The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873
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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 63 |
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
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FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2022
EDITORIAL PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 6
SPORTS PAGE 6
In support of Boycott, Divest, Sanction and a free Palestine
Softball bounces back from cancellation to defeat Brown, 2-1
Men’s tennis wins 30th Ivy League championship title
Michelle Wu to Speak at Class Day FAS Launches Strategic Initiative By VIVI E. LU and LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 will address Harvard College’s Class of 2022 at this year’s Class Day on May 25, the University announced Wednesday. Wu, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, was elected mayor of Boston last fall, making her the first woman and person of color to be elected as the city’s mayor. In 2013, she made history after becoming the first Asian-American woman to be elected to the Boston City Council. Wu said in a press release that she was “deeply honored” to speak at this year’s Class Day ceremony. “I’m deeply honored to join this year’s graduating seniors for Class Day, returning to campus with fond memories and fresh excitement,” Wu said. “It’s an inspiration to see the activism and accomplishment represented across this class, and I look forward to cheering their leadership for years to come.” As city councilor, Wu passed legislation for paid parental leave, housing stability, and
workers’ rights. Wu also outlined a Green New Deal for Boston, a staple of her platform for mayor. As a student at the College, Wu concentrated in Economics and lived in Currier House. Outside of her studies, she sang soprano in the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus and led the Phillips Brooks House Association’s Chinatown Citizenship Program, which provides support and classes for immigrants in Chinatown with the naturalization process. Wu also attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 2012, and has served on the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics since 2019. The College’s Senior Class Committee, composed of senior class marshals, annually selects a Class Day speaker to address the graduating class. Professional basketball player Jeremy Lin ’10 addressed the Class of 2021 virtually last year. Second marshal and speaker selection committee co-chair Ruth H. M. Jaensubhakij ’22 described Wu as an “inspiring
SEE CLASS DAY PAGE 3
By ARIEL H. KIM and MEIMEI XU CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Earlier this month, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences launched a three-year strategic planning initiative to identify resources needed for “long-term excellence” in graduate education, faculty support and development, and academic divisions. The strategic planning process draws from numerous planning efforts across the FAS and will include four academic steering committees and two administrative initiatives on budgeting and technology usage, according to an FAS webpage launched in early April. The plan extends from the work of the FAS Study Group — a faculty group convened by FAS Dean Claudine Gay in November 2020 to examine the school’s “financial sustainability, organizational flexibility, and institutional resilience,” per a November 2021 statement from Gay. The initiative also builds on
Michelle Wu ’07 is the first woman and person of color to be elected mayor of Boston. COURTESY OF BOSTON MAYOR’S OFFICE
group conversations hosted by the FAS for faculty to discuss the future of the school. The resulting vision statement for the strategic planning process calls for a “strong, intellectually vibrant, creative FAS.” Four steering committees will lead the academic strategic planning efforts — one for each of the Divisions of Arts & Humanities and Social Studies, one for faculty support and development, and one for graduate education and admissions. The committees are comprised primarily of faculty, along with several staff members and students. The Division of Science will hold similar planning conversations within existing faculty structures, including its department chairs and divisional committees. In an interview with The Crimson earlier this month, Gay said the committees are in the beginning stages of their work.
SEE FAS PAGE 3
Harvard Issues City to Expand Guaranteed Income Program First Green Bonds By ELIAS J. SCHISGALL
By DEKYI T. TSOTSONG and ERIC YAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Harvard issued its first-ever green bonds — debt instruments that align with international sustainability standards — earlier this month. The $250 million bonds will finance and refinance projects including Harvard’s newly-constructed Science and Engineering Complex, estimated to cost around $1 billion, along with the ongoing renewal of Adams House and renovation of Soldiers Field Park, which will cost at least $600 million combined. The borrowing marks the first time an outside firm has verified the University’s compliance with the 2021 Green Bond Principles, a global framework that encourages environmental sustainability and development in debt capital markets. The principles, set by the International Capital Market Association, “outline best practices when issuing bonds serving social and/or environmental
CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
purposes through global guidelines and recommendations that promote transparency and disclosure, thereby underpinning the integrity of the market,” according to ICMA’s website. Sustainable measures for capital projects could include renewable energy, green equipment, energy-efficient transportation systems, and the usage of environmentally-friendly building materials. The 544,000-square-foot SEC, which opened in fall 2021, received two environmental distinctions: the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum status — the highest distinction offered by LEED — and the Living Building Challenge Petal certification. To attain Petal certification, the SEC was monitored for a year and had to pass three sustainability performance areas, or “petals.” University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote that the borrowing is in line with Harvard’s own sustainability goals. “The purpose of the bond
The City of Cambridge will spend nearly $22 million of federal funding on direct payments to low-income Cambridge families, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui announced Wednesday. The money — allocated to Cambridge under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 — will go toward expanding Cambridge Recurring Income for Success and Empowerment, or RISE, a guaranteed income pilot program championed by Siddiqui in her first term. This $22 million-dollar expansion will make RISE the second-largest direct income program of any city in the country, behind the $38-million BIG: LEAP basic income program in Los Angeles. Siddiqui announced the program in the “State of the City Address,” broadcast virtually Wednesday afternoon. “Particularly in light of the ongoing effects of the pandemic, which we know disproportionately affect low-income
SEE BOND PAGE 3
SEE RISE PAGE 3
Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui’s office can be found in Cambridge City Hall, located at 795 Massachusetts Avenue. CORY K. GORCZYCKI —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
College Students in 11 Houses Will Be Assigned to Overflow Housing By CHRISTINE MUI CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
A ll but one of Harvard College’s 12 upperclassman houses will place students in overflow housing next year thanks to the oversized Class of 2025. Leverett House, the largest house at the College, is the only one that will not have to place upperclassmen into alternate buildings due to space constraints. “Given the larger College population anticipated for Fall 2022 (due both to the large sophomore class, and the impact of students who took leaves of absence during the pandemic), the College has adjusted the housing arrangements so that we can continue to house as many students as possible,” Associate Dean of Students Lauren E. Brandt wrote in an email. Some students assigned to houses located in the Radcliffe Quadrangle — Currier,
The Cronkhite Center is located at 84 Brattle St. and will be home to students from the Radcliffe Quadrangle. MEIMEI XU—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
News 3
Editorial 4
Sports 6
TODAY’S FORECAST
Cabot, and Pforzheimer — will be placed in overflow housing at the Cronkhite Center, a former graduate student dormitory that was previously used for Covid-19 isolation. “Cronkhite will be a miniQuad next year,” Currier House Administrator Alana Brissette wrote in an email on March 27. It is unclear where Quad students who live in Cronkhite will be assigned to eat. Brissette wrote that Currier students living in Cronkhite will keep their mailboxes in the Quad, but that information about dining locations is not yet available. The center has common kitchens on each floor. “We do not have information about whether or not dining will be available in Cronkhite next year and this is a decision that will not be made at the House level,” Brissette added in a follow-up email on April 19. Cronkhite is located on Brattle St., next to the Harvard Ad-
PARTLY CLOUDY High: 55 Low: 38
missions offices. Pfoho will also continue to house students in the Jordans, apartment-style halls located behind Cabot House and not connected to Pfoho’s main complex. Overflow dorms currently used to house freshmen — the Inn at Harvard, the Prescotts, and 10 DeWolfe St. — will become additional spaces for some of the River Houses this coming school year. Next fall will be the first time in recent years that several houses — including Eliot, Mather, Currier, and Cabot — will have to place students in overflow housing. Eliot House will house students in apartment-style overflow housing located at 22-24 Prescott St., House Administrator Susan G. Weltman wrote in an email last month. Mather House — normally renowned for its guarantee that
SEE HOUSING PAGE 3
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