The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLVII, NO. 26 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2020
NEWS PAGE 7
EDITORIAL PAGE 8
SPORTS PAGE 10
Law School holds lecture on abolishing the police
New groups provide a chance to discuss Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Men’s ice hockey enters final regular season weekend
Univ. Program Bolsters ‘Mayors for Mike’ By JASPER G. GOODMAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
F rom Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, Michael R. Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign is full of unlikely mayoral endorsers who span the ideological spectrum. Roughly two dozen of them have one thing in common: participation in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. The initiative — a joint venture between the Harvard Business School, the Harvard Kennedy School, and Bloomberg Philanthropies — serves as a 12-month training in leadership and management skills for 40 mayors from across the world each year. Jorrit de Jong, a Kennedy School, is the faculty director of the program. The program, started in 2017, has schooled some of the nation’s most prominent municipal leaders, including Chicago’s Lori E. Lightfoot, Philadelphia’s James F. Kenney, and Seattle, Wash.’s Jenny A. Durkan. At least 23 mayors who have taken part in the program have
gone on to endorse Bloomberg’s presidential candidacy, which he declared in November 2019. While most of the mayors who have taken part in the Harvard program have not publicly endorsed a presidential candidate, an analysis by The Crimson found that a majority of those who have made endorsements have thrown their support behind Bloomberg. Using information from the initiative’s website, The Crimson cross-referenced mayors who participated in the program with public endorsements of 2020 presidential candidates. Bloomberg’s 23 endorsements from current and former program participants far outnumber the total for any other presidential candidate. Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Peter P. M. Buttigieg ’04 — who took part in the program himself during its first year — received 10 public endorsements from program participants. Four have publicly backed former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Dem. Presidential Endorsements From Participants in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
By FIONA K. BRENNAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun L. Donovan ’87 and former Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Lizabeth Cohen discussed past and present issues of urban renewal at a talk at the Graduate School of Design Thursday evening. Cohen, a History professor, opened the event with a brief overview of her latest book, entitled “Saving America’s Cities: Ed Logue and the Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age.” Edward J. Logue — the subject of her book — was an urban developer who carried out renewal programs combating municipal decay in New Haven, Conn., Boston, Mass., and New York. Cohen framed Logue’s career as a “drama in five acts.” Cohen and Donovan delved into various lessons from Logue’s life and work on urban renewal, such the difficulties in catering to both the perspectives of outside expertise
Harvard added South Korea to its list of restricted travel locations as the University focuses on “contingency planning” for the possible spread of COVID-19 in the United States. As national health authorities warn that a coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. is inevitable — and global stocks tumble — Harvard officials find themselves waiting for additional federal guidance while seeking to reassure students about their safety. Harvard University Health Services Director Giang T. Nguyen and University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 wrote in a Thursday email — their fourth such communication since the outbreak began — that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has “urged communities” to prepare for the spread of the virus, officially named COVID-19. “Contingency planning is already underway at Harvard,” they wrote. Nguyen and Garber also warned that any travel could be disrupted in the coming months. Last week, the Beijing Academy summer program was cancelled due to the outbreak. “Other countries may be added to the CDC’s Level 3 Travel Warning due to coronavirus and would face similar University restrictions,” they wrote. As in previous emails, the administrators asked Harvard affiliates to register all international travel with a University registry. As of Thursday evening, more than 82,700 confirmed cases of coronavirus and at least 2,809 deaths have been reported worldwide, including 60 cases in the U.S. One Boston resident has contracted the virus, and city officials are currently monitoring 33 additional individuals for symptoms. Federal health officials on
SEE RENEWAL PAGE 7
SEE VIRUS PAGE 9
percent endorsed Bloomberg
Biden: 10 percent Klobuchar: 5 percent Dropped Out: 5 percent
Warren: 2.5 percent
SEE MAYORS PAGE 7
CAMILLE G. CALDERA—CRIMSON DESIGNER
SFFA and Design School Hosts Urban Renewal Talk Harvard to Keep Sparring
By CAMILLE G. CALDERA and MICHELLE G. KURILLA CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Experts predict that the admissions lawsuit will continue on in court By BENJAMIN L. FU and DOHYUN KIM CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
A fter anti-affirmative action organization Students for Fair Admissions submitted its appellate brief against Harvard to the First Circuit Court of Appeals on Feb. 19, experts said the case will likely continue for the foreseeable future. SFFA filed its initial lawsuit in 2014, arguing that Harvard’s admissions practices had violated anti-discrimination policies enumerated in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The organization specifically accused Harvard of penalizing Asian American applicants. District Court judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled against all four charges made against Harvard on Oct. 2, 2019, determining that its race-conscious admissions process does not discriminate against Asian Americans. Later that day, SFFA president Edward J. Blum indicated intentions of appealing the ruling to the First Circuit in a press release later that day. SFFA’s appeal — submitted earlier this month — specifically called into question the district court’s application of “strict scrutiny” in the case against Harvard’s admissions program. The United States Department of Justice and various Asian American-affiliated organizations also submitted amici briefs, calling for a reconsideration of the district court ruling. Unless the court grants Harvard extra time, it must submit its own brief by May 14. A week later, outside groups will have a chance to support the University’s case in their own amici briefs. Some experts said they believe Harvard and SFFA will continue to trade legal barbs in the appeals process, and beyond.
SEE SFFA PAGE 7 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
As coronavirus spreads, Harvard has engaged in “contingency planning”
Buttigieg: 24 percent
55
This does not include the mayors who have not publically endorsed a candidate
Harvard Limits Travel to S. Korea
Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, GSD Dean Sarah M. Whiting, and history professor Lizabeth Cohen, discuss urban revitalization at the School of Design. JENNY M. LU—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Former UN Comissioner Discusses Human Rights By ANDY Z. WANG CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
University of Pennsylvania professor Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights from 2014 to 2018, discussed the global geopolitical environment at the Radcliffe Institute Thursday evening. Invited to deliver the Kim and Judy Davis Dean’s Lecture in the Social Sciences, Al Hussein drew upon his own experiences working as a diplomat and human rights official to discuss both the challenges and outlook of human rights. He opened the lecture by discussing what he sees as the nature of the “new” geopolitical order to a packed audience at Radcliffe’s Knafel Center. “Our balance of power, by its nature, can only be momentary on any extended timescale,” Al Hussein said. “In over simplistic terms,
News 7
Editorial 8
the U.S. is still the number one dog in the neighborhood, with strong legs and a mighty bite. It’s in trouble, though,” he added. Al Hussein continued the discussion by attempting to clear public misconceptions and confusion surrounding the field of human rights. “For most people, human rights exist as some sort of moral Post-It note, or a feel-good, almost decorative annex to the human experience,” he said. “Human rights are not pretty, nor are they weak. They’re not soft power, or marginal, and they are not ethics or values either,” he continued. “They are a set of interlocking treaties, nine of them, codifying all manner of rights.” He said he believes China’s actions towards its Uighur population pose the most egregious defiance of human rights
SEE RIGHTS PAGE 9
Sports 10
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaks about the new geopolitical environment at the Knafel Center Thursday afternoon. AMANDA Y. SU—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
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