The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLIX, No. 26

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 26 |

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

| TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

EDITORIAL PAGE 8

NEWS PAGE 9

SPORTS PAGE 10

Harvard must support students affected by the war in Ukraine

The Undergrad Council passed five pieces of legislation at its weekly meeting

Men’s basketball was eliminated from the Ivy League tournament

Instructor Mask Policies to Change College Rethinks Housing Day Plan

By LUCAS J. WALSH and VIVIAN ZHAO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard will allow faculty members to teach without a face mask beginning later this week, a first step toward rolling back its Covid-19 guidelines as cases plummet in the Greater Boston area.

The announcement comes following new guidance from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state of Massachusetts saying that most healthy, fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks indoors.

The City of Cambridge announced last week that it would lift its indoor mask mandate in mid-March.

“Despite increased infections in January compared with the Fall semester, recent cases have largely been mild thanks to our community’s high vaccination and booster rate,” University Health Services Director Giang T. Nguyen wrote in an email to all Harvard affiliates Monday morning.

Harvard has not announced

SEE COVID PAGE 9

By AUDREY M. APOLLON and CHRISTINE MUI CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Housing Day is set to take place in-person for the first time since 2019 — but the tradition appears unlikely to return to its pre-pandemic norm.

The College has circulated two Housing Day proposals among undergraduate House Committee chairs in recent days, according to communications obtained by The Crimson. One proposal would move festivities entirely outdoors and the other would allow for a modified dorm storm.

Housing Day is an annual tradition during which freshmen get assigned to one of Harvard’s 12 upperclassman Houses or the Dudley Co-Op. The festivities have been held virtually for the past two years due to the pandemic. This year, the DSO has been working with HoCo members to modify Housing Day’s traditions to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines.

“The Dean of Students Of­

Harvard released an update on masking policy, stating that there would be a decision about future masking at Harvard by March 13th.. CORY K. GORCZYCKI—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

fice is continuing to work closely with the House Committees and First-Year Experience on plans for Housing Day,” Harvard College spokesperson Aaron Goldman wrote in a statement Monday night. “Details of what to expect will be shared with students this week. We are excited to celebrate this special event with in-person programming for the first time since 2019.”

Last Wednesday, four HoCo representatives joined administrators from the First-Year Experience Office, Harvard University Health Services, and Environmental Health and Safety to discuss two potential proposals for the pandemic-era in-person Housing Day. HoCo chairs then voted on the two proposals, per an email the DSO sent to HoCo chairs that was obtained

by The Crimson, but the results of the election have not yet been revealed.

In 2020, Housing Day was postponed and eventually

SEE HOUSING PAGE 7

Ukrainian Students Speak Out Against Russian Invasion

By OMAR ABDEL HAQ and ASHLEY R. MASCI CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Nika Rudenko ’24, a sophomore from Ukraine, said hearing about her family’s experiences abroad while trying to keep up with her academics has been “distressful”.

“My brother wanted to walk his dog with his son, and they were in the park when they saw nearly 30 military Russian jets flying over them,” she said. “Because there is a strategic point near the house where they live, they started bombing that military airport, and my brother was forced to cover his son with his body and just hide in that park for about an hour and a half.”

Like Rudenko, other Ukrainian students on Harvard’s campus have struggled to process the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, five days after Rus­

sian President Vladimir Putin invaded the country.

Calling the situation “devastating,” Yegor Tverdokhlibov ’25 — whose parents and sister are currently in Ukraine — said he has not been able to fully focus on his academic responsibilities since the conflict began last Thursday.

“It’s been four days since I stopped doing anything,” he said. “I could not concentrate on work.”

Tverdokhlibov added he faces an “imbalance” trying to stay on track with his academics as a student while maintaining a commitment to his country as a Ukrainian.

“I’m torn apart because I also want to help my country,” Tverdokhlibov said. “I don’t want to feel helpless — I want to feel like I’m supporting my people there.”

Other students have also expressed similar worries about

staying on top of their schoolwork while keeping up with their families in the line of fire.

“I’m alone, and I have to deal with so many things right now, considering that my family is still there,” Rudenko said. “I also have to think about my academics.”

Though Natalka A. Bowley ’23 hails from Canada, she has many friends and extended family members still in Ukraine.

Bowley said she has experienced a mix of “numbness,” “anger,” and “sadness” about the situation as she receives news updates on the conflict.

“I saw pictures of my friend’s house being bombed, and it’s just completely unbelievable,” Bowley said.

Bowley added that while she worries when her family members in Ukraine lose touch, she understands their priorities

SEE UKRAINE PAGE 9

Harvard put up a Ukrainian flag on University Hall, an administrative building, Monday in order to show its support for Ukraine. CORY K. GORCZYCKI—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

CAMHS HKS Class Lacks Adequate Resources Wait Times

By MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Following years of activism calling for more instruction on race at the Harvard Kennedy School and the murder of George Floyd, HKS added a race and racism requirement to its Master’s of Public Policy program in 2020.

The new requirement has been a “huge step forward,” according to HKS professor Khalil G. Muhammad. In the fall, HKS expanded the requirement from a two-week-long intensive module to two half-semester courses.

But students say the Kennedy School has failed to provide sufficient institutional support for one of the requirement’s two flagship courses, “Race and Racism in the Making of the United States as a Global Power,” taught by Muhammad.

The second course included in the requirement — a six-week class focused on policy — splits students into four sections, each taught by a different professor. Muhammad teaches the ­

A required Race and Racism course at the Harvard Kennedy School has faced a shortage of resources and teaching staff, prompting student concern. Julian J. Giordano —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Harvard Today 2

News 7

Editorial 8

Sports 10

TODAY’S FORECAST

first 240-person course alone.

Ketaki S. Zodgekar, a firstyear MPP student, said the class was “pretty under-resourced” compared to other mandatory courses at the Kennedy School.

“It was pretty notable that one professor — Professor Muhammad — was responsible for 240 students taking this course for the first time,” she said.

“My perception was that there wasn’t enough support for the course from HKS administration.”

Adam D. Schutzman, a course assistant, said being responsible for an entire cohort of students was challenging for Muhammad.

“It’s a large burden to put on one professor for a course that’s supposed to be fully part of the curriculum,” he said.

Unlike other courses in the program’s core curriculum, Muhammad’s course met in person only once a week, with its lectures held virtually.

First-year MPP student Brittney J. Vevaina said it was

RAINY High: 39 Low:32

SEE HKS PAGE 7

Reach Six Weeks

By LUCAS J. WALSH and VIVIAN ZHAO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Want to see a therapist at Harvard?

You may have to wait a while.

With demand for mental health care soaring nationwide, Harvard University Health Services is in the process of hiring additional clinicians, administrators said last month.

But the wait time for new patients to get a therapy appointment with Counseling and Mental Health Services is currently around six weeks long, according to Barbara Lewis, the chief of CAMHS. Lewis said in an interview the current wait times are “not ideal” given that the semester is only 14 weeks long. She pointed to alternative mental health services CAMHS offers, however, including a 24/7 hotline ­

SEE THERAPY PAGE 9

VISIT THECRIMSON.COM. FOLLOW @THECRIMSON ON TWITTER.

HBD Jazzy

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 1, 2022

PAGE 2

HARVARD TODAY

For Lunch Pepperoni Pizza Shrimp Quesadilla Vegan Sausage Flatbred

For Dinner Beef Fajita with Fettuccine Butter Chicken Spicy Vegetable and Potato Curry

TODAY’S EVENTS Conversations with Clover Virtual, 6 p.m.-7 p.m.

IN THE REAL WORLD

Join Clover founder and CEO Ayr Muir for a conversation about business, food, and climate. This event, hosted by the Food Literacy Project, will occur on Zoom.

White House No Longer Requires Masks for Fully Vaccinated The White House announced on Monday that it would no longer require fully vaccinated staff and visitors to wear masks on the White House campus. This comes after the mask mandate in the House of Representatives was lifted and ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address tonight. Unvaccinated individuals will still be required to wear masks.

First-Year Arts Board Open House First-Year Arts Room, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.

Calling all artists! The First-Year Arts Room, located in Holworthy Basement, will open tonight for two hours of art-making! If you’ve been looking to explore your ~creative~ side, this is a great opportunity to avoid your psets and try your hand at some fun crafts.

Russian Shelling Continues Despite Talks Between Ukraine and Russia People walk in Harvard Yard on a cold day in February. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

AROUND THE IVIES YALE: Roommate Woes, Hotline Calls and Mixed Messages: Students Express

Solo Female Travel Memorial Church, 8 p.m.-9 p.m.

Confusion About COVID-19 Isolation Communication —THE YALE DAILY NEWS

Join Woodbridge International Society and The Harvard College Women’s Center for all of the tips and tricks about budgeting and more! This event will be hosted in the Buttrick Room in the Memorial Church Student Oasis.

COLUMBIA: Data From Columbia’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy Reveals

Increase in Child Poverty After Tax Credit Expired —THE COLUMBIA SPECTATOR

DARTMOUTH: Students Propose Zoning Amendments that Could Increase

The Russian military continued to attack Ukraine’s largest cities Kyiv and Kharkiv on Monday, resulting in numerous civilian deaths and injuries. This came after the two sides sat down at the Belrusian border for the first discussions since Russia invaded Ukraine last week. Additionally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an application for Ukraine to join the European Union.

Mardi Gras Returns to New Orleans

After a year off due to the coronavirus pandemic, New Orleans is once again celebrating Mardi Gras in full swing!

Parades and parties return as the city tries to rebuild the economy following the devastating events of 2020 and 2021.

Housing Capacity in Hanover —THE DARTMOUTH

PENN: National Search for Penn’s new VP of Public Safety Begins, Following Maureen Rush’s Retirement —THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

COVID UPDATES

LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY

CAMPUS

102

In Isolation

190 0.69% Total New Cases

Positivity Rate

LAST 7 DAYS

CAMBRIDGE

296 0.87% 76%

Total New Cases

Positivity Rate

Fully Vaccinated

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Harvard to Restrict Travel to Italy, Iran Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Harvard University restricted travel to Italy and Iran one day after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued level 3 COVID-19 warnings for Italy and Iran. The Office of Career Services’ Summer Grants and Funding Office announced they would no longer provide funding to any countries under a restriction.

March 1, 2020

WAC Mail Drive Targets Alumni

Leaders of Women Appealing for Change (WAC) sent 400 letters to alumni, including former final club members and Harvard-Radcliffe clubs throughout the country to pressure the eight all-male final-clubs to begin admitting women.

March 1, 1994

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

The Harvard Crimson Raquel Coronell Uribe ’22-’23 Associate Managing Editors President Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24 Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Managing Editor Associate Business Managers Amy X. Zhou ’23 Taia M.Y. Cheng ’23-’24 Business Manager Isabelle L. Guillaume ’24

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Arts Chairs Sofia Andrade ’23-’24 Jaden S. Thompson ’23

Design Chairs Yuen Ting Chow ’23 Madison A. Shirazi ’23-’24

Magazine Chairs Maliya V. Ellis ’23-’24 Sophia S. Liang ’23

Multimedia Chairs Aiyana G. White ’23 Pei Chao Zhuo ’23

Blog Chairs Ellen S. Deng ’23-’24 Janani Sekar ’23-’24

Technology Chairs Ziyong Cui ’24 Justin Y. Ye ’24

Editorial Chairs Guillermo S. Hava ’23-24 Orlee G.S. Marini-Rapoport ’23-24 Sports Chairs Alexandra N. Wilson ’23-’24 Griffin H. Wong ’24

Copyright 2022, The Harvard Crimson (USPS 236-560). No articles, editorials, cartoons or any part thereof appearing in The Crimson may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the President. The Associated Press holds the right to reprint any materials published in The Crimson. The Crimson is a non-profit, independent corporation, founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1967. Second-class postage paid in Boston, Massachusetts. Published Monday through Friday except holidays and during vacations, three times weekly during reading and exam periods by The Harvard Crimson Inc., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Weather icons made by Freepik, Yannick, Situ Herrera, OCHA, SimpleIcon, Catalin Fertu from flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0.

Night Editor Simon J. Levien ’23-’24 Assistant Night Editors Jennifer L. Powley ’24 Monique I. Vobecky ’25 Story Editors Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Natalie L. Kahn ’23 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24

Design Editors Camille G. Caldera ’22 Toby R. Ma ’24 Photo Editor Cory K. Gorczycki ’24 Editorial Editor Libby E. Tseng ’24 Sports Editor Callum J. Diak ’25

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.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 1, 2022

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ARTS 3

CAMPUS

The show has drawn from collections across the globe to amass the largest assembly of privately-owned Banksy art yet.

ARTIST PROFILE: PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON ON HIS FILMMAKING PROCESS AND NAVIGATING LOVE IN ‘LICORICE PIZZA’

4

FILM

MUSIC

The legendary folk singer’s golden voice, which has charmed audiences since her 1961 studio debut, can transform even the most familiar melodies into innovative yet timeless experiences.

‘WILD TONGUES CAN’T BE TAMED’ REVIEW: DISMANTLING THE LATINX SPECTRUM

5

BOOKS

It’s only right that a book uncovering Latinx identity comes in the form of multiple authors, representing the beautiful diaspora of color, language, race, gender, and identity that contributes to the mosaic of America’s Latinx community.

5

LEVAIN BAKERY REVIEW: A NEW YORK CITY ICON LANDS IN BOSTON

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‘IF A PICTURE NEVER LIES:’ A THESIS SUNG BY A TENOR

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‘EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALL WHITE’ SERIES PREMIERE REVIEW: BOTH OVERWHELMING AND UNDERWHELMING

CULTURE

THEATER

Banksy Exhibit Launches 60-Day Stay in Harvard Square with Preview Event

Suffice to say, there haven’t been many rosy stories in Anderson’s films of late. But that’s changed a bit with “Licorice Pizza” — at least on the surface.

‘SPELLBOUND’ REVIEW: JUDY COLLINS’ FIRST ALL-ORIGINAL ALBUM ENCHANTS

4

TV

CAMPUS

BANKSY EXHIBIT LAUNCHES 60-DAY STAY IN HARVARD SQUARE WITH PREVIEW EVENT

However, the satisfaction from the cookie, like many aspects of Levain, ends at the surface level.

A chamber opera is certainly not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a senior thesis.

But as Harry Sage shows, the two can go hand in hand.

SIDONIE BROWN CONTRIBUTING WRITER A stream of eager visitors lined up at the Harvard Coop the night of Feb. 16, not to shop for university merchandise, but rather to catch a first glimpse of $35 million worth of art by world-renowned artist Banksy.

To mark the start of its 60-day presentation, “The Art of Banksy,” held an exclusive preview for press and invitees, presented by StarVox Exhibits. The show, which features iconic images such as “Girl with Balloon” and “Flower Thrower,” has drawn from collections across the globe to amass the largest assembly of privately-owned Banksy art yet.

“This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these pieces that otherwise would be in warehouses, in private collections, in the homes of rich and famous people,” Producer Corey Ross said during his opening remarks at the event.

After touring in cities around the world, the exhibit has come to Boston and set up shop in the Coop. According to Ross, transforming a space intended for retail into one for display has been a difficult task.

“One of the big things we do is…repurposing spaces that are not traditional art galleries,” Ross said. “One of the reasons we do that is I think the art shows better, and it meets new patrons.”

Acacia A. Gibson, who works for Carol Fox and Associates, the firm promoting the show’s arrival in Boston, said that Harvard Square is a prime location for reaching diverse audiences. Ross also commended the site, mentioning that Banky’s defiant message complements the locale.

“I just thought to do a political artist here right in the heart of where all the students are and where a lot of the politics happen in Boston made it the right spot,” Ross said.

Event attendee Derek P. Zagami said that Cambridge is lucky to host a show that has traveled the world. “This is something different and I feel as though different is what people need right now,” Zagami said.

Ross described “Girl with Balloon” and “Flower Thrower” as the “Mona Lisas of Banksy,” but he be-

lieves that everyone will find a piece that speaks to them.

“There’s just a lot of fun different pieces up there that make you laugh, make you think, and are really amazing to see all in one place,” Ross said. “It’s amazing how he’s managed to create these kinda sticky, memorable images that are both comedic and political.”

Indeed, different displays stuck out to different guests as they perused the exhibit. Zagami’s favorite was Banksy’s infamous prank in 2006 that planted altered, satirical versions of Paris Hilton’s debut album in music stores across the U.K. Gibson liked “Have a Nice Day,” a print of military personnel with smiley faces superimposed on their heads.

“I just thought the juxtaposition of the smiley faces with masked troops was so startling and really made you think, like it raises lots of different feelings — this is clearly not a happy moment,” Gibson said.

Ross commented on the paradoxical nature of Banksy’s art, which opposes capitalism while selling for millions of dollars.

“I think the irony on irony of it is, when you go through this exhibit and you think about Banksy, who’s had this incredible anti-commercial message, there is like $40 million that he’s sold upstairs. So he is one of the wealthiest anti-commercialists in the world, and so part of the irony is to see that,” Ross said.

“The Art of Banksy” announced on Feb. 14 that it will be extending its stay from the original end date of April 3 to May 15 due to popular demand. After attending the preview, Zagami recommends visiting the show for a date night or just for something fun to do.

“It’s something that you’re not going to see all the time, and I think people need to step out of their comfort zones a little bit and take an adventure and…explore. And you learn a lot in the way,” Zagami said. “I just think people should take a risk. Come out. I love it.”

Most disappointingly, distracted by the misguided attempt to incorporate humor, the premiere of “Everything’s Gonna Be All White” forgets to do what a docuseries is meant to do: teach.

Courtesy of Dominic Robinson / Wikimedia Commons

WA

01 March 2022 | Vol CXLX, ISSUE 12 Arts Chairs Sofia Andrade ’23-’24 Jaden S. Thompson ’23

Editors-at-Large Clara V. Nguyen ’23-’24 Sara Komatsu ’23 Chibuike K. Uwakwe ’23

Editor Associates Hannah T. Chew ’23 Isabella B. Cho ’24 Daniel S. de Castro ’24 Nina M. Foster ’23 Anya L. Henry ’24 Ryan S. Kim ’23

Zachary J. Lech ’24 Charles W. McCormick ’24 Jamila R. O’Hara ’23 Harper R. Oreck ’23 Alisa S. Regassa ’24

Executive Designer Nayeli Cardozo ’25

Design Associates Ashley E. Bryant ’23 Samantha Simpson ’23

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

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FILM Artist Profile: Paul Thomas Anderson on His Filmmaking Process and Navigating Love in ‘Licorice Pizza’ LANZ AARON G. TAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

T

he Harvard Crimson recently joined a college roundtable with acclaimed writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson to discuss the making of his latest film, “Licorice Pizza.” Anderson is best known for crafting bleak, intricate films about difficult characters. For instance, his 2017 period romance “Phantom Thread” was a searing exploration of masochistic love and fretless obsession over art in haute-1950s London. Suffice to say, there haven’t been many rosy stories in Anderson’s films of late. But that’s changed a bit with “Licorice Pizza” — at least on the surface.

Anderson’s latest follows Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and Alana Kane (Alana Haim), two misfits stuck between adolescence and adulthood. They’re flawed characters — an odd, explicitly “not boyfriend-girlfriend” pair who could’ve met a darker fate if Anderson was in a foul mood. But in “Licorice Pizza,” Alana and Gary’s flaws aren’t a death-knell, they are a product of youthful insecurities — of feeling just a little out of touch with people their own age. Their winding story navigates the emotionally turbulent boundaries between a friendship and a relationship, all while the pair bounce around episodic misadventures in 1970s Los Angeles.

Gary and Alana can only ever remain friends, and yet they find themselves constantly drawn to each other. Anderson commented on their complicated “platonic romance” dynamic: “The idea that two people can’t be together instantly creates this dilemma,” he said. “This is a very traditional formula for 1930s romantic comedies which really stand the test of time, to me. And it allows you to do endless comedic situations for them to be in.”

Haim and Hoffman have received widespread critical acclaim for their lead performances. “I know what it’s like as an audience member when you see somebody on the screen that you’ve never seen before. It’s a thrilling feeling,” Anderson said. “Imagine that as the director of the movie. I kind of built the whole thing on the premise that they could do it, and they did it. Gives you proud papa feelings.”

Anderson shared especially glowing praise for Haim. After collaborating on music videos for her pop-rock band HAIM in the past, Anderson then decided to write “Licorice Pizza” specifically for her. “I had a story that was floating around that needed help, that needed something,” he said. “And knowing Alana was what that help was. It was written for Alana. There was only one person that I ever considered and it was Alana.

She’s the reason the whole thing exists.”

The level of care and attention that Anderson puts into directing his actors is matched by the care he puts into crafting luscious visuals. “Licorice Pizza” is shot on 35mm film, and Anderson captures colors in a way that really maximizes that medium, with gorgeous dream-like frames that reflect a hazy, fuzzy 1970s San Bernardino filled with characters that literally glow off the screen.

MUSIC

J

udy Collins’ song covers are nothing short of alchemy.

The legendary folk singer’s golden voice, which has charmed audiences since her 1961 studio debut, can transform even the most familiar melodies into innovative yet timeless experiences. On Feb. 25, Collins released “Spellbound,” her first album of all original material that, also as if by magic, evokes collective nostalgia for her own beloved recollections.

The title track opens the album with a piano ostinato that shimmers like the “bright blue water’s shore” that Collins remembers from a stay in Honolulu. Even after she leaves the “light of sand and water” behind to “crawl the highways,” her repetition of “spellbound” at the end of every third verse highlights her enduring amazement at life. The shift from past to present tense in the last lines says just as much: “Surfacing in air and light / Now I live, and I am spellbound.”

On lead single “When I Was a Girl in Colorado,” Collins

Courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Inc.

Still, Anderson says a lot of his directing approach isn’t always planned to the T. Speaking on the process of how he plans his shots, he said, “It’s all over the map. For some things, you have an idea in your mind. I was writing a film that took place where I lived. So there wasn’t that much that I was supplying with my imagination. You know, these were all real places from real stories. So I knew what they were, or I had to find stand-ins that would fit. What I mean by that is, there was an actual ‘Fat Bernie’s Waterbeds’ and it’s now a tanning salon, so I couldn’t use that. So, ok I’ve got to go find something else.”

“Now a lot of the shots end up really cementing themselves in the location scouting process,” he added. “You have the time to go to these locations over and over again, as many times as you need, and there isn’t a clock ticking of 50 crew members standing around wondering what to do. You get a chance to make the film quietly and without a lot of pressure when you’re location scouting.”

Anderson doesn’t just revisit the aesthetics of classical cinema with luscious cinematography — in many ways, he returns to old distribution methods of getting people into movie theaters. This included an extended two-month preview period between November and December, where the film screened in select locations at many traditional movie houses before being released nationwide. A theater near Harvard’s campus that has screened “Licorice Pizza” since its wide release is Somerville Theater, which was first built in 1914 and has been projecting films for a century. “We’re trying a lot of old-fashioned techniques in terms of getting the movie out there,” Anderson explained. “Making it go slowly, trying to raise people’s awareness over a long period of time rather than what seems to happen recently with films, which

revisits her Denver childhood, where “rivers danced on canyon walls.” The first two verses’ idyllic natural imagery references winter, spring, and summer by name. Perhaps in an attempt to stave off the fading of memories like fall leaves, the only mention of the last remaining season later arrives as a wishful question: “Will you take me to the mountains / Before another summer ends?” As the song progresses, fewer verses separate each chorus, and Collins brings listeners ever closer to her vision of home.

In 2016, Collins wrote one poem every day. Two of the resulting 366 found their way onto “Spellbound” as lyrics to the maritime love stories “Shipwrecked Mariner” and “Wild with Mist.” In both songs, Collins harnesses the sea’s expanse to convey her distance from her subjects. “You had promised me another world,” she sings on “Shipwrecked Mariner” about a former lover who abandoned ship at the first sign of foul weather. The realization of this promise finally takes place on “Wild With Mist,” when viewing William Turner’s turbulent oil seascapes sends Collins “into another, and then another world.”

Although Collins spends much of “Arizona” reminiscing about her past, the track reaches a more forward-looking conclusion. “You must fly from the winter to May / You must fly from the past into today,” she sings in the album’s last lines.

By transferring her memory into song, she is also releasing herself from its hold.

Each song on “Spellbound” shines with reflective sincerity, but the album’s lack of structural variety somewhat clouds its overall impact. As Collins’ lyrics take listeners from Hawaii to Colorado, New York, and Arizona, the frequent ballad tempos, repetitive melodies, and ABCB tetrameter make these destinations start to blur together.

Still, that doesn’t mean they’re not worth visiting. Collins’ matchless soprano retains enough strength and clarity to enchant anything she sings, which she attributes to steadfast study of the bel canto style — but even more than her flawless technique, her powerful reverence for music and life will put you under her latest album’s spell.

Staff writer Clara V. Nguyen can be reached at clara.nguyen@ thecrimson.com.

Courtesy of Judy Collins / Cleopatra

kind of get carpet bombed into existence and then forgotten about within two days … To stop and give audiences a chance to breathe, or at least present the film in a more respectable way, in turn gives respect to an audience.”

Part of the freedom to pursue these old distribution techniques can be attributed to how the pandemic has changed the way audiences interact with films. “The exciting thing about releasing a film right now is that normally everybody at the movie studio likes to look at you and think that they know everything and tell you what should happen,” Anderson said. “The great thing is they’re all looking at the landscape of what it means to make a film and release it today and they’ve thrown their hands up and are saying ‘we have no idea what to do.’”

As the roundtable wrapped, Anderson was asked what he wanted audiences to take away from “Licorice Pizza.” “When I started working with HAIM the band, we never had any money, we never had any time. We just did what we could with what we had. And we had a similar situation on this film,” he said. “We had to shoot it quickly, we had to shoot without too much thinking about it, just instinctual. And we were really using all our friends and all our family to make the film. So if anything, it verifies this belief that you don’t really need anything more than the desire and a handful of your friends and a handful of your family to make a great film.”

The Crimson reviewed “Licorice Pizza” and gave it 5 out of 5 stars. “Licorice Pizza” is showing in theaters nationwide.

Staff writer Lanz Aaron G. Tan can be reached at lanzaaron. tan@thecrimson.com and on Twitter @LanzAaronGTan1.

‘Spellbound’ Review: Judy Collins’ First All-Original Album Enchants CLARA V. NGUYEN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 1, 2022

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BOOKS

I

n the Spanish language, there’s a duality to the word, “tongue”: “la lengua” translates to both the physical body part, but also to “language.” Edited by Saraciea J. Fennell, “Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed” explores the dual importance of the “tongue” — both the powerful voice it produces and the language that it chooses to speak. A collection of 15 short stories from renowned Latinx authors, this piece effortlessly educates and reminds readers of the incredible diversity of Latinx-Americans, and that ethnicity has no spectrum.

One of the most prominent and interesting features of the anthology is the relationship between each Latinx identity and Spanish fluency — or lack thereof. Most of the authors describe the diaspora of their ancestors, resulting in English fluency as a means to find work and survive in America. Because of the shedding of “la lengua” of their ancestors, the authors recount the microaggressions of their life when people questioned if they were Latinx enough. Culminating in one of the most powerful parts of the collection, Zakiya N. Jamal’s story, “Cuban Imposter Syndrome”, confronts that upsetting question. Growing up in Long Island, Jamal writes how her Afro-Cuban identity cast doubt on her Latinx-ness. She terms this self-dissociation as her “Cuban Imposter Syndrome,” the feeling that she “didn’t fit the mold of what a Cuban should be” by not having Spanish fluency or the quinceañera milestone. In a beautifully simple way, she confronts the falsehood that she falls low on America’s constructed spectrum of Latinx identity: “Whenever I or anyone else makes me feel like a fraud, I remember that it is not my skin tone, my fluency in Spanish, or my name that makes me Cuban. I am Cuban because my mother is, my grandma is, and her mother was.”

Admittedly, there are moments when the 15 different short stories feel very disconnected. The anthology begins with Mark Oshiro explaining his childhood as a Mexican-American orphan, piecing together his identity through eating unseasoned tacos in his hometown of Idaho and getting dressed for elementary school, never forgetting to wear his label of

“pocho” — a derogatory term that refers to a Mexican who cannot speak Spanish. As a college student, Lilliam Rivera brings us into her mental health struggles in a Latinx family that uses the Catholic religion as the only means of therapy. Ingrid Rojas Contreras confronts her failed interracial marriage with a man and family that claims to “not see color.” Aside from the plot, the stories widely vary in structure and gravity, as some stories uncover darker childhood microaggressions and mental health struggles. The progression of the stories seems confusing and readers might ask how these mismatched stories blend together.

They don’t. And it’s now clear that this aspect is the most beautiful part of this collection of voices.

Since kindergarten, we’re taught what to expect from a story: a beginning that sets the scene with an inciting conflict, a middle sprinkled with obstacles, and the classic happily-ever-after ending. And so reading the stories of “Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed” together might initially feel disorienting as the authors whirl through different ages, classes, genders, races, and sense of place. The authors and their stories are different in seemingly every way, though when delicately bound together, these voices — las lenguas — are sewn like patchwork into a universal truth that all Latinx individuals share. Kirkland Vaughans, a clinical psychologist famous for writing about the importance of recognizing and celebrating different races, perfectly explains this truth: “Yes, we’re all the same – in the sense that we’re all different.”

It’s only right that a book uncovering Latinx identity comes in the form of multiple authors, representing the beautiful diaspora of color, language, race, gender, and identity that contributes to the mosaic of America’s Latinx community. After finishing this book, readers — whether or not they are members of the Latinx community — will have a deeper appreciation for Latinx culture, food, and, of course, people.

‘Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed’ Review: Dismantling the Latinx Spectrum SARAH ROJAS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

vvv

Courtesy of Flatiron Books/MacMillan

CULTURE Levain Bakery Review: A New York City Icon Lands In Boston WILL MCKIBBEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A

New York City cookie institution, Levain Bakery dominates the dessert world and remains a fan favorite for lovers of the big, heavy, and gooey cookies. Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald founded the bakery in 1995 on their love of massive cookies and need for sustenance during triathlon training. With nine locations and new frozen cookies sold at grocery stores nationwide, Levain is a powerhouse and poster child of the growing commercialized mom-and-pop bakery scene, in successful company with the likes of Milk Bar and Tate’s Bake Shop. They’re known for their iconic massive underbaked cookies, and an Instagram story ooey-gooey Levain cookie cross section is a rite of passage for some foodies.

The bakeries all have very limited standing and ordering space, leading to an almost-constant line out of the door, which only adds to the celebrity-sighting-like buzz of activity and Instagram post-inducing energy that surrounds the bakery. The smell of fresh baked cookies and a slew of people squatting outside scarfing down the cookies before they get cold are more than enough to pull in the crowds.

It’s no surprise that when Levain opened its first Boston location on Newbury Street on Feb. 19, that they were met with the same familiar fanfare. From viral food enthusiasts to unsuspecting shoppers, people near and far gravitated to these cookies. This hype begs the question of whether the cookies themselves deserve a cult-like following and sensationalized social media presence.

The well-lit interior crammed full of people and a simple display case of baked goods are set in front of a bustling open bakery, where massive heaps of cookie dough are scooped onto baking trays going in and out of the oven. A fast moving line and friendly staff streamline the entire process, just as any ultra-successful bakery giant with the means to design the perfect experience should be. With five cookie options and a few other miscellaneous baked goods, Levain keeps it simple and keeps its customers focused on what they waited in the freezing Boston winter for: the chocolate chip walnut cookie.

Clocking in at just around four inches in diameter, the cookie is a whopping six ounces, quite heavy, and over an inch thick. Baked every 30 minutes, a necessity considering the volume of cookies that pass through the door each day, every cookie is warm and melty, a move that’s imperative to selling the type of cookie that Levain does. Touted as the industry standard for thick, soft cookies, the Levain cookie doesn’t have a melt-in-the-mouth or ooey-gooey center: It has a raw one. The outside of the cookie has a satisfyingly crunchy top, with a craggy bit of browned dough and melted chips.

However, the satisfaction from the cookie, like many aspects of Levain, ends at the surface level.

Likely cooked at an extremely high temperature, the top of the cookie is browned and crisp, while the middle is an undercooked, just-warmed cookie dough with a tough, almost burned bottom. Raw cookie dough enthusiasts definitely have

Courtesy of Will McKibben

their place among cookie connoisseurs — but this half-baked sugar rush isn’t quite the same. When cookie dough is heated but not completely cooked, the fat used in the dough seeps out and doesn’t bake into the dough. This mistake can be remedied by high-quality butter, but in the case of Levain’s chocolate chip walnut cookie, the palette is coated in a layer of what’s likely mass-produced, low quality vegetable shortening.

The thickness of the cookie is substantial, but in a cumbersome way. After three or four bites, the heft of the cookie begins to take its toll — it’s definitely something to share. The sheer mass and thickness of the cookie leaves the consumer clobbering through a huge mass of underbaked cookie dough.

For a cookie of such acclaim and fandom, it lacks a backbone of vanilla or butter, or really anything besides the texture of dough, melted chocolate chips, and untoasted, waxy walnuts.

The dough is begging for a bit more salt to cut through the sweetness and to pull the other flavors out a bit more. Instead, the cookie is dominated by the squishy texture of the dough.

Sure, the cookies are warm, there’s melted chocolate, and it’s not anywhere near inedible, but for a bakery that has garnered so much success, Levain relies too heavily on the shock and awe of the line out of the door, the weight of the cookie, and the posts on Instagram. The acclaimed bakery unfortunately lets the quality of ingredients and the flavor of the cookie fade into the background in favor of the perfect viral food post.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 1, 2022

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PAGE 6

THEATER ‘If a Picture Never Lies:’ A Thesis Sung By a Tenor ZACHARY J. LECH CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

I

t’s half past seven on Feb. 25. The flow of the audience has slowed to a trickle, the seats of the dimly lit Adams Pool Theater almost fully occupied. A quartet is waiting in the corner of the stage, and the singers are about to emerge. The scene is set: “If a Picture Never Lies,” a new chamber opera adapting Virgil’s “Bucolics” written and scored by Harry A. Sage ’22, is about to begin.

It becomes apparent after just a few minutes that this picture indeed doesn’t lie. But it doesn’t tell the whole truth, either. The double-spaced lines might have been replaced by five-line staves and chapters by the three acts of the libretto, but underneath the chamber opera hides a senior thesis in Classics and Music.

Writing a thirty minute score entirely on your own is a daunting task in itself. Translating a two-thousand-year-old text written by one of Rome’s greatest poets into English on top of that doesn’t make it any easier. Nevertheless, Sage has taken the challenge head-on, driven by his deep interest in the two fields. “From middle and high school I knew that composition was the direction with the music that I wanted to go in and [I] had a love of Latin literature,” he said.

Bucolics as a genre depict an idealized, simple life of tranquility and abundance provided by nature. Sage initially intended for his adaptation to focus on this stereotypical depiction of the countryside and “how that reflects on people outside.” But after he dove deeply into the texts of the poems and looked for what he thought to be their core message, the

project ended up taking a different direction. Sage decided on a three act structure, in which an initial idylla gives way to conflict. “It’s no longer about the space as a literary device in a cultural identity, more this … mental space that defines us as people and how we process our lives with the culture,” he said.

“I wanted to tell the story of this sort of gradual disruption of this ideal space.”

But Latin is easier to translate into English than poetry onto stage, and the meaning — despite the structure in place — could still easily be lost on the audience if appropriate care isn’t taken to ensure that the score closely and constantly reinforces the message.

Sage set out to accomplish this through devices such as repetition. To make the singing easier to understand, key lines are repeated and made into “musical refrain.” Sage relies on parallels to similar effect. Narratively, the third act peels back the veil of happiness present in the first act. “It was natural that I would take the themes from the first and make them unsettled harmonically, make them more rhythmically intense,” he says. The end result is music that not only sounds like the space, but also makes it clear how the space evolves.

While he might have handled the writing and scoring, it was only “the first stage of the process.”

“I could just hand a score to the Music Department and have them evaluate me, the composer, based on that. No problem,” he said “But this is the Classics department. You kind of need to be able to see this, don’t you?” And no matter the passion,

a composer and librettist cannot possibly stage an opera on their own. Especially not in three months.

“Harry approached me during Thanksgiving break and asked me if I would produce his thesis and immediately I was incredibly excited,” said Eleanor M. Powell ’25, who shortly assumed the role of the opera’s Executive Producer. “Working with the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players you already have a board, you already have patrons. There’s all of this built in institutional support that we didn’t necessarily have immediately on this production.”

The two persevered and fortunately, both friends and the Department of Classics rose to the occasion. “I think one of the things that makes this production so special is just the amount of Classics concentrators and prospective concentrators,” Powell said. Ivor K. Zimmerman ’23, the president of the Classics Club seems to share the sentiment. “That’s the dream … to see something so old like the Classics to be revitalized, and to be able to play even a minor part in that,” he said.

A chamber opera is certainly not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a senior thesis. But as Harry Sage shows, the two can go hand in hand.

Staff Writer Zachary J. Lech can be reached at zachary. lech@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @zacharylech.

Courtesy of Dhilan Ramaprasad

TV ‘Everything’s Gonna Be All White’ Series Premiere Review: Both Overwhelming and Underwhelming VIVIENNE GERMAIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

S

howtime’s new docuseries “Everything’s Gonna Be All White” opens with a narrator who speaks of “countless dreams too long deferred,” a reference to Langston Hughes’ 1951 poem “Harlem.” Although the poem and the show both handle racial inequity in the United States, the poem does so gracefully, while the show seems to, in the words of Hughes, “crust and sugar over— / like a syrupy sweet.”

The series premiere, cleverly entitled “White Lies Matter,” indicates that the docuseries will fall short of its claim to serve as a “deep dive” into racism in the United States. If anything, it will serve as a broad overview. “White Lies Matter” has several powerful moments, but its scenes fail to work together as one cohesive entity. With its wide range of subject matters, the episode might benefit someone with little knowledge of racism. However, its lack of depth renders it inconsequential in the greater context of antiracist media. Most disappointingly, distracted by the misguided attempt to incorporate humor, the premiere of “Everything’s Gonna Be All White” forgets to do what a docuseries is meant to do: teach.

The theme of “white lies” is a clever one, but it lacks focus. The episode begins and ends with clips of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection of the United States Capitol. In between, the narrator and various interviewees discuss “white lies,”

the whitewashing of Jesus, the word “Caucasian,” the transatlantic slave trade, the history of white people in America, present-day racism in America, Confederate flags and monuments, the question of American identity, white privilege, white fragility, whiteness in general, and the American flag.

If this list seems exhaustive, it should — the episode is exhausting to watch.

Throughout the episode, topics are introduced, discussed at a surface level for a few minutes, then quickly abandoned for the next topic. Nothing is fully unpacked or reflected on, and the transitions from one subject to the next feel abrupt.

The work as a whole feels disconnected, as the poor transitions and abundance of subjects result in a lack of cohesion.

As a result, “White Lies Matter” is both overwhelming and underwhelming. Watching it feels like learning too much at once while learning nothing at all.

Despite its flaws, the premiere of “Everything’s Gonna Be All White” contains several small moments that effectively convey big ideas. The episode is full of quotable remarks from interviewees. On white fragility, musician Himanshu “Heems” Suri asks, “what is fragile about whiteness when everything has been constructed around it?” It also includes simple, creative visuals that evoke scary societal truths. In

one sequence, a series of signs appears on the screen one by one with statements like “Negroes can’t own property” and “Negroes can’t have weapons,” just to end on “White folks can.” Still, these small moments may have contributed more significantly to the show’s effectiveness if they were used more tastefully. Unfortunately, the show’s zeal for catchy quotes and flashy visuals goes too far, especially when combined with its weak attempts at comic relief. It is unclear if the audience is meant to chuckle as an outraged white male actor aggressively covers his Jesus statuettes in white paint. Comedic scenes like this one are silly, clunky, and awkward, and they water down the tone of the documentary. Racism is not funny; “White Lies Matter” should not try to be funny either.

“White Lies Matter” is not a promising start to “Everything’s Gonna Be All White.” If the rest of the episodes are similar to the premiere, then the docuseries is unlikely to claim a spot among the ranks of highly impactful antiracist viewing.

The episode presents a few compelling elements — for example, the narrator’s casual tone makes the show engaging and accessible — but ultimately suggests that “Everything’s Gonna Be All White” will be highly ambitious but not quite successful in accomplishing its aims.

PAGE 7

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 1, 2022

Cafe and Yoga Studio Open Wellness Collaborative

By KATHERINE M. BURSTEIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

A collaborative storefront between a yoga studio and a cafe opened in Harvard Square on Tuesday, offering meditation, massages, and meals at its location on John F. Kennedy Street.

The Wellness Collaborative is the first store to open out of a partnership between Life Alive Organic Cafe and Down Under Yoga Studio, though both companies have multiple independent locations in Massachusetts. The businesses plan to open a second collaborative in Boston’s South End in March.

Life Alive CEO Bryan C. Timko said he hopes the collaboration will offer consumers a “third place” to spend time, in addition to their homes and workplaces.

“We’ve really taken the time to work on creating a space that’s very special, space that lifts you up and calms you down at the same time — a space that makes you feel at home and makes you feel welcome,” he said.

Both businesses opened in 2004. The partnership between the two companies came about “in a pretty natural way,” Down Under owner Justine Wiltshire ­

A combined yoga studio and cafe opened in Harvard Square on Tuesday on John F. Kennedy Street. KAREEM M. ANSARI—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Experts Split on Standardized Tests

By PATON D. ROBERTS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Despite a national move away from standardized testing amid the pandemic, experts from the Harvard Graduate School of Education are divided over the future of testing in college admissions and K-12 education.

After lifting its testing requirement in June 2020 due to Covid-19, Harvard announced in December 2021 it would allow applicants through the Class of 2030 to forgo ACT and SAT score submissions.

The move comes amid a trend toward test-optional admissions, with colleges across the country, taking similar measures. The College Board also decided in 2021 it would permanently discontinue its SAT subject tests, as well as the SAT essay component. Education experts are divided on whether the changes would move the college admissions process towards equity or away from it.

HGSE graduate Toby N. Romer ’94, who is the assistant superintendent of Newton Public Schools, noted that the shift ­

away from standardized testing may “level the playing field” among high school students.

“In fact, the college admissions testing industry was created to disadvantage certain groups of students intentionally,” he said. “So moving away from that is nothing but good news.” Romer added he believes “a diverse cross section” of students within Newton Public Schools have benefited from test-optional policies.

“I think there’s not a lot of good data to show that college admissions tests have been a good predictor of student success at selective colleges,” he said. But two HGSE professors pointed out that a lack of standardized test scores will lead admissions officers to place emphasis on other parts of the application.

HGSE professor Andrew D. Ho said a student’s letters of recommendation, personal essays, extracurriculars, and academic record may be weighed more heavily in the absence of test scores.

“If you imagine a five-legged stool, or a five-legged table, and

cymakers – and taxpayers for that matter – whether or not students in different districts across the state are learning at a level that prepares them to enter society as workers and citizens successfully,” HGSE professor Paul Reville said. Reville also said the costs of scrapping standardized testing altogether could impact underprivileged students heavily, pointing to “horribly inequitable outcomes” before schools began administering standardized tests.

“We know who loses in that,” he said. “Poor kids lose. Special needs kids lose. English language learners lose. Students of color lose.”

Despite the potential pitfalls of revising current standardized testing practices, Ho said he was optimistic about its future.

“I do think this reckoning for educational testing will, on average, improve equity in education,” he said. “But it will take a long time, and meantime, results will vary.” paton.roberts@thecrimson.com

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HOUSING FROM PAGE 1

Housing Day to be Held In-Person moved online as the College sent undergraduates home due to the pandemic.

Prior to Covid, Housing Day consisted of upperclassmen congregating in Harvard Yard, carrying signs, and awaiting the signal of a gong at 8:30 a.m. HoCo chairs distributed letters containing the names of freshmen to upperclassmen of the same House. Groups of upperclassmen then “stormed” the freshman dorms to notify blocking groups of their placement and welcome them to their House.

Under the first proposal being considered by the College, the dorm storming tradition would take place entirely outside. Under the plan, freshmen would receive a message directing them to a specific area in Harvard Yard, while upperclassman students gather around the John Harvard statue.

At 8:30 a.m., administrators would notify HoCo chairs of the freshmen’s locations. By 9 a.m., the upperclassmen would storm their assigned locations in the Yard to notify the freshmen of their housing assignment.

The DSO’s proposal advises upperclassmen to “represent their Houses appropriately” while approaching the freshmen. In past years, upperclassmen from river houses have carried signs or worn the merchandise of houses in the oft-undesired Radcliffe Quadrangle while storming dorms in order to prank unsuspecting freshmen.

The second proposal is a revised version of traditional dorm storming that would allow

you take out one of the legs, well then, everything just rests on the remaining four,” he said.

HGSE professor Thomas J. Kane said other application components, such as extracurriculars, may result in more inequity and depend heavily on the resources available. He added elite high schools may be able to provide more opportunities for student leadership positions.

“Even though SAT scores are correlated with family background, family income, they may be less correlated with family background than some of these other measures that colleges would have to rely on in a world with no test scores,” Kane said.

The debate over standardized testing extends beyond the college admissions process. The effects of Covid-19 on learning loss in elementary and middle schools remain somewhat unknown, creating a demand from educators and government officials for testing data.

“There is a continuing need to have some sort of comparative indicators that tell poli-

three-person “dorm-storming teams” representing each house to storm freshmen entryways, one at a time. In a break from tradition, though, the groups would be prohibited from entering rooms and instructed to celebrate with freshmen in their hallways — for a maximum of five minutes.

Last Thursday, Director of Residential Programs Charnele S. Luster emailed the two proposals to HoCos chairs asking them to vote for the plan they preferred. The election closed Monday at 9 a.m.

Dunster House HoCo Chair Miyu Imai ’23 said it has been challenging to plan for Housing Day festivities with the morning plans still in limbo.

“We’re kind of making a broad outline with both options in mind,” she said. “We’ve been planning everything else, but not exactly how to do either the dorm storming or the outdoor option.”

Regardless of which plan is selected, the afternoon and evening festivities remain similar to pre-pandemic times. After students receive their assignments, upperclassmen will line the path outside Annenberg Hall at tables adorned with decorations and merchandise. In past years, the celebration took place inside Annenberg.

In the evening, houses are permitted to host their usual in-person events, including steins and community dinners, so long as they adhere to the University’s Covid-19 guidelines. audrey.apollon@thecrimson.com christine.mui @thecrimson.com

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Cohen said.

Cohen said she often patronized Life Alive after yoga classes and eventually began recommending the cafe to her students.

Cohen currently operates three other Down Under locations in the Boston area. In the fall, Cohen faced public scrutiny when the Boston Globe reported that dozens of ex-employees had accused her of creating a toxic work environment and berating staff members.

After public complaints from former employees, Cohen did away with a noncompete clause that previously kept ex-employees from teaching at other studios within a year of their departure from Down Under, according to the Globe.

Timko, a Harvard Business School alum, previously served as an executive at Staples and Panera Bread, according to his LinkedIn profile. He took over as CEO of Live Alive in 2019.

The collaborative is “rooted in the fact that we believe that how you eat, move, and think affects how you feel,” Timko said.

“We hear from our guests, for example, that they feel better after coming here to eat with us,” he said. “We were missing ‘the move’ and that’s where

Down Under comes into the mix.”

Life Alive Culinary Director Leah Dubois said the cafe’s menu focuses on “positive eating.”

“We’re committed to sourcing organic vegetables and fruits and whole grains,” she said.

The Wellness Collaborative says it is also offering an eight-week “happiness sabbatical,” featuring free food from the cafe, unlimited yoga classes, other wellness advice, and a $2,500 stipend for participants.

“We’re giving people the opportunity for two months to just deep dive into their own wellness,” Cohen said.

“I think of it as a series of doorways for them to choose what to walk through. So it’s unlimited yoga for two months, it’s nutrition counseling, and it’s gorgeous, nourishing, Life Alive.”

According to Cohen, the sabbatical program received over 300 applications.

Timko said the collaborative, which plans to provide discounts to Harvard affiliates, was drawn to Harvard Square because of its “energy.” katherine.burstein@thecrimson.com

HKS FROM PAGE 1

HKS Course Lacks Support, Staff “extremely unfortunate” the course had fewer in-person sessions than other mandatory classes.

“Given both the importance of starting a new class on this topic that was gravely needed at the Kennedy School, but also recognizing the sensitivity of the material, I think you really need to get support for both students to process it [and] have conversations,” she said. “And that was something that we had little of.”

Erick Boone, another course assistant, said he thinks if the class held lectures in-person, it could have brought in other professors.

“I think that would be a good space or opportunity for maybe additional faculty to come in, just so that the onus doesn’t fall squarely and uniquely on Professor Muhammad,” Boone said.

Muhammad said part of the reason the course seemed under-resourced to students was a dearth of other faculty members who are qualified to teach it.

“The problem is really a faculty problem,” Muhammad said.

Kennedy School spokesperson James F. Smith wrote in a

Harvard, 24/7.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

statement Monday that HKS “has worked hard over the past two years to establish an effective required course on race and public policy for our MPP students.”

“We pay close attention to student feedback, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen this and related offerings as part of our stated commitment to take concerted action on diversity, equity, and anti-racism,” he wrote.

Muhammad said HKS has made “huge progress” over the six years he has taught at the school.

“The fact that the entire MPP cohort, for two years now, has had this course — in whatever form it’s taken — is a huge step forward and a huge benefit to their education,” he said.

Still, Muhammad said it is “obvious” more faculty need to be hired who have the expertise to teach the class.

“If I go on leave, then they’ll have to find someone to teach the first part of it,” he said.

“They might disagree and say they think someone else can teach it,” he added. “I beg to differ.” miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 1, 2022

PAGE 8

EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

COLUMN

War In Ukraine

Our opposition to the conflict is — must be — unambiguous.

T

he world woke up to history last week, rumors of its death again vastly overstated. Russian troops in Eastern Europe, missiles screaming into residential Kyiv, nuclear sable rattling: Conflict is in the air.

News about surging refugee flows, miles-long military convoys, and diplomatic failure blasts out of every screen and speaker. Words alone cannot capture the horror, the carnage — or the grief.

War has come to Ukraine.

Our Board has, for years, argued against a variety of wars, and against unilateral aggression like Russia’s more specifically. For those times when we, like too many outlets, have been silent, when we have failed to spotlight conflicts with non-white, non-Christian victims, we apologize. But in Ukraine, like almost two decades ago in Iraq, our opposition to the conflict is — must be — unambiguous.

The effects of Russia’s most recent aggression won’t be confined to Ukraine’s (rightful, breached) national borders.

As the invasion presses on, lives are at risk, even in our community. Some of our Ukrainian and Eastern European classmates might simply have nowhere to return to this summer; their families may be forced to flee the country, if they are not struggling to do so already. For those Russian students who, like thousands across their country, bravely choose to speak out against the conflict publically, going home could soon prove similarly unfeasible, if for markedly different reasons.

All of them — every affiliate at risk of becoming another casualty of the meaningless bloodshed — deserve tangible support from our community.

That means, first and foremost, ensuring their physical safety. We call on Har-

vard to provide legal and financial support to any affiliates and their families who are compelled to remain in or flee to the United States, flexing its lobbying power for good. That may include securing visa extensions and summer housing.

In the worst case, it may mean supporting claims for asylum. It’s crucial to take these actions immediately, not just to meet the urgency of the crisis but to provide a rare point of stability in the lives of those affected — a respite from a shattering world.

The war will be felt most acutely by those who lose their lives or their loved ones, but its costs will be spread even more broadly. Many will lose their homes, jobs, and meaningful possessions, or be forced to abandon them amid the violence. Ukraine’s currency has hit a seven-year low, and the country will

In the face of chaos and uncertainty, the administration’s generosity could have a material impact on those students’ lives. likely take years to recover.

Harvard should immediately make emergency expanded financial aid available to students whose situations have changed, perhaps drastically, because of the war. In the face of chaos and uncertainty, the administration’s generosity could have a material impact on those students’ lives.

The rest of us, those who feel too powerless but also too angry to remain unmoved, can contribute in smaller ways.

Professors should provide flexibility to those affected, showing understand-

ing commensurate with the situation’s exceptional gravity. We, as students, should make clear that we are here for our friends and classmates who follow news updates with a dread more heavy and concrete than our generalized concern.

We are heartened by the early outpouring of support for Ukraine: Over the past week, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Yard, and spontaneous get-togethers organized on class GroupMes helped spark an organic, impactful if not at first visible, community response. Harvard itself shouldn’t lag behind. Though less pressing an issue than ensuring visas and increasing aid, the administration, chiefly University President Lawrence S. Bacow, should continue to express their support for impacted affiliates, and do so as publicly and categorically as possible. Harvard’s solidarity, much like our own, will not change the grisly nature of the conflict — but it might just make our peers feel slightly less alone.

A whole new host of our affiliates will now have the reality of war at home looming over them for the foreseeable future, forced to keep pushing through their courses and extracurriculars as if their homeland or their loved ones’ safety were not at imminent risk. As a community and an institution, the least we can do is offer them unusual support for these unusual times.

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.

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OP-ED

This Class Brought To You By Exxon

By JOHN J. VERGHESE

F

or years, the Harvard Kennedy School’s flagship policy design course has asked students to write a plan to resume offshore drilling after the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010, in which a British Petroleum rig spewed four million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This past fall, one student noted the economic and environmental risks posed by the continued recklessness of the fossil fuel industry and instead suggested that the moratorium be extended.

Their professor was more concerned that they hadn’t followed the prompt.

The professor’s response was unsurprising to me. As a Harvard Kennedy School student, I am accustomed to a classroom experience that reflects the influence of the fossil fuel industry on campus. Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard recently brought the scale of this influence to light in a report (which I helped to write) that documented how oil and gas companies fund research and programming at multiple Harvard schools and lure faculty members to board seats and consulting projects.

For example: British Petroleum has funded the aforementioned professor’s research.

Harvard Kennedy School is awash in fossil fuel money. The Kennedy School has touted taking over $1 million from Shell. The two research centers that house most of the school’s climate work — the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government — are endowed by fossil fuel fortunes. The Harvard Environmental Economics Program is funded by both BP and Shell. The Corporate Responsibility Initiative is funded by ExxonMobil and Chevron.

This influence shapes the intellectual life of the school. I had one classmate who attended a lecture by a well-known professor with both consulting and funding ties to the fossil fuel industry. When

this student mentioned the climate impact of the growth of natural gas over the last decade and a half, the professor shut down the comment and dismissed them as a mere ideologue.

Situations like this are part of a longstanding trend of the industry trying to capture academia in order to shape public opinion and serve its bottom line. An industry playbook on this strategy reads: “A regulated firm or industry should be prepared whenever possible to coopt [the] experts” by “hiring them as consultants or advisors, or giving them research grants and the like,” noting that the “experts themselves must not recognize that they have lost their objectivity and freedom of action.”

I want to be clear: The point here is not to pillory any individual actor. For better or worse, fossil fuel companies have been the engine of the global economy for decades.

The Kennedy School both cannot and should not blacklist community members with ties to the industry in an attempt at purity. The point is to illustrate the continued reach of the industry’s influence and the necessity of taking what steps we can to limit it.

The administration’s response to this criticism might be that the Harvard Kennedy School prizes engagement with the world — one of the school’s taglines — over an attempt at moral purity. To which my question would be: Engagement with whom, exactly?

Who gets engaged in the classroom, and who doesn’t? One of my professors, who received a multi-million dollar grant from British Petroleum, mocked the idea of protesting new fossil fuel infrastructure.

That’s only laughable because, while British Petroluem can buy their way in the door, the Indigenous nations who have their treaty rights violated by unwanted pipelines get frozen out of the halls of power.

We will not be engaging with the African migrants who flee their homelands only to huddle in prison camps on the

fringes of Europe, or the Guatemalan farmers who see their yields collapse in the face of unrelenting heat and drought, or even the Gulf Coast fishermen who will never see their livelihoods recover as the oceans now turn to acid in the aftermath of British Petroleum’s crimes.

As long as we continue to have a model of engagement in which we allow money to talk, we’ll only be engaging with the people who carry enough untapped carbon on their balance sheets to turn our planet into hell.

Let’s be honest about what the stakes are here. The fossil fuel industry has known about the scale of the crisis, in apocalyptic detail, for more than four decades. Instead of taking steps to address the crisis, industry leaders purchased influence in government, academia, and the media in order to lie, confuse, and delay. Now, as we stand on the brink of the utter destabilization of life on our planet, they continue their time-tested strategies.

At this point, the climate crisis is personal for so many of us. In just the last year, I’ve learned what it feels like to be too hot to think in the midst of an unprecedented heat wave. I’ve choked on wildfire smoke mixed with the rotting stench of a dying river. I’ve seen my sacred mountains go up in flames as my ancestral homelands on two different continents were destroyed by the floods and mudslides of an increasingly hostile planet.

So as a student at the Kennedy School, I cannot help but feel that we are failing to do all we can to face the climate crisis. As both President Lawrence S. Bacow and Kennedy School Dean Doug W. Elmendorf noted in emails last semester, Harvard’s biggest impact comes through its research and teaching. For too long, that research has been up for sale, and found eager buyers in the fossil fuel industry. It’s time to say: no more.

—John J. Verghese is a first-year Master’s in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The Success Dilemma & Casual Ableism

Anuksha M. Wickramasinghe ADHDVENTURES

“T

here were several men in my family, who were very closely related to me that had ADHD and dyslexia, but they were like, ‘You’re smart.’” Alyx Britton ’21, who realized they had ADHD in Spring 2020, told me on our call together.

“I was never evaluated for autism because my doctors always saw me as this miracle case of this person with my medical condition, tuberous sclerosis, who did well in school and didn’t experience a lot of the severe symptoms that a lot of people with this disease experienced.” Kendall Shields ’24 explained. It was here at Harvard that she began connecting with other autistic and neurodiverse students on campus and related to their experiences.

Teachers “would all see the surface of me needing to study and me being obsessed with habits of being a workaholic.” Anna Roodnitsky, Dartmouth ‘25, continues, “They almost bullied me,” adding, “they would be like, ‘Well in high school, I was lazy and whatnot, you should just be lazy.’ It’s like I was hearing the wrong things.”

Now, as a college student, she’s finding out that she likely has dyslexia and ADHD. “You work at this English newspaper, you do the military — there is no way you’re ADHD. So just don’t waste your time and money on this.”

Seo “Ryu” Ryu, Ewha Womans University ’23, self-diagnosed with ADHD, was told by her psychiatrist.

See a pattern? They’re all quotes from people who were “too smart,” “too hardworking,” “too high achieving” to be evaluated for neurodiversity or even recognized as neurodivergent.

I’ve been very open about having ADHD and anxiety and committed to authentically being who I am, but even so, I still wonder if others truly recognize that I’m neurodivergent beyond me simply telling them.

Often, it feels like people don’t recognize or understand my ADHD until I mess up, upon which my ADHD has suddenly proven itself as the “bad thing” everyone thinks it out to be. I still wonder where the line is between being acknowledged as having ADHD while not being seen as lazy, messy, and incompetent — the success dilemma if you will.

Of course, there is immense privilege to be writing this behind Harvard’s walls or to even have the option of not being seen as neurodivergent and escape significant overt ableism, considering the stigma associated with neurodiversity.

Even still, the success dilemma is problematic — at its core, it solidifies the neurodiversity umbrella as one of undesirability. In reality, it’s an “as is” state with its own ups and downs that are critically and fundamentally part of me. Moreover, it erases the legitimate and valid struggles that those who are seen to be “successful” face.

I think about this dilemma a lot because of the countless experiences I’ve had and the stories shared by other neurodivergent folk. Due to our perceived success, neurodiversity was a precluded identity. It’s one form of casual ableism, a form fundamentally says that you can’t be “insert positive trait” and neurodivergent, though that’s far from the case.

Casual ableism is a topic that I’ve touched on in my previous columns, given its tangible and sweeping effects on neurodivergent experiences. However, I’ve always addressed it from the first-person perspective, and this week, I want this piece to be about you.

I want it to be about how you can make the world a better place for us and for everyone.

Daniel Wainstock, PUC-Rio ’23 and exchange student at George Washington University, has been researching the impacts of casual ableism and microaggressions on the mental health of d/Deaf individuals. He provided an example of what casual ableism may look like: “A student that walked with her service dog because she is blind– she walked with her service dog in one of the classes, and the professor told that the dog wasn’t allowed in the class, and she has to go out.”

Towards neurodiversity, casual ableism takes a number of forms. For example, it may look like assuming we’re too smart or hardworking to be neurodivergent, as discussed in other pieces, or, in contrast, it may take the form of infantilizing and speaking over neurodivergent people. Basically, it’s subtle invalidations of who we are. It’s rewriting my own narrative.

But to you, you reading this, if you have the privilege of the time, space, and energy to learn about ableism, you have a responsibility to combat it, blatant or casual. Even if it’s not a personally directed microaggression, unwelcoming and invalidating language is everywhere, from self-deprecating “kms” and death jokes to ableist slurs.

As Wainstock advises, “You can learn the history, read the basics, you can read articles and books written by people of color and by people with disabilities.” He continues, “You can acknowledge that you were raised in an educational system in assistance to a society that has laws and policies that only benefit oppression and power, and you can do whatever is possible to try and change it.”

In doing so, you’ll be able to reflect on the ways you may be excluding the people around you, subtly and overtly undermining and invalidating their life experiences and identities. It’s the first step towards centering and creating space for others.

—Anuksha S. Wickramasinghe ’24 is a Neuroscience concentrator and Crimson Editorial editor in Mather House. Her column “Adhdventures” appears on alternate Wednesdays.

PAGE 9

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

COVID FROM PAGE 1

MARCH 1, 2022

UKRAINE FROM PAGE 1

Harvard to Allow Faculty Ukrainian Students Speak to Teach Unmasked Out on ‘Devastating’ War a ny changes to its own indoor mask requirement — but Nguyen hinted on Monday that the school might do so soon. “We will be updating our campus guidance in the coming days, and will announce any changes to our masking requirement before March 13,” he wrote.

As of March 3, each of Harvard’s 11 schools can set its own guidelines about instructor masking. The schools may allow instructors who are fully vaccinated and boosted to unmask.

Only one instructor at a time can unmask in a classroom.

Just over an hour after the new University policy was announced, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay ­

stated in an email to faculty that the FAS would allow vaccinated instructors to teach maskless.

Eligible instructors must have no Covid-19 symptoms or recent close contact with an infected individual and must meet testing requirements. They are also required to inform their students ahead of time that they will lecture unmasked, Gay wrote.

“This change in policy marks another important step towards reclaiming our in-person, campus-based mission, in some ways the biggest we’ve taken as a community since we made the choice to pursue in-person instruction in the fall,” Gay wrote in the email.

Under the new guidelines, eligible instructors must maintain at least a six-foot distance from their students during lecture. Harvard’s campus saw 204 new cases last week, but its positivity rate remains far below what it was at the peak of the Omicron surge in early January when the school recorded 976 cases in a single week.

“The option of unmasked teaching is appropriate to the campus conditions we are seeing now,” Gay wrote Monday. “I am confident that we can move forward while continuing to maintain a safe environment.” lucas.walsh@thecrimson.com vivian.zhao@thecrimson.com

UC Votes to Renew Summer Storage Program, Fund Clubs

By MERT GEYIKTEPE CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Harvard Undergraduate Council convened Sunday for its weekly general meeting and passed five pieces of legislation, including plans to renew its summer storage program.

The legislation, sponsored by Lowell House Representative and Social and Residential Life Chair David Y. Zhang ’23 and Pforzheimer House Representative Lisa R. Mathew ’24, plans to restore the Council’s summer storage program for 2022, allocating $15,600 in funding. The Council has previously partnered with Five Star Movers to financially assist students who need to store belongings, accommodating 500 students last year. The proposal to renew the program comes as the UC faces an internal audit, led by a team from Harvard Risk Management and Audit Services.

“Part of the reason why we’re doing this internal audit record right now is because there were some concerns about finan­

cial mismanagement, about the storage program that we conducted over the summer,” UC Secretary Jane J. Oh ’24 said.

Zhang said the audit has not found evidence of mismanagement in the program that spanned from May to August 2021. Rather, the concerns stem from an additional program during the last two weeks of the summer geared towards students conducting research on campus at the time, he said.

“That ran starting July just because we didn’t realize that Harvard did not provide the research students the two weeks of room that they needed to stay on campus and so they were kicked off and brought back in two weeks,” Zhang said.

After the UC debated the proposed bill amendments, Eliot House Representative Ryan P. McCarthy ’24 spoke in defense of legislation.

“I support this because it actually helps students,” McCarthy said.

The UC passed three pieces of legislation aimed at provid-

ing funds for student organizations. The first — sponsored by UC Finance Chair Daniella M. Berrospi ’24 — allocates nearly $11,000 in funding for more than 30 clubs. Also backed by Berrospi, the second grants Harvard Primus just under $9,000 to host a black tie formal event “dedicated to highlighting our Harvard’s FGLI students.”

Cabot House Representative Brooke L. Livingston ’23 sponsored a piece of legislation that will allocate $3,000 to Queer Students and Allies and the Office of BGLTQ Student Life to support transgender students seeking gender-reaffirming clothing and legal name changes.A fourth piece of legislation, sponsored by Dunster House Representative Samuel H. Taylor ’24 and passed without amendments by the Council, recommended student group COMPBIO to be recognized as a student organization by the Committee on Student Life. mert.geyiktepe@thecrimson.com

a re to stay safe.

“Sometimes people will go offline for a really long time,” she said.

“Talking to us about how they’re doing isn’t necessarily their greatest priority — it’ll be hiding or getting food, or something else, and they won’t keep in touch,” Browley added.

Georgiy A. Kent ’22 also said he was “saddened but not surprised” by the invasion and concerned for the safety of his friends and family, including his mother and sister, who fled from Ukraine to Poland at the onset of the invasion.

Kent is currently writing his senior thesis on Russia’s forcible annexation of Crimea but added that Russia’s invasion has actually forced him to change course on his thesis.

“I’m two weeks away from my deadline, and they decide to invade the freaking country,” ­

Kent said.

“I’m operating under the assumption that Russia has not launched a full-scale, conventional assault on the entirety of the country,” Kent added.

On Monday, the University President Lawrence S. Bacow gave opening remarks at a panel co-sponsored by the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Ukrainian Research Institute.

He condemned Putin’s “deplorable actions” and “wanton aggression” and spoke in support of Ukraine.

“Harvard will continue to support in whatever ways we can members of our community who face grave uncertainty,” Bacow said.

“We will continue to share knowledge of Ukraine and advance understanding of its culture, history, and language.”

Bacow added.

On Monday, Harvard hung a Ukrainian flag on University Hall in solidarity with Ukraine.

“Today the Ukrainian flag flies over Harvard Yard,” Bacow said. “Harvard University stands with the people of Ukraine.”

Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana also condemned the invasion in an emailed statement to The Crimson.

“The effects of these egregious attacks have already had a profound impact on people worldwide, including members of our community,” Khurana said.

“I deplore this violence and the human cost of such aggression, and I stand in support of our community members at Harvard, Ukraine, and around the world,” Khurana added. omar.abdelhaq@thecrimson.com ashley.masci@thecrimson.com

NGUYEN FROM PAGE 1

Increased Demand for Therapy Leads to Six Week Wait Times the school launched last August and urgent care options.

Around 3,200 students had clinical appointments with CAMHS last fall, per Lewis — a figure that does not include urgent care, CAMHS workshops and groups, or the CAMHS hotline. The hotline, which allows affiliates to receive immediate support from licensed therapists, has received more than 1,600 calls since its launch, Lewis said. Students can also get same-day urgent care appointments on business days by calling CAMHS. CAMHS currently employs 36 clinicians and is searching for more, Lewis wrote in a February email — up from the 32 last fall, but a net decrease from

2018 when it employed 41.

“Through the pandemic, a lot of staff decided to either retire or go into private practice, or do something else,” Lewis said.

“We’ve had a lot of turnover.”

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, therapists have seen greater demand nationwide.

According to an August 2021 report from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent of adults struggle with mental health or substance abuse disorders.

“It’s practically impossible to get a therapist these days,” Nguyen said in the same interview last month.

“We’ve seen a lot of folks who have felt like they need to back away from doing that line

of work because it’s so difficult — and, in particular, on Zoom.”

CAMHS launched a committee in October to examine and model access to mental health care at Harvard following a recommendation put forth by a 2020 mental health task force convened by University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 The group, which consists of around 15 members, meets once per month.

“We are looking at both our model of care — sort of an overall view of CAMHS — and thinking about what we should be providing, what we can provide,” Lewis said. lucas.walsh@thecrimson.com vivian.zhao@thecrimson.com

From Weeks to Weld.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

SPORTS

WEEKLY RECAP

SCORES

SOFTBALL VS. MARIST COLLEGE W, 4-1 ___________________________________________________________

WOMEN’S HOCKEY VS. PRINCETON L, 3-2 ___________________________________________________________

WOMEN’S WATER POLO AT NO. 25 BUCKNELL W, 8-7 ___________________________________________________________

MEN’S HOCKEY VS. PRINCETON W, 3-0 ___________________________________________________________

MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. PRINCETON L, 74-73 ___________________________________________________________

MEN’S LACROSSE VS. NO. 8 OHIO STATE L, 17-12 ___________________________________________________________

BASEBALL AT NO.24 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI L, 10-0 ___________________________________________________________

WOMEN’S SQUASH

Harvard Secures Seventh Straight National Title

By CALLUM J. DIAK CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Harvard women’s squash team has been on a mission this season to solidify Cambridge, Ma. as the epicenter of squash in the country. And this weekend, it succeeded in doing just that by taking home a national title for the seventh consecutive season.

After an exhilarating win last weekend for the Crimson in men’s team nationals, the pressure was on for the No. 1 Harvard women (15-0, 7-0 Ivy League) to close out the season on the highest note possible for team college squash: winning the Howe Cup. The Crimson have tasted Howe Cup glory many times before, having won six consecutive College Squash Association (CSA) titles prior to this season and 20 championships overall.

But whether it was the enticing thought of breaking the CSA record for most championships in a row, or the fiery energy of a home crowd at the Murr Center, Harvard competed all weekend with vigor.

CSA team nationals action started Fridayas the Crimson played host to a fellow Ancient Eight challenger, No. 8 University of Pennsylvania (9-9, 2-4 Ivy League), in the quarterfinals. The last encounter between these two teams on Jan. 15 saw Harvard power its way to a dominant 8-1 win.

The Crimson looked to set the tone of the weekend right away. Harvard did just that, sealing the first two matches in straight sweeps from junior Evie Coxon and first-year Amira Singh. The Crimson had even tidied up its play relative to the January match, only dropping three games to Penn and refusing to concede a single match to ­

secure a semifinal berth, 9-0.

Harvard met up with a familiar foe in the semifinals on Saturday, battling yet another Ivy challenger, No. 4 Yale (7-6, 4-3 Ivy). The Crimson had previously beaten Yale 7-2 in their Ivy League-clinching performance on Jan. 30, dropping two tight sets near the end of the game. Just as it did against the Quakers, Harvard bettered its performance for the Howe Cup. The Crimson tactically dismantled the Bulldogs’ defensive play with acute shots to the corners.

First-year Habiba Eldafrawy opened the charge, taking her match three games to none, and giving up just 10 points total throughout the match.

“I was working on some aspects of my game before the championship, so I was happy to see that improvement in my game,” the Cairo, Egypt, native said.

Even though Harvard went undefeated in the regular season, there were noticeable improvements in its play in the tournament, particularly in late, low-point differential game situations. Of games claimed by just two points, The Crimson managed to secure all but one, indicative of its exceptional ability to perform under pressure. Senior captain Hana Moataz was one such player who had a particularly strong performance against Yale.

Against the Bulldogs, Moataz swept her opponent to secure the fifth team point, the win, and a spot in the finals.

On Sunday, the Murr Center was buzzing with fans clad in Crimson.

“The energy was indescribable. Everyone came out to cheer us on and we felt the support,” Eldafrawy explained.

Harvard was scheduled to take on No. 6 Drexel (16-5) in a

UNDEFEATED ELDAFRAWY Habiba Eldafrawy, pictured here in an Ivy League match against Dartmouth, went undefeated for the duration of the CSA tournament, posting a 9-0 record. ANNE M. BRANDES—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

bid to defend its national title at home. The expectations of the entire season all led to this final matchup: the Crimson had been favored all season to claim the tournament, having won 97 consecutive CSA matches.

“We approached the weekend one match at a time. The team was so focused throughout the weekend to produce to the best of their abilities,” said Eldafrawy of the possibility of getting distracted by the stakes of the game.

Harvard, no stranger to championship games, managed the pressure from the opening serve and cruised to victory.

Moataz stepped onto the court hoping to lead her team to another title, and decided to lead by example. Multiple athletic lunge-backhands broke down her opponent as Moataz skillfully claimed the victory and the Crimson’s first team point.

Sophomore Serena Daniel and first-year Brecon Welch, down 2-0 and 2-1 respectively, both powered through to claim victories in five games, firing up the home crowd and pushing the Crimson’s team point total to three.

Harvard’s young corps, including but not limited to Daniel,

Welch and Eldafrawy showed up big this tournament, exhibiting proficiency under pressure belying their lack of CSA experience.

Eldafrawy put it simply: “We felt responsible to continue the streak.”

Eldafrawy was referring to the streak of six consecutive Howe Cup victories for the Crimson, and Welch’s and Daniel’s victories put the seventh at an arm’s length. A sweep from sophomore Maria Stefanoni set Coxon up for a chance to win it all. After trading games with the Dragons’ Brooke Herring and pushing the crowd to the

edge of their seats, Coxon delivered with an 11-5 win in the fifth game of the fifth match.

The Murr Center erupted, with fans singing “Squash is coming home!” and team members embracing outside Court 4. Harvard had won its seventh CSA national championship, a record for any women’s squash team, and its 21st national championship in program history: the most ever won by any women’s program at any school, in any sport. It achieved all this on home soil for a home crowd to see. callum.diak@thecrimson.com

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tigers Take Two, Bar Crimson From Playoff Possibility

By MAHTAB SHIHAB CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The last two times the Crimson was in the Ivy League tournament, it lost the final game to the host team. During the 2020 season, it seems their fortune would be reversed, as it was finally the one hosting the tournament.

Unfortunately for Harvard, ­

its season was canceled before it could experience the postseason, and for the last two years, the Crimson had been awaiting the opportunity to play in the Ivy League tournament at Lavietes Pavilion.

Following two losses against Princeton (21-5, 11-2 Ivy) this past week, Harvard (13-12, 5-8) was officially eliminated from postseason contention and will

not have the opportunity to defend its home court in the Ivy league tournament.

Contrary to what the team’s record indicates, the Crimson has been competitive against the best teams in the Ancient Eight. Each of its six losses against the top three teams in the Ivy League were by single-digit margins – with several of these games decided by the

last possession.

“We’ve had some tough games all year in different ways, close ones that came down to the last possessions,” Coach Amaker said. “The league has been like that forever. Princeton is really good in my opinion and they have shown they are the best in our league this year.”

Harvard’s games against the Tigers were no different. A Fri-

FLOODING THE PAINT Noah Kirkwood and the Crimson box out during a freethrow while playing the University of Rhode Island at Lavietes Pavilion on the first of December. ZADOC I. N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

day night trip to Jadwin Gymnasium saw the Crimson in a nailbiter against Princeton, where the Tigers eventually pulled away with a late scoring burst to win 74-67.

Returning home on Sunday, Harvard had a one-point lead in the final seconds of the game before Princeton’s junior forward Tosan Evbuomwan scored the game-clinching layup with three seconds remaining.

“It was just an outstanding performance by them to make plays when they had to,” Coach Amaker admitted. “At the end there, we were trying to take a foul, and we didn’t execute it, so that really hurt us there at the end.”

Despite the disappointing outcome, the Crimson had a bevy of great performances from the team.

Senior captain Kale Catchings scored a career-high 19 points while first-year guard Evan Nelson contributed 14 points. Nelson has started coming into his own during the latter portion of the season, scoring in double-digits in three of the past five games.

“He [Nelson] has been finding his rhythm, which is nice to see for a younger player, and his confidence is growing,” Coach Amaker said. “You can see it in him that he’s played more and gotten more comfortable. His teammates have confidence in him, and it’s wonderful to witness that.”

Along with Nelson, junior guard Luka Sakota has continued to establish himself as a go-to option during the critical moments of the game. The Etobicoke, Ont. native was an integral part of why Harvard had a chance to win at the end of Sunday’s game. Sakota hit two clutch free throws to put the Crimson up by one with 18 seconds left in the game.

“You know, he really came through and came to life for us

to make some big baskets, and those free throws when he got fouled on the break were outstanding,” Coach Amaker said.

“It was amazing that he could do that, and we were so disappointed we couldn’t hold it down on the other end to get the stop that we needed to get the win.”

Even though Harvard’s chances of advancing to the NCAA tournament have been stymied, its season is not yet over. The Crimson’s last game of the season will be at home against Dartmouth, and this season-ender will be especially memorable for the seniors, who havehad to experience one of the most adverse four-year stretches of any collegiate player.

“I am trying to make sure that the team knows that we should be thinking right away about next weekend for our seniors,” Coach Amaker said. “It’s hard for all this to be absorbed right now,but I want them to hear that from me.”

The seniors have been a battle-tested group, which has had to lead a team with numerous injuries throughout the season. This game was especially bittersweet for senior forward Noah Kirkwood, who played through injury and still scored 12 points.

“I was proud of the effort and how they fought even with Noah banged up,” Coach Amaker said. “He couldn’t really go today and tried, and we tried our best to do what we could and get some neat things done.”

It is particularly unfortunate that the Ottawa, Ont. native cannot continue his exploits in the postseason, as he is having the best season of his college career. Kirkwood paces the team with 17.7 points a game and has garnered multiple Ivy league Player of the Week distinctions. mahtab.shihab@thecrimson.com