The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 86

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume cxlvi, No. 86 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | thursday, september 19, 2019

editorial PAGE 4

news PAGE 3

sports PAGE 4

Donating the unspent sum of Epstein’s gifts was the moral thing to do

Burger joint Flat Patties is set to close by the end of the year

Harvard football is prepared to open its season at San Diego

Bacow Opines College Adds Event Moderator Policy On Immigration By shera s. avi-yonah and delano r. franklin Crimson Staff Writers

Massachusetts Hall houses University President Lawrence S. Bacow’s office. Kathryn S. Kuhar—Crimson photographer By alexandra a. chaidez and aidan f. ryan Crimson Staff Writers

University President Lawrence S. Bacow joined hundreds of college and university presidents across the country in signing onto two letters urging legislators to provide permanent protections for undocumented immigrant students and those experiencing visa delays and uncertainty.

Harvard’s decision to sign these letters comes as Bacow has been particularly vocal in his opposition to Trump Ad­

ministration immigration policies.

“By partnering with others, we join higher education’s collective voice in raising concerns about the current status of Dreamers and those caught up by delays in visa processing,” Bacow wrote in his welcome message in early September.

More than 600 college and university presidents signed onto a letter Sept. 16 organized by the American Council of Education at Harvard’s request.

The letter comes two years after

See letters Page 5

ELENA RAMOS AND MARGOT E. SHNAG—Crimson Designer

The College’s Dean of Students’ Office added a policy requiring neutral moderators at events with “controversial” speakers to this year’s resource guide for extracurricular organizations.

The new section of the guidebook states that groups bringing high-profile, controversial, or “VIP” guests to campus must notify the DSO at least a month in advance, and that a moderator may need to attend events if the DSO finds it necessary or if a group requests one. In most cases, the moderator will be a DSO employee, but student groups can also request that a member of the Harvard faculty or administration act as the moderator instead.

The moderator policy is listed under the heading “Free Speech and Expression” and is prefaced with a statement advocating for free speech on campus.

“The principles of free speech and the free interchange of ideas are fundamental to the Harvard community,” the resource guide states. “You should align your student organization’s programming with the value of free speech particularly if you are hosting an event where these principles have the

potential to be compromised.”

The resource book states that moderators will employ a “two-strike policy” against audience members who disrupt events and will have the power to warn and remove disruptive attendees.

“Members of the audience will learn where they stand; they will know where the line is. If people cross that declared line again, they cannot claim not to have realized they were disruptive,” the section explaining the warning procedure states.

Moderators will also be able to cancel events if they believe there is a “clear threat” of violence or damage to University property.

This is the first year the policy is specifically outlined for student group leaders, Assistant Dean for Student Engagement and Leadership Kate Colleran wrote in an emailed statement Wednesday. Harvard first adopted a moderation policy as part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Free Speech Guidelines in 1990.

Several speakers invited to campus in recent years have inspired controversy and debates over free speech at Harvard. In 2017, the Open Campus Initiative invited controversial

See moderator Page 3

Khurana Out of Town News Praises Leaves the Square Intl.

Students By ellen M. burstein and sydnie M. cobb Crimson Staff Writers

Harvard Square staple Out of Town News will officially close its doors at the end of October.

Plans to restore the 64-yearold newsstand, which is located in front of the Harvard Square T stop, have been in the works for almost a year. The upcoming construction will renovate the elevator leading to the underground station and make necessary repairs to the kiosk’s historic structure.

Out of Town News has sold newspapers from around the globe to Cambridge residents, students, and celebrities. Famous patrons included poet Robert Frost, celebrity chef Julia Child, and Microsoft founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates.

The Cambridge Historical Commission voted to designate the kiosk a landmark in October 2017.

The closing comes at a time of extensive commercial turn­

By SHERA S. AVI-YONAH and DELANO R. Franklin Crimson Staff Writers

Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana said the process of ensuring international students arrive on campus has become increasingly “unpredictable” in recent years, amid changes to immigration policy under the Trump administration.

“We always have been working with our international office to bring students here. I think in recent years it’s become more unpredictable, with respect to immigration and visa issues,” Khurana said in a Wednesday interview.

Harvard recently intervened in one College student’s visa re-application process after United States Customs and Border Protection detained him at Boston Logan Airport and denied him entry to the U.S. That student — Ismail B. Ajjawi ’23, a Palestinian resident of Lebanon — spent eight hours at the airport, where he was subjected to questioning about his religion and a search of his personal electronics. Ajjawi told The Crimson a CBP officer reviewed his social media accounts for several hours before informing him that she had found anti-American posts by his Facebook friends. She then informed him his visa was canceled and that he would be denied entry into the country.

Asked about Ajjawi’s case, Khurana said he believes an important part of his role is supporting students when they face immigration difficulties, and that he believes international students contribute greatly to Harvard and the United States.

“My primary concern is for our student and their family, and then making sure that they feel supported, that we are able to provide whatever information that is needed from us,” Khurana said. “As an immigrant myself, I believe that this country’s strength comes from ­

See khurana Page 5 Inside this issue

Harvard Today 2

over in the Square; Urban Outfitters, Crema Cafe, and Chipotle, among others, have all closed their doors in the past year.

Though the structure will remain intact after construction completes, the kiosk will no longer be in operation due to growing competition for customers in Harvard Square and the declining demand for print papers, according to Executive Director of the Harvard Square Business Association Denise A. Jillson.

“I believe what they make is one dime on every paper that you sell,” said Jillson. “The millennial cohort, and many of the... boomer [generation] get their news online. So fewer and fewer newspapers are being sold.”

Out of Town News also sold Harvard-branded clothing and items that Jillson said could be purchased elsewhere.

“They’re selling Harvard insignia or whatever that you can

See square Page 5

Visitors to Harvard Square walk past Out of Town News in Harvard Square Wednesday afternoon. The newsstand is scheduled to close at the end of October. Mariah Dimalaluan—Crimson photographer

Lowell House Pilots ‘Dynamic Energy Suite’

SEE PAGE 3

By samuel w. zwickel and sanjana l. narayanan Crimson Staff Writers

F reshly renovated Lowell House features a new “Dynamic Energy Suite” – a six-bedroom pod of dorm rooms with built-in technological enhancements that monitor power consumption and adjust lighting for better sleep and energy efficiency.

Physics professor Mara Prentiss and Harvard Medical School professor Steven W. Lockley collaborated to design these systems as part of a pilot project.

If the systems substantially impact the Lowell residents’ well-being and encourage more sustainable living habits, Harvard may eventually adopt the technologies on a larger scale, according to Prentiss and Lock­

Flat Patties, a local burger restaurant in Harvard Square, is scheduled to close by the end of 2019.

Mariah Dimalaluan—Crimson photographer

News 3

Editorial 4

Sports 6

Today’s Forecast

sunny High: 69 Low: 48

ley.

“We have the opportunity in the Sustainability Suite to pilot this type of lighting for the students’ residences, with the hope that if the pilot goes well, we’ll install the type of lighting across the university, which will help with the quite well-established problems that students have with sleep and alertness, and from that sometimes mood and metabolic problems,” Lockley said.

Brandon P. Geller ’08, assistant director of sustainability and energy management in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, wrote in an emailed statement that the occupants of the Dynamic Energy Suite will eventually be engaged in a study focusing on sleep health and energy consumption.

See lowell Page 3

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

september 19, 2019

Page 2

Harvard Today

For Lunch Pepperoni Pizza Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry Grilled Cheddar Sandwich

For Dinner Chicken Marsala Grilled Chicken Breast Portobello Lentil Patty with Salsa

Today’s Events JFK Forum: Hong Kong: The Future of One Country, Two Systems 6-7 p.m.

in The Real World Chick-Fil-A Manager Saves Drive-Through Customer Suffering Cardiac Arrest

Head down to the Kennedy School for a conversation on the present and future of Hong Kong. Featured speakers included New York Times Beijing Bureau Chief Jane Perlez and University of Notre Dame Associate Professor of Political Science Victoria Tin-Bor Hui.

Veritas Cinema Series - Captain America: The Winter Soldier Harvard Commons, 7 p.m.

A customer experiencing cardiac arrest at a Chick-Fil-A drive-through in Chula Vista, Calif. was saved by the quick-thinking manager, Tauya Nenguke. Nenguke, who intends to attend nursing school one day, noticed the customer lying unconscious next to his car in the parking lot and leapt into action. Using his knowledge from prenursing classes, the manager and others were able to give the man chest compressions until emergency services arrived.

A pedestrian ambles alongside the flowing Charles River on a partly sunny summer day. Mia b. frothingham—Crimson photographer

Catch a free showing of everyone’s favorite shield-wielding superhero in action at the Harvard Commons today!

It’s the perfect way to wind down from a week of psets, papers, and readings without having to leave campus.

Popcorn will be provided, so don’t miss out!

Daily Briefing University President Lawrence S. Bacow joined hundreds of college and university presidents across the country in signing onto two letters urging legislators to provide permanent protections for undocumented immigrant students and those experiencing visa delays and uncertainty. Harvard’s decision to sign these letters comes as Bacow has been particularly vocal in his opposition to Trump Administration immigration policies. In other news, the College added a policy requiring neutral moderators at events with “controversial” speakers to this year’s resource guide for extracurricular organizations.

Youtubers Exploring Area 51 Arrested for Trespassing

Dutch Youtubers were arrested nearly three miles within the border of the Nevada National Security Site. While the pair maintains that they were only at the site to get a look at the area, the upcoming “Storm Area 51 Event”, set to take place this coming Friday, has local officials on edge. They are scheduled to be released after a 3-day stint in the county jail, as long as they pay a $2,000 fine.

Around the Ivies Brown A new Disability Study Space is set to open in the John D. Rockefeller Library basement next week, according to the Brown Daily Herald. The space was created to improve accessibility to study areas and accommodate students with sensory sensitivities. Disability Justice at Brown and the Undergraduate Council of Students worked towards creating the new study area, which will feature space for both group and independent work, as well as desks and chairs “meant to ensure physical accessibility.”

Columbia

Columbia students joined in on a rally for Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren in Washington Square Park, according to The Columbia Daily Spectator. Students distributed flyers advertising the event throughout campus while groups including Columbia for Warren helped organize students attending the rally. Several Columbia students voiced their support for several of Warren’s policy plans, including the student loan forgiveness program and approach to climate reform.

princeton

Princeton has tapped Pulitzer Prize-winning author and faculty member Jhumpa Lahiri to serve director of its creative writing program, according to the Daily Princetonian. Lahiri — who already serves as an associate professor in the school’s comparative literature and French and Italian departments — intends to create more types of creative writing courses, increase support for students, and bring a more international focus to the program.

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

The Harvard Crimson Kristine E. Guillaume President Angela N. Fu Managing Editor Charlie B. Zhu Business Manager

Staff for This Issue

Associate Managing Editor Jamie D. Halper ’20

Arts Chairs Kaylee S. Kim ’20 Caroline A. Tsai ’20

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Editorial Chairs Jessenia N. Class ’20 Robert Miranda ’20

Blog Chairs Lorenzo F. Manuali ’21 Trula J. Rael ’21

Technology Chairs Nenya A. Edjah ’20 Theodore T. Liu ’20

Sports Chairs Joseph W. Minatel ’21 Henry Zhu ’20

Copyright 2019, The Harvard Crimson (USPS 236-560). No articles, editorials, cartoons or any part thereof appearing in The Crimson may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the President. The Associated Press holds the right to reprint any materials published in The Crimson. The Crimson is a non-profit, independent corporation, founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1967. Second-class postage paid in Boston, Massachusetts. Published Monday through Friday except holidays and during vacations, three times weekly during reading and exam periods by The Harvard Crimson Inc., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Weather icons made by Freepik, Yannick, Situ Herrera, OCHA, SimpleIcon, Catalin Fertu from flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0.

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Corrections The Harvard Crimson is committed to accuracy in its reporting. Factual errors are corrected promptly on this page. Readers with information about errors are asked to e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@thecrimson.com.

Page 3

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | september 19, 2019

Flat Patties Flips Out of Harvard Square

By Ellen M. burstein and sydnie M. cobb Crimson Staff Writers

Flat Patties — a casual burger eatery in Harvard Square — will exit its Brattle Street location amidst a slew of closings in the area.

If we had been able to continue the lease on the current terms, we would have stayed.

Tom J. Brush Flat Patties Owner

The restaurant has operated on Brattle Street since 2014, after migrating from its former locale in the Garage in Harvard Square.

Flat Patties’ current retail space is owned by Asana Partners, the North Carolina-based development company that owns several retail storefronts on Brattle St. The owners of Black Ink, a neighboring stationery store that also occupies an Asana Partners space, alleged that they are being forced to close due to rising rent prices charged

by Asana. Black Ink recently launched a campaign that allows customers to offer their opinions on the changing com-

mercial landscape of Harvard Square.

Representatives of Asana Partners did not respond to requests for comment.

Restaurateur Tom J. Brush, who owns Flat Patties, Felipés Taqueria, and Crema Café, which departed the Square last December, said the decision to leave Harvard Square was influenced by rising rent prices and not affected by underwhelming sales.

“While our sales are solid, certainly the landlord, after purchasing this property almost two years ago, they really need to generate more rental revenue from the property,” he said. “There’s demand out there, so certainly they are interested in maximizing their revenue.”

Brush also said that though Flat Patties’s lease will expire on Nov. 1, the store will continue to occupy the space until Asana finds a new tenant. He said that if the current terms of the lease had stayed the same, the store would have remained in the Square.

“I don’t think it was our choice to close,” he said. “If we had been able to continue the lease on the current terms, we would have stayed.”

“I certainly accept and understand their need to find a tenant who will pay that rent and who will have the sales to justify that rent,” he added.

Frequent Flat Patties patrons said they were disappointed to hear about the restaurant’s closing.

Cambridge resident Katie Keane said she is sad to see another inexpensive eatery depart the Square. Chipotle, Qdoba, and Au Bon Pain are some of the restaurants that have closed their doors in 2019.

“I work in Harvard Square, and this was a common place for me to come grab lunch. It’s really one of the best places in Har-

I have lived here long enough to see that good things don’t stay that long.

Jason Xavier Cambridge Resident

vard Square because it’s really affordable,” Keane said. “I’m sad to these businesses go.”

Jason Xavier, who works and lives in Cambridge, said he will miss Flat Patties’s convenience.

“It has good service, it has quick service, and it’s right next to the train,” he explained. “I haven’t lived in Cambridge for very long, but I have lived here long enough to see that good things don’t stay that long.” ellen.burstein@thecrimson.com sydnie.cobb@thecrimson.com

Barreira to Focus on Grad Students After Resigning By michelle g. kurilla Crimson Staff Writer

H arvard University Health Services Director Paul J. Barreira will stay involved at the University as the director of the Graduate Student Mental Health Initiative after he steps down from his current role on Nov. 18.

The initiative is a collaborative effort between Harvard graduate students, faculty, and Barrerira himself.

Its goal is to assess the prevalence of mental health issues among graduate students and to identify specific factors that contribute to the general well-being of students.

Working out of the Provost office, Barreira will continue to survey graduate students and analyze the data of mental health surveys he launched two years ago.

“We’ve done — all total — we’ve surveyed with 3,000 students. These are graduate students and professional students, doctoral students, and master students,” Barriera said. “We’re giving the results to the graduate students and to their departments, even as we speak.”

Currently, Barreira is speaking with various departments regarding the survey results.

These departments include Astrophysics, Sociology, Classics, Philosophy, Romance Languag­

es, and Comparative Literature Departments and their respective graduate students at the GSAS. He is also speaking to the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Barreira said the public will not have access to the survey results since they are only disclosed to their respective departments.

“We’re giving them out at the department level,” Barreira said in reference to the survey results.

My brain is on graduate students.

Paul J. Barreira Harvard University Health Services Director

In addition to analyzing student surveys across new departments, Barreira is also revisiting departments and professional schools he previously surveyed.

For example, since the initial survey two years ago, the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences implemented changes to improve students’ mental health.

“They’ve had a workgroup, which never existed before, just graduate student representatives and faculty talking about

issues of supporting graduate students,” Barreira said.

The Earth and Planetary Sciences department is also partnering with the Psychology department to launch new programs and workshops, such as one focused on managing stress, anxiety, and depression, according to Barreira.

“Maybe one of the best things that’s coming out of this is actually forming working groups that can operate before members of the graduate students and faculty,” Barreira said.

Barreira was set to step down as director on June 30, but following an extended search for his successor, he will remain in his current post until November.

Giang T. Nguyen, who is set to take over the role of executive director on November 18, previously served as the director of Student Health Services at the University of Pennsylvania.

“I don’t know when the next activity is [for HUHS and their workgroups], but everybody’s committed — whether I’m here or not — to figure out a better way to provide health care and education,” Barreira said.

Barreira said in the meantime he has his mind set on the Graduate Student Mental Health Initiative.

“My brain is on graduate students,” he said. michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com

moderator From Page 1

lowell From Page 1

Harvard Outlines New Event Moderators Policy

Lowell Dynamic Energy Suite Pilots ‘Space-Age Technology’

sociologist Charles A. Murray ’65 , drawing large groups of both audience members and protesters. Murray’s work — which has been denounced and discredited by many academics — links race to differences in IQ..

Christian group Harvard College Faith and Action invited “ex-gay” speaker Jackie Hill-Perry to campus in 2018, where she was also met by dozens of student and faculty protestors.

Colleran also wrote that the DSO added the free speech policy to the resource book to reduce student confusion about it and reiterate the College’s commitment to free speech.

“Adding it to the Resource Guide demonstrates how important we feel it is for student organizations to know we support them in the ‘free interchange of ideas,’” she wrote.

Several student leaders of clubs that frequently host events with speakers said they agree with the policy broadly but are skeptical of its potential

“Harvard House Renewal and the Office for Sustainability are committed to leveraging the talent of our students and faculty to use our campus as a living laboratory for piloting and proving solutions to the world’s greatest sustainability challenges,” Geller wrote.

Prentiss said that the idea for tracking energy usage in dorm rooms came out of her course Freshman Seminar 27: “Energy Be the Change.” The students in the fall 2016 iteration of her course collectively developed a plan for what she called a “smart dorm” — a suite equipped with technology that would help residents keep track of their energy usage and compare it with average levels of consumption throughout the house. Prentiss pitched it to Harvard’s Sustainability Office and subsequently to a Harvard facilities management team in March 2016.

“I was really pleased that something students did as their class project became a physical reality,” Prentiss said.

“Harvard students matter.

­

impact.

Chair of the Harvard Political Union Matthew J. Miller ’21 and Harvard Republican Club President Victoria M. Marquez ’20 both said they hope the policy will balance the free speech rights of speakers and protestors.

They pointed to an Institute of Politics event last semester during which protestors advocating for divestment from fossil fuels and private prisons interrupted a discussion featuring University President Lawrence S. Bacow and Harvard Graduate School of Education Dean Bridget Terry Long.

“If you’re interrupting an event and stopping other people who came to hear that event from hearing those views, maybe those people in the crowd don’t agree with the views, they just want to hear what this person has to say,” Marquez said. “I think that’s when policies like this can be helpful.”

She added that the policy does present some logistical hurdles, citing the require-

ment that clubs notify the DSO of potentially controversial or high-profile speakers a month before the event. Marquez said that many speakers with busy schedules may not be able to confirm a month or more in advance.

“It does put an extra burden on the club. It’s an extra loop you have to jump through, that probably more of the conservative clubs would have to jump through, I think, than the liberal clubs just because of the protest culture on campus,” she said. “I hope the implementation doesn’t put an extra burden on clubs that want to bring high-profile speakers to campus.”

Miller also said he is skeptical of the policy’s ability to prevent disruptions at events. He added that his group uses open question-and-answer sessions in order to give audience members time to share their dissenting views. shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com delano.franklin@thecrimson.com

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You guys came up with this and made it happen. And I think that’s really valuable,” she added.

More than 15 years ago, Lockley and his team discovered a light-sensitive cell connected to the portion of the human brain that controls the circadian clock, which in part governs sleep patterns. By adjusting the intensity of blue light, the researchers could control the alertness of the brain.

“In the daytime, when we want to be awake and alert, we used a blue-enriched white light,” Lockley said.

Conversely, in the evening, systems in the suite remove blue wavelengths, emitting a redder light that encourages the brain to prepare for sleep. The lights used in the suite are LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, which consume less energy than commonly used incandescent or fluorescent lamps.

“If you, for example, took out the fluorescent lights in your home or factory or school and replaced it with LEDs, you

would get about a 50-percent reduction in energy use, so you would be much more energy-efficient,” Lockley said.

The same lighting system that Lockley designed is also being used on the International Space Station to calibrate the astronauts’ biological clocks to when they should be awake and when they should be asleep.

NASA funded much of his lab’s basic research on circadian photoreceptors, Lockley said.

“It’s pretty true to say we’ve taken space-age technology and put it into Lowell House,” Lockley said.

Pedro Farias ’20, a Lowell resident who lives in the suite, said he thinks the built-in energy-monitoring systems have “definitely” encouraged him to consume less energy than normal.

“It’s honestly awesome that the University is doing this because it’s a great way to increase awareness,” Farias said. samuel.zwickel@thecrimson.com sanjana.narayanan@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | September 19, 2019

Page 4

Editorial The Crimson Editorial board

op-ed

Finally, Answers on Epstein

I

n a statement to Harvard affiliates last week, University President Lawrence S. Bacow addressed the University’s ties to deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein.

Stating he “profoundly regret[s] Harvard’s past association” with the disgraced donor, Bacow pledged to donate the sum of Epstein’s donations not yet spent by the University to charities that support victims of sex trafficking and sexual violence.

We applaud Bacow for this response.

Following MIT’s lead in donating the remaining sum of Epstein’s donations was the moral thing to do, as we’ve opined previously, despite how small this sum may be in comparison to the total Harvard received.

In articulating his response to Harvard’s ties to Epstein, Bacow’s leadership has notably exceeded the very low bar set

by MIT’s president, L. Rafael Reif.

Reif’s dissembling statements — claiming he did “not recall” signing a thank you letter addressed to Epstein for gifts awarded to MIT well after Epstein’s 2008 conviction — and the intense backlash they have spurred highlight how vital clear, honest communication can be in navigating situations such as this one.

We therefore appreciate Bacow’s efforts to reckon with the heinous nature of Epstein’s crimes and the troubling extent of his relationship with Harvard.

While we appreciate Bacow’s actions now, it bears mentioning that there is no reason such a statement couldn’t have been released in 2008, when Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring prostitution

from underage girls.

This was just as despicable and just as widely known then as it is now.

While we recognize Bacow is not personally responsible for a decision made at a time he was not the president of Harvard, the fact that the University did not address its association with Epstein until 11 years after this conviction — allowing Epstein to continue to tout his ties to Harvard throughout this time — is hugely disappointing.

Following MIT’s lead in donating the remaining sum of Epstein’s donations was the moral thing to do, as we’ve opined previously, despite how small this sum may be in comparison to the total Harvard received.

We hope individuals in key positions of power, including Bacow, take this opportunity to reflect on the processes that led to the University’s more than decade long, and that, in the future, the University move more quickly to clarify its moral stance on similar issues.

Going forward, we are curious to see how this precedent of donating money from disgraced donors will inform similar future circumstances.

Epstein is not the first character to raise concerns over the ethics of University donations.

Mothers of opioid victims, local demonstrators, and various Massachusetts-based opioid grief groups have called for the refusal of donations from the Sackler family for the role some say the family played in spurring the nationwide opioid crisis.

Bacow has said that it would be “inappropriate” for Harvard to return any past donations from the family.

He has also made a point of noting that donating the remainder of Epstein’s gifts was an “unusual step for the University.”

Still, it has been done.

This begs the question: What is the coherent logical and moral distinction between these two cases?

Bacow has stated he is initiating a review of the process by which potential University donors are vetted, to ideally prevent having to address questions like this in the future.

We’re hopeful that this review will lead to meaningful change. At least in this case, the University has fittingly, and finally, responded.

We hope administrators draw a lesson from this incident and act more decisively in the future.

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.

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Harvard’s Administrative Nightmare By robert miranda

I

t seems as if the Harvard administration has a solution for every problem.

The General Education program was “failing on a variety of fronts”? The joint concentration program has “concerns”? Shopping week is too complicated and removing it would improve the “academic experience” of students?

Never fear — for Harvard’s administrators are here, ready to institute a solution or convene a committee to fix seemingly any problem at hand, even if it involves massive, wide-ranging changes which aren’t always successful.

We saw how many such changes simultaneously inconvenienced the College during this term’s shopping week, during which students had to balance a new Gen Ed system, course caps which frustrated students and instructors alike, an incredibly inefficient and byzantine lottery system, and an improved yet inaccessible my.harvard. Add to that the overhaul of the Bureau of Study Counsel and a new, but flawed direction for the freshman advising program, and it doesn’t take long to wonder how so much led by so few went so wrong.

After years of debate and discussion meant to ease the transition to the new Gen Ed system, and to consider the best way to roll the program out — including a year-long deferral — the frustrations surrounding this shopping week prove it all a spectacular mess.

And it’s not as if we haven’t seen this story before.

Last year, after similarly interminable debate, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences debuted a new course schedule, which removed our celebrated seven-minute Harvard Time — alongside many students’ lunch hours.

Now, it’s apparent that any one committee or office or person isn’t entirely to blame for all this mess. The College has an Office of Undergraduate Education, an Advising Programs Office, a Program in General Education, and many other obscure groups besides who ulti-

mately decided how to implement the litany of changes I’ve listed. And FAS itself, in conjunction with various deans, ultimately has the final say on larger matters like course schedules and shopping week.

Yet it really makes you wonder — how are Harvard’s brightest minds able to ineffectively institute their own policies?

If anything, it only proves the late and great Yalie commentator William F. Buckley Jr.’s point that he’d rather have been governed by the first 2,000 people in the phone book than by the Harvard faculty. When the latter’s taking away

I understand many new policies are well-intentioned, especially with regards to the student experience. But we all know where good intentions lead, and I wouldn’t say many new policies meant to improve student life have been all that successful. my lunch hour, I’ll gladly take the former.

It’s all a double-edged sword. On one hand, Harvard is an incredibly large institution, with multiple schools and faculties and student and affiliate populations. As an institutionalist, I have to respect the complex — if confusing — machinery that makes this place run on a daily basis. Yes, we have multiple deans and offices and liaisons to administer to everything, even if it is so complex that I can’t say I know a single individual in the Dean of Students’ Office, for instance — a point I find particularly ironic as a student. And I do believe that in the end, everyone has the University’s best interests at heart — even if we all disagree over how to arrive there.

On the other hand, students, such as the Editorial Board I am a part of, regularly ask for specific administrative

solutions to remedy Harvard’s biggest problems, and usually requesting the creation of committees or forums or investigations to solve whatever problem is at hand. After all, change, especially on large scales, must often necessarily be slow and not always linear.

For critical issues such as the Gen Ed program, or shopping week, or even the role of social organizations on campus, it’s important to properly consider ideas and hold substantive debate before making decisions, particularly the impactful ones I’ve mentioned.

But that shouldn’t mean those decisions can’t be efficient and effective once rolled out, especially if there’s a yearlong deferral for them.

How is it that some faculty members were left just as confused and helpless as their students during this shopping week with respect to who could enroll in their courses, when the faculty voted for the changes to Gen Ed in the first place?

I understand many new policies are well-intentioned, especially with regards to the student experience. But we all know where good intentions lead, and I wouldn’t say many new policies meant to improve student life have been all that successful.

Take Community Night, which has prevented me from eating at Adams House on Thursdays when I have a late class and am unable to return to my own House in the Quad, or the Gen Ed program, which I fiercely criticized in its earlier form and which I fiercely criticize now (if for different reasons).

It seems we just can’t accept the status quo, or at least the administration can’t, as many things seem to be changed for the sake of change. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until this newspaper’s pages report the creation of a new Dean of Deans to resolve all of these messes.

(Let’s face it, though: Who wouldn’t want that title?)

—Robert Miranda ’20, a Crimson Editorial Chair, is an English concentrator in Pforzheimer House.

Should Hating Harvard Be the Happy Normal?

By Carine M. Hajjar

H

ating Harvard is not discouraged, not questioned, but embraced. Standing in a dining hall inevitably means overhearing something along the lines of “Why does the College do this?” “Why don’t they put endowment money to good use?” and the like. As former Undergraduate Council President Rohit Chopra ’04 put it in 2003, we “love to hate Harvard.” We run on the fumes of communal commiseration.

And why do we hate? The perennial arguments include legacy status, social exclusivity, general inequality, and excessive competitive pressure.

Hating Harvard is a vehicle for changing these “inequalities;” or at least that is what many students would have us believe.

So how have we fared? The results are certainly mixed and certainly up to individual interpretation. Many, for example, would argue that the sanctioning of single-gender organizations was a great social equalizer on campus.

Others, however, see this step as highly detrimental for female spaces while others protest the infringement of their so-called right to assemble as they choose. And in the end, final clubs persist while former fraternities and sororities slip through loopholes. The only major change seems to be increased frustration toward the College.

When I applied to Harvard, I was told horror story upon horror story from jaded students. My impression was that perhaps this journey would not be worth it. Perhaps my sanity was more valuable. Perhaps a more accepting space and a more collaborative environment would be preferable.

So the day I got my acceptance, it was with a heavy heart that I submitted my confirmation.

Looking back, I feel ungrateful. But most of all, I

I extend this challenge to Harvard students: Be critical in a grateful way. By this I mean eliciting change from a place of love — love of learning, love of school, and love of each other. fell right into the trap: the trap of communal hate.

I believe that on the surface, many students are so needlessly critical of their Harvard experience that they are ungrateful. Ungratefulness is something we have all fallen prey to time and time again. There’s no need to emphasize the academic preeminence of the institution, but sometimes we forget how extraordinary this place is.

The summer before my freshman year, I was met with the news that more than half of my class would be non-white.

More than half — the most diverse class in 380 years of Harvard. As for wealth inequality, more than half of the graduating class of 2017 was earning at least $70,000 in their upcoming jobs. No — not all Harvard students come in with the same — but many leave with substantial earnings in sight.

As a junior, my Harvard experience has had its shares of highs and lows, but has constantly been a journey of growth, and a positive one at that.

Have I met snobby students? Have I been denied access to certain spaces on a seemingly arbitrary basis? Have I witnessed inequality of opportunity on the basis of race, sexual orientation, and socio-economic background? And finally, have I been stressed out of my mind?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

But while these lows persist and will always persist anywhere in an imperfect world, I have also seen a much brighter alternative.

I go to school in one of the most diverse institutions on earth. I hear from the greatest minds in and out of the classroom. And I am supported

And why do we hate? The perennial arguments include legacy status, social exclusivity, general inequality, and excessive competitive pressure. by some of the most intelligent and charismatic friends. How can I hate such a place? Yes, I have been challenged. And yes, I have experienced College-wide changes that regularly perplex and frustrate me. But for every frustration, I attend various lectures with world-renowned professors. For every mistake the College makes, I see a tenfold effort at rectifying and addressing injustices. Most of all, for every administrative shortcoming, I see students leaping at the chance to fill in the gaps.

Watching the intelligent, dynamic friends we have at Harvard excel as leaders, addressing the issues that matter to them, is likely one of the greatest joys the institution grants its students.

And yes, it is cliché, but most clichés are true.

Perhaps the hatred we often share is a product of the privilege we have. Many have grown far too used to the singular experiences at Harvard.

Where else can we express ourselves this way?

Will your investment bank allow you to openly insult its CEO? Presumably not. On a more practical note, like my dad always says, “You’ll never have it this good again.” The proverbial “real world” is not this diverse in the workplace nor is it as socially conscious. Nor does it have oodles of money to spend on travel and research or a myriad of renown speakers visiting campus. Harvard is flawed, but Harvard is also special.

I extend this challenge to Harvard students: Be critical in a grateful way. By this I mean eliciting change from a place of love — love of learning, love of school, and love of each other.

—Carine M. Hajjar ’21, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Government concentrator in Eliot House.

Page 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | september 19, 2019

letters From Page 1

khurana From Page 1

square From Page 1

Bacow Cosigns Letters Khurana Talks for Immigration Reform Immigration President Trump threatened to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama Administration-era program that allows undocumented youth to live and work in the United States.

The letter calls on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to pass bipartisan legislation to protect DACA recipients — legislation that the presidents noted is popular among their constituents.

“We believe it is long overdue for Congress to pass bipartisan legislation, in both the House and Senate, to provide permanent protection for Dreamers—young, undocumented, high-achieving individuals brought to our country as children,” the letter reads. “We understand the Supreme Court will soon be considering DACA. But regardless of the Court’s decision, legislative action will remain necessary.”

Separately, Bacow joined 42 Massachusetts college and university presidents in a letter addressed to members of the ­

state’s congressional delegation pertaining to issues international students and scholars face, such as visa delays.

“In 2018, over 68,000 international students enrolled in Massachusetts colleges and universities, contributing over $3 billion to our economy,” the letter reads. “An environment that thwarts the opportunities for and contributions of these individuals is detrimental to the state’s economy, undermines the educational experiences of all Massachusetts college students, and stifles future innovation and business growth.”

The letter specifically addresses delays in visa processing, Optional Practical Training — which allows international students to apply to work for a United States employer in direct relation to their field of study, and requests for additional evidence when international employees seek to teach and work on campus.

Bacow raised similar issues in a July letter sent to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin K. McAleenan in which he said he has a “deep concern” over current immigration policies.

In that letter, he pointed to

visa delays, denials, and uncertainty for recipients of both DACA and Temporary Protected Status — a program offering legal protection to those who emigrate from countries plagued by natural disasters or violence.

More than a month after Bacow’s letter to the Cabinet members, Harvard student Ismail B. Ajjawi ’23 made international headlines when U.S. Customs and Border Protection denied his entry to the U.S. Agents denied Ajjawi, a Palestinian resident of Lebanon, entry into the country after questioning him and looking through his phone and computer.

Officials allegedly found anti-American social media posts made by his friends on his feed and then canceled Ajjawi’s visa and refused to let him into the country.

Bacow was directly involved in securing Ajjawi’s eventual travel to campus after he was denied entry into the country, according to Ajjawi’s lawyer. Ajjawi eventually arrived on campus 10 days after he planned, on Sept. 2. alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com

its continual capacity to renew itself, and that our strength is our diversity.”

During the subsequent 10day period he spent in Lebanon, Ajjawi received an outpouring of support from Harvard affiliates and student groups. Both Harvard administrators and outside lawyers lobbied government officials, asking them to grant him a visa so he could begin classes alongside the other members of the Class of 2023.

Though Ajjawi arrived in Cambridge on Sept. 2, immigration experts said his case is representative of trends that could imperil international undergraduates in future years.

Earlier this year, the State Department announced it would collect visa applicants’ social media information as part of the vetting process, among other changes.

University President Lawrence S. Bacow recently spoke out against facets of current U.S. immigration policy in an email to Harvard affiliates earlier this month.

He specifically criticized immigration “disruptions and delays” that students traveling to the United States have increasingly faced. In 2017, four graduate students were temporarily

denied entry to the country due to a Trump immigration order, which restricted travel from several majority-Muslim countries.

Khurana praised resources the College offers to support international students during the Wednesday interview. In particular, he cited the Freshman International Program, one of the College’s weeklong pre-orientation programs.

“My understanding is that it’s an incredibly strong student community, where [upperclassmen] who have more familiarity are very robust in terms of not only just supporting those students during that pre-orientation program, but really, my understanding is it really forms friendships that last,” he said.

Khurana said he admires students who travel thousands of miles to attend Harvard.

“These are amazing students,” he said. “The courage that it takes to come to a place that’s thousands of miles from where you grew up, where your family is, and to basically open yourself up to an educational system that might be different from your domicile.” shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com delano.franklin@thecrimson.com

The sights and sounds of Harvard.

The Crimson @crimson_photo

The T closes. We don’t.

Breaking news, 24/7.

The Crimson

Out of Town News Folds purchase at the Coop and [Harvard] Student Agencies or elsewhere in the Square, and cigarettes, and lottery tickets, and, frankly, pornography,” Jillson said.

“Those three things… if people want to buy it, there are other places to buy.” she added.

Out of Town News owner Mike Patel did not respond to a request for comment. Jillson said she is “really pleased” that Out of Town News’ purpose in Harvard Square has reached its expiration date.

“It’s time to move on,” she said. “It’s going to be wonderful.”

Somerville, Mass. resident Cara J. Giaimo said Out of Town News was the first place she would go if she ever needed a physical newspaper.

“I always think of it as a very communal space,” she said. “When you go inside, you can get so many things from so many different places.”

Lesley University student Joe Hammond said he will miss the newsstand’s unique offerings.

“I’m an illustrator, so I’m really into editorial illustrations,” Hammond said. “Out of Town News is so convenient and iconic for the area.”

Benjamin J. Dreier ’22, a Crimson Technology editor, said he was not shocked to hear of the closing.

“It’s a staple of the Square, but I don’t get my news from there and I don’t know anyone who gets their news from there,” Dreier said. “But, like all other changes in the Square, it’s sad to see all these old businesses go and see the landscape shift.” ­

ellen.burstein@thecrimson.com sydnie.cobb@thecrimson.com

Sports

football

about the team

2018 Season

Rushing Yards Per Game 203.8 ______________________________________

upcoming games ______________________________________

Overall Record 6-4 ______________________________________

Passing Yards Per Game 234.0 ______________________________________

Conference Record 4-3 ______________________________________

Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game 113.9 ______________________________________

Football vs. San Diego 4 p.m., at San Diego

Games

10 ______________________________________

Passing Yards Allowed Per Game 216.9 ______________________________________

Points Per Game 30.4 ______________________________________

Sacks

21 ______________________________________

Football vs. Brown 7 p.m., at Harvard

football

Harvard Prepared to Open Season at San Diego

SOMETHING IN YOUR EYE Running back Aaron Shampklin stiff arms a San Diego opponent in a 2018 clash. Harvard eventually won the contest, 36-14, and has never lost to the Toreros in three tries. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—Crimson photographer

By Cade Palmer Crimson Staff Writer

To close out the 2018 season, the Harvard football team wrapped up a three-game win streak that culminated in a thrashing of Yale in front of a friendly crowd at Fenway Park.

But that was 44 weeks ago, and 44 weeks is a long time — one of the largest offseasons in college football. Three weeks longer than the University of San Diego, the team the Crimson will fly across the country to challenge on foreign turf Saturday afternoon.

In that space of time, between the rambunctious victory over it’s perennial rival to the fielding of a new team, Harvard has had nothing but itself as a tackling dummy. And for the last two weeks, while other teams took the field, the Crimson players watched from their common rooms.

“We get a little antsy, we start building that anticipation, we start getting real hungry,” said captain defensive back Wesley Ogsbury. “Everybody else is playing, we’re just sitting and practicing, practicing, practicing. We’re getting hungrier and hungrier.”

That hunger, the desire for live action, is palpable in every player on the team.

“Our team is hungry,” junior ­

quarterback Jake Smith said.

“We’ve been pushing for excellence everyday in practice. It’s been a long preseason just practicing against each other and we can’t wait to get out on the field. We’re ready to actually get out there and get some live action.”

The team Harvard will field on Saturday will look very different from the one that exited The Game victorious in November 2018. The team has since graduated 31 seniors.

“We lost some outstanding kids in the offensive and defensive line, those are never easy to replace,” coach Tim Murphy said. “So we’ll be relatively young on both the offensive and defensive side of the line.”

The youth on defense will likely materialize as an all-sophomore defensive front.

The coaching staff is specifically eyeing sophomore end Truman Jones, sophomore tackle Jacob Sykes, sophomore tackle Chris Smith, and several other sophomores for the other end.

The youth doesn’t concern the captain.

“We just recruit guys that are hungry,” Ogsbury said. “It doesn’t matter how old they are or how much experience they have.”

Inexperience is not endemic across the entirety of the defense. Ogsbury himself leads

leads the team, and the defense more closely, as the 146th captain of Harvard football. The defensive back finished third in the nation last season in interceptions, averaging .6 per game. In keeping with tradition, Ogsbury serves as the sole captain for the team.

“The first thing about Wes is you’ve got to lead by example and nobody works harder,” Murphy said. “The second thing is nobody is more competitive. He’s done an outstanding job, our kids really respond to him.”

A definitive strong point for the Crimson entering the season is the special teams unit.

Sophomore Jon Sot returns as a punter. As a freshman, Sot led the conference in average punt distance at 41.1 yards.

In case of closer proximity to the endzone, the team returns senior place kicker Jake McIntyre. Harvard fans may remember him as the man who booted the field goal as time expired to secure an exciting victory against the Holy Cross in 2018.

The Crimson staticians will remember him for years to come. The veteran is tied for first in program history in two categories — most field goals in a season and career field goals. With a whole season to kick, McIntyre will undoubt-

THE GOLDEN BOOT Senior kicker Jake McIntyre led the league in 2018 in field goal percentage and is currently tied for first in program history for field goals. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—Crimson photographer

edly move into sole possession of these program records, and others for which he already ranks top five.

Three days before the Ivy League teams launch the 2019 season, Harvard football exudes confidence. Ogsbury said the team has the personnel to “take it all the way.” Smith said he’s confident with the guys surrounding him on the offensive front. Only the Ivy League preseason poll voters are doubtful of the Crimson’s capabilities.

In early August, Harvard was vote fourth in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, behind Yale in first, followed by Dartmouth and Princeton. Yale returns senior wide receiver Reed Klubnik, ranked fifth in the FCS last year for yards per game, averaging 114.3. Klubnik also stands as the only player of the league on the Walter Payton Award Watchlist.

Rounding out the bottom half of the preseason poll were Penn, Columbia, Cornell, and Brown, in descending order.

“My message is always we can beat anybody we play,” Murphy said. “Not because we’re entitled to beating anybody, but we work really hard, we’ve got good athletes, and we’re going to compete like hell.”

More salient than anything

is the confidence of this Crimson team. The first test of that confidence comes from the West. San Diego, two games into its season, has yet to log a single victory. The goose egg in the win column does not seem to be indicative of the teams strength.

The Toreros’ two losses came from Cal Poly, and No. 4/5 UC Davis. The loss to UC Davis stands out particularly bright on the schedule due in part to the manner in which San Diego lost. A pass to running back Emilio Martinez was knocked out of his hands, in the end zone, with two seconds to play.

San Diego athletics described the sequence as, “[i]nches away from one of the biggest wins in program history...” “[The Toreros] outplayed Cal Davis and Cal Davis is the number four ranked FCS team in the country,” Murphy said.

San Diego is undoubtedly an offensive juggernaut. Quarterback Ried Sinnett already has 655 yards through the air with five touchdowns to match. His main targets are Dalton Kincade and Michael Bandy. The latter of which is a name familiar to the Harvard defensive backs, which ceded to 202 yards on 12 passes to the wideout in 2018.

The Toreros average 34.5 points per game, and 474 yards

to match. Last season, the Crimson scored more than 35 points only three times.

“It all starts with defense,” Murphy said. “That’s always been my philosophy. If you can’t play defense, I don’t care how good your offense is, even in the PAC 12, you’re in big trouble. Bottom line is, you’ve got to get off the field. You’ve got to make stops. That’s going to be one of the keys to this game.

On defense, San Diego brings a physicality to their contests.

One visible even from the film.

“They’re physical and they play a lot of man-to-man defense and they match pretty well,” Smith said. “I’ll be looking to see how those matchups play out. I’m ready to play some physical football with my boys.”

The two squads have met on the gridiron three times before.

Harvard has won each of those contests, and has gone 7-0 against members of the Pioneer League overall. Additionally, the Crimson boasts a strong advantage in season openers, winning 15 of the last 18. “[San Diego has] good players and they’ve won 24 consecutive league games,” Murphy said. “We certainly will have a very tough opponent in our opener, 3000 miles from home.” cade.palmer@thecrimson.com

EYES WIDE SHUT Senior defensive lineman, Brogan McPartland, chases down a scrambling San Diego quarterback. Last season, McPartland led the team in sacks. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—Crimson photographer