The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLIX, No. 29

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

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VOLUME CXLIX NO. 29

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CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

| FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

EDITORIAL PAGE 4

SPORTS PAGE 4

NEWS PAGE 4

It’s time for Harvard to make room for ‘shrooms

Women’s water polo kicks off conference play with three wins

IOP announces its inaugural cohort of emerging leaders

Khurana Calls for Caution As Cases Spike Faculty Debate Major Changes

By VIVI E. LU and LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana implored students to continue masking and avoid large gatherings in a Thursday interview as Covid-19 cases climb on campus.

Despite a 98 percent vaccination rate, more than 240 undergraduates tested positive for Covid-19 in the last week, with Harvard’s positivity rate standing at 1.05 percent as of Thursday evening, according to the University’s Covid-19 testing dashboard.

Early last month — when restrictions around socializing and dining indoors were in place — Khurana lauded the University’s low Covid-19 numbers.

Khurana said he believes case counts on campus are driven by “individual behavior” and called on students to continue masking indoors, though he acknowledged that wearing a mask can be “frustrating.”

“We need to be very conscious about masking, and particularly, we need to be especially conscious of not unmasking

in large, unmasked social gatherings,” he said. “That is how we get these numbers down.”

The University announced earlier this week that eligible instructors may opt to teach unmasked beginning Thursday due to a plummet in local Covid-19 rates.

Though the College’s indoor mask requirement remains unchanged, the University said it would be revising its health policies “in the coming days.”

“Overall the rate of Covid infections in our community and state have declined, including in other parts of Harvard,” Khurana said on Thursday. “At the College, we’re going in the wrong direction.”

When asked about how the College is aiming to prevent unmasked events and drive down cases, Khurana said it was in students’ “own control” to skip large gatherings.

“I hope people don’t want to miss out on things, and one way you can not miss out on things is not test positive for Covid,” he said.

Khurana also commented on this year’s modified Housing

SEE KHURANA PAGE 3

By ARIEL H. KIM CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana spoke to The Crimson in an interview Thursday, urging students to continue following University mask guidelines. PEI CHAO ZHUO —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Harvard to Relax Mask Requirements

By ARIEL H. KIM and LUCAS J. WALSH

Harvard reported 52 Covid-19 cases among undergraduates on Wednesday amid a recent uptick in the number of infections. JULIAN J. GIORDANO —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Davis Center Hosts China-Russia Talk

By ALEXANDER I. FUNG CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies held a virtual discussion Thursday on China’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Alexandra Vacroux, director of the Davis Center, and Anthony Saich, director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, hosted the event as a part of a weeklong series on the war. Other events in the series explored the overall international response and human rights repression within Russia.

According to Saich, Russia’s economy has become increasingly dependent on China. He pointed to a joint statement issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in February as evidence of China’s influence, saying the statement was “basically a manifesto for what China wants.”

“That does create an interesting situation of how much China is willing to accommodate supporting Russia moving forward,” Saich said.

Saich also said that so far, INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Harvard Today 2

the official Chinese position has been soft on Putin over his invasion of Ukraine, lamenting the violence but portraying it as a response to the actions of Western countries, such as the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

He added China has advocated for a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine and chose to abstain in a United Nations Security Council vote on the issue.

“It makes comments about the terrible losses. It doesn’t want to see civilians hurt. It does respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” he said. “But it persistently continues with the view that this is the fault of the West.”

Saich said that China could play a role in de-escalating the conflict, noting the country previously stepped in to help moderate the issue of North Korean nuclearization.

He added that China and Ukraine had a “fairly good relationship” prior to the invasion.

“Ukraine has been a major supplier of wheat to China,” Saich said. “China is one of its major trading partners

SEE UKRAINE PAGE 3

News 3

Editorial 4

Harvard will soon relax its indoor mask mandate, University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 told faculty members at their monthly meeting on Tuesday.

Garber told members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences that the school will announce plans to roll back masking requirements in some indoor spaces within the next week, signaling that a major change to Harvard’s flagship pandemic prevention protocol is in the works. He did not specify when changes would take effect.

In the days surrounding Garber’s remarks, Covid cases have shot up, driven overwhelmingly by a surge in positive tests among undergraduates. Cases among College students have

Members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences discussed a slew of hot-button issues at their monthly meeting on Tuesday, including one proposal that would move Harvard to a system of previous-term registration instead of shopping week and another that would allow for double concentrations.

Harvard’s Faculty Council approved the previous-term registration and double concentration proposals last month, putting them on the docket for the full faculty to vote on later.

Faculty members also discussed a proposal that would allow students to cross-register in more than eight credits per semester, which was approved by the Faculty Council at its Feb. 23 meeting.

Tuesday marked the first time the full FAS debated the issues, which have garnered significant attention from undergraduates.

Double Concentrations

risen steadily over the last three weeks. More than 240 College students tested positive for the virus between Feb. 25 and March 2, according to the University’s Covid-19 testing dashboard.

The school’s seven-day positivity rate sat at 1.05 percent as of Thursday evening.

Some professors voiced concerns about the potential impact of loosening mask restrictions, pointing to the recent surge.

But Garber contended that few cases have required hospitalization, despite the high number of infections caused by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. No affiliates have been sent to the ICU due to Covid, he said.

“At this moment with the variants that are currently

Faculty members weighed in Tuesday on the double concentration proposal, which would allow undergraduate students to concentrate in two disciplines without having to write a joint thesis.

Currently, College students who want to study two fields must pursue a joint concentration in which they are required to write a thesis that integrates methods from both disciplines.

Faculty were divided over the proposal, though it was approved unanimously by the Faculty Council last month.

Organismic and Evolutionary Biology professor David A. Haig spoke out against the plan, saying it would change how students use their electives by offering them an additional credential for their transcript.

SEE COVID PAGE 5

SEE FACULTY PAGE 5

Covid-19 Experts Return to IOP Forum

By MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

A day after it hosted its most-attended forum since the start of the pandemic, Harvard’s Institute of Politics welcomed back the panelists of its last pre-pandemic forum to discuss the current state of Covid-19.

Harvard Kennedy School professor Juliette N. Kayyem ’91, eMed Chief Science Officer Michael J. Mina, STAT senior writer Helen Branswell, and STAT executive editor Rick Berke weighed in on the pandemic at Thursday’s event.

Mina said the world is “on the off-ramp” of the pandemic, thanks to high infection and vaccination rates that have allowed the world to accumulate “immunological memory.”

“That’s the only direction we were ever going to get for this virus,” he said. “I think we knew that by middle of January of 2020, that this virus was with us for the long term.”

“There was nothing that could make it go extinct at this point,” he added.

Branswell agreed that the development of immunity has changed the nature of the pandemic.

“There are a lot of people who have some protection ­

Sports 6

Professor Juliette Kayyem, Dr. Michael J. Mina, and Helen Branswell spoke at an IOP Forum moderated by Rick Berke. MILES J. HERSZENHORN—CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

against this virus — enough protection against this virus — that it’s probably not a fatal threat to them at this point,” she said.

Despite his generally hopeful outlook, Mina was highly critical of President Joe Biden’s response to Covid-19.

“I think it’s been largely a

TODAY’S FORECAST

SUNNY High: 34 Low: 18

failure over the year,” he said.

“Relative to the expectations and relative to the runway that the Biden administration had to make things better.”

Mina lamented the reality of vaccine inequity and said widespread distribution is likely not a priority for many people.

“I think we have a responsibility to the world, but I don’t know that everyone agrees with that,” he said. “We can’t even get universal healthcare to Americans, no less actually make real impact to get products that are

SEE IOP PAGE 5

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 4, 2022

PAGE 2

HARVARD TODAY

For Lunch Chicken with Onions and Swiss Fresh-Catch Atlantic Vegan Tagine

For Dinner Mesquite Rotisserie Chicken Shrimp and Sausage Etouffee Vegan Sauteed Lentils with Tomato

TODAY’S EVENTS “Triumph through Tribulation: Our People on the Rise” Northwest Lab Building, 5:30 p.m.

IN THE REAL WORLD

Join the Harvard Caribbean Club for their 5th Annual Jubilee hosted by influencer and comedian Juju.

With food from across the Caribbean, performances, and an afterparty at the SOCH, you won’t want to miss out on this event!

Purdue Pharma Agrees to Opioid Settlement

A Conversation with “Asia Tsar” Kurt Campbell CGIS South, 6 p.m.

Russia has begun attacking urban Ukrainian centers as part of its invasion of the country, intensifying the humanitarian crisis and pushing one million Ukrainians to flee the country thus far. The United Nations predicts that around a quarter of Ukraine’s population will be displaced by the conflict.

Interested in foreign policy? Join the Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative for a conversation with the former CEO of the Asia Group and NSC Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific with the Biden Administration. Learn about Asian politics and gain a new perspective!

The Sackler family, which owns OxyContin-producing company Purdue Pharma, will pay a settlement of at least $5.5 billion for its role in the nation’s opioid crisis. Purdue Pharma pled guilty to fraud charges and false advertising of the drug.

One Million Ukrainians Flee as Situation Intensifies

The setting sun shines on Memorial Hall and the Graduate School of Design on a clear Thursday evening. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Pandemic Suspected to Effect the Brain

AROUND THE IVIES PRINCETON: Princeton Lifts Indoor Mask Mandate, Reduces Testing Frequency to Monthly for Fully Vaccinated Individuals —THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN YALE: Aminé to Headline Spring Fling —THE YALE DAILY NEWS

Food Literacy Project Cooking Class Virtual, 1-2:15 p.m.

—THE COLUMBIA SPECTATOR

DARTMOUTH: Summer 2022 Russia FSP Likely to be Canceled due to Russian Invasion of Ukraine

—THE DARTMOUTH

COVID UPDATES

CAMPUS LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY

Join Angela Hoffman, owner of NÜSSLI118, a Harvard Square restaurant, for a demonstration on cooking scrumptious plant-based recipes.

COLUMBIA: Columbia to Drop Indoor Mask Mandate, Eliminate Daily Attestation

Many who have contracted Covid-19 report symptoms of memory loss and trouble concentrating, but the pandemic may also affect the brains of those who have not contracted the virus. Scientists suggest prolonged uncertainty caused by the pandemic may result in “pandemic brain,” a term used to describe a phenomenon featuring a lack of focus and impaired decision-making.

273 In Isolation

325 1.05% Total New Cases

Positivity Rate

LAST 7 DAYS

CAMBRIDGE

392 1.09% 76%

Total New Cases

Positivity Rate

Fully Vaccinated

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Electronics Stolen from Leverett House

In a series of thefts in Leverett House, electronics and jewelry were stolen from four students. Among the items taken were a laptop, digital camera, and discman.

According to one student, the thief left an audio cassette player and a movie ticket stub in his room.

March 4, 2004

Students to Oppose Dershowitz

Three first-year law students said they would assist the prosecution of Mike Tyson after reports emerged that Harvard Law School professor Alan M. Dershowitz would help Tyson appeal his rape conviction.

March 4, 1992

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

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

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

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 Brie K. Buchanan ’23 Assistant Night Editors Rahem D. Hamid ’25 Ashley R. Masci ’24 Story Editors Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Alex M. Koller ’23 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24

Design Editors Toby R. Ma ’24 Ashley R. Masci ’24 Photo Editor Julian J. Giordano ’25 Editorial Editor Shanivi Srikonda ’24 Sports Editor A.J. Dilts ’23

CORRECTIONS The March 3 story “Anthro Dept. Gets FAS Support” misquoted FAS Dean Claudine Gay. She said harassment and discrimination are “destructive to the culture and mission,” not “disruptive to the culture and mission.”

The March 2 story “Comaroff Lawsuit Reignites Activism” misattributed a statement to a spokesperson for the event hosted by the Harvard Graduate Student Union’s Femenist Working Group. In fact, the statement was from a description of the event.

PAGE 3

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 4, 2022

IOP Announces First Cohort of Emerging Leaders

By MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Harvard’s Institute of Politics announced Thursday its inaugural cohort of Emerging Leaders, a new IOP initiative that will bring seven young “changemakers” to Harvard for a multiday program in April.

The selected members — Batouly Camara, Kellen Hoard, Zoë Jenkins, Marcus McNeill, David Nelson, Anna Siegel, and Lily Joy Winder — champion a variety of issues ranging from climate justice to military family support to Native activism.

The cohort will discuss their work and connect with each

other, Harvard students, faculty, and seasoned political organizers during their time at the IOP. IOP Director Mark D. Gearan ’78 said in a press release that he looks forward to welcoming the group to Harvard.

“Our IOP Emerging Leaders are an extraordinary group of young leaders from diverse backgrounds in public service, advocacy, and politics, but with a shared passion and commitment to tackling the challenges facing our country and world,” he said.

Former IOP Vice President Kevin L. Ballen ’22, who organized the Emerging Leaders

program, said he is enthusiastic about the group’s diversity.

“What makes me so excited about this cohort is just that amazing array of experiences, issue [areas], approaches to social change work,” he said. “But it’s all sort of connected by this passion, and motivation, and drive to do important things for the world.”

Ballen said the initiative was inspired by the IOP’s resident fellows program and an IOP forum with the Parkland students who would go on to form the March For Our Lives organization.

The Emerging Leaders is “a way that we could kind of com-

bine the magic of that visit and some of the magic of our fellows,” he said.

Ballen said the program aims to benefit both the cohort of young leaders and Harvard students.

“The goals, of course, are to celebrate, and elevate, and uplift incredible young people from across the country,” Ballen said. “But also to inspire folks on campus as well.”

McNeill, a high-school student from Boston chosen to participate in the program, said it was a “huge honor” to be selected.

“When I initially applied for the program, I kind of fell in love

UKRAINE FROM PAGE 1

with really what the Emerging Leaders program was about,” he said.

McNeill became the youngest person to serve on a mayoral transition committee in Boston, when Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appointed him to the position following her election.

He said he and his peers will learn from each other through the program.

“If I have a certain skill that someone else as part of our program might not have, I can offer my expertise or vice versa,” he said.

McNeill praised the IOP for acknowledging the efforts of young activists and leaders.

“It’s really important to highlight the good work that these people are doing,” he said.

“There are a lot of young people out there doing amazing work, and oftentimes those people don’t get recognized.”

“It’s a bold move by the Institute of Politics to really realize that young people are the future,” he added.

Ballen said the plan is for Emerging Leaders to become an annual initiative.

“We hope that the program is something that we can continue doing in the future,” he said. miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com

KHURANA FROM PAGE 1

Experts Talk China-Russia Relations Khurana Urges In fact, in January, Xi Jinping sent [Ukrainian President] Zelensky a congratulatory message lauding their 30 years of diplomatic relations.”

Saich added he believes China would have preferred if Russia only invaded the eastern regions of Ukraine with the goal of pressuring the country out of joining the NATO and the Euro-

pean Union.

China was also not happy with Russian threats of nuclear attacks, he said.

Vacroux said in an interview after the event that Russia’s history of remaining isolated from the global economy could increase the impact of sanctions imposed on the country.

“It means that sanctions

have more power because their economy is less diversified,” Vacroux said. “And so they don’t have as many alternative sources of getting income or exports.​​” She said the closure of European and American airspaces to Russian planes and a boycott by several large cargo companies have greatly limited the country’s ability to

export goods. She added that Russian oligarchs are unable to force Putin to stop the invasion.

“They might have the interest,” Vacrous said. “It’s hard to tell because most of them are not saying anything, but they do not really have power independently of Putin.” alexander.fung@thecrimson.com

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Students to Mask Day, an annual tradition during which freshmen are assigned to an upperclassman house. The ite is set to occur in person for the first time since 2019.

Due to pandemic precautions, the College is considering two options for Housing Day: moving the event outdoors or “dorm storming” in smaller groups.

“One of the things that makes Harvard so special is that we don’t see our traditions as sort of straitjackets, but rather sources of inspiration and constantly are renewing ourselves,” Khurana said.

Khurana was also asked about the following: Support for Students During the War in Ukraine Khurana called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “unjust” and said the events “threaten life and liberty.”

The Office of International Education and the College’s residential system are fielding legal, financial, and personal questions for students affected by the crisis, he said.

“We tried to provide them the individual support they

need,” Khurana said. “We tried to make it as easy as possible to access those resources.”

His Response to a Rally Condemning Anti-Asian Racism Khurana called the racist signs left on the Undergraduate Council president’s door last month “unacceptable” and said it would “not be toler ated.”

“We as a community have to continually be vigilant and confront racism, xenophobia, bigotry, and hatred on our own campus,” he said.

Earlier this week, Khurana stepped out of University Hall to listen to a rally organized by several Asian American affinity groups calling for accountability following the racist postering incident and for the formation of a degree-granting ethnic studies department.

“It’s really important for the College to support students expressing their points of view and to listen to hear the messages that they are deliver ing,” Khurana said. vivi.lu@thecrimson.com leah.teichholtz@thecrimson.com

From Boston to Boylston.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 4, 2022

PAGE 4

EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

COLUMN

Make Room for ‘Shrooms When injustice involves the incarcerated, no one seems to care.

A

s the weather is getting warmer in Cambridge, we can observe many signs of spring approaching: the snow has started to melt, the trees are growing new leaves, and mushrooms are surfacing. Mushrooms? Well, at least one kind that we know of.

In February 2021, the Cambridge City Council decriminalized the use of psychedelic drugs. Since then, there have been conversations surrounding psychedelics in Cambridge and throughout Massachusetts, including research on drug based treatments for mental health and advocacy groups encouraging other towns to follow Cambridge’s lead.

On Harvard and many other universities’ campuses, however, psychedelics remain prohibited. The students on these campuses, however, often express a different attitude. Student groups such as the Harvard Psychedelics Club has been reframing the popular narratives around psychedelic drugs and creating a safe space for student discussions. We applaud their work, especially because we understand that psychedelics are not just at the forefront of some students’ minds — they’ve also been working their magic directly on students’ minds. This may not be the most responsible thing to say, but it’s true: Sometimes, when teens go to parties, they will also do drugs.

Yet, it should not be up to the students to take charge on destigmatizing drug use and keeping our campus safe from drug abuse — it’s time for Harvard and other universities to turn on, tune in, and drop out of their stigmas on drug use. Attempts to limit drug abuse by criminalizing the use of drugs on college campuses are not productive. Instead, they make it more likely that students will do drugs in dangerous ways. Policies that destigmatize psychedelics and educate students on safe drug use would better serve col-

lege campuses.

Indeed, policies to destigmatize psychedelics would have far more widespread benefits beyond college campuses. Practically, universities should also be able to research these drugs. Research has shown that psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in psychedelics, may effectively treat PTSD, anxiety, depression, OCD, and help with drug abuse. The Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics at Mercy General Hospital seeks to expand treatments of psychopathology through research on psychedelics, but since psychedelic drugs are Schedule I drugs, securing funding for research like this is not easy. Destigmatizing psychedelics would not only make recreational drug use safer, but it could also lead to breakthroughs in medicine.

That’s trippy, and not the good kind.

With a long history of the weaponization of drug use to target some of the most vulnerable members of our communities in mind, we emphasize that research must be conducted ethically and the resulting benefits should prioritize those who are most in need. Psychedelics were first heavily criminalized in 1966, following growing stigmatization of the drugs, and LSD was banned nationally in 1968. Later, in 1971, Nixon effectively began the War on Drugs, and in the 1980s Reagan exacerbated these policies. We now understand that these policies were driven by racism and perpetuated some extremely harmful cultural and socioeconomic narratives that endure today. The mass incarceration of Black and brown people, for one, became a huge persisting trend, and many peo-

ple of color are still imprisoned as a result despite the decriminalization of drugs in many U.S. states.

Conversations surrounding drug policies and attempts to decriminalize psychedelics, then, should also address the systemic issues of policing Black and brown communities. This includes removing biases from drug policies and the criminal justice system that will subsequently judge those accused of crimes.

And, it necessitates a more empathetic view of incarcerated people that, at the very bare minimum, demands that we still treat inmates with humanity. The lack of empathy given to inmates is precisely what allowed for the psychologist Timothy F. Leary to test psychedelic drugs on inmates just about to go on parole as part of his research in the 1960s.

Leary’s research operated on manipulating the incarcerated, but he was ultimately criticized the most for his later research where he administered drugs to undergraduate students. When injustice involves the incarcerated, no one seems to care. That’s trippy, and not the good kind. We know that it’s tempting to view a college newspaper Editorial Board’s calling for psychedelic decriminalization as self-serving and disingenuous, but keep in mind: This is a deeply serious issue with implications far beyond our community. As we proceed further with decriminalization, let’s all stay on high alert on its larger impacts.

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

Widener Wasn’t Built for Women

By SIDNEE N. KLEIN

A

few days into my first semester, I found myself herded into a group of prospective students, wide-eyed tourists, and other bored undergraduates wandering about Harvard Yard. One heel back, then the next: The tour guide had absolutely nailed the infamous backwards stride. Suddenly, we were stopped at a set of foreboding steps and met with an anecdote about valuable books, an unsinkable ship, and a rich mom who survived and honored a son lost at sea.

The story of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library is undoubtedly an interesting one. The library itself?

Beautiful, although intimidating at first.

The reading rooms are eerily quiet, and during my earliest study sessions at Widener, the thought of dropping so much as a pencil — let alone a Hydro Flask — was horrifying. Once I got over that mildly irrational fear, the long stretch of shelves and tables that is the Loker Reading Room became one of my favorite spots.

Recently, as I’ve found my gaze drifting from dense readings to the stunning craftsmanship on the ceilings and along the walls, I’ve begun to consider something else: What did this space look like 60 or 70 years ago? Surely not like it does today — well, not exactly.

This library may have been built by a woman, but it certainly wasn’t built for women.

As the classic tour tale goes, when book collector and Harvard alum Harry Elkins Widener ’1907 died on the Titanic, his mother Eleanor Elkins Widener — who escaped the tragedy on a lifeboat – sought to build a library in his memory.

In 1915, after three years of planning and construction, the library opened to the Harvard student body.

Though female students from Radcliffe College — the all-female counterpart to an all-male Harvard — were occasionally permitted to use Widener, they were only allowed in a “small cell” in the

upper level of the building.

In June of 1946, women at Radcliffe who were enrolled in summer classes were awarded full library privileges akin to those held by Harvard men, but only for that term. It was also around this time that Harvard’s classes officially became co-ed, although the mix of students did not extend far beyond the classroom.

When Lamont Library was founded in 1949, Radcliffe women were fully excluded from the premises, a move which was later justified as a measure to prevent “undermin[ing] ‘male emotional stability.’”

It was at this point that female undergraduate students were officially allowed to use the main reading room in Widener, but they could not sit down and had to exit the building by six o’clock.

There were also specifications about where women could walk so that they would not distract the studious men.

The precise timeline of the full integration of women into the male-dominated Harvard way of life is slightly ambiguous, but by the late 1970s, with the “non-merger merger” of Radcliffe and Harvard, women were allowed to use most of the formerly male-only facilities.

More than 20 years later, in 1999, the two institutions officially merged.

This university has a deep and complicated history with women, and this brief transcription hardly scratches the surface.

However, one thing is clear: Women have only been widely considered more than maids and distractions for less than a quarter of Harvard’s nearly four centuries of existence.

For most of Widener’s history, the trek up the marble steps was not daunting for undergraduate women because they were afraid of dropping pencils inside the reading room. The stairs were unwelcoming in the truest sense of the word.

Today, although I am able to fully take advantage of the library, I am also forced to confront the truth that this space

wasn’t meant for me. Harvard was not founded with the intention to educate women — especially not women of color, trans women, queer women, disabled women, or poor women. Even Radcliffe and the other Seven Sister colleges initially catered towards primarily wealthy and elite white women.

Sexism is still ever-present in academia, and anyone who is not a cisgender white man is subject to systematic discrimation in some form: lower pay, lack of representation in higher positions, much higher rates of sexual assault, and minimal recognition for their work. Institutions like Harvard continue to perpetuate harmful and exclusionary environments by protecting men who take advantage of power dynamics until student outrage forces them to act.

Nonetheless, through the efforts of women like Elizabeth Cary Agassiz, who founded what is now known as Radcliffe College; Florynce R. Kennedy, who organized a “pee-in” to protest the lack of women’s bathrooms at Harvard; and The Radcliffe Union of Students, who pushed for the development of both a Women’s Center and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department, there has been significant advancement in gender equality on campus.

Today, Harvard is marked by a diverse student body, flourishing gender-inclusive organizations, an increased amount of tenured female faculty, and constant engagement in important conversations.

Progress still needs to be made, but as I stare at the intricate molding that lines Widener Library, I find comfort in knowing that the white men for whom it was built would be very angry that I sit here regularly and continue to make noise — metaphorically, of course, as long as I’m in the reading room.

—Sidnee N. Klein ’25, a Crimson Editorial Editor, lives in Pennypacker Hall.

This piece is a part of a focus on Women’s History Month.

When Sunset Was On Wednesday

Abby T. Forbes THE TRADES

T

here are some periods of your life that you look back on and think, how, exactly, did I survive that? For Alejandra, that period was the eight months she spent sleeping on the couch. The couch was located 40 minutes outside of New York City, pushed against the wall of her parents’ two-bedroom apartment. When she slept on it — if you can call it sleeping — its springs shifted beneath her, pulsing like a beat-up organ.

Maybe because it was striated and red. Maroon, to be exact. Maroon — a pretty accurate word to describe the situation.

But like the mythical pirates of old, Alejandra could always find a way out when she needed to. Her escape ship came in the form of Harvard’s invitation to live on campus for the spring 2021 semester. In her new dorm, she had a bed.

This was an upgrade. Sometimes, though, a bed isn’t enough.

When I met Alejandra for brunch a year later, she shuddered to consider the campus climate back then. Described as “the warmest CS concentrator you’ll ever meet,” Alejandra has a smile that gives beaming a new meaning. Her hair is an evolving shade of colorful — as the multicolor dye shifts and fades, the colors change every week — and her dimples are deep enough to hide galleon coins inside.

She carries herself with a grace so forceful, you could cut it with a knife. And to tell her story — let alone to live it — you’d need all the grace you could get. The first in her family to go to college, she left Lima, Peru for the United States when she was 13 years old. She learned this new country’s language fluently by 15, then Japanese to go along with it. A year later, she took the SAT. She was admitted to Harvard the year after that.

After working so hard to get to Harvard, all she wanted to do was to go back. Yet if there’s anything we’ve learned in the past two years, Harvard is not always what it seems. She recalls her spring semester return as being one of the darkest periods of her life. She felt trapped, she says, with no outlet for joy or meaning. One day, she couldn’t make herself sit in front of a computer screen for a moment longer. Seeing that sitting in front of a computer screen is pretty much essential to studying computer science, Alejandra knew she needed out.

A mid-semester leave is never easy. Getting the leave itself is enough is a recipe for burnout — the Ad Board petitions, that phrase alone enough to strike fear into the hearts of any self-respecting Harvard student. Then the hours of administrative conversations where you’re never sure how much of your trauma to reveal, the single digit number of business days to clear your dorm of every trace of you. Then comes finding a place to live, and a way to pay the rent in said place. This takes incredible creativity and grit. And money.

“You only ever hear about people who are well off taking a leave,” Alejandra told me. “That’s part of why these stories need to be told.” She’s right. For First Generation Low Income students not able to fall back on Mommy and Daddy’s checkbook (many of the mommies or daddies in question don’t even have a checkbook), everything a leave entails is nearly impossible. It’s even more impossible when you don’t have papers — without them, getting a job or renting a place is unheard of. Now, thanks to Alejandra, we’ve heard of it.

A mid-semester leave is never easy.

Getting the leave itself is enough is a recipe for burnout — the Ad Board petitions, that phrase alone enough to strike fear into the hearts of any self-respecting Harvard student.

Alejandra is not one to give up. Relentlessly resourceful, she amassed grants and dug into her savings from years of minimum-wage work to put a down payment on a Western Avenue apartment (Cambridge is expensive, but it’s also a sanctuary city).

She persuaded her summer internship to give her a job for the remainder of the semester — lucky internship, because Alejandra knows how to hustle far beyond 40 hours a week.

Living alone was new for Alejandra — generally, it’s a privilege only afforded to the privileged.

Though naturally shy, she knew something had to be done. So she spent every Sunday scheduling friend dates for the week. It gave her confidence, she reflects, the absurdity of hitting up random people every week for the more above-board version of “you up? [for hanging out this week]?” To her surprise, those people said yes. Before long, she had a whole schedule lined up, walks in the park and breaking into the stadium past midnight, weekly Jefe’s and social sunsets every Wednesday. A birthday party where the floor shook and something caught on fire. The neighbors came over — they joined the party and even gave her two dollars for her birthday.

By the time Alejandra petitioned the Ad Board to come back in the fall, she did so with fresh confidence. She manifested a sense of agency that was always inside her. “I learned that Harvard is not forever,” Alejandra reflects. “So I’d build the experience that mattered with every moment.” And she did — from campus to a couch and beyond.

Muy agradecida a Alejandra Perea Rojas, Adams House ’23 — Abby T. Forbes ’22 is a Philosophy concentrator in Adams House. Her column “The Trades” appears on alternate Fridays.

PAGE 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

COVID FROM PAGE 1

IOP FROM PAGE 1

Indoor Mask Policy to Relax

Experts Talk Covid-19 at IOP

prevalent, we feel fairly confident that a high infection rate does not translate into substantial morbidity and mortality for most of our population,” he said.

Garber’s remarks come following new guidance from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state of Massachusetts that allow healthy, fully vaccinated individuals to unmask indoors. The city of Cambridge announced last week that it would lift its indoor mask mandate in mid-March.

Under new guidance issued earlier this week, faculty members are now allowed to remove their masks while lecturing.

As of Thursday, schools can set their own policies for instructor masking. Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay announced in an email Monday that FAS instructors who are

fully vaccinated and boosted will be able to teach unmasked.

Garber said during Tuesday’s faculty meeting that students will have to remain masked in classrooms, but he said masks will no longer be required in some indoor spaces.

The timeline for the changes remains unclear.

“Harvard’s indoor masking requirement remains in place and the University will be updating its guidance in the coming days,” University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement Thursday evening. “As Boston has announced its indoor masking requirement will lift on Saturday, March 5, the University is working to update our campus-wide guidance as soon as possible.” lucas.walsh@thecrimson.com ariel.kim@thecrimson.com

From the Law School to Longwood.

The Crimson

life-saving out to the rest of the world.”

“We’re a greedy species,” he added. “And I wish we weren’t.”

Branswell warned the world is not out of the woods yet and that it is possible more variants of Covid-19 will emerge in the near future.

“I think we should assume that we haven’t seen the last of them,” she said. “There would

be no reason to think that we have.”

Future winters may bring particular challenges, according to Branswell.

“I think we should anticipate that potentially the first few winters of Covid are going to be really bumpy,” she said. “And maybe next winter won’t be, but that doesn’t mean the winter of 2024 won’t have some surpris-

es for us.”

Mina also addressed his resignation last November from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, saying he “burned out,” which he attributed to a lack of support from the University.

“A large part of it is because this school does not resource junior faculty particularly well,” he said. “At a time when I was

MARCH 4, 2022

advising everyone — from both administrations, to governors across the U.S., to international governments — it was very hard for me to get somebody to help schedule my calendar.”

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on Mina’s criticisms of the University. miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com

FACULTY FROM PAGE 1

Faculty Debate Academic Proposals Alternatively, Haig suggested relaxing the joint thesis requirement for joint concentrators.

Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, a professor of Fine Arts, said double concentrations would lead students away from pursuing joint concentrations, which she said establish valuable interdisciplinary connections.

But other faculty members said the proposal would be positive for undergraduates. Philosophy professor Bernhard Nickel said the plan would allow students the option to study two fields that are not conducive to a joint thesis.

Peter J. Burgard, a professor of German, proposed an amendment to the plan that would require a five-year review examining double concentrations’ effect on students’ education. The amendment passed with 86 percent support.

Computer Science and Applied Mathematics professor Salil P. Vadhan ’95 said double concentrations could cut off opportunities for students to explore and develop intellectual interests by increasing the number of badges they could collect.

But Amanda J. Claybaugh, Harvard’s dean of Undergraduate Education, said she would expect very few students to pursue a double concentration, given how few currently get secondary fields, language citations, joint concentrations, and concurrent masters.

According to Claybaugh, 52 percent of students graduate with a secondary field, 16.2 per-

cent with a language citation, 5.7 with a joint concentration, and 1 percent with a concurrent masters.

Previous-Term Course Registration Faculty also discussed a controversial proposal that would implement a previous-term course registration system, abolishing shopping week — a scheduling quirk that allows students to sample classes before enrolling.

Nickel, the Philosophy professor, introduced the proposal, which had four key components: the add/drop period would be held during the first week of classes, allowing students to switch in and out of courses without instructor permission; faculty would be required to disclose some information about their courses earlier on; student advising timelines would be altered to adapt to the new course registration timeline; and technological enhancements would be made to improve the registration process.

Nickel said previous term registration would allow the FAS to respond to students’ plans in a more timely manner.

He added that it would reduce stress in the early part of the semester by giving students time to make a thoughtful decision.

David Joselit ’81, chair of the Art, Film, and Visual Studies Department, voiced concerns about the proposal’s impact on limited enrollment classes

Harvard, 24/7.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

that require skills assessments in advance of registration. The assessments would have to be done in the previous year when courses would not have assigned teaching fellows, he said, or in a chaotic, last-minute process at the beginning of the semester.

He added that the change would pose a challenge for the AFVS Department, which relies heavily on visiting professors and lecturers who are appointed less than a semester before enrollment currently occurs.

Sociology professor Jocelyn Viterna supported the plan. She said shopping period — which is popular among undergraduates — is problematic for faculty because it requires instructors to adapt courses at the last minute to find additional teaching fellows and coordinate new sections.

Computer Science professor Eddie Kohler proposed extending the add/drop period to 10 days, which he said would facilitate better advising.

He added that students should be allowed to pre-register for up to six courses without permission, instead of four.

If approved, the previous-term registration proposal would be implemented ahead of spring 2024.

Cross-Registration The FAS also debated a proposal that would remove the eight-credit limit on cross-registration courses — classes students can take at Harvard graduate schools and other neigh-

boring universities.

Under the plan, cross-registration courses would not count toward students’ grade point averages.

Faculty were split over the proposal.

Jewish Studies professor Jay M. Harris, a former dean of undergraduate education, said open cross-registration with professional schools could compromise the College’s liberal arts mission.

Claybaugh argued, however, that the College already has a robust set of requirements aimed at promoting a liberal arts education.

Anya E. B. Bassett, the director of undergraduate studies in Social Studies, said she hopes the proposal would encourage students to explore interdisciplinary boundaries while keeping them from engaging in coursework at professional schools to boost their transcripts.

Online Summer School Credit The FAS also voted overwhelmingly in favor of a policy change that will allow Harvard College students to receive credit for taking online summer school courses.

Prior to the pandemic, Harvard allowed only some Summer School courses for credit — all of which were taught in-person. But it made a pandemic-era exception to allow remote courses to count for credit. ariel.kim@thecrimson.com

SPORTS

WEEKEND WEEKLY EVENT RECAP

SCHEDULE SCORES

FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ MEN’S HOCKEY AT PRINCETON W, 3-0 ___________________________________________________________ WOMEN’S WATER POLO AT NO. 25 BUCKNELL W, 8-7 ___________________________________________________________ Baseball vs. Rice Men’s Basketball vs. Dartmouth Women’s Basketball vs. Princeton WOMEN’S HOCKEY VS. PRINCETON L, 3-2 ___________________________________________________________ SOFTBALL VS. MARIST W, 4-1 ___________________________________________________________ 7:30pm, Houston 2:00pm, at Lavietes Pavilion 12:00pm, at Lavietes Pavilion WOMEN’S SQUASH VS. NO. 6 DREXEL W, 8-1 ___________________________________________________________ MEN’S LACROSE VS. NO. 8 OHIO STATE L, 17-12 ___________________________________________________________ Wrestling EIWA Conf. Championships Women’s Water Polo vs. Cal. State East B. MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. PRINCETON L, 74-73 ___________________________________________________________ All Day, Ithaca 2:15pm, at Blodgett Pool

TRACK AND FIELD

Harvard Dominates in Women’s Ivy League Finals

By WILLIAM CONNAUGHTON CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Following its successful pre-championship season, the Harvard track and field team traveled down to Armory Track in New York for the Ivy League Indoor Championships. The Crimson continued its season-long dominance, with the Harvard women placing first overall and the men placing second.

Going into the meet, Harvard has placed either first or second place in all three of its prior team meets in the winter season. The Crimson had hopes to improve upon its 2020 finish, when both the men and the women finished in second, and it did just that.

Both teams set point records in the meet, with individuals breaking Harvard and meet records along the way.

For the Crimson women, freshman athlete Izzy Goudros placed third in the long jump with a distance of 5.92m. Fellow first-year Anastasia Retsa came up just shy of victory in the pole vault, finishing in second with a height of 4.00m.

In other field events, senior thrower Chelsea Offiaeli came up clutch in her final throw of the shot put, capturing 14.58m of distance to claim second place overall. Junior Estel Valeanu finished just behind in sixth in the shot put.

On the track, the Harvard women continued their dominance. In the mile, there was an all-Crimson podium, with sophomore Maia Ramsden, senior Anna Juul, senior Judy Pendergast, and first-year Isabelle Goldstein finishing first, second, third, and fifth respectively.

Ramsden’s time of 4:39.89 was over six seconds faster than the champion in 2020. Freshman standout Victoria Bossong narrowly won the 500m, with a time of 1:12.57 that was good enough for second all time in

the school record books. Star senior sprinter Tina Martin continued her dominant season, claiming both the 60m and the 200m, with times of 7.45 and 23.42 seconds respectively.

Martin, Bossong, sophomore Egbe Ndip-Agbor, and senior Sharelle Samuel cruised to victory in the 4x400m relay, crossing the line first with a time of 3:43.52. Finally, to round out the meet, senior Jada Jones crossed the line in the 60m hurdles with a blistering time of 8.28. This performance was enough to secure a victory and set a Harvard record for the second time this season.

In its victory, the Crimson women to earned 153 total team points, the most in school history. This meet also represented the first time the Harvard women had won indoor HEPs since 2017.

“The HEPs meet represents the culmination of a season’s worth of work. For the first time in the season, we tailor our workouts so that we feel fully prepared for the meet while also feeling our best the day of.

Despite this tailoring, however, the mentality remains fairly similar, but becomes a bit more defensive than offensive,” noted senior pole vaulter Kylie Hilton on HEPs. “The emphasis for HEPs is to trust your training and do what you know. Even though scoring is a much bigger component to HEPs, trusting what’s been working as opposed to shooting for the stars, is the best way to set yourself up to score and really contribute to the team.”

For the Harvard men, firstyear standout Kenneth Ikeji finished in second in the weight throw, with a best distance of 19.14m. Junior co-captain Kyle Murphy also earned a runner-up finish, recording a mark of 7.39m in the long jump.

In the triple jump, the Crimson men dominated the field, taking first, third, and fifth place, with first-year Daniel Falode captur-

FIRST-YEAR FLY BY First-year sprinter Victoria Bossong strides past her competition in the Dec. 4 Ivy and HBCU Challenge. This weekend, the men came second in the Ivy League Indoor Championships and the women came first. BEN Y. CAMMARATA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

ing the win with a distance of 15.40m.

On the track, the Harvard men captured first and second place in the 3000m, the second straight indoor HEPs that the Crimson achieved this feat. In the event, cross-county stars sophomore Acer Iverson and senior Matthew Pereira took the top two spots with times of 8:00.39 and 8:01.52, respectively. Continuing the team’s strong performance in distance running, Iverson, Pereria, and senior David Melville placed first, second, and fifth in the 5000m.

Iverson set a meet record in the

event, finishing in 13:42.88.

In the 200m qualifying heat, sophomore Lance Ward continued his record-breaking season, setting a new school record of 21.23 seconds and coming second in the heat. In the final event, Ward placed third overall, tying his own record. Harvard was again victorious in the 4x400m, with Ward, sophomore Greg Lapit, junior Aaron Shirley, and first-year Oliver Murcko capturing the Ivy League title with a time of 3:09.37. Their time was good enough for an Ivy League HEPs record.

These performances helped the Crimson men earn 131 total points, also the most in school history. However, the program record was only enough to secure second, as Princeton put up 189 points in the meet. Following their strong individual performances, Iverson and Martin were awarded Most Outstanding Performers on the track. Martin matched the accomplishment that her twin sister Katina Martin won in the 2020 Ivy League Indoor Championships.

“Consistent diligence with eating, sleeping, and recovery.

Often spending an extra hour after each practice for recovery activities,” said Murphy on how the team has been so consistent this year. “Dedicating the second half of the winter break to training without distraction on campus was big. [It was] a chance to set good habits and train as elite athletes. We have instilled a team culture of keeping each other focused.”

Harvard will continue its strong season at the IC4A/ ECAC meet in Boston on March 5-6. william.connaughton@thecrimson.com

WOMEN’S WATER POLO

Crimson Cruise to Three Weekend Conference Wins

By EVER A. MARINELLI CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

No. 19 women’s water polo clinched its second-ever shutout in varsity history this weekend in Pennsylvania, coupled with an impressive overtime victory and a challenging shallow-deep win that tallied another three victories for the Crimson.

“I’m so proud of this team for sticking to what we had talked about all week and sticking to

the game plan and just really being there for each other,” head coach Ted Minnis said, “[The weekend] was a great team effort with great team wins.”

Harvard (12-1, 3-0 CWPA) began its weekend of conference games with an 11-4 win over Saint Francis University (5-9, 0-2 CWPA).

The game was played in a shallow-deep pool, which demands a serious adjustment in playing style. Since the Crimson does not train in a shallow-deep

pool, the win against St. Francis was doubly impressive.

“It’s like playing a half-court basketball game,” Coach Minnis said, “I was very happy, I can’t remember a time where we only gave up four goals in such a small pool size … that first game set the tone for the weekend.”

The success continued with an exceptional game against Mount St. Mary’s (4-11, 0-2 CWPA) later that day, ending in a score of 18-0. The incredible shutout with nine saves by

junior goalie Zoe Banks was the second in varsity history for Harvard women’s water polo – the first was also by Banks in 2019.

“Although externally I get the credit for the shutout, it is a huge team effort,” Banks said, “Obviously, I’m the last line of defense so the fact that my defense was able to make sure I was set up for success really allowed us to shut them out.”

Coach Minnis also commented on the Crimson’s defen-

sive strength this weekend, noting that they were able to support Banks by shutting down the opponents’ power play and strong center.

The offensive resilience paired with diligent and consistent defense allowed for a high-scoring shutout that brought positive energy and confidence to the second day of competition.

The weekend concluded with a 8-7 win in overtime over No. 25 Bucknell University (6-5,

WATER POLO WIND UP Then first-year Borden Wahl gears up for a shot on goal in a 2019 matchup with Bucknell. Wahl, now a junior, and the Crimson women’s water polo squad picked up three impressive wins this past weekend, including a shutout against Mount St. Mary’s and overtime victory over Bucknell. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

2-4 CWPA). The Bucknell triumph was the squad’s 10th consecutive win of the season.

“I think we really held our composure throughout the whole [Bucknell] game,” Coach Minnis said, “We really didn’t worry about things we couldn’t control and we stuck together and we got the job done.”

Despite some offensive difficulties during the Bucknell game, the team was able to come out on top, noting that they pride themselves on being able to recognize setbacks and adjust moving forward.

Senior center defender Indie Halligan and junior attacker Borden Wahl were able to net two goals each, and junior center defender Jaiden Miller scored the winning goal in the first possession of the first overtime period, allowing the Crimson’s strong defense to close out the last six minutes.

“On offense today we were putting up a lot of shots, but they were going over the cage and the goalie was blocking them,” Banks said, “We didn’t stop shooting and the ferocity we came out with was really important against a good team today.”

Harvard will face Mount St. Mary’s again at the upcoming Harvard Invitational and will meet both Bucknell and St. Francis later in the season during the heat of conference play.

The Harvard Invitation this weekend will see the Crimson face off against four teams – including ranked No. 17 Indiana and No. 24 Brown – where it hopes to continue its winning streak and undefeated conference record. ever.marinelli@thecrimson.com