20 minute read
Editorial
NOTE
A Note to Readers
On Tuesday morning, University officials announced that classes would move online and that undergraduates would be required to vacate their dorms by Sunday at 5 p.m. to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
We write to tell you what this means for The Crimson.
As an organization staffed entirely by undergraduates — one that prints a daily paper in our press room on 14 Plympton Street — Harvard’s decision prevents us from carrying out daily operations as usual. By AIDAN F. RYAN and SHERA S. AVI-YONAH Today’s paper, the 36th produced by the 147th Guard of The Crimson, will likely be our last print edition this semester. Starting today, we will transition to an online-only operation and will continue to cover how these events impact Harvard and its students, faculty, and staff.
Despite the considerable difficulties this will present, we believe it is important to continue our work, if in a different capacity.
It has become more, not less, vital to pursue our mission of covering and informing Harvard affiliates as they fan across the globe.
As the only breakfast-table daily serving Harvard and the city of Cambridge, we have a duty to continue holding those in power accountable and to report the news, just as we have done for the past 147 years.
During this transition, we ask again for your support, feedback, and trust. The Crimson’s first issue, printed on January 24, 1873, said “I will not philosophize; I will be read.” With your help, we intend to keep both of those promises.
Sincerely,
Aidan F. Ryan ’21 President of the 147th Guard
Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21 Managing Editor of the 147th Guard
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The Crimson @thecrimson
THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD
Notes from Day Three: Classmates Out of Place
Coronavirus has tremendous global implications. But as a slate gray sky moved over campus this morning, a pre-apocalyptic frenzy waxed introspective. As many continue to sort out the details of their departures, intimate and existential questions replace outright panic.
How do we make sense of an experience which will fundamentally alter the fabric of our lives and the institution of which we are a part?
What happens when everything you believe makes school meaningful gets packed away? What happens when the micro-moments — the unnecessary but essential intimacies — evaporate into the cloud? How do you deal with the indefinites — the postponements and cancelations, the maybe-soons and whoknows-whens, the let’s-grab-a-meals and how-’bout-this-weekends? What is college without the all-for-naughts of coffee-coma typing storms, the hallway nods to halfway friends — the touched and touching moments of life here together?
At a time when statistics and headlines seem to mediate our collective experience, and after we have taken the opportunity to highlight the obligations of our University and the vulnerability of so many, we think it’s worth pausing to stitch together the stories, emotions, and questions that have characterized these past few days — these days where life has stood still, the surreal intersection of history and college life suddenly undone. Harvard’s Kuumba singers have spent months preparing for the organization’s now postponed 50th-anniversary celebrations. The men’s basketball team was denied a chance to enter the postseason on a hot streak. And even commencement itself seems in doubt. It’s not as if anyone has given up, but so much will just be left suspended, half-done — a petri dish of forced neglect.
We are forced to reckon with what it means to pursue a process without an outcome — whether we value the expe
rience of creating, of working hard, of working together, as much as the end result of a grade, a performance, or a graduation ceremony. Harvard is not truly Harvard when completed online.
This sudden displacement forces us to confront who we have become in our time at Harvard and what it means for us to be that person elsewhere — at home for some, in more unfamiliar places for others. What privileges are we reminded of? And how do we return here again with generosity and selflessness?
Despite the palpable presence of nihilism in the air — after all, what is Harvard without those with whom we live it — these past few days have also been marked by a tremendous showing of kindness, support, and love. When the University initially failed to provide our community’s most vulnerable members — those experiencing homelessness, from low-income backgrounds, and from outside of the United States — the support they needed, their peers began opening their homes, sending out “Emergency Housing Spreadsheets” through email lists and crowdfunding.
Students paused to check in with one another. Student organizations are reaching out to their members, offering support and love in a time of shared distress. Some professors have offered them a place to store their belongings. Where the work of our everyday lives has been abandoned, a mythic human-ness — a transcendent camaraderie — has taken its place. We hope this spirit hangs on through the six long months ahead.
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.
OP-ED
What Harvard Students Won’t Tell You About Computer Science
Iwalked into Harvard Yard’s gates in the fall of 2016 as an eager, a-bit-too-annoying freshman completely set on studying Computer Science. When I attended the first lecture of Harvard’s world-famous Computer Science 50: “Introduction to Computer Science,” I sat in the front row and even volunteered to answer a question. It was a simple prompt about binary notation, and I totally rocked it.
As the semester went on, I slowly began to develop less of a clue regarding what I was doing. Loading and reading files? Never heard of it. C++? What on earth is that? Why is compiling so...hard? I struggled a lot in CS50, pulling all-nighters in Lamont Library only to end up with more lines of gibberish code than I had started with. The final project, though, gave me hope. I figured if I harnessed my creativity and focused on learning concepts I was excited about, I could make something really cool.
So I downloaded XCode, taught myself Objective-C, and watched YouTube tutorials on how to create an iOS app. Fifty hours later, “I’d Rap That”, a photo caption generator based on a library of over six hundred rap lyrics, was done and working smoothly.
When I checked my final grades, I was horrified at the result of my CS50 efforts: a C. Here I was, expecting to become a software engineer, with a C in the first college coding class I’d ever taken.
So, I said goodbye to the Computer Science department and waved hello to the world of Economics. I fit in better in economics classes, anyway. I used to be really into polo shirts.
Regardless of my major switch, I actually thought “I’d Rap That” was a good project. I sent an email to my professor, sticking up for myself and for my work. After much back-and-forth, my grade was changed. My GPA went up by 0.2.
Later, when I launched “I’d Rap That” onto the iOS App Store, it received two thousand downloads within the first month. It also, for some reason, became quite popular in China. It was a good project, and I wondered why my professor hadn’t seen that.
The summer after my freshman year, randomly and with no prompt, I suddenly knew I had to go back to Computer Science.
I had allowed CS50 to scare me away. The tech-bro culture it perpetuated, with its t-shirts and swag and hackathon, had made me feel like computer science was not a place in which I could thrive. Besides, at the end of it, my initial efforts had been given a C.
I had wrongly concluded that an arbitrary letter grade, given to me by a professor who simply did not understand the worth of the product I’d created, was a determinant of my intelligence in a field.
I decided that I was not going to let tech bros affect my future and the choices I made. I actually liked Computer Science, and I was just going to have to deal with not fitting in.
Sophomore fall, I walked into Computer Science 61: “Systems Programming and Machine Organization” wearing a summer dress and carrying a tote bag.
By contrast, the classroom was packed with over one hundred boys in hoodies and sneakers, who seemingly already knew everything there was to know about systems programming and machine organization.
That semester, I was never able to find someone who wanted to partner up with me. The teaching assistants saw me come to office hours by myself, knew I was struggling grades-wise, and yet none reached out and told me: “You got this, stick with it.”
Partner-less, I finished the semester with another GPA-lowering grade. I stuck with Computer Science, anyways. The rest of my time at Harvard played out similarly, although things did get better.
My junior spring, I worked as a course assistant for Computer Science 20: “Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science,” a title I hold again this semester simultaneously with an Applied Mathematics course. It’s important to me to reach out to the girls I see come to office hours alone, and tell them: “You can do this, stick with it.”
I’ve worked for several startups, completed a summer internship at a big-tech company, am conducting my own CS research, and will be joining a top consulting firm after graduating in May. The hard work I put into obtaining these opportunities outshone any ways in which I’d struggled — any ways in which I did not fit in as an engineer.
I notice that people at Harvard don’t often talk about finding coursework difficult since, at a hyper-competitive school, people become wary of showing any weakness.
Well, here I am, talking about it. I’ve struggled, cried, and nearly failed in Computer Science, and my life has still moved forward.
My hardships, in retrospect, have taught me more than my successes, and are likely the reason why, three years after receiving that soul-crushing C, I am doing just fine. By MADELEINE L. LAPUERTA
Royall Crest Spotted on Campus
By KELSEY J. GRIFFIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
HLS Students Protest Move-Out
Four years after the Harvard Corporation approved a request by a Harvard Law School committee to remove the school’s official seal because of its ties to slavery, the seal remained quietly on the front doors of a University building as recently as this week.
The seal — adopted by the Law School in 1937 — features the crest of the slaveowning Royall family, whose donation funded Harvard’s first professorship of law in the 18th century. It depicts three sheaves of wheat over a blue background. In 2015, a student movement called “Royall Must Fall” campaigned for the removal of the seal, arguing its origin endorses a slaveholding legacy. Following an incident of racially-charged vandalism that fall, then-Law School Dean Martha L. Minow created a committee to decide whether to retire the crest.
The committee released its recommendation in March 2016, calling for a change in the seal.
It recognized the seal’s history offended many students of color, according to the committee’s report.
Later that month, the Corporation — Harvard’s highest governing body — approved the request for the seal’s removal.
The Law School quickly worked to remove the physical seal from around campus. Former Law School Dean for Administration Francis X. McCrossan informed students in a March 2016 email that the Facilities Office would remove or cover up the seal on all buildings.
REMOTE FROM PAGE 1
Staff to Begin Remote Working
guidelines around social distancing in order to deter the possible spread of disease,” Muto wrote.
Harvard Graduate School of Design staff will attend meetings via Zoom “to the fullest extent possible” by Monday, per an update on the Design School’s website.
Likewise, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf and Executive Dean Janney Wilson wrote in an email to staff and faculty that they should prepare to work remotely for an “extended period of time.” If they are equipped to work remotely, he encouraged them to do so by Friday or Monday.
Harvard School of Public Health Dean Michelle A. Williams encouraged affiliates to work from home next week in an online announcement.
Harvard Law School Dean for Administration Matthew Gruber wrote in an email to staff that the situation is “fluid” and “subject to change.”
“We expect that a large proportion of our staff will have no need to work on campus next week, and for that number to possibly grow beginning the week of March 23,” Gruber wrote.
Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers President Carrie E. Barbash said she supports the FAS pilot, adding she hopes it is continued for “as long as we need to do it.”
“This is an unprecedented situation that I think needs to be taken really seriously and this is definitely a good step in that direction,” Barbash said. “I think it’ll be great to see every school sort of moving in this direction as soon as possible.”
Under the University’s most recent policies, Harvard staff may apply unearned sick days if they become sick or quarantined due to coronavirus or if they have to take care of a family member affected by it. They may also exceed annual limits on dependent care days.
Harvard will also guarantee pay to non-remote employees for a “a defined period of time (e.g., 30 days)” if their department is closed or quarantined, according to the guidance.
The Royall Crest, the old seal of Harvard Law School, is located at 10 Mount Aburn Street. SARAH KOMATSU—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
However, the seal remained on the front door of 10 Mt. Auburn St. as of Thursday morning.
Law School alum and organizer for the “Royall Must Fall” campaign Mawuse “Oliver” Barker-Vormawor wrote in an emailed statement Thursday that he finds the presence of the seal on campus four years after the promise of its removal disappointing.
“It can translate for some as symptomatic of the reluctance of university authorities to do the right thing of their own initiative unless pressed to do so by students,” he wrote. When asked for comment, Law School spokesperson Jeff Neal responded that the school had not been aware of the seal’s continued existence on University property.
“When we became aware for the first time today that an image of the retired shield still existed on a University-owned building on the opposite side of Harvard’s campus, we asked the University to remove it immediately,” he wrote in an emailed statement Thursday.
The Crimson previously reported on the seal’s existence back in 2018 — two years after the Law School’s decision to remove the seal.
Neal also wrote that the Law School formed a working group of students and faculty this winter to select a new seal.
Vormawor noted the campaign’s goal of atoning for the Royall legacy went beyond the shield’s removal.
He said the students wanted to see substantive changes in the school’s culture, as well as increased discussions on race and injustice both in and out of the classroom.
“It almost makes me wonder if the death threats we received just because we dared push the university to live by its values were worth it,” he wrote.
kelsey.griffin@thecrimson.com
HOUSING FROM PAGE 1
Housing Day Cancellation Angers Freshmen Students
via email Thursday, the scheduled date. “An email from housing day would’ve just made my day,” Pao said. Others said they feared learning that they had been placed in a house in the Radcliffe Quadrangle via email. Andrew G. Van Camp ’23 said he thought an emailed assignment would dampen his experience, “especially if [he gets] quadded,” he said. “I’d be so sad if I got [Pforzheimer] via email,” Justin Chan ’23 said. “That’s a hot take right there.”
Dane wrote that the Dean of Students Office “will seek to notify students in the near future of their housing assignments.” Dane wrote the DSO and House Committees are “seeking to brainstorm” a variety of “ways to bring that excitement and energy” to the experience of finding out their houses.
“We will find a way to celebrate the strength of our communities and welcome its newest members,” Dane wrote.
Despite the growing number of coronavirus cases in Massachusetts, Van Camp questioned the need to call off Housing Day. “Annenberg is still open, but Housing Day isn’t happening? It feels like infection could happen here just as easily,” he said, gesturing to the dining hall full of hundreds of students. Other freshmen, though, said they understood the decision.
“I’m definitely upset. It’s a very big part of freshman year: the rituals, the tradition. I was very much looking forward to it,” Benjamin A. Landau ’23 said. “That said, given the circumstances, in the world right now and in the community right now, I understand the precautions they’re taking and I respect the decision the administration has made.”
Despite the changes, Emley said the “expectation” of Housing Day still led to revelry among freshmen on Wednesday and Thursday. “People still kind of filled that void by doing things, just without the tradition of Housing Day,” he said. “People still had parties, people still drank, but there wasn’t the celebratory aspect of that because we still don’t know what house we have.”
camille.caldera@thecrimson.com jasper.goodman@thecrimson.com
By KELSEY J. GRIFFIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Students at Harvard Law School organized protests and support resources in response to the University’s announcement Tuesday that students must vacate the campus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Law School resident advisors met with Dean of Students Marcia L. Sells and Director of Residential Operations and Student Life Systems Mel Saunders Wednesday to present a list of questions from students living on campus.
At the same time as the meeting, students camped outside the Dean of Students office for five hours to demand answers from administrators.
Law School student Felipe Hernandez — a resident advisor who organized the meeting — said the atmosphere on campus following the University’s announcement has been stressful.
“That put a lot of students into panic, anxiety, emotional distress,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “Students couldn’t sleep overnight, couldn’t eat. People broke down crying because they thought that they had to move out as early as Friday.”
Hernandez said the idea for the sit-in sprouted out of anxiety and fear prompted by the message to move off of campus, as well as a demand for more information about the logistics of moving out.
“The point of the sit-in was to bring to light just how poorly the Law School has communicated its response to the coronavirus and particularly its response regarding evicting students from their housing — for on-campus housing — and the process of who can stay on, who can appeal, and the rationale and the strategy behind that,” Hernandez said.
He said the sit-in effectively raised awareness of the issues low-income and international students face, noting that Sells sent an email to the student body answering many concerns about financial aid and housing after meeting with the resident advisors.
Sells addressed housing concerns in her email to Law School students Wednesday.
The email stated the school would work with students to provide financial assistance for the cost of travel and would not evict students without a place to stay.
“It is important that you know that we care about every student at HLS and we guarantee that everyone will have a place to stay, whether off or on campus,” Sells wrote.
“We would never leave any student without a home (however temporary it might be) or without the financial support
Cambridge Cancels Public Schools and Meetings
By ELLEN M. BURSTEIN and JASPER G. GOODMAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
The City of Cambridge announced the cancellation of all “non-essential” city meetings and the closure of all public schools in an attempt to curtail the global coronavirus outbreak Thursday.
In a press release sent out by Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City Manager Louis A. DePasquale, the city announced that meetings for all public bodies are now canceled.
The notice also said the city’s Special Events Committee would not approve any new permit requests.
“The health and well-being of our City and its residents is ourtop priority during this rapid
Sumbul Siddiqui Mayor of Cambridge
ly-evolving public health crisis,” Siddiqui said in the release. “An event as unprecedented as this will test us all. I’m confident we will rise to the occasion, as our community has done before in difficult times.”
Hours later, Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent Kenneth N. Salim announced that the city’s schools would be closed until March 27 followThe city of Cambridge close all non-essential public events in the city and all Cambridge public schools, due to the recent outbreak of coronavirus. RYAN N. GAJARAWALA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
ing dismissal on Friday, March 13. Salim said that he would reassess whether the schools should reopen during the twoweek break. There are no confirmed COVID-19 cases within the Cambridge Public Schools system, according to Salim’s announcement.
Dozens of other schools around Massachusetts have announced their closures amid the outbreak.
More than 100 people in the state have tested positive for the virus and more than 1,000 have been quarantined.
Nearly three-quarters of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Massachusetts have been traced to a management meeting held Feb. 26 and 27 by the Kendall Square-based company Biogen.
The city wrote that public city meetings that “transact official City business” will continue to be held as scheduled. The notice said that attendees should not attend if they are feeling ill, coughing, or have a fever.
“I recognize that this rapidly evolving situation is extremely stressful and members of our community are anxious about potential impacts from COVID-19,” DePasquale wrote in the press release. “We are committed to keeping you informed and to responding to the questions and concerns we hear from members of the Cambridge community. The community’s safety and wellbeing is our highest priority.”
they need to stay safe and secure.”
The email also discussed the lack of information and difficulty in communication between students and administrators, explaining the urgency of the pandemic pushed administrators to act quickly rather than establish fully detailed plans.
“We also recognize that the speed of the decisions that we’ve had to make during the past few days has often outpaced our ability to finalize and communicate our plans and processes for supporting students through these unprecedented circumstances,” it reads. “Even today, we still don’t have all the answers to all the questions.”
Meanwhile, Lambda — a student organization at the Law School dedicated to supporting BGLTQ students — has stepped up to secure housing for BGLTQ students in need.
Lamba Co-President Matthew P. Shields said the organization contacted BGLTQ students across campus in an attempt to provide support in moving and finding housing on short notice.
“We reached out to various LGBTQ+ Harvard undergrad groups. We just pretty much cast a broad net to tell people to contact us and tell us what their needs were,” Shields said in an interview Tuesday.
Shields noted that BGLTQ students may not feel safe returning home and struggle to secure safe housing.
Lambda is aiming to match students in need with others on campus who can offer temporary places to stay.
The group plans to create a spreadsheet of available resources in response to a recent survey of BGLTQ students.
“There are definitely students at the Law School who don’t have a home to return to because of their identity,” Shields said.
“It’s a huge factor in our community in terms of being able to find safe and affordable housing.”
Shields said a lack of information from the administration presents an added challenge to Lambda’s efforts in fulfilling student needs, but he said he also recognized the unprecedented and evolving nature of the situation.
To conclude her email, Sells assured students that the Law School aims to assist all students during the transition to remote learning.
“Please know this: We care about you and are here to support you through this immensely challenging time,” Sells wrote. “Everyone who needs our help – including housing and financial support – will receive it.”
kelsey.griffin@thecrimson.com
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