The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLV No. 29 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | wednesday, february 28, 2018
The Harvard Crimson The new counseling and mental health system is a good start for the University. editorial PAGE 6
Women’s Softball gets two wins in five-game opening weekend in Florida. sports PAGE 7
GenderNeutral Housing for Yard
Student TFs Could See Union Fees
By William S. flanagan and katherine e. wang
By Shera S. Avi-Yonah and Molly c. MCcafferty
Crimson Staff Writers
Crimson Staff Writers
The College is working to debut a gender-neutral housing option for firstyear students starting next year with the Class of 2022, according to Harvard administrators. Sheehan D. Scarborough ’07, director of the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, wrote in an email to The Crimson last week that his office “has been working closely” with the Freshman Dean’s Office and the Housing Office to “create a gender-inclusive housing option” that would be available to freshmen starting in the fall of 2018. Harvard spokesperson Aaron M. Goldman wrote in an emailed statement Tuesday that several “current undergraduates” are also workshopping the proposal, which would mark a first for the University.
In a month and a half, some undergraduates will be eligible to step into booths, grab pencil and paper, and fill out a ballot to determine whether eligible Harvard student teaching staff can form a union—but many College students say they remain unaware of what this means. In particular, some undergraduate teaching fellows and course assistants say they do not realize they would have to pay dues if unionization supporters prevail. Of roughly a dozen eligible students reached by The Crimson Tuesday, the vast majority—nine—said they had no idea unionization might come with a fee. Others are totally unaware of the years-long push to unionize. “What is unionization?” Computer Science undergraduate teaching fellow John Na ’20 asked. Harvard will hold a second unionization election April 18 and 19 to decide whether graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants can collectively bargain with the University. The election follows an extended legal battle between unionization advocates and the University over the validity of the results of the original Nov. 2016 election, which showed 1,526 votes against unionization and 1,396 in favor. If the second election’s results fall in favor of unionization, Harvard Graduate Student Union-United Automobile Workers—the group making a bid to represent Harvard’s eligible teaching staff—would solicit a percentage of each union member’s salary as dues in order to hire organizers, fund strikes, and retain legal counsel. HSGU-UAW has not announced expected rates for dues, but the UAW’s base rate for members is set at a minimum of 1.44 percent of monthly wages. Per UAW policy, the money collected from members is split between the local UAW, the international UAW, and the Strike and Defense Fund. Union advocate Evan C. Mackay ’19—who has served as a teaching fellow for multiple Statistics courses— said he thinks pay increases from collective bargaining would outweigh the cost of dues. “Currently, the way that I understand it is that the union dues would be the same for undergraduates as graduate students,” Mackay said. “I know that 1.44 percent would be coming out for me, but looking into the research
See housing Page 5
The Office of BGLTQ Student Life recently relocated to the basement of Grays Hall. AMY Y. LI—Crimson photographer
Business School Looks To Honor Black Alumni By grace a. greason and anna KURITZKES Crimson Staff Writers
Harvard Business School will honor the accomplishments of black alumni this spring to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the school’s African American Student Union. The AASU50 celebration—a joint effort between the AASU and the HBS Leadership Initiative—kicked off with the opening of an exhibit showcasing experiences and achievements of black alumni at Baker Library Friday. It will culminate with a conference in midApril. AASU50 Project Director Taran Swan said members of the Leadership Initiative have spent two and a half years planning the celebration, which will include an academic symposium on African American leadership in March. Though AASU was founded in 1968, the legacy of African-Americans at HBS extends back more than a century, according to Anthony Mayo, the Director of the Leadership Initiative. Wendell Thomas Cunningham, the school’s first black student, graduated in 1915, but minority enrollment re
HLS Profs Slam Sexual Harassment Policies
mained low for the next few decades. The lack of diversity was among the primary concerns of the five HBS students who coalesced to form AASU. These five, Clifford E. Darden, E. Theodore Lewis, Jr., Lillian Lincoln Lambert, George R. Price, and A. Leroy Willis, approached former HBS Dean George P. Baker with a series of requests aimed at increasing representation of black students and faculty on campus. The founders also worked to recruit black college students to HBS themselves. Their efforts resulted in more than a fourfold increase in enrollment of black students at HBS between 1968 and 1969, according to Mayo. Their experiences and the history of AASU are chronicled in cases at the Baker Library exhibit. It also includes an interactive display that showcases other notable alumni and panels featuring three black professors at HBS. The two-day conference in April will open with an alumni dinner and the premiere of a documentary that chronicles the experiences of black students at HBS. The following day will feature small-group discussions
See Alumni Page 3
An exhibit at the Business School’s Baker Library commemorates the 50th anniversary of the HBS African-American Student Union. CALEB D. SCHWARTZ—Crimson photographer
Longwood Students Protest Gun Violence
SEE PAGE 3
By Luke W. Vrotsos Crimson Staff Writer
Crimson Staff Writer
See letter Page 5 Inside this issue
Harvard Today 2
Students at Harvard Medical School and the School of Public Health joined affiliates of Harvard’s teaching hospitals to take a group photo protesting gun violence in the wake of a Parkland, Fla. school shooting that killed 17 people. They assembled Tuesday afternoon in front of Gordon Hall on the campus of Harvard Medical School, where they were photographed holding a banner that read “Gun reform is healthcare reform.” Individual students held signs that read “Gun control is doctor recommended” and “Gun violence is a public health issue.” Shivangi Goel, a co-president of the HMS Class of 2021 student council, organized and spoke at the event. “Medical providers and scientists devote their whole lives to ameliorating the lives of their patients. It seems ridiculous that guns and people with guns can undo all of that, and hurt those who we work desperately each day to save,” she wrote in an email. Goel also wrote that in her first two years as an emergency medical technician, she saw two patients who were victims of gun violence—one died, and
By aidan F. ryan
T wo Harvard Law professors have joined nearly 140 professors from universities across the country in signing a public letter that critiques what the authors call “victim-centered practices” in higher education sexual harassment policies and procedures. Law professors Janet E. Halley and Elizabeth Bartholet ’62 signed the letter three weeks ago, along with academics hailing from institutions including Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. “‘Victim-centered’ practices… threaten to subvert the objective collection and presentation of evidence in administrative, civil, and criminal sexual assault proceedings,” the letter reads. The letter states these victim-centered practices are based in the “believe the victim” ideology they say
University President Drew G. Faust, who created the University’s Committee on the Arts, gave a speech on the importance of monuments. JASI D. LAMPKIN—Crimson photographer
News 3
Editorial 6
See unions Page 3
Sports 7
Today’s Forecast
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the other sustained severe injuries. “Since then I have been a staunch believer in the idea that saving lives will always matter more to me than protecting guns,” Goel wrote. Chana A. Sacks, a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital, spoke after Goel. Sacks’s cousin was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School inw Newtown, Conn. in 2012. She called on healthcare professionals to ensure that gun violence stays in the headlines even when memories of the most recent mass shooting have faded, according to a press release from the School of Public Health. The students are not the only people in Longwood advocating gun reform: After the Parkland shooting, School of Public Health Dean Michelle A. Williams wrote a letter to school affiliates calling for more gun violence research. Both Williams and Goel took a stance against the Dickey Amendment, a 1996 stipulation that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot “advocate or promote gun control.” According to Goel, the students plan to continue their activism next month, with a walk-out on March 14 and the Boston “March for Our Lives” demonstration on March 24.
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HARVARD TODAY
WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 28, 2018
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Yale Student’s Trial for Alleged Sexual Assault of Fellow Student Begins
Activists discuss rape culture at Harvard as part of Harvard College Women’s Week. ELLIS J. YEO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
The trial for a Yale undergraduate accused of sexual assault began Monday morning—more than two years after the alleged incident— according to the Yale Daily News. The trial was scheduled to take place in fall 2017, but a judge declared a mistrial after additional evidence pertinent to the case was not presented to the defense. The alleged incident took place in October 2015, according to the Yale Daily News. The victim—identified as Jane Doe in court documents— said that the accused undergraduate raped her while she was severely intoxicated. The accused was suspended by Yale University in early November 2015 and arrested three days later, the Yale Daily News reported.
Student Title IX Lawsuit Against Columbia Dismissed A federal judge dismissed a Columbia student’s allegations of misconduct by the University after she reported sexual assault to administrators, the Columbia Spectator reported. Amelia Roskin-Frazee, the undergraduate suing the University, alleged the university did not fulfill its obligations under Title IX, specifically the statue that ensures institutions provide support and accommodations to victims of assault. The federal judge said Roskin-Frazee failed to “sufficiently allege that after acquiring actual knowledge of her assaults, [Columbia University] responded in a clearly unreasonable manner.”
HAPPY WEDNESDAY, HARVARD! Spring break, where you at? In the Atmosphere… Tomorrow’s weather: Sunny and so, so close to 60 degrees. 58 will have to do. EVENTS
Supporting Undocumented Students in K-12 Schools Interested in education and immigration? Head to Longfellow Hall at 4pm for a panel discussion with educators from around the country. Channeling Your Frustration to Change the World Angry at Oliver Knill? Mad at Gregory Mankiw? Channel that frustration into something more productive than
IN THE REAL WORLD Jared Kushner Security Clearance Downgraded
screaming at your roomates, and maybe even figure out how to change the world. Head over to the Carr Conference Room at the Kennedy School at 4:15 p.m. Trula J. Rael STAFF WRITER
Cornell Increases Tuition Cornell University announced Monday it will raise its undergraduate position by 3.75 percent– nearly $2,000–for the 2018-2019 school year, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. This is the third year in a row the university raised its fees. According to the report, the Cornell Board of Trustees will increase financial aid funding alongside the hikes in cost of housing, meal plans, and the students’ health fee. The Board voted on month ago on the tuition increase but waited to announce the new sticker cost: $54,584 for undergraduate tuition and $36,564 for residents of New York enrolled in the contract colleges.
MATHER HOUSE, BEST HOUSE The top of Mather House looms over campus at dusk. AMY Y. LI—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
After months of this Harvard grad having exclusive clearance to all things White House, his access to classified information has been reduced after his background check had been delayed for months. Guess the Harvard name doesn’t get you everywhere. Parkland Shooting Puts Guns in Midterm Spotlight With midterm elections coming up, gun control is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. Some House Republicans and Repbulican governors have began to remove themselves from the pro-gun stance of their party. Democrats in rural districts also have to tread carefully as they balance the national conversation with their constituents’ generally progun views. With the recent Parkland shooting, candidates are forced to face this difficult subject. Amazon Could Bring 2,000 Jobs to Boston Amazon is in negotiations to lease a space in the Seaport District, and if Boston is indeed chosen as the location for Amazon’s new headquarters, the company could bring up to 2,000 new jobs to Boston. To visit the nearest Amazon office, take two T stops down the Red Line to Kendall Square, where the Seattle-based company set up shop five years ago.
WAITING AT THE DOT
The Harvard Crimson
QUOTE OF THE DAY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
“What is unionization?”
Derek G. Xiao, President Hannah Natanson, Managing Editor Nathan Y. Lee, Business Manager Copyright 2018, The Harvard Crimson (USPS 236-560). No articles, editorials, cartoons or any part thereof appearing in The Crimson may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the President. The Associated Press holds the right to reprint any materials published in The Crimson. The Crimson is a non-profit, independent corporation, founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1967. Second-class postage paid in Boston, Massachusetts. Published Monday through Friday except holidays and during vacations, three times weekly during reading and exam periods by The Harvard Crimson Inc., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Weather icons made by Freepik, Yannick, Situ Herrera, OCHA, SimpleIcon, Catalin Fertu from flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0.
Computer Science undergraduate teaching fellow John Na ‘20
CORRECTIONS The Harvard Crimson is committed to accuracy in its reporting. Factual errors are corrected promptly on this page. Readers with information about errors are asked to e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@thecrimson.com.
STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Night Editor Graham W. Bishai ‘19
Design Editor Katherine E. Wang ’20
Assistant Night Editors Editorial Editor William L. Wang ’20 Robert Miranda ‘20 Alexandra A. Chaidez ‘21 Photo Editors Story Editors Ellis J. Yeo ‘20 Alison W. Steinbach ’19 Margaret F. Ross ‘19 Brittany N. Ellis ‘19 Mia C. Karr ‘19 Sports Editor Claire E. Parker ‘19 Meg Leatherwood ‘20 Phelan Yu ‘19 Joshua J. Florence
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | FEBRUARY 28, 2018 | PAGE 3
Black Arts Fest Ends Profs Debate Role of Monuments By ANDREA M. BOSSI CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College’s wrapped up their 20th annual Black Arts Festival concluded with a brunch on Sunday celebrating and reflecting on a week of events dedicated to creating and celebrating work by black artists. While Kuumba focuses primarily on song, their week-long arts festival is more broadly oriented, with topics that range from writing to film. “I think it’s important for people to understand that Kuumba is not just a choir, BAF co-chair Olutoyin Demuren ’18 said. “Kuumba is this artistic space that is really unique of this campus.” According to Demuren, the goal of the festival is to highlight Kuumba’s legacy—which she said began in the 1970s amid high racial tensions on campus—while connecting the work of black artists to a broader historical context. Demuren and fellow co-chair Lindiwe P. Makgalemele ’18 said they started planning for the festival last spring
I felt honored to be in that space as the exchange of art and humanity was taking place. Marcus K. Granderson ‘18 Kuumba President
shortly after being elected to its planning committee in the spring. Kuumba President Marcus K. Granderson ’18, who formerly chaired the BAF committee, noted that Demuren and Makgalemele’s roles required significant personal commitment. “It’s a really involved process. You start in the spring. Then you spend the summer thinking about your theme,” Granderson said. “You’re a producer; you’re a finance chair; you’re publicity; you’re a spokesperson. You’re the face of BAF. As BAF chair or committee,
you do everything.” A particular focus of the festival is to host black artists across a wide range of skill levels and backgrounds, Demuren said. “BAF gives voice to so many different types of art that don’t get attention on this campus and in general. It also highlights an artistic heritage for a people that have a long history of struggling but also hope and promise,” Granderson said. Demuren added that the festival seeks to connect art with broader societal themes and highlight a variety of narratives experienced by black communities. “There is a lot of power in art, in the creation of art, and in representation through art to represent experiences often marginalized and to show a diversity of stories that aren’t always heard,” Demuren said. “Sometimes, there’s just one story that comes out off communities,” Demuren said. Though Kuumba is a College-recognized undergraduate organization, not all BAF events were limited to Harvard affiliates. For example, their first event, a masterclass with Grammy Award-winning singer Jill Scott, was open to the public. “I was really happy we were able to open [the Jill Scott masterclass event] up to members of the community because the ability for the community, and not just the Harvard community, to have access to the kind of honesty and authenticity that Jill Scott was able to produce was really powerful,” Demuren said. Kuumba members said they thought the masterclass event, which also featured student performers and Music Professor Esperanza Spalding, was among the highlights of the festival. “I have planned BAF, been to BAF events, and I have been to multiple events at Harvard and in the black community, but [the masterclass] is probably the most inspiring, fulfilling, emotionally raw, and honest event I have ever been to,” Granderson said. “I felt honored to be in that space as the exchange of art and humanity was taking place.” Staff writer Andrea M. Bossi can be reached at andrea.bossi@thecrimson.com and on Twitter @bossi147.
By CASSANDRA LUCA and PAUL D. TAMBURRO CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Monuments are central to contemporary efforts to grapple with the past, University President Drew G. Faust and several prominent humanities professors argued at a Graduate School of Design event Tuesday evening. The event, hosted by the Harvard University Committee on the Arts and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, focused on the politics of monuments— referencing famous monuments from the Vietnam Veterans and 9/11 Memorials to controversial Civil War tributes that have sparked recent discourse over their place in the contemporary world.In her opening remarks, Faust described monuments as an “extremely timely topic.” A Civil War historian by trade, she recounted the origins of Confederate monuments across the country. “In the half century after the war ended, there was a rewriting of the war as a lost and noble cause,” Faust said, explaining that monuments played a large role in that process. Some of those monuments have been removed in recent years. Faust ended by emphasizing the “the opportunity and responsibility of art doing the work of just memory.” The University itself has grappled with historical links to the Civil War
and slavery. Faust joined congressman and civil rights leader John R. Lewis in April 2016 to dedicate a plaque to four enslaved persons who lived and worked on Harvard’s campus in the 18th century. Faust was followed by an array of professors who discussed the sociopolitical issues underlying monuments and the methods artists can employ to bridge the gap between the past and present. History of Art and Architecture and African and African American Studies Professor Sarah E. Lewis ’01 spoke about issues of race in American political monuments, and proposed considering “what must have had to happen” for the Jefferson Memorial and Martin Luther King Jr. memorials to be displayed opposite each other. “Together, the memorials function as a monument. They do what monuments do best, often without our acknowledging it: they shift us to this conditional tense. They shift us to consider this idea,” Lewis said. Design School Professor Krzysztof Wodiczko spoke at length about his work on the Goethe-Schiller Monument in Weimar, Germany. Wodiczko focused on how animation and modern production techniques can take painful pasts and create hope for the future. “The past cannot be changed. The light and sound of projection and one’s movement, gesture and speech ani-
mating it represent the possibility of healthier, non-melancholic life with such a past, and the potential for moving with one’s own life, having a future despite the past, however overwhelming and traumatic.” Jennifer L. Roberts, a History of Art and Architecture professor followed, discussing the counter-monument movement, which seeks to increase viewer participation in monumental works and invert conventional monumental themes. Roberts focused upon the colorful works of American artist Spencer Finch, including a paper installation at the 9/11 memorial in New York City. “Traditional monuments are permanent, massive, elevated, and usually figurative. Over the past 40 years, the development of counter-monumental practices has seen each of these qualities challenged and often literally overturned,” Roberts said.Dean of Arts and Humanities Robin E. Kelsey, an art historian, then analyzed the relationship between Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial and photography. He analyzed how the memorial resisted the rising influence of photography in monumental architecture, while simultaneously reinventing photography through its reflective surfaces. The presentations were followed by a panel discussion led by Professors Homi K. Bhabha and Erika Naginski.
Student TFs Confused on Unions UNIONS FROM PAGE 1 that I’ve done, I know that would be overcome by the increase in wages that a union can help provide.” Other students eligible to vote in the election said they are surprised they have to pay dues at all. “This is the first I’m hearing of it,” said Tyler E. Griggs ’20, a statistics course assistant. Sathvik R. Sudireddy ’19 said he has heard “a little bit” about the nuances of the student unionization effort but did not know undergraduates could be required to pay union dues. “I think money is not the most important to me, personally, when I TF a
course. It’s more about the experien ce and the satisfaction I get from teach-
“This is the first time I’m hearing of it.” Tyler E. Griggs ‘20 Statistics Course Assistant
ing other undergraduates,” Sudireddy said. “But I can see why other TFs might
find it very unfair, because we don’t get paid that much as it is.” Per the election agreement between the University and Harvard Graduate Student Union-United Automobile Workers, all eligible undergraduate TFs and CAs would be part of a bargaining unit if the union wins the election, regardless of their position on unionization or their participation in the election. In the run-up to the 2016 unionization election, anti-unionization students cited dues as a drawback of voting to collectively bargain, especially the portion of dues that union members would pay to the national and international UAW.
Women’s Week Panel Talks Sexual Violence at Harvard By PAULA M. BARBERI CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Panelists shared personal stories, advice, and a range of historical experiences related to sexual violence at Harvard at an event Tuesday afternoon co-hosted by Our Harvard Can Do Better and the Radcliffe Union of Students. The second event of the 2018 Women’s Week, the panel featured Law School Professor Diane L. Rosenfeld, Shane Snowdon ’78, Emily Fox-Penner ’17, and Crimson magazine chair Marella A. Gayla ’19.
Snowdon discussed Harvard in the 70s, while Fox-Penner highlighted the more recent work of Our Harvard Can Do Better, a group which advocates for an end to sexual violence at Harvard, with a focus on Title IX policies and enforcement at the College.Snowdon said the use and interpretation of Title IX has drastically changed over past decades, adapting from a focus on equal opportunity in athletics to issues including gender violence. “It was not until the early 80s that Title IX was remotely considered to be something that could be used in relation to gender violence. Title IX was consid-
ered only in the context of athletics, and it had a very weak effect on athletics,” Snowden said. Gayla, who has written about the history of sexual violence at Harvard for The Crimson, also noted the change, particularly in the language used when discussing sexual assault and rape. For the article, she interviewed alumni who graduated from Harvard or Radcliffe in between the 60s and the 80s. “When I was pretty early in the reporting process, I had a number of calls that felt like duds for me because I would say “What about Title IX?”
and they would just say “Oh, I wasn’t an athlete,’” Gayla said. Gayla said after speaking with Title IX coordinator Emily J. Miller, she realized she was using the wrong language in her questions. “I found that the language we use to talk about sexual violence changes so much generationally,” Gayla said. Snowden said in the 70s, there was not much institutional support at the University for undergraduate women who advocated against gender violence and harassment and they sometimes had to meet in secret. “We did not dream of an institution-
al response. It took us months even to get a meeting with the head of campus police,” she said. “We knew that whenever a woman went to campus or local police, the first questions, because this is the 70s, were ‘What were you wearing? What were you doing there? What were you doing there then?’ We knew about that and that all we had was each other.” Rosenfeld offered advice on activism for current students, encouraging them to demand an audience with the administration, especially with University President-elect Lawrence S. Bacow.
HBS Will Celebrate 50th Year of African-American Student Union ALUMNI FROM PAGE 1 with prominent black executives and entrepreneurs as well as AASU founding members Lewis, Lambert, and Willis. “Friday, we’ll be looking back, celebrating the past,” Mayo said. “Saturday is about looking forward and thinking about what is the future and how do we think about race relations, how do we think about black business leadership, how do we think about contributions
to society.” AASU has been focused on these issues since its inception. Swan, who was a member of the group in the early 1990s, said the organization has consistently reacted to topical political and social movements while simultaneously providing a community for black HBS students. “I think a lot of what makes [AASU] different from year to year is what’s going on in society,” Swan said, adding that the group has taken part in ac-
“You have to have allies who feel invested in the black community.” Diamond M. Richardson
tivism involving movements such as Black Lives Matter. While the conference is primarily “alumni-focused,” Mayo said he estimates about 90 current HBS students will attend. He said the Leadership Initiative issued a formal invitation to all black students at HBS, but the event is open to students of all racial backgrounds. Diamond M. Richardson, a firstyear student at HBS and co-founder of Thrive, an online platform that sup-
ports women of color in business and tech industries, said she is excited to attend the conference, and hopes to see non-black students there as well. “You really do have to have not just black people working on this, but you have to have allies who feel invested in the black community as well,” Richards said. “So I really hope there are students from across the ethnic perspective at HBS who come to the conference,” she added.
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Dorms to Go Gender Neutral HOUSING FROM PAGE 1 “Gender inclusive housing acknowledges and affirms gender diversity as a critical aspect of our campus community, and we are excited about our efforts to expand our current offerings to include first-year students,” Goldman wrote. He declined to give more specifics, adding that the College “looks forward to having more details to share in near future.” While it remains unclear exactly how a “gender-neutral” housing system would operate, the setup would likely allow all gender identities to room together in whatever combination the individuals choose. Currently, Harvard does not offer gender-neutral living arrangements for freshmen. Since 2014, though, all rising sophomores, juniors and seniors have been able to request gender-neutral rooms in their upperclassmen Houses. “Rising sophomores, juniors, and se-
niors may request to form mixed-gender rooming groups,” the Harvard College Student Handbook asserts. “All occupants must voluntarily agree to the arrangements and must sign a gender neutral housing contract confirming their agreement.” Students on campus have been urging College administrators to expand gender-neutral housing to freshmen for at least a year. In the fall of 2017, following advocacy from the Trans Task Force, the Freshman Dean’s Office and the BGLTQ Office formed a committee that aimed to draft a proposal laying out options for first-year gender-inclusive living spaces. The committee included members of the Trans Task Force, the BGLTQ Office, the FDO, and the Office of Student Life. The group has never released a public report of any kind—but, speaking at a panel at the Democracy Center in Sept. 2017, Scarborough said Harvard was reviewing proposals to add gender-neutral housing for freshmen. After the panel, the FDO and the
BGLTQ Office released a joint statement outlining the status of efforts to create gender-inclusive living option at the time. “Students and staff from the FDO and the Office of BGLTQ Student Life are currently exploring options for expanding gender-inclusive housing to the first year class,” the statement read. One logistical concern posed by gender-neutral rooming arrangements is the fact that some students are under the age of 18 when they arrive on campus. Undergraduates’ underage status could complicate the College’s decision to offer mixed-gender housing. On issues like these, the committee has sought legal advice from Harvard’s Office of the General Counsel, Resident Dean of Freshmen for Ivy Yard Michael C. Ranen told The Crimson in Nov. 2017. Ranen also said at the time that the committee was looking to other universities to evaluate how they approached gender-inclusive living options.
Profs Bash Harassment Policies LETTER FROM PAGE 1 sprang up in the 1990s. The document’s authors assert that supporters of this ideology called for “swift and unquestioning judgments about the facts of [sexual] harassment without standard evidentiary procedures.” The letter culminates in a “call to restore due process and fundamental fairness” in university sexual harassment cases by ending the “use of victim-centered, trauma-informed, and believe the victim practices.” At Harvard, Halley has been one of the most outspoken critics of policies and procedures pertaining to sexual assault cases. When the University adopted new sexual harassment policies in the fall of 2014, Halley numbered among the 28 signatories of an open letter that criticized these changes. The Law School ultimately adopted its own set of procedures in 2014, breaking with the rest of the Universi-
ty with the move. Halley and Bartholet also comprised two of the four Harvard Law
Harvard Law Professor
of the standards outlined in the 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter. That letter was an Obama-era order directed colleges and universities receiving federal funding to “use a lower standard of proof” in sexual assault cases as well as establishing a broader definition of the term sexual harassment. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos rescinded those guidelines in September, leading students to protest Devos at a Kennedy School event that month. Halley said in an interview Tuesday she signed the recent open letter because it aligned with her belief that the policies and procedures on sexual assault need to be revised. “I signed it because I thought it was correct. I’ve seen the bad effects of politically slanted training,” Halley said.
School faculty members who submitted a memo to the U.S. Department of Justice last year asking for a review
Staff writer Aidan F. Ryan can be reached at aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @AidanRyanNH
“I signed it because I thought it was correct. I’ve seen the bad effects of politically slanted training.” Janet E. Halley
FAS Ponder Cognitive Sci. Concentration By CECILIA R. D’ARMS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative has formed a faculty committee to investigate the potential for offering an interdisciplinary “cognitive science” concentration at the College. Responding to interest from undergraduates in the Harvard Society for Mind Brain and Behavior, the committee is exploring prospective new courses and class requirements for students who want to study the function of the mind and brain from an interdisciplinary perspective. The initiative hopes to offer courses by 2020. Undergraduates who want to study cognitive science currently must choose the Mind Brain Behavior track, available for students in seven participating concentrations: psychology, neurobiology, philosophy, linguistics, computer science, human evolutionary biology, and history of science. Psychology Professor Alfonso Caramazza, a faculty co-director of MBB, founded a cognitive science program at Johns Hopkins University before coming to Harvard. Caramazza described cognitive science as “the study of the mind as a computational system.” Caramazza said he believes the mind and brain can be better understood by combining the approaches and expertise of researchers in various fields, and said he hopes the committee will build a concentration where students will focus on at least two tracks within the concentration, such as “language in the mind” or “cognition and computation.” The faculty committee is currently discussing the substance and structure of the possible program, but has not yet proposed a plan to College administrators, according to Caramazza. The current plan is for a concentration run by a committee—much like Social Studies—with no concentration-specific faculty or department. Psychology Professor Samuel J.
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Gershman, a member of the committee, said they were considering developing new courses as part of the prospective concentration curriculum. “I’ve been involved in discussions about an introductory course in cognitive science,” Gershman said. He also said the committee has discussed sophomore tutorials. Gabriel J. Grand ‘18, former board chair of HSMBB, brought up the idea of a concentration with faculty members. “Right now it’s this umbrella where you have all these different concentrations, and then underneath it is MBB. The goal of this concentration is to just invert that structure so there is one cognitive science concentration, and within that you can specialize in whatever direction you’re interested in,” Grand said. Without a concentration, there are fewer opportunities to interact with other students who study MBB, Grand added. “Because MBB is very large, because it pulls from seven different concentrations, it means that there is no centralized student community surrounding the concentration,” Grand said. “I don’t even know most of the other MBB track concentrators in my year.” Kayla U. Evans ‘19, another advocate for a cognitive science concentration, pointed out that all existing MBB tracks require a thesis, while a cognitive science concentration might not. “I’m no longer [concentrating in] MBB,” Evans said, “partly because MBB requires a thesis.” Both Caramazza and Gershman said there might be challenges with the College’s “depth” and “breadth” requirements, however, in building a concentration whose methodology and subject matter are so expansive. “One thing that we’ve been trying to do is balance the need for coherence with the need for flexibility,” Gershman said. “The dream of cognitive science is that we could identify these common ideas or principles that cut through different interdisciplinary boundaries.”
EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD
Counseling and Mental Health Services Pilot System a Good Start While UHS and CAMHS are worthy of praise, they alone cannot be expected to bear the entire weight of issues of mental health on campus
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arlier this month, Harvard University Health Services Director Paul J. Barreira announced a new administrative effort to reduce wait times for Counseling and Mental Health Services appointments. The effort, in response to a steady increase in the number of requested appointments at CAMHS, seeks to respond to all students who request appointments less than 48 hours after they contact CAMHS. While we commend CAMHS for moving to decrease wait times and get students the care they need, we reiterate that mental health issues on campus cannot simply be solved by one approach or by one organization. In order to seriously address issues of mental health on campus, cooperation from the administration will be needed. Only then can concrete actions, such as increasing funding to address mental health issues and ameliorating these issues’ underlying causes, be taken. In the meantime, we call on CAMHS to continue to explain to students the availability and breadth services it provides. Even as wait times decrease, same-day urgent care services that provide vital immediate support remain a vital source of support. Students often require these services to remain as safe and healthy as possible during their time at Harvard. Nevertheless, we are glad to see that UHS is taking the issue of student
mental health seriously, and we hope this effort sparks more discussion concerning how to correctly and effectively improve mental health on campus. The willingness of UHS to recognize that an increase in the volume of students seeking mental health care demands a corresponding increase in CAMHS’s capacity to treat them shows not only theoretical willingness to acknowledge the importance of mental health, but actual willingness to devote time, energy, and funds to making its system more responsive. Still, while UHS and CAMHS are worthy of praise, they alone cannot be expected to bear the entire weight of issues of mental health on campus. Though their treatment efforts are critical, some of the most prominent root causes of the surge in demand for mental health services come from outside the purview of UHS. Indeed, Harvard’s stressful culture itself is one of the most important and widespread of these causes. Thus, if mental health is truly going to improve, the administration must work to foster a less stressful atmosphere around academic life at the College. Given the existence of efforts like the Transcript Project, which asks students to “Discard the conventional markers of academic success,” it seems clear that the administration does desire to change the competitive, highstress culture surrounding academic performance. However, this attempt
to lower stress levels by telling students to focus less on their grades is hopelessly lacking in depth. A culture of driven, ambitious students will not relax itself into a more balanced atmosphere simply because its successful supervisors tell it that constant, unfailing perfection is not required for long-term success.
If the College is serious about making a difference, it must at least investigate ways of addressing the root causes of mental health. Simply put, the question of how to form a culture that deals with academic pressure more healthily is not an easy one, and there may be no perfect answers. But if the College is serious about making a difference, it must at least investigate ways of addressing the root causes of mental health. 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.
PILOT-ing a New Way Forward for Harvard Harvard’s community benefit payments fall short of its obligations Will H. MACARTHUR THE “BRIDGE”
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We have taken the route of communicating our concerns in a transparent fashion…. The result is a model for town-gown relations. We know it is far from perfect. But we are working together and determined to make it successful,” Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and then-Tufts University President Lawrence S. Bacow wrote in a 2009 Letter to the Editor in the Somerville Times, describing the relationship between Tufts and Somerville. When he led Tufts, Bacow spoke frequently about the importance of strong community relationships. In 2004, he negotiated a plan to formalize the payment of community benefits to Somerville and Medford, where Tufts is located, including it in a September update to the university. After a conversation with Somerville Alderman Jack Connolly, he inaugurated a tradition of “Community Days,” bringing Tufts affiliates and Somerville and Medford residents together. Now over 15 years old, the annual event combines student performances with presentations from community-based agencies and city departments. In a letter presenting a 2006 report entitled “Connecting with Neighbors: Tufts and the Somerville Community,” Bacow traced the success of Tufts’ relationship with Somerville to “the promise of mutual respect and a desire to share our cultures and resources.” This respect does seem to have been mutual. During a flare-up of towngown tensions in 2007 after the rowdiness and “rude behavior of some Tufts students,” Curtatone penned a letter to the editor of the Somerville Times urging calm. He cited his strong working relationship with Bacow and lauded
several of Tufts’ community outreach programs, and made particular note of their 2004 agreement, which he stated would “net the City of Somerville more than $1.2 million over a ten-year period” in “direct in-lieu-of-tax contributions.” Direct payments like these are part of a broad trend of payment-in-lieu-of-tax, or PILOT, agreements between tax-exempt institutions and the communities that host them. Legally, these payments are voluntary, but they often fill critical holes in municipal budgets in cities where a high concentration of tax-exempt land on hospital, university, and museum campuses shrinks the commercial tax base and strains public funds. Some cities, including Cambridge and Somerville, set payment plans through individual negotiations with universities. The City of Boston independently calculates an expected contribution based on estimates of the value of a university’s property and of the cost of city services that they are likely to consume and requests that each institution pay the calculated amount. But even after counting programs with community benefits toward the sum, many institutions fall far short. While the $120,000 per year in the Bacow-Curtatone agreement is nothing to sneeze at, it is pocket change for either a university or a city, and less than either of the two men involved in the deal drew in salary in the waning years of the tenyear agreement. As the Tufts Daily noted in 2016, Boston had received more from Tufts in 2011, 2012, and 2013 under their formula-based payment system than Somerville had under the Bacow-Curtatone agreement. A new negotiated agreement between Tufts and Somerville pays more to the city at $275,000 per year, but still falls short of the $556,000 that they paid in 2016 under the PILOT agreement with Boston. A payment at this level is laudable if the alternative is nothing, but laughably small as a substitute for the property tax payments that form the backbone of local budgets. Harvard is not fulfilling its financial
obligations under either the negotiated settlement or the formula system. In Boston, Harvard has been delinquent for each year of the six-year formula program, and only paid 53 percent of its 2017 obligation, or less than 7 percent of what it would pay if its property were taxable. In Cambridge, payments are set under a 20-year negotiated agreement that has been unpopular with Cantabrigians since it was signed in 2005. At the time, then-City Council University Relations Committee co-chair Marjorie Decker called it “just a pittance.” Bacow improved the relationship between Tufts and Somerville in many ways. Under his leadership, Tufts may have been the “almost perfect neighbor” that Curtatone describes. But payments in lieu of taxes are one way in which universities in greater Boston could be a lot more perfect, and Harvard is a lead offender. The new administration will have a lot on its plate when Bacow, now the president-elect of Harvard, takes office on July 1. But if he hopes to realize his neighborly ambitions from his time at Tufts, he owes it to Cambridge to renegotiate a fairer PILOT agreement, and he owes it to Boston to meet Harvard’s full payment obligations under the contribution formula, which calculates payments as a percentage of the standard property tax based on the share of city budgets that fund services that universities are likely to consume. Bacow’s new administration has an opportunity to set an example of a true “model for town-gown relations”: to abandon a broken PILOT paradigm that lets universities off the hook for the financial burden that they place on their host communities—the cost of keeping the roads around them plowed and maintained, the water that flows through their pipes clean, and the neighborhood around them safe—and to set higher payments that fully compensate them for it. Will H. MacArthur ’20 is a Social Studies concentrator living in Currier House. His column appears on alternate Wednesdays.
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | FEBRUARY 28, 2018 | PAGE 6
Thou Shalt Love From the Inside By TYLER S. PARKER
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can’t breathe. I’m lying on the floor of my single in Leverett. In the dark, I face the ceiling, and I wonder if God is actually beyond it. I feel so alone. I need to tell my friend about my same-sex attractions, but I can’t find my strength. Beads of sweat slick my hand. I wipe my hands on my jeans so I can pick up my phone. I mouth a quick, desperate prayer. I dial. “Hello?” The student I called that day became one of my closest friends as we grew as Christians within the community known as Harvard College Faith and Action. Throughout college, we had many more conversations about sexuality and scripture and the like, but I can’t forget that first conversation. I didn’t think he would yell at me or curse me, though the Church has historically failed to love our BGLTQ brothers and sisters in ways much, much worse than these. I thought there might be a more subtle rejection, the kind that is revealed in a softening of the voice or an uncomfortable shifting and the soft “Oh.” I was hurting, I was terrified, and, knowing the history of the Church towards BGLTQ people, I expected the worst. What I didn’t expect was the response that pierced through the silence: “I love you, and I want to walk beside you.” His response unlocked for me the profound beauty of God’s love. This love is, to us, miraculous. That a holy God enters the world to dwell One of the great with unholy people is utterly unexpected, a disurprises of my vine subversion of dire experience with circumstance. I didn’t expect my friend HCFA was that so to want to walk alongmany of my friends side me, and I could never have imagined the seemwere willing to lay ingly boundless humility down their busy with which he and others in HCFA sought to help me Harvard lives to along in my struggle to rechelp me fight my oncile my sexuality with my traditional faith over loneliness. the next couple of years. To have same-sex attractions in a traditional, evangelical Christian context can be profoundly isolating, but one of the great surprises of my experience with HCFA was that so many of my friends were willing to lay down their busy Harvard lives to help me fight my loneliness. They called frequently to check in. They invited me to dinner every week. They asked me hang out on nights when I most likely would’ve spent unproductive hours in despair struggling to reconcile the requirements of my conscience with the realities of my desires. Though I ultimately chose for theological reasons to become celibate, explorations of faith and sexuality in the fellowship have always been characterized, for me, by rigorous intellectual engagement, radical hospitality, and, above all, love that shatters expectations. We all have different definitions of love. Our ideas of it are shaped by the media, our experiences, and most of all, by our relationships. Many people, including myself, have believed in foolish pride that we can distinguish love from hate with a single, swift glance from the outside. This is the error of every prejudice. The Editorial Board of The Crimson recently asserted, from the outside of HCFA, that a recent decision to remove a student from leadership based on what HCFA leaders termed a theological disagreement constitutes a “morally egregious” act of hatred, but as an op-ed by an alumna points out, ethical conversations within Christian faith communities are not always so simple. On the contrary, a more in-depth profile of HCFA by the Fifteen Minutes magazine of The Crimson a year and a half ago led a reporter to the conclusion that “HCFA provides just the sort of emotional and personal guidance that many bemoan is not present enough at Harvard.” I only cite these examples to illustrate this: The truest knowledge of our neighbors comes from making the effort to share in their experiences of life. To love is to enter into a world beyond your own in order to understand the people therein and walk with them. This love is the love I have known within HCFA, and it is the love embodied by the God who enters into our world to know us and to love us. We may fail to extend this love to our BGLTQ neighbors from time to time. For that, we humbly ask forgiveness. We are doubly convicted as followers of the God who we believe perfectly embodies love grounded in empathy. Even so, the failure of the Church to attain the perfect love of God should not destroy our faith in its goodness. The love that enters into a world unlike its own and empathizes, reconciles, and heals is sorely needed right now. Our prejudices are shattered when we step past principles to discover people in need of our love and our presence. Can we be brave enough to reach out to our queer friends and vice versa? Will we open up the difficult conversations and the long days of walking with one another that will lead to understanding? If so, perhaps we can find a love that is beyond our expectations. I have hope that in this challenging work, we all might find the unexpected miracle of a gentle “I love you” in the silence, a breath of life giving us power to dive deeper into relationship with each other, and ultimately, with our God. Tyler S. Parker ’17 is an alumnus of Harvard College Faith and Action and is now a Christian Union-employed ministry intern working with HCFA. Christian Union is a national umbrella organization that helps fund and support HCFA.
The Harvard Crimson President Derek G. Xiao ’19 Managing Editor Hannah Natanson ’19 Business Manager Nathan Y. Lee ’19
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
Associate Managing Editors Mia C. Karr ’19 Claire E. Parker ’19 Associate Business Managers Dahlia S. Huh ’19 Max W. Sosland ’19 Editorial Chairs Emmanuel R. R. D’Agostino ’19 Cristian D. Pleters ’19 Arts Chairs Mila Gauvini II ’19 Grace Z. Li ’19 Blog Chairs Lydia L. Cawley ’20 Stuti Telidevara ’20 Design Chairs Morgan J. Spaulding ’19 Simon S. Sun ’19
Digital Strategists Caroline S. Engelmayer ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Dianne Lee ’20 FM Chairs Marella A. Gayla ’19 Leah S. Yared ’19 Multimedia Chairs Amy Y. Li ’20 Ellis J. Yeo ’20 Sports Chairs Cade S. Palmer ’20 Jack R. Stockless ’19 Technology Chairs Nenya A. Edjah ’20 Theodore T. Liu ’20
SPORTS
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | FEBRUARY 28, 2018 | PAGE 7
Harvard Finishes .400 in 5 Game Opening Weekend two runs, 5-3. However, by the time the Crimson recorded the third out, Kentucky had padded its lead with four more runs. Six hits, five of which were singles, allowed the Wildcats to circle the bases until Duncan re-entered the game in relief to strike out the final batter of the inning. Earlier, Harvard held a 3-1 lead at the midpoint of the game. The Crimson jumped out to a two-run lead in the top of the first on the strength of a Meagan Lantz double and a Lockhart sacrifice fly. Junior co-captain Kaitlyn Schiffhauer plated Harvard’s third run in the top of the fourth with a double to center field. Kentucky out-hit Harvard, 13-3, but the visitors managed to hang with the Wildcats by killing rallies and taking advantage of its own offensive opportunities. Kentucky stranded nine runners to the Crimson’s four.
STARTING OUT SWINGING Junior infielder Erin Lockhart makes contact with a pitch in last year’s matchup against Princeton. The Crimson opened the season this weekend, finishing with a 2-3 record at the Citrus Classic. RYOSUKE TAKASHIMA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER SOFTBALL By JACK STOCKLESS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
As the fickle New England weather reverted back to the typical blustery, cold winter conditions, the Harvard softball team traveled to sunny Orlando, Fla., for the Citrus Classic. After winning its first two games on Friday, the Crimson dropped the final three to begin its season with a 2-3 record. The level of Harvard’s competition increased significantly as the tournament progressed. On Saturday, the Crimson faced off against No. 23 Kentucky, and on Sunday it took on Louisville, which was last season’s 60thranked team in the nation by RPI. “I think coming down here we all knew this tournament was going to be challenging,” junior lefthander Katie Duncan said. “It was going to push us, especially because it was our first time out, but we were really excited for the challenge.” Duncan served as Harvard’s workhorse over the weekend, throwing 23.2 innings and making appearances in all
five games, four of which she started. Duncan is far and away the most experienced hurler on the roster, as there are no senior pitchers, classmate Sarah Smith missed time with injury, and the rest of the rotation is comprised of sophomores. “We would love to have our bullpen, and we know our pitchers are working to get to that point, but having Katie throw so many innings and be consistent was huge for us, and we’re really hoping she can maintain that throughout the season,” junior third baseman Erin Lockhart said. LOUISVILLE 4, HARVARD 3 Through six and a half innings on Sunday morning, it appeared as though the Crimson would fly back to Cambridge with three wins on the weekend. However, a last-ditch rally for the Cardinals (10-4) was too much for Harvard to handle. The Crimson entered the bottom of the seventh clinging to a 3-2 lead with sophomore Olivia Giaquinto in the circle. Giaquinto hit the first batter she faced, and coach Jenny Allard opted to bring starter Duncan back into the
fold. A sacrifice bunt and an error put runners on the corners with one out for Louisville. Duncan hit Blaire Bass to load the bases, but she answered by striking out the next batter. One more out and Harvard would go home with three wins. One more baserunner, and the Cardinals would force extra innings. It turned out that Louisville got that baserunner and didn’t stop there. Caitlin Ferguson and Jamie Soles drew a pair of walks, and Maddy Newman crossed the plate as the winning run. For the second consecutive game, the Crimson posted just four hits. Junior shortstop Rhianna Rich was responsible for half of those—a single and a double. KENTUCKY 9, HARVARD 3 Harvard hung with Kentucky (9-3), ranked 23rd in the NCAA, through five and a half innings. However, the Wildcats used two huge offensive frames and shutdown pitching in the second half of the game to pull away from the Crimson. When Harvard took the field in the bottom of the sixth, it trailed by just
DUKE 5, HARVARD 0 After scoring 11 runs on Friday night, Harvard’s offense went quiet in its first action on Saturday. Duke (9-5), a firstyear program at the Division I level, posted its fourth shutout in 14 games. Blue Devils righthander Katherine Huey got the start and tossed four shutout innings. Peyton St. George followed up with three scoreless innings of her own to secure the combined shutout. Each pitcher has a season ERA under 2.00. The Crimson’s offense was capped at just four hits, none of which went for extra bases, and one walk. Harvard only struck out three times, but Duke played a clean game in the field between its duo of pitchers. “I think Saturday we definitely saw some better pitching and some better defensive teams, and they were also making some pretty good plays on us,” Lockhart said. HARVARD 11, MIAMI (OH) 8 In a high-scoring affair, the Crimson advanced to 2-0 in the Citrus Classic. Every player in the starting lineup reached base at least once. Twice, Miami (3-6) put up a fight after facing large deficits. In the top of the fifth, trailing 9-4, the Redhawks plated four runs to slash Harvard’s advantage. Miami managed just one hit in this inning but took advantage of control issues from the Crimson’s bullpen. One inning earlier, the Redhawks were down three runs but pulled with-
in one on the strength of an RBI single and an RBI double. Duncan stymied Miami’s multiple comeback attempts by finishing out the game with 2.1 innings of shutout ball. Lantz and freshman Morgan Melito each collected three hits, and Lockhart went two-for-three with her first home run of the season. This game was one of firsts for a pair of Harvard players. On the first pitch of her first collegiate at-bat, freshman outfielder Alyssa Saldana hit a home run. Joining the club in the bottom of the sixth, sophomore catcher Lindey Kneib recorded her first career homer. “All three of the freshmen did a great job stepping up and contributing in big roles,” Duncan said. “All in all, the freshmen have really added the depth that the team needed and have contributed immediately, not only on the field but also in the dugout, being positive, upbeat and really into the game, cheering everybody on.” HARVARD 4, PURDUE 3 The Crimson opened its 2018 campaign with a close victory over Purdue (2-11). Duncan tossed six innings without conceding an earned run, striking out three in the process. After five relatively quiet offensive innings, a flurry of runs in the sixth and seventh gave Harvard the victory. In the top of the sixth, Rich knotted the score at two with an RBI double, and her double play partner Lantz drove her in with an opposite-field base hit. The Crimson extended its lead to 4-2 in the top of the seventh and needed just three outs to start its tournament with a win. However, Purdue put runners on the corners with no outs to start the bottom half of the frame. Duncan returned to the mound in Alissa Hiener’s stead, but the Boilermakers’ Stephanie Ramsey ripped a single into left field to cut Harvard’s lead to one. Before Purdue could continue its comeback bid, however, Duncan regrouped. The junior struck out Alexa Binckes and induced a double play to shut down the Boilermakers’ effort. On the offensive end, a trio of juniors set the tone. Rich, Lantz, and junior catcher Elizabeth Shively combined for seven hits, three runs scored, and three runs batted in. Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jack.stockless@thecrimson.com.
Crimson Drops 3 of 4 Versus Samford to Start the Season BASEBALL By BRYAN HU CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Baseball teams across the nation are itching to get back on the diamond after the break, and the time has finally come. The Harvard baseball team kicked off its 2018 campaign with a four-game set at Samford last weekend in Birmingham, Ala. The Crimson looked to begin its quest to improve upon last year’s 19-23 season with a fast start, but the Bulldogs (5-3) took three of four games to temporarily slow Harvard (1-3) down. “First of all, it was absolutely amazing to be out on the field after all the work we’ve put in in the fall and a couple weeks in the spring,” said sophomore pitcher Kieran Shaw, who made his first career start against Samford. “It was awesome just to be out there with the guys, playing baseball, just being at the field in that environment, throwing the baseball around outside in some nice weather.” The two teams treated fans to copious helpings of extra baseball upon the Crimson’s arrival at Joe Lee Griffin Field on Friday afternoon. Not only was a doubleheader scheduled, but both games went extra innings, forcing the squads to eventually play 25 total innings of baseball in one day. The two teams split Friday’s doubleheader before a drained Harvard squad lost both of Saturday’s games to drop the series. “The first weekend is always a readjustment and a ‘get-adjusted’ period for any team, especially when coming out of the Northeast and playing in the bubble,” Shaw said. “We learned a lot of things about ourselves.” At the end of the 2017 season, Samford was ranked 102nd on the NCAA Div. I RPI rankings, while the Crimson was ranked 189th. This weekend marked the first-ever meetings between the two teams. SAMFORD 3, HARVARD 1 The tail end of Saturday’s double-header was originally scheduled for Sunday, but was stacked on top of Saturday’s game due to weather. As tired as both teams were, the contest went the way of the Bulldogs, as Samford’s pitching duo of sophomore Hamp Skinner and junior Connor Burns held Harvard’s offense to just three hits once again. “The first day, we had a lot of energy, but that’s something we need to work
on coming into the second day of the series, as our bodies are tired and we might not be mentally a sharp,” Shaw said. “We’ve got to be able to come back strong, both physically and mentally.” The Crimson’s lone run came off the bat of junior catcher Devan Peterson, who singled to right center to plate freshman DH Buddy Hayward. Junior pitcher Kevin Stone, who went 4-2 and pitched the second-most innings on the team last year, tossed six innings of three-run ball, giving up eight hits and three walks. Stone was credited with the loss. Hayward, for his part, went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. SAMFORD 8, HARVARD 0 Game one of Saturday’s doubleheader gave Harvard a preview of the pitching dominance that rolled over into the last game of the series. Sophomore third baseman Hunter Bigge and junior center fielder Trent Bryan were the only Crimson players who were able to collect hits against Samford freshman pitcher Samuel Strickland. Bigge went 2-for-2 with a walk and Bryan went 1-for-2, but it all went for naught as no other Harvard players reached base. On the other hand, the Bulldogs offense banged out 12 hits and got RBIs from six different players. Most of the damage came late in the game—after holding onto a 2-0 lead through the sixth, Samford broke it wide open by posting six runs in the seventh inning against senior pitcher Garrett Rupp. Shaw got his first start of his college career and posted a solid five-inning outing, giving up two runs, six hits, and three free passes while striking out five. The sophomore righty still, however, noted room for improvement. “To be honest, I didn’t have my best stuff out there on the mound,” Shaw said. “It was a grind and battle day for me. I never got into that happy place where it’s just boom, boom, boom…I’m happy with where I got to, but I know that I can play way better, and I know our team can play way better in a series.” HARVARD 5, SAMFORD 3 The highlight of the Crimson effort came in Friday’s nightcap, as the visitors simply outwilled the home team in a brutally long game lasting nearly seven hours. Junior first baseman Patrick McColl, the team leader last year in RBIs, finally drove in the winning two runs in
STRETCHED THIN Junior right-handed pitcher Kevin Stone sends a pitch toward the plate against Yale last season. Harvard dropped three of four games this weekend against Samford to begin the 2018 season. EUNICE N. MICHIEKA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
the top of the 15th inning with a double to left field. The winning hit came off of Bulldog junior pitcher Jack Rude and put Harvard in front, 5-3. “Whatever team could stick together for the longest is the one that’s going to come out on top,” sophomore shortstop Chad Minato said. “We just really came together in a defining game for our team. I think it boosted everybody’s morale going forward.” Bigge, also a pitcher, got the W with two innings of scoreless relief work in extras. Junior Simon Rosenblum-Larson got the no-decision but sizzled in his first start of 2018, striking out eleven in six innings and allowing no walks. On the offensive side, the Crimson
struck first in the top of the sixth, as senior second baseman Matt Rothenberg tripled home leadoff man junior Ben Skinner and sophomore right fielder Jake Suddleson. Two innings later, Suddleson hit the team’s only home run of the weekend, a solo shot down the left field line. However, Samford was able to respond both times, knotting up the score at two and then three as the game headed to extras. SAMFORD 6, HARVARD 5 Harvard held multiple late leads but was unable to bring home the W, as ninth- and tenth-inning rallies by the Bulldogs befell the Crimson in the season opener.
Rothenberg, McColl, and junior P.J. Robinson all had multiple-hit days as the 2-4 hitters for Harvard, and senior pitcher Noah Zavolas pitched went seven innings, keeping his team in the game. A three-run eighth gave the Crimson a 4-3 lead, but Samford knotted the game up in the bottom of the ninth to force extras. With runners on the corners and no outs in the top of the tenth, Harvard managed to drive in a run to take a 5-4 lead, but back-to-back RBI doubles gave the home team a walk-off 6-5 win in the bottom half of the tenth. Staff writer Bryan Hu can be reached at bryan. hu@thecrimson.com.
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