufi, gospel, soul, Bollywood, and pop, Nagral is one of the first students to pursue a dual degree from Harvard and Berklee College of Music. For the Yardfest lineup, she will be singing alongside dancers Alaisha Sharma ’20 and Margaret Canady ’20.

“My professional start was in theater, and I try to incorporate elements of different performing arts whenever I perform,” Nagral said. At Harvard, Nagral has performed at Arts First, Cultural Rhythms, Cambridge Queen’s Head, Ghungroo, and formals and student group events. As for Yardfest, she said that, though she often performs at various venues, she’d love an opportunity to perform for all of Harvard.

TJ AND HURLINK TJ Song ’20 and Hurlink Vongsachang ’20 were originally just LPSA office-hour buddies. They casually joked about performing together in a Facebook comment about a singing/beatboxing duo this past summer, and when they were in the same area, they gave it a shot. Now, they create mashups together. Vongsachang, an avid beatboxer, is also a co-choreographer for the a capella group the Harvard Lowkeys and performed in the freshman talent show last fall. Song debuted his own song, “Immature,” on YouTube last August. As to what audience members should expect on Thursday?

“I feel like it’d be better as a surprise,” Song said. “Just try to imagine guitar, vocals, and beatboxing coming together into a mashup of popular radio songs.”

SOFT STAR This trio of Harvard students performs original music that is self-described as “folk psychedelic rock DIY punky soul trance,” and utilizes a variety of instruments from the guitar, to the fiddle, to the bucket drum. Despite the group’s name, Soft Star’s Facebook page reads, “We aren’t soft or stars yet, but we’re working on it.”

LUKE MARTINEZ

SOCIAL COMMITTEE

One of the few stand-alone artists, Luke A. Martinez ’19 will also be performing at the Battle with the hope of landing the chance to open at Yardfest. They will be performing an original song, but is not revealing its name early in order to surprise the audience. “I’m excited because I think a lot of people don’t know exactly what my music sounds like and they’re going to get a chance to hear it at full potency,” Martinez said.

DJ Alexander D. Kim ’18 and music producer Jason S. Cui ’18 make up the electronic music duo Social Committee. After realizing that they shared a love for electronic music, the pair officially established their team last year. “We started with school events like formals and we progressed up to gigs in the local Boston area,” Cui said. Now the pair hopes to headline Yardfest.

“I think people love the music we bring for the same reasons Alex and I like electronic music,” Cui said. It’s super fun to listen to and super energetic.”

THE ELECTRICIANS

DISCO BAND!

21 COLORFUL CRIMSON When asked about this group, founder James A. Mathew ’21 said, “21 Colorful Crimson, a.k.a. 21 CC, is a musical group of 21 Harvard freshmen. The group isn’t just musicians—we have singers, rappers, producers, but also film crew and a business team.” Mathew also said that 21 CC aims to donate revenue generated from future performances and sales to charity. “In everything we do, we’re always looking to spread… our fundamental themes, which are creativity, inclusion, and love,” Mathew said.

“We try to use our music as a vehicle for spreading those three things.”

GRAPHIC BY HANNA KIM / CRIMSON DESIGNER

Difficult to pin down in style but clear in intention, The Electricians play and cover rock, blues, jazz, reggae, and more, all in the pursuit of two goals. “We’re here for the money, we’re here for the fame. We’re here to have a good time mostly,” guitarist and vocalist Aaron B. Argyres ’18 said. When asked what competitive edge they have for Thursday’s competition, Ian H. McClanan ’20 replied, “I was unaware this was a competition format. I would say mostly sex appeal.”

Disco Band!, the thirteen-person, ’70s inspired disco group began with a joke. “It all started with a group of friends and musicians who would often joke about how disco music is the ultimate dance music, and should logically be the only thing that’s ever played at parties,” Jacques Berguig ’18 said. Soon, that joke turned into a project with over a dozen members. Berguig believes the scope and authenticity of Disco Band! will push his band to victory. “We have a 13-person band, including a horn section and back-up singers, dedicated to capturing the whole feel of the disco and funk era. From Earth, Wind & Fire to ABBA, from the Village People to the Jackson 5, our only purpose is to play whatever will make people dance, so I have no doubt at all that we could show everyone an amazing time.”

JEAN CORONA In the Battle for Yardfest event page, Jean Corona dubbed themselves as a “four piece cover-band that can never reach consensus.” This group of musicians includes Stephanie Johnson ’18, Nick Pham ’19, Teddy Brokaw ’18, Jeremy Welborn ’19.

Staff writer Lucy Wang can be reached at lucy.wang@thecrimson.com.

Staff writer Raj Karan S. Gambhir can be reached at raj.gambhir@thecrimson.com.

Contributing writer Uzochi P. Nwoko contributed to the reporting of this piece.

ARTS

The Harvard Crimson | March 20, 2018 | page 5

theater

Harvard Ballet Company and Pops Orchestra to Present Space-Themed ‘Out of Orbit’

Courtesy of Joseph Lee

PATRICIA M. GUZMAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER In the Loeb Dance Studio, two dancers from the Harvard Ballet Company run through a piece choreographed to the opening theme of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The piece is one of many that comprises the space-themed “Out of Orbit,” a collaborative project between the Harvard Ballet Company and the Harvard Pops Orchestra. “Out of Orbit” will combine classical ballet and music from popular film, classical composers, and contemporary artists to bring outer space to the Loeb Mainstage. “[Harvard Ballet Company] wanted to try and move away from a ‘recital’ type of show,” co-director Mara G. Milner ’20 says. “We wanted to blend something together that had the fun aspects of Pops and that still maintained the professionalism [of ] a ballet company.” “Out of Orbit” is a stylistic departure from the company’s typical productions, but Milner

hopes that the collaboration with the Pops will engage a wider range of audiences.

Milner explains that “Out of Orbit” will not follow a strict storyline, but will instead explore distinct energies, moods, and themes by way of its many individual pieces. Alexandra D. Caffrey ’19, a dancer and co-producer, describes each piece as driven by different ideas of space that a choreographer had in mind.

“People are taking ‘space’ very literally in certain pieces… In other pieces, it’s more of an abstract idea,” Caffrey says. The choreography to one piece, she mentions, draws inspiration from eclipses; another, from constellations. The music is also tied to the theme. “[Pops] really experiments with different types of music, and has fun with it,” Harvard Pops Orchestra co-president Leah U. Rosen ’19 says. Rosen lists Star Wars film scores, Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” and Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” as a few of the many space-

themed musical pieces that will accompany the ballet onstage. “I’m hoping that we’re each going to bring the best of our groups to this collaboration: there’ll be music that’s fun and accessible, [and] beautiful, really amazing dance.”

“I hope that people who have never considered seeing a dance show before will find [“Out of Orbit”] an accessible and exciting production,” dancer Angie Cui ’20 says. Cui hopes something about “Out of Orbit”—whether its space theme, theatrical qualities, or the fact that it combines several forms of media—will help bring dance and ballet to the forefront of performing arts at Harvard.

“Out of Orbit” will run from March 29 to April 7 on the Loeb Mainstage.

Staff writer Patricia M. Guzman can be reached at patricia.guzman@thecrimson.com.

Wandering Vision: Alain Gomis’s ‘Félicité’ at the Harvard Film Archive

columns

Elodie A. Saint-Louis CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

T

he plot is relatively simple. A woman needs money fast in order to pay for her son’s operation. We are in the Sénégalese city of Kinshasa, where the main character, Félicité, makes her living as a singer.

A foreigner would perhaps see this city as an afterthought, a space left excavated by the scavengings of colonialism. But this is not an ethnographic film. We do not observe passively or find ourselves sentimentalizing the Other. Instead we are displaced, moved, beckoned.

It is Félicité herself who does this beckoning. We do not know what she thinks as she performs again and again at the same restaurant, as she watches bar-goers shake off the frayed edges of their days, floating up to us not unlike those fickle and beautiful Greek gods we know so well. Our mysterious translator of chaos, she sings but is mostly silent in conversation. Sometimes her face—sharp, stubborn, and beautiful, as her eventual lover Tabu reminds us again and again— ripples to reveal a faint glimmer of what it hides. Rather than rendering these inner feelings explicitly for the viewer, director Alain Gomis infuses the film with a transcendence that conjures up ancestry, cosmology, and mythology.

What is our place in the universe? What do we do with the soul, especially when it is constrained by the exhausting routines of life? The film does not answer these weighty questions, but it does give them texture and color through image, sound, and silence. Two recurring motifs—a night-time sequence when Félicité makes her way across a dense forest into a body of water, and scenes of a Sénégalese orchestra and chorus rehearsing— bring forth a second world not so distant from this quotidian one.

This constant brushing—more like a careful floating and layering— bet ween the Graphic by Emily Y. Chan / Contributing Designer

daily and the “other-worldly”—evokes something mysterious and sublime, disrupting the film’s straightforward narrative structure in order to return the viewer to their inner self.

This “other-worldliness” elicits not only the ancient and spiritual, but also the depth of the film’s characters, the underlying set of dreams, desires, and myths they hold onto and hope for. Gomis gives his characters time to emerge. He lets them be distant and then close again. Moments of purposeful distance—whether through sound, disquieting silence, or temporal disruption—magnify the expression of each character’s interiority, as well as what we search for when looking at them. They dance within a liminal space where extremes rub up against one another: suffering and joy, release and tension, violence and redemption. They boast when they ought to be humble, and drink when they ought to be sober. They writhe, stumbling through their needs and desires as they grapple with the weight of unexpected trauma.

As we live, there are gaps in how we interpret and move through the world. In the middle of thought a memory appears as a half-dream.

Moments tread away from us, moments when we are in conflict with ourselves and cannot catch up or find our way out. Or perhaps we simply find ourselves submarined, the inner content of our experience invisible to everyone else. We notice the frayed edge of a faded Persian rug, a sign of the material world that used to ground us. Suffering ceases, releases itself, picks up again, is both here and gone.

“Félicité” challenges the viewer to consider what occurs after everything breaks down, when plans run amok and options reach their limits. This decisive moment—when the characters must determine if and how they must go on—is where a lesser film would end and where this one truly begins. Constructing a film centered on the question of whether or not life itself is possible is no easy feat. Yet Gomis finds a way to bring to life what we could never possibly find words for, layering the second, third and fourth worlds we cannot easily articulate onto the surface-ones that look most like our non-filmic present.

Staff writer Elodie A. Saint-Louis’s column, “In Total Darkness,” is about black contemporary art in the Cambridge and Boston area. ​

ARTS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MARCH 20, 2018 | PAGE 6

books

‘RAINBIRDS’ CLEVERLY ORGANIZED STORIES BUOY FASCINATING PLOTLINE BOBAE JOHNSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In her debut novel “Rainbirds,” Clarissa Goenawan explores the relationship between Ren Ishida, a Japanese graduate student, and his sister, Keiko. The novel begins with Ren learning of his sister’s murder. Her shocking death makes him question his understanding of her as an innocent girl. The novel portrays different periods of Ren’s life, shifting between present day and various snippets of past experiences with Keiko.

Ren makes realizations as the novel unravels the burgeoning secrets that Keiko concealed from Ren. Goenawan uses her experiences as a short story writer to her advantage, weaving together a complex string of events that are seemingly unrelated, yet mesh perfectly.

Goenawan writes achronological sequences that are both easy to follow and fascinating to experience. She avoids revealing details about Keiko and her murder in the typical murder-mystery format. Instead, current events in Ren’s life trigger memories of Keiko that slowly unfold to piece together her story. The connections between his memories and his present experiences are so strong that the pair buoy each other to benefit the overall plot. The format that Goenawan chooses takes apart the standard novel structure and replaces it with a thrilling unraveling of a single, complex mystery.

Through the mixing of timelines, Goenawan also manages to interweave distinct lives and experiences into a single entity. She explores the deep thoughts of multiple characters within single chapters, giving the reader multiple perspectives of similar events. Ren has faults—Goenawan makes him human and presents him exactly how he is. Furthermore, she discusses relationships between different characters by carrying themes between them. Characters explore faulty relationships in distinct ways, showing Goenawan’s compelling thoughts in different

areas.

Some of Goenawan’s prose reads awkwardly throughout the text, especially in her descriptions that clearly lack any sort of imagery. Goenawan will throw in a sentence revealing important emotions: “I wished everything that had brought me here had been a dream.” From there, Ren will immediately launch into thinking about the “prominent politician” Mr. Katou.

However, this choice matches and benefits the story’s development. On a basic level, the simple and somewhat graceless prose deadens the scenes, contributing to the atmospheric effect.

More importantly, it provides the reader with a way to further understand Ren’s point of view: As he discovers different clues and ideas, Goenawan brings various thoughts and memories to the surface in an unwieldy, but fitting, manner.

Ren does not understand clues about Keiko’s life in a logical way, but rather as a character shocked and confused by the revelations. Ren’s experiences draw the reader in as he continually exhibits his shared lack of understanding.

Beyond the novel’s structure, the plotline itself is intriguing and unique. The twists the story takes are unexpected, but logical. Goenawan is not afraid to experiment with the story’s directions, while still creating a satisfying narrative. She does not attempt to have a single concept carry the entire novel. Instead, she treats the story as a true life experience, often adding in details that seem unimportant, but significantly contribute to the novel’s base atmosphere and structure. This concept makes the story unpredictable and creates a riveting plot.

Goenawan succeeds in writing a novel that has the feel of a short story collection seamlessly weaved together. In “Rainbirds,” she uses her unique strengths to create a spellbinding murder mystery.

COURTESY OF PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE

film

‘THE DEATH OF STALIN’ AMUSES, BUT LACKS SECOND GEAR Dir. Armando Iannucci

COURTESY OF NICOLA DOVE / IFC FILMS.

AZIZ B. YAKUB CRIMSON STAFF WRITER There is a certain ease with which one may praise Armando Iannucci’s “The Death of Stalin.” It ticks the boxes of what should make a compelling film. Much like his previous work in political comedy—including the sublime “The Thick of It” and the Emmy Award-winning “Veep”—it is bathed in Iannucci’s wit. The dialogue and details are precise. It is uproariously amusing—far funnier than a film with its sheer quantity of institutionalized murder should be.

The work is a delicate exploration of power and cruelty, set on the backdrop of Stalin’s death, funeral, and the ensuing struggle for primacy between Moscow Party head Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) and secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale). We know who wins—Khrushchev would become the first secretary of the Soviet Union during the coldest years of the cold war; Beria, alternatively, was shot. The potency of the narrative does not derive from the surprise of its plot. Instead, “The Death of Stain” is interested in the absurdity of human interaction played out on the scale of a vast government bureaucracy.

This is the film in its most compelling state. “The Death of Stalin” treats each character—from the powerful to the subjugated—as individuals making human decisions.

Joseph Stalin (an uneven Adrian McLoughlin), despite the weight of his actions, is simply a man. Like other men, when he has a stroke, he becomes incontinent. Like other men, he heartily laughs at good and bad jokes. He is part of the mediocre masses.

Through Iannucci’s careful satirical eye, unfettered belief in a leader (from prime ministers to presidents to general secretaries) is reduced to an act of theological absurdity. Even the most malevolent acts of state control— and “The Death of Stalin” depicts the gauntlet—are simply products of inserting the natural capriciousness of human emotion into a bureaucratic apparatus that enables their dissemination over the powerless public.

It is precisely the ease with which the whims of man become the acts of state that the film intuitively depicts through its flippant treatment of life and death.

As Khrushchev and Beria jostle for power, people are

summarily shot and children are violated. Nevertheless, Iannucci is careful not to fully submerge the unsettling human consequences of the film’s absurdist political theater. As a man in an execution line is saved by his position in the line and backroom jostling between these politicians, he returns home to the son who sold him out.

After a young girl is implied to be molested by Beria, her parents pick her up in the morning.

The imaging here is subtle. There is a vivid human drama delicately alluded to off-screen that must be pieced together by our imagination. It is not the film’s story to tell— that lies in the machinations of power. Unlike the leaders it depicts, the film is aware of the human cost of political action (the treacherous son; the girl and her family). It maintains a balance between alluding towards the pain of the public and depicting the frivolity with which human life is treated by these (regretfully humorous) individuals.

The mere fact that the film is an intellectually compelling depiction of power should not suppress the fact that this representation appears in a richly funny frame. Iannucci has an astute eye for the absurd. In the opening moments of “The Death of Stalin,” the titular Stalin requests a recorded copy of the evening’s performance of Mozart after the unrecorded concert concludes, impelling the acquisition of a bed-clothed conductor, audience members from the city street, and a several thousand ruble bribe.

As Stalin falls ill, our cast of characters find themselves at a loss for which doctors to call. All the good doctors are imprisoned or dead, “We have all the doctors! There is no second opinion.” The film’s smaller scenes are similarly littered with comic details. Beria and Khrushchev, in their unhealthful sedentary glory, race to greet and curry favor with Stalin’s daughter, Svetlana Stalina (a wonderful Andrea Riseborough). A lamp is misplaced on a chair.

Khrushchev is reduced to picking the pleats on the curtains for Stalin’s funeral.

As may be implied by the effusive praise above, “The Death of Stalin” is an easier piece to laud than to criticize.

This does not mean that this is a good film. Its faults are more understated: There is something subtly disconnected and feckless about its comedic vignettes; the film lacks a

spiritual center. A usually wonderful Buscemi is amusing enough as Khrushchev. Nevertheless, his performance lacks the magnetism of Iannucci’s other leading muses.

The blame cannot be simply saddled on Buscemi—the lines given to the film’s less central characters lack the full force of Iannucci’s wit. Many of these individuals, including Vyacheslav Molotov (Michael Palin), Anastas Mikoyan (Paul Whitehouse), and Nikolai Bulganin (Paul Chahidi), are unfocused and indistinct sketches. Even worse, others (including Rupert Friend’s Vasily Stalin) never exceed their farcical trappings.

Unlike Iannucci’s previous political efforts, “The Death of Stalin” seems detached from the spirit of its setting.

“Veep” and “The Thick of It” derive part of their potency from their symbiotic relationship with place. Alternatively, the film simply treats the Soviet Union as an excuse to explore farcical absurdity of power rather than endowing the setting with a distinct sense of place. This effect is only heightened by aspects of the film’s historical inaccuracy.

(Many of these inaccuracies do not matter, such as the compression of various historical events. Some of them do matter, such as the willful glossing of the fact that the “good” doctors were incarcerated primarily because of antisemitism.)

It is not solely the glib treatment with which the film treats Moscow that is deeply problematic—the lack of wide-ranging intellectual curiosity is also worrisome. At his best, Iannucci’s work simultaneously probes a plurality of subjects. “The Thick of It,” for example, works equally well as an exploration of gender politics as it does an exploration of British politics (if the two can be separated).

Here, “The Death of Stalin” lacks a second gear. That is not to say that the film is not funny and intellectually compelling—it is certainly both—yet it lacks a sublime breath of beauty that separates great art from the mediocre masses. In this sense, “The Death of Stalin” is much like the leaders it depicts.

Staff writer Aziz B. Yakub can be reached at aziz. yakub@thecrimson.com.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MARCH 20, 2018 | PAGE 7

FAS Dean Smith to Step Down Faculty Praise Dean Smith’s Leadership RESIGNATION FROM PAGE 1

of this community,” Smith wrote. “It has been an undeniable privilege for this simple engineer to have had a front-row seat as our community built a foundation within the FAS that will continue Harvard’s commitment to excellence and truth now and into the future.”

After he steps down from the deanship, Smith, a Computer Science professor, will continue to teach and will return to “a life of new academic and personal pursuits,” according to his email. He added that he will continue to serve as FAS dean until President-Elect Lawrence S. Bacow appoints his successor.

Bacow was selected to serve as the University’s 29th president in February and will replace current president Drew G. Faust in July. Faust and Smith took office in the same year, 2007; Faust appointed Smith to his position just weeks before she assumed the presidency.

Though Smith plans to leave his office in University Hall, he said in an interview earlier this month that he has already been in touch with Bacow to share the Faculty’s goals for the future and “bring him up to speed.” He added he would make himself available to give Bacow updates on FAS affairs.

“I certainly feel as though it’s my job to make sure he understands what’s happening across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences,” Smith said in the interview.

Faust also emailed FAS affiliates Monday morning to thank Smith for his service.

“He has been a steadfast partner, an enthusiastic collaborator, and an institutional citizen always focused on the progress of the FAS and the University,” Faust wrote of Smith. “Under Mike’s leadership, the FAS faculty has grown in breadth and strength, and both the College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences have attracted students of unsurpassed talent and promise.”

Faust announced in her email that Bacow will lead the search for the next FAS dean and invited affiliates to email him their thoughts on the search. “[Bacow] has asked me to underscore that he sees the search not only as a way to identify a new dean, but also as a timely opportunity to learn more from many of you about the hopes and views of faculty, students, staff, and alumni throughout the FAS,” she wrote.

Throughout his time as dean, Smith contended with unexpected challenges and supervised major projects within the division. Shortly after he assumed the deanship, he was forced to grapple with the 2008 global recession.

FAS trimmed $77 million dollar from its budget, in part by halting SEAS construction in Allston and by freezing faculty searches and salary increases.

Though the financial conditions of FAS have improved since the recession, the school has suffered from recent poor returns on the University’s endowment, which constitutes half its income.

Smith attracted controversy in 2013 when he authorized the search of 16 resident deans’ email accounts following widespread cheating in Govern-

ment 1310: “Introduction to Congress.”

The cheating scandal ultimately implicated over 120 students.

In recent years, Smith helped manage the FAS capital campaign, which helped support several FAS programs including the continuing $1 billion effort to renew the College’s undergraduate residential Houses as well as financial aid writ large. Though some FAS campaign priorities have lagged behind stated goals, the division passed its overall $2.5 billion target in Oct. 2016. Under Smith, four houses have undergone renovation, including Dunster and Winthrop. Construction on Lowell began in 2017, and FAS has already slated Adams to be the next House to face renovations.

Following the pause in SEAS construction during the recession, Harvard has since resumed work on the area and the new Allston campus will open in 2020, on schedule.

Smith is not the only administrator who has chosen to depart Harvard in the last few weeks. Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Xiao-Li Meng, who was on a sabbatical, stepped down earlier this month.

Interim GSAS Dean Emma Dench assumed his role.

Smith said in an interview earlier this month that the presidential transition could cause current administrators to reflect on their roles. But he declined to answer a question asking whether he would be leaving his post.

“I think people all are going through transition times. It’s a natural time to think about ‘Do I want to continue doing this? Do I want to go up and do something else?’”

Smith Departure Follows Trend ANALYSIS FROM PAGE 1 is stepping down to return to a “life of new academic and personal pursuits.”

He plans to remain on campus to teach.

Past FAS deans, though, sometimes explicitly cited the University president’s departure as the reason they wished to leave Harvard.

When former Harvard President James B. Conant, class of 1913, stepped down from the office in 1953, Paul H. Buck, then-dean of FAS, announced his resignation that same month.

“President Conant and I acted as a team. Now that team is no more,” Buck said, according to a Jan. 1953 Crimson article. “I would prefer to return to teaching.”

Jeremy R. Knowles, FAS dean from 1991 to 2002, departed a year after Neil L. Rudenstine vacated the University presidency in 2001. Knowles told The Crimson in 2002 that he had long felt his term would conclude with Ruden­

stine’s.

“Several years ago, I thought about this and decided that an overlap of a year was probably best for the institution and the Faculty,” he said at the time.

Similarly, John T. Dunlop, who held the deanship from 1970 to 1973, left two years after the departure of the University president he served under, Nathan M. Pusey. In a February interview, University President Drew G. Faust said presidential transitions at Harvard often serve as intuitive career breaks for the administrators who serve under the University’s top leader.

“People who have served with me may feel that their chunk of time is the appropriate one,” she said. “I think it’s less about me than this is a time when it’s a moment to do something different and something new.”

As one of Harvard’s most powerful administrators, when an FAS dean resigns in the middle of a University pres-

ident’s tenure, the leader of Harvard’s flagship faculty has historically left for career reasons. McGeorge Bundy, who, at 34, became the youngest-ever dean of FAS when Pusey appointed him in 1953, left Harvard in 1961 to work for another president. Bundy became the national security adviser in the administration of U.S. President John F. Kennedy ’40. And, in 1990, A. Michael Spence, who served as FAS dean from 1984 to 1990, shocked campus when he abruptly departed for Palo Alto, Calif. to become the dean of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

One notable exception to the pattern of turnover for FAS deans is William C. Kirby, Smith’s immediate predecessor, who served from 2002 to 2006.

In a controversial move, then-University President Lawrence H. Summers forced Kirby out of the deanship, one of several actions that precipitated Summers’s own displacement just a short time later.

Admins Plan to Address Scandal DOMINGUEZ FROM PAGE 1 on “leave.” Following his placement on leave, Dominguez said he would retire amidst growing student outcry.

In the wake of the revelations, University President Drew G. Faust said she and other administrators had no knowledge of allegations against Dominguez before the Chronicle published its Feb. 27 story. Khurana said Monday he had no prior knowledge of the allegations.

Previous Harvard administrators sanctioned Dominguez for sexual misconduct once already, decades ago. In 1983, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences disciplined Dominguez for allegedly sexually harassing Terry L. Karl, then an associate professor in the Government Department. Now, administrators could punish Dominguez again. ­

Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, announced in a March 4 email sent to Harvard affiliates that the University has opened an investigation into allegations against the professor.

Harvard will take into account the outcome of its ongoing investigation into Dominguez in determining whether he will receive the rights and privileges normally provided to retired faculty members, FAS spokesperson Anna G. Cowenhoven said in March.

Khurana said College administrators have collaborated with multiple Harvard offices since allegations against Dominguez surfaced in the Chronicle.

“The College, working through the Office of Undergraduate Education and through our Title IX office, has been working in collaboration with the Government Department to see how we

can best support our students during this time,” he said.

In recent weeks, students and faculty in that department have decried Dominguez’s alleged sexual harassment. In early March, graduate students sent a letter to Government Department faculty condemning their handling of sexual assault accusations against Dominguez and demanding the department take steps to address “years of apparent negligence” towards issues of sexual misconduct.

The department also formed a “standing committee” to investigate the “conditions” that allowed Dominguez to remain active in the department for decades while allegedly sexually harassing at least 18 women throughout that time period, department administrators wrote in a letter sent to undergraduate concentrators.

PRAISE FROM PAGE 1 financial crisis that decimated the FAS budget. Economics Department chair David I. Laibson ’88 said he thinks Smith’s handling of the constrained financial situation demonstrated “sophistication” during tough times.

“He handled an impossible situation extremely well,” Laibson said. “As we came through that financial crisis, he cut where we needed to cut, but never cut into the muscle or the bone of the organization. And being able to navigate that environment, and make those difficult decisions, and do all of that well, and in a timely manner, requires a great deal of sophistication and brilliance.”

David L. Howell, chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, also pointed to Smith’s conduct during the financial crisis when asked about Smith’s greatest accomplishments.

“I think it was probably a really difficult period for him,” Howell said. “The financial hardship and uncertainty lasted quite a long time, so I think he did it about as well as anyone could hope to under the circumstances of the financial crisis.”

Smith began his deanship in July 2007, immediately before the start of an international recession. Under his watch, FAS made major budget cuts as it faced projections that the value of the University’s endowment value would drop by a record-breaking 30 percent.

Smith froze faculty salaries, cut back on staff searches, and halted construction of the new School of Engineering and Applied Sciences campus in Allston.

“The fact that he succeeded in that challenging moment is a testimony to his leadership,” Laibson said.

“I think he did a very nice job in dealing with all the constraints, and yet keeping Harvard’s priorities in hiring the best people, and retaining the best faculty in front of him, and keeping that standard high while not having unlimited resources after the crash,” said Subir Sachdev, the chair of the Physics de­

partment.

Another signature initiative of Smith’s tenure comprised his effort to fundraise for the University’s record-breaking capital campaign. In an interview Monday, Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana praised Smith’s contribution to “the things we now take for granted.” As examples, he listed financial aid commitments and the ongoing House Renewal project, which seeks to renovate all of the College’s 12 undergraduate residential Houses. Despite the negative effects of the financial crisis, FAS has remained committed to the more than $1 billion House renovation project. Smith has overseen the renewal of four Houses, and two more are scheduled to be renovated within the next five years.

“He’s made extraordinary contributions to House Renewal,” Khurana said Monday. “The entire House Renewal project, with respect to its physical renewal, but also its programmatic renewal, has been spearheaded by Dean Smith.”

Colleagues also lauded Smith’s efforts to grow the SEAS, a move Sachdev called “a tricky process.”

“It’s a big change in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering,” Sachdev said. “He started a process that required negotiation with many stakeholders and I think he did a good job with that.”

Francis J. Doyle III, dean of SEAS, also praised Smith’s commitment to Harvard’s newest school in a press release Monday.

“Mike has consistently been a terrific partner through the growth phases of SEAS, but his legacy of leadership during that challenging financial period is particularly noteworthy,” Doyle said in the press release.

Harry R. Lewis ’68, a colleague of Smith’s in the Computer Science department, said he looked forward to Smith’s return to the academic field.

Before his deanship, Smith taught the department’s flagship introductory course—Computer Science 50: “Introduction to Computer Science I.”

Harvard Drops SAT/ACT Writing in Application APPLICATION FROM PAGE 1 extra $14 for the SAT and $16.50 for the ACT, though fee waivers are available.

Dane noted other ways applicants might demonstrate their writing skill, instead of on the standardized tests.

The College accepts the Common, Coalition, and Universal College applications—all of which require a personal essay. Applicants also have the option to include an additional personal essay which, according to Dane, “most students will also choose to submit.” Applicants may also submit writing portfolios for faculty review.

In 2014, the College Board, which administers the SAT, announced major revisions to its exam, which made the essay optional and scored it separately from the rest of the exam, among other changes. Shortly after the announcement of the SAT’s redesign in 2015, Harvard continued to require applicants to submit writing scores, but Dane said at the time that the College would evaluate how predictive those scores were of academic success. College counselors and higher education experts previously criticized the essay portions of the exams, arguing that writing scores do not strongly correlate with a student’s potential for success.

“One single essay historically has not contributed significantly to the overall predictive power of the exam,” the College Board wrote in a 2015 statement on the revised SAT. “Feedback from hundreds of member admission officers was divided: some respondents found the essay useful, but many ­

did not.”

The statement also reads: “The College Board remains steadfast in its commitment to the importance of analytic writing for all students.” The College Board and the ACT did not immediately respond to requests for further comment. Despite the choice given to students, the majority of the few million test-takers each year choose to complete the writing portion of the exams. According to the Princeton Review’s blog, Harvard’s decision leaves only 29 schools requiring the essays.

In 2015, other Ivy League universities, including, Columbia, Cornell, and Penn, announced they were ending the essay requirement. Brown, Dartmouth, and Yale are among the Ivies which require essay scores. Among other peer institutions, Stanford requires the essay while MIT does not.

Eric J. Furda, Penn’s dean of admissions, cited what he called the essays’ “weaker predictive power” in a 2015 statement.

“Our internal analysis as well as a review of the extensive research provided by the College Board showed that the essay component of the SAT was the least predictive element of the overall Writing section of the SAT,” Furda said.

Consultant Anna Ivey said she was supportive of Harvard’s decision.

“It’s a good thing for colleges to drop the additional hassle and expense for applicants if the writing tests ultimately don’t factor into the admissions decision much or at all,” Ivey wrote in an email.

Admissions Lawsuit Trial Date Set for Jan. 2019 LAWSUIT FROM PAGE 1 summary judgement in its favor.

Outstanding disagreements over the handling of confidential information will be considered at an April 10 hearing. This is the latest development in the ongoing lawsuit filed in 2014 by anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions. The March 9 status report filed by representatives from both SFFA and the University, laid out the parties’ priorities as the discovery period for the case comes to a close.

In the report, Harvard said the University “respectfully requests that the Court schedule a bench trial commencing in mid-July 2018.” Should the trial be delayed past the summer, Harvard argues, a variety of logistical barriers may make it “impossible to hold a trial in this case until the late spring or summer of 2019.”

SFFA makes the case for a potential ­

Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana, pictured at his desk in University Hall. KAI R. MCNAMEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

summary judgement “requests that the Court maintain the existing schedule and either refrain from setting a trial date or set trial for at least two months after summary judgment briefing concludes.”

The new order sets summer deadlines for the filing of amicus briefs in favor or opposition of a dispositive motion, which could lead to a summary judgement—allowing the court to “make a judgment as to whether trial is necessary” and “allow any trial to proceed more expeditiously than it might otherwise,” according to SFFA’s portion of the report.

As the admissions lawsuit moves closer to trial, the parties will address the potential release of prior applicants’ confidential records and Harvard’s secretive admissions process.

Harvard and SFFA continue to dispute the extent to which that information should be made public.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MARCH 20, 2018 | PAGE 9

Council Demand For Creative Writing Classes Reaches High to Ban HCFA Funding

By ANNIE C. DORIS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The English Department received a record number of applications to its creative writing program this academic year, according to Darcy Frey, the program’s director.

This semester, the creative writing program is offering courses in playwriting, poetry, fiction writing, screenwriting, creative nonfiction, and journalism. The courses are generally capped at 12 people and interested students must submit an application, which typically entails providing a writing sample. Frey wrote in an email that the program is “more popular than ever.”

“We received more applications in Fall, 2017 and Spring, 2018 than ever before, and we enrolled more students during those terms in workshops than ever before,” Frey wrote.

Nicholas J. Watson, English department chair, said the number of applications the department received was more than double the number of available spots in the program this semester.

“There were something like 240 places and there were nearly 800 applications from nearly 500 individual students,” Watson said.

The increase in applications coincides with an increase in the program’s course offerings over the past decade.

In his email, Frey wrote that 14 workshops were offered in fall 2008, compared to 20 workshops in spring 2018.

“Because we have more creative-writing faculty now than ever before, we’re able to offer an even more varied set of workshops,” Frey said.

“For example, Jill Abramson is here teaching journalism, Michael Pollan teaches, in addition to an essay course, one on writing about the food chain.”

According to Watson, the program 10 years ago primarily offered courses in poetry, fiction, drama, and some screenwriting. Watson said that the course selection has since been augmented with “a lot of nonfiction.”

For the English Department, the Creative Writing program is not only “the thing that’s growing fastest,” but ­

UC FROM PAGE 1 Queer Caucus. The UC added this stipulation to the legislation in an amendment Monday evening to ensure a diverse set of representatives will take part in the decision to reinstate funding. Last month, the College placed HCFA—the largest Christian fellowship on campus—on year-long “administrative probation.”

The Crimson reported in February that the move to punish HCFA was almost certainly linked to the group’s decision to remove a female, bisexual student from a leadership position after she chose to date a woman.

In total, 26 Council representatives voted in favor of the legislation to suspend funding, while eight voted against the proposal and two abstained. Scott Ely ’18 and Molly L. Richmond ’18, the co-presidents of HCFA, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday evening.

At a UC Finance Committee on March 7, the committee recommended the Council ban HCFA from receiving UC funding.

That recommendation followed a failed vote—held in February, days after College administrators announced HCFA’s probation—during which the finance committee nixed a previous draft of legislation also intended to bar the religious group from UC funding.

During that vote, members operated under the assumption “administrative probation” meant HCFA was automatically prohibited from receiving Council funding.

At the March 7 meeting, UC Vice President Nicholas D. Boucher ’19 said Alexander R. Miller, the College’s associate dean of student engagement, told him the College’s decision did not impact HCFA’s eligibility to apply for and receive UC funding.

Administrators have repeatedly refused to publicly clarify the terms of HCFA’s probation—but The Crimson reported earlier this month that the punishment will likely have little practical effect.

On Monday, Finance Committee chair Henry S. Atkins ’20 recommended the Council strip HCFA of its ability to receive UC funding.

“We think that it’s appropriate that, as a result of apparent discrimination that seems to have occured within the organization, that we as a Council take a stand on this,” Atkins said.

Since the 2015-2016 school year, HCFA has received more than $1,000 in Finance Committee grants, according to the committee’s records.

Though it may have little effect given the amount of Council funding HCFA has historically accepted, Sarah Fellman ’18, a Quincy House representative, said she thinks the Council’s vote is nonetheless important.

“I think this is, as it’s called, about solidarity,” Fellman said. “I think this is an important symbolic move to show that we, as the elected representatives of the student body, will not tolerate discrimination.”

The Council in late February passed a resolution denouncing the actions of HCFA and affirming its support for BGLTQ Harvard affiliates.

An antler chandelier hangs in the Barker Center Monday afternoon. The English Department, which holds many classes in the Barker Center, received a record number of applications to its creative writing prgram this year. MICHAEL GRITZBACH—CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

is also the “easiest to excite new students about in many ways,” Watson said. Watson added that the workshops help make up the department’s “outward facing” side; students in the workshops are both English concentrators and non-English concentrators.

Claire Messud, a senior lecturer in English who teaches several fiction writing workshops, said her courses are a “mix” of students “from all over the university” including science concentrators and graduate students.

Messud said that some of her students have extensive creative writing backgrounds, while others are just “picking it up for the first time.”

“Everybody comes for a different reason,” Messud said. “But, one of the great things about the creative writing classes is that everyone’s there because they want to be.”

Frey wrote that while the Creative

Bacow Steps Down From Corporate Boards

By KRISTINE E. GUILLAUME CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

University President-elect Lawrence S. Bacow will step down from the board of directors of Henry Schein Inc., the Long Island, N.Y.-based health care supplies distributor disclosed Monday.

Bacow, who will succeed University President Drew G. Faust in July, cited “time commitment” to his new role as the reason for his decision not to run for re-election for Henry Schein’s board in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission document published Thursday.

“I am resigning from all of my boards to focus my time on my Harvard responsibilities,” Bacow wrote in an emailed statement Monday.

“Dr. Bacow will continue to serve as a director and as a member of the Strategic Advisory Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee until the completion of the Annual Meeting,” the document reads. “Dr. Bacow’s decision not to stand for re­

Writing program “draws incredible student writers” from within the English Department, the program is intentionally not restricted to concentrators.

“The workshops are very deliberately open to anyone in the Harvard community because there are talented student-writers in all parts of the college and university that we hope to serve, and a mix of interests and backgrounds among students seems to make for the most productive and exciting workshops,” Frey wrote.

Ryan Y. Lee ’20, a Computer Science concentrator, is currently enrolled in a creative fiction writing workshop. Lee said he applied to the course not only because of personal interest, but also because the class would satisfy his general education requirements.

“I just wanted something a little different from the normal STEM classes I take,” Lee said. “It looked like a pretty

fun, interesting class. I’ve loved it.”

Jakob L. Gilbert ’21 and Emily N. Orr ’21 both said they “love” the dramatic screenwriting course they are taking this semester.

“It’s really interesting to be in a room with so many different perspectives,” said Orr, who is an aspiring screenwriter.

In response to high demand, faculty members teaching workshops say they envision expanding course offerings rather than increasing class sizes.

Joshua D. Bell, a senior lecturer in English who teaches several poetry workshops, said he does not favor increasing the number of students who would be in each creative writing seminar.

“To expand the size of the class is to decrease the power of it, so I think it would be less in demand if we let more people in,” Bell said. “It’s kind of nice to have that small unit so I can kind of get into the individual poems.”

President-Elect Bacow Inauguration Set for October

election was not in connection with a disagreement on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.”

Henry Schein Inc. is the world’s largest provider of health care supplies and services in the medical, dental, and veterinary industries, servicing more than 800,000 customers, according to the company’s website. The Fortune 500 company is part of the NASDAQ 100. Bacow joined Henry Schein’s Board of Directors in Dec. 2014.

Henry Schein’s board approved former Staples CEO Shira D. Goodman as Bacow’s replacement on Friday.

Bacow also served on the board of Loews Corporation, which he left in February, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission document.

The moves represent a break from his predecessor; Faust served on the board of Staples during her presidency. Faust, who joined the board in 2012, was the first sitting Harvard president to serve on a corporate board.

hand to welcome Bacow into his new role. Bacow will also deliver his own address, which is likely to outline his plans for his tenure.

At Faust’s inauguration, University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann ’71 spoke, along with then-Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick ’78 and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, among others. The celebration involved thousands of attendees and representatives from more than 220 academic institutions.

University spokesperson Melodie L. Jackson wrote in an email that Harvard’s last eight presidential inaugurations have taken place in October, a tradition dating back to the 1869 inauguration of the University’s 21st president, Charles W. Eliot, class of 1853.

This timing allows for all students and faculty members to be on campus for the event, which will take place in Tercentenary Theatre.

The festivities, which will take place in the afternoon, are open to all Harvard affiliates.

By JAMIE D. HALPER CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Lawrence S. Bacow, Harvard’s 29th president, will be inaugurated into his new role in a ceremony filled with centuries-old traditions on Oct 5.

Bacow, who was announced as University president-elect in February, will officially assume his presidential duties on July 1. He is currently a member of the Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, and was formerly the president of Tufts University.

The ceremony, which lasted twoand-a-half hours in 2007 for University President Drew G. Faust’s inauguration, features the new president receiving the University’s keys, seals, and charter, and sitting—for the first time publicly—in the infamous Holyoke chair.

The specific details of the ceremony are still being planned, but if prior iterations are any indication there will be a host of academic and public figures on ­

Protesters Gather in Yard Denouncing Brazilian Activist’s Assassination

By SONIA KIM and MEENA VENKATARAMANAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

More than one hundred Harvard affiliates and Boston residents gathered in Harvard Yard Monday to protest the assassination of Marielle Franco, a human rights activist and city councilor in Rio de Janeiro.

Last Wednesday, Franco was shot by assailants, who followed the 38-year-old councilor as she returned home from a meeting about empowering black women, according to the New York Times. Franco’s driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes, was also killed. Carolina A.C. San Miguel, a doctoral candidate at the Graduate School of Design, ­

helped organize the protest opposing Franco’s assassination. The protest followed several marches across Brazil that occurred in the wake of Wednesday’s attack.

“We have a group of Brazilian researchers here in Boston, and we started talking online just this weekend. We built a Whatsapp group, wrote a letter together, and decided to organize a gathering,” San Miguel said.

Students from several Harvard graduate schools, as well as MIT, helped organize the event, according to San Miguel. Joao M. Abreu, a master’s degree student at the Kennedy School, also helped lead the protest.

“This was a very spontaneous process. We realized that all the Brazil-

ians living here were very shocked and wanted to do something,” Abreu said.

“We were expecting 10 people at the protest,” San Miguel said. “But on Facebook, it seemed like there was a whole bunch of people—like 500 people—interested. For us, it’s not about size. It’s just about people talking and gathering together from all over. This is the city with the biggest community of Brazilians outside of Brazil.”

San Miguel, Abreu, and other organizers read portions of a letter addressed to Franco they wrote in English and Portuguese. Throughout the reading, protesters collectively chanted “Marielle is here, Anderson is here” in both languages.

“We demand the end of the collec-

tive search warrants, the end of military justice jurisdiction over civilians, and for the extinction of the military police for ordinary public safety,” Abreu read from the letter.

Afterwards, protesters gave speeches expressing their grief and visions for justice. Carlos A. F. Da Silva, a Brazilian-American school committee member in Hingham, Mass., spoke.

“I never thought I would be here, seeking justice for Brazilians overseas,” DaSilva said. “Over forty elected representatives have been killed over the last two years in Brazil. This is a shame. We must bring this to light.”

Several protesters held signs and wore Brazilian flags, including Anna Borges, a former Portuguese teach-

ing assistant in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, who made a sign that translates: “Wake up Brazil! Let us fight for peace, justice, and democracy.”

A few weeks before her death, Franco criticized the police brutality that she said has caused increasing violence and hatred in Rio de Janeiro, according to the New York Times. She argued that a trigger-happy police culture and entrenched inequality are at the root of decades of violence afflicting hundreds of people.

“Marielle, we have united to call for an immediate, rigorous, and transparent investigation into your death.

Above all, Marielle, we have united to continue your fight,” Abreu said.

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EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

Better Than a Bridge In light of the sanctions, the University should devote resources to women’s issues

T

he College recently decided to cancel the proposed “bridge” program for all-female unrecognized single-gender social organizations that would have allowed them to transition into compliance with the new sanctions policy over the course of a few years.

Specifically, were the groups to become gender-neutral, the policy would have permitted them to maintain a “gender focus” for three to five years while not violating College policy. In light of the cancellation, administrators are promising that they will instead dedicate people and resources to specifically help all-female groups become gender-neutral.

This decision to not proceed with the program runs counter to both to the conclusions of a committee that was tasked with reviewing the policies in 2017 and Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana’s acceptance of those conclusions. However, we firmly believe that the bridge program is not the best way Harvard could allocate its resources to vital women’s issues.

In the past, unrecognized groups focused on women’s empowerment—like the Sab Club (formerly known as the Sablière Society)—have become fully

gender-neutral successfully in the past with no major troubles transitioning into their new membership or programming.

Indeed, when it underwent this transition, members of the Sab Club stated that it kept and strengthened its mission of female empowerment by allowing non-women into an originally female space.

Thus, we believe a bridge program would have been unnecessary and have simply delayed the inevitability of gender neutrality for these organizations. Indeed, successful integration into gender neutrality does not require a program that leaves all-female organizations with one foot in and one foot out of the sanctions—such an initiative could sow confusion instead of a commitment to the goals of inclusivity and diversity. On the contrary, in order to truly excise exclusivity from the female unrecognized social organizations, the support and attention of the University on women’s issues will be required more than anything else.

Though the University’s language is vague and non-specific, we support its decision to aid unrecognized all-female organizations, especially during this important transition. We believe the most

important thing the University can do in doing so is address the specific challenges women and female-identifying students experience and aid the organizations that are dedicated to the alleviation of those challenges. Additionally, if the University specifically has the funds to support women’s initiatives, they should do so by supporting organizations on campus that address women’s issues directly, including the Harvard College Women’s Center.

There are many ways the University can support women on this campus; the bridge program simply was not one of the most effective ways it could have done so.

While aiding all-female social organizations in the transition to gender neutrality is important, the University should not pass the buck on responsibility for allowing women to thrive here.

Managing Editor Hannah Natanson ’19 Business Manager Nathan Y. Lee ’19

THE FEMINIST CLOSET

“W

FM Chairs Marella A. Gayla ’19 Leah S. Yared ’19

Associate Business Managers Dahlia S. Huh ’19 Max W. Sosland ’19

Design Chairs Morgan J. Spaulding ’19 Simon S. Sun ’19

Multimedia Chairs Amy Y. Li ’20 Ellis J. Yeo ’20

Editorial Chairs Emmanuel R. R. D’Agostino ’19 Cristian D. Pleters ’19

Digital Strategists Caroline S. Engelmayer ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Dianne Lee ’20

Sports Chairs Cade S. Palmer ’20 Jack R. Stockless ’19 Technology Chairs Nenya A. Edjah ’20 Theodore T. Liu ’20

Becina M. Ganther ’20, a Crimson Editorial Editor, is a History and Science concentrator in Leverett House. Her column appears on alternate Tuesdays.

basketball history,” and Amaker is the winningest coach in Harvard men’s basketball history. Both coaches are incredible and have accomplished major milestones in their careers, but we need to be more careful with how we recognize those accomplishments. By saying “basketball” for men and “women’s basketball” for women, we implicitly acknowledge the men’s game as legitimate and the women’s game as an inferior derivative. Men and women are simply not portrayed equally. While some argue that there are greater problems to conquer when it comes to gender inequality, I believe that gender inequality in athletics publicly displays our society’s willingness to accept different treatment for men and women and is thus important to address.

Participating in athletics as both a young girl and young adult has been one of the most impactful and

Participating in athletics as both a young girl and young adult has been one of the most impactful and beneficial activities of my life. beneficial activities of my life. As a young girl who towered over all of my friends (both girls and boys), I often felt awkward and out of place. The basketball court made me not only feel normal but also accepted and valued. It connected me to other people my age, which built long-lasting social capital I did not appreciate until later in life. As I got older and sports became more serious, the court was where I developed the major intangible skills that I possess today, such as

The Harvard Crimson President Derek G. Xiao ’19

Becina J. GANTHER

Blog Chairs Lydia L. Cawley ’20 Stuti Telidevara ’20

Ladies First

L

How sexual education erases BGLTQ students

Associate Managing Editors Mia C. Karr ’19 Claire E. Parker ’19

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.

‘19 (wonik.son@thecrimson.com).

ast Friday, the 16th-seeded University of Maryland, Baltimore County beat the top-seeded University of Virginia in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. As a huge fan of underdogs, I was excited to see a 16-seed pull off such a big upset. My excitement quickly faded as I saw headlines referring to UMBC as the “first No. 16 seed [to] beat No. 1 seed” pop up on my TV, in the newspapers the next day, and all over my friends’ social media accounts. What I saw plastered all over the news was either a lie, or more likely, a complete disregard for women’s sports and female accomplishment. I, unlike many others, knew that 20 years earlier, Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith’s 16-seeded Harvard women’s basketball team defeated top-seeded Stanford. This was actually the first time a No. 16 seed ever beat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA basketball tournament, but because it was a women’s game, it has been forgotten and disregarded.

As a female athlete, I have always understood the massive inequality that exists between genders in sports.

In high school, the stands at my basketball games were empty in comparison to those at the boys’ games.

When I got to the collegiate level, nothing changed. I vividly remember being part of the Harvard women’s basketball team that matched the longest win-streak in the history of the program. Even at a place like Harvard, where gender equity is fought for, the team’s accomplishment went largely unrecognized.

I also remember men’s coach Tommy Amaker being recognized for hitting 179 wins, and being announced as the “winningest coach in Harvard [basketball] history.” In reality, Delaney-Smith, with 567 wins, is the “winningest coach in Harvard

Let’s Talk About (Straight) Sex

hat do people even do during sex? Could they read a book to make the time go by?”

One of my classmates asked this during our sexual education unit in eighth grade. Our health teacher replied that most couples might kiss or talk. By that point in my life, I’d seen enough rom-coms (read: averted my eyes through enough PG-13 almost-sex scenes) to understand that sex could be fun for certain people. But, looking back, I can see how my classmate missed that and interpreted it as a boring activity solely for reproduction. Not once in our entire unit were we told that sex could be pleasurable or why anyone would want to have sex outside of baby-making.

The key takeaway from my middle school sexual education experience was that sex occurs when a man inserts his penis into a woman’s vagina, and that it can lead to babies. Even though this is a true statement in certain contexts, it doesn’t encompass the full diversity of genders, sexualities, bodies, and experiences. We do students a great disservice if we end the discussion there.

The incomplete Only 24 states and biased information I received mandate sexual in sexual educaeducation, and of tion is ref lective of a national trend. those 24, only 13 Only 24 states mandate that sex or ma ndate sexua l education, and of HIV education be those 24, only 13 medically accurate. mandate that sex or HIV education be medically accurate. While 37 states require that abstinence be covered, only 20 states require education on condoms or contraception. These unsettling statistics reveal huge gaps in sexual education in many part of the United States. This harms all students, but can be especially damaging to BGLTQ students who don’t have as easy access to information about non-cisgender or non-heterosexual sex.

Even in states that do teach sexual education, curriculums centered around heterosexuality are the norm. Only 12 states require discussion of sexual orientation during sexual education. Of these 12, nine require that discussion of sexual orientation be inclusive, but three actually require that “only negative information on sexual orientation” be presented. The use of the term “sexual orientation” here is telling because all states that teach sexual education do in fact teach certain sexual orientations—heterosexuality, that is— as the default. Anything outside of heterosexuality is treated as an optional add-on rather than an integral part of the curriculum.

The stigma surrounding BGLTQ identities can also make it difficult to find accurate information that’s pertinent to BGLTQ individuals who do want to have sex. Many of the resources that cisgender heterosexual students have access to are unavailable to BGLTQ students, who are often burdened with a lack of representation in media, fear around talking about queer and trans identities with peers or parents, and a scarcity of online resources. Some BGLTQ students might not even be aware that the information relevant to them is missing. I, for one, had no idea that sex was possible between people of the same gender until high school—it just never came up before then.

Part of the problem is that the information presented in sexual education curriculums typically presents only one version of gender and sexuality as the norm.

This is harmful to the BGLTQ students learning the “right” way to have sex and realizing that might not apply to them. For example, sexual education curriculums that assume that everyone needs to suppress their sexual desires until sex is “acceptable” erase individuals on the asexual spectrum who might not experience sexual desire.

Part of the problem is Moreover, the narrative that sex that the information must occur bepresented in sexual tween two people in a committed, education curriculums closed relationship typically presents only also reinforces moand erases one version of gender and nogamy polyamorous peosexuality as the norm. ple. Some classrooms teach that bodies are inherently gendered on a binary, and that there’s no difference between gender and sex: Women have vaginas and men have penises. This erases trans, non-binary, and intersex individuals who may not fit this strict binary.

HIV as well disproportionately affects members of the BGLTQ community, but only 34 states mandate HIV education in sexual education, not all of which require medical accuracy. It’s imperative that students learn factual, unbiased information about HIV and AIDS in school.

Some may argue that BGLTQ-inclusive sexual education promotes an “unnatural lifestyle” or that teens are too young to know what it means to be queer or trans. But the goal of sexual education should be to provide factual information so everyone can make informed decisions about their bodies and lives. If sexual education isn’t BGLTQ-inclusive, it has failed and harmed a part of the population that it’s supposed to be empowering.

I’ve been wondering how I would respond if an eighth grader asked me what people do during sex.

What are things I wish I’d known years ago? I think I’d start with this: “Sex can happen between any number of people with any combination of genders and sexualities. There are many ways to have sex, and it should be consensual and enjoyable for all parties involved. If that includes reading, well, that’s perfectly fine.”

BE A CRIMSON CARTOONIST Submit a sample cartoon or any questions to Associate Editorial Editor Wonik Son

By HAYLEY R. ISENBERG

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MARCH 20, 2018 | PAGE 10

teamwork, leadership, and perseverance.

As a female, athletics have been a crucial part of my personal development, and I believe athletics play that same role for almost everyone who partakes in them. If we ignore the accomplishments of female athletics or act as if they are completely separate and lesser than those in male athletics, what kind of message are we sending to young female athletes? Are we telling them that even though they may practice just as hard as a male, their accomplishment will never been recognized in the same fashion? Is our immensely biased coverage of sports subconsciously discouraging girls from participating in a potentially life-changing experience? If it is, we are keeping young women from much more than a good workout.

While this issue will not be changed overnight, it is important for us to do what we can right now to make progress. Next time you overhear someone talking about how amazing UMBC’s upset over was, remind him or her that Harvard women’s basketball did it first (I would like to credit UMBC for doing this).

Next time you attend a men’s basketball game on a Friday night and the women are playing too, go 45 minutes earlier and support both teams.

And before you start posting about an NCAA record or feat being the first of its kind, maybe check your facts beforehand, because a woman or a women’s team might have been the first to accomplish it. I do not mean to take anything away from the great accomplishments of UMBC or Amaker, but it is extremely important to recognize the accomplishments of men and women equally.

Hayler R. Isenberg ’19 is a Government concentrator in Kirkland House.

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

Arts Chairs Mila Gauvini II ’19 Grace Z. Li ’19

SPORTS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MARCH 20, 2018 | PAGE 11

Harvard Readies For Ivy Play On Carolina Road Trip BASEBALL

By BRYAN HU CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Harvard baseball team’s busy Spring Break concluded with a flurry of games in the Carolinas, as the Crimson visited Davidson and South Carolina for one game each before traveling to Furman for four more.

The six games, played between last Wednesday and Saturday, come right after Harvard’s four-game sweep of Presbyterian the weekend prior. The matchups represented a final tune-up before conference play and perhaps a chance to climb over .500 for the Crimson squad.

Harvard, however, floundered early on, getting off to slow starts in being outscored 41-9 over the span of the first three games. The Crimson couldn’t catch any breaks in being routed 13-3

by Davidson and 12-3 by South Carolina before dropping the first game to Furman, 16-3.

Harvard stopped the streak of blowout losses with a solid 6-2 win over Furman on Friday, but still dropped the tail-end pair of games, 7-6 and 8-6.

Despite comebacks wins abounding earlier in the season, early deficits all weekend proved to be killer for the Crimson (7-11). In four of the five games it lost, Harvard left the first inning trailing by at least a run. In the only game it won, the squad left the first inning ahead by a run.

“We definitely want to get off to a better start,” junior center fielder Ben Skinner said. “It’s obviously fun when you come back late in the game and we’ve shown fight this season, but it’s a tough position to be in—we don’t want to have to fight back every single game.”

Through March 18, Davidson was ranked 227th on the RPI Div I baseball rankings, while South Carolina was ranked 127th and Furman was ranked 148th. The Crimson clocked in at 202nd.

“With that being said, we’re not particularly disappointed with the results this weekend,” Skinner said. “Obviously we wanted wins that we didn’t get, but we thought we played well overall, and headed into Ivies, I think we’re feeling pretty confident.”

The team resumes play next weekend at Princeton to kick off Ivy League play.

FURMAN 8, HARVARD 6 Skinner led the way for Harvard offensively, going 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base, but Furman’s 15 hits were too much to overcome in the series-capper on Saturday afternoon. For the Paladins (13-7), freshman Ben Anderson shredded the Crimson pitching, gathering four hits in five at-bats, scoring twice, and knocking in three. Anderson is now hitting .413 on the season and has a 1.128 OPS. For Harvard, junior first baseman Patrick McColl reached base four times in the three-hole, gathering steam after a slow start to the season.

Junior catcher Jake Allen, the team’s batting-average leader, went 2-for-5 but struck out twice.

The team’s offensive efforts, howev-

SIMON SAYS Junior Simon Rosenblum-Larson led Harvard in its lone victory of its road trip with a three-hit complete game against Furman. EUNICE M. MICHIEKA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

er, ultimately fell short as the Crimson couldn’t recover from playing catchup all game. The squad faced deficits of 4-2 and 6-3 before falling by a final scoreline of 8-6.

“Going forward, we just have to carry the same attitude that we’ve carried into the past couple of weekends, in that, we are a good team, and we belong where we are, playing against good competition,” Allen said. “We’re certainly capable of winning what most people would consider talented baseball programs.”

FURMAN 7, HARVARD 6 Skinner, junior catcher Devan Peterson, and freshman Buddy Mrowka all went yard, but an early 6-0 deficit proved too deep a hole for Harvard to climb out of, even with a furious rally.

In a game scheduled for seven innings due to the Friday doubleheader, Mrowka’s three-run bomb in the sixth inning brought the scoreline to 6-3. Reignited after being shut out all game, the Crimson made a serious comeback bid with three more scores in the final inning, but a single tally in the bottom of the sixth by the Paladins proved fatal in a 7-6 decision.

For the home team, Anderson once again had a good day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while junior Bret Huebner went 3-for-3 with the winning RBI single.

Junior righty Kevin Stone pitched

yet another complete game but gave up seven earned runs in six innings of work.

HARVARD 6, FURMAN 2 After losing in a third straight rout the day before, Harvard stepped it up on Friday afternoon and took an early lead it never relinquished. For the only time all weekend, the Crimson took the lead out of the first inning, a 1-0 advantage on a McColl RBI, and only built on it from there.

Junior righty Simon Rosenblum-Larson was the hero of the game, safeguarding Harvard’s lead by tossing a complete-game, three-hit effort whilst striking out 11.

The Madison, Wis., native threw 109 pitches, 77 for strikes, walked one, and gave up just one earned run, a last-inning solo home run that didn’t change the course of the game. Part of Rosenblum-Larson’s success came in limiting Anderson, the Paladin’s rookie sensation, to an 0-for-3 game at the plate.

Meanwhile, junior second baseman Matt Rothenberg powered the Crimson offense with two home runs, a solo shot in the second and a two-run blast in the fourth. Senior Austin Black also hit an insurance two-run dinger to up the lead to 6-1 in the sixth.

FURMAN 16, HARVARD 3 The series opener on Thursday af-

ternoon was all Paladins, as the home team walked all over the visiting Crimson squad, 16-3.

After finding itself in a 4-0 deficit early on, Harvard brought it back to a competitive game, 4-3, on a McColl three-run blast. Furman, however, proceeded to put the game well out of reach with a five-spot in the seventh and a seven-spot in the eighth.

The Crimson bullpen simply collapsed as the Paladins piled on 17 hits over the course of the game, most of which came in the merry-go-round seventh and eighth innings.

In a bright spot for the team, Harvard drew 10 walks on the game, displaying its patience at the plate.

SOUTH CAROLINA 12, HARVARD 3 On Wednesday in Columbia, S.C., the Crimson was unable to keep pace with South Carolina (13-7), a strong SEC team that defeated No. 2 Florida just last Saturday.

The Gamecocks scored twice in the opening frame to take a 2-1 lead and never looked back, getting RBIs from six different players en route to a 12-3 victory. Harvard sophomore Hunter Bigge got the loss on the mound after pitching 4.2 innings, giving up seven runs, four of them unearned. The righty also issued six walks.

Skinner went 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot and drew two free passes, while

Black went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs. Black’s fourth-inning homer and RBI double in the fifth were most of what the Crimson could muster after a promising first frame led to just one run.

South Carolina outhit Harvard 14-6 and committed one error to the Harvard’s two.

DAVIDSON 13, HARVARD 3 The feel-good vibes from the Crimson’s four-game win streak didn’t last long, as Davidson (14-5) put a hurting on the visiting Harvard squad early and often on Tuesday.

The Wildcats put up nine runs before the Crimson even scratched the scoreboard in the sixth inning. Trailing 9-0, Harvard scored a few more times on four hits, but the runs didn’t matter, as the visitors eventually fell 13-3.

Davidson took a 3-0 lead four batters into the game, and the Crimson never recovered as the game quickly became a blowout. The game foretold the troubles that Harvard would have in falling behind early all week long.

A platoon of four Crimson pitchers each worked an inning in relief of sophomore starter Kieran Shaw, who was tagged for seven runs, eight hits, and two homers in the loss.

Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bryan.hu@thecrimson.com

Crimson Season Ends With Ivy Championship Defeat

POSTSEASON AT THE PALESTRA In what was a fitting chapter to the end of the Ivy league season, Harvard fell to Penn last Sunday. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER MEN’S BASKETBALL

By TROY BOCCELLI CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Most would struggle to describe the ending of the Ivy League season at the Palestra.

A good story might describe the 24 unanswered points from Penn between the first and second halves. A better one would throw in the 16 un­

answered points from Harvard early on in the first frame and the 11 unanswered in a span of 1:44 to retake the lead late in the second. A great one might add the 19 first half points from senior guard Darnell Foreman and his buzzer-beating three from well beyond the arc to end the first half and give the Quakers a lead after going down by as many as 13 in the same frame.

Still, it would probably come short.

It would be missing the fact that Har-

vard’s late run and lead came after sophomore forward Seth Towns— fresh off Ivy League Player of the Year honors—went down with an injury. It would forget the pair of free throws and back-to-back threes from sophomore guard Caleb Wood that willed Penn to the late win. Absent would be the three from sophomore Christian Juzang just a minute after missing one badly to put the game within a possession with only 47 seconds to go. It might leave out the fact that with five minutes to go and everything on the line, the Crimson’s lineup included two freshmen who hadn’t seen the floor extensively and a guard that was pushed into the starting lineup after sophomore guard Bryce Aiken—the previous season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year—went down with a knee injury earlier in the season.

And that was just what happened on the court.

At some point the reader might be led to believe that there was no unimportant moment in the span of two hours at the Palestra. Perhaps they’d be right.

In the postgame press conference Penn coach Steve Donahue struggled to put words to it but settled on two—“Magical. Unexpected.”

And there could be more.

Some might call it an instant classic.

Others might describe it as fit only for March. Some perhaps would say unfair and others would say it was a Sunday game at the Palestra at its finest. A good journalist would tell you the storylines abounded, and even the inattentive fan would find it hard to forget.

In a weekend when it would be dif-

ficult to steer clear of college basketball, the Ivy League conference championship was perhaps nothing more than a small rumbling in a building defined more by its past than anything else. Even so, for those of us fortunate enough to spend the better part of four months watching the season from the sidelines, it was clear that this was another fitting episode in a building rightfully called the Cathedral of College Basketball.

Perhaps that would be the word— fitting.

The conference championship was many things and it wasn’t others. An objective onlooker might say the No. 2 seed in a conference tournament shouldn’t have home court advantage, but others—Harvard coach Tommy Amaker included—would tell you there’s no better venue in the nation.

“Is it somehow unfair a little bit in some ways to other teams in our league?” asked Amaker in the postgame press conference. “Maybe it is, but what an opportunity we have at that. To play in this conference tournament in the championship against a tremendous Penn team here at the Palestra. What an opportunity, what a win that could be.”

And that’s exactly what it was for both teams—an opportunity. It was a chance for Harvard and Penn to enshrine themselves in a building that has hosted more games, visiting teams, and NCAA tournaments than any other in the nation.

It would certainly be surprising to see the tournament continue on at the Palestra and as such it was a fitting end to the tournament’s two year stint

there.

It was a season-long battle for a chance at the Big Dance between two teams that shared the regular season conference title and, in some ways, it was an abbreviated return to glory for both coaches—Donahue inherited a Penn squad that had underperformed for the better part of a decade after a tough stint at Boston College, while Amaker hadn’t seen a regular season conference title for two seasons after winning five in a row and making a statement wins at the NCAA tournament twice.

It was the dawn of a new era in the conference; after decades of the regular season conference champion earning the automatic bid, it was a fitting finish for two teams.

“This never happened,” Donahue said. “We won some league titles on the bus ride home—someone called us one the bus and told us we were league champions by the way.”

At the end of the day the truth of the matter is that the conference, much like the Palestra itself, is probably a bit past its glory days—a 16-seed for Penn in the tournament shows that more clearly than anything.

Sunday afternoon, however, with the sunshine coming down through the rafters, the two teams separated by a basket with only seconds left on the clock, and the crowd on its feet, Harvard and Penn certainly made a bid for enshrinement in the Palestra’s illustrious past.

What a game.

Staff writer Troy Boccelli can be reached at troy.boccelli@thecrimson.com

PAGE 12 | MARCH 20, 2018 | THE HARVARD CRIMSON