The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 61 |
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
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TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2022
EDITORIAL PAGE 8
NEWS PAGE 9
SPORTS PAGE 10
The return of traditions reminds us of the magic to physical proximity
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee discusses reparations with students at HKS
Men’s volleyball playoff bid cut short by New Jersey Institute of Technology
Required Covid Testing Ends May 10 Admits Explore Campus at Visitas By ISABELLA B. CHO and CARA J. CHANG CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Harvard will phase out its Covid-19 testing requirements over the next three weeks, the school announced Monday, marking the end of one of its last remaining on-campus pandemic precautions. Starting April 28, affiliates who do not live on campus will no longer be required to test regularly. Just shy of two weeks later, on May 10, the University will drop its weekly testing requirement for affiliates who live on campus. The change, which will take effect for on-campus residents just days prior to the end of the spring semester, comes despite a spike in on-campus Covid-19 cases over the past two weeks. “Universal testing in the absence of symptoms no longer plays the important role that it had in months past, when infection posed a much greater risk,” top Harvard administrators, including University President Lawrence S. Bacow, wrote in an email announcing the change
By RAHEM D. HAMID and NIA L. ORAKWUE
SEE TESTING PAGE 9
CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Prospective freshmen clad in Harvard merch and red lanyards swarmed campus this weekend for the College’s first in-person Visitas since 2019. Current students hosted admitted members of the Class of 2026 for the two-day program, which took place Sunday and Monday. Visitas was held virtually for the Class of 2024 and Class of 2025 due to the pandemic. Harvard hosted an extracurricular fair, department open houses, library tours, and an international student reception. Prefrosh mingled with current students at various club socials and were able to attend Monday’s classes. Admitted students who attended this year’s Visitas called the weekend memorable and informative. “It’s been really exciting, I’ve met a lot of interesting people, met a childhood hero
Starting May 10th, Covid-19 testing will become optional for all students living on campus. JULIAN J. GIORDANO— CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
— Obama’s economic adviser,” said Max Fan, an admitted student from Melbourne, Australia, referring to Harvard Kennedy School professor Jason Furman ’92. “I had Cane’s Chicken Fingers for the first time,” said Sazi T. Bongwe, an admitted student from Johannesburg, South Africa, who has already committed to Harvard. “I’d say that’s my most memorable memory.” Prefrosh said socializing with their soon-to-be classmates was a meaningful part of the weekend. “Mostly what stuck out to me, though, is everybody’s been really awesome,” Cole M. Salvador said. “Everybody I met has been so much fun to talk to.” “I met a Brazilian person who’s essentially interested in the same things I am — just in a Brazilian context, versus I have a South African context,” Bongwe said. On Sunday night, prefrosh flocked to the Harvard Square
SEE VISITAS PAGE 7
Ahead of Vote, Students Rally to Save Shopping Week By ARIEL H. KIM and MEIMEI XU CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
A small group of undergraduates rallied to preserve shopping week in Harvard’s Science Center Plaza Monday, urging faculty to vote against a proposal for previous-term course registration at the next faculty meeting on May 3. While many College students praise the flexibility of shopping week, which provides the opportunity to try out classes before enrolling, some teaching staff and administrators say it complicates course preparation and hiring. In December, a Faculty of Arts and Sciences committee recommended that the College swap out shopping week for previous-term registration, in which students would register for courses one semester in advance. During the rally Monday, organizers passed out flyers urg
Students rallied to save shopping week ahead of a Faculty of Arts and Sciences vote on a proposal that would move Harvard to a previous-term registration system next month. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
ing students to encourage their professors to attend the monthly faculty meeting next Tuesday and vote against the plan for previous-term course registration. William A. McConnell ’21’22, an organizer of the rally, said the vote at the next faculty meeting is “the last stand” in the movement to preserve shopping week. “We’ve made a number of efforts and other people have made a number of efforts over the years to prevent the administration from moving forward with this that have not been met with that much success,” said McConnell, a former Crimson editor. “But this is a vote that we think we can win.” Former Undergraduate Council President Michael Y. Cheng ’22, who helped organize the rally, said student advocacy efforts have managed to keep “the flame of shopping week alive” through the pandemic.
Earlier this semester, the student group working to preserve shopping week submitted a 40page counterproposal to the Committee on Course Registration’s plan for previous-term registration. The counterproposal called for the preservation of shopping week but with reforms, such as a non-binding “pre-indication” form submitted during the previous term to help teaching staff gauge potential class sizes. LyLena D. Estabine ’24, one of the student organizers, said in an interview after Monday’s rally that the authors of the counterproposal consulted faculty and graduate students while drafting their report. “If the faculty vote no, it will provide students with an opportunity — it will provide the whole college, really — with an opportunity to look for true collaboration and create a new
SEE SHOPPING PAGE 9
IOP Poll Shows Drop Arab American Leaders Speak at IOP Forum in Biden Approval By MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
By MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
President Joe Biden’s approval rating among young Americans fell to 41 percent, according to a new Harvard Institute of Politics youth poll released Monday. The findings from the IOP’s biannual youth poll of Americans between 18 to 29 years old show Biden’s approval rating is down five percentage points from the fall 2021 edition of the poll and 18 points down from spring 2021. John Della Volpe, the IOP’s polling director, said in a press briefing Monday morning that Biden’s approval rating is slightly higher among people likely to vote in the 2022 midterm election. Della Volpe said 42 percent of registered voters and 47 percent of anticipated voters in the 2022 midterms approve of Biden’s performance. Della Volpe noted, however, that Biden has lost more of his own voters compared to his predecessors Donald Trump and
INSIDE Harvard Today 2 THIS ISSUE
Barack Obama. Of Trump’s 2016 voters, 82 percent approved of his performance during the 2018 midterms. Meanwhile, 88 percent of Obama voters in 2008 and 80 percent of Obama voters in 2012 approved of him in 2010 and 2014, respectively. “Only 69 percent of young Americans who voted for President Biden in 2020 approve of his job performance today,” said Della Volpe, who served as an advisor to Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. “Those people who disapprove today, but who voted for him just a year and a half ago — they rate him much more harshly on the economy.” Harvard Public Opinion Project Chair Alan F. Zhang ’24 said in an interview that Biden’s lower approval ratings within his own base were “concerning,” but added that the drop in approval comes from “voters that he can win back.” “These are people who voted for him once already,” Zhang
SEE POLL PAGE 9
Arts 3
News 7
Noor Tagouri, a journalist and podcast producer, and James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, spoke about their experiences with storytelling and political activism as Arab Americans at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum on Monday evening. The IOP’s student president, Janna E. Ramadan ’23, and Anan M. Hafez ’22, who are both Palestinian-American, moderated the event, which celebrated Arab American Heritage Month. Tagouri said she chose to start a podcast series “because of the Muslim tradition of oral history and the Arab tradition of oral history.” “We wanted to create an audio experience for people to be able to — while listening — feel like they’re listening to stories that their ancestors are telling them,” Tagouri added. Zogby said he was inspired to become a political activist after causing an uproar for reporting Palestinian stories.
SEE FORUM PAGE 7
Editorial 8
Sports 10
James Zogby and Noor Tagouri spoke at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum on Monday. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
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