The Harvard Crimson - Volume CL, No. 20

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

Pritzker to Oversee Ukraine Recovery

‘UNIQUELY QUALIFIED’ Biden appointed Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ’81 to be special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery, the White House announced Thursday.

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Students Raise Money for Morocco Relief

THOUSANDS RAISED. Harvard students and affiliates raised more than $19,000 in donations through fundraisers for disaster relief following a deadly earthquake that hit Morocco last Friday.

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THE SQUARE

Rodney’s Bookstore Opens in Square

A NEW PAGE. Nearly three years after closing in Central Square, Rodney’s Bookstore has found a new home in Harvard Square. Located on 23 Church St., Rodney’s replaces Raven Used Books.

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LABOR

HUDS Staff Report Heat Exhaustion

LACK OF AC. Last week, Mather House temporarily closed its dining hall for lunch. But workers in other dining halls who also felt the heat are not seeing similar changes in their spaces.

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EDITORIAL

The Pragmatic Case for Ending Legacy Admissions, Now

PAGE 9

ARTS

Concert Series: boygenius Rejects Girl Group Status

PAGE 13

HBS Prof. Gino Speaks Out on Fraud Allegations

HGSU-UAW

Harvard Graduate Student Union Requests MidContract Negotiations for Wage Raises

divisions at the John Harvard statue.

Last May, the union began collecting signatures for a petition calling on Harvard administrators to increase salaries.

In an interview following the rally, HGSU-UAW organizer Alexandra C. Stanton called the University’s response “disrespectful.”

While raises are standardized across all divisions, minimum salaries differ. A student worker in the life sciences makes about $4,000 more than someone working in the humanities or social sciences.

Halfway into a four-year contract, Harvard’s graduate student union has asked the University to formally reopen contract negotiations over demands for higher wages.

The request, filed by the union on July 19, comes amid an ongoing campaign by Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers to raise student researcher and teacher salaries up to living wage in Middlesex County — $48,779 per year, or $23.45 per hour, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator.

On Thursday, more than 100 Harvard graduate students and supporters rallied for a wage increase and pay parity across

ROMUALDEZ

The petition received more than 1,600 signatures by May 17, and organizers taped the printed petition to the door of Massachusetts Hall after delivering the petition inside the building.

“As graduate and undergraduate student teachers and researchers at this school, we want to see Harvard put its money where its mouth is,” the petition read.

At Thursday’s rally, organizers said administrators have since ignored the request.

“I hand-delivered that letter to the president’s office, and apparently they still have not seen fit to respond,” HGSU-UAW organizer TomHenry J. Reagan said.

Filipino House Speaker Endowed Preceptor Job

Board of Overseers — the University’s second-highest governing body.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on the University’s response to the petition.

The union submitted a formal request to reopen contract negotiations specifically over Article 20 in the contract, which covers wages. HGSU-UAW can request bargaining over a contract clause, but the HGSU-UAW contract does not include a Reopener Clause, which would establish circumstances to negotiate on issues within a union contract but not the contract as a whole.

“They’re actually under no obligation to respond,” HGSU-UAW organizer Rachel E. Petherbridge said of the University in an interview following the event.

“We’re partitioned off into tiers, paid differently depending on how profitable the University views our labor,” Petherbridge said at the rally.

Cost of Living Adjustments — a little-known contract provision that ties raises to inflation — was among the wage-related demands made at Thursday’s rally. COLA is also one of the UAW’s central demands for “the Big Three” automakers — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler. The UAW has threatened to strike if an agreement is not

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Gay’s Tenure Starts With Dean Searches

Martin G. Romualdez, the speaker of the Filipino House of Representatives and a nephew of the former Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has committed $2 million to endow the Filipino (Tagalog) preceptor position at Harvard, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Romualdez’s first cousin and Marcos’ son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is the current president of the Philippines.

The news was first reported late last month by FilAm, a magazine for Filipino Americans, which reported that Romualdez had donated $1 million to the position.

FilAm reported that Romualdez was identified as the donor to attendees at an April dinner he attended at the home of Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine ’92, a Filipina American member of the Harvard

In March, the Harvard University Asia Center announced it would allocate $1 million to fund three preceptors in Filipino (Tagalog), Bahasa Indonesian, and Thai, marking the first time the University has offered instruction in Tagalog, the fourth-most spoken language in the United States. But funding for the preceptor position wasn’t guaranteed to last longer than three years — until Romualdez’s pledge.

Jonathan Palumbo, a Harvard spokesperson, and James Robson, the director of the Asia Center, both declined to comment on the donor’s identity, citing a policy not to comment on individual donations to the school.

“Harvard is excited to offer our students the opportunity to study Filipino as part of our comprehensive offerings in East Asian studies,” Palumbo wrote in an

Claudine Gay had not started her first day as president of Harvard when she selected Hopi E. Hoekstra to serve as the next Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean, the first in a series of consequential appointments that will allow Gay to shape the future of the University for years to come.

Hoekstra’s appointment, one of four dean vacancies Gay inherited as president-elect, mirrored then-University President Lawrence S. Bacow’s decision to elevate Gay to FAS dean in 2018 — one of three dean selections made by Bacow at the start of his tenure. The searches for Bacow’s two other deans, however, were already near completion by the time he was announced as president, giving Bacow only enough time to meet with the finalists before making his selections.

So when Harvard’s governing boards

confirmed Gay as the University’s 30th president in December 2022, concluding the shortest presidential search in nearly 70 years, she was gifted the most valuable asset a university president-elect could ask for: time.

“It’s going to be a busy spring,” Gay told reporters in December after she was introduced as Harvard’s next president. “It’s going to be a busy season of searching.”

With more than six months before officially assuming the presidency, Gay had ample time to lead searches to fill the four looming dean vacancies — including for her successor as FAS dean, one of the University’s most powerful administrative roles.

In February, during Bacow’s first interview with The Crimson after Gay was announced as his successor, he said the selection of the four deans would be Gay’s “ultimate choice.”

“One of the most important things that

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LAST WEEK 2

COLLEGE

‘Sunroof’ Singer Lights Up Harvard

NICKY YOURE. Making his stage entrance to chants of “Hey

Nicky, you’re so fine,” pop artist Nicky Youre called on Harvard students to put their hands up and get their heads out of the sunroof during Crimson Jam, the College’s annual fall concert. Youre, best known for his 2021 single “Sunroof,” headlined the event, which also featured performances from sophomore Wesley Wang ’26 and student groups STRYK9 and Yard Bops. The festivities were hosted by the College Events Board and the Dean of Students Office. BY ELLA L. JONES AND JOHN N. PEÑA — CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

AROUND THE IVIES

Yale Hospitality announced that they are switching from Coca-Cola products to PepsiCo products in residential college dining halls following the completion of a three-year contract with Coca-Cola. The switch comes after an “extensive” search by the University to find a new provider. Yale undergraduates expressed ambivalence and disgust towards the decision. However, as per an investigation Tuesday night, three residential colleges still have Coke products. Student opinions of the switch align with nationwide preferences for Coca-Cola over Pepsi products.

THE YALE DAILY NEWS

Anthropology professor Margaret Bruchac retired in June, leaving the University of Pennsylvania with zero tenured professors who are Indigenous. Bruchac, who now serves as a professor emerita, serves as a coordinator of Penn’s Native American and Indigenous Studies program. While Bruchac will continue to serve as a coordinator of the program and advise students in the minor, Penn has not begun a search for a new coordinator. Some students expressed discomfort with the lack of indigenous faculty and called on Penn to hire more Native Americans.

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN

Ten artifacts seized from the Princeton University art museum in March will be returned to Italy after being found as the products of smuggling. The initial seizure originated from a Manhattan District Attorney’s search warrant, and involved art worth nearly $200,000. All of the items are of Greek or Etruscan origin, and six were loaned to the university by Princeton alumnus Edoardo Almagía — an art dealer who has been investigated for smuggling. “The Museum is grateful for the Manhattan District Attorney’s diligence in providing new insights into the history of these objects, ultimately resulting in their transfer and repatriation,” Art Museum Associate Communications Director Stephen Kim wrote in a statement.

THE DAILY PRINCETONIAN

CLASSROOM CHANGES FOR CLINTON COURSE PUSH OUT MAJOR UNDERGRADUATE LECTURES

One of Columbia’s largest undergraduate classes was forced to relocate as a part of the accommodations made for Hillary Clinton’s new course, called Inside the Situation Room. The nearly 500 student class — Advanced Programming — was moved following complaints from instructors about blackboards being covered up by a decorative cloth wall for Clinton’s lectures. Advanced Programming was not the only class imapcted by Clinton’s popularity. In an interview, the director of undergraduate students in computer science said that the School of International and Public Affairs tried to remedy the situation with better, more stable blackboards, but they weren’t large enough for those in the back. A section for a 200 person economics class was forced to shift to a new space.

EDUCATION

CULTURE

Art Museums Director to Step Down Raj Chetty ’00 Talks Elite Admissions

ROLE OF WEALTH. Harvard Economics professor Raj Chetty ’00 discussed the role that privilege and wealth play in elite college admissions at a Harvard Graduate School of Education event Tuesday afternoon. Admissions officials, undergraduates, and College staff flooded Longfellow Hall to hear Chetty present research from his latest paper, which was released in July through Opportunity Insights. The talk drew more than 150 attendees, including Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana and Dean of Students Thomas Dunne. BY MICHELLE N. AMPONSAH AND EMMA H. HAIDAR — CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

FINISHING TOUCHES. Harvard Art Museums Director Martha Tedeschi will step down on June 30 after more than seven years in the role. Tedeschi, who took over the role shortly after $250 million in museum renovations in 2016, steered the museum through the Covid-19 pandemic and established free admission for all visitors during her tenure, a program that began this June. She said she is “filled with confidence” about the future of the Harvard Art Museums in a statement to the Harvard Gazette, a University-run publication. COURTESY OF ROSE LINCOLN / HARVARD PUBLIC AFFAIRS & COMMUNICATIONS

In Photos: The 51st Annual An Evening with Champions

BY SARAH G. ERICKSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

AN EVENING WITH CHAMPIONS brings world champion figure skaters to Harvard’s ice to raise money for cancer research through The Jimmy Fund, which solely supports the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In just over 50 years, An Evening with Champions has raised more than $3 million for The Jimmy Fund. The event brings together Harvard alumni and skaters from around the world.

MAXIM NAUMOV, a team USA member and 2020 U.S. junior national champion, leaps across the ice in a powerful, upbeat performance.

JACK LIU, a high schooler and Boston-based featured performer in the show, reaches towards the audience in an energetic skate. After seeing Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek perform at

EMILY CHAN and SPENCER HOWE, members of Team USA and 2023 and 2022 silver medalists at the Four Continents Skating Championship, skate a graceful and emotive piece.

MIRAI NAGASU, a 2018 Olympic Bronze Medalist and 2008 U.S. national champion, turns in a dazzling number. She was the first U.S. woman to land a triple axel at the Olympics.

RYAN DUNK, 2019 Junior National Champion, performs as Freddie Mercury in a Queen tribute skate.

CAITLYN C. KUKULOWICZ ’27, the 2022 Ontario Sectional Junior champion, gracefully glides across the ice.

GABRIELLA V. IZZO ’24, a 2022 U.S. Olympic alternate, spins with Thierry Ferland, 2018 Canadian Junior National Pairs champion, in a death spiral.

MCCARTHY, FACING AN OUSTER AND A SHUTDOWN, ORDERS AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unilaterally announced an impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Tuesday without a House vote. The move comes in the wake of threats McCarthy is facing from far-right members of his caucus to remove him from power if he does not meet demands to force spending cuts which would shut down the government. The inquiry, which will be conducted by the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees, is seeking to find evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden and his family in business dealings.

FEDERAL JUDGE AGAIN RULES DACA IS ILLEGAL

A Texas federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects eligible undocumented youth from being deported, remains unlawful despite efforts by the Biden administration to save it. District Court Judge Andrew S. Hanen ruled that President Obama did not have the authority to create the program, which was done by executive order in 2012. According to experts, the decision is likely to be appealed and eventually be sent to the Supreme Court.

TENS OF THOUSANDS MISSING AFTER DEVASTATING FLOODS IN LIBYA

Flooding and dam bursts in northern Libya have left more than 5,000 people presumed dead and 10,000 believed to be missing. The rescue efforts have been complicated by a governmental split — an internationally recognized government that sits in the capital, Tripoli, and a rival government in the eastern region. Derna, the city which was most affected by the flooding, is cut off from most aid due to damage to crucial roads and bridges, according to the New York Times. Aid groups have estimated that beyond the 15,000 people who are dead or missing, another 34,000 have been displaced from their homes. The death toll is expected to rise in the coming days.

VLADIMIR

9/15

WORLD AFRO DAY WITH ADAMS

HAIR ART PROJECT

Oaktel (The Inn) Room 217, 5-6:30p.m.

The Adams Hair Art Project is a student-led initiative designed to center the experience of Black students in Adams House and foster a sense of home on our campus through the celebration of natural hair. The Hair Art Project seeks to create spaces to celebrate natural hair and alleviate stressors through workshops and services.

9/16

HARVARD FOOTBALL VS. ST. THOMAS

Harvard Stadium, 1 p.m.

Come watch Harvard in its season opener at home! The game can also be streamed on ESPN+.

Sunday 9/17

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS: A DEEP DIVE INTO SHARK BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR Harvard Museum of Natural History, 9 - 5p.m. In this remarkable exhibition, discover why the most massive sharks prey on some of the ocean’s smallest critters. Learn to decipher dietary clues from jaws preserved in Harvard’s world-class collections. Don’t miss the chance meet the ocean’s most famous, misunderstood megafauna!

NEXT WEEK 3

Monday 9/18

MASTER LINKEDIN WITH AI FOR JOB SUCCESS

Harvard Ed Portal, 224 Western Ave., Allston, 11a.m. — 12p.m. This training session, led by Arturo Natella and exclusively tailored for the Harvard Ed Portal, will teach you how to leverage the capabilities of AI to elevate your LinkedIn game.

Tuesday 9/19

SCIENCE CENTER PLAZA FARMERS

MARKET Science Center Plaza, 11:30am-5:30pm Stop by the Science Center Plaza for freshly baked pastries, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and live music! Local farmers and food artisans take advantage of the fall weather to sell fresh and healthy food . If you miss it, don’t fret — the market comes to Science Center Plaza each week.

Wednesday 9/20

C’MON BARBIE! CARDIO DANCE PARTY AND CHARITY FUNDRAISER Science Center Plaza Tent, 6p.m.-8p.m. Join Harvard Recreation and Common Spaces for a cardio dance party like no other! Instructors will lead you through an hour of dancing to songs from the Barbie soundtrack to raise money to support breast cancer awareness. It’s fantastic!

FREECYCLE AT HARVARD’S RECYCLING AND SURPLUS CENTER

Harvard Recycling & Surplus Center, 156 Western Ave., Allston, 10a.m. – 1p.m. Every Thursday from 10am–1pm, Harvard’s Recycling and Surplus Center makes furniture, supplies, equipment, textiles, and a wide-variety of other items available free to anyone on a firstcome, first-served basis.

Friday 9/22

MICROBIAL SCIENCES INITIATIVE CHALK TALK: NICOLE PECORA 24 Oxford Street Room 375, Classroom 375, 8:30am

As part of a weekly series, pathologist Nicole Pecora will be leading an informal seminar centered around recent work in the microbial sciences research community.

CRUISING THE CHARLES

COOPERATION

The two world leaders met at a Russian space facility on Wednesday, where Kim Jong Un pledged “full and unconditional support” for Vladimir Putin. The meeting centered around potential military alliances and the exchange of weaponry from North Korea to Russia. North Korea currently possesses a stockpile of ammunition and rockets, according to experts and US military analysts. Jong Un traveled to the Vostochny Cosmodrome, located in eastern Russia via his characteristic bulletproof train. Analysts suggested that North Korea may be searching for food and fuel in return for their ammunition and rockets.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON

Associate Managing Editors

Leah J. Teichholtz ’24

Meimei Xu ’24

Editorial Chairs Eleanor V. Wikstrom 24

Christina M. Xiao ’24

Arts Chairs

Anya L. Henry ’24

Alisa S. Regassa ’24

Magazine Chairs Io Y. Gilman ’25 Amber H. Levis ’25

Blog Chairs Tina Chen ’24

Hana Rehman ’25

Sports Chairs Mairead B. Baker ’24

Aaron B. Schuchman ’25

Associate Business Manager Derek S. Chang ’24

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE

Night Editors Isabella B. Cho ’24

Mayesha R. Soshi ’24

Design Chairs Sophia Salamanca ’25

Sami E. Turner ’25

Multimedia Chairs Joey Huang ’24

Julian J. Giordano ’25

Technology Chairs Kevin Luo ’24

Justin Y. Ye ’24

Assistant Night Editors Rahem D. Hamid ’25

J. Sellers Hill ’25

Yusuf Mian ’25

Paton D. Roberts ’25

Sally E. Edwards ’26

Sidney K. Lee ’26

Story Editors Ariel H. Kim ’24

Brandon L. Kingdollar ’24

Leah J. Teichholtz ’24

Meimei Xu ’24 Eric Yan ’24

Design Editors Toby R. Ma ’24

Nayeli Cardozo ’25

Sami E. Turner ’25

Laurinne

JOEY HUANG — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

WAR IN UKRAINE

Pritzker Tapped for Ukraine Relief Post

BIDEN APPOINTMENT.

President Joe Biden has appointed Penny S. Pritzker ’81 to lead efforts to rebuild Ukraine’s economy.

BY MILES J. HERSZENHORN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

President Joe Biden appointed Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny S. Pritzker ’81 to serve as special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery, the White House announced Thursday morning.

Biden said in a statement that Pritzker “will drive the United States’ efforts to help rebuild the Ukrainian economy” in a key new role that will include working with the Ukrainian government, allies, international financial institutions, and the private sector.

The appointment marks a return to government for Pritzker, 64, who served as secretary of commerce under President Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017.

Shortly after she left Obama’s administration in 2018, Pritzker was elected to the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body.

Last year, she succeeded longtime Senior Fellow William F. Lee ’72 in the Corporation’s top post after Lee reached his 12-year term limit.

Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain confirmed in a statement that Pritzker’s appointment as special representative will not impact her role as

senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation. Pritzker did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A member of one of the

wealthiest families in America, Pritzker has a net worth of $3.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Her family also traces its roots to Velyki Pritsky, a Ukrainian vil-

lage located about a one-hour drive from Kyiv.

Along with seven other Harvard affiliates, Pritzker was sanctioned by the Russian govern-

ment earlier this year, seemingly for supporting Ukraine amid the full-scale invasion launched by Russia in February 2022.

In her role, Pritzker will work

in the State Department and report to U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken ’84.

The appointment comes as the United States and European countries have sought to increase economic support for Ukraine even as its war with Russia drags on.

Blinken, a former Crimson editor, said in a statement released by the State Department that Pritzker is “uniquely qualified for this task,” referencing her experience as both Secretary of Commerce and as a private sector business leader.

“Special Representative Pritzker’s appointment demonstrates our commitment to strengthen Ukraine’s European future,” Blinken said.

“She will be key to our determination to see to it that Ukraine not only survives but thrives, standing on its own,” he added.

Biden said that Pritzker’s appointment reaffirms the United States’ pledge to support Ukraine in the long term as the country prepares to enter its 20th month defending against Russia’s invasion.

“As we take this next step to help Ukraine forge a stronger future, we remain steadfastly committed to helping it defend its freedom today,” Biden added. “The brave people of Ukraine have inspired the world with their resilience and resolve, and as this announcement reaffirms, the United States remains committed to stand with them, for as long as it takes.”

miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com

Student Orgs Launch Fundraisers for Morocco Earthquake Relief

BY MADELEINE A. HUNG AND JOYCE E. KIM CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard students and affiliates raised more than $19,000 in donations through fundraisers for disaster relief following a deadly earthquake that hit Morocco last Friday.

The earthquake, which struck near Marrakesh, Morocco, is one of the deadliest to hit the country in decades, with a death toll approaching 3,000 victims, mostly in rural areas.

Amina Benzakour Knidel, a graduate student at Harvard Kennedy School who serves as co-chair of the Moroccan Caucus, said she was on the phone with a friend in Morocco when the earthquake struck “very quickly.”

ROMUALDEZ FROM PAGE 1

“Saturday morning, very early, I started thinking ‘How can we help?’ and I thought that fundraising would be the best we can do, not knowing exactly what the needs are on the field,” she said.

Othmane Ouhaddach — a fellow HKS student and co-chair of the Moroccan Caucus who helped organize the fundraiser — said the group acted immediately because they “didn’t have the luxury of time”

“We only have a small window of opportunity before we become again, second page [news],” he said. “You can already see it actually, by now, it’s happened like less than a week ago — we’re kind of almost old news.”

Benzakour Knidel and Ouhaddach, along with other students and alumni of the Kennedy School, reached out to Moroccan students at MIT to launch a Go -

FundMe Saturday morning. By Tuesday, the fundraiser expanded to include Moroccan students at schools in the Greater Boston area, and by Wednesday, students across the U.S. and Canada.

The group raised around $17,000 as of Thursday, with a goal of reaching $100,000.

The Morocco earthquake comes months after deadly earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria last February when the Harvard Society of Arab Students helped raise over $30,000 for disaster relief. SAS President Jana Amin ’25 said this past fundraising experience allowed SAS to “mobilize a little faster than we did last time.”

“The first thing that I do — as the president of the Society of Arab Students — is reach out to all our Moroccan students, both international and Moroccan American, to check in on their

families and make sure that no one’s family needs immediate emergency assistance — whether that be monetary or otherwise,” Amin said.

SAS has raised more than $2,000 as of Monday in their fundraising efforts, which Amin said focused on reaching out to trusted organizations on the “local, grassroots level.”

Amin encouraged students who have not heard much about the earthquake to educate themselves about the earthquake.

“Consider our privilege to be at Harvard in a well-resourced community with relatively more resources in our toolkit to respond to crises,” Amin said. “And think about how you can redistribute some of your own resources to help people who are really vulnerable right now.”

Ummunaz “Naz” Yanik ’25 —

co-president of the Harvard College Turkish Student Association, which worked with SAS to fundraise for the February Turkey-Syria earthquakes — said she was “really sad” to hear about the earthquakes and felt empathy for the victims.

“I think your sensitivity really depends on how you relate to the subject,” she said.

Yanik recalled feeling “alienated” after the Turkey-Syria earthquakes when things were “too much to process.” Ultimately, reaching out to administrators and professors for help became sources of support, Yanik said.

According to Harvard spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo, the College has reached out to students affected by the earthquake to “offer support and additional resources.”

Benzakour Knidel said Harvard affiliates – including faculty and other Kennedy School caucasus, such as the African Caucus – have been “incredibly thoughtful and incredibly helpful.”

She said hearing about the earthquakes was “terrible,” but the fundraiser allowed her and other Moroccan students to help instead of “just thinking about what was happening.”

“Honestly, it’s been terrible. I would never have imagined something like this to happen in my country,” Benzakour Knidel said. “It’s been so hard being far away, but I think that’s exactly why I launched this initiative — because I couldn’t just see this and not do anything.”

madeleine.hung@thecrimson.com joyce.kim@thecrimson.com

Filipino Languages Preceptor Endowed by Martin Romualdez

email. “As a matter of practice, Harvard does not discuss the terms or specifics of individual gifts, and in line with Harvard’s gift policy, donors have no role in the establishment of the courses that are offered.”

A representative for Romualdez did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

An April 20 press release from Romualdez’s office confirms that Romualdez attended “a gathering of Filipino community in Massachusetts” that included Harvard students. During the trip, he also spoke at a Harvard Kennedy School event. The press release includes quotes from Romualdez lauding the creation of

the Filipino (Tagalog) course, but does not reference any donation to the school.

“Our language is our pride! And learning about Harvard’s new Tagalog language course, I am expressing my full support for the program,” Romualdez said at the April gathering, according to the press release. “I hope

and pray that the Harvard Tagalog course will flourish and grow in the future to include many aspects of Filipino culture!”

The FilAm article was posted Aug. 29 and was republished on Aug. 31 by Filipino news site Inquirer.net, according to Cristina D.C. Pastor, the article’s author. But just a day later, Inquirer.net had deleted the article, according to the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism. The CEO of the Inquirer Group of Companies, which owns Inquirer.net, is Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, the sister-in-law of Martin Romualdez. Sandy Prieto-Romualdez could not be reached for comment, and Abel Ulanday, the editor-in-chief of the Manila bureau of Inquirer.net, did not respond to requests for comment.

Rene Ciria Cruz, the former U.S. editor of Inquirer.net, wrote in an email to The Crimson that he resigned from his position as a result of the article being taken down.

Romualdez’s uncle, Ferdinand Marcos, is widely regarded as a repressive and violent dictator who instituted martial law in the Philippines. His regime saw the mass imprisonment, suppression, and murder of political

dissidents. The Filipino government estimates that Marcos and his family stole up to $10 billion while in power.

Critics have accused Romualdez’s father of illegally amass-

Our language is our pride! And learning about Harvard’s new Tagalog language course, I am expressing my full support for the program

Martin G. Romualdez Speaker of the Filipino House of Representatives

ing wealth during Marcos’ rule, but Romualdez has denied such claims, saying in 2016 that his father “wasn’t a crony” of Marcos.

Romualdez is currently implicated in American litigation that alleges he was offered bribes by a Japanese entertainment company to pressure the Supreme Court of the Philippines to side with them in a business dispute involving a Manila casino.

A representative for Romualdez did not respond to requests

for comment on the litigation.

Robson, the Asia Center director, said in an interview that center programming would not be influenced by any donor, regardless of their background or political agenda.

“There’s a clear separation between any fundraising that’s done, and how the Asia Center operates,” Robson said.

In 2022, the Asia Center hosted a “Philippine Lectures” that featured speakers who were strongly critical of Marcos and his legacy, including former Filipino Vice President Maria Leonor G. “Leni” Robredo and Sheila S. Coronel, a co-founder of PCIJ.

For Jose Marco C. “Marcky” Antonio II ’25, a co-president of the Harvard Undergraduate Philippine Forum, the focus should be on the existence of a Filipino language course at Harvard in the first place, not the source of its funding.

“I’m just really, really grateful for the fact that the Filipino language is being taught at Harvard,” he said. “And it’s just really frustrating that this is sort of detracting from the fact that it’s such a major achievement.”

rahem.hamid@thecrimson.com elias.schisgall@thecrimson.com

Penny S. Pritzker ’81 introducing Claudine Gay as the University’s next president in a December event. J. SELLERS HILL — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

The Harvard University Asia Center is located in the Center for Government and International Studies South.

JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Dining Workers Report Heat Exhaustion

hidden from students. They also said large windows in Kirkland’s service area means it is particularly prone to overheating.

Harvard spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo said the University uses a range of heat mitigation tools including “installing improved insulation, increased ventilation, and adding ceiling fans.”

After students raised concerns about dining workers overheating last week, Mather House temporarily closed its dining hall for lunch. But workers in other Harvard undergraduate dining halls who have also felt the heat are not seeing similar changes.

Harvard University Dining Services’ decision to close Mather for lunch followed a wave of extreme heat that swept Massachusetts last week, prompting Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 to declare a heat emergency Sept. 7 as temperatures reached the high 90s.

While Mather’s dish room is air conditioned, workers said several other dining service areas are completely without air conditioning.

Unlike Mather, those dining halls did not close during the heat wave. “We all feel the heat. I think something needs to be addressed,” said Kemoko Sylla, a HUDS worker in Eliot and Kirkland houses.

“Kitchens are inherently hot spaces, given the equipment involved,” HUDS spokesperson Crista Martin wrote in a statement.

Martin declined to comment on where AC exists in other undergraduate house dining halls.

Multiple workers said that

while they are encouraged to drink water and have been offered popsicles when temperature spikes, the heat has a damaging effect on their health.

“I was getting headaches. It’s hard to really work to perform your duty in a safe environment when it’s so hot,” Quincy House HUDS worker Jeffery W. Kines said.

Others, including Leverett House HUDS workers Robert S. Sadler and Edwin J. Hinspeter

said they frequently get heat rashes and suffer from heat exhaustion while working.

“It sucks the life out of you,” Sadler said.

“Let me point out that their office is air conditioned,” Hinspeter said.

Sadler and Hinspeter said that while their managers brought in fans several weeks ago due to heat, they were taken away after the weather cooled down. Then, when the temperature increased

again, they said they had to convince managers to bring the fans back. “We had to beg for them to bring them back,” Hinspeter said. Hinspeter said his managers had not liked “the look” of fans in the dining hall. One HUDS worker in Kirkland who was granted anonymity for fear of retaliation said that the remedies, including the use of fans, are not sufficient without air conditioning.

“I remember coming in and one of the first things, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m soaked. I’m just covered in sweat.’ And I looked, and I had been here for 10 minutes,” they said.

“There’s one fan in there, which just blows hot air,” they said.

Workers speculated student outcry caused Mather to change its lunch schedule. But the HUDS worker in Kirkland pointed out that most of their workspaces are

“Harvard takes all heat complaints very seriously, and investigates to ensure that any reports of excessive temperatures are not caused by a malfunction in building systems or similar, controllable, issue,” he added.

When temperatures rise to extreme levels, HUDS recommends using paper products to avoid using the machinery in the dish room, where HUDS worker Estefania L. DePina said heat is especially a problem.

But Valerie Johnson, who has worked in Quincy’s dining hall for 16 years, said outside the dish room, heat is a major problem for the house grills and other service areas.

Johnson said she hopes AC will be added to the serving areas when the house is eventually renovated. But she said she worries renovations to mitigate extreme heat will focus solely on student needs by only adding AC to the dining areas rather than areas where employees primarily work.

“A lot of times when they redo things, it’s not really with the workers in mind,” she added.

Both Johnson and Kines said managers have been alerted to the problem in the past, with little recourse.

“They know it’s hot. It’s not rocket science,” Johnson said.

cam.kettles@thecrimson.com

Alleged Accomplice in Medical School Morgue Case Pleads Guilty

indicted Lodge on counts of conspiracy and aiding and abetting interstate transportation of stolen goods.

in New Hampshire to recipients out of state.

A Pennsylvania man who bought human remains that were donated to Harvard Medical School pleaded guilty to conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property on Thursday, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Jeremy L. Pauley, from Thompson, Pennsylvania, admitted that he knowingly purchased stolen body parts and resold many of the remains to others, including at least one person who knew the remains were stolen. Pauley faces up to 15 years in prison.

Pauley allegedly purchased some remains from Cedric Lodge, who worked as the morgue manager for Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Program.

In June, a Pennsylvanian grand jury alleged Lodge stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and

A month later, affected families filed a class-action lawsuit against Lodge and Harvard University, as well as two other employees of the Anatomical Gift Program, managers Mark F. Cicchetti and Tracey Fay.

The lawsuit alleged that Cicchetti and Fay neglected their duties in overseeing the program, though did not accuse them of participation in the thefts themselves. Neither have been criminally indicted.

The lawsuit against Harvard Medical School, Lodge, Cicchetti, and Fay is one of three cases related to the mishandling of human remains.

Along with his wife Denise Lodge, Cedric Lodge allegedly sold human remains to buyers across the country, including Pauley. After organizing sales over the phone and social media, the Lodges shipped human body parts through the mail from their home

The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges that in some cases Lodge brought prospective buyers to the morgue to choose from remains.

According to federal prosecutors, Harvard Medical School had no knowledge of Lodge’s actions.

In addition to Lodge, Candace Chapman Scott also allegedly sold human remains to Pauley. Scott, who worked at a mortuary and crematorium in Little Rock, Arkansas, allegedly stole parts of cadavers that were meant to be cremated. After doing so, she sold and shipped the remains to Pauley.

Scott has also been indicted for aiding conspiracy and defrauding her employer in federal court in the District of Arkansas. Scott pleaded not guilty in April.

According to the Associated Press, police investigating Pauley’s home found three five-gallon buckets of body parts, including those from children. Federal and state law enforcement agents also intercepted packages that con-

tained body parts that were addressed to Pauley from Scott.

Pauley then sold many of the remains he bought to other individuals, including Matthew Lampi, Katrina Maclean, and Joshua Taylor, who are charged along with Pauley and pending trial.

Pauley and Lampi exchanged more than $100,000 in online payments buying and selling from each other. Pauley also transferred more than $40,000 to Taylor. The Lodges, Taylor, Lampi, and Maclean have pleaded not

HGSU–UAW FROM PAGE 1

guilty. Cedric Lodge and David M. Rothstein, Denise Lodge’s attorney, have not previously responded to requests for comment.

HGSU-UAW Calls to Reopen Bargaining

reached by midnight Thursday.

“If we had COLA in our contract, we wouldn’t be barely keeping our heads above water,” Petherbridge said.

Thursday’s rally comes two days after the MIT Graduate Student Union reached a tentative agreement after threatening to strike.

The agreement includes an average compensation increase of more than 10 percent in the first year, followed by three successive yearly raises.

HGSU-UAW’s last contract granted a 5 percent increase in the first year and three successive yearly raises. Stanton said the MIT union “had a credible strike threat, and that’s why they’re going to win.”

“That tentative agreement is really strong,” Stanton said of

the MIT agreement, which also guarantees dental insurance and an agency shop, a form of union security that grants employees the choice to unionize and requires non-members to pay a fee toward the cost of collective bargaining.

But up the river at Harvard, organizers said the current wage package is simply not enough.

“We can’t afford to visit our families, to pay our utility bills, or just to live enriching lives while we work for Harvard. We’re here because if you only make $3,000 a month, it’s pretty rough to cover groceries and medical expenses, to support children and parents,” Reagan said.

jade.lozada@thecrimson.com ammy.yuan@thecrimson.com cam.kettles@thecrimson.com azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com

A large fan circlulates air through the Mather House dining hall where lunch was halted last week. SAMI E. TURNER — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

BY CAM E. KETTLES CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

BY JADE LOZADA AND AMMY M. YUAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

— CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

HBS Professor Battles Data Fraud Allegations

with false accusations.

their information.

BY

Nearly 11 years after publishing an influential study on reducing fraud, Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino learned her tenure would be reviewed over suspicions of the very behavior she researched.

In a series of four blog posts in June, Data Colada — a data investigation blog run by business school professors Uri Simonsohn, Leif D. Nelson, and Joseph P. Simmons — gave a detailed account of alleged research misconduct by Gino across four academic papers. One post detailed alleged research misconduct in Gino’s 2012 study on reducing fraud by asking participants to sign documents before providing

Two of the papers were retracted following the allegations by Data Colada, while another had previously been retracted in September 2021. Earlier this month, a paper by Gino in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was retracted “at the request of the Research Integrity Office at Harvard Business School” — her fourth.

After Data Colada notified HBS in 2021 of Gino’s alleged misconduct, HBS Dean Srikant

M. Datar initiated an 18-month investigation and placed Gino on unpaid administrative leave. She was also barred from campus and stripped of her endowed faculty title as the Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration.

In the wake of the lawsuit, supporters of Data Colada organized a GoFundMe to finance their potential legal defense, which has raised more than $333,000 to date.

But these past months have brought more than just legal headaches. As Gino continues to battle for vindication in the public eye, faculty within HBS have grown increasingly wary of the sanctions against Gino — and the administration that imposed them.

‘Why on Earth Would I Manipulate Data’

In the rebuttal, Gino also alleged that “Data Colada cherry-picked the data it chose to include in its analysis.”

Gino acknowledged the presence of “rows with duplicate IDs, as well as rows with out-of-order sequences” — which Data Colada claim indicate data manipulation by Gino — but asserted that Data Colada used “observations that supported their claim that I manipulated data, while omitting observations that weakened their claim.”

log format of the study as a possible source of error.

“The original data from the study no longer exists, as the study was conducted on paper,” she wrote.

“So you can see how mistakes could creep in,” she added. “In this case, we’re talking about two

by writing that there would be “more to come” as she continued combing through the data with her team.

“I am confident that the forensic work-in-progress we’re doing on Data Colada’s other blog posts will end up yielding strong refutations of those allegations as

Francesca Gino Harvard Business School Professor

On July 28, Harvard’s Office of the President notified Gino that her tenure was under review for revocation.

Just five days later, Gino took legal action against Data Colada and Harvard. In a 100-page filing, Gino alleged that Harvard and Datar “conspired” with Data Colada to damage her reputation

In an unpublished rebuttal obtained by The Crimson, Gino denied claims in Data Colada’s first blog post that her 2012 study on reversing the order of signing documents for honest governmental and business reporting contained manipulated data.

In the document, Gino maintained that the data fraud allegations against her were false and claimed that the findings of her study would hold even excluding the data Data Colada had flagged as having been manipulated.

“The only reason anyone would ever manipulate data would presumably be to drive results,” she wrote. “But this analysis demonstrates that even if you were to throw out all of the observations that, according to Data Colada’s own rules, should be considered ‘suspicious,’ the findings of the original study still hold.”

“Why on earth would I manipulate data, if not to change the results of a study?” she wrote.

In their post, Data Colada pointed to adjacent rows in Gino’s data that contained duplicate IDs or out-of-sequence entries. The data show signs of manipulation, they claim, because it is nearly perfectly sorted by ID save for a few specific entries.

But Gino wrote that the blog post only mentioned two adjacent rows that contained duplicate IDs while excluding other ID duplication errors that were separated by more entries.

“When it comes to duplicate IDs, Data Colada included rows 52 and 53 (ID 49), but they omitted rows 5 and 75, which also have duplicate IDs (ID 13),” the letter read. Data Colada declined to comment on Gino’s rebuttal of their initial post.

Though Gino denies any research misconduct, she remains unable to explain exactly how the discrepancies in her data occurred.

“I know that this still begs the question: So what actually happened in this study?” she wrote. “The honest answer is I still do not know for sure.” Still, Gino pointed to the ana-

Here is what almost certainly happened: The RAs conducting the study simply stacked the paper copies by condition, and then manually entered the data in the order in which the papers were stacked.

Francesca Gino

Harvard Businesss School Professor

duplicate ID values — sloppy and

unfortunate, yes, but perhaps not terribly surprising given the paper-based system that was used.”

These errors, Gino wrote, could have been introduced by the lab manager and research assistants who performed the data collection.

“Here is what almost certainly happened: The RAs conducting the study simply stacked the paper copies by condition, and then manually entered the data in the order in which the papers were stacked,” Gino wrote.

At the time, Gino argued, there was no reason to care about the order of the data entries.

Gino concluded the letter

well,” she added. The paper in question — a 2012 study on reducing dishonest behavior with more than 200 citations — had already been retracted in September 2021 prior to Data Colada’s blog posts this year, after the discovery of allegedly fraudulent data in a study separate from the one Gino oversaw.

In an August 2021 post, Data Colada accused Dan Ariely, one of Gino’s co-authors on the 2012 paper, of falsifying data on the separate study.

The paper was retracted at the request of Ariely and his co-authors, who acknowledged the study contained apparently fraudulent data.

ADELAIDE E. PARKER, JENNIFER Y. SONG, AND CLAIRE YUAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

LAWSUIT. After being accused of manipulating data, HBS professor Francesca Gino is battling for vindication.

I know that this still begs the question: So what actually happened in this study? The honest answer is I still do not know for sure.

COVER STORY 7

August 2, 2021

“Interim Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct” is implemented, but not communicated to faculty until Gino’s lawsuit.

August 17, 2021

Data Colada published allegations of academic misconduct in a 2012 paper on honesty, co-authored by Gino. Over the next two years, the professors and anonymous researchers at the blog continued to investigate Gino-involved studies.

Ariely wrote in a statement to Data Colada that he did not play a role in data collection for the study and denied falsifying any data.

Gino has also disputed Data Colada’s second blog post — which alleged manipulation in her 2015 study linking authenticity to morality.

According to three professors at HBS — who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation from administrators for discussing the case — Gino believes the internal records saved by Qualtrics suggest that some external study participant had tampered with the data by filling out the form multiple times in rapid succession.

The entries that Data Colada had flagged as suspicious and manipulated, the professors said, all shared IP addresses out of China and California and were linked to old computer taglines — running Mac and Windows operating systems dating back to 2001. The emails associated with those data entries were also nonexistent addresses, two professors said.

The timing of the entries also indicated that one person was repeatedly filling out the form, as each followed one immediately after the other without any overlap — which would be expected if multiple people were responding in parallel — according to one professor.

The motivation for one person to fill out the form several times could have come from an attempt to win an Amazon gift card, an incentive offered to all who participated in the survey.

‘Completely Unaware’

For some faculty at the Business School, the dean’s response to Data Colada’s claims against Gino revealed a wider problem. In response to concerns over

the severity of the sanctions imposed on Gino, Datar sent an email to all HBS faculty on Aug. 14 — the school’s first and only public statement since the Data Colada investigation — defending his decision.

“I did this with personal concern for Professor Gino, but also with complete confidence in the investigative work that had been done and knowing I must do what is right for our institution,” Datar wrote.

But for many HBS faculty, the email was the first time they learned of the new research misconduct policy the school had enacted and employed in Gino’s case — which she alleges was created solely for her.

According to two professors

role faculty typically play during policy creation, including small group discussions and advisory votes.

“There isn’t a single faculty member that was aware of this interim policy until Francesca’s lawsuit came out,” one professor said. “We were governed by a policy for two years that we were completely unaware of.”

The professors said some faculty are worried about Datar’s unilateral adoption of a new, school-wide policy.

The overly harsh sanctions against Gino, one professor said, resulted out of “the incompetence of a dean.”

“He’s not like past deans, and he won’t be like future deans,” the professor said.

member of the HLS faculty until his death on Aug. 4.

Gino’s lawsuit also cited a prior investigation of alleged research misconduct by a male professor — who was not identified in the complaint — in which the school “protected the confidentiality of the male junior faculty member, and it subsequently promoted him to tenure.”

One professor said of Gino’s case that “it’s impossible to imagine that this would happen to a man.”

HBS spokesperson Brian C. Kenny wrote in an emailed statement that the school believes “Harvard ultimately will be vindicated.”

“Professor Gino has raised allegations in her lawsuit that Harvard strongly denies,” Kenny

of the General Counsel asking them to refrain from speaking out about the Gino case or the school’s new tenure policies.

The legal hold notice — sent in August and obtained by The Crimson — requested professors “avoid any discussion of this matter outside the presence of the OGC or outside counsel.”

“This memorandum is confidential and should not be shared or discussed with anyone else without prior consent of the Office of the General Counsel,” the letter said.

The message comes in anticipation of required legal discovery of communications following Gino’s defamation lawsuit against the University.

“Any discussions about this matter, written or oral, may be subject to discovery in any subsequent legal proceeding, unless those discussions occur as part of a discussion with Harvard’s attorneys for the purpose of seeking or obtaining legal advice,” the letter continues.

The email also informed professors that they will have a “technical hold” placed on their email accounts.

July 17-30, 2023

Data Colada published their findings in a four-part series accusing Gino of committing data fraud in four of her papers

July 28, 2023

Harvard’s Office of the President notified Gino about the initiation of her tenure revocation review process. This process must first pass through two independent bodies, a Screening Committee – three HBS professors –and Hearing Committee – all tenured Harvard faculty – before review by the Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing body.

August 2, 2023

at HBS, the new policy — titled the “Interim Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct” — was implemented in August 2021 but not communicated to faculty until Gino’s lawsuit.

The Business School implemented the interim policy just one month after Harvard was initially contacted by Data Colada, according to Gino’s lawsuit.

The three HBS professors said the lack of consultation was an unusual move by the school’s administration, pointing to the

More pointedly, one professor said they believe the treatment of Gino’s case is an instance of gender inequity. Another professor pointed to examples of male faculty at the University who have been accused of — and found to have committed — research misconduct but remained on the faculty.

The professor specifically referenced Charles J. Ogletree, a former Harvard Law School professor who committed nearly verbatim plagiarism in his book “All Deliberate Speed” but remained a

wrote. “We believe that the investigation — carried out by three senior HBS faculty members — was thorough, fair, and fully complied with HBS’s policy and procedure for dealing with allegations of research misconduct.”

“These were the first serious allegations of data falsification or fabrication Harvard Business School had received, against any member of its faculty, in many years,” he added.

Some professors at the Business School have also received emails from Harvard’s Office

“Once a technical hold is in place, documents no longer may be permanently deleted (should you delete an email, it will appear as if it were deleted, but a copy of it will be retained for litigation purposes only),” the email read.

Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain declined to comment on the email.

In the months ahead, Gino’s defamation lawsuit is expected to move forward through discovery. Harvard and Data Colada must provide responses to Gino’s complaint by Oct. 10 and Nov. 8, respectively.

Gino filed a $25 million lawsuit against Harvard, HBS Dean Srikant M. Datar, and the Data Colada authors, alleging defamation and gender discrimination. The lawsuit claims HBS disregarded Harvard policy and made arrangements for a new employment policy “in exchange for Data Colada’s silence during the investigation period.”

August 14, 2023

In an email to HBS faculty — the school’s first public statement since the Data Colada investigation — Datar wrote the Business School’s investigation committee “determined that research misconduct had occurred” and defended the sanctions imposed on Gino.

August 19, 2023

Supporters of Data Colada organized a GoFundMe to finance the potential legal defense of Data Colada, which has raised more than $333,000 to date. Organizers wrote on GoFundMe that the fundraiser “hit 2,000 donors and $250K in less than 2 days” and that Simonsohn, Nelson, and Simmons “are deeply moved and grateful for this incredible show of support.”

October 10, 2023

By this date, Harvard must file a response in Gino’s defamation lawsuit.

November 3, 2023

By this date, the Data Colada researchers must respond in Gino’s defamation lawsuit.

In an unpublished rebuttal obtained by The Crimson, Gino denies all allegations of having published manipulated data. JOEY HUANG — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Harvard Business School is at the center of a defamation lawsuit filed by HBS professor

Francesca Gino. JOEY HUANG — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Loeb House houses the University’s governing boards, including the Harvard Corporation, which reviews tenure revocation requests. JOEY HUANG — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Srikant M. Datar Harvard Business School Dean

I did this with personal concern for Professor Gino, but also with complete confidence in the investigative work that had been done and knowing I must do what is right for our institution.

BUSINESS SCHOOL

Oprah Winfrey Discusses New Book

Television host and producer Oprah Winfrey and Harvard Business School professor Arthur C. Brooks discussed their new book “Build the Life You Want” at the Business School, reflecting on their past experiences and journeys to “happierness.”

Moderated by Jeffery M. Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Wednesday’s panel featured tips to “crack the code” and find true happiness in life from Winfrey and Brooks, who is also a professor of the practice at the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Bring some lift to your own life and meet the rising of your life,” Winfrey said. “Meet the reason why you’re actually intended to be born, why you were created, and start to measure up to that in a way that makes you feel more whole and fully alive. And then be able to spread that to the rest of the people in the world.”

Winfrey, known for giving away gifts during her daytime talk show, called the book a “gift.”

“I know many of you are like, ‘Well, I have to pay for it.’ I wish I could have them all under your seat,” Winfrey said.

Harvard President Claudine Gay briefly introduced the panel, reflecting on the impact of the book — which she had “on playback in my mind” — when she saw Harvard undergraduates moving in for the first time after becoming University president.

“People were experiencing their feelings rather than becoming overwhelmed by them,” she said. “The book puts it very eloquently and I kept reciting this

Oprah Winfrey, right, speaks at Harvard Business School alongside co-author Arthur C. Brooks. THOMAS J. METE — CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

in my head that they felt the field and then took the wheel.”

The unlikely duo’s relationship inadvertently formed during the pandemic when Winfrey read Brooks’ weekly Atlantic column titled “How to Build a Life” and reached out to Brooks — a connection that led to a joint project to “lift people up and bring them together in bonds of happiness and love.”

“We as columnists, we do our work, we put it out into the world, we bless it, and sometimes Oprah Winfrey is reading it,” Brooks said.

“Reading those columns made me a better person,” Win-

frey added. Brooks touted four fundamental holdings in the “happiness 401k” that he believes will lead people to true happiness, discovered through his research at Harvard in the happiness field and with inspiration from Winfrey.

“You need to put an investment into one of all four accounts every day: your family, your friends, your work that serves other people, and your faith,” Brooks said.

“This is what I’ve learned. This is the reason that in dark moments over the past few months, I would say, ‘What Would Oprah Do?’” he added.

During the discussion, Win-

frey opened up about her depression following the negative critical reception of her 1998 film “Beloved.” She admitted the response had her “eating macaroni and cheese for breakfast every morning,” but taught her to emotionally detach from her work in the entertainment industry.

“Your pain is a gift. Your joy is a gift. Your life is a gift, but you have to see it as such,” Brooks said.

Goldberg, the Atlantic editor-in-chief, flagged faith — one of the book’s four pillars of happiness — as a controversial subject for many Americans and questioned its necessity in the search for happiness and purpose to

Salata

Institute Announces Climate Research

Harvard’s Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability announced the first cohort of awards for its Seed Grant Program last week, funding 14 interdisciplinary climate projects across the University.

The Seed Grant Program, launched in April and supported by a gift from the Troper Wojcicki Foundation, awards grants of up to $30,000 to fund early-stage collaboration on new climate-related topics. This first round of recipients includes 19 faculty members across seven of Harvard’s schools.

Harvard Vice Provost of Climate and Sustainability James H. Stock said the purpose of the program is to allow faculty who are not as academically involved in climate and sustainability to explore research ideas in the area.

“We’re trying to make it a little easier for scholars around the university to take some risks, and try new ideas,” he said.

bring peace to one’s life.

“It would be really challenging to maintain a level of satisfaction, enjoyment, and meaning thinking you’re at the center of it all,” Winfrey said.

“By faith, that means something transcendent to your daily life,” said Brooks, who is a practicing Catholic. “You’ve gotta get small is the bottom line.”

Brooks and Winfrey also distinguished between addiction and happiness.

“You don’t need to have more. You need to want less. That’s the formula,” Brooks said.

“If you need some help and support doing that, then that’s what these programs are about, and maybe it’ll work out, maybe it won’t work out, but it could be really important intellectually in setting the stages,” Stock added.

The selected projects in this cohort span many disciplines, from calculating the carbon footprint of fabricating computers, to designing the construction of a national agroforest, to investigating the impact of climate change on mental health.

Michéle Lamont, professor of Sociology, African and African American Studies, and European Studies, discussed her project, which seeks to recognize Indigenous claims for environmental justice.

“I really want to dig deeper into this and understand what different categories of people are thinking about when it comes to how the two are linked — dignity and the kind of injustice that various groups feel they are experiencing,” she said.

Another project led by Joseph H. Blatt ’70, senior lecturer at the Graduate School of Education, focuses on how to best communicate the benefits of climate action.

In an interview, Blatt highlighted the different disciplines that his team represents “My hope is that that constellation of expertise and skills is really the right group to come up with ways of changing people’s minds, which is really what the project is about,” he said.

Many of the projects involved in the grant also cover emergent topics in sustainability.

Harvard School of Public Health professor Stéphane Verguet described how his focus on making healthcare more environmentally friendly and equitable covers a generally new area of study in sustainability.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of areas for new things, a lot of learning. And I think we’ll be able to provide evidence that could fill a void,” Verguet said.

presidents do is to fill key positions, including deans,” Bacow said.

By the time classes started in early September, Gay had filled three of the four dean vacancies, appointing new leaders at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Divinity School, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

But before the end of the first week of classes, like a game of whack-a-mole, a new dean vacancy popped up.

Harvard Kennedy School

Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf announced last week his intention to step down as dean at the end of the academic year, all but assuring that by the end of Gay’s first year as president, at least five of the University’s 15 deans will be her appointees. (Gay is also still in the process of selecting the next School of Public Health dean.)

While the searches have allowed Gay to meet with parts of Harvard that she interacted with

less as FAS dean, the first three dean appointments of her presidency suggest she intends to lean heavily on her FAS experience during the start of her tenure.

Gay opted to pick internal candidates for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, which is part of the FAS.

Hoekstra — a professor of natural sciences who taught a popular foundational biology course — was appointed to helm the FAS, while Computer Science Department professor David C. Parkes is set to take over as SEAS dean next month.

But even when Gay selected an external candidate to serve as Divinity School dean, she still landed on an FAS insider.

Marla F. Frederick, who will assume her role as the school’s dean on Jan. 1, spent more than 16 years at Harvard as a professor of African and African American studies and religion in the FAS, before departing for Emory University in

2019.

Gay could get a chance to select several more deans in the near future. Harvard Medical School

Dean George Q. Daley ’82 and Harvard Law School Dean John F. Manning ’82 were both appointed by former University President Drew Gilpin Faust and assumed their posts in 2017.

Harvard Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 is also expected to retire before the end of Gay’s presidency, which would hand Gay another critical leadership appointment.

In an interview with The Crimson in April, Garber did not reveal details about his career plans.

“I don’t really think about that,” Garber said when asked if he intends to retire soon. “I think about the work we need to do to ensure that the University is in a good place through this transition, and that Claudine Gay’s presidency gets off to the best possible start.

Electrical Engineering assistant professor Gage Hills, who is leading a project focused on investigating the carbon footprint of future technologies, said that he hopes his research will someday be a normal part of the conversation in designing new technology.

“I think in the future, everyone will design their computing systems with the carbon footprint and the carbon efficiency in mind,” he said.

Physics assistant professor Carlos A. Argüelles-Delgado’s project involves using sensors buried in arctic ice to better predict sea-level rise — which is outside of their primary field of research.

“There is a community I hope gets bigger around this institute for people that are not fully doing climate research, but are interested in what’s going on and how we can help. Because it’s a problem that really affects all of us,” they said.

sabrina.hu@thecrimson.com isabella.schauble@thecrimson.com miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com PICKING DEANS FROM PAGE 1 TOBY R. MA — CRIMSON DESIGNER The Crimson thecrimson.com Pictures worth a thousand words. thomas.mete@thecrimson.com

BY SABRINA R. HU AND ISABELLA G. SCHAUBLE CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Ending Legacy Admissions, Now

A PRAGMATIC CASE. We hope to provide a practical explanation for why University President Claudine Gay should direct her administration to abolish legacy admissions, right now.

BY THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

This year will be the first application cycle to Harvard since the fall of affirmative action.

The University has yet to publicly propose a comprehensive plan to keep diversity alive in our incoming classes. And yet, legacy admissions will still be practiced this year.

This seems profoundly unfair to us — a sentiment shared by a civil rights complaint filed this summer. The complaint argues that Harvard’s consideration of legacy and donor status predominantly benefits white applicants, violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Rather than reiterate the keen inequity at the core of legacy admissions (a well-hashed argument in our editorial pages) or wade into the 31 pages of the complaint, we hope to provide a practical explanation for why University President Claudine Gay should direct her administration to abolish legacy admissions, right now.

First, a principal argument in favor of legacy admissions appears to be the incentives of alumni with children to donate. Yet Harvard’s most prominent megadonors — like the notorious Kenneth C. Griffin ’89 — seem happy to cart truckloads of money to our University’s doorstep, at any stage of their children’s college application

HARVARD’S ROLE AMID CLIMATE CHAOS

We Feel the Heat

CLIMATE CRISIS. Where is the acknowledgment that we’re in an emergency?

BY PHOEBE G. BARR

So, you’re lying in bed, your fresh, justmoved-in sheets drenched with sweat. Your table fan is on full blast, but that’s just blowing hot air around. Your neck is sticky, your lungs heavy with heat. You prop the door open to see if that will cool you down enough to focus on your homework.

Maybe you heard that on Sept. 7, our mayor declared a heat emergency in Boston, while students sweated through the first week of classes without a break. This blistering start to September is hardly surprising, after the hottest summer ever recorded in human history, a summer of wildfires and flash floods. If you were in the northeastern United States or Canada this summer, you probably remember the taste of ash in your throat, the sky turning yellow above you, the sun becoming a hazy dark red circle like a dying star.

But no matter where you live, you’ve likely been hearing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, the disaster projections, and the increasingly desperate scientists urging leaders to take immediate, drastic action on climate to preserve a livable world — action that leaders seem very slow in taking.

In short, you’re witnessing a crisis, and you’re scared.

But from your University, the wealthiest university in the world, all you’ve received over the past week is an emailed reminder to “take precautions” in the heat. The climate crisis is a vast, ever-growing problem, and Harvard has publicly committed to leadership in response to it. But what do these claims amount to? Harvard aims to become fossil-fuel-neutral by 2026, but its goal year to finally end reliance on fossil fuels is all the way in 2050. By that time, the effects of climate change will already be exposing over five billion people to a month or more of extreme, health-threatening heat outdoors each year. Where is the urgency? And in the here and now of a crisis that has already begun, what is Harvard doing to tangibly address what our community is going through? While administrators may spend the day in air-conditioned offices, the unrenovated student dorms provide undergraduates little respite from the baking sun — and, without recommendation and approval, undergraduates are even barred from installing air conditioners in their rooms.

processes. And of course, ending legacy preference doesn’t need to mean ending megadonor preference.

Empirically, there is no statistically significant evidence of a causal relationship between legacy preferences and alumni giving. This study is verified just by looking around us in Massachusetts: MIT, which has branded itself as the anti-legacy institution for years, still rakes in tens of millions of dollars in donations every year; and at Amherst College, which scrapped legacy admissions a couple years ago, administrators haven’t seen much effect on donations either.

We won’t lose out on alumni donations if Harvard does away with legacy admissions. But we might convert some first-time donors who emphatically agree with ending legacy preference.

Which brings us to our second point: The trend away from legacy admissions is unmistakable. This trajectory is visible not only in fellow institutions — from MIT’s and CalTech’s longtime stances, to Amherst College’s and Wesleyan University’s more recent adoptions — but also in the courts of public opinion, with 75 percent of Americans last year believing that legacy preferences should not be considered in college admissions.

It’s still early days; Harvard can still brand itself as a leader of this movement and declare a strong moral and political stance. But if the administration waits too long, the University will instead appear as if desperately trying to keep up with a public image already established by peer institutions.

Third and finally, not only the University’s reputation but Gay’s personal legacy is at stake.

Ending legacy preferences will not be an easy task; she may have to expend significant political capital within her administration or choose to forgo the support of some prominent Harvard affiliates. But weighed against the school’s commitment to diverse and equitable admissions, especially in the shadow of the Supreme Court’s curtailment of affirmative action, these consequences pale in comparison.

OP-ED

es, sacrificing sustainability for a quick, cheap fix to an ever-growing problem.

Where is the acknowledgment that we’re in an emergency? The solution isn’t as simple as installing more air conditioning units or more solar panels. Addressing the climate crisis longterm will require transforming our buildings, our consumption, and our approach to energy.

This isn’t an easy task, but Harvard has a concentration of carefully curated talent on a campus with an endowment worth tens of billions of dollars. Is fossil-fuel-free by 2050 really the best we can do? Is paper plates in the face of abject working conditions really the best we can do?

Here’s the trouble: When the full impacts of the climate crisis are felt, when the trees in Boston wilt with summer heat in the fall, it isn’t Harvard administrators who will bear the brunt of it.

Where is the acknowledgment that we’re in an emergency? The solution isn’t as simple as installing more air conditioning units or more solar panels.

Outside this campus, developing nations will suffer so much more than anyone in the United States. But even here, it’s the teenaged freshmen who have just arrived on campus, the upperclassmen in older Houses without air conditioning, and, most of all, the dining hall workers who prepare our food day in and day out, who will first feel this heat. Harvard needs to act now. My column will examine specific, immediate steps Harvard can take toward climate justice, but the first is very simple: Acknowledge the emergency. Prioritize creating a new environment that is safe and healthy for the whole community. Give students breaks when heat advisories are declared. Devote substantial resources to providing cool spaces for students and workers. Ensure our health services — including mental health services — are at full capacity for students suffering through an ever-worsening crisis.

Treat this problem with the seriousness Harvard treated the pandemic back in 2020. I still remember when the entire student body was given five days to leave campus. Harvard can move that fast when it wants to.

If you’re a student struggling dizzily through your homework tonight, wiping sweat smudges from your glasses, scheming for ice packs to fold under your pillow, you have a right to be scared. What we’re experiencing is not normal.

But you have a right to be angry, too. You have a right to demand better from Harvard. We all have a right to a university that cares about us.

As we sweat our way through September, Harvard would do well to acknowledge that right.

Worse, dining hall workers are suffering unbearable heat in dish rooms and kitchens. Following student complaints, the administration finally took action last week — but that action was simply to close the dining halls and suggest putting out paper plates in lieu of washing dish-

Thursdays.

History will look favorably upon Gay for ending legacy admissions. This one bold move could

– This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

Leveling the Playing Field: Aristocrat Sports Preferences

BY ADEN BARTON

What group is prioritized more heavily in elite college admissions than children of alumni or beneficiaries of affirmative action? Recruited athletes.

Controlling for differences between applicants, athletes are thousands of times more likely to be admitted than similar non-athletes. Recent research finds that only 11 percent of admitted athletes at Ivy League and similarly elite schools would have been accepted without athletic preference.

We’re not talking about just a couple spots. Harvard has the most Division I sports teams in the country, with recruited athletes accounting for about 11 percent of recent incoming classes.

I’ve read plenty of articles discussing legacy admissions and affirmative action, but I could hardly find any recent Crimson opinion pieces discussing athlete preference — despite the significant preference given to athletes.

Maybe athletic preferences are so self-evidently legitimate that they’re beyond discussion. Indeed, many of the acceptances for recruited athletes can rightly be celebrated as meritorious.

But certain athletic preferences do not deserve to escape such scrutiny. Former University President Lawrence H. Summers recently coined an excellent term for these cases: “aristocrat sports,” where membership and success are sharply defined by familial resources. In light of recent research detailing the systematic bias toward wealthy applicants at Ivy-plus schools, Summers is right to call for scrutinizing aristocratic athletic preference.

Think of sports like squash, rowing, and fencing. Data do not exist on the average wealth of Harvard athletes by sport, but a recent Wall Street Journal report found that nearly 90 percent of Ivy League squash players attended private high schools with fees of around $30,000, and twothirds of Ivy League lacrosse and crew athletes attended similarly expensive schools. Even the public school students who do play these sports often come from very rich districts. In line with these statistics, a recent study found that nearly a quarter of the admissions advantage for wealthy students in the Ivy League is due to athlete recruitment.

Because class and race are closely intertwined, athletic recruiting also serves to favor white applicants. A senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union called such preferences “informal discrimination” and the Atlantic labeled them “a quiet sort of affirmative action for affluent

There’s a spectrum to how much income can affect certain opportunities, and aristocrat sports are an especially egregious example.

white kids.” Indeed, Harvard’s recruited athletes pool is substantially less diverse than the school as a whole.

It’s not that those incoming athletes haven’t worked incredibly hard or aren’t incredibly talented. They have and they are.

But the very opportunity to participate in these sports — much less to receive personalized coaching — is available to a very select few who are lucky enough to be born to wealthy parents, and so giving preferences to these sports tilts the admissions playing field towards the privileged. If you don’t happen to attend a handful of rich prep schools mostly located in the Northeast, this entire admissions channel is largely off limits to you.

While our admissions department should attempt to cultivate excellence in the incoming class, it should not sacrifice fairness to do so. World class rowers are world class. But that doesn’t mean they deserve a spot at Harvard.

World class rowers are world class. But that doesn’t mean they deserve a spot at Harvard.

It may be unfair to single out these sports when so many parts of the admissions system — from essay writing to extracurriculars — can be gamed by those with the resources and time to do so.

But there’s a spectrum to how much income can affect certain opportunities, and aristocrat sports are an especially egregious example. Having rich parents is nearly a prerequisite to playing some of these sports, whereas the financial barriers to having impressive extracurriculars or an outstanding essay are much lower. (But if I thought those metrics were as wealth-dependent as elite sports, I would call for a reconsideration of them too!)

Moreover, the inherent unfairness of admissions is actually a positive reason to prioritize more objective and accessible metrics of talent, like test scores, whenever possible. The alternative — to simply surrender to the unfairness of admissions — is inadequate.

Even if essay writing or extracurricular opportunities were as stratified by income as sports recruiting, those categories don’t have their own separate admissions system like athletics does. No one gets a designated liaison lobbying to admit them for having a really outstanding personal statement. Harvard has taken one of the activities most subject to income disparities and made it into an admissions backdoor.

What’s to be done?

Even if you aren’t on board with abandoning aristocrat sports recruiting entirely, there are a number of pragmatic solutions that can achieve similar ends. One approach, proposed by Harvard Economics professor Raj Chetty ’00, is to diversify recruitment for these teams.

Our University could also follow in MIT’s footsteps by subjecting recruited athletes to the same admissions standards as other students. This change would reduce but not eliminate the preference for such teams.

However we choose to proceed, the current system is clearly broken. As I’ve written before, Harvard is dominated by the rich by design. If Harvard is serious about improving its socioeconomic diversity, reforming aristocrat sports is low-hanging fruit.

–Aden Barton ’24, an Associate Editorial Editor, is an Economics concentrator in Eliot House.

–Phoebe G. Barr ’24 is a History and Literature concentrator in Lowell House. Her column, “Harvard’s Role Amid Climate Chaos,” appears on alternate

STAFF EDITORIAL

To ChatGPT or Not to ChatGPT?

USER’S CHOICE. AI is here to stay, and we commend Harvard’s approach to managing this reality. Harvard’s current efforts maximize the power and potential of one thing generative AI cannot impede upon: user choice.

BY THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

In response to the meteoric rise of ChatGPT, Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences released its first guidance on the use of generative AI in courses over the summer. In these guidelines, FAS advises instructors to explicitly communicate AI policies to students, offering three potential approaches ranging from total restriction to total allowance.

Considering that only a year ago, most of us hadn’t even heard of ChatGPT, these new guidelines are sorely needed — and, in the perspective of our Editorial Board, well-designed to meet the moment.

In particular, we commend the laissez-faire approach the University has taken with regards to generative AI regulation, leaving most decisions about its use up to the discretion of individual instructors.

As this Board has recognized, AI isn’t going anywhere; Harvard’s public guidance for the use of generative AI recognizes this fact while allowing professors the autonomy to decide whether and how they will adopt this technology in their courses.

In turn, this latitude allows the diverse set of departments and courses at Harvard to tailor generative AI policies to their particular learning environment. (We’d wager the best AI pedagogy for Chem 245: Quantum Chemistry would not well serve Humanities 10: A Humanities Colloquium).

In general, we support leaving difficult ethical questions, especially about pedagogy, to the smart, qualified students and teachers on this campus. Leaving these decisions to the people they most directly affect — rather than distant Smith Center bureaucrats — builds trust, creates buy-in, and enables feedback-oriented iteration. Harvard has given instructors a choice — now, it is incumbent on them that they choose well. We hope faculty avail themselves of Harvard’s pedagogical resources regarding generative AI, such as those from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and engage critically with news and research about this emerging technology.

Discussing pedagogical choices, however, should not detract attention from the most important choices: those that students will make, day in and day out, about whether and how to follow course policies.

In truth, clever students can use generative AI without being caught. AI detection software is not presently reliable, and the FAS discourages professors from using it.

While generative AI offers students the chance to increase their productivity and creativity, when used less conscientiously, it provides students an avenue to circumvent the skill-building nature of their assignments.

As a board premised on the importance of writing to critical thinking, we believe in limiting the role of AI in the writing process. Additionally, students should remember that AI is not a failsafe: It can hallucinate events that did not happen and contains biases absorbed from the human data on which it trains.

Nevertheless, there exist a number of genuinely skill-augmenting purposes for generative AI, such as using it to distinguish between apparent synonyms in a foreign language, to understand software code, and to summarize difficult, intuitive concepts in proof-based math.

Ultimately, generative AI is here to stay, and we commend Harvard’s approach to managing this reality. From flexible guidelines on its use in class, to an “AI Sandbox” tool which will allow affiliates to experiment with generative AI without worrying about the confidentiality of the data they input, to GENED offerings that allow students to expand their knowledge of this dynamic field, Harvard’s current efforts maximize the power and potential of one thing generative AI cannot impede upon: user choice.

But just as Harvard has given instructors the ability to choose the degree of AI integration into their courses, we must also critically reflect on that choice in our own lives.

As generative AI becomes ever more present at Harvard, we should, as students, remember: Pedagogy matters, but ultimately what we learn — and how — falls to us.

– This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

COLUMN SEVEN SISTERS AND THE OLD BOYS’ CLUB

Seven Sisters and the Old Boys’ Club

RADCLIFFE’S PLACE TODAY. Recognizing Radcliffe and calling for its revitalization is only the beginning of my attempt to understand how women continue to carve out a place for themselves at this storied old boys’ club.

BY MCKENNA E. MCKRELL

An old black and white photo has followed me throughout my time at Harvard, stuck to the walls of each of my dorm rooms. In it, Radcliffe women march in a suffrage parade.

I am a Harvard woman in a Harvard dorm, yet this image speaks to a time when there were no Harvard women — no Ivy League women at all.

Instead, there were the Seven Sisters. Radcliffe, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Barnard, Vassar, and Wellesley: a group of women’s colleges with a loose association as the female counterpart to the all-male Ivy League, supposedly nicknamed after the Pleiades sisters from Greek mythology. Since 1926, these seven colleges, scattered across the Northeast, have met annually with the goal of advancing access to and quality of higher education for women.

I am a Harvard woman in a Harvard dorm, yet this image speaks to a time when there were no Harvard women — no Ivy League women at all.

Five of these institutions continue to serve female-identifying students, and Vassar has gone co-educational. This makes Radcliffe, which officially merged with Harvard in 1999, the only Sister to not remain an independent college.

This process of unification began in the early seventies with what is colloquially referred to as the “non-merger, merger” — Harvard men and Radcliffe women lived in the same buildings, took classes together, and received Harvard degrees, but until the official merger of the two institutions in 1999, Radcliffe remained, at least in some ways, distinct.

Radcliffe’s identity during this period of the non-merger merger feels complicated and ambiguous, and in speaking with women from Radcliffe’s Class of 1973 — who were freshmen when some dorms went co-ed in the spring of 1970 — I have come to understand that it is complicated for them as well.

“We had this discussion at our fiftieth reunion,” Anna M. Wichansky ’73 told me in an interview. “I identify more with Radcliffe, so I will tell people I am in Radcliffe Class of ’73.”

When Wichansky receives blank looks, “I tell them it is part of Harvard University,” she continued.

Phyllis August ’73 also noted the lack of name recognition for Radcliffe.

“The older we get, the fewer people have even heard of Radcliffe, to be honest, outside of the Harvard community,” she told me. “You’ll say Radcliffe and they’ll kind of look at you with a puzzled look.”

In some ways, the idea of Radcliffe waning from memory and a new, co-educational Harvard absorbing the spotlight could be regarded as a victory. Radcliffe’s goal as an institution was always to give female students access to the quality education and resources that Harvard offered its undergraduates, and as a current female undergraduate, I feel that goal was achieved.

Women make up over fifty percent of my College class — the Class of 2026 — and have access to the very resources from which they had at one point been excluded.

Women were infamously barred from Lamont Library until 1967.

“When my daughter got there a generation later, the first thing she did was walk into Lamont and dance on the desk, because she knew how I felt,” Alice I. Davies ’65 told me.

Davies’ aunt, Mary Ingraham Bunting, was the president of Radcliffe from 1960 until 1972. Under her leadership, joint Commencement exercises were held, women moved into the Harvard River Houses, and Radcliffe students began receiving Harvard degrees.

“That’s what my aunt worked her little tail toward,” Davies said. “The integration of Radcliffe and Harvard was just key.”

It is obvious why the students and administrators from Radcliffe’s past would celebrate the integral and inseparable role women now play in an institution deemed the “the Oldest Old Boys’ Club,” but I wonder whether there can still exist an active and vibrant Radcliffe for the Harvard undergraduate women today.

When I reflect on Radcliffe’s legacy, I think of the photo on my dorm room wall: a literal depiction of the power of Radcliffe women to advocate for and to enact meaningful change.

In 1999, Radcliffe College was reborn as the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Today, the institute provides co-educational support for scholarship through fellowships, the Schlesinger Library, and public events.

“I’m delighted that Radcliffe has developed

a new and strong identity,” Leslie P. Tolbert ’73, who served as a member of University governance for the past six years, said.

“It’s got this new identity and it will thrive as people come to do their work at the Radcliffe Institute and see it as a go-to place for a particular kind of scholarship,” she added.

Though Tolbert expressed her belief in a new, strong Radcliffe identity, some women still expressed conflicting feelings about the institution’s legacy or hope that more could be done.

“I am sorry that Harvard is in the process of absorbing the last vestiges of Radcliffe,” Winifred M. Creamer ’73 told me.

In 2021, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study adopted a new vernacular name, becoming the Harvard Radcliffe Institute — or the Institute, for short. Though the website explains that the change establishes a “family relationship” between the institutions and follows the naming conventions of other Harvard schools, many women were outraged.

“It’s a physical place right now. So I think that it’s important to continue to call it Radcliffe,” August said.

A name, a place, a photograph — my conversations with these women reaffirmed the importance of these tangible touchstones, but their stories left me searching for the intangible sense of community they described, too.

Though most women felt that the integration of Harvard and Radcliffe greatly served both institutions, there was a certain nostalgia for the distinct Radcliffe community women from the Class of 1973 experienced during their freshmen fall when they were all living together.

“There were things the first semester that differed once housing became co-ed,” Janet L. Roen ’73 told me. “Around 10 o’clock milk and cookies were served, I kid you not. That went out. No more milk and cookies.”

Perhaps it is time to revisit the role Radcliffe can play in the undergraduate experience.

When reflecting on her first semester living at Radcliffe, Creamer recalled eating dinner with women from her dorm hallway.

“We just sat and talked for a long time, and those are the women I still know,” she said.

While I celebrate the value of co-education, I want to see Radcliffe play a more active role in the lives of undergraduate women and education. Its name is preserved in the Radcliffe Institute, but its mission as one of the Seven Sisters — to be an advocate for women in their education — feels lost in a project that seems to primarily serve advanced study and graduate level projects.

Representatives from Harvard or Radcliffe have not attended the annual Seven Sisters Conference since the early 2000s, while Vassar — which is now co-ed — continues to participate actively in this work.

“I think that Radcliffe still does have a presence as a focal point and maybe advocacy for women,” Madaline B. Harrison ’73 told me.

Still, she continued, “It’s hard for me to figure out exactly how large a role it has in the day to day lives of undergraduates. I worry a little bit about that, and I think some of my classmates do too.”

I imagine a future for the Harvard Radcliffe Institute in which its identity remains inseparable from Harvard, but its roots as a Seven Sister college are more pronounced. Its mission should expand to tackle issues that continue to disproportionately affect women in their undergraduate education — like sexual misconduct and underrepresentation in STEM fields — by providing guidance to Harvard administration and resources to women at the College.

A partnership with Harvard College Women’s Center and representation at the annual Seven Sisters conference are larger changes that would reflect the continuity of Radcliffe’s historical commitment to women’s advocacy.

Though Radcliffe continues to do important work, perhaps it is time to revisit the role it can play in the undergraduate experience.

Today, I can often forget that Harvard was never intended to serve women, but recognizing Radcliffe and calling for its revitalization as a resource for undergraduates is only the beginning of my attempt to understand how women continue to carve out a place for themselves at this storied old boys’ club.

–McKenna E. McKrell ’26, a Crimson Editorial Editor, lives in Adams House. Her column, “Seven Sisters and the Old Boys’ Club” runs tri-weekly on Wednesdays.

Harvard Activists Bring Narcan to MBTA

OVERDOSE EDUCATION

Harvard students are placing Narcan across the MBTA’s Red Line to prevent overdose deaths.

When Sajeev S. Kohli ’23 came to Harvard, he watched a tiny container of the intranasal spray known as Narcan save a 19-yearold’s life following an overdose.

Now, Kohli and former classmate Jay P. Garg ’24 are making Narcan readily available along the T’s Red Line — including the station at Harvard Square.

Kohli said he was struck during his time at Harvard — like many students — by the stark visibility of housing and food insecurity around the Square, just outside the gates of Harvard Yard. As a result, he decided to begin working at a nearby homeless shelter — where he witnessed the teenager’s overdose and subsequent revival.

Others at the shelter called 911 and then administered the Narcan they stored on hand, which contains the drug naloxone and can bring someone back to consciousness following an overdose by blocking opiate receptors in the nervous system. According to Kohli, the teenager came out “effectively fine” after its use.

For Kohli, the experience crystallized the power of Narcan.

“That event in particular, really emphasized to me the importance of this small, inexpensive, easy-to-use nasal spray, that can really mean the difference between life and death,” he said.

Overdoses are an increasingly common phenomenon in Boston and across the United States as addictive drugs, particularly synthetic ones like fentanyl, have become more powerful and more dangerous over the last decade, leading to a dramatic rise in overdose deaths. Soon after, Kohli and Garg launched an initiative to provide public access to Narcan — which now stands on the brink of realization after the state legislature voted in July to commit $95,000 in funding to its implementation along the Red Line.

The program is set to provide three boxes of Narcan at every station along the Red Line — which runs from Alewife through Harvard Square to Boston and its south — as part of a 12 to 18-month pilot study. The initiative will also provide instructions on the use of Narcan and require that stations be restocked daily.

‘Time is of the Essence’

While drug overdoses have long posed a public health threat in the Boston area, the problem has reached epidemic proportions in recent years following the introduction of potent synthetics to the U.S. in the 2010s. In 2021, Boston declared addiction a public health crisis for the city, and several city councilors are now calling for a state of emergency to be declared at the intersection of Massachusetts Ave. and Melnea Cass Boulevard in the South End.

The area, just a few miles south along Mass. Ave. from Harvard Square, is the center of Boston’s opioid crisis and is a hub of widespread drug use.

“I first started practicing in the early 2000s here in Boston, we’ve always had an issue with her oin,” said Scott G. Weiner, an as sociate profes sor at Harvard Medical School and an emer gency physician

at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who helped advise Garg and Kohli’s project.

“We unfortunately did have people that died from that, but it was tenfold less than what we’re seeing in these years,” he said. “People can take a single pressed pill of fentanyl and they can overdose and die from just one pill.”

After witnessing a potentially fatal overdose himself, Kohli joined the Harvard College Overdose Prevention and Education Students, a campus group dedicated to overdose awareness, including through increasing public availability of naloxone.

In past years, Harvard students have repeatedly sought to bring Narcan to automatic external defibrillator cabinets across campus — though Harvard

concerns. To date, the student efforts have not succeeded.

Swathi R. Srinivasan ’21, a former co-director of HCOPES who helped push for naloxone availability on campus, stressed the moral aspect of the work of overdose prevention.

“The goal of a lot of people in this space is to prevent preventable deaths,” she said. “We must — that is our responsibility.”

Opioids can slow down the user’s breathing or stop it altogether, meaning “time is of the essence” when someone overdoses, Kohli said.

“It only takes three to five minutes after experiencing an overdose for irreversible brain damage to occur,” he said.

Expanding Access

vocacy efforts around overdose prevention.

Contained in a report from the Cambridge Health Alliance, the heat map showed concentrations of overdoses around Cambridge with the Red Line and its stations overlaid — revealing large clusters of overdoses near the city’s five Red Line stations.

“It’s not immediately surprising that that’s the case,” Garg said in an interview, describing the genesis of their initiative. “The T stations are in areas that, they’re highly trafficked.”

Yet through closer inspection, Kohli and Garg found that overdoses were not only happening in the vicinity of T stations but frequently inside of them, for a combination of reasons.

“They’re dark, they’re se -

ble.” From there, the two consulted with experts and frontline workers, from MBTA ambassadors to healthcare providers, first responders, and, eventually, the State House. They partnered with State Senator John F. Keenan ’86, who brought the initiative to the floor of the legislature.

Keenan praised the work of state legislators over the opioid crisis. “The entire legislature has been open to and encouraging harm reduction efforts,” he said.

Despite the political controversy that sometimes accompanies overdose prevention policy — for example, many Republican politicians have called such programs a moral hazard that encourages drug use — Keenan said that “there’s a general sense that this should be as widely available to people” as part of emergency response.

With the initiative now passed into law, Kohli said “the ball is in the court of the T,” which must iron out the remaining logistics before the boxes are installed.

In an emailed statement, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokesman Joe Pesaturo wrote staff “is working to learn more about this initiative from our public health colleagues and hopes to develop a plan based upon the budget language in the coming months.”

“In the meantime, Transit Police carry Narcan and they are trained in the proper use of it,” he added.

Once the spray is made available in Red Line stations, it will be up to T riders or others nearby to use it if an overdose happens — to work, the pilot needs bystanders to intervene. David E. Velasquez, a fourth-year medical student and former Eliot House resident tutor who advised Kohli and Garg, said he also witnessed an overdose recovery after encountering a patient — whose brother had administered naloxone in time — during a shift at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“He ended up leaving the hospital,” Velasquez said. “And while I was still on that same day, we get a call that he had overdosed again, now at a T station.”

“But this time, there was no naloxone there. His brother was not there,” he added.

With nothing and no one around to reverse the overdose, the patient died, Velasquez said.

Srinivasan said she hopes Narcan availability will expand to an array of public spaces beyond the Red Line. “We want to see it in libraries. We want to see it on public transport. We want everyone to have access to it,” she said.

jack.trapanick@thecrimson.com

Sixteen City Council Hopefuls Talk Affordable Housing at Forum

Exclusionary zoning, affordable housing, and tenant protections took center stage at this week’s second Cambridge City Council candidate forum Tuesday night at the Foundry in Kendall Square.

Organized by the nonprofit A Better Cambridge and moderated by Bill Boehm, the forum gave the 16 attending candidates a platform to discuss housing issues in Cambridge. Each received four minutes to speak about their housing proposals, with another two minutes allotted to follow-up questions from Boehm. A Better Cambridge co-chair Dan Phillips delivered an introduction.

While candidates mostly supported increasing affordable housing, the group was split on support for the Affordable Housing Zoning Overlay.

Passed in October 2020, the AHO makes it cheaper and easier for developers to build affordable housing in areas whose zoning might otherwise prevent high-density construction. The Council is considering a controversial amendment that would expand the AHO’s impact, including allowing 15-story buildings in

some of the city’s squares and corridors.

Councilors E. Denise Simmons, Marc C. McGovern, and former Councilor Jivan G. Sobrinho-Wheeler — sponsors of the original ordinance — defended the AHO and its amendments.

“Everybody says that they support affordable housing,” McGovern said. “The question you gotta ask is, how far are you willing to go?”

Former Council aides Daniel J. Totten and Adrienne Klein joined McGovern in their support for the AHO. “I’m not afraid of height, I’m not afraid of density, I just want to make sure that low and middle-income people can benefit from that height and density,” Totten said.

Some challengers opposed the AHO. Robert Winters, who has served on the Envision Cambridge Advisory Committee and Housing Working Group, said that he opposed the AHO “when it was first introduced” and does not support the proposed amendments.

Councilor Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80, who joined via Zoom, said the AHO has “barely had any success” but pushed back against characterizations that she is “anti-housing.”

“I believe there’s a room and place for nuance,” she said, adding that she would vote in support of the AHO amendments if there could be a “more nuanced” approach with requirements for middle-income families.

Many candidates also voiced support for bringing back rent stabilization, which was banned across Massachusetts in 1994.

“I think that would be really exciting,” said Councilor Burhan Azeem, noting that Massachusetts State Rep. Mike L. Connolly has filed a ballot petition to allow cities and towns to impose rent control.

Nolan and Totten proposed encouraging universities to provide housing for their graduate students and relieve pressure on the city’s housing market, an idea that received unanimous support at the last forum on Sunday.

Harvard Medical School instructor Peter Hsu, meanwhile, argued that Lesley University could provide land while Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology provide money to build new affordable housing.

“We have to partner with our universities,” said Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui.

Siddiqui and others also supported rolling back exclusionary

zoning restrictions. “We talk so much about being an inclusive and welcoming city, but we don’t actually look at our restrictive zoning — we’re complicit in perpetuating our outdated zoning system,” she said.

First-time candidate Vernon

K. Walker concurred. “I am a supporter of eliminating and ending exclusionary zoning because we know that Black and brown folks are hurt the most,” he said. Across the board, candidates acknowledged the complexity of

the issue at hand. “There’s no single magic bullet that’s gonna fix affordable housing,” Sobrinho-Wheeler said. “And there’s so much we can do.”

CITY COUNCIL

City Council Votes for Reports on CPD

POLICING. The City Council passed a policy order requesting that the City Manager report outstanding and recent lawsuits involving the police department.

BY JINA H. CHOE CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Cambridge City Council voted to receive reports on lawsuits involving Cambridge police that incurred expenses for the city and heard public comments in favor of a policy order opposing Atlanta’s “Cop City” during a meeting Monday evening.

The Council narrowly voted to pass a policy order 5-4 that would request City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 to work with the Cambridge Police and Law departments to report to the Council all outstanding and recent lawsuits that involve CPD or its individual members on which the city is spending or has spent resources.

The report will include information about lawsuits occurring within the last five fiscal years — from 2019 to 2023 — and the estimated amount spent per lawsuit.

In a 3-6 vote, the Council also voted against changes to proposed amendments to the Affordable Housing Overlay. Councilors Dennis J. Carlone, Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80, and Paul F. Toner voted yes.

More than 50 individuals signed up to speak during the public comment section of the meeting, with many sharing opposing opinions on the amendments, which would increase

building story limits for affordable housing developers. Several individuals also voiced their support on a policy order stating the Council will oppose the CPD and the city government collaborating with, sending trainees to, or supporting the Atlanta Public Safety Training Cen-

ter — also known as “Cop City.”

Currently under construction, the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center will serve as an urban space for police and firefighter trainees. Protesters across the nation oppose the center, arguing it will militarize the police and damage the surrounding envi-

Rodney’s Bookstore Turns a New Page in Harvard Square

BY CAROLINE K. HSU AND SIDNEY K. LEE CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Nearly three years after closing in Central Square in 2020, Rodney’s Bookstore has found its new home in Harvard Square.

Located on 23 Church St., Rodney’s replaces Raven Used Books as the only used bookstore in Harvard Square.

After shuttering the Central Square location, Shaw Taylor, owner of Rodney’s Bookstore, spent the last few years collecting “tens of thousands” of books before settling on Harvard Square as the bookstore’s next home.

Named after Taylor’s dog, Rodney’s Bookstore first opened in Cape Cod in 1996 before branching out to Central Square — and briefly to Brookline. Now, the Harvard Square storefront remains the sole location, and the focus is “to keep fresh books in the store,” according to Taylor.

“I just have to be good about replacing what sells, so there’s always new things to look at,” Taylor added.

The store opened on Sept. 1 and is still in “its early stages,” according to Ethan Gaffney, an employee of the bookstore and Taylor’s nephew.

“It just needs to be a little more organized,” Gaffney added.

While the Central Square branch was larger and allowed for more variety of books to be displayed, Gaffney said “the foot traffic is a lot better” in the new location.

“Everyone in the community has really welcomed us with open arms,” Gaffney added. “We just hope we’re here for a long time.”

Taylor said he hopes that Rodney’s Bookstore will encourage more people to frequent used bookstores.

“There used to be a lot more used bookstores, and now there’s not as many — and so just by being out there kind of helps out,”

Taylor added. The bookstore features discounted new and used books covering a vast range of genres from classics and philosophy to plays and astronomy. There is also a “Bargain Books” cart devoted to selling books for $0.94, coming out to around $1 with tax.

“That’s amazing — 94 cent books. I think everybody should always, always have access to books,” said Maria Membreno, a student at Emerson College visiting the bookstore for the first time.

Luke A. Khitab, a local resident, mentioned that he and his wife are “building up a classics shelf” and that he was “very impressed with the collection and the different editions they have.”

“This is probably the best bookstore that we’ve been to in Boston,” Khitab said. “And we’ve been to a lot of them.”

caroline.hsu@thecrimson.com sidney.lee@thecrimson.com

ronment as it is being built in the South River Forest area.

Earlier this month, 61 people were charged in Georgia with racketeering charges for their alleged participation in the protests, with the state condemning them in its indictment as “militant anarchists.”

Dozens rallied in Harvard Square in March to protest the facility’s construction as part of a national day of solidarity with the protesters.

Phoebe G. Barr ’23-24, a senior at the College, talked about her experience protesting against the “construction of cop city” in At-

lanta during the past summer.

“The aggressive police presence I found there was deeply troubling to me, and many of my Black and brown peers have even more reason to be troubled,” she said. “Police here who are trained in Cop City would make me and many of my peers feel less safe.”

Evan C. MacKay ’19, president of the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers, supported the policy order and mentioned “repeated instances of police intimidation, harassment, and retaliation against UAW members and organizers.”

“This Cop City will never not be associated with the destruction of the world we live in,” they said. “Cambridge will not be complicit, and we must lead with our values of justice, transparency, and accountability, and the recognition of the interconnectedness of climate justice and racial justice beyond borders.”

In addition, the Council received updates from Huang on the city’s LGBTQ+ housing task force.

Huang also provided further information about donations from Harvard and MIT toward the Cambridge Promise Pilot program, which will support between 20 and 30 Bunker Hill Community College students by covering their tuition costs, mandatory fees, and school-related expenses not covered by Pell Grants and outside scholarships. The pilot is a test run for a program that city officials hope can offer free community college to all Cambridge residents.

jina.choe@thecrimson.com

School Committee Candidates Talk MCAS, Teacher Pay

BY MUSKAAN ARSHAD, SALLY E. EDWARDS, AND DYLAN H. PHAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

School Committee candidates gathered at the Cambridge Public Library to debate the future of the Cambridge Public School District at a Wednesday evening forum.

Nine of the 11 candidates for the committee — including four incumbents — attended the forum, which was held by the Cambridge Education Association. Candidates discussed issues from the School Committee’s relationship with district Superintendent Victoria L. Greer to their positions on the Thrive Act.

If adopted by the state, the act — which the committee had previously supported unanimously — would eliminate the MCAS standardized testing as a high school graduation requirement.

Andrew King, a CPS alumni and Boston University education researcher, was one of seven candidates on stage who supported the adoption of the Thrive Act.

harmed teachers. It’s forced teachers to focus on ‘drill and kill’ test prep, at the expense of more music, art — learning holistic curriculums.

“For two decades this test has failed to close achievement gaps or opportunity gaps,” King said. “The curriculum has harmed teachers. It’s forced teachers to focus on ‘drill and kill’ test prep, at the expense of more music, art — learning holistic curriculums.”

Incumbent David J. Weinstein — who sponsored the School Committee motion in support of the Thrive Act that was passed in April — concurred. “The test can be a barrier to graduation for students who do not perform well on standardized tests, despite the understanding of the subject,” Weinstein said.

Still, Elizabeth Hudson — an engineer and parent in the district — said she did not fully agree with King. Hudson said she would support removing MCAS as a graduation requirement only if the district were to adopt “other ways of holding ourselves accountable.”

“I also agree that the MCAS are not a perfect measure of achievements — I don’t even think they’re a good measure of achievement in many cases,” she said. “But I struggle with having a complete lack of accountability for school systems.”

Moderator and CEA Vice President of Community Relations Banke Oluwole asked candidates to discuss compensation for Cambridge educators, in particular, whether they supported pay raises for full-time paraeducators, who currently receive $26,000 annually.

Robert V. Travers, Jr. — a paraprofessional himself — said district officials “need to put their actions into words” to better support those in similar roles.

“When I started in Cambridge, 20 years ago, the starting salary for a paraprofessional was $18,000, so it’s only gone up about $6,000,” Travers said.

Another topic of discussion concerned how the School Committee will hold the superintendent accountable. In recent years, Cambridge’s superintendents — who are appointed by the School Committee — have been criticized for a lack of transparency.

The School Committee completed an evaluation of the current superintendent, Greer, over the summer, which concluded that she “needs improvement” on her “overall summative performance.”

“The superintendent recently said that she’s going to get survey data on how teachers have evaluated the new elementary school schedules,” said candidate Eugenia B. Schraa Huh ’04, a former Crimson News editor. “I am requesting that you call her on that and that if she doesn’t have an answer for that — and she doesn’t have it written down so that you can see — that you request that we can see that because we deserve to know.”

In a Thursday statement, Greer did not comment directly

on criticisms made during the forum but said she values her working relationship with the School Committee, calling the partnership “critical” to her tenure.

While we may not always agree on how to make that happen, it is healthy for there to be candid dialogue and professional discourse.

“We all have the same desire to ensure that each of our scholars receive a high quality education. While we may not always agree on how to make that happen, it is healthy for there to be candid dialogue and professional discourse,” Greer said. “In the short time that I have been here, I have been able to build a collaborative relationship with the Cambridge School Committee and value our working relationship.”

“I look forward to partnering with whomever is elected in service to our scholars, staff, families, and community,” Greer added.

During the forum, candidate Richard Harding, Jr. — a former School Committee member and CPS alumni — highlighted the importance of effective collaboration between the committee and the superintendent.

“I want to make sure that we have a strong relationship with the superintendent that we hold in this case, are accountable to make sure that she’s reaching the goals that we agreed to as a community, as parents, teachers, and scholars,” Harding said.

Rachel Weinstein, an incumbent, said the School Committee must provide “checks and balances” in working with the superintendent.

“We want to support our superintendents — we want them to be successful — and it is our job to hold them accountable to do the things they’re supposed to do,” she said.

muskaan.arshad@thecrimson.com

sally.edwards@thecrimson.com

dylan.phan@thecrimson.com

FRANK S. ZHOU — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Andrew King School Committee Candidate

curriculum has

Rodney’s Bookstore opened in Harvard Square at 23 Church St. on

Sept.

BOOKS

Movies, by and large, are intended to evoke reactions. This makes sense, given that excited audiences are what keeps the moviemaking industry chugging. Theatergoers are ravenous for the next fresh and subversive take put forth by Hollywood’s best and brightest. While rehashed stories grow stale, reinvented stories bring people to the big screen en masse.

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” undoubtedly fall under the latter category. They are a reaction to a decade of rehashed blockbusters floated by studio executives aiming to repeat past successes. While “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” are perfectly reasonable words to live by in the real world, in Hollywood the opposite rings true: If it ain’t broke, try to break it and see what happens. The end result might not always be good, but it will at least be interesting.

COURTESY OF MG PREZIOSO

P

Prezioso’s eye-catching children’s book is the first in her Whole Wilde World Series, a collection of children’s books created to highlight, introduce, explain, and normalize chronic health conditions and allergies in a way that is relatable and digestible to young audiences. Each page bursts with informative words, animated, colorful backgrounds, and with even more adorable characters.

As an undergraduate at Harvard, Prezioso was an English concentrator and avid theatre participant at the College. However, she didn’t actually begin to pursue her interest in creative writing until after she graduated. Now a Dunster resident tutor and PhD candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Prezioso’s work primarily focuses on storytelling in literature.

“My research focuses on how kids get absorbed or immersed in books and how that influences various aspects of their social-emotional identity, learning outcomes, and cognitive development,” she said.

Prezioso is also working with her advisor to analyze the value of literature and its role in transforming our society. Her aca-

demic pursuits allowed her to naturally pivot towards creating literature for younger audiences.

umped with exhilarating energy and determination, a smiling young cheetah sprints across a tall, swaying savannah on the cover of MG Prezioso ’13’s “Charlie’s Big Race.” Thick, bubble-gum pink and yellow sweatband and all.“Charlie’s Big Race” centers the story of Charlie the Cheetah, a loveable character whose dreams of running in the Grassland Fair and Games Race are interrupted when her lungs start to “whistle and squeak” during her intense physical activity. On a visit to Dr. Wilde’s office, Charlie quickly becomes diagnosed with asthma, learns to use an inhaler, and accepts this new facet

experience, asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions for kids. Despite asthma being so common among children, it remains uncommon to see stories showcasing it or other medical topics in children’s books.

“I think there are books that exist that grapple with these topics, but I think they are a bit long and a bit too informational sometimes,” Prezioso said. “Perhaps there’s just an overload of information and it’s not as digestible for kids. That’s what this book is

tity, and celebrating that part that makes you unique,” she said.

When asked to give any advice to undergraduate students that might be considering writing their own children’s book, Prezioso encouraged students to absolutely go for it and explore the space.

“First decide whether or not your book would be well suited to a traditional publishing house or whether you essentially want to be the creative, the founder, the coordinator, the researcher as well as the writer,” she said. “If so, self-publishing is a really amazing outlet for that. The joy of self-publishing is getting to be involved every step of the way.”

Prezioso described creating this book as incredibly rewarding and exhilarating.

Heeding that advice, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” break all the typical rules of cinema with aplomb. In “Barbie,” the fourth wall is not only broken, but shattered. In “Oppenheimer,” time is subjective, and experimental storytelling prevails. In both movies, form follows function, and the stories being told wildly benefit from their unconventional approaches to moviemaking. Much like Barbie on a good day, theatergoers are constantly kept on their toes.

What makes “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” movie milestones, however, are audience turnout and reception. These movies are huge, totaling a whopping sum of more than one billion dollars at the box office.

Both are certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes and have received glowing reviews from the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, and countless other prime-time news outlets.

their toolbox a star-studded list of acting talent, and both filmmakers seemed destined for success from the beginning.

Francis Ford Coppola, director of “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” deemed Barbenheimer a “victory for cinema.” “My hunch is that we’re on the verge of a golden age,” Coppola wrote in an Instagram story.

“Wonderful and illuminating cinema seen in large theaters.” With the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes, it is hard to tell whether the effects of Barbenheimer will take immediate hold, but no doubt this will significantly influence the types of movies greenlit by Hollywood.

If major studios are going to selectively put their eggs into fewer baskets every year, why not ensure the baskets are made by artisan hands? In other words, why hand over big movies with big budgets to for-hire directors with no sense of style when they can do so much more — and make more money in the process? Of course, studios have to make compromises when working with big-name personalities, such as Gerwig’s harsh criticism of Barbie or Nolan’s insistence to shoot in an exclusively IMAX format. But these creative decisions and attention to detail are ultimately what make these directors’ movies great.

MG Prezioso ’13

of her identity before going on to win the annual field day, proving young readers that chronic illnesses are a part of what makes one unique and won’t stop someone from achieving their goals.

When asked why she chose to make asthma the central theme of the first book in her children’s series, Prezioso relayed her personal connection to the chronic illness. Both Prezioso and her sister have had asthma since they were children, so she has extensive firsthand experience with living with the condition.

In addition to her personal

trying to do — to provide a tool that is going to be easy for kids to understand that’s hopefully enjoyable.”

Even if a reader does not experience asthma, food allergies, or chronic illness, Prezioso explained that everyone can benefit from knowing how to best keep kids safe and normalize the illness.

“There is a lot to say — not only about providing information for kids as a tool for when they get diagnosed, but also about destigmatizing it, having conversations about that as a part of kids’ iden-

BY

JULIA J. HYNEK CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

“Coming of age” — A blanket term used to describe the period of maturation during which a person becomes an adult. But what exactly does this entail?

Olive Klug explores this in their debut album “Don’t You Dare Make me Jaded,” released on Aug. 11 of this year. A queer singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon, Klug created this aptly titled record including a variety of songs musing about childhood, growing up, love, and finding meaning and joy in a world that can, at times, seem lacking in both.

For Klug, the songwriting process is not linear or systematic by any means. “A lot of times it’ll come to me in the car, like a little line in the car and I’ll be driving home and I’ll be like ‘Okay, let me try to figure out this line with my guitar or the piano.’ And then a song will either come or it will not come,” Klug said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson. “Of-

ten it’s about a feeling that I have. I have a hard time being like, ‘Oh, I had this experience a long time ago. Let me write a song about it.’ A lot of times it’s like, ‘I’m having this experience right now. And I should write a song about it.’”

Involved in musicals, acapella, and guitar lessons since they were young, Klug describes having a diverse, eclectic set of musical inspirations. They do, however, consider two artists to be among their central influences.

“I always say my two biggest inspirations growing up were Joni Mitchell and Taylor Swift,” Klug said. “Those were the two people I listened to and became really obsessed with throughout my childhood.’”

Klug’s music certainly evokes the artistry of these inspirations. Their smooth vocals layer atop clever guitar melodies, singing lyrics that are refreshing in their honesty and thoughtful reflection. When asked to describe their musical style, Klug frankly stated: “I am a folk singer-songwriter. I like that. I feel like it’s really straightforward.”

The choice to pursue music professionally was not always in Klug’s plans, however. Klug attended college where they studied a combined major of psychology and sociology, thinking they were either going to pursue work for a non-profit organization or attain a Master of Social Work and become a therapist.

The course of Klug’s life changed after a pivotal conversation with a friend during their senior year of college.

“I remember this specific conversation with a friend where I was like, ‘I’ve always wanted to try to do music, but I’m too scared to share my songs. I’m too scared to really put myself out there,’” Klug recalled. “I just remember she really encouraged me to do it and was like, ‘You’re really young. You need to just give it your best shot because you’ll always regret not doing it.’”

It was a conversation that Klug credits for the release of their 2019 Debut EP.

Klug’s musical journey continued to progress once they began posting videos on their Tik-

“It feels so exciting to have a finished product, to start with an idea and see it through to the very end,” she said. With the creation of this book, Prezioso wants everyone to know that this genre of medical children’s books might be seen as a niche market, but that it doesn’t have to be.

“Yes, food allergies or chronic conditions are a subset of the population, but it’s so important to have all children learn about these issues and topics and be able to recognize them and support their classmates,” Prezioso said. “To have them destigmatized and feeling like they’re accepted and included and that everyone is operating with kindness and empathy for what it means to live with these sorts of conditions.”

katherrin.billordo@thecrimson.com

tok in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. At first, it was “purely for [their] own enjoyment and boredom.” As time passed however, Klug continued to amass a following, and today has over 175 thousand followers and almost three million likes across their videos.

The musical landscape on Tiktok has, however, changed dramatically from the time Klug first started.

“It went from being just a community space to this place where the stakes were really high and everybody was doing it and so it was really saturated,” Klug said. “I think it went from something that I really enjoyed and did for fun to something that I feel like I’m like, ‘I have to do this.’”

Still, Klug acknowledges the positive dimension of their experience with the app, saying, “I’m so thankful for the platform itself because it’s connected me with, honestly, so many of my best friends and it’s connected me with all the opportunities I have.”

With the recent release of

“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” hooked theatergoers with big promises of universally connecting stories. “Barbie” was to be an IP-driven, star-studded comedy extravaganza, and “Oppenheimer” was to be a riveting biopic exploring the story of the man behind the atomic bomb. Both movies delivered and then some. They provide the requisite, as-advertised goods while simultaneously pushing the film medium to its limit. They subvert and deconstruct and reconstruct, which theatergoers have unsurprisingly embraced.

While big budgets, fan favorite stars, and controversial memes have indisputably fueled the Barbenheimer fire, there is another crucial element that sets these movies apart: the people with whom the studios chose to spearhead the films. Greta Gerwig, director of “Barbie,” and Christopher Nolan, director of “Oppenheimer,” are masters of their craft. From Gerwig’s “Frances Ha” to “Little Women” and Nolan’s “Memento” to “Interstellar,” both filmmakers’ movies are consistently exceptional. Add to

“

Not less than a week after the release of “Barbie,” Mattel announced a slate of 17 IP-related projects in development. Daniel Kaluuya of “Get Out” fame is set to produce a Barney movie, J.J. Abrams is set to produce a Hot Wheels movie, and Tom Hanks is set to star in a Major Matt Mason movie. These movies, like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” should be the unique and exciting product of their talented creators. If Barbenheimer has shown anything, it is that audiences are ready for sophisticated, outof-the-box entertainment on a blockbuster scale. While traditional features will continue to rake in money when done right, Barbenheimer has paved the way for unconventional movies that defy the formulaic standards that have left modern audiences jaded.

With streaming services making a world of entertainment available to anyone at any time, it takes more than flashy special effects, star-studded casts, and gratuitous storytelling to build a successful big-budget movie. If gutsy studios take the bait that Barbenheimer has cast, the next “golden age” of cinema could truly be just around the corner.

the contemporary folk scene.

julia.hynek@thecrimson.com

COURTESY OF ERIK BERGAMINI

BY KATHERRIN A. BILLORDO CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

BY JOSEPH A. JOHNSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

‘Lost Places:’ A Delectable Blend of Fantasy, Reality

BY ARIELLE C. FROMMER CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Aballad about a man with an oaken heart. A retirement community that is not what it seems. A pond that seems to swallow people whole. Sarah Pinsker’s second anthology of short stories, “Lost Places,” features all of these deliciously eerie scenarios and more while grounding them in poignantly human themes. The Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author weaves a compelling narrative that touches on identity, community, nature, memories, and art through an original blend of fantasy, magical realism, science fiction, and modern storytelling.

While a few of the stories in the collection are merely decent, many will surely stay with the reader long after putting the book down. Pinsker conjures up fantastical imagery of magicians in castles in “The Court Magician,” forests that feel alive in “Science Facts!”, and a city bursting with sound in “I Frequently Hear Music in the Very Heart of Noise.” Each story captures a distinct tone, but the characteristics of Pinsker’s writing — an innovative premise or clever twist, complex (and often sapphic) characters, and hauntingly beautiful prose that makes a scene feel all the more atmospheric — tie the stories together.

Pinsker excels with her eerie, realistic fiction that incorporates magical elements — with

vivid natural imagery that evokes a sense of wonder and ambiguous endings that shrouds the story in an aura of mystery. “Left the Century to Sit Unmoved” is about a pond that mysteriously swallows people whole, captivating readers with an atmospheric, mournful tone. “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” initially has a more modern feel as it follows an online chat board’s analysis of a mysterious ballad, but it quickly spirals into a world of cryptic lore and ancient secrets unearthed with dire consequences.

“Science Facts!” follows a group of young campers who stumble upon a hidden world of trees and find the bounds of their own world stretched into unimaginable new realms. The prose and narratives of these three stories are all beautiful, mysterious, and speak to humanity’s yearning for the sublime.

Any reader is bound to find something to enjoy in this collection, which features a diverse set of stories across the genres of dystopia, fantasy, horror, and realism. For example, “The Court Magician” and “The Mountains His Crown” are set in fantasy worlds, where castles and magic and cruel kings abound, while “That Our Flag Was Still There,” “Everything is Closed Today,” and “Escape from Caring Seasons” are all set in a modern, dystopian world.

Pinkser uses these dystopian stories to convey a political or social message, which she achieves with varying degrees of success.

“That Our Flag Was Still There,” set in a bizarre world where a person is chosen daily and hoisted

on a flagpole, interrogates powerful topics such as democracy, free speech, and service to one’s country with clever insight and a unique premise. “Escape from Caring Seasons,” which follows an elderly woman’s escape from a retirement community that is much more nefarious than it seems, is both a window into the life of a senior citizen and an ominous portrait of the future of AI, but it felt almost as if it belonged to a larger narrative that could not be fully told within the scope of a short story. “Everything is Closed Today” — which follows the aftermath of a global catastrophe in a not-too-subtle reference to the Covid-19 pan -

demic — suffered from the same issue of being too brief, in addition to having a less imaginative premise than her other works. The endings of both stories are somewhat unsatisfying due to their short length. Nevertheless, these stories were intriguing and will surely prompt the reader to think critically about the themes each story touches on.

It’s possible that these dystopi-

an works fall flat only in comparison to the best stories in Pinsker’s anthology, which feel entirely self-contained, existing in their own perfect bubble. “Remember This For Me,” “A Better Way of Saying,” and “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” are excellent examples of fully fledged narratives that captivate readers from start to finish and demand nothing more. “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather,” especially stood out due to its clever premise, chilling prose, and deft unveiling of the narrative — it’s no surprise that this story was awarded both a Hugo and a Nebula Award, two of the highest honors in fantasy and science fiction writing. Pinsker is truly a jack of all trades, even dabbling in historical fiction with “I Frequently Hear Music in the Very Heart of Noise” and “A Better Way of Saying,” which are both set in New York around early- to mid-20th century. These two stories were both utterly dazzling — the former an abstract and beautifully written meditation on music and nostalgia, and the latter a brilliantly constructed tale about a man with the power to speak words into reality. The two stories also featured some recurring characters — the only two in the entire anthology to do so — which is a satisfying Easter egg for sharp-eyed readers. One can hope that Pinsker might consider exploring the world she built in a longer form, perhaps someday even in a novel.

Besides this sense of beauty and longing, many of Pinsker’s best stories have another element

in common: nature. Many of her short stories involve their characters becoming one — sometimes figuratively but often literally — with the natural world around them, whether that be the trees in “Science Facts!”, a pond in “Left the Century to Sit Unmoved,” or a grassy hill in “Two Truths and a Lie.” “The Mountains His Crown,” while about destroying nature rather than returning to it, nevertheless echoes sentiments of environmentalism and respecting the land we occupy.

Aside from the potent forces of nature governing many of her stories, Pinsker also explores a multitude of abstract ideas: the individual’s power and sense of self within and against the collective, the power of art and music to echo through history and live on in memory, and the dissonance of reality and imagination and the fascinating ways they intertwine.

In “Lost Places,” Pinsker expertly moves through dystopian landscapes, fantasy worlds, and gritty realism to craft a collection that explores the depths of the human experience. With stories that will resonate with readers long after the book has been put down, Pinsker explores the lost places that one cannot help but linger in across space, time, and memory.

4 STARS

From Re:SET Concert Series: boygenius Rejects Girl Group Status

BY GWENDOLYN M. IBARRA CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Following a land acknowledgement and short song from Tecumseh Caesar of the Matinecock Turkey clan, “The Boys Are Back

In Town” by Thin Lizzy roared over speakers and the group’s Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson shortly introduced the night’s headliner, boygenius. The first day’s luck ran out after the entire lineup for day two was rained out, but boygenius fans, who began lining up for the sold out show at dawn, indicated that the festival was going to end on a high note.

Anyone searching for the nostalgia of a boy band need look no further than boygenius — an indie-rock holy trinity comprised of musicians Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. Their Sunday performance — the last one of the Re:SET concert series at the stage at Suffolk Downs — introduced queer joy to fans of rock music.

Replacing the hedonistic themes of rock and roll, boygenius sang of unconditional love from a gay perspective utilizing rock iconography. In songs like “True Blue,” they wore cutoff suits that evoked images of AC/ DC’s Angus Young. “Thank you for spending your Father’s Day with us,” Bridgers laughed at the song’s finish. Rather than emulating traditional female roles, perhaps the focus of boygenius is revolutionary music and performance to provide a model for other women and queer musicians. If their aim was to abandon the box of being a so-called girl group, “The Boys” have succeeded tenfold.

The collaboration between Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus began as a promotional project for a tour which they separately co-headlined in 2018. After setting out to record a seven-inch, the unexpected discovery of their chemistry led the musicians to form the supergroup and release a self-titled LP. Earlier this year, their friendship birthed fame with the release of “the record,” which soared at number four on the Billboard 200 and topped charts in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

The long-awaited set began with the first track on their debut album, “Without You Without Them.” The crowd watched in anticipation as a screen revealed boygenius singing a capella backstage. The three ran to the stage and began the energetic track, “$20,” driven by loud electric guitars and bold polyphonic screaming. The next three songs, “Satanist,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” and “True Blue,” deconstructed this unison to showcase each musician’s personal musical style. Baker flung her body up and down during the peak of “Satanist,” backlit by red hues of her image bordered by a barbed wire. The singer led the pack with filthy, burning sections of shredding in a musical tribute to classic hair metal. Bridgers and Dacus excitedly jumped up and down while they watched Baker hold her guitar to the sky in a visual descent to the underworld. Throughout the evening, songs like “Stay Down” and “Anti-Curse” began with Baker’s shivery voice and gradually became fuller-bodied with warm drums and guitars joining in.

Baker’s breakneck speeds

were contrasted with the eerie strum of Bridgers on acoustic guitar in the ballad “Emily I’m Sorry.” The stage washed over with shades of green that added to her supernatural sound. The beautiful choral sounds of Baker and Dacus singing alongside Bridgers return with lines that narrate a devastating apology to a lover named “Emily.” The stereotypes of sapphic anthems — the tension of a first kiss, heteronormative lipgloss, a certain degree of queer baiting — are left behind in Bridgers’ honest depiction of the full range of emotions within a gay relationship. Dacus’ voice restored ener-

gy levels in “True Blue,” a comforting song of unconditional love and understanding that held the crowd in a warm embrace. As Dacus began the chorus, the racetrack filled with a sea of paper hearts that reflected the crowd’s true-blue dedication to the band. Dacus delivered an equally exhilarating performance without leaving her microphone, swaying with an occasional knowing nod while bright blue lights and fog marked the song’s high moments.

“The Boys” sang in conversation with each other during picks from their individual albums: Baker’s “Favor,” Bridgers’

“Graceland Too,” and “Please Stay” from Dacus which detail a girl’s struggle with suicide from three perspectives. Their distinct stylistic differences were complemented by images on the screen, beginning with a burntout highway sign for Baker. After five years, side-by-side performances of “Bite The Hand” and “Not Strong Enough” made it clear that their enhanced collaborative ability lies within their independent development.

The evening’s anti-establishment tone can be summed up in three words from Baker: “Respect the flag.” Halfway through the night, the crowd tossed a les-

bian pride flag onto the stage which the musician draped from her mic stand. The pink colors blowing in the wind while boygenius chased each other across the stage and stumbled into a kiss at the end of “Salt In The Wound” was a heartwarming emblem of unapologetic queer joy. As boygenius continues to reject the patriarchal and heteronormative limits of rock, they provide today’s youth with relatable anthems of love and growing up. For seasoned lovers of the genre, boygenius is the queer visibility they never had.

“That Our Flag Was Still There,” set in a bizarre world where a person is chosen daily and hoisted on a flagpole interrogates powerful topics such as democracy, free speech.

HARVARD CRIMSON

Mina Cikara is a Psychology professor who studies discrimination, conflict, and harm using social psychological and cognitive neuroscience approaches.

FM: Tell me a bit about yourself — where did you grow up, how did that influence you?

MC: I grew up in Southern California, specifically in the San Fernando Valley. My parents are first-generation immigrants from former Yugoslavia. My parents both put an incredibly high premium on education, in part also because of the socialist nature of former Yugoslavia. There was an idea that there was a cap on how far you could ascend and that there was less control over your own outcomes in that kind of a place. And so even though people could come along, and reclaim proper ty, or any of your belongings, the thing that was given to you that no one can ever take away from you is your education. I think I had a pretty typical Valley rat upbringing. I did Girl Scouts and was very into school and took piano lessons. And then as I got older, I got more into the punk scene and the riot girl scene. And then I went to a lot of shows. And it was great, because you have this proximity to Los Angeles and Hollywood, and there were a lot of great concerts and bands coming through all the time, so just like a really rich cultural experience for me.

Even though people could come along, reclaim property, or any of your belongings, the thing that was given to you that no one can ever take away from you is your education.

FM:Why did you start studying psychology in particular?

MC: I started studying psy chology because I wanted to be a forensic psychologist after I watched “Silence of the Lambs.” I wanted to be Clarice Starling, and I thought that I would end up in the FBI, and I would be profiling serial killers. All the way up through undergraduate thought I was going to be a clinical psychologist. I ended up needing to get more experience after college before going to grad uate school, and I did that. So I worked as a behavioral therapist for autistic children for two years between undergrad and gradu ate, and I applied to a bunch of clinical programs. I realized the thing that I love the most is research, and the issues that still continue to fasci nate me were ones more related to prejudice, discrimination, and conflict polarization.

FM: I want to know a bit more about how, once you got to Princeton, this interest started to develop even more.

MC: I was torn, because I was very interested in social psychology, but I was also deeply interested in neuroscience. At the time, there was this burgeoning field of social neuroscience, and it was mostly younger faculty, including a bunch of folks here, like Jason Mitchell and Josh Green, who were integrating the methodologies of cognitive neuroscience with some of the theories of social psychology.

I had this amazing adviser — I mean, she’s literally the mother of social cognition, she wrote the book with a co-author — Susan Fiske. Her idea was, look, get a really good foundation in social psychology, start to practice doing the cognitive neuroscience stuff here in graduate school, and then go do a postdoc in the best possible place that’s going to teach you the most cutting-edge methodology in cognitive neuroscience. And that’s basically what I ended up doing.

MINA CIKARA ON SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, CONFLICT, AND BEING A ‘VALLEY RAT’

PSYCHOLOGY

ic threats: These people bring disease or have the capacity to weaken the polity by introducing some sort of virus.

There are symbolic threats: These people being here will change my way of life. There are physical threats: These people pose an actual physical threat to me and my loved ones, they are less likely to be able to live happy, healthy, free lives by virtue of these people being here. And so on, and so forth.

I think one of the things that’s been really shocking to me is how blatant I’ve seen some political actors be in pulling these levers.

magazine

discuss her influences and the psychology of discrimination. “Social psychology is rife with theorizing about all of the different inputs to intergroup conflict,” she says. “There are many, and they are multiply determined, and they are incredibly complex.”

BY KAITLYN TSAI CRIMSON MAGAZINE ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The bottom line is that psychological interventions will only get you so far and are maybe most effective in very, very, local ways.

FM: Obviously there’s no single solution, but what do you think are some psychologically informed ways to minimize or alleviate some of this conflict?

MC: I think the bottom line is that psychological interventions will only get you so far and are maybe most effective in very, very local ways. That is, making it easier for people to talk to each other, potentially making people less subject to misinformation.

What it can’t do, though, is tackle structural issues. It doesn’t deal with the fact that institutions are built and maintained on the requirement that some people are privileged over others.

FM: Psychology has traditionally received a for not being a “real science.” How do you respond to that belief?

MC: I guess it depends on who I’m talking to who harbors that belief. For me, this is partially why I teach research methods in the Psychology Department.

I want people to understand the logic of the scientific method and show folks just how it can play out.

I think it’s exciting to be able to show people that psychological concepts, constructs, problems, challenges, they are subject to the same kinds of methodological inquiries that other sciences are.

One of my favorite quotes is actually from one of my colleagues Mahzarin Banaji. She said, “Psychology isn’t rocket science, it’s harder.”

It’s harder, because we’re dealing in non-deterministic systems. People are random. They can be predictable in some ways, but there’s also tons of contextual variation.

But to me, that doesn’t mean that the problem is intractable. It just means it’s more exciting.

FM: Who would you say has been one of your biggest inspirations or sources of support throughout all this?

FM: Tell me a bit about some projects you’re currently working on and how are they going?

MC: I think stuff that I’m most excited about is really work that’s happening at the intersection of many different areas within the social sciences. I have really what I find to be incredibly exciting collaborations going with some folks in political science and economics. We are really interested in how changes in people’s local demographic circumstances, or the distributions of which groups are around, generates hierarchies of hatred. So the idea is that, if you are in California versus Alabama versus Maine, you have incredibly different distributions of marginalized populations in those places. It turns out that what those distributions are what really matter for who’s most likely to get targeted with negative attitudes and hate crimes.

The idea is that the group that’s biggest in your local social ecology is going to be the one that is perceived as most threatening for majority group members, and that those folks are going to be the greatest recipients of negative attitudes, discrimination, and behaviors like hate crimes.

FM: A lot of your work has connections into the real world. I

was wondering if you could talk a bit more about in what ways you think it translates into practical implications or even applications both on a broader societal level but also just in small scale interpersonal interactions.

We are really interested in how changes in people’s local demographic circumstances, or the distributions of which groups are around, generates hierarchies of hatred.

MC: I remain incredibly humble about just how applicable any of the stuff I’ve done thus far is. I think that it helps to signpost places we should be looking, and it also raises a lot of really important questions about where we’re lacking data. For example, oftentimes when I talk about the demographic rank-ordering effects in hate crimes and prejudice, folks ask me questions like, “Well, what about religious-based identities or

sexual orientation?” The bottom line is, we just don’t have enough data on the distribution of where those folks live. So better census data, better surveying data, being able to identify where folks are and where they might be most vulnerable, and then funneling services and support networks there. Just because a particular person has a given identity doesn’t mean they’re equally at risk in all different places. So trying to be able to figure out how we could use what we are learning from some of this work to then deploy limited resources, I think, could be one potential application.

FM: Discrimination and intergroup conflict has been super prominent here in the U.S. these last couple years. So I was wondering, based on the research you’ve done, what do you some of the drivers of these trends?

MC: Social psychology is rife with theorizing about all of the different inputs to intergroup conflict. There are many and they are multiply determined and they are incredibly complex. The classic explanation is economic threat: New people come in, and they’re taking our jobs, or they are making it harder for my family to be able to survive. There are, very recently, pathogen-

MC: My graduate advisor, Susan Fiske, I would jump in front of a bus for. Without hesitation. She is singularly responsible for my life as I know it now. I mean, maybe after my parents. She introduced me to my science, she introduced me to my husband, she married us. I have two sons because I met my husband at a lab party of hers. But even if she didn’t give me any of that, she gave me the legacy of her research, which I think is something totally without comparison.

PROFESSOR Mina Cikara sat down with the

to

SAMI E. TURNER — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Harvard Starts Play in 2023

the 2023 season ranked fourth in the preseason poll by the Ivy League. Yale collected the number one spot, with Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) ranked third and fourth, respectively.

performance and shut this team out,” said Griffith about the team and individual focus for the game. “Personally, I just want to do everything I can to help this defense and this team win.”

The Crimson finished its 2022 season with a 6-4 record

wins over a two year period since the 2015 and 2016.

To kickoff its 150th season, the Harvard football team will face the St. Thomas Tommies (1-1) at Harvard Stadium this Saturday. The Crimson have had previous luck with its season openers, remaining undefeated the previous 11 seasons against opponents at home. Harvard heads into

In 2022, the Crimson retained a strong defense, ranking nationally in several categories: fourth in rushing defense, ninth in first downs defense, 12th in sacks, 21st in tackles for loss, and 29th in total defense. On special teams, Harvard continued to earn recognition, ranking first in blocked punts allowed, third in blocked punts and fourth in blocked kicks.

At the head of this defensive team was senior defensive lineman Thor Griffith, who earned preseason All-American honors from several different media outlets.

and 4-3 Ivy League record. Harvard earned 14 wins total, and nine within the Ivy League over the course of the past two sea-

“As a defense, we’ve been really working on limiting what the St. Thomas’ offense will be able to do against us, then being able to completely shut down their remaining options,” said Grifith about how the defense has been preparing for the upcoming season. “As far as Quarterbacks go, it will be pretty standard for us.”

five points. Looking forward to the season opener this Saturday, Harvard is looking to set the tone for the rest of the season.

“We want to dominate St. Thomas and show the Ivy League we’re here to dominate each and every team we play this year,” Griffith reflected.

On the offense, junior Charles Deprima will lead Harvard as quarterback. He’s joined by two of the Crimson’s top three pass catchers, junior wide receiver Ledger Hatch and senior tight end Tyler Neville, who was named first-team AllIvy. In preparation for facing off against the Tommies, the Crimson’s offense is focused on working together and being a cohesive team.

“We’re worried about [our team] and what’s going on with offense vs. defense and stuff like that,” said Deprima about the offense’s objectives. “In the preseason, everybody took biggether, we learned to play with and

more from the spring, through the preseason and now to game week.”

“The gears have shifted now recently in the last few days,” he continued, “but the preseason in general was just huge steps forward for everyone.”

Harvard will have home advantage for four of the first five weeks this season, playing six games in Cambridge The Crimson won’t hit the road until Oct. 21st, where it will face the Princeton Tigers in Princeton, N.J. When it comes to playing at home, Harvard understands the importance of being on its own turf.

“Opening any season at home is always really refreshing and being able to come from the long preseason and just playing on your home turf with your guys — there’s nothing really better than that,” said Deprima about having their first game at home.

At the helm of the Crimson is head coach Tim Murphy, marking the start of his 30th season with the program. Under Murphy, the team has a 19-9 record in first games.

“Just [following] the game plan in general,” said Deprima about his coach’s advice going into the game. “Similar to previous years, now being in the position I am, those details have to be tended to a little more. Just trusting each other, trusting the coaches with the game plan was just the biggest emphasis going in.” Harvard and St. Thomas will take to Harvard Stadium this Saturday, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST.

WEEKLY SCORES RECAP

WOMEN’S SOCCER VS. SAMFORD W, 5-0

SOCCER VS. NC STATE W, 2-0

RUGBY VS. AIC W, 65-0

VOLLEYBALL VS. BUCKNELL W, 3-0

VS. MERRIMACK W, 3-0

HOCKEY VS. VIRGINIA L, 1-0 MEN’S SOCCER VS. SETON HALL T, 1-1

VS. NORTHEASTERN L, 4-0

POLO VS. GW W, 16-9

POLO VS. BUCKNELL W, 14-4

POLO VS. NO. 20 FORDHAM L, 10-14

COUNTRY AT H-Y-P 2ND PLACE

READ IT IN FIVE MINUTES

WOMEN’S SOCCER READIES FOR 2023

MEN’S SOCCER

Soccer Ties Seton Hall, Falls to Northeastern

FINDING FOOTING Harvard men’s soccer has tied two games and lost two games, scoring just one goal on the season so far, most recently tying with Seton Hall and falling to Northeastern.

BY MADDIE B. BARKATE CRIMSON

The Harvard men’s soccer team (0-2-2, 0-0) netted its first goal of the season to tie No. 23 Seton Hall (3-1-1, 0-0) 1-1 despite a more than two-hour rain delay, but later fell scoreless in a midweek game to the Northeastern Huskies (3-1-2) 0-4.

Harvard vs. Seton Hall, 1-1

In a game marked by a two-hour lightning delay, Harvard faced one of its largest challenges thus far in the season against the nationally-ranked Pirates. Seton

Hall led for most of the game until senior Nik White tied it for Harvard in dramatic fashion during the 90th minute.

The Pirates started hot with a goal in the tenth minute off the foot of Northeastern graduate student Andrea Borg. Northeastern junior Sam Bjork attempted a shot, and while Crimson sophomore goalkeeper Lucian Wood tried to collect it, Borg took advantage and put Seton Hall up one.

The game remained backand-forth until the very last minute. Harvard had several opportunities at the net, including four shots by junior Alessandro Arlotti. First year Dylan Tellado took a chance in the 26th minute, later followed up by two shots by Arlotti in the 29th and 41st minute.

The Crimson entered the second half down one but still maintained pressure on the Pirates, earning opportunities off of junior Marko Isakovic’s free kick in the 53rd minute, as well as another Arlotti chance in the 55th.

Although Tellado had another look at the net in the 85th, it would

come down to the final minute to decide the game. In the 90th, sophomore Matus Vician fired a long free kick into the box. Junior Jan Riecke headed it forward to the foot of senior captain Nik White, who buried a shot past Seton Hall graduate student goalkeeper Mats Roorda to end the game.

Although trailing for most of the contest, Harvard created opportunities for all 90 minutes.

The Crimson held the edge in shots on goal with nine to the Pirates’ two. Arlotti led the Crimson with four shots and three shots on goal, while White and Rieke anchored Harvard’s defense, both playing all 90 minutes.

Rieke earned his first career point this game with the assist on White’s goal, while Vician notched his first assist of the season. White’s goal was his first of the 2023 campaign, following up from last year, where he had three goals and seven points.

Harvard vs. Northeastern, 0-4

Arlotti had five shots on goal in the

Crimson’s 4-0 loss to the Huskies. Arlotti currently leads Harvard with 13 shots on the season. Northeastern took an early 1-0 lead in the tenth minute off the foot of senior Federico Tellez, rattling the shot off the crossbar past Wood.

Although Harvard generated strength at the net in the first half, including a header from Arlotti and a long shot from senior Ale Gutierrez, it was unable to convert and left the first half down one. The Crimson kept it close until the 66th minute, when Northeastern went on a three-goal run in nine minutes.

In the 66th, Tellez struck again, converting a corner kick with graduate student Jack Monte to put the Huskies up two. Shortly after, sophomore Fraser Brown fired the ball into the upper right-hand side of the net off a pass from senior Fabrizio Cubeddu. The scoring ended in the 75th, when junior Griffin Polinsky scored off of a Northeastern counterattack.

Tuesday’s game marked the return of senior Willem Ebbinge, who missed the first three games

Football vs. St. Thomas 1:00 p.m., Harvard Stadium Field Hockey vs. Dartmouth College 5:00 p.m., Berylson Field

SATURDAY 9/16

Women’s Volleyball vs. Providence College 7:00 p.m., Malkin Athletic Center Men’s Soccer vs. University of Vermont 5:00 pm, Jordan Field

of the season helping New Zealand win the OFC Olympic Qualifying final against Fiji. With Ebbinge’s return, Harvard gained its leader in points and assists from the 2022 season. He ranked third in the NCAA in assists per game (0.69) and seventh overall in total assists with 12 on his way to First Team All-Ivy Honors.

Next Up

Although the Crimson has just one goal on the season, it has generated many good opportunities. As a team, it tallied 40 shots and 17 shots on goal so far. Arlotti’s 13 shots leads the team, while White’s goal against Seton Hall puts him in first for points. Riecke has had a solid presence for the Crimson, having played every minute this season so far. The Crimson look to bounce back from Tuesday and build on their success against the Pirates this Saturday, Sept. 16th, at home on Jordan Field against Vermont at 5:00 pm EST.

madison.barkate@thecrimson.com

SUNDAY 9/17

Field Hockey vs. Northeastern 1:00 p.m., Jordan Field

Harvard women’s soccer team is looking to build off of last season’s success, which ended in a second-round NCAA tournament game. The Ivy League will now host a bracketed end-of-season tournament, where top-four regular season teams will compete for this year’s Ivy League title. The Crimson, equipped with a strong class of upperclassmen and new competitive young players, are up for the challenge.

FIELD HOCKEY STARTS AT 2-2

No. 14 Harvard field hockey has begun its quest toward both the Ivy League and NCAA tournaments. Harvard — a notoriously defensive team — may strengthen its offense this season with fresh recruits. Its former All-Ivy goalkeeper Ellie Shahbo ’23 hung up her Crimson cleats, a fresh set of competitive first-years has joined the roster, and the Ivy League has changed the rules of its tournament — an impactful change that may work in Harvard’s favor.

SOFTBALL COACH HEADS TO PITT

Jenny Allard departed Harvard after a nearly three-decade tenure to become the new head softball coach at the University of Pittsburgh. Alllard, a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Assocation Hall of Fame, made an immediate impact under Harvard’s dugout. During her nearly 30 years in the dugout at Soldiers’ Field, Allard coached over 200 All-Ivy team selections, seven Ivy League Players of the Year, eight Ivy League Pitchers of the Year, and seven Ivy Rookies of the Year. All-Americans.

STAFF WRITER

SAMUEL M. BENNETT — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

In Photos: Students Jam at Crimson Jam

CRIMSON JAM returns in full force to Harvard Yard, featuring student groups and singer Nicky Youre. Crimson Jam brought together the student body, from newly minted freshmen to seasoned seniors, for a night of music and fun.