The Harvard Crimson - Volume CLI, No. 2

THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

| VOLUME CLI, NO. 2

NO HEAT

CLAUDINE GAY

| CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

OPINION

SPORTS

Penslar is Right to Lead Task Force on Antisemitism

Harvard Football Head Coach Tim Murphy Retires

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PAGE 14

| FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2024

Students Face Heating Issues in Dorms COLD DORMS. As students returned to campus amid below-freezing temperatures, many were greeted by heating issues inside their dorm rooms, including a lack of hot water for several days.

88 Days: The Unraveling of a Harvard Presidency

SEE PAGE 4

DATA

Dana-Farber to Retract 6 Papers, Correct 31 DATA MANIPULATION. Following allegations of data manipulation in numerous papers authored by top researchers, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute institute will retract 6 papers and correct 31.

SEE PAGE 5

RISE AND FALL. Claudine Gay resigned from the Harvard presidency after just more than six months in office. In the final days of Gay’s tumultuous presidency, a flurry of phone calls between her and members of the Harvard Corporation led to Gay’s realization that she lost the board’s confidence. SEE PAGE 6

SAMI E. TURNER — CRIMSON DESIGNER

SIDECHAT

Harvard Asks Sidechat to Enforce Content Moderation as Students Decry Antisemitism

BY MICHELLE N. AMPONSAH AND JOYCE E. KIM

SCHOOLS

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

­A Allegations of Toxicity at Cambridge School TOXICITY. Cambrige Public Schools engaged a law firm to review toxicity allegations against the principal of the Graham & Parks Elementary School, according to an email from the CPS superintendent.

SEE PAGE 11

rise in antisemitic content on Sidechat — a social media app that allows users to publish posts anonymously — prompted Harvard University officials to ask Sidechat leadership earlier this month to more strictly enforce the app’s policies on content moderation.

Harvard has faced fierce criticism since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel for allegedly failing to sufficiently protect Jewish students and combat antisemitism on campus. The surge of antisemitic posts on Harvard’s Sidechat page has served as a focal point for criticisms of the University’s efforts to combat antisemitism.

While Sidechat is not offered, man-

SEE PAGE 4

House Committee Threatens Subpoena

Amid Support, Penslar Considers Resignation

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

CITY COUNCIL

SEE PAGE 12

bigotry” have no place on Sidechat.

“We recognize these are difficult times on campuses and we’re committed to ensuring Sidechat remains a safe environment for students,” Gil added.

The University’s efforts to ask Sidechat to better moderate its content comes as affiliates have slammed the University over a rise in antisemitic content on Sidechat.

Incoming Hillel President Nathan B. Gershengorn ’26 wrote in an email that the antisemitic posts have become a major topic of conversation within Hillel and are “really hard to ignore.”

“It’s affected every Jewish student I’ve talked to about it,” Gershengorn said.

“It’s a genuinely horrible feeling to know that so many of your classmates at a place that’s supposed to be the forefront of

PENSLAR

AND CAM E. KETTLES

RESOLUTION. The Cambridge City Council is expected to pass a policy order in support of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine during its upcoming Monday meeting.

Newton.

The Harvard page on Sidechat — intended to facilitate anonymous messages between Harvard undergraduates — accidentally began to allow all Harvard affiliates to join the page in May 2023, Harvard Sidechat moderators wrote in a Jan. 16 post.

The platform has since been updated to restrict membership access to undergraduates.

“We always intended Harvard Sidechat to be for Harvard College,” the moderators wrote on Sidechat. “As a result, we have removed everyone without a @college.harvard.edu email address from the community and have reimplemented our original membership condition.”

Sidechat CEO and co-founder Sebastian Gil wrote in an emailed statement on Jan. 12 that “antisemitism, racism, and

CONGRESS

BY EMMA H. HAIDAR

Ceasefire Resolution Expected

aged, or endorsed by Harvard, the University has taken steps to address concerns of antisemitism on the third-party platform, including forwarding a sample of content to the Harvard University Police Department to determine whether a post warrants law enforcement action, according to University spokesperson Jason A. Newton.

Newton wrote in an emailed statement that Harvard has met with Sidechat leadership, who told University officials that content will be moderated according to the platform’s terms of use and community guidelines and that they will limit membership to current undergraduate students.

Harvard’s Information Security and Data Privacy Office will also escalate further reports of concerning content directly to Sidechat leadership, according to

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, called Harvard’s submission to the committee’s antisemitism investigation on Tuesday “woefully inadequate,” raising the prospect that the University could soon face a congressional subpoena.

Harvard faced deadlines this week to submit extensive internal communications in response to two congressional inquiries from the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the House Ways and Means Committee. The committees, both controlled by Republicans, requested the University respond to their deadlines by Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

“Rather than answering the Committee’s request in a substantive manner, Har-

vard has chosen to provide letters from nonprofits and student handbooks, many of which are already publicly available,” Foxx wrote. “This is unacceptable.”

“Harvard must produce the remaining documents in a timely manner, or risk compulsory measures,” Foxx wrote.

The committee initially requested a slew of both formal documents and informal communications in a Jan. 9 letter to the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — and interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76.

The list included text messages between Corporation members and meeting notes from the last three years.

It is now increasingly likely that Foxx will still try to obtain those documents and internal communications by issuing a congressional subpoena.

“The committee is prepared to subpoena Harvard,” said Nick Barley, a spokesperson for the House Committee on

SEE PAGE 5

BY TILLY R. ROBINSON AND NEIL H. SHAH CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

History professor Derek J. Penslar considered stepping down as co-chair of the presidential task force on antisemitism following pressure from high-profile critics as faculty and students rallied to his defense.

Interim President Alan M. Garber ’76 tapped Penslar, a prominent scholar of Jewish history, to lead the task force on Friday. His appointment was quickly slammed by leading Harvard critics including former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers, billionaire donor Bill A. Ackman ’88, and Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.), who accused him of being too soft on campus antisemitism and overly critical of Israel.

“Of course anyone would ask themselves if they should continue,” Penslar, the director of Harvard’s Center for Jew-

ish Studies, wrote in a statement. “I am grateful for the outpouring of support I have received from my colleagues and students, and from President Garber, and I remain committed to helping advance the important work of this task force.”

As a result of the backlash, one faculty member familiar with the situation said, Penslar discussed the prospect of stepping down as co-chair in conversations with other Harvard faculty, who urged him to stay on.

While former University presidents have typically refrained from criticizing the actions of their successors, Summers has been publicly vocal since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel about the University’s current direction. In a Sunday post on X, Summers called Penslar “unsuited” to lead the antisemitism task force and said he should step down from his co-chair position.

“Prof Penslar has publicly minimized

SEE PAGE 8

2

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

LAST WEEK

JANUARY 26, 2024

MUSEUMS

ALLSTON

LAW SCHOOL

Harvard Funds Repatriation Travel

Harvard Presents Allston Plans

HLS Bomb Threat Seventh in 2 Months

INDIGENOUS REPATRIATION. Harvard will fund Native American tribe representatives’ travel to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology for the repatriation of ancestral remains and funerary belongings, the University announced earlier this month. Jane Pickering, the director of the Peabody Museum, said the funding will allow the museum to speed up the return of Native American human remains, which is required under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

CAMPUS RENOVATION. Harvard began the yearlong process of filing a new Institutional Master Plan for its Allston holdings last Tuesday, sketching out major renovation and construction plans for the next decade. During the city meeting, hosted by the Boston Planning and Development Agency, Harvard representatives announced six major projects totaling 138,000 square feet of renovation and 720,000 square feet of new construction — approximately half the area of the 2013 IMP.

UNIVERSITY POLICE. The Harvard University Police Department and Cambridge Police responded to a bomb threat at Harvard Law School on Sunday night, one of numerous bomb threats reported to HUPD over the past two months. Police officers responded to the Law School’s Wasserstein Hall after receiving a report of a bomb threat at 5:28 pm on Sunday. According to HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano, responding officers determined that the call was a hoax and there was “no credible threat.”

BY ANNABEL M. YU—CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

BY JINA H. CHOE AND JACK R. TRAPANICK—CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

BY SALLY E. EDWARDS AND ASHER J. MONTGOMERY—CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

AROUND THE IVIES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OPENS TITLE VI INVESTIGATION INTO YALE UNIVERSITY The U.S. Department of Education opened a Title VI Shared Ancestry investigation into Yale University on Monday following complaints of discrimination related to a specific event. According to The Yale Daily News, a complaint was sent to the Ed Department on Dec. 5 regarding a November “Gaza Under Siege” event, which sparked student criticism.

In Photos: A Trip Through the Widener Stacks

BY LOTEM L. LOEB — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

TEN STORIES. FIFTY MILES OF SHELVES. THREE MILLION BOOKS.

Ever wondered what’s underneath Widener’s steps? Lamont Cafe? Research librarian Sarah DeMott explains the elusive spaces beneath Harvard’s interconnected libraries, revealing their magical treasures and bookish quirks.

THE YALE DAILY NEWS

COLUMBIA STUDENTS ALLEGEDLY SPRAYED WITH CHEMICALS AT RALLY

SECRET STACKS — We begin our journey in the expansive underworld of Widener Library: the stacks. Seemingly never-ending rows of books and pin-drop silence give an eerie feel to the depths of the library. Though more than three million volumes are held in the Widener stacks, this is only a small portion of Harvard’s total library collections, which span 20 million volumes, 10 million photographs, and one million maps.

Students attending a pro-Palestinian “divestment now” rally at Columbia University were allegedly sprayed with hazardous chemicals on Friday. The Columbia Spectator reported that 18 students reported putrid smells during the protest, with 10 reporting physical symptoms including burning eyes, nausea, and headaches.

While no arrests have been made, the New York Police Department is investigating the incident.

THE COLUMBIA SPECTATOR

BROWN TO SETTLE $19.5 MILLION ANTITRUST ADMISSIONS LAWSUIT Brown University is set to pay $19.5 million to settle an antitrust admissions lawsuit filed in 2022. The lawsuit alleged that Brown worked with colleges in the 568 Presidents Group to artificially inflate tuition costs. Plaintiffs claimed that the university failed to practice need-blind admission practices, violating the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994. The Brown Daily Herald reported that the university maintains that there is no merit to the allegations.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

On a half-floor of the stacks, DeMott combs through the extensive research collections of Widener Library. The stacks are built as half-floors to maximize use of space since the building’s donation rules forbid upwards expansion.

HOUSE COMMITTEE REQUESTS UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ANTISEMITISM DOCUMENTS The House Committee on Education and the Workforce requested the University of Pennsylvania submit documents relating to antisemitism on campus by Feb. 7. The committee opened an investigation into the university in December following a congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. A spokesperson for UPenn told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the administration will respond after review.

Traveling through the tunnels, we find ourselves inside Lamont’s microfiche stacks.

DeMott demonstrates the use of a microfiche scanner with an article about the Black Panther Party. The public can gain access to such materials by filing a request to see government documents.

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

16 ARTIFACTS LINKED TO ACCUSED ART SMUGGLER AND PRINCETON ALUMNUS The Princeton University Art Museum linked 16 new artifacts acquired in its collections with accused art smuggler Edoardo Almagià, who graduated from Princeton in 1973. The artifacts were acquired by the museum between 1987 and 2001. Six were directly purchased, while the remaining were gifts from other sources, according to the Daily Princetonian. Almagià was charged in 2006 for illegal trafficking and exports. Last April, the Manhattan District Attorney seized six artifacts linked to him.

THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

We peek into Widener’s massive Islamic Studies’ storage. There, and throughout Widener, mountains of materials are queued to be parsed through.

Opened in 1942, Houghton is the home of Harvard’s rare books and manuscripts. There, we are welcomed by Peter Accardo, Librarian for Scholarly and Public Programs.

NEXT WEEK

THE HARVARD CRIMSON JANUARY 26, 2024

What’s Next

IN THE REAL WORLD TRUMP DEFEATS HALEY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY Former President Donald Trump handedly defeated former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. After Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his presidential campaign on Sunday night, Haley was left as Trump’s last major challenger for the Republican presidential nomination. The Associated Press reported that despite her Tuesday loss, Haley plans to continue her campaign — citing the South Carolina primary as a key opportunity.

STRIKE ON U.N. SHELTER IN GAZA KILLS 9 At least nine individuals were killed in a Wednesday strike on a United Nations shelter in Khan Younis. Israeli forces pushed further into the Gaza city Wednesday, which has been described

by Israel as a bastion of Hamas. A U.N. official claimed that the shelter, housing 800 individuals at the time of the strike, was “clearly marked” as a U.N. facility. Israeli officials denied responsibility for the strike. According to the New York Times, Israel is the only combatant in the area with tanks.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TARGETS ABORTION LAWS

Start every week with a preview of what’s on the agenda around Harvard University

Friday 1/26

Monday 1/29

Wednesday 1/31

EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTION

BOOK TALK: “QOHELET: SEARCHING FOR A LIFE WORTH LIVING”

INTRODUCING THE IOP SPRING 2024 RESIDENT FELLOWS

Saturday 1/27

Tuesday 1/30

Thursday 2/1

MATERIALS LAB WORKSHOP: VISIBLE MENDING

GAZA: A COLONIAL WAR?

CLIMATE CHANGE AND PLANETARY HEALTH EQUITY

Harvard Ed Portal, 6 p.m.

Celebrate the opening of artist Matthew Bajor’s newest exhibit, “Interference Patterns,” with a reception and lively discussion. Guests will be able to hear the inspiration behind Bajor’s latest works while participating in art-making opportunities inspired by the exhibit.

Harvard Art Museums, 1-4 p.m.

Join queer mender, natural dyer, and herbalist Maggie Ruth Haaland to dive into the intricate world of darning and patching knitwear. The workshop will explore basic techniques to teach participants how to mend and weave.

CSWR Common Room, 5-6:30 p.m.

Join Menachem Fisch and Debra Band to explore seeking a fulfilling life in a flawed world. The talk will explore the Qohelet — the first illuminated manuscript of the entire biblical text and analysis of the theologian’s argument.

Science Center Hall B, 6-8 p.m.

Rashid Khalidi, professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, will joined by Harvard history professor Kristen Weld to discuss and explore the complexities of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The event is open to Harvard I.D. holders.

JFK Jr. Forum, 6-7 p.m.

Join the Institute of Politics to meet the Spring 2024 Resident Fellows, including Rep. Jeff Denham, Politico reporter Josh Gerstein, and former governor of Greece Kostas Bakoyannis. The event is open to Harvard I.D. holders.

Bell Hall, Belfer Building, 1:15-2:30 p.m.

Harvard faculty will discuss climate-related publications in this workshop presented by the Salata Institute. The workshop will engage in interdisciplinary dialogues and collaborations to highlight climate adaptation and migration.

Sunday 1/28

Friday 2/2

SCREENING: THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS – MENTAL WELL-BEING FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Harvard Film Archive, 3-4:30 p.m.

Spend an afternoon immersed in Victor Erice’s imaginative depiction of rural Spain at the Harvard Film Archive. The film explores the role of poetic allegory and childhood imagination in contextualizing the harsh realities of the real world.

Mount Auburn Room, Smith Campus Center, 1:15-2:15 p.m.

Join the Lemann Program for a panel on mental health and entrepreneurship, featuring Calisha Brooks, Mark McGarry, and Kathleen Stetson.

Learn to manage the stresses that come with the complicated world of entrepreneurship.

Vice President Kamala Harris began a national tour in support of reproductive rights as the nation observed the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Harris — who began the tour with a speech in Wisconsin on Monday — pointed to former president Donald Trump as responsible for the decay of reproductive rights across the nation. This tour comes as Biden and Harris prepare for the 2024 presidential election.

65 UKRAINIAN POWS KILLED IN RUSSIAN PLANE CRASH The Russian Military Defense Force accused Ukrainian forces of shooting down a military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The New York Times reported that the crash killed everyone aboard, including all prisoners, six crew members, and three other individuals.

A FROSTY FIRST WEEK

JAPAN MOON LANDING COMPLICATED BY ORIENTATION Japan’s spacecraft rotated on its head while landing, resulting in an orientation that limits access to solar power.

The Japanese Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, experienced engine failure at 150 feet above the moon’s surface. It turned on its head, leading its solar panels to face west rather than east. According to the New York Times, officials remain optimistic that it may revive in one week.

SELORNA A. ACKUAYI — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

THE HARVARD CRIMSON J. Sellers Hill ’25 President

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Miles J. Herszenhorn ’25

Matthew M. Doctoroff ’25

Managing Editor

Business Manager

Magazine Chairs Hewson Duffy ’25 Kaitlyn Tsai ’25

Design Chairs Laurinne Jamie P. Eugenio ’26 Sami E. Turner ’25

Tommy Barone ’25 Jacob M. Miller ’25

Blog Chairs Eve S. Jones ’25 Hayeon Ok ’25

Multimedia Chairs Julian J. Giordano ’25 Addison Y. Liu ’25

Arts Chairs Anna Moiseieva ’25 Allison S. Park ’25

Sports Chairs Katharine A. Forst ’25 Jack K. Silvers ’25

Technology Chairs Dennis S. Eum ’26 Neil H. Shah ’26

Associate Managing Editors Elias J. Schisgall ’25 Claire Yuan ’25 Editorial Chairs

3

Associate Business Manager Mathias Melucci ’26 Meredith W.B. Zielonka ’25 Copyright 2024, 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

Night Editors John N. Peña ’25 Assistant Night Editors Jina H. Choe ’26 Sally E. Edwards ’26 Azusa M. Lippit ’26 Tilly R. Robinson ’26 Frank S. Zhou ’26 Story Editors Ryan H. Doan-Nguyen ’25 Rahem D. Hamid ’25 Miles J. Herszenhorn ’25 Yusuf S. Mian ’25 Nia L. Orakwue ’25 John N. Peña ’25

Paton D. Roberts ’25 Elias J. Schisgall ’25 Claire Yuan ’25

Jack R. Trapanick ’26 Editorial Editors J. Sellers Hill ’25 Ian D. Svetkey ’25

Design Editors Sami E. Turner ’25 Sports Editors Laurinne Jamie P. Eugenio ’26 Katharine A. Forst ’25 Hannah S. Lee ’26 Jack K. Silvers ’25 Emma S. de Jong ’26 Mckenna E. McKrell ’26 Tomisin M. Sobande ’26 Nghia L. Nguyen ’26 Catherine H. Feng ’27 Jack P. Flanigan ’27 Photo Editors Julian J. Giordano ’25 Addison Y. Liu ’25 Marina Qu ’25

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.

Learning is Beautiful

4

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

NEWS

JANUARY 26, 2024

COLLEGE

Students Face Heat Issues as Temps Drop COLD DORMS. As students returned to campus after break, several undergraduate Houses and dorms faced heating issues.

BY AZUSA M. LIPPIT AND NATALIE K. BANDURA CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

­W

hen students returned to campus for the spring semester, some were not exactly met with a warm welcome.

As temperatures dropped to the teens when Harvard College students moved in earlier this week, heating systems across several undergraduate dorms and Houses faced difficulties. Temperatures stayed low as classes began, prompting many students to voice complaints of uncomfortably cold temperatures or lack of hot water in their dorms.

“It’s rarely warm enough, and it’s been worse since we returned from winter break. I have to bundle up in layers (e.g., jackets), hats, and gloves and all, to be able to sleep at night,” Leverett resident Wendy C. C. Villanueva ’25 wrote in an email to The Crimson on Monday.

Villanueva is a resident of Leverett G Tower, which has been the site of a high concentration of complaints of heating issues.

Leverett G Tower resident Sarah G. Moreno ’26 said that heating issues in her suite had affected a student from Turkey visiting over winter recess through the Harvard College in Asia Program.

“The Turkish girl actually decided to leave Leverett tower after spending one night because it was too cold,” Moreno said.

“She actually decided to book a hotel instead,” she added.

Jared P. Reuben ’26, another G tower resident, said he filed two work orders for heating issues before the winter recess and was told the heater was working, but when he returned last week the heater remained dysfunctional.

“I wasn’t sure if I was overreacting to the temperature — if it was the correct temperature, and I just felt cold for no reason,” Reuben said. “So I did get a thermometer, because I was kind of just cold and miserable at that point.”

“The one maintenance person who knows us by name now because I’ve filed so many work orders — he’s been incredible,” Reuben added. “But he told us that some of the pipes are just kind of filling up with impurities in the Cambridge water, so the heating water pipes are just getting thinner and thinner.”

Following an influx of complaints Monday night, Leverett House’s building manager Mohamed Zaker sent an email to residents of G Tower Tuesday, writing that heating would be fixed by Tuesday afternoon.

The Leverett House building manager declined to provide additional comment about the room temperature complaints.

Heating issues have not been constrained to Leverett House: Joseph A. Johnson ’26, a resident of Pforzheimer House, noticed heating issues immediately after he got back to campus Saturday night, with a cold room and a leaking window.

“That night, I went out to the movies with some friends and then I came back and I had walked from the yard to my room and I was already frigid,” Johnson said. “And I go into my room, and there was no respite whatso-

CATHERINE H. FENG — CRIMSON DESIGNER

ever.”

“One of the windows had been leaking ice and water on the interior,” he said, adding that he and his roommate had trouble sleeping, despite stocking up on extra layers.

Heating issues also plagued freshman dorms in Harvard Yard.

Weld resident Daniella M.

Elge ’27 said her roommate first noticed that the heater was on and emitting heat, but not effectively heating the room. She added that other students living on her floor raised problems with heating at an entryway meeting.

According to a Yard Operations email to the freshman class Wednesday afternoon, freshmen also experienced a lack of hot wa-

ter for several days before it was restored Wednesday.

College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo wrote in a statement that the College is aware of concerns regarding heating.

“Facilities staff members have been working to address these concerns,” he wrote. “All reports that have been filed regarding heat in residential buildings have

been resolved or are in the process of being resolved.”

“We appreciate students’ help in identifying concerns and ask that students continue to file maintenance requests with their building managers if any further issues arise,” Palumbo added. asuza.lippit@thecrimson.com natalie.bandura@thecrimson.com

SIDECHAT FROM PAGE 1

Harvard Officials Ask Sidechat for Stricter Content Moderation

SAMI E. TURNER — CRIMSON DESIGNER

higher education are willing to give in to negative stereotypes.”

On Jan. 3, Computer Science professor Boaz Barak posted screenshots of antisemitic posts on Sidechat in a post on X, writing that “students celebrated the Hamas attacks or engaged in anti-semitic

tropes” in multiple Sidechat posts.

The existence of antisemitic posts on Harvard’s Sidechat page also featured prominently in a federal lawsuit filed by six Jewish students against the University alleging Harvard allowed antisemitism to go unchecked on its campus.

The complaint states that Jewish students have faced attacks on social media and have been “dismissed and intimidated” by faculty members.

A folder compiled by Jewish students and shared with The Crimson documented 13 antise-

mitic Sidechat posts that have appeared on the app since Oct. 7. On X, users circulated a link to a separate shared document that cataloged examples of some antisemitic Sidechat posts.

In one such post, a Sidechat user wrote, “LET EM COOK” next to a Palestinian flag emoji hours after the start of the Oct. 7 attack, an apparent reference to the hundreds of Israeli civilians who died in the attack.

Maya A. Bodnick ’26, a Jewish student affiliated with the Reform Hillel Community, said she found the antisemitic content on Sidechat to be “disconcerting.”

“It makes you look around the community and wonder which of your peers are holding those sentiments but keeping them to themselves around you as a Jewish student — but then spewing hatred online,” Bodnick said.

While Bodnick said she has not encountered explicit antisemitism at Harvard in person, she said that Sidechat feels like a “mask-off space where people are not worried about having their identity revealed.”

After the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, rabbis on Harvard’s campus began to regularly meet with University administrators to address the needs of Jewish and Israeli students, Rabbi Getzel Davis said in an interview last week.

“From the beginning, we were

sharing with them statements that were being shared on Sidechat,” Davis said.

Harvard Chabad President Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi described the antisemitic posts as “profoundly troubling” and “deeply concerning.”

The rise of antisemitic posts on Sidechat intensified following former University president Claudine Gay’s resignation on Jan. 2, according to several Jewish affiliates.

“We really believe in freedom of speech, and it’s only when language crosses the line into being something that is bullying and hateful that we would step in and call for anything like we did,” Davis said.

“It’s not simply just the fact that people are talking to each other — it’s the nature of these vicious lies and hate,” he added.

Charles M. Covit ’27 — who authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month describing rampant antisemitism at Harvard — described the posts as “disheartening.”

“It’s like, ‘Wow, these are not random trolls on the internet, these are students who go to Harvard,’” he added.

Jacob M. Miller ’25, a Crimson Editorial Chair and former president of Hillel, wrote in an emailed statement that discourse on Sidechat maligns Zionists.

“While criticism of Israel is completely legitimate, the use of

the term ‘Zionist,’ which refers to those who believe that Jews should have some form of sovereignty in their indigenous homeland, suggests Sidechat users have sinister intentions and are using ‘Zionists’ as a dog whistle term for Jews,” Miller wrote.

Violet T.M. Barron ’26, a Crimson editorial editor and organizer with Harvard Jews for Palestine, wrote in a statement Tuesday that “campus discourse and national media have rendered calls for Palestinian liberation indiscernible from true instances of antisemitism — like some of these Sidechat posts.”

“This distortion grossly exaggerates claims of antisemitism at Harvard and stifles urgent demands for an end to Israel’s genocidal siege on Gaza and ongoing violent occupation,” Barron wrote.

Bodnick said she thinks that it is “reasonable” for Sidechat to take a more aggressive approach to regulating explicitly antisemitic content on its platform.

“That is not to say that I think Sidechat should take down posts that are critical of the State of Israel,” Bodnick added. “But if those posts veer into well-known antisemitic conspiracy theories, stereotypes, or slurs, then I think Sidechat should act.” michelle.amponsah@thecrimson.com joyce.kim@thecrimson.com

Endowment Executives Meet with Investors in Silicon Valley

BY SIDNEY K. LEE AND THOMAS J. METE CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard Management Company executives met with leading venture capital and private equity investors in Silicon Valley last week amid investor concerns over the University’s inadequate response to the Israel-Hamas war and allegations of antisemitism on campus.

Paul J. Finnegan ’75, chair of the HMC Board of Directors, marked an atypical addition to the HMC delegation, highlighting the Uni-

versity’s latest attempt to mend strained relationships with Harvard affiliates and partners.

Finnegan, who recently departed his post as University Treasurer, is also a member of the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — which has come under fire for its handling of Harvard’s leadership crisis and the mounting plagiarism allegations against former University President Claudine Gay. The trip came two weeks after Gay resigned following fierce criticism of the University’s response to the Hamas attack on Israel and backlash from her heavily scruti-

nized congressional testimony.

During the trip, HMC executives — who manage Harvard’s $50.7 billion endowment but outsource management of most of its assets to fund managers — met with firms such as Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Andreessen Horowitz, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to the regular discussions of portfolio management, the meetings also served as a setting for Finnegan and other HMC executives to assuage any potential concerns from the investors watching tensions unfold at Harvard.

HMC executives also met with Israeli-born investor Elad Gil and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison — outspoken Harvard critics and influential Silicon Valley figures.

The trip also underscored the importance of venture capital to the future success of the endowment. N.P. “Narv” Narvekar, who is entering his eighth fiscal year as CEO of HMC, has prioritized growing the endowment’s exposure to venture capital following a series of lackluster returns that have left Harvard trailing its peer endowments.

But securing investment in the most prominent funds is a compet-

itive endeavor, and members of the HMC have discussed the possibility of the University losing out on future investment opportunities amid campus tensions, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Top HMC executives including Narvekar and Chief Investment Officer Rick Slocum have also been working to ease concerns of other venture capitalists and fund managers outside of Silicon Valley.

According to the WSJ, Slocum was recently in contact with Josh Kushner ’08, founder of Thrive Capital and brother of former President Donald J. Trump’s son-inlaw, Jared C. Kushner ’03.

HMC spokesperson Patrick S. McKiernan wrote in an emailed statement Monday that “HMC is fortunate to have strong, longstanding relationships with many investment managers who care deeply about higher education.”

“Given the challenges facing higher education, it is important to engage with our partners and share with them all of the ways that Harvard is actively working to ensure student safety and protect freedom of speech,” McKiernan added. sidney.lee@thecrimson.com thomas.mete@thecrimson.com

NEWS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON JANUARY 26, 2024

LONGWOOD

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CONGRESS FROM PAGE 1

House Committee Threatens “presence of image discrepancies Subpoena in a paper is not evidence of an au-

Dana-Farber to Retract 6 Papers DATA FRAUD CLAIMS. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will retract six and correct 31 papers following claims of data manipulation.

BY VERONICA H. PAULUS AND AKSHAYA RAVI CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

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he Dana-Farber Cancer Institute initiated retractions or corrections to 37 papers authored by four senior researchers following allegations of data falsification, a DFCI research integrity officer said on Sunday.

In the emailed statement to The Crimson, DFCI Research Integrity Officer Barrett J. Rollins wrote that six manuscripts have retractions underway and 31 are being corrected.

The corrections come amid claims of data manipulation against DFCI President and CEO Laurie H. Glimcher ’72, Executive Vice President and COO William C. Hahn ’87, Senior Vice President for Experimental Medicine Irene M. Ghobrial, and Harvard Medical School professor Kenneth C. Anderson. The allegations of

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute initiated retractions or corrections to 37 papers authored by four senior researchers following allegations of data falsification. JINA H. CHO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

misconduct were first compiled and publicized in a Jan. 2 blog post by data sleuth Sholto David.

In the statement, Rollins wrote that David contacted DFCI with allegations of data manipu-

lation in 57 manuscripts. According to Rollins, 38 were articles in which DFCI researchers “have primary responsibility for the potential data errors.”

Rollins wrote that DFCI and

the accused scientists have “taken prompt and decisive action” on 37 of the 38, with the final one still under investigation.

Despite the identification of errors, Rollins wrote that the

thor’s intent to deceive.”

“That conclusion can only be drawn after a careful, fact-based examination which is an integral part of our response,” he added.

“Our experience is that errors are often unintentional and do not rise to the level of misconduct.”

Of the remaining 19 papers, three “required no further action,” Rollins wrote, because the allegations “were not supported by our analysis.”

The final 16 manuscripts remain under investigation, as the data containing alleged manipulation was collected in laboratories not belonging to the four DFCI researchers, according to Rollins.

“Where possible, the heads of all of the other laboratories have been contacted and we will work with them to see that they correct the literature as warranted,” Rollins wrote.

“We are committed to a culture of accountability and integrity,” he added. “Every inquiry about research integrity is examined fully.”

lease that it “has been a pleasure” to co-direct the CPL. “Mentoring the School’s students has been a true gift, and I am honored to have had the chance to encourage and support these dedicated emerging leaders,” he added.

Elmendorf praised Foxx in the press release, citing his experience in the public sector developing “innovative and equitable transportation infrastructure.”

“Our students already benefit from his teaching and will now have further opportunities to learn from him,” he added.

During his time leading the Transportation Department, Foxx issued the world’s first guidance on integrating autonomous vehicles into existing transportation infrastructure and launched the department’s Smart City Challenge to solicit proposals on using data to modernize the transportation system. Foxx previously served as the youngest mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, where he achieved a record-low crime rate.

Foxx said he was excited to nurture “new leaders committed to improving their societies” in his new role at HKS. “I have long admired the mission of CPL and can think of no more important work than preparing a new generation to assume the mantle of leadership,” he said.

Education and the Workforce.

The committee launched its investigation into Harvard just days after former President Claudine Gay’s damaging testimony before the committee in early December.

Foxx wrote in her Jan. 9 letter that concerns over antisemitism “extend well beyond one leader.” The investigation implicates multiple members of Harvard’s administration, the Harvard Management Company, and the University’s governing boards.

In previous letters to University leadership, Foxx warned that Harvard’s accreditation and federal funding could be in jeopardy.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on what documents were submitted on Tuesday, but said the University intends “to continue to engage with the Committee in a dialogue to respond to their ongoing requests.”

“Harvard is committed to cooperating with the Committee’s inquiry and providing information, including the submission made today, which addresses important questions raised by the Committee,” Newton wrote.

Stanley M. Brand, an attorney who has represented congressional witnesses for almost 50 years, said the committee would have to hold Harvard in contempt of Congress in order to mandate them to produce the full set of requested material.

“They can huff and puff and say, ‘we’re going to hold you in contempt,’ but that takes months, if not years to bring to fruition,” said Brand, who previously served as general counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives.

“There are serious First Amendment issues here that the committee is going to have to overcome in demonstrating that what they have asked for is pertinent to the subject matter of their investigation,” Brand added.

The Ways and Means Committee initially requested Harvard and three other universities submit information on speech guidelines, statement policies, and funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs by Wednesday.

A committee spokesperson said Thursday that the University requested an extension to provide the requested documents, which the committee granted. According to Brand, committee deadlines are unenforceable and extensions are common practice.

The committee’s Jan. 10 letter, signed by Chairman Rep. Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.), suggested Harvard’s tax-exempt status could be in jeopardy.

Facing protracted congressional scrutiny, Harvard has also hired King & Spalding to provide counsel on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s investigation, according to a person familiar with the firm’s involvement.

WilmerHale, another high powered law firm, previously advised the University on the probes, a role it will continue to play.

WilmerHale and former Senior Fellow William F. Lee ’72, a lawyer at the firm, took a lead role in preparing Gay ahead of her December testimony.

University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain declined to comment on Harvard’s relationship with King & Spalding. A representative for the law firm did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Harvard submitted documents to the committee last week regarding its investigation into the University’s handling of plagiarism allegations against Gay. In the submission, it was revealed that the Corporation retained WilmerHale in response to the plagiarism allegations. The firm’s involvement could complicate their ability to represent Harvard if WilmerHale lawyers are called to testify as part of the committee’s investigation.

Brand said policies on the scope of attorney-client privilege vary across congressional committees.

“In the Congress, it’s a slightly different ballgame when witnesses assert attorney-client privilege because certain committees have asserted that the attorney-client privilege doesn’t apply to Congress,” Brand said.

william.mao@thecrimson.com dhruv.patel@thecrimso.com

emma.haidar@thecrimson.com cam.kettles@thecrimson.com

veronica.paulus@thecrimson.com akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com

Sunday Bomb Threat at HLS Marks Seventh in 2 Months

BY SALLY E. EDWARDS AND ASHER J. MONTGOMERY CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

The Harvard University Police Department and Cambridge Police responded to a bomb threat at Harvard Law School on Sunday night, one of numerous bomb threats reported to HUPD over the past two months.

Police officers responded to the Law School’s Wasserstein Hall after receiving a report of a bomb threat at 5:28 pm on Sunday. According to HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano, responding officers determined that the call was a hoax and there was “no credible threat.”

“As there was no credible threat no emergency notification was sent out,” Catalano wrote in an emailed statement.

The University has been the subject of seven bomb threats since December, three of which were targeted at the law school. In

addition to the threat on Sunday, HUPD reported bomb threats on Dec. 20 and Dec. 24 at Langdell and Wasserstein Halls. The investigations into these incidents closed without an arrest.

Catalano wrote in an email that the department conducted an investigation into the Dec. 20 bomb threat, and “determined it was a hoax call”.

“It is unclear at this time if the incidents are connected in anyway,” he wrote.

Edward S. Chung, a second year at the Harvard Law School, witnessed the incident at Wasserstein Hall on Sunday during an evening meeting for a student organization.

He described the situation as “confusing” and “scary.”

“There were a bunch of cops, security guards, but then there seemed to be more heavily armed guards — more like a SWAT team — with rifles and more advanced weaponry,” he said. “Nobody really was telling us what was going on.”

These incidents come almost a year after a “swatting” incident at Leverett House, where HUPD officers raided an undergraduate suite in response to a false 911 call.

The perpetrator of the “swatting” attack – the act of placing a false emergency call with the intention of harassing a target by provoking a forceful police response — has not been identified.

HLS student Irene Ameena, who witnessed Sunday’s events, said that because of the incident at Leverett, she and other members of her organization felt scared when they first saw the police officers outside of their meeting.

“I think we all were just a little cautious and confused when there were just a bunch of cops outside the room and no explanation,” she said.

According to Ameena, one of the officers told her not to worry and that their presence was “just protocol.” The officer also told her

the call came from a computer generated number.

Chung said the numerous bomb threats are “concerning” in light of the recent doxxing and harassment of Harvard students amid campus tension surrounding the Israel-Hamas war.

“It’s definitely concerning — especially with all the tension that’s been on campus,” he said. “Knowing that there’s bomb threats or people threatening the campus, it definitely makes it a little bit more worrisome.”

Ameena believes students should have been notified of the bomb threat or of the police proceedings on campus.

“Police elicit a lot of different responses and different people for valid reasons, so I think it makes sense for students to be able to prepare for what they’re gonna encounter in their learning environment,” she said.

Chung said he hopes for improved communication from ad-

ministration regarding bomb threats in the future.

“Perhaps if I wasn’t on campus during that 30 minute period, I wouldn’t even know about any of this, “ Chung said. “So it’d be nice to have better communication and honestly just know what the University is doing in response — except just calling SWAT teams — and trying to get to the bottom of why there’s so many threats.”

Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain declined to comment on criticisms of the University’s response to the bomb threats.

Catalano wrote that in the event of a report of immediate threat to safety to members of the Harvard Community, HUPD will be dispatched to assess the credibility of a threat. Once confirmed that the threat is credible, an emergency notification is sent via the MessageMe system. sally.edwards@thecrimson.com asher.montgomery@thecrimso.com

Deval Patrick to Step Down From Leading Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership

BY WILLIAM C. MAO AND DHRUV T. PATEL CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Former Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick ’78 will step down as co-director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership at the end of the academic year, the school announced on Tuesday.

Patrick, who joined HKS as a professor and co-director of the

CPL in early 2022, will remain on the Kennedy School’s faculty, according to a press release. Patrick was rumored to be a strong contender to succeed HKS Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf, who will depart the role in June after more than eight years leading the school.

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony R. Foxx, who joined HKS earlier this year, will succeed Patrick as co-director of the CPL on July

1. Foxx will co-lead the center with Hannah Riley Bowles, a senior lecturer in public policy who has helmed the center since 2021.

Bowles said in the press release that she is “enthusiastic about the opportunity to work alongside” Foxx at the CPL. She also praised Patrick, who coled the center with her for the entirety of his brief tenure.

“I am thankful for my time co-directing the center with

Deval, who has been a stellar example of public leadership and service,” Bowles said.

Before joining HKS as a professor of the practice of public leadership, Foxx was reported by The Crimson to have been shortlisted as a candidate to lead the Harvard Institute of Politics.

Elmendorf ultimately selected then-interim IOP Director Setti D. Warren to serve as the institute’s permanent leader.

Patrick said in the press re-

Deval L. Patrick ’78 will step down as co-director of HKS’s Center for Public Leadership later this year. JOSIE W. CHEN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON

COVER STORY

JANUARY 26, 2024

The End of Harvard’s 30th Presidency JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

HOW IT FELL APART. Under pressure, Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard on Jan. 2.

BY EMMA H. HAIDAR AND CAM E. KETTLES CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

W

hile Claudine Gay visited Rome for Christmas, controversy burned at Harvard over allegations of plagiarism in the embattled president’s academic work.

Gay escaped to Italy over the holiday week for a brief vacation with her husband and son, before she hoped to reset her presidency after a disastrous first semester in office.

But her time as Harvard’s 30th president was over before she even got back to Cambridge.

On Dec. 27, Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ’81 called for a conversation that made clear Gay had lost the board’s confidence to lead the University. Gay told Pritzker she would resign, according to a person with knowledge of her decision.

Pritzker’s phone call came after days of conversations among the Corporation’s 11 members, including multiple phone calls between board members and Gay, as they questioned whether Gay could stay in her job.

Six days later, at 1:18 p.m. on Jan. 2, Gay made it official in a University-wide email, capitulating to a cascade of criticism that began in the days after her administration’s awkward silence after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, escalated following her disastrous congressional testimony about antisemitism at Harvard, and ultimately came to a calamitous crescendo during the holidays over allegations of plagiarism in her academic work.

Gay’s resignation, which she said was “in the best interests of Harvard,” marked a stunning turnabout from just 21 days earlier, when the Harvard Corporation reiterated its unanimous support for Gay and said she was “the right leader to help our community heal” during the University’s most tumultuous period in decades.

In her resignation letter, Gay did not describe a specific conversation or incident that led her to step down, nor did she offer much insight into her personal deliberations.

The next day, Gay published an 870-word op-ed in the New York Times in which she offered her most pointed mea culpa yet, but also portrayed herself as the victim of a larger assault on Harvard and American higher education by conservative forces, including activist Christopher F. Rufo, billionaire hedge fund manager William A. Ackman ’88, and Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.), the fourth-ranking House Republican.

As Harvard’s first Black president, she also described vicious racism, saying that she faced death threats and had been called “the N-word more times than I care to count.”

This account of how Claudine Gay became the shortest serving president in Harvard’s 388year history — with a tenure of just 185 days — is based on interviews with Harvard officials, people close to the governing boards, individuals with knowledge of Gay’s decision-making in the days prior to her resignation, and a close review of the former president’s public statements — including her testimony before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Beginning of the End The unraveling of Gay’s presidency started on Oct. 7 — just eight days after her inauguration — when Hamas attackers killed roughly 1,200 people in Israel.

violated a tacit understanding among former Harvard presidents not to publicly criticize the incumbent.

“I am sickened,” Summers added. “I cannot fathom the Administration’s failure to disassociate the University and condemn this statement.”

When the University finally broke its silence Monday night, about 48 hours after publication of the PSC statement, it only made things worse.

Harvard’s initial statement on the Israel-Hamas war, signed

by Gay and 17 other top administrators, did not address the controversial student statement or directly condemn Hamas. The backlash, initially aimed largely at the student statement, now focused squarely on Gay. As the criticism intensified overnight, Gay tried again. The next morning, Oct. 10, she directly condemned Hamas and distanced the University from the PSC statement.

“

After consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign.

Claudine Gay Former President of Harvard University

It was not any action, but rather inaction — a failure by a novice university president to recognize the need to speak up and address events largely unfolding far beyond Cambridge — which sparked the start of a national controversy that plunged Harvard into its worst leadership crisis in more than half a century.

That Saturday, hours after the start of the Hamas attack, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee released a statement signed by more than 30 student groups holding Israel “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

The PSC statement immediately went viral and drew fierce criticism from Harvard affiliates on campus as well as national lawmakers.

But as hours passed with silence from the University, critics of the PSC statement redirected their ire at Gay and her administration. A petition slamming Harvard for not publicly condemning the statement began to amass signatures by the hundreds.

On Monday, Oct. 9, shortly before 1 p.m., former University President Lawrence H. Summers fired off a seven-post thread on X. “Harvard is being defined by the morally unconscionable statement apparently coming from two dozen student groups blaming all the violence on Israel,” Summers wrote in a devastating public rebuke of Gay, which

But the administration’s botched first statement kept Harvard in national headlines. And, on an increasingly divided campus, things started to spiral.

On Oct. 11, a truck with a digital billboard appeared in Cambridge and began to circle Harvard’s campus flashing the names and faces of students who were allegedly associated with the groups that signed on the original PSC statement. Many of those students were also doxxed online and received death threats.

Meanwhile, some of Harvard’s top donors were livid at Gay over her initial lack of response to the attack.

By Oct. 16, two prominent donors — the Wexner Foundation and Israeli billionaires Idan and Batia Ofer — had publicly ended their relationships with the University.

Financial pressure continued through November. A few public statements from prominent donors gave way to a growing donor exodus behind the scenes, as some alumni privately suspended their philanthropic relationships with Harvard.

Internally, Harvard’s gift officers privately worried that certain longtime donors would stop giving because of the controversy.

On Nov. 28, as the pressure intensified in Cambridge, Gay accepted an invitation to testify before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce at

a hearing about antisemitism on college campuses.

The Hearing Gay arrived at the Capitol on Dec. 5 prepared to clash with some of her biggest critics in Congress as she sought to tell the nation what Harvard was doing to combat antisemitism on its campus.

Her testimony hardly could have gone worse.

Gay, along with University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill and MIT President Sally A. Kornbluth, faced nearly six hours of questioning. Gay’s testimony was widely criticized as too legalistic, but the hearing will be remembered for a three-minute, thirty-second exchange between the university presidents and Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.).

Stefanik asked each president if calling for the genocide of Jewish students would violate university policies, and each president, in turn, said the answer depended on context.

“This is why you should resign,” Stefanik responded, looking directly at Gay. Condemnation of the made-for-television moment echoed from the White House to Harvard Yard, including from some of Harvard’s most liberal professors, Democratic alumni in the Massachusetts congressional delegation, and Jewish affiliates on campus.

Gay, they said, failed to articulate a moral principle which should have been obvious.

“It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said.

Laurence H. Tribe ’62, a prominent liberal legal scholar and

professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, publicly criticized Gay. “I’m no fan of @RepStefanik but I’m with her here,” Tribe wrote, posting on X. “Claudine Gay’s hesitant, formulaic, and bizarrely evasive answers were deeply troubling to me and many of my colleagues, students, and friends.”

While Harvard had amassed a large external team of crisis communications advisers to help the University communicate about Israel-Palestine through October and November, the PR experts were sidelined ahead of the hearing by lawyers who led Gay’s preparation.

Instead, former Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow William F. Lee ’72 and a team of other WilmerHale lawyers prepared Gay for the questions she might face. They created a binder of recommended answers and led multiple mock prep sessions.

The lawyers’ influence showed as Gay’s exchange with Stefanik went viral. The PR firms shut out of the prep work were left to do damage control in the aftermath.

The Corporation’s Week of Silence Almost immediately, Gay began scrambling to contain the fallout from her testimony. Pritzker and the Harvard Corporation tried to stay out of the fray.

On Dec. 6, less than 24 hours after the hearing ended, the University released a statement on social media to clarify Gay’s response, but that did little to stop calls for Gay’s resignation from growing louder.

The following day, Gay apologized for her testimony in an interview with The Crimson, a rare direct concession of wrongdoing from a president.

“I am sorry,” Gay said. “Words matter.”

Once again, the effort to stem the damage failed.

Rabbi David J. Wolpe resigned from an antisemitism advisory committee Gay had established and touted as a prominent part of her administration’s response to campus tensions. In Congress, House Republicans announced the launch of an investigation into antisemitism on Harvard’s campus.

That same day, MIT’s governing board issued a statement of unequivocal support for Kornbluth. She is now the only president who testified still in her job.

The Harvard Corporation said nothing.

On Dec 8, more than 70 members of Congress signed a letter demanding Gay’s resignation.

The Harvard Corporation said nothing.

On Dec. 9, Magill, the UPenn president, resigned under pressure from her board and the school’s wealthiest donors. The Harvard Corporation said nothing.

On Dec. 10, Rufo — the conservative activist — and journalist Christopher Brunet accused Gay of plagiarizing parts of her dissertation. The Harvard Corporation met on campus for a regularly scheduled meeting but said nothing.

On Dec. 11, with anxiety running high after Magill’s resignation and amid the Corporation’s silence, more than 700 faculty members signed a letter urging against Gay’s removal. The Harvard Corporation still said nothing.

On Dec. 12, after a week of silent secrecy, the Corporation finally spoke, declaring its unanimous support for Gay in a statement that critiqued her initial statement about the Israel-Hamas war, denounced her congressional testimony, and ac-

Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers attended Gay’s inauguration on Sept. 29. He publicly criticized her administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas war just eight days later. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

COVER STORY

THE HARVARD CRIMSON JANUARY 26, 2024

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Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks Israel, and 30 student groups sign onto a Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee statement blaming Israel for the attack.

Oct. 9, 2023 Under growing international pressure, senior Harvard officials issue a statement widely criticized as slow and too weak.

Oct. 10, 2023

Gay testified in Congress before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in a hearing about antisemitism on college campuses. MILES J. HERSZENHORN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

A doxxing truck appeared on campus in early October, displaying the names of students allegedly affiliated with groups that signed onto the PSC statement. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Former Harvard President Claudine Gay issues a follow-up statement condemning Hamas and distancing the University from the student groups.

Oct. 11, 2023 A billboard truck first appears in Harvard Square displaying names and faces of students allegedly affiliated with the PSC statement.

Dec. 5, 2023

Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ‘81 and Harvard Corporation stayed silent for one week after Gay’s testimony. J. SELLERS HILL — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Claudine Gay, pictured at her inauguration, faced new plagiarism allegations as students left campus for winter break. ADDISON Y. LIU — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Gay testifies before Congress about antisemitism with presidents from UPenn and MIT. Backlash mounts over Gay’s statement that calls for the genocide of Jews would only violate the University’s policies depending on the context.

Dec. 7, 2023 Rabbi David J. Wolpe resigned from the antisemitism advisory committee and House Republicans open an investigation into Harvard’s response to antisemitism. Gay apologizes for her testimony in an interview with The Crimson.

Dec. 8, 2023 70 members of Congress call for Gay’s resignation.

Dec. 9, 2023 UPenn President Elizabeth Magill resigns.

Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ‘81 hugged Claudine Gay at her introductory press conference as Harvard’s 30th president. J. SELLERS HILL — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

knowledged concerns about the plagiarism allegations against her — allegations of which the board had been aware of since late October.

While the Corporation’s unanimity was not surprising — the board makes decisions by consensus and does not hold formal votes — its statements are not usually qualified by their level of support among the group. The unusual decision to specify it was acting “unanimously” likely reflected a desire to end speculation about any internal division.

“Like many companies, discussion proceeds until a consensus is reached, and then that consensus becomes unanimous,” a person with direct knowledge of the Corporation’s deliberation process said.

But the Corporation’s statement, which the board said it made after “extensive deliberations,” did not put an end to calls for Gay’s resignation or reassure affiliates about Gay’s long-term future at the helm of the University.

While the Corporation knew about some allegations of plagiarism since late October, the claims became general public knowledge just two days before the board expressed its support for Gay. The Corporation’s statement also made no mention of allegations of plagiarism in Gay’s dissertation, which were not reviewed by the board’s initial independent investigation.

While students were holed up in libraries studying for final exams, Gay’s future at Harvard remained in serious jeopardy.

Still, it appeared she would get a chance to reset in the spring.

Gay’s Last Days As campus emptied for winter break, new plagiarism allegations continued to emerge, seeming to put Gay’s presidency on life support.

On Dec. 20, the Harvard Corporation released a detailed summary of an independent review it conducted into Gay’s academic work and announced she would submit three corrections to her 1997 Ph.D. dissertation.

That same day, Congress widened its investigation into antisemitism at Harvard to also include the plagiarism allegations. The Committee requested a mountain of documents and extensive communications in its letter that, if made public, could keep Gay and the Corporation at the center of a protracted saga for weeks, if not months.

Two days later, on Dec. 22, reports emerged that Len Blavatnik, a Harvard megadonor, decided to cease donations to the University. He had given at least $270 million to Harvard, including a $200 million gift to Harvard Medical School – the largest donation in HMS history.

That same day, Gay left with her family for Rome.

As Gay arrived in Italy, the Corporation’s members started to discuss if there was a path forward for the 30th president, according to a person close to the board. Gay was also in frequent communication with Pritzker and other Corporation members.

One of the final blows came on Christmas Eve, when the Times published an article detailing a meeting between two members of the Corporation — Paul J. Finnegan ’75 and Tracy P. Palandjian ’93 — and faculty members of the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard. The article included a now-disputed assertion that during the dinner the Corporation members discussed dismissing Gay. The dinner at Bar Enza in the Charles Hotel, between Finnegan, Palandjian and some of Gay’s most prominent critics on the Harvard faculty, spun into a major flashpoint.

While professors in attendance later said neither they

Harvard Provost Alan M. Garber ‘76, pictured behind Gay at the hearing, became the University’s interim president after Gay resigned. MILES J. HERSZENHORN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

nor Finnegan or Palandjian discussed firing Gay, media coverage of the dinner pushed the board further under a microscope and was viewed by some affiliates as evidence of waning support for Gay within the Corporation.

Meanwhile, the plagiarism charges kept Gay and Harvard in the headlines over Christmas.

The situation was becoming untenable for everyone.

On Dec. 27, Pritkzer called Gay again.

A Harvard spokesperson declined to comment on whether Gay was ever directly asked to step down, but after nearly three months of nonstop controversy, such candor was unnecessary.

Gay told Pritzker she would resign.

The Resignation On Jan. 2, the shortest presidency in University history came to an end with back-to-back University-wide emails from Gay and the Corporation.

The coordinated messages, released exactly three weeks after the Corporation’s statement in support of Gay’s presidency, sought to paint Gay and the Fellows — as Corporation members are formally known — as a cohesive group that came to a mutual consensus.

“After consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign,” Gay wrote.

The Corporation’s statement also described Gay’s resignation as the right step for Harvard as the University seeks to move forward.

“In the face of escalating controversy and conflict, President Gay and the Fellows have sought to be guided by the best interests of the institution whose future progress and well-being we are together committed to uphold,” the Corporation wrote.

The Fellows’ statement also

stressed that Gay had decided to step down, and that they had “accepted her resignation.”

“We do so with sorrow,” they added.

The Corporation hoped the resignation and the appointment of longtime Harvard Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 as interim president would portray the board and the University as united, if not entirely unscathed.

But in an article published days after Gay’s resignation, the Times reported that two Corporation members — Harvard Treasurer Timothy R. Barakett ’87 and his predecessor, Finnegan — were among the first members of the board to call for Gay to step down. An article in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month added Palandjian to that list.

The University, however, quickly disputed reports of divisions within the Corporation.

“Contrary to inaccurate media reports, there were no ‘camps’ among the Fellows during their deliberations in recent weeks,” Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain wrote in a statement to The Crimson.

“The way in which Tim Barakett, Paul Finnegan and Tracy Palandjian have been misrepresented and mischaracterized is deeply concerning to the Fellows,” he added.

A spokesperson for the New York Times wrote that the paper is “confident in the accuracy of our reporting and stand by our story.” The Wall Street Journal did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, most members of the Board of Overseers — Harvard’s second highest governing body — were left in the dark about all of the deliberations.

Some members said they understood the need for secrecy, especially as conflicting reports about conversations with Corporation members were surfacing, while others expressed frustration at the Corporation’s lack

of transparency and about learning of Gay’s resignation from media reports.

“Most of us were first getting our information from The Crimson,” one Overseer said.

And things might still get worse for the governing boards before they get better.

Several outside candidates are running for election to the Board of Overseers on anti-establishment platforms. Pritzker and the Corporation must now embark upon a difficult presidential search, seeking to fill a position that, despite the prestige, has recently become a lot less appealing.

Garber, as Harvard’s interim president, will have to work overtime to woo back donors who suspended or ended their philanthropic relationships with Harvard out of frustration with an entire University — not a single leader.

He will also face formidable challenges on campus where protests and actions are not expected to dissipate anytime soon and tensions remain high.

“We have been through an extraordinarily painful and disorienting time for Harvard,” Garber wrote in his first University-wide email as interim president.

“Our task is difficult yet essential, and we have much work ahead of us,” he added. “Although I regret the circumstances that have me writing to you as your interim president, please know that I will serve with a dedication to the Harvard I know and cherish.”

It is unclear if the student body, which was largely ambivalent about Gay’s troubles, will grow more animated about the search for her replacement.

But for now, Harvard must confront the start of the spring semester.

Students are headed back to the classroom — and so is professor Claudine Gay. emma.haidar@thecrimson.com cam.kettles@thecrimson.com

Dec. 10, 2023 Conservative activist Christopher F. Rufo first publicizes allegations of plagiarism against Gay.

Dec. 12, 2023 The Corporation breaks its silence, issuing a statement in support of Gay remaining in office.

Dec. 15, 2023 Gay submits submits corrections to two of her scholarly articles.

Dec. 20, 2023 The University releases a detailed summary of its plagiarism investigation and the congressional committee widens its investigation to include plagiarism. Gay submits additional corrections to her dissertation.

Dec. 27, 2023 Gay agrees to resign during a phone call with Corporation Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ‘81.

Jan. 2, 2024 Gay announces her resignation, Provost Alan M. Garber ‘76 takes office as interim president.

THC Read more at THECRIMSON.COM

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON

NEWS

JANUARY 26, 2024

HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL

Harvard Seeks to Dismiss Morgue Lawsuit MORGUE REMAINS. Harvard claims it acted in “good faith” in compliance with donors’ wishes.

BY VERONICA H. PAULUS AND AKSHAYA RAVI CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

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arvard moved Friday to dismiss a class action lawsuit brought by families affected by the mishandling of human remains at Harvard Medical School.

The University claimed immunity from legal action in nine consolidated cases alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and infliction of emotional distress.

The class action lawsuits were filed after former morgue manager Cedric Lodge was indicted in June for stealing and transporting human remains from the morgue at the Anatomical Gift Program.

Harvard cited the Uniform

Anatomical Gift Act, which governs how anatomical gifts can be made, to argue that it acted in “good faith” to comply with donors’ wishes, granting it immunity under the law.

Harvard lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Kenneth W. Salinger — the judge hearing the case — has not yet ruled on the motion but raised questions about whether the immunity clause extended to the use of the anatomical gifts or protected only the donation process itself.

Lawyers representing the affected families argued that the law protected only the donation and that Harvard’s interpretation of the clause was too broad.

“The statute does not go so far as to afford blanket immunity to donees for anything that happens to the body after donation,” the lawyers wrote in the filing.

“We have alleged bad faith through Cedric Lodge. Cedric Lodge is Harvard, whether they want to be married to him or not,”

said Jeffrey N. Catalano, a lawyer representing the families.

“The fact that [Lodge] did something which Harvard admits is egregious doesn’t insulate them,” Catalano said in a Sunday interview with The Crimson.

“In fact, it just kind of implicates them.”

The original class action suit — filed in June by Keches Law Group — argued that “Harvard and HMS owed a duty of care to the families of those who donated their bodies.”

“Harvard and HMS breached its duty of care and was negligent when it failed to take reasonable steps in the hiring, training, supervision, and retention of defendant Cedric Lodge,” the original lawsuit said.

Catalano said if Harvard’s immunity claim is successful, it will discourage people from donating to the HMS Anatomical Gift Program.

“If they thought that institutions like Harvard could never be held accountable for that

conduct, they might say to themselves, why should I donate my

body if I can’t be sure it’s not going to end up in a gift shop?” he said.

veronica.paulus@thecrimson.com akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com

Harvard claimed immunity Friday in a class action lawsuit from families affected by the Harvard Medical School morgue scandal. SEDINA A. ACKUAYI — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

PENSLAR FROM PAGE 1

Amid Pressure and Ardent Support, Penslar Mulled Stepping Down Harvard’s anti-Semitism problem, rejected the definition used by the US government in recent years of anti-Semitism as too broad, invoked the need for the concept of settler colonialism in analyzing Israel, referred to Israel as an apartheid state and more,” Summers wrote in a Sunday post on X. “None of this in my view is problematic for a professor at Harvard or even for a member of the task force but for the co-chair of an anti-Semitism task force that is being paralleled with an Islamophobia task force it seems highly problematic,” he added.

In particular, critics have pointed to Penslar’s decision to sign an open letter in August — prior to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack — that said “Israel’s long-standing occupation” of Gaza resulted in a “regime of apartheid.” Penslar also penned a Dec. 29 op-ed in The Crimson, in which he urged readers to rethink definitions of antisemitism that classify criticisms of Israel as antisemitic.

Some of Penslar’s colleagues, however, were quick to come to his defense. Harvard Government professor Steven Levitsky bashed Penslar’s critics in an interview for attempting to undermine academic freedom and exert influence over the University’s administrative decision-making.

“You have to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism to suggest that Derek Penslar is not a good fit for this role,” Levitsky said. “When you deliberately conflate the two, you utterly silence criticism of Israel, and you utterly silence pro-Palestinian speech — and that we can’t tolerate, not at a university in a free society.”

Levitsky fiercely rebuked

History professor Derek J. Penslar saw an outpouring of support from students and faculty as he weighed stepping down as co-chair of the presidential task force on antisemitism amid fierce criticism. MICHAEL GRITZBACH — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Summers, saying he thought Summers’ wide-reaching public statements on antisemitism at Harvard did not accurately reflect the perspective of the University’s Jewish population.

“Larry Summers says some very bold things about antisemitism at Harvard. He is not representative of a majority of Jews at Harvard,” said Levitsky, who is Jewish.

“That guy is batshit crazy — and you can quote me on that,” he added.

In an interview, Summers responded to Levitsky’s criticism by saying that he was only speaking on behalf of himself and “not some segment of the Harvard community,” but doubled down

on his criticism of the University.

“The fact that there’s been an unprecedented decline in applications, that both the Democratic Biden administration and the Republican Congress and civil society have launched investigations or litigation against Harvard suggests that there is a substantial antisemitism problem of perception that — in my view — the University needs to reckon with,” Summers added.

Scholars of Judaism and Jewish history from across higher education, as well as Penslar’s Harvard colleagues and former students, voiced their support for the professor across at least five letters or statements in recent days.

On Wednesday, 226 scholars

of Jewish studies issued a public statement supporting Penslar’s appointment calling him “an enthusiastic supporter and invaluable interlocutor for generations of scholars based in Israel and other countries.”

“Indeed, it is hard to think of many North American academics who have contributed more to the development of the study of Jewish history and of Israeli society over the past few decades than Derek Penslar,” the scholars wrote.

A group of 21 current and former students who had worked with or studied under Penslar published an open letter supporting Penslar on Medium Tuesday, arguing that “his measured and thorough analysis of Jewish his-

tory and Zionism” makes him uniquely positioned to effectively lead Harvard’s efforts against antisemitism.

“Over the past days, we have been heartbroken to see the exceptional reputation and character of Dr. Penslar questioned in service of political ends,” they wrote.

“Not only do these attacks pervert the unparalleled assiduousness and ingenuity of Dr. Penslar’s scholarship, but they also undermine the goal of Harvard’s antisemitism task force more broadly: to understand how antisemitism is manifesting on Harvard’s campus — and what more we might do to prevent it,” they added.

Amid the criticism, Penslar’s

book “Zionism: An Emotional State,” was named a finalist for the 2023 National Jewish Book Award in an announcement Wednesday from the Jewish Book Council. Lines from the book were cited by some critics, including Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt, as evidence that Penslar was unfit to lead the task force.

Other statements supporting Penslar were circulated by a group of 17 Boston-area rabbis, a group of 29 scholars — including nine Harvard graduate students and researchers — of Jewish studies, and the American Academy for Jewish Research.

In a letter to Garber shared with The Crimson, the leaders of the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard declined to take a stance on whether Penslar was the “right choice” for the co-chair position, but argued it would “violate the principles of academic freedom to remove a scholar as chair of a committee solely because some members of the community or public are offended by the views he or she has expressed.”

Harvard Divinity School professor Annette Yoshiko Reed noted that Penslar — who was appointed as co-chair alongside Harvard Business School professor Raffaella Sadun — was not leading the task force alone.

“We’re not a political party.

We’re a university, and what we’re supposed to be is a place people can have conversations — which means when you appoint a committee, part of the point is that not everybody agrees,” Reed said. tilly.robinson@thecrimson.com neil.shah@thecrimson.com

Amid Crisis, Harvard Corporation Seat Goes 6 Months Unfilled

BY EMMA H. HAIDAR AND CAM E. KETTLES CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

As Harvard faces its greatest leadership crisis in decades, the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — is short one member.

The vacancy on the Corporation has gone unfilled for more than six months, even as the board is looking to mend relationships with alienated donors, embark upon a presidential search, and guide the University past a tumultuous period that saw the national spotlight fixated on a fractured campus.

David M. Rubenstein, a billionaire philanthropist, stepped down from the Corporation in June, after completing his first of two possible six-year terms on the board. Unlike some other recent departures from the Corporation, Rubenstein left the board without a successor in place.

The extended vacancy has left the Corporation with just 12 of its

usual 13 members. And the board will soon have another vacancy when Paul J. Finnegan ’75 is forced to step down at the end of the academic year.

The search for Rubenstein’s replacement will likely conclude in the coming months or the Corporation will risk having two vacant seats.

When Rubenstein’s resignation was announced, former University President Lawrence S. Bacow, then-President-elect Claudine Gay, and Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ’81 said a search for his successor will “begin soon,” an indication that the departure was unexpected.

The empty seat could not have come at a worse time for the Corporation. Gay’s resignation put the board under a microscope as external observers and Harvard affiliates alike have scrutinized, and often criticized, the Corporation’s role in the crisis.

The controversy surrounding Harvard over the past four months has raised the prospect that the

Corporation might struggle to find acceptable candidates willing to join the board.

The Board of Overseers — the University’s second highest governing body — has seen a number of anti-establishment candidates run for election to reform the University and increase transparency within the administration.

Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers said in an interview that “after all the failures of the last semester, I would hope that this Corporation search will be very different in process and outcome than what has taken place recently.”

The next person to join the Corporation will likely help lead the high-pressure search for Harvard’s next president, a process led by a search committee composed of the 12 “Fellows” of the Corporation — as the members are formally known — and three Overseers.

It is unclear how the presidential search committee’s membership might change if the Corporation vacancy remains unfilled.

The search to appoint Gay’s per-

manent successor, which has not been formally launched, is expected to begin soon.

N e w members are typically elected in early February to replace outgoing board members when their terms expire June 30. But since Harvard administrators announced Rubenstein’s plan to step down last May, no successor has been appointed.

The last time a vacancy was left unfilled – leaving the board with 12 members – was in 2019 when James W. Breyer also departed after one six-year term. T ​​ he seat was filled a year later by current fellow​​

XINYI C. ZHANG — CRIMSON DESIGNER

Diana L. Nelson ’84.

Candidates for the Corporation are nominated and voted on by existing Fellows of the Corporation and the Harvard president before being finalized with the consent of the Overseers.

In the past, the Corporation

has selected current and former members of the Board of Overseers, high-profile donors, and former university presidents to join their ranks. emma.haidar@thecrimson.com cam.kettles@thecrimson.com

EDITORIAL

THE HARVARD CRIMSON JANUARY 26, 2024

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Announcing The Crimson Editorial Board’s Spring 2024 Columnists ON OUR COLUMNISTS: The Editorial Board is pleased to announce its columnists for the upcoming spring semester. Opinion columnists will publish on a bi-weekly basis, each focusing on a theme of their choice.

We are also proud to announce that three of our columns this semester will be reported — containing both journalistic interviews and editorial commentary — following our reported columns initiative piloted in 2020. Reported columnists will publish on a tri-weekly basis.

PORTRAITS BY SAMI E. TURNER — CRIMSON DESIGNER

THE COUNCIL FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM

RANDALL L. KENNEDY

LORENZO Z. RUIZ

The Council for Academic Freedom at Harvard is a faculty group promoting free speech, academic freedom, and constructive dialogue at Harvard.

This column will provide space for its members to opine on topics relevant to free speech and academic freedom on campus. Every other Monday, two faculty members will write distinct viewpoints on a controversial topic, bringing the broader campus community into the discourse CAFH promotes.

Randall L. Kennedy is the Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School. Kennedy’s scholarship focuses on race and criminal law. This semester, his column, which will run on biweekly Thursdays, will discuss a variety of free speech issues at Harvard and other university campuses.

Lorenzo Z. Ruiz, a Crimson Editorial Editor, is a freshman living in Greenough Hall, likely studying Economics and History. His opinion column will examine thorny institutional issues that have become too glaring and burdensome to neglect. The column, which will run on biweekly Mondays, will seek to answer how, in reckoning with these problems, Harvard has the power to destroy, preserve, or forever redefine the role of “the university” and the academic project.

MAYA A. BODNICK FORGING HARVARD’S FUTURE

YONA T. SPERLIN-MILNER A SCHOOL OUTSIDE BOSTON

Maya A. Bodnick is a sophomore in Mather House studying Government. She is a researcher for the Slow Boring substack and is active in the Reform Jewish community at Hillel. Her column runs on biweekly Tuesdays and will cover Harvard’s presidential search and freedom of speech — and how these ongoing, connected issues will forge the University’s future.

Yona T. Sperling-Milner, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a freshman living in Hurlbut Hall. She might study Economics, but that’s actually very unlikely.

Her column “A School Outside Boston” runs on biweekly Tuesdays and uses a satirical lens to analyze campus culture. She tries too hard to be funny, but what can you do?

MAIBRITT HENKEL AND MIE L. HOLM RETHINKING ECONOMICS Maibritt Henkel and Mie L. Holm are juniors in Pforzheimer House studying Economics and Social Studies. They are co-founders of Harvard Undergraduate Rethinking Economics. Their column runs on biweekly Fridays and will explore the limitations of Harvard’s current economics curriculum and discuss how it could better equip students with the skills, critical thinking, and moral conscience to contribute meaningfully to the 21st century.

E. MATTEO DIAZ TRANSCRIPTIONS E. Matteo Diaz, a Crimson Editorial Editor, is a freshman from San Rafael, California living in Grays Hall. His column “Transcriptions” runs on biweekly Thursdays and will explore transgender issues at Harvard and their connection to the larger, national discourse. In light of increasing legislative attacks against the trans community, Diaz aims to combat disinformation and spark positive, nuanced conversations about transness.

PRINCE A. WILLIAMS

A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF HARVARD Prince A. Williams, a Crimson Editorial Editor, is a campus organizer and junior in Adams House studying History and African & African American Studies. His column runs on biweekly Fridays and will explore various aspects of Harvard’s history through the lens of workers, activists, and historically marginalized people.

Never miss an update from our columnists at THECRIMSON.COM

ADELAIDE E. PARKER

HARVARD’S HIDDEN HYPOCRISIES Adelaide E. Parker, a Crimson Associate Magazine Editor and a senior reporter for News, is a sophomore in Mather House studying Social Studies.

Her reported column runs on Tuesdays every three weeks and will delve into Harvard’s recent fraud scandals: the forces at Harvard that push people to cheat and deceive, how they get away with it, and what Harvard can do to become more honest.

LUCAS T. GAZIANIS

Lucas T. Gazianis, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a senior in Currier House studying Social Studies. His reported column runs triweekly on Tuesdays and will investigate what students actually learn from their time on campus.

RACHAEL A. DZIABA

A BROKEN SYSTEM Rachael A. Dziaba, a Crimson Editorial Editor, is a sophomore in Currier House studying Social Studies. Her reported column will run triweekly on Tuesdays and will explore Harvard’s Title IX system, hoping to shed light on the policies and procedures that have failed survivors and, in turn, illustrate what steps the University must take to end rape culture.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON

EDITORIAL

JANUARY 26, 2024

OP-ED

Penslar Is the Right Choice

BY ALLISON FRANK JOHNSON AND STEVEN LEVITSKY

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s professors at the College, we applaud the recent announcement by interim University President Alan M. Garber ’76 of two presidential task forces, one to combat antisemitism and one to combat Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Unfortunately, the leadership of the antisemitism task force was immediately attacked by outside political forces, threatening to undermine its work before it even begins.

The appointment of Derek J. Penslar — William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies — as co-chair of the antisemitism task force was an especially wise choice. Penslar is one of the world’s leading scholarly experts on antisemitism. He has devoted his career to studying Jewish history across the world, to understanding the aspirations and challenges of Zionism, and, importantly, to combating antisemitism.

Professor Penslar’s academic credentials stand out even by Harvard’s standards. He has written six books and co-edited several more; he has published more than fifty academic articles and essays in leading journals; he has served on the faculty of several prestigious universities; he was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Association for Israel Studies; he is an elected fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research; and he has received countless honors and fellowships, including from Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, the Yitzhak Rabin Center, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

From the point of view of scholarly expertise, there is no one at Harvard better suited to this job.

Despite all this, Penslar’s appointment immediately came under fire from by-now familiar quarters.

His transgression? Criticism of Israeli government policies.

On August 6, 2023, Penslar, along with nearly 2,800 public figures, primarily Israel and North American academics and including mainstream Zionists like prominent Israeli historian Benny Morris, signed an open letter pleading for Jewish sup-

“

Treating fact-based criticism of Israel as inherently antisemitic shuts down speech and academic debate, which should be anathema to any university in a free society.

port for Palestinian rights. That document noted “the elephant in the room: Israel’s long-standing occupation that, we repeat, has yielded a regime of apartheid.”

Such criticism of Israel is not popular in all circles, but it is hardly a fringe position. These views are shared by many American Jews, and indeed by many Israeli Jews.

And yet professor Penslar, who himself identifies as a Zionist, has been assailed in scathing and outrageous terms. Bill A. Ackman ’88 called Penslar’s appointment to the task force a step down “the path of

darkness.” A deputy director general in the Netanyahu government’s foreign ministry labeled Penslar a “rabid anti Zionist.” Borrowing talking points from these and other critics, deeply misleading articles on Penslar appeared in the Times of Israel and rightwing media like the New York Post, the National Review, the Daily Caller, and the Washington Free Beacon. The New York Post went so far as to suggest he might be antisemitic.

It’s time to say enough. The attacks on professor Penslar — and by extension on President Garber for appointing him to this role — exemplify two profoundly worrying trends that threaten Harvard’s very mission.

The first is external political forces undercutting the University’s independence and the principle of academic freedom. Donors, right-wing politicians, and activists are welcome to share their opinions, as is everyone in a free society, but they cannot be allowed to de facto dictate university policies (for example, on regulating campus speech and protest), remove university leaders, or veto appointments to important university task forces.

The second trend is the reckless mischaracterization of criticism of Israeli government policy as hate speech. It is essential to distinguish between criticism of Israel, which must be protected, and antisemitism, which must be combated. In the weeks following the traumatic attacks of Oct. 7, these terms were routinely conflated, which had the effect of chilling criticism of Israel.

This needs to stop. Criticism of (or support for) any government’s actions must be tolerated in a university that respects academic freedom and encourages vigorous debate. Treating fact-based criticism of Israel as inherently antisemitic shuts down

speech and academic debate, which should be anathema to any university in a free society. Even the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, in its expansive and oft-cited definition of antisemitism, acknowledges that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”

What exactly crosses the line into antisemitism is a difficult question and one that requires serious scholarly debate. President Garber got it right — Derek Penslar is best equipped to lead that debate.

Consider, for example, his thoughtful article in Antisemitism Studies analyzing different definitions of antisemitism.

Universities are increasingly under assault from outside political forces. That a highly respected Jewish scholar who has dedicated his career to understanding and combating antisemitism — as Derek Penslar has done — stands accused of being unfit to lead a task force on the subject (and even of being antisemitic himself) is a reminder that no one is immune to this kind of dishonest, politicized attack. University leaders must resist calls for professor Penslar’s removal as co-chair of the antisemitism task force.

We must not allow the task force’s work or its members’ reputations to be undermined by loud outside actors with political agendas. There is more than committee staffing at stake in Harvard’s response: The work we do, our scholarship, our expertise, and our right to freely criticize governments are being challenged.

-Alison Frank Johnson is a Professor of History.

Steven Levitsky is the David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and a Professor of Government.

OP-ED

Garber’s Parallel Task Forces Are a Good Start

BY LORENZO Z. RUIZ

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ight now, for what may be a brief and shining moment, I am proud of Harvard’s leadership.

On Friday, interim University President Alan M. Garber ’76 announced the formation of two presidential forces: one dedicated to combating antisemitism and the other to combating Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Outrageously, it took three months, a horrific doxxing campaign, a congressional investigation, fierce campus organizing, and a presidential resignation to arrive at this point. Still, I commend Garber’s simple, profound acknowledgement that both groups have suffered and deserve their university’s support.

No, a gesture will not solve all of our woes. Neither Jewish nor Muslim and Arab students will experience immediate relief from harassment, anxiety, and marginalization.

Yet the very act of establishing these task forces may tell of a larger process underway. It could signal the beginning of a new age of leadership at Harvard: a (hopefully) more measured and adept administration plotting a confident course forward for itself and the institution.

The name “Alan Garber” is not yet saddled with

personal baggage and — at least to the broader public — the man behind it is anonymous and inoffensive. In the interim, this will do just fine.

After Gay’s tumultuous tenure, President Garber afforded us a clean slate. Now, with the creation of these task forces, he indicates that he could be more than a placeholder. Garber appears ready to learn from the failures of an administration which modeled precisely what not to do.

On two fronts, Garber’s approach seems poised to improve on Gay’s.

First, former University President Claudine Gay’s responses to Oct. 7 were mostly reactionary, often to their detriment. Her initial vague condemnation of Hamas’ violence was a reaction to criticism of two days of silence. Her subsequent rebuke of Hamas was in turn a reaction to criticism of that first statement’s vagueness. Her formation of an advisory group on antisemitism was a long-delayed reaction to student fear and national outrage.

This was an administration caught playing catch-up, forever stumbling one step behind and failing its community in the process.

Second, Gay’s piecemeal attempts at managing competing interest groups failed to give them equal consideration.

Immediately after Oct. 7, it was clear that events in Gaza and Israel would shake Harvard’s campus.

Both combatants bore close ties to an array of religious, cultural, and ideological factions well-reflected in the diverse Harvard community.

Campus friction was inevitable, but a national war of words with Harvard at its center was not.

A more strategic administration would have used foresight: mass violence abroad will invariably produce a ripple effect on our campus. Islamic and

“

A leader does not walk one pace behind the pack. A leader marches at the fore, and responds to an uncertain world with reason, balance and strategy.

Arab as well as Jewish students will be most affected by the unrest. Gay’s administration should have immediately established two parallel task forces designed to alleviate fear, mediate discourse, and ease tensions.

Had Gay sought to assure, with parity, that all students would be safe and heard and that dialogue would be compassionate and controlled, these last

few months may have unfolded quite differently.

To borrow a truism, hindsight is always 20/20.

But sharp vision — backward and forward — is precisely what we need right now.

President Garber has to thread the needle, managing all manner of interests clamoring for attention. His predecessor waited and deferred and, on acting, did so without parity. We saw how that ended. So, at least on paper, the path forward for Garber is simple: Act early and fairly.

We cannot predict what the future holds — for the war abroad or for the political landscape at home. But our president can, to an extent, control how Harvard reacts.

I am hopeful that the Garber administration, however long it lasts, will continue on the path these task forces suggest. A leader does not walk one pace behind the pack. A leader marches at the fore, and responds to an uncertain world with reason, balance and strategy.

As for the sibling task forces: One for me, one for you is a good start. To be seen now is whether they are more than just a gesture. For the students they are intended to support — and for the Garber administration — they better be.

–Lorenzo Z. Ruiz ’27, a Crimson Editorial Editor, lives in Greenough Hall.

OP-ED

Harvard’s Legacy of Antisemitism

BY GIOVANNI B. BAZZANA, BENJAMIN H. DUNNING, MOHSEN GOUDARZI, AND ANNETTE YOSHIKO REED

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ecent events at Harvard have shown just how pressing it is that our discussions of antisemitism remain rooted in history, learning, and conversation.

We have seen first-hand what can happen when the discourse about antisemitism falls prey to the temptations to simplify and generalize: Accusations are all too easily instrumentalized for purposes other than the protection of Jews.

It is in this context that we write as faculty at the Harvard Divinity School who teach and research on the histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

In our view, the public discourse on antisemitism at Harvard risks becoming dangerously divorced from life on our campus. When outside voices claim to speak for all Jews at Harvard, they drown out the incredibly diverse range of opinions and experiences among our Jewish students.

Campus-specific situations have been forced into a national, pre-set narrative, as the real and persistent problem of antisemitism becomes elided with a politicized debate on the propriety of pro-Palestinian protests. In the process, those rightly concerned with rising antisemitism are pitted against those rightly concerned with rising Islamophobia.

As historians of religion, we know all too well the dangers that arise when abstracted polemics overshadow lived realities. Much of the tragic history of Christian anti-Judaism, for instance, has

involved the instrumentalization of Jews in debates not really about Jews, often with terrible results for Jewish lives.

There is undoubtedly a pressing need to have conversations about antisemitism at Harvard.

We feel as though much is lost, however, when the narrative is driven by social media outrage, political point-scoring, and outside forces rather than conversations within our own community.

And part of what is lost, in our view, is the importance of the classroom as space to foster such conversations.

From the public discourse on antisemitism at Harvard, one would have no idea that any relevant classes are even offered. But last semester alone at the Divinity School, students discussed antisemitism and related issues in classes on Jews and race, modern Jewish thought, and Jewish and German philosophy.

Difficult discussions about Christian anti-Judaism were central to courses like “Introduction to the New Testament,” and challenging questions about religious polemic and rivalry with Jews were addressed in courses on the Quran and Islamic history. The enduring impact of antisemitism was explored even within “Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion,” the only course required of all Divinity School students.

Harvard has a long history of antisemitism. But it also has a long history of faculty who spoke out against it — especially at the Divinity School. In the 1920s, George Foot Moore published “Christian Writers on Judaism” in the Harvard Theological Review — still among the most scathing rebukes of academia’s entrenched habits of Christian anti-Judaism. Moore was also among the few Christians at the time to emphasize the need for a view of “Ju-

daism on its own terms.”

Many followed in Moore’s footsteps: Krister O. Stendahl, an expert in the New Testament who was Dean of Harvard Divinity School from 1968 to 1979, was among those on the forefront of Christianity’s grappling with its legacy of antisemitism after the Holocaust. And among Moore’s students was Harry Austryn Wolfson, Class of 1911, the first professor in the United States to serve as a chair devoted singularly to Jewish studies, who advocated for the central importance of the history of Jewish thought — not just for Jews, but for all students.

These are hardly obscure figures: They are giants in the field who shaped the academic study of religion at Harvard. They are often cited as exemplars of the Divinity School’s vision of academic excellence, historical rigor, and multireligious inclusion. They ensured the study of religion at Harvard must include difficult conversations about the past roots and present shoots of hatred.

In times of extreme uncertainty, it can be especially tempting to abandon the difficult work of learning, teaching, and communal conversation for the quick satisfaction of platitudes and polemics. Call-outs and caricatures attract instant attention on social media. But it is our hope that the new year will afford us space to recommit to the work that the best of our predecessors have modeled for us.

Those who decry the diversification of higher education often caricature its so-called “ideology” as a knee-jerk valorization of the oppressed. Such caricatures often cite an imagined binary between oppressor and oppressed, seemingly unaware of pedagogical settings — like the Divinity School — in which non-hierarchical understandings of

difference are wrought in the slow, communal, hands-on work of learning and conversation.

What such outsider perspectives fail to recognize, however, is precisely an educational culture that is committed to the inclusion of excluded perspectives, knowing that understanding from only one perspective is not really understanding at all.

This is the same culture that once empowered scholars like Moore and Stendahl to speak up for Jews, despite not being Jewish themselves and despite teaching at a time when the exclusion of Jews was taken as natural, if not meritocratic.

Needless to say, the Divinity School’s vision has not always succeeded. Our reality does not yet live up to our ideals. What many of us do believe, however, is that the hard work is worth it. Simplistic stories may win in the short term, and such stories are surely easier to tell if one ignores local and lived experience, avoiding conversation across differences.

Today, it seems as though there are few places where people across political divides — Jews and non-Jews alike — can engage in meaningful conversations about Judaism. Yet our learning spaces across the University remain among the rare places forged for conversations across religious, ethnic, political, and other differences. These spaces are crucial, in our view, for the slow work of tackling difficult topics like antisemitism in challenging times such as these.

–Annette Yoshiko Reed is the Krister Stendahl Professor of Divinity. Giovanni B. Bazzana is the Frothingham Professor of the History of Religion. Benjamin H. Dunning is the Florence Corliss Lamont Professor of Divinity. Mohsen Goudarzi is an assistant professor of Islamic Studies.

METRO

THE HARVARD CRIMSON JANUARY 26, 2024

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Graham and Parks Alternative Public School is a Cambridge City public elementary school. EMILY L. DING — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

CAMBRIDGE EDUCATION

Toxicity Allegations Against CPS Principal “THOROUGH REVIEW.” Parent organizers raised concerns about Graham & Parks Elementary School principal and CPS’ hiring practices.

BY DARCY G LIN AND EMILY T. SCHWARTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

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ambridge Public Schools engaged a law firm to “conduct a thorough review” into allegations that Graham & Parks Elementary School Principal Kathleen M. Smith fostered a toxic workplace environment at the school, according to

a Jan. 5 email from CPS Superintendent Victoria Greer.

Greer’s email, obtained by The Crimson, came in response to concerns raised by G&P Caregiver Coalition — an anonymous parent group — about Smith’s leadership practices. The group first shared their concerns about Smith with the Cambridge School Committee late last year.

Parent organizers sent the letter to the committee after discovering a 2019 Newton Public School Human Resources investigation into Smith’s tenure as principal at Newton’s Underwood Elementary School. The coalition obtained the investigation from a public records re-

quest in late December.

The Newton investigation found that Smith perpetuated a “toxic working environment” with reports of employees “in fear for their positions,” facilitation of an “in-group” and an “out-group – mean-girl mentality,” and lack of “empathy for staff.” Shortly after the Human Resources complaint was submitted, Smith left the Newton district, ending her 8 years as Underwood’s principal.

In a Jan. 2 letter to the Cambridge School Committee obtained by The Crimson, the G&P Caregiver Coalition wrote that the Newton report corroborated behavior that Smith also exhibit-

ed at Graham & Parks.

In response to a request for comment about the toxic workplace allegations at Graham & Parks, Cambridge Public Schools spokesperson Sujata Wycoff wrote that “the district does not comment on personnel matters.”

Smith and Greer did not respond to a request for comment.

The coalition alleged in its letter that some members of the school’s staff are scared to speak publicly about Smith’s leadership because they are concerned that they will face retaliation.

They also claimed some parents expressed concern that the environment at the school might en-

courage “beloved, experienced, and skilled teachers” to leave the school.

Two members of the coalition, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about their experiences with a school their children currently attend, alleged Smith directed teachers during a staff meeting to not speak with parents and that she targeted “out-group” Graham & Parks teachers who disagreed with her.

In the letter, the coalition raised concerns about the district’s hiring process, in particular pointing to reports of workplace toxicity during Smith’s tenure at Underwood Elementa-

ry School in Newton.

Smith’s tenure as principal at Graham & Parks began in July 2022, according to her LinkedIn profile.

“This information would have disqualified Smith from becoming our principal if it had been uncovered in the hiring process,” the G&P Caregiver Coalition wrote. The coalition added, “We are shocked that the Superintendent failed to exercise the diligence necessary to protect our school and we elaborate on the district wide pattern of her negligent hiring practices.” darcy.lin@thecrimson.com emily.schwartz@thecrimson.com

CPD Officer Charged With Illegally Charter Review Committee Sharing Criminal Records Passes Final Report

BY SALLY E. EDWARDS AND ASHER J. MONTGOMERY CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Lucas Harney, a Cambridge Police officer who has worked in the department for seven years, is facing charges of illegally distributing criminal record information and storing firearms improperly.

Harney pleaded not guilty to the charges on Thursday. The case — which was initiated by the department — investigated the allegation that Harney asked officers for information about his sister-in-law’s boyfriend, which he then gave to family members.

Harney is also accused of storing loaded firearms in unlocked vehicle compartments.

The complaint against Harney, which includes two counts of improper firearm storage and three counts of unlawful dissem-

ination, was initially filed in late September. Harney became a Cambridge police officer in 2016 after six years of volunteering as an auxiliary officer.

Harney’s lawyer declined to comment.

In 2018, Harney was among four officers criticized for the forcible arrest of a Black Harvard student, sparking national outcries and allegations of police brutality. A video of the incident shows officers tackling and punching the student in an attempt to restrain him.

CPD spokesperson Robert Goulston wrote in an email that following the 2018 arrest “an independent review, conducted by a former Judge, found the officers had complied with departmental policies.”

The review, which was led by former Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Roderick L. Ireland, found that the officers acted “appropri-

CPD seven-year veteran is facing charges of illegally distributing information and improper firearm storage. RYAN H. DOAN NGUYEN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

ately” and “found no evidence that they used excessive force.”

Harney was also the subject of an internal investigation in 2020 for being “rude and discourteous towards a member of the public.”

Goulston wrote that “the staff investigation did not find any policy violations.”

The department has placed Harney on pretrial probation for the next year, and he has agreed to undergo substance abuse and mental health evaluations. According to Middlesex District Attorney spokesperson Sarah Lamson, the charges against Harney will be dropped if he complies with the conditions.

In an affidavit, Harney wrote that he is an “avid gun collector,” and was certified to teach gun safety, according to the Cambridge Day. He also wrote that “there is no nexus between a computer infraction and gun ownership,” in regards to the charge of illegally distributing criminal record information.

Harney’s name was published in mid-October by the Middlesex County district attorney’s office on a list of police officers “subject to exculpatory evidence disclosure.”

Harney is one of 24 current Cambridge police officers listed as facing internal affairs investigations and one or more allegations of police misconduct. Allegations include untruthfulness, sexual harassment, racial bias and improper handling of evidence.

Goulston wrote that the department “proactively submits information on misconduct investigations and findings” to the District Attorney. sally.edwards@thecrimson.com asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com

BY AVANI B. RAI CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Cambridge Charter Review Committee voted to accept the committee’s final report on proposed changes to Cambridge’s government during its final meeting Tuesday — though it failed to reach an agreement on the city’s fundamental government structure.

Since August 2022, the 15-member committee of Cambridge residents met biweekly to review the city’s charter.

While the final report’s initial deadline was August 2023, the committee was granted two extensions for a final deadline of January 31.

But after nearly a year and a half of debate, the committee was unable to reach consensus on what Committee Chair Kathleen L. Born referred to in the report as the “most fundamental aspect of the Charter”: the future of Cambridge’s council-manager form of government.

Cambridge’s government, which operates under a Plan E charter, includes an elected City Council — which sets policy goals for the city — and an appointed city manager, who implements council goals and oversees dayto-day government operations.

Tensions between the council and the city manager — the city manager role being viewed as unaccountable, for instance, or councilors feeling as though their ideas go unaddressed — informed Cambridge residents’ 2021 vote to review the city charter every 10 years, beginning in 2022. Much of the committee’s debate has been centered around either maintaining the council-manager system, or institut-

ing a “strong” elected mayor accompanied by a Chief Financial Officer.

But the group was unable to reach the necessary two-thirds consensus to endorse either form of government prior to the January 31 deadline.

Committee member and lecturer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design James G. Stockard Jr. said the ambiguous resolution accurately reflected the split opinions of Cambridge residents at large.

“This is one of those areas where reasonable people can differ about something,” Stockard said. “The citizens of Cambridge don’t feel any more clearly one way or the other than the committee.”

Councilor Marc C. McGovern said he was unsurprised that the committee was unable to complete what he called a “very tall

“

ation of Cambridge’s most controversial issues.”

Stockard said the Resident Assembly would increase civic participation, especially among traditionally underrepresented groups in Cambridge politics.

“The Resident Assembly is a way of getting people’s ideas into the conversation that you probably wouldn’t get any other way,” Stockard said.

The council’s Government Operations Committee is likely to review the committee’s report, including the lack of resolution on changing the government structure, prior to the final council vote on the recommendations, McGovern said.

The changes will then need to be approved by the Massachusetts State Legislature before being voted on by Cambridge residents, which is certain to be a lengthy process.

This can’t be something that we just put on a shelf and let it collect dust.

Marc C. McGovern Cambridge Vice Mayor

task,” though he added that it was “not necessarily a bad thing.”

The committee did, however, make several recommendations common to both potential forms of government, including “a codified goal-setting process for city council, expanding voter eligibility regarding age and citizenship,” and adding a “randomly selected Resident Assembly that would be tasked with consider-

Still, McGovern said swiftly considering the report will be a priority for the council in its current term.

“This can’t be something that we just put on a shelf and let it collect dust,” McGovern said.

“I mean, we have to deal with it one way or the other in a timely manner.” avani.rai@thecrimson.com

12

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

METRO

JANUARY 26, 2024

CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL

Ceasefire Resolution Expected to Pass MAJORITY SUPPORT. The Cambridge City Council is expected to pass a ceasefire resolution Monday.

BY AVANI B. RAI AYUMI NAGATOMI CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

­T

he Cambridge City Council is expected to pass a policy order expressing support for an “immediate, negotiated ceasefire by both Hamas and Netanyahu Administration” during its upcoming Monday meeting.

The resolution, co-sponsored

by Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern and Councilors Ayesha M. Wilson, Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, and Sumbul Siddiqui, was released Thursday ahead of the Council’s weekly meeting.

Councilor Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80 said Thursday she would also vote for the resolution, giving it the support of a majority of the nine-member Council.

The policy order calls for the “release of all hostages” and says that the war in Gaza has caused “significant trauma, fear, and grief amongst Cambridge community members, including both Palestinian and Jewish residents.”

While the Council ducked a vote on a similar — though more strongly worded — ceasefire resolution in late November, Siddiqui, the lead sponsor of the resolution, said in an interview that the new policy order was necessary to “right that wrong.”

“The way we left it last term was not fair to many community members,” Siddiqui said.

Though the resolution seems to answer protesters who have repeatedly disrupted Council meetings demanding the body endorse calls for a ceasefire, it also

Protesters interrupted the Council meeting, criticizing the Councilors for failing to pass a resolution in November. FRANK S. ZHOU — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

asks Cambridge residents to “respect the rights of freedom of speech and peaceful protest.”

Nolan said it has been “disheartening” to see Council meetings interrupted by protests.

“Expressing your opinion is something I’ve 1,000 percent always supported, and yet it’s been somewhat disheartening to see voices assume they can drown out other voices,” Nolan added.

Though student protesters said earlier this week they would return to City Hall on Monday in

advance of the ceasefire vote, the meeting will take place remotely, a decision Party for Socialism and Liberation member and Cambridge resident Hersch C. Rothmel called “undemocratic.”

“We believe that Mayor Denise Simmons has been very undemocratic in her orientation to people making their voice heard and using the levers of the democratic process provided to us in the city of Cambridge,” Rothmel said. “Her response to community members using the democrat-

ic process has been to shut down the democratic process.”

Neal Alpert, Simmons’ chief of staff, denied that characterization of the meeting in an email Thursday.

“Mayor Simmons is not preventing anyone from participating in Public Comment at the upcoming City Council meeting, nor is she in any way preventing people from having their voices heard,” Alpert wrote.

Rothmel also said that the PSL had worked with the sponsors to

draft a resolution on the ceasefire in recent days with “strong enough” language, but described the final product as “watered down.”

Siddiqui wrote in an email that she collaborated with the three other co-sponsors to draft a version that they were “all comfortable with.”

McGovern added in an email that “the filed order is 95% the same” as the original draft, adding that it “has not been watered down.”

Once passed, the resolution will be forwarded to the offices of President Joe Biden, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Katherine M. Clark (D-Mass.).

McGovern said the resolution will show elected officials “further up the political food chain” where the city stands. avani.rai@thecrimson.com ayumi.nagatomi@thecrimson.com

Allston Residents Frustrated Over BPDA Needs Assessment

BY JACK R. TRAPANICK CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Boston Planning and Development Agency approved the final version of the Allston-Brighton Needs Assessment last Thursday, an analysis of the Allston-Brighton area for use by residents, developers, and service organizations.

Harvard financed the BPDA’s needs assessment, a community benefit that allowed the University to begin the first phase of constructing its Enterprise Research Campus in Allston. The document is intended to steer government and nonprofit efforts and help residents “advocate for benefits from private development projects,” though many residents said it largely failed to meet its goals.

The assessment — requested by the Harvard Allston Task Force, a city-appointed body of residents, and produced by three consultants and the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation — analyzed issues including affordable housing, employment, transportation, and food access in Allston.

Large scale development in the area poses a risk for increasing local rent, reducing cultural spaces, and adding strain to the affordable housing that is already available, according to the report.

Many residents associated with neighborhood organizations and involved in producing the assessment told The Crimson that despite Harvard’s $800,000 investment and months of resident engagement, the 155-page project did not yield new discoveries or effectively serve as a neighborhood resource.

“The findings of the report were no surprise,” said Jo-Ann E. Barbour, the executive director of a local affordable housing nonprofit who was interviewed for the assessment.

The shortage of affordable housing, educational access, and other issues included were “stuff we’ve already known,” Barbour

added, though she admitted that it is “good to have all of that in one place.”

Lizzie M. Torres, a board member of the Allston Civic Association, called the initial draft “vague” and said it lacked new and specific information.

“An undergraduate with the same information could have assessed the same thing,” Torres said.

Brittany Comak, a spokesperson for the BPDA, wrote in an emailed statement on Jan. 5 that the BPDA is “confident” the assessment uplifts “the community’s voice.”

“The findings and recommendations go into detail about how this and other needs manifest in Allston-Brighton, what assets exist today, and how we collectively might address gaps going forward,” Comak wrote.

Some residents also said the

“

to help people develop certain job skills, or to help people who need treatment for drug addiction?” he said. “One’s not right and one’s not wrong.”

Comak, the BPDA spokesperson, wrote that previous studies akin to the Allston-Brighton Needs Assessment have positively influenced neighborhood development. For instance, the Western Avenue Corridor Study and Rezoning led to development requirements for wider sidewalks, greenery, and bike paths along Western Avenue.

Comak wrote that the assessment is “by no means considered to be an ‘end all, be all’ document, and is considered part of the beginning of a larger process to work with residents on a comprehensive community plan.”

The needs assessment sets the stage for the BPDA’s upcoming Allston-Brighton Comprehen-

An undergraduate with the same information could have assessed the same thing .

Lizzie M. Torres Allston Civic Association Board Member

report was not accessible.

Barbara M. Parmenter, a former urban planning lecturer at Tufts and a member of the Harvard Allston Task Force, said in a mid-December interview that she found it “difficult to find” the main takeaways of the report.

Although the assessment contains “valuable information,” Parmenter said, “it seems to be written for the BPDA rather than for the community” and is comparable to “academic text.”

Allston activist and resident Harry E. Mattison said that the funds allocated to produce the assessment would have been more effectively used in directly addressing local issues.

“Do we want to spend money

sive Plan, scheduled for the next year and a half.

Nonetheless, perceived deficiencies in the report’s effectiveness contributed to disillusionment among some residents with the city’s engagement process.

Barbara Jaehn, a longtime Allston resident who helped conduct outreach for the assessment, described feeling “resignation, disappointment, and cynicism towards these processes.”

Cindy Marchando, the chair of the HATF involved with the assessment’s development, summed up residents’ frustrations with the product as “a complete letdown.” jack.trapanick@thecrimson.com

FIFTEEN QUESTIONS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON JANUARY 26, 2024

C

laudia D. Goldin is the 2023 Nobel Laureate in Economics and the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

FM: You just got back from the Nobel Prize ceremony about a month ago. Could you describe that experience?

CDG: It was a combination of being exhilarating, exhausting, and at the same time, there was a certain amount of humor that I always find in everything in life.

As I said, it was a tremendous amount: Every second of my day for eight days was taken up.

Q&A:

CLAUDIA D. GOLDIN ON ECONOMICS, HER NOBEL WIN, AND JANET YELLEN THE NOBEL LAUREATE IN ECONOMICS and Harvard professor sat down with Fifteen Minutes to discuss gender diversity in the field, the detective mindset, her affinity for microbiology, and learning of her Nobel win at 4:30 in the morning. “Every second of my day for eight days was taken up,” she says.

BY JOHN LIN

CDG: Let me just back up a bit: on October 9, when I was called at 4:30 in the morning, and told that I had 90 minutes to prepare for a press conference. Then, I had this huge amount of emails and calls. I learned something that stayed with me and was there in Stockholm as well, which is that this wasn’t just my prize. This was a prize that was felt deeply by a very large fraction of the world’s population, that many women felt “I am heard, I understood.” People doing work on women and gender, people doing work and economic history felt “My work is validated; findings that I have put out are vindicated. I am emboldened.” And that stayed.

When I was in Stockholm, I spoke more times than the other laureates. I had seven different talks to give — some long and some were extremely short. For each one of them, I felt this sense of relief, a sense that a group of people were breathing out, that they were saying, “I have been heard.”

CDG: I took a course from Fred Khan. And that wasn’t the first economics course I took, I must have taken some boring intro course, in which someone had a graph and on one side was liquor on the other side was fish or something unimportant to me. Somehow, these courses in economics, I felt that they were speaking to me, but most importantly, it was the person.

Alfred Kahn, otherwise known as Fred Kahn, was an amazing teacher. He was someone who felt strongly about conveying knowledge. He would write on the blackboard, and if the blackboard got full, he would actually go on the floor and draw it in the chalk that was on the floor. He

FM: And that must have an impact on bringing diverse perspectives into the field of economics. How does that inform your research?

FM: You describe gender equity as one of the greatest advances during the 20th century. Are you optimistic about the way progress is moving forward today, especially in light of recent attacks on women, such as the bans on abortion?

CDG: There’s a large subject that you’re including here. One has to do with rights. One has to do with laws, one has to do with federalism, one has to do with careers and the economy.

And I don’t think that they’re all in the same area. We can have advances in one and feel that there’s something dragging us down in the other.

A very, very good example of this is the birth control pill. The birth control pill was a phenomenal advance for women.

However, there were a set of in-

FM: Something I find fascinating about your career path is your initial interest in microbiology and archaeology.

And could you talk a little bit about what caused you to kind of move away from the life sciences and into economics?

FM: And could you talk about your first venture into economics?

iting Harvard in 1975. For both of us, our classes were between 5 and 10 percent female. Now classes are more like 35, 40 percent. The fact that I was the first woman to be offered a tenured position in this department, the fact that I’m the first woman who got the Nobel in Economics by herself, all it means is that that’s the first. There’s going to be a second, and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth pretty soon. I can see it.

CDG: You step on something very important, which is that women in various fields — let’s take economics — are into different parts of the field than men do. So women are disproportionately in economics in fields that are more about people.

So they’re less in finance, less than econometrics, and more in health and population and labor.

If that’s the case, then if we had not had very many women in the field, that meant that we didn’t have very many economists in this part of the field. Diversity means that we add to a field different perspectives.

CRIMSON MAGAZINE ASSOCIATE EDITOR

FM: What was the highlight from the week?

CDG: I came from a family of a mother and a father who, I got the sense from them that being a scientist was the most important thing that you could do. At some point in junior high school, I read Paul de Kruif’s book “Microbe Hunters.” The notion of being a detective and figuring out what causes various diseases was very exciting to me, but that was a moment of enormous change in the field of microbiology. As the findings of Crick and Watson are getting absorbed and expanded, I don’t think that the programs in microbiology and bacteriology in many universities were up to the task.

When I got to Cornell, I had already taken an undergraduate course in bacteriology when I was a junior in high school during the summer. I felt that I knew a tremendous amount and that I could just whiz through.

And no one ever explained to me that in fact, I didn’t know a lot.

At the same time, I also realized that I didn’t know enough literature, and I didn’t know enough philosophy, and I didn’t know enough political theory. And I didn’t even know what economics was. And so at some point, you realize “I have four years.

The world of knowledge is huge.

I have to learn something.”

13

JOEY HUANG — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

was also somewhat theatrical. He was in Gilbert and Sullivan productions, but most of it was that he felt very strongly about the subject that he worked in, which was the economics of regulation. I did a senior thesis on the regulation of communication satellites, so very different from stuff I work on now.

FM: Could you speak to the value that a historical perspective on economics brings that we can’t get from economics alone?

CDG: History is always with us; every single person has a history.

All we have to do is think about the economy today and taking a slice of the population. There are people who are 2 years old, and there are people who are 80-years-old. Those people themselves have a history.

And so, we’re never separated from their history, but at the same time, the history is with us in terms of institutions. The question is not whether we should do history, but how far back should we go? If we think about issues today, it’s almost as if we’re taking a bolt of cloth, and unfurling it. And the question just is how far back do we go to make what

happens today meaningful?

FM: One big theme behind your approach to economic research is being a detective. How has that mindset shaped your career and research?

CDG: A really good detective never says, “Oh, I don’t know where to find the answer.” A really good detective always says, “Let me think

This wasn’t just my prize. This was a prize that was felt deeply by a very large fraction of the world’s population, that many women felt ‘I am heard, I understood.’ hard about how to find the answer.”

I think that that’s always been my sense, that if the question is important enough, I will use everything I have at my hands to answer the

question. And sometimes the detective can’t figure it out. We know that there are a lot of cases that are every now and then we read in the newspaper that a case has been solved that’s been sitting there for eons unsolved.

And so sometimes there are ways of solving problems that you don’t have the ability to do. For example, today, there are lots of economic historians doing record linkage that I was doing by hand and couldn’t possibly do, as well as what we’re doing now with high speed computers, large amounts of data, and AI. FM: At Harvard, you were the first woman to be offered and to get a tenure position in the economics department. Over the course of 35 years since, how has your experience being a woman in academia changed over time?

CDG: The big changes are pretty clear: When I was a graduate student, I was in exactly the same cohort as Janet Yellen, who was a graduate student at Yale while I was a graduate student in Chicago. Her first position as an assistant professor was here in this department. I got to know Janet when I was vis-

stitutions that were barring the use of the pill by certain groups of women. So on one hand, you have enormous advances. On the other hand, you can have barriers and obstacles. Then these obstacles and barriers somehow disappear one by one, and the advances can seep through society and have a much greater effect. john.lin@thecrimson.com

FM Fifteen Minutes is the magazine of The Harvard Crimson. To read the full interview and other longform pieces, visit THECRIMSON.COM/ MAGAZINE

14

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

SPORTS

JANUARY 26, 2024

FOOTBALL

Harvard football head coach Tim Murphy locks his eyes on the field during the Crimson’s only loss of its 2023 season so far at Princeton on Oct. 21 NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Coach Tim Murphy Retired AFTER 30 YEARS, ­Coach Tim Murphy has announced his retirement from the Crimson. His announcement marked the end of a storied career.

BY NADIA A. FAIRFAX AND GRIFFIN WONG CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

L

ast Wednesday morning, Harvard football head coach Tim Murphy announced his retirement, concluding a stellar 30-year career with the Crimson. His tenure was marked by notable victories, several regional and national accolades, and a deep impact on the nation’s oldest collegiate institution.

At the time of his retirement, he was the second-longest tenured coach in Division I football, behind only Monmouth’s Kevin Callahan, who will return for his 32nd season with the Hawks in the fall.

Murphy announced his departure from Harvard on the heels of one of the finest seasons in his storied career.

In his 2023 season, Murphy led the Crimson to an 8-2 (5-2 Ivy) record and its 18th Ivy League title. With a 17-9 victory over Dartmouth on Oct. 28, he passed Yale’s Carm Cozza for the most conference wins of any Ancient Eight head coach. The 25-23, triple-overtime triumph over Penn on Nov. 11 — which clinched the Crimson the title that it would ultimately share with Dartmouth and Yale — was also his 200th win with the Harvard program.

In an interview with The Crimson on Wednesday, Murphy discussed how he found himself leading Harvard’s football program for 30 years and the legacy he leaves behind as arguably the best head coach in the Crimson’s history.

If not for Guy John Montosi — Murphy’s head coach as a linebacker at Silver Lake Regional High School — his legendary career may have never even begun.

As a 16-year-old junior in high school, Murphy was consider-

ing enlisting in the Marines after graduation. Montosi and Lakers basketball head coach Dick Arrieta cornered Murphy in the hallway and urged him to attend college instead.

“I remember very vividly,” Murphy said, recalling the encounter with Montosi and Arrietta. “They said, ‘What are you doing when you graduate? I’ve heard some rumors.’ I said, ‘I don’t know, I’ll probably join the Marines.’ They looked at each other and said, ‘Nah, that’s not going to happen.’

“Being a 16-year-old kid without an understanding of the real world, I said, ‘The hell it isn’t, I’m joining the Marines,’” Murphy added. “They said, ‘Shut up, son; you’re going to college,’ and the rest is history.”

‘What it Looks Like to be a Winner’ Murphy was also heavily influenced by Howard S. “Howie” Vandersea, who served as the head coach during his successful four-year stint as a linebacker at Springfield College. Vandersea steadfastly believed in Murphy’s intellect throughout his time at Springfield and pushed him to pursue a Masters’ degree while still playing football. Because of Vandersea’s influence, Murphy continued to take classes during his coaching stints at Brown, Lafayette, Boston University, and Maine.

Still, after two years serving alongside his longtime best friend, late Dartmouth coach Eugene F. “Buddy” Teevens III, as the offensive coordinator at Maine, Murphy nearly walked away from the game. He had been admitted to the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and planned to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.

Then, the Black Bears offered him the head coaching job in Orono, as Teevens took over for the Big Green.

Murphy planned on staying for only one year, to “get it out of [his] system.”

But in his debut season, Maine

won the Yankee Conference title, advancing to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs for the first time in program history. The Black Bears even took a 14-point, second-half lead on defending champion Georgia State in Atlanta before eventually succumbing in overtime. Murphy was hooked on winning, and he moved business school to the back burner.

The winning never stopped for Murphy.

The Crimson had just five losing seasons under his leadership, while he recorded three undefeated campaigns, won six Ivy League titles alone, and tied for four more. Before Murphy arrived at Harvard in 1994, the Crimson had not won more than eight games in a season since 1919, a feat it has since accomplished eight additional times.

Murphy’s remarkable consistency meant that Harvard has posted the sixth-best winning percentage in Division I football since 2000, behind only traditional powerhouses Ohio State, Boise State, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Georgia.

“It’s not that we weren’t winners before Murph. Murph didn’t make us winners,” said defensive back RuQuan Brown, who left the team after his first season in 2021.

“But Murph showed us what it looks like to be a winner for a long time, 30 seasons straight.”

According to Brown, being a winner set Murphy apart. But the coach insisted that it wasn’t the 200 wins, ten Ivy League titles, or eight New England Coach of the Year awards that best defined his tenure with the Crimson.

Instead, it was exemplified by his vision to turn Harvard into a model program, on and off the field. Part of that effort manifested itself in the program culture, which was widely credited for the team’s on-field success.

“His staff is on the same page.

The messaging around the locker room and around the team, on the field and off the field, is consistent,” Brown explained. “We’re all on the same page about what’s expected. And that’s a part of winning, because you can’t win when

the team is divided in different places and sections.”

“It’s the appreciation of the hard work and the wanting to have the adversity as a team through the offseason, to make everything as hard as possible, to make the Harvard football experience such a huge commitment,” added defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Scott Larkee ’99, on the team culture. “Year in and year out, you go through the classes of people who came through his program and how thankful they are, years out of the program, that that was what their college football experience was, and it really changed a lot of lives that way.”

‘A Great Coach’ Much of the credit for the team’s many successes — and few failures — has fallen on Murphy’s shoulders. But to him, the records and accomplishments weren’t a signifier of only his talent, but of the entire program’s effort and commitment.

“It doesn’t mean as much,” said Murphy about the accolades he’s received during his time at Harvard. “Let’s face it, it’s an award that really is about what the entire team accomplished, every assistant coach, all 110 players.”

Still, current and former players pointed to one man — Murphy — as responsible for creating an environment where players turned to him for mentorship and advice both on and off the gridiron.

Both Murphy and Larkee emphasized the importance of attracting talented, high-character players to the Harvard program.

Throughout his tenure, Murphy installed a people-first culture, focusing on developing strong relationships with his players, assistant coaches, and their families.

“Just being around great kids, highly-motivated kids on so many levels, funny kids, ambitious kids, hilarious kids, and everything in between — it keeps you young,” Murphy said. “It’s as simple as that.”

The respect and admiration

was mutual. Several current and former Crimson players cited Murphy as an inspiration for his loyalty and commitment to their development as people, both on and off the field.

“Personally, I have a very close relationship with Coach Murphy,” wrote senior defensive tackle Thor Griffith when reached by text message. “He always made time to sit and talk with me, whether it be about football, school, or my future goals.”

Wide receiver Kym Wimberly ’22, whose twisting end-zone catch to secure a 34-31 victory over Yale in 2021 remains one of Murphy’s most cherished memories of his coaching career, echoed Griffith’s sentiment.

“As a former player, the life lessons he taught and the brotherhood he cultivated among his players are something I will always cherish,” Wimberly wrote over text.

Throughout Murphy’s tenure, he continued to serve as the tight ends/halfbacks coach, and he cited having the opportunity to mentor those players as one of the most rewarding aspects of being a head coach. As a result, he fostered tight bonds with several tight ends, including senior Tyler Neville.

“Above being a great coach, fearless leader, and great support resource, Coach Murphy is a great man,” Neville wrote over text. “He takes interest in every player on the roster and always has a comment ready whether it’s about your family or your favorite NFL team.”

“We had so many great ones that we’ve stayed connected to throughout our tenure,” Murphy added. “Our sport is so hard, it’s so brutally tough, that there’s a bond there that’s hard to articulate, but it does connect you at the hip for life.”

‘Hard to Replace’ But becoming the winningest head coach in Ivy League history wasn’t without its challenges. His commitment to the program — which often came with 12- and 18-hour days recruiting or

game-planning for the next opponent — came with a stark sacrifice of his role as a father.

“My three wonderful children, Molly, Conor, and Grace, were all three-sport athletes in high school,” he said. “Because of this job, this all-consuming, yearround job, I missed so many of their contests. And I used to apologize for it all the time. The kids were like, ‘Great, no, great, Daddy, we’re so proud that you’re a football coach!’ But I wasn’t always proud of that at all. It definitely tugged on me at times.”

Murphy said that in his retirement, he is excited to spend more time at home with his family.

“I’m looking forward to having more time,” he said. “The 18hour shifts are probably more like 48 hours when you consider that you’re away from your family on road trips. You’ve gotta be a little bit crazy to do that.”

Now, Harvard will embark on the task of replacing the coach who senior tight end Tim Dowd described, simply, as, “the program.”

Murphy was “not just as the best coach in Ivy League history, but as one of the most successful coaches ever in sports,” Dowd said.

In a statement, Harvard Director of Athletic Communications Darin Wong wrote that a “national search for Murphy’s successor will begin immediately.”

Murphy downplayed the difficulty of finding a replacement, mentioning that there were three or four assistants on his staff — who he declined to name — who he thought would make quality head coaching candidates.

But those who know him best argued that it would be nearly impossible to fill his shoes.

“College football lost yesterday,” Neville wrote.

“It’s gonna be hard to find somebody who has what he has, a toughness, a single-mindedness of personality to do that job as well as he did,” Larkee said. “It’d be hard to replace.”

nadia.fairfax@thecrimson.com griffin.wong@thecrimson.com

SPORTS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON JANUARY 26, 2024

15

FOOTBALL

Memorializing Coach Murphy HARVARD FOOTBALL LEGEND. Tim Murphy: a phenomal coach and leader praised by current and former football players.

BY NADIA A. FAIRFAX, KATHARINE FORST, JACK SILVERS, AND GRIFFIN WONG CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

A

fter legendary Harvard football head coach Tim Murphy — a 10time Ivy League champion and the winningest coach in the conference’s history — announced his retirement last Wednesday morning, generations of players who showered him with gatorade after major victories had one last shower to give Murphy. But this time, they showered him with praise.

His retirement leaves a deep mark on a Crimson program that has amassed the sixth-best winning percentage in all of Division I football since 2000 and cements Murphy’s legacy as arguably the greatest coach in school history.

Over his 30-year career, he won 232 games in stints at Cincinnati, Maine, and Harvard.

In interviews with 10 current and former Harvard players, almost all specifically praised Murphy’s leadership and character when discussing his legacy at Harvard.

Matt Birk ’98 is one of several players who went on to have successful careers in the NFL after playing for Murphy; the former Harvard center was a sixtime Pro-Bowler, Super Bowl champion, and Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year recipient.

Birk’s first season with the Crimson coincided with Murphy’s after the coach left Cincinnati in 1994.

Murphy’s first three seasons with Harvard all finished with a losing record, but to Birk, his resilience was clear, and the hard work paid off. In their fourth season, Birk and Murphy led the

Crimson to a 9-1 record and a conference title.

“There was a lot of discipline and hard work and delayed gratification,” Birk said. “Our senior year, it all came together and we won the Ivy League Championship, and it was sort of as it was supposed to be.”

“Ever since, Harvard football has enjoyed a quarter century of success that it never had before,” he added.

Birk also credited Murphy with redefining Harvard’s football program, changing it from an “extracurricular activity to a Division I college [program].”

His players said that Murphy was revered for his commitment to discipline and resilience on the field.

“Coach Murphy truly changed my life, not only by giving me the opportunity to go to and to play football at Harvard, but by the lessons he taught during my time with him,” wrote senior defensive tackle Thor Griffith in a text message. “He was a phenomenal coach on the field, instilling discipline and inspiring myself and my teammates in the toughest moments we had as a team.”

“One of my favorite qualities about Coach Murphy is his remarkably consistent message over the years — toughness, physicality, fighting through adversity, preparation, and relishing every win, because it’s never easy,” wrote Cole Toner ’16, a two-time First-Team All-Ivy honoree.

That consistent messaging led to the development of a strong, unified locker room, one of the hallmarks of Murphy’s Crimson program.

“His staff is on the same page,” explained RuQuan Brown, a defensive back who left the team after his first season in 2021. “We’re all on the same page about what’s expected. And that’s a part of winning, because you can’t win when the team is divided in different places and sections.”

Several players also commented on Murphy’s influence on their lives off the football field.

Head Coach Tim Murphy served as a leader and mentor to Harvard football players for 30 years. MARK KELSEY — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

“It was never about the game,” wrote Tim O’Brien ’19, a four-year starter on the offensive line. “I was there day in and day out because of the team and the family Coach Murphy built around us.”

“The memories I carry forward in life are when the team was together off of the field,” O’Brien wrote. “Coach Murphy understood this better than anyone and more importantly, he knew how to build it better than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“I hope he looks back on it and he feels proud of what he accomplished and knows how many lives he’s touched,” Birk said. “And, I’ve told him this, and not just from a football standpoint but from a life standpoint, how positively he affected my

life.”

“Personally, I have a very close relationship with Coach Murphy,” Griffith added. “He always made time to sit and talk with me, whether it be about football, school, or my future goals. These past four years, I have truly been blessed to have been coached by someone as experienced and passionate as Coach Murphy.”

Gratitude was a common sentiment from Murphy’s former players as news of his retirement spread. Former quarterback Luke Emge ’22, who led the team to a memorable comeback victory over Yale in 2021, wrote that Murphy was the only coach to recruit him out of high school and that it “completely changed [his]

life”.

On social media, 17-year NFL veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 and All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk ’13 — the only Harvard alumnus to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl — both expressed their gratitude to Murphy in posts online.

Fitzpatrick, who captained the 2004 squad — the second of three Harvard teams under Murphy to go undefeated — described his former coach as “a man that was a model in consistency, high character, and loyalty.”

Juszczyk added that he is “forever indebted” to Murphy for “changing my life for the better.”

Some of Murphy’s players also said that his retirement leaves behind a hole that will be incredibly

tough to fill.

“He truly is the best to ever do it in the Ivy League,” former running back Aidan Borguet ’23 wrote via text. “We appreciate him more than words can illustrate.”

“In college football, a coach leading a single program for three decades is just about unheard of,” junior offensive lineman Davis McKenna ’25 remarked. “Coach Murphy’s record speaks for itself, and his impact on all the players he coached was extremely positive.”

“We are going to miss him,” McKenna added. nadia.fairfax@thecrimson.com katharine.forst@thecrimson.com jack.silvers@thecrimson.com griffin.wong@thecrimson.com

National Hunt for New Football Head Coach

BY JO B. LEMANN AND TYLER J.H. ORY CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard Athletics has begun a “national search” for the 31st head football coach in the team’s history following the retirement of longtime Head Coach Tim Murphy last week.

Former Harvard Crimson football standouts Eion Hu ’97, Ryan J. Fitzpatrick ’05, and Andrew J. Berry ’09 have been appointed to lead the search committee for Harvard football’s next head coach, according to players with knowledge of the hiring process.

Fitzpatrick is known for his 17-season career across numerous NFL teams, while Berry currently serves as the general manager for the Cleveland Browns.

In a press conference on Thursday, Athletic Director Erin McDermott said that the roster of potential candidates is expanding, noting, “We had a little bit of a shortlist, but that’s growing a bit.”

Harvard Athletics has not appointed an interim head coach and does not plan to do so during the ongoing search, according to a player familiar with the hiring process.

McDermott said that the new ap-

pointee should serve as both a coach and an educator and that winning shouldn’t come “at the expense” of coaches acting as mentors for athletes.

“We really need someone who understands and really believes in the Ivy model — who truly believes in being what w e call a n ‘educator coach,’” McDermott said.

At the s a m e time, the n e w coach

must be experienced and qualified, McDermott said.

“Of course, we want someone who knows the game, is able to teach, has proven themselves effective on the field with players,” s h e

said.

Murphy said during the press conference that coaching college football can be difficult given frequent transfers of players and the influence of more prominent football programs.

“College football is changing dramatically and certainly not for the better,” Murphy said. “When people ask my opinion of what’s going on in college football, I give them a very simple explanation. It absolutely — positively — is professional football, only without any rules whatsoever.”

Austin A. Gentle ’25, who played as a center last season, told The Crimson that many players wish for an assistant coach to be hired, as opposed to an external hire with less connection to the team.

“You want to stay with the guy that you build a relationship with, your position coach who recruited you here, who’s been coaching you for years,” Gentle

The search to replace longtime Harvard football Head Coach Tim Murphy is currently underway. NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

said. “And so that’s why a lot of times guys think internal would be preferable to external.”

Nate C. Leskovec ’24, the outgoing captain of the team and a defensive lineman, and Thor G.C. Griffith ’24, a defensive tackle, both posted on X to support the

hire the best possible candidate.”

Tyler J. Neville ’24, a senior tight end, expressed respect for the defensive coordinator and said he thought his fellow offensive players would support Larkee.

“Scott Larkee is one of the greatest minds of football. He’s

We really need someone who understands and really believes in the Ivy model.

Erin McDermott John D. Nichols ‘53 Family Director of Athletics

hiring of Scott A. Larkee ’99, an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator on the team. “#HireLarkee He’s the best of us. Most committed coach I’ve ever had. Leader of men and a great example to us all… and simply a badass,” Leskovoc wrote.

Griffith also said he preferred that an internal successor lead the football program.

“I would definitely want a coach that has been in the program before, whether that be as a coach or a former player,” he said, adding that this candidate would inherently understand “the expectations of not only the players and the coaching staff, but the Harvard community and Harvard fans, as well.”

“They would know and understand the history, the culture, and the traditions behind everything that we do,” Griffith added.

Leskovec attested to the team’s underlying support for Larkee.

“The very same day coach Murphy retired, there’s been a total outcry of support behind Coach Larkee,” he said. “Obviously, you have to understand that the athletic department is going to do their due diligence and try to

really one of the smartest guys who I think I’ve ever met,” Neville said. “And he demands a certain level of respect that I hadn’t seen elsewhere.”

Neville mentioned another potential candidate for the head coach position, who he said had done an “amazing job” with the team’s offense: Mickey Fein.

“Coach Fein is also a guy you want to impress and a guy who can get you going,” Neville said.

“There were times where Coach Fein would come in at halftime to the locker room and say a few words that get you ready to run through a brick wall.”

Several players expressed concern that the nationwide scope of the search would result in an outside hire. They said an internal candidate would be more likely to bring success.

“I understand the nationwide search because they said they’re trying to find someone like Tim Murphy,” Neville said. “I don’t think there’s another Tim Murphy, but I think if you want to get a guy close you got to stay inhouse.” jo.lemann@thecrimson.com tyler.ory@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

SPORTS

16

JANUARY 26, 2024

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Basketball Rolls Ahead HEATING UP. Harvard defeated the Penn Quackers at home, giving the Crimson a two-game winning streak as it looks ahead of key road matchups at Yale, Columbia, Cornell, and Dartmouth.

BY ISABEL C. SMAIL CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

O

n Saturday, the Harvard women’s basketball team defeated Penn (107, 2-2 Ivy) by a decisive 13 points, 69-56. The Crimson (10-7, 3-1 Ivy) was powered by its typical leading scorers, sophomore Katie Krupa and junior Harmoni Turner.

The squad prepared for the game by studying the Quakers’ past performances, paying special attention to standout freshman Mataya Gayle and senior Jordan Obi. Despite this preparation, the Crimson was unable to piece together a cohesive first quarter and struggled to lock down Penn’s offense.

The Crimson struggled to make three-point shots as well as to defend Gayle, who scored 13 of her total 19 points in the first half. Krupa attributed this slow start to the Crimson’s inability to quickly find its rhythm.

“At the beginning of the game we didn’t distribute the ball very well, and we were unsuccessful in getting into our flow,” Krupa said in an inter-

T H E

view.

The second quarter saw more success for the team and set the squad up to enter the second half with a definitive 2814 lead. The Crimson emerged from the locker room looking like the dominant team and continued to convert on this momentum despite navigating foul trouble from junior guard Elena Rodriguez, who picked up four boards and six points in 25 minutes of action.

Krupa continued to dominate throughout the second half and tallied her highest career point total with 25 for the game. Turner also led the team to success, tying her own personal record of 31 points in a single contest and logging her second 25-plus point effort since returning to the lineup from injury on Jan. 6th.

“My coaching staff and teammates do a really great job of believing in me and my abilities, so I felt more than confident to play at a high level,” Krupa said.

“It felt good to perform and execute how I know I can.”

When asked about tying her all-time points record, Harmoni Turner shared Krupa’s sentiments. She added, however, that there were areas for improvement within her game, particularly in her first half play and her defense.

The team’s goal for its next game against league rival Yale will be to extend its high level of play to last for the entire forty minutes of each game. This

M A H I N D R A

goal becomes continuously more important as the Crimson starts to look towards the upcoming tourn a m e n t season. Currentl y , Harvard is in fourth place in the Ivy League standings and must maintain its league ranking to qualify for the Ivy League Tournament and postseason play.

“We strive to go into every game and win,” Turner shared.

“Our backs are kind of against the wall, just because a lot of people are counting us out.

Among this group of girls, that only makes us motivated to work harder.”

In the upcoming month, the Crimson will face tough opponents, including rematches against Princeton, Columbia, and Brown — all strong Ivy League competitors.

“The end goal in short is to bring home a ring, bring home a banner, and make ourselves proud,” said Turner. “It hasn’t been done here in a while.”

The Crimson is set to tipoff against the Bulldogs (4-13, 1-3 Ivy) on Saturday, January 27th in New Haven, Connecticut at 1:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. isabel.smail@thecrimson.com

H U M A N I T I E S

Junior Harmoni Turner (pictured) and sophomore Katie Krupa led the Crimson to a 69-56 victory over the Penn Quakers on Saturday. COURTESY OF DYLAN GOODMAN/ HARVARD ATHLETICS

C E N T E R

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P R E S E N T S

SPORTS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON JANUARY 26, 2024

17

WRESTLING

WEEKLY RECAP SCORES WOMEN’S

SQUASH VS. NO. 2 TRINITY

L,6-3

TENNIS VS. RICE

W, 4-2

MEN’S

TENNIS VS. NC STATE

W, 6-1

SQUASH VS. NO. 4 TRINITY

L, 6-3

TENNIS VS. BRYANT

W, 6-0

READ IT IN FIVE MINUTES MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTCHES FIRST CONFERENCE WIN, BESTING PENN 70-61 Following consecutive defeats in conference play, the Crimson (9-6, 0-2 Ivy) traveled to the “Cathedral of College Basketball” — the Palestra, home of all things college basketball in Philadelphia — in a highly anticipated conference matchup against the Penn Quakers (9-8, 1-1).

JUNIOR HARVARD SAILOR TO REPRESENT THAILAND AT 2024 PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES

Harvard’s wrestling team started its dual season off strong with victories over Davidson and UNC during a trip to North Carolina last weekend. ZING GEE — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Underclassmen Carry Team Into Dual Season STARTING OFF its dual season on a positive note, Harvard earned victories over Davidson (1-8) and No. 23 UNC (7-5).

BY SYDNEY FARNHAM CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

T

he Harvard wrestling team returned from its trip to North Carolina last weekend having started its dual season off on a positive note. The Crimson earned victories over Davidson (1-8) and No. 23 UNC (7-5), while falling by a narrow margin to Lock Haven University (3-6). The victories from the weekend were highlighted by junior Diego Sotelo’s win over No. 1-ranked Anthony Noto of Lock Haven at the competitive 125 pound weight class, which led his ranking to rise from No. 29 in the country to No. 26 after the upset. Along with Sotelo, seniors Philip Conigliaro, Leo Tarantino, and Josh Kim also went undefeated on the weekend.

This early dual success comes on the heels of an intense tournament competition season during

which the Crimson worked diligently to hone its skills in preparation for its dual meets. The team competed in five tournaments across the country, with its wrestlers earning spots on the podium in all but one. This success was driven by underclassmen, as the squad was missing eight of its nine seniors during the fall semester due to eligibility constraints stemming from the COVID-era stoppage in NCAA play.

“It gave a lot of young guys, I think very talented young guys, an opportunity to compete at some big time tournaments which was good. They did more than get their feet wet with the sport of college wrestling,” said Coach Jay Weiss, who is in his 30th season at the helm of the program.

These “young guys,” especially first-year Jameson Garcia, the runner-up at the Journeyman Classic in the 141 lbs weight class, as well as first-year Coleman Nogle – who placed at the Keystone Classic in the 133 lb weight class the following weekend – were major contributors to the team’s success.

Sophomores Jack Crook and Jimmy Harrrington also earned multiple podium po-

sitions throughout the tournament portion of the season.

With the much-needed power of its eight missing seniors back in the lineup, the Crimson placed 9th overall at the Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Ill., tying its best-ever finish at the tournament,which occurred in 2006.

Conigliaro, currently ranked No. 10 in the country in the 174 lbs

“

They [the underclassmen] did more than get their feet wet with the sport of college wrestling.

Jay Weiss Head Coach of Harvard Wrestling

weight class, placed second overall and is the first Crimson wrestler to ever reach a Midland’s final. Sotelo placed 5th in his home state, boosting the Crimson with 62.5 points overall.

During this past weekend’s duals, Weiss remarked on the hard work his team had been putting in individually, which he saw coming to fruition in the success of the squad’s group

performance. The Crimson had a good dual season last year, finishing 4-4 overall and beating Ivy-foe Princeton for the first time in a decade. Going into this year’s inaugural duals, the squad was looking to capitalize on the momentum from its past results, and the strong performance of its young contributors.

That effort got off to a good start in the first bout of the road trip, with the Crimson besting the Wildcats by a final score of 30-6, taking all but two matches on its way to a win. Later that day, Harvard fell 14-20 in a hardfought battle against Lock Haven. Conigliaro secured a tech fall in both of his matches, posting impressive margins against each of his opponents.

“I think with the younger guys getting the chance to see our captains and our leaders, guys who have been in the program for a long time, it kind of makes an impact on the younger guys, who can now say ‘I can do that,’” Weiss observed following the weekend’s success. “That is what we are trying to feed off of and what carries us into our Ivy duals.”

Kim and Conigliaro drove

the success of the squad’s final match of the weekend, which took place in Chapel Hill. In a decisive victory, the Crimson defeated the Tar Heels 20-15. Both Kim and Conigliaro won by major decision, earning the Crimson key bonus points to secure the victory.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the squad will compete in seven more dual meets, three of which will take place on the Crimson’s home turf at the Malkin Athletic Center. The first of these home matches will take place this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against Sacred Heart. sydney.farnham@thecrimson.com

THC Read more at THECRIMSON.COM

Junior Harvard sailor Sophia Montgomery will represent Thailand at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics after securing a fourth place finish at the Asian Sailing Championships earlier this month.

Montgomery qualified for the 2024 Games during the final race of the competition on Dec. 19, becoming the first Harvard sailor to punch a ticket to the Olympics in more than 30 years.

WITH A WINNING RECORD TO END 2023, HARVARD BASKETBALL FACES YALE TO OPEN CONFERENCE PLAY Harvard women’s basketball has not been shy about what it hopes to accomplish in its second year under Coach Carrie Moore. The 2023 Ivy Madness runners-up want to outplay their past selves and, most importantly, bring home some serious hardware.