The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 97

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI No. 97 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Friday, October 4. 2019

editorial PAGE 6

editorial PAGE 6

sports PAGE 8

Though Harvard won this round in court, a long road lies ahead

Op Ed: We must remember what wasn’t adjudicated in the admissions trial

Harvard football is preparing for a historic game against Howard

UC Schools Divest, Offering Insight FAS Seeks Ethnic Studies Faculty By alexandra a. chaidez and aidan f. ryan Crimson Staff Writers

In 2012, students at Harvard and the University of California system formed Divest Harvard and Fossil Free UC, respectively, with the shared goal of pressuring their respective institutions to divest their endowment holdings from the fossil fuel industry.

Seven years later, current and former members of Fossil Free UC celebrated as the University of California announced it would divest its $13.4 billion endowment and $70 billion pension fund from fossil fuels.

At the same time, Harvard’s leadership has long maintained that it would be both undesirable and logistically challenging for the University to do the same.

University President Lawrence S. Bacow has, over the course of his tenure, cited a variety of issues he has with demands for divestment.

Bacow has noted that divestment would be a complicated process because Harvard invests in the industry through indirect means.

“Do you not own an index, for example, which has holdings in the automobile industry?

It’s not a fossil fuel directly, but it’s the source of consumption of a lot of fossil fuels. Do you not own a utility, which generates electricity through the consumption of fossil fuels?” Bacow said in a December 2018 interview. “I could go on, so I just think it’s not an effective policy ­

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay works in University Hall. steve shen li—Crimson photographer By jonah s. berger and molly c. mccafferty

margot e. shang—Crimson Designer

to bring about reductions in carbon emissions.”

As the UC system — which holds a mix of public and private assets — disentangles itself from the fossil fuel industry, some experts say it may offer a glimpse of what it would look like for Harvard to follow a similar path.

UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher and the UC Board of Regents’ Investments Committee Chairman Richard Sherman wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times announcing the univer-

sity system’s decision to divest from fossil fuels by the end of September because such investments posed a “financial risk.”

It is not certain how exactly the UC system plans to divest its endowment.

UCLA Finance Professor Ivo Welch wrote in an email that he believes it would not be possible for the school to divest its index funds — funds that track large swaths of the market — from fossil fuels.

“It would be impossible to divest from index funds, so presumably they are only about

specific stock investments,” Welch said.

UC Berkeley Economics Professor and Fossil Fuel Free UC member Clair Brown, however, noted that institutions like the University of California with large portfolios can tailor their funds to exclude any investments in the fossil fuel industry over time with more flexibility than the average index fund stakeholder.

“When you have billions of dollars in your portfolio, you

See Divest Page 4

Crimson Staff Writers

Though mounting financial hardships mean the size of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will not grow for the foreseeable future, the school is nonetheless making a concerted effort to increase its ranks of ethnic studies faculty.

Part of the school’s effort to replenish departing members will include ongoing searches for professors who specialize in Asian American, Latinx, and Muslim American studies. FAS Dean Claudine Gay announced in June that FAS is seeking to ­

hire three to four such faculty.

Candidates for the jobs were encouraged to apply by earlier this week — though FAS is still accepting applications — and Gay said in an interview Wednesday that members of the faculty search committee are currently developing a preliminary list of candidates. She added that up to three of those appointments could be hired with tenure, adding that the search is “open-rank.”

“We appreciate, and I appreciate, the importance of senior leadership in this field,” Gay said. “At the same time, just as

See faculty Page 3

Council Candidates Committee Plans Review of Student Comps Woo Undergrads

By Sanjana L. Narayanan and samuel w. Zwickel

By Declan J. Knieriem Crimson Staff Writer

A s Cambridge’s City Council election draws closer, some candidates have begun pitching their campaigns to Harvard students in the hopes that they might appeal to students’ interests and gain their support.

The race, with 22 declared candidates, has picked up steam in recent weeks and seen candidate forums on issues like affordable housing and climate change.

City Council candidate Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler said college student engagement is one of the hallmarks of his campaign.

He characterized young voters as “crucial voices” lacking in city government, citing the ­

statistic that 60 percent of Cambridge voters are under 40 years of age, while only one current city councilor falls in that demographic.

“In terms of the issues we’re pushing on, they are the issues that students care about,” he said. “Fundamentally, they’re sort of big structural changes, and the more folks we can activate, the more we can reshape politics in the city.”

Candidate Derek A. Kopon said he hopes his message will attract “idealistic” young voters to his campaign. Kopon, an astrophysicist with the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said he understands the issues important to

See Council Page 4

Crimson Staff Writers

The Committee on Student Life discussed an assessment of the social group sanctions, preparations for the new Allston campus, and a prospective audit of student organizations’ “comp” processes in its first meeting of the year Thursday.

The CSL — an advisory panel that includes Harvard administrators, faculty deans, house committee chairs, and Undergraduate Council representatives — first considered evaluating comps at a February meeting. At that meeting, several committee members argued that some organizations’ requirements are “detrimental to campus culture.” ­

The Committee on Student Life meets in the Lamont Library Forum Room at 8 a.m. once each month. shera s. avi-yonah—Crimson photographer

See COmps Page 3

Former White House Social Secretaries Share Anecdotes at IOP

By Michelle G. Kurilla Crimson Staff Writer

Former White House Social Secretaries Capricia Marshall and Deesha Dyer recalled their experiences working in presidential administrations at an Institute of Politics talk Thursday.

At a forum titled, “Stories from a State Dinner: The Diplomacy is in the Details,” Dyer and Marshall shared personal anecdotes that ranged from planning the first lady’s birthday party to arranging the pope’s visit to the United States.

Jackie O’Neill, the University’s former chief of protocol, moderated the conversation.

Marshall was President Bill Clinton’s White House social secretary from 1997 to 2001.

Under the Obama administration, she served as chief of protocol of the United States — a position bearing the rank ­

Former White House Social Social Secretaries Deesha Dyer and Capricia P. Marshall speak at the JFK Jr. Forum with moderator Jackie O’Neill, a former Harvard University Marshal. delano r. franklin—Crimson photographer

Inside this issue

Harvard Today 2

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Today’s Forecast

of ambassador — from 2009 to 2013.

She said her two roles were different because as chief of protocol she adopted a heavier international focus.

“They were very different in the way they are focused, but very similar in that they are about outreach,” Marshall said.

Dyer started her White House career as an intern at age 30, while simultaneously attending community college.

Her internship became a seven year full-time stint in the White House, culminating as social secretary from 2015 to 2017. She is currently a resident fellow at the Institute of Politics.

Dyer said that, as social secretary, she focused on making the White House feel like home to visitors — whether they passed through on a tour or attended a formal dinner.

She said this effort marked part

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of former First Lady Michelle Obama’s effort to rebrand the White House as “The People’s House.” “‘The People’s House’ meant really making it a house that everybody felt like it was theirs, because it is,” Dyer said. “It’s an office, it’s a residence, and it’s a museum but we also wanted to make it feel like home to whoever came through.”

The two social secretaries also told the audience about their favorite moments on the job.

Dyer recounted the time she booked a choir from St. Augustine Catholic Church — a historically black parish in Washington, D.C. — for the pope’s arrival to the United States. She said that it was a moment that stood out to her because she was able to showcase the choir’s talent. the future.

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Harvard Today

For Lunch Eggplant and Tofu Asian BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich Biryani Rice

For Dinner Sausage Jambalaya Onion Rings Spanish Pisto Manchego

Today’s Events International Opportunities Fair Cabot Science Library, 1-4 p.m.

in The Real World

Sick of Boston already? Cabot Science Library will be hosting an international opportunities fair tomorrow afternoon, and you won’t want to miss it. Stop by to learn about international opportunities and funding resources, and to meet different international offices and student groups that might send you abroad. To top it all off, there should be international treats.

Four Killed at Paris Police Headquarters

Three policemen and an administrative staff member were killed in a knife attack at Paris police headquarters Thursday morning. The attacker, a longtime male administrative employee, was killed during the attack as well, and his wife is now in custody. The attacker’s motive is not yet known.

DACA Recipients Among Apple Employees

Elephante at Harvard Sever Hall, 7-8 p.m.

Harvard alumnus Elephante will be offering a discussion and Q&A about his work as an EDM DJ/producer today in Sever 113. Elephante’s tracks have racked up millions of listens on SoundCloud and made it onto iTunes top charts. If you’re interested, enter the lottery here!

Students’ bicycles crowd racks in the Yard as temperatures drop. Shera S. Avi-yonah—Crimson photographer

Daily Briefing

Apple has been making a statement on immigration by increasing the number of DACA recipients it hires, as “Dreamers embody Apple’s innovation strategy.” Apple had 250 Dreamer employees in 2017 and now has 443 employed from 25 countries. Apple released this information in an amicus brief that shared anecdotes about the lives of its DACA recipient employees.

Instagram Adds Comment Restriction

The University of California system announced it would divest its $13.4 billion endowment and $70 billion pension fund from fossil fuels last month. As the UC system — which holds a mix of public and private assets — disentangles itself from the fossil fuel industry, some experts say it may offer a glimpse of what it would look like for Harvard to follow a similar path. In other news, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Gay said FAS will continue to make a concerted effort to increase its ranks of ethnic studies faculty.

Instagram is introducing a new feature called Restrict, which allows users to pre-approve comments on their posts and is meant to prevent bullying. If a user “restricts” a bully, comments from the bully will need to be approved before they will be publicly displayed. However, the bully will not know they have been restricted, and the user can decide whether or not to view the bully’s comments. The feature comes as Instagram works to decrease the amount of bullying that occurs on the platform.

Around the Ivies Brown Brown suspended its Sigma Chi chapter last month after an investigation found the fraternity endangered students by violating the university’s hazing and alcohol policies, the Brown Daily Herald reported. The university instructed the group to cease all operations in April and revoked its housing privileges this summer, pending the investigation’s results. The suspension will last for a period of five years, during which time the fraternity will lose all privileges Brown grants to recognized student groups, and after which the group may petition for reinstatement.

Yale

After extensive renovations, Yale’s Bass Library reopened Tuesday, unveiling a new “model research collection” among other updates, according to the Yale Daily News. The renovation increased the library’s natural lighting, installed new private study spaces, and increased available seating. The model research collection, meanwhile, highlights art curated by Yale American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies professor Laura Wexler.

Upenn

The University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate and Professional Student Assembly executive board held a special election Wednesday after four of the group’s 14 members resigned unexpectedly over the past several months, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. Though the election was originally intended to fill only three vacancies, the board announced a fourth resignation on the night of the election. In the end, only two positions were filled after candidates requested additional time to rethink whether they wanted to run, and the body will hold another special election in two weeks to fill the remaining spots.

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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.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | October 4, 2019

comps From Page 1

Faculty From Page 1

Committee to Review Club Comps FAS Overall Size Will Not Expand Comps are training and vetting procedures required for membership in many student organizations at the College.

They can take the form of auditions, applications, interviews, required meetings, or some other demonstrations of proficiency. Some student groups require students to complete a set of requirements to secure admission, while others hold more selective competitions and cut applicants who do not meet their standards.

“We’re more so describing comps in which it seems arbitrary why a comp is necessary, where there are many people who could benefit from being part of that organization, and it doesn’t need that level of cuts, or exclusivity,” UC President and CSL member Sruthi Palaniappan ’20 said in an interview Thursday.

Winthrop House Resident Dean Linda Chavers, who sits on the CSL, wrote in an email that the committee hopes the proposed comp audit will promote accessibility in extracurricular organizations.

“Regarding the question of eliminating comps it is my opinion that all of us in this com­

munity have an obligation to continuously examine and interrogate any and all existing structures and systems that might possibly uphold the status quo of inequality and elitism on our campus,” Chavers wrote.

Members of the CSL also proposed the idea of conducting a survey to collect more data on students’ experiences with comps.

Palaniappan said in an interview Thursday that the UC implemented a similar “Q Guide for comps” a few years ago. She said she believes the UC’s attempt faced “some pretty major challenges” because respondents had very strong opinions either in favor of or against specific comps.

“But I think doing more anecdotal information collection from students and hearing about these comps in particular would be useful for the purposes of the UC,” Palaniappan said.

Alongside the comp audit, the CSL will also help the Dean of Students Office plan an assessment of student groups more broadly. That probe will explore “member numbers, contributions to the Harvard community, and planned activ-

ities,” according to Katie Colleran, senior director of student organizations and resources in the Dean of Students Office.

The CSL will also provide a formal assessment of the social group penalties in 2023, as former University President Drew G. Faust stipulated in a January 2017 statement to the Harvard community.

The social group policy — which took effect with the Class of 2021 — bars members of single-gender final clubs and Greek organizations from holding campus leadership positions and athletic team captaincies, and from receiving College endorsement for prestigious fellowships.

Colleran, who also serves on the CSL, will provide the committee with “concerns” from last year, ideas for “forward progress this year,” and a “recap” of the status of social groups that have gained formal College recognition and exemption from the penalties.

Though an official review of the policy by the committee is several years away, Associate Dean of Student Engagement Alexander R. Miller and Dean of Students Katherine G.

O’Dair said in a Tuesday interview that they have observed a “culture shift” on campus as a result of the policies. This fall, the DSO outlined a formal procedure by which extracurricular organizations can be punished for electing leaders who are members of single-gender social groups.

The CSL will also offer recommendations regarding transportation, food options, and accessibility in the new campus across the river in Allston, Palaniappan said. The Allston campus is slated to open in fall 2020.

“I think [the CSL] will be mainly providing input to groups such as the Registrar’s Office which deals a lot with scheduling and focuses on more of the academic side, but that also relates to transportation needs on campus,” Palaniappan said.

“I know we’ll be talking with those respective offices that also deal with dining, thinking about ways to open up potential cafes that we also have in the Yard.” sanjana.narayanan@thecrimson.com samuel.zwickel@thecrimson.com

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t he FAS in general, we are continually renewed by bringing in early-career scholars, supporting them, and helping them develop their careers here, so I always want to make sure that that is on the table.”

Gay said that the ladder faculty loses an average of 30 members each year. But last year, the school lost 37 ladder faculty members, according to Dean of Faculty Affairs and Planning Nina Zipser.

Because FAS also completed a lower-than-usual number of faculty searches last year, it shrunk by a net 10 members.

Zipser said at a faculty meeting Tuesday that the FAS did not expect the decrease.

“That was not intended,” Zipser said. “It was influenced by a few unforeseen events.”

In an interview soon after taking office last year, Gay said she planned to make recruitment of ethnic studies faculty a priority, adding that building up Harvard’s faculty ranks is the best way to strengthen the school’s capacity to later create a formalized program in ethnic studies.

Gay said that candidates visiting campus in the coming months may give public lectures, which she encouraged students and faculty to attend.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Zipser also spoke about the issue of faculty diversity. While the ranks of the faculty have slowly diversified along gender lines, there remain significant disparities in representation; women make up just 31 percent of lad­

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der faculty.

Last year, the FAS extended offers to 18 women and 16 men, yet only 10 women accepted their offers, compared to 14 men. Gay and Zipser both asserted the disparity is simply the product of a small sample size. In 2017 and 2018, the acceptance rates of male and female hirees were nearly even.

At Tuesday’s faculty meeting, Zipser outlined various policies that the University has undertaken to help prospective hires’ spouses find jobs in the Cambridge area, including increased cooperation with MIT and adding new non-tenure track positions that spouses could fill.

“We think that that might be a nice track to help attract people,” Zipser said.

The University remains unwilling to give preference to spouses for internal tenure-track positions, Gay said Wednesday, despite concerns that the policy exacerbates gender disparities.

In a report released by the Government Department Committee on Climate Change — which examined internal department culture — earlier this year, the authors wrote they believe the department’s inability to retain and recruit women is exacerbated by the University’s policies on spousal hiring.

“For every position, we evaluate the candidates on their own merits,” Gay said. jonah.berger@thecrimson.com molly.mccafferty@thecrimson.com

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iop From Page 1

Divest From Page 1

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Senior Staffers Speak at IOP

UC Sys. Shows A Way to Divest

Local Campaigners Pitch to Undergrads

“They started singing, and I looked over and the president and the pope were swaying,” Dyer said. “To me that was proudest moment.”

Marshall said she did not have a particular moment that stood out to her as a favorite, but she fondly recalls standing next to the president whenever someone said “Hail to the Chief.”

“And whether it was President Clinton or President Obama, watching them take on the position, taking on the weight of the Presidency, and standing a little straighter, bringing the chest up,” Mar­

shall said.

Dyer said social secretaries must be prepared to shoulder demanding responsibilities. If an event did not go well, she said, there was not a chance to redo it. Instead, she said she hoped that people saw the final product instead of the process.

“We [social secretaries] are not upfront about how the job gets done because if we do our job right, you will not ever see the details,” Dyer said. “You won’t the details of how we do our job, you will see the job done.” michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com

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can actually find a way to tailor your assets so that you’re not holding certain kinds of investments, so your holdings don’t include fossil fuel companies,” Brown said.

Brown said this investment strategy is one other schools should replicate.

“If the UC Regents and their investment managers say fossil fuel investments are risky without an adequate return… every single university should be doing that,” she said.

Whether Harvard will ultimately divest remains to be seen, but some experts say the UC system’s divestment marks a change among large university endowment managers.

Maria B. Zhu, an assistant professor of economics at Syracuse University, wrote in an email that the University of California’s decision could be “a sign that the tides are shifting” on universities’ economic views of investing in fossil fuels.

“If it has a positive impact, I do believe more schools will eventually divest for financial reasons, given that most of them tend to think social implications of divesting are positive or neutral at worst,” Zhu wrote.

Harvard Management Company spokesperson Patrick S. McKiernan wrote in a statement that HMC does not comment on other institutions’ endowments, but does consider environmental factors in its financial investments.

“As a long-term investor, Harvard Management Company considers all environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors that may impact the financial performance of our investments,” McKiernan wrote.

“HMC strongly believes that considering all data—including relevant ESG factors—is not ­

only in line with our fiduciary duty, but simply something that thoughtful investors do.”

While activists celebrate the UC divestment and continue to argue that Harvard should follow suit, some experts maintain that divestment may not be as effective as is purported.

Robert O. Mendelsohn ’73, a forest policy and economics professor at Yale University, wrote in an email that divest-

If it has a positive impact, I do believe more schools will eventually divest for financial reasons, given that most of them tend to think social implications of divesting are positive or neutral at worst.

Maria B. Zhu Assistant Professor of Economics at Syracuse University

ment would not result in any “meaningful change” toward combating climate change.

“As an economist, I would tell you that fossil fuel divestment even from a large endowment such as Harvard’s is largely just a symbolic gesture because this endowment is a tiny fraction of the world’s capital,” Mendelsohn wrote. “Divestment would greatly limit the ease of designing the best portfolio for Harvard without actually making the world a better place.” alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com

Harvard students, such as traffic safety, climate change, and the cost of local housing after graduation.

“I’m probably one of the candidates who has the closest relationship with Harvard undergraduates or insight into their lives,” he said. “I work on Harvard’s campus, I share an office with Harvard undergraduates; I understand the specific problems that Harvard undergraduates face.”

Several candidates, including Sobrinho-Wheeler, said that they made overtures to the Harvard College Democrats regarding endorsements. The group typically puts its support behind one candidate each election cycle.

On Monday, the College Democrats voted to endorse candidate Nicola A. Williams, a local entrepreneur. The decision came after the group held a meeting where members spoke on behalf of candidates, followed by an online vote, according to College Democrats Campaigns Director Menat N. Bahnasy ’22. Bahnasy said that the group will be coordinating canvassing and phone banking with Williams’s campaign in the future.

During the last city council election in 2017, the College Democrats voted to endorse current Vice Mayor Jan Devereux. Devereux announced earlier this year that she will not seek re-election, citing personal reasons.

Williams said she is “thrilled” to receive the endorsement, and said she looks forward to working with the College Democrats throughout her campaign. She added that she hopes students will be drawn to her platform, particularly with her focus on climate change.

“If they care about climate, ­

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we’re in a city that we can make a difference,” she said. “I think that having progressive counselors like myself — we’re committed to the environment — will help make a difference.”

Several candidates, however, said they have faced difficulties making inroads with undergraduates. Candidate Burhan Azeem, who at 22 is the youngest candidate in the race, said that he has faced many “structural issues” reaching Harvard students, such as access to email lists and canvassing in dorms.

“You have to have undergrads, like, know that you’re running, which to some extent is one of the easier problems to solve,” he said. “You can get people from each of the different houses that can email within their house. So, there’s ways of getting across that information barrier.”

Kopon also said that involving undergraduates in local politics poses a unique challenge to candidates.

“It’s tough, because undergraduate students have historically proven to be almost impossible to engage with, and they tend not to vote locally,” he said.

Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80, council candidate and School Committee member, said that though she understands why students choose not to vote in Cambridge, she said it would be “thrilling” for undergraduates to get more involved in local campaigns.

Azeem also said he believes Harvard students should engage with Cambridge politics, citing the impact on future students.

“While you may not be here in four years, students will still be here, and continue to be here after you’re gone,” he said. declan.knieriem@thecrimson.com

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Editorial The Crimson Editorial board

column

Affirmative Action, Affirmed — For Now

I

n a 130-page opinion, federal judge Allison D. Burroughs brought to a conclusion the current — and we need to emphasize that word in particular — chapter of Harvard’s fight with Students for Fair Admissions, the anti-affirmative action group that brought the case in 2014, over whether or not the College’s race-conscious admissions policies illegally discriminate against Asian American applicants.

Burroughs ruled in favor of Harvard on all counts, holding that the University’s processes are necessary to ensure diversity while not crossing a line into unconstitutional racial discrimination We are glad that Harvard has won this round of litigation, but we recognize that there remains a long road ahead.

We hold very dear a diverse set of values that theoretically underpin Harvard’s contested admissions practices.

We believe in racial equality. We believe in merit.

We believe in a diverse campus. But we understand that in practice these beliefs are sometimes in tension with one another, and that even after Burroughs’ decision, protecting these values and the system that — however imperfectly — sustains them is both a difficult balancing act and likely a continued legal one.

Alongside many of our peers we send our appreciation to Burroughs for recognizing the difficulty and nuance of the issue at hand — its long term consequences, complicated history, and chal-

lenging factors of implementation.

In particular, the judgement’s reinforcement of affirmative action is deeply relieving.

We have long supported affirmative action as a necessary component of Harvard’s admission practices.

A victory for SFFA threatens the grounds upon which diversity has and continues to be developed across Ameri-

We hold very dear a diverse set of values that theoretically underpin Harvard’s contested admissions practices. We believe in racial equality. We believe in merit. We believe in a diverse campus. can higher education.

That said, we cannot rest easy. Not only has SFFA announced its intentions to appeal the decision, but the grounds upon which Burroughs decided the case feel flimsy in the context of the higher court it will be appealed to, given that the case’s ruling applies the standard of strict scrutiny.

That criteria — the most stringent standard for judicial review — is difficult bar to reach. As such, we fear the current slate of Supreme Court justices will end affirmative action in light of their past opinions on these related issues.

While for now this possibility re-

mains speculative, we urge Harvard to hold true to its values.

Of course, the admissions remains deeply flawed, but now more than ever the administration and its allies across academia should double down on its betterment and promotion.

And while legal judgments tend to read in terms of binary conceptions of possible outcomes — affirmation of Harvard’s admissions practices or strict negation — we urge Harvard and all parties to continue to view the case in as nuanced a way as possible.

In light of the political weight this case has already taken on and will likely continue to gain as it moves through the courts, we implore Harvard students and defenders of affirmative action at large to keep a close eye on this case as it develops.

Public pressure in support of affirmative action will be an important strategic component of the effort to demonstrate its vital importance for equity in our society and advocate for its preservation.

Though we are glad the proverbial battle has been won, we are bracing for the ones yet to come.

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.

Submit an Op-Ed Today!

—Riya Sood ’20 is a Statistics concentrator in Leverett House. Her column appears on alternate Fridays.

Affirmative Action Outside the Law

T

Since one of SFFA’s main arguments was that Harvard was discriminating against Asian Americans, this noticeable absence does seem damning. vard didn’t hold up, and the blame for certain statistical disparities fell mainly on that ever shadowy term “implicit bias,” which kept popping up in the decision. The decision recommended Harvard improve its admissions process by giving admissions officers implicit bias training because it surmised that could have had a slight negative effect on the average personal ratings they gave Asian American applicants.

Overall though, the Court concluded, “while implicit biases may be affecting Harvard’s ratings at the margins, to the extent that the disparities are the result of race, they are unintentional and would not be cured by a judicial dictate…”

Though this seems like an excessively generous reading of what was going on, it does also seem reasonable within the legal framework.

I wouldn’t want to live in a world

We are in an era when corporations have political views. They display advertisements that take on BGLTQ issues, feminism and women’s rights, racism, and more.

—Michelle I. Gao ’21, a Crimson Associate Editorial editor, is a Government concentrator in Adams House.

Op-ed

he legal debate over affirmative action has been a fancy sideshow — a necessary one that represents the best of all available channels through which to address the issue — but a sideshow nevertheless.

The long-awaited decision in the case brought by Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard, which upholds Harvard’s race-conscious admissions policies on all counts, addresses the relevant legal tests (like “strict scrutiny” and “narrow tailoring”).

There is much that lies outside the law, though, including many of the thorniest issues around affirmative action.

As debate inevitably continues on (not least because SFFA so clearly intends to bring the case up to the Supreme Court), we must keep in mind what wasn’t adjudicated as well as what was.

Throughout the trial, it was hard to shake the sense that no one was going to find the smoking gun that proved racial discrimination.

Startlingly blatant evidence did come out about other types of preferential treatment — rolling out the “red carpet” for an applicant whose family donated $1.1 million to the University, scheming over someone’s “art collection which conceivably could come our way.”

The eagerness to schmooze big donors is an open secret, though, and fair game.

Call me a cynic, but I believe if Harvard were engaging in an elaborate semi-illegal plot, of course administrators would know the exact boundaries of the game.

So, you’d never see documents nearly as damning about race.

And indeed, there was no smoking gun.

The decision noted that SFFA failed to present even one example of explic-

T

aylor Swift makes a single Instagram post about the importance of voting and 65,000 young people register to vote within the next 24 hours.

Chick-fil-A is transparently against BGLTQ rights and thousands across the country decide to boycott the establishment.

The newest name in the all-encompassing political game? Walmart.

On August 3, a mass shooting took place in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas where over 22 people were killed. As with all the other mass shootings that have taken place in the past decade, many in the country were outraged. Families grieved. Activists protested. Rinse. Repeat.

At this point, there is practically a standard set of procedures for when a horrendous event like this takes place.

Even the store where the shooting occurred is expected to be reopened in November.

However, since August, Walmart has actually started to take action. Among other things, Walmart has decided to stop selling any handgun ammunition and to stop allowing open carry in its stores nationwide.

We clearly should have seen this coming.

When we think of Walmart, what really comes to mind? A cheap nationwide department store?

A place where 70 percent of employees leave within one year due to bad working conditions?

A working environment where pregnant women allegedly face discrimination?

Of course not — we obviously instead think of it as an activist in the gun-rights debate!

where we were all judged by what others, even others in judges’ robes, perceive to be our “implicit biases.”

So I understand why the court would give Harvard a lot of deference to conduct its own business, but as a result, the whole proceeding ended up being mostly irrelevant.

It didn’t address what seems to be the elephant in the room. Of course, Harvard is heavily using race in admissions decisions.

It would rather have fewer Asian Americans than would get in through a less race-conscious system. It would rather have more African Americans and Hispanics than would get in through that kind of system.

It would rather prioritize racial diversity most heavily over other forms of diversity.

Are these facts? Well, I’m not going to be able to prove so in a court of law.

Nor, it appears, did Harvard believe it would be able to defend such preferences in a court of law.

But I almost wish they had tried. At least then the argument would be centered on the really hard problems of university admissions.

There are no absolutely right solutions, only uncomfortable trade-offs. I agree, for example, the University would suffer if it admitted a student body that was 70 percent Asian American.

I would respect Harvard a lot more for saying it explicitly, though.

The big takeaway, at least for now, is “Harvard won.”

But what did it really win?

Only what the verdict covered, which was determined only by what was argued in the trial — which in turn was only a small and marginal subset of the arguments around affirmative action.

@thecrimson

it “discriminatory animus” against an Asian American applicant in an admissions file.

Since one of SFFA’s main arguments was that Harvard was discriminating against Asian Americans, this noticeable absence does seem damning.

Stepping outside the justifiably stricter legal framework, though, I still have a nagging question: Does such an explicit example have to exist to prove discrimination? Shouldn’t we at least expect less sloppy discrimination from higher institutions?

Nevertheless, without a smoking gun, the serious charges against Har-

By Riya Sood

We are in an era when corporations have political views. They display advertisements that take on BGLTQ issues, feminism and women’s rights, racism, and more. They are diversifying their workforces. They are encouraging the usage of sustainable or reusable materials. In this day and age, are you really trying to cater to millennial support if you don’t take on some sort of liberal issue?

And clearly the El Paso shooting was the first time any egregious incident happened in a Walmart, otherwise they would have taken action sooner, of course.

It’s not as though over 200 violent crimes take place in Walmart stores each year. Or that Walmart is one of the largest nationwide sellers of guns and ammunition in a country that has been facing terrible problems with gun violence for years now.

And it’s definitely not as though guns are actually a dying industry in big department stores and others have stopped selling them due to low profit margins.

Obviously, Walmart has gotten involved in this debate for the completely right, genuine reasons.

The chain is not being pressured to take this response, nor is it trying to continue catering to the millennial access that it has been struggling to gain for many years now.

This is just a spontaneous value-shift that we would expect from such an establishment.

For all its flaws though, we know that this move will likely have some impact.

Walmart is the biggest retailer in America, so any change to its product line will be noticed by Americans.

For the most part, executives in America haven’t taken a stance on gun violence. Walmart CEO C. Doug McMillon’s decision to get involved in this debate and also to start communicating with Congress about necessary policy changes could start a new trend among businesses.

Ultimately, though, this just exposes how desperate we are as a country for anyone or anything to take a stand.

When we decide to take global warming more seriously, will Macy’s be leading the charge?

When the next global health crisis takes place, will we look to Walgreens to ignite a call for action?

When we start giving the necessary attention to the school-to-prison pipeline among black students, will it be because Target forced us to acknowledge the issue?

At this point though, we will take what we can get. Our president chooses to smile when taking photos with victims of gun violence. His response to mass shootings is to call for expedited death penalties for mass shooters — many of whom commit suicide after committing their atrocities anyway.

So as opportunistic and inauthentic as Walmart’s “stance” likely is, it is action — there was a terrible shooting in an El Paso Walmart where 22 people died and an additional 24 were injured, activists called upon Walmart to take a stand against gun violence, and Walmart responded by deciding to stop selling handgun ammunition and to press Congress to increase background checks.

While there is more that could have been done, this is at least one step.

And at least if (when) the next shooting happens, we know who to turn to for action — not our government or our politicians, but instead to our private retailers who are evidently more willing to take action.

The Crimson

By Michelle i. Gao

Everytown for Gun Safety or Walmart?

ARTS

The Harvard Crimson | OCTOBER 4, 2019 | page 7

BOOKS

‘The Fountains of Silence’ Illuminates Spain’s Darkest Corners KATHRYN B. KLINE Contributing writer

In a masterwork of historical fiction, Ruta Sepetys creates a literary pilgrimage to Spain in 1957, as she utilizes enigmatic characters and engaging plotlines to pull back the curtain on a portion of history that may be largely unknown to many. “The Fountains of Silence” plunges readers into the two distinct worlds of Spain under Francisco Franco: a land in which fear is king, regulations abound, and human rights are nonexistent, alongside the fledgling, tourist-appropriate Spain, built for the wealthy visitors the country has recently decided to court. The former is brutal, the latter is a postcard: beautiful, yet irrevocably flat. All the glitter of the second comes at a cost. With every room service lobster, the price of which exceeds the salary of the waiter who delivers it, tourists are complicit in the deepening of the divide, and concealing from the outside world the atrocities being carried out by an authoritarian regime. As one character aptly warns, “Don’t be stupid. There is a dark side here. Sure, they’re selling sunshine and castanets to the tourists. But that’s not all Franco’s selling. One wrong move and the police will be on you. You’ll be dead in a dirt pit.”

The story centers around Daniel Matheson, a young man from Dallas whose family, flush with the spoils of the booming Texas oil industry, is visiting his mother’s home country of Spain. For Daniel, the trip provides a level of independence that he craves, as he wanders the cobblestone streets of Madrid chasing down moments for the photography contest for which he is a finalist. His ambition to study journalism is largely unsupported by his father, leaving him desperate to earn his tuition. Beyond any fiscal reward, he carries a chip on his shoulder the size of the state he hails from, and Daniel is eager to prove himself, to capture a story, even if it involves putting himself in danger.

The opening line is fitting: “They stand in line for blood.” Women stand in line while a young boy working at the slaughterhouse doles out blood that will be used to make blood sausage. But the women are not the only ones awaiting gore. Matadors are a fixture of this story, and spectators at the bullfights literally await bloodshed and Daniel too is in some ways waiting for slaughter. Although armed with a charming smile and appealing southern manners, he is desperate to document the atrocities of Spain. But to his credit, what begins as an attempt to supplement his portfolio quickly becomes a deeply personal mission. Within days of arriving, Daniel is harassed by the “crows,” the terrifying Guardia Civil, Franco’s military police, leaving him to wonder, “If that’s how they treat tourists, how do they treat locals?”

The locals featured in the novel are similarly young, yet they are all too familiar with the darkness that the sunlight hides. Ana is a maid at a tourist hotel, eager to work her way up and rehabilitate her family, left with nothing after the civil war. Rafa, her brother, is fleeing from a horrific childhood,

courtesy of Penguin Random House

witnessing their father’s murder at the hands of the Guardia Civil and then spending years in a brutal home for young boys. While there he met Fuga, his best friend, an aspiring Matador with a mission to protect the children of Spain. Finally Puri, Rafi and Ana’s cousin, works in the Inclusa, Madrid’s local orphanage, where she relishes the sense of satisfaction she gets from being a “good Spaniard” and a “good Christian,” yet begins to wonder where all the orphans are coming from, and if they are even orphans at all. It is through the eyes of these lush characters that Sepetys depicts the realities of Spain. And as the book begins to paint a more complete picture, so too does Daniel after meeting Ana at the Castelana Hilton. Their fast friendship gives Daniel a passkey into the side of Spain only the locals see, imbuing him with a Robert Capa-esque sense of duty, on a mission to expose the truth. The pair lend the novel a sense of intimacy and familiarity within the broad, terrifying, and almost incomprehensible scale of Spanish politics. Daniel and Ana are naive and impulsive, determined and passionate, inscrutable but still textbook, so fundamentally teenaged. However, while Daniel is protected by his status as an American, the force of democracy strong at his back, the very fact of their relationship is a danger to Ana in a country where, “If a girl is discovered in a movie theater with a boy but no chaperone, her family is sent a yellow card of prostitution.” Thus, secrecy is paramount. Early on, the narrator explains, “Of course Ana’s hiding something. This is Franco’s Spain. They’re all hiding something.”

At times, however, this book exhibits a frustrating lack of faith in the reader. Perhaps because Young Adult fiction is targeted to a younger audience, authors may find it necessary to restate information, make complexities slightly more obvious or simplified, and put nuances in bold in order to ensure that readers catch every breadcrumb. However, the best works of suspense are those in which some clues are missed, buried, difficult to find. The ending feels somewhat abrupt, and a reader turning the final page may be shocked to realize there is no more. Perhaps this is a testament to a fascinating story and characters that nestle quickly into your heart. Littered with a litany of quotes carefully pulled from primary sources of the time and placed between the chapters, one leaves this book with a genuinely enhanced understanding of its time period, igniting a desire for more information about this tumultuous period in Spanish history.

In many ways this novel feels like the Capeas, the amateur bullfights that feature prominently in many of its scenes. Sepetys is the matador, the reader is the bull, and each time one attempts to close the book, a new piece of information flashes before you like a blood red cape, and you take off running.

THEATER

Larissa Ponomarenko Stages an Expressive Update of Ballet Classic ‘Giselle’ Aline G. Damas Crimson staff writer courtesy of Rosalie O’connor, boston ballet

After taking a break from Boston for almost 10 years, “Giselle” returns to the city with pomp at the Citizens Bank Opera House this fall. The opening of Boston Ballet’s 2019-2020 season featured the traditional choreography of Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, and Marius Petipa. This particular performance was adapted by the formidable Larissa Ponomarenko, a former principal dancer at the company and one of its current ballet masters. Ponomarenko first played the eponymous role in 1994, and made it her own with her majestic interpretation. For this reason, Boston Ballet artistic director Mikko Nissinen solely entrusted her to stage this Gothic tale — and she more than delivered. Ponomarenko crafted a traditional and resplendent performance that married both excellent leading performances with gorgeous set design.

“Giselle” takes place in a small village in Germany’s Rhine Valley during medieval times. This quaint village is home to the namesake protagonist (Viktorina Kapitonova),who lives with her mother, Berthe (Elizabethe Olds). Though a beautiful dancer, Giselle’s weak heart makes her hobby quite a dangerous one. With the arrival of the village wine festival comes Count Albrecht of Silesia (Patrick Yocum), who masquerades as a peasant farmer named Loys. He courts Giselle and they fall in love with each other, much to the chagrin of jealous gamekeeper Hilarion (Paul Craig), who is also in love with Giselle.

The arrival of a courtly hunting party, led by the Duke of Courland (Desean Taber) and his daughter Bathilde (Lauren Flower), brings utter disaster as Bathilde is engaged to Albrecht. Upon learning the truth about Albrecht, Giselle goes mad and dies from her weak heart. The second act sees both Hilarion and Albrecht grieving at Giselle’s grave when they are attacked by nocturnal spirits, the Wilis, led by their queen Myrtha (Dawn Atkins): The men are cursed by these ghostly spirits and forced to dance to their deaths. Though Giselle’s spirit initially prepares to join the other’s ranks, she returns to earth when she sacrifices her aspirations to save Albrecht’s life.

Kapitonova delivered a luscious and sensitive performance as Giselle. She danced with ease and a delicacy as she leaped across the stage with epic grand jetés in the faster moments and also sustained deep arabesques into penchées during slower parts. Overall, she brought an intense precision with her model technique that did not falter across the two acts. Kapitonova coupled her technique with an expressive take on the melodramatics of the classic ballet. More so than most

ballets, “Giselle” requires quite a bit of pantomime, and Kapitonova was well equipped for this, showing off various sides of the character — whether this was the coquettish side or the ghoulish one — with just the right amount of thoughtful exaggeration. In particular it was her madness scenes that impressed. This was largely due to Kapitonova’s ability to imbue her character with a naturalistic and scattered descension into madness rather than an overwrought devolve of the mind. An Ophelia-like childishness to the descent generated much sympathy and was grimly convincing. In the second act, Kapitonova continued to deliver superb jumps that eventually turned into a particularly dizzying variation of chaînées that astounded all the more.

Yocum was slightly less adept at ballet pantomime, yet still managed to act the part of the playboy quite well with his overt courteousness and coy tosses of the head. He and Kapitonova were well paired, as they not only shared chemistry but did an excellent job at showing off each other’s talents.

His own jumps and solos were sprightly, and his strong stage presence made him shine all the more.

Craig and Atkins also delivered admirable performances as Hilarion and Myrtha, respectively.

In the scene featuring his character’s impending death, Craig showed excellent control. His formerly robust jumps melted into a mess of exhaustion that displayed real discipline. Atkins, with her sweeping arabesques and delicate footwork, brought a haunting quality to the piece as she often appeared to be floating across the stage. Though she might have begun the performance with a slight hint of trepidation — evident in her at times restrained movements — Atkins danced, by the end, with a lightness and commanding spirit that proved her worthy of this difficult role.

The expansive set featured the beautiful period costumes and even more impressive almostImpressionistic scenery courtesy of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. In the hunting scene, the appearance of two real life Irish Wolfhounds came as a delightful surprise. It was details like these that lent the show an authenticity that brought this production onto another level entirely.

Overall characterized by its expert dancing, thoughtful partnerships, and wildly extravagant set, Ponomarenko’s “Giselle” was a beautiful and original take on a classic that celebrated tradition while heightening and expounding on its original elements.

—Staff writer Aline G. Damas can be reached at aline.damas@thecrimson.com.

Sports

football Weekly Recap

about SCORES the team

2019 Overall Record 1-1 Total games Yards 452.5 upcoming ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Men’s Basketball vs. BU W, 18-17 ___________________________________________________________ woMen’s swimming ivy league championshp 2nd ___________________________________________________________ Conference Record 1-0 Rush Yards 140.5 Football vs. Howard ______________________________________ ______________________________________ woMen’s Heavyweight Crew Vs. Yale L ___________________________________________________________ golf Vs. princeton Oct. 5, 1 p.m., at Harvard W ___________________________________________________________ Games

2 Pass Yards 312 ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Football vs. University of Vermont L, 42, 36 ___________________________________________________________ men’s wrestling vs. penn state L, 42, 36 ___________________________________________________________ Points Scored 65 Yards Allowed 368.5 Football vs. Cornell ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Oct. 12, 1 p.m., at Harvard Fencing New England Championship

15th ___________________________________________________________ Points Allowed 38 ______________________________________

football

Harvard Preps For Historic Matchup With Howard

By Joseph w. minatel Crimson Staff Writer

E verything comes full circle. Even if it takes about 130 years.

According to ancient football lore, Howard University’s inaugural football team lacked uniforms for its first campaign. It was 1893, and football, especially at the collegiate level, was still catching on. The sport was still 16 years shy of its first ever legal forward pass and 74 years away from the debut of the Super Bowl. With such a limited pool, Howard’s English professor head coach turned to a program that was started just two decades prior in organized collegiate football’s opening years: Harvard University. The HU located in the Washington, D.C., 450 miles away from Cambridge, supposedly borrowed its uniforms from Harvard University, a companion HU. While this tale may not be true, Howard and Harvard football have been linked for over a century. On Saturday, however, they will finally truly meet on the gridiron for the first time in history.

“We were looking for new out-of-league opponents and a good academic school,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said.

“Howard is a great American college in its history and its tradition, on a lot of different levels.”

Howard, a university that has consistently been ranked academically on national lists, was founded just after the civil war as a historically black university (HBCU) in the nation’s capital.

“It’s the first time we’ve played Howard in history,” captain defensive back Wes Ogsbury said. “They like to call themselves the ‘Harvard of the HBCUs,’ so there will be some bragging rights outside of football.”

Even though this week is ­

FULL EXTENSION Junior tight end Adam West goes up for a leaping grab in the end zone during last weekend’s home game against Brown University. West was one of four Crimson players to grab a touchdown pass over the course of the contest, sending Harvard on its way to a resounding victory. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—Crimson photographer

the Crimson’s first matchup with what Murphy called “one of the great historically black colleges,” many players on the team share personal connections to various HBCUs. “Someone asked me, ‘as a historically black college,

have any of your players had any parents or siblings [with connections]?’” Murphy said.

“So I threw it out there, and I got six hits in 10 minutes.”

Murphy named juniors Justin Mitchell, Devin Darrington, B.J. Watson, Jordan Hill, and Isaiah Wing-

field, along with sophomores Truman Jones, Khalil Thomas, and Jacob Sykes and firstyear David Madzivanyika as players with personal connections to HBCUs.

They like to call themselves the ‘Harvard of the HBCUs,’ so there will be some bragging rights outside of football.

Wes Ogsbury Defensive Back

ESCAPING THE POCKET Junior quarterback Jake Smith makes a throw on the run during last weekend’s game against Brown. Smith led the Crimson to a 42-7 victory in the contest. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—Crimson photographer

Outside of these personal connections, the conditions are sure to feel a bit different from most non-conference matchups for Harvard.

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” Ogsbury said.

“There are going to be a couple tailgates before the game, so I think we’re going to have a great environment and a great stadium feel this time. I really think it’s going to be a good one.”

Howard will be sending buses of students up to Cambridge for a week full of events, tailgates, and football.

The estimated inf lux of visiting fans is sure to add to the

stadium atmosphere.

The Howard faithful will be hoping to witness a victory, as the Bison have lost four of their first five to open their season.

Fans have likely had a particularly tough time, with Howard hosting only two of its opening six contests, two games that the team dropped to its opponents. While the Bison are travelling to Cambridge this season, the Crimson will head down to the nation’s capital next year before Howard returns to Harvard yet again in 2021.

While the Bison will be looking to turn things around, the Crimson will surely be hoping to capitalize on its momentum and build off of last week’s victory. In its 42-7 trouncing of conference opponent Brown under the Friday night lights, Harvard gained 520 yards of total offense, gaining 299 through the air and 221 on the ground.

The Crimson was especially excellent in the high-pressure situations of the game, with the offense converting 69 percent of third downs and the defense stopping the Bears 73 percent of the time on the penultimate down. Still, Harvard remains focused on what is to come.

“Energy has been high, focus has been great, and play-

makers have been making plays,” Ogsbury said. “We’ve had a good week of practice for us.”

Even so, energy has been high for the Crimson in all areas. This includes the support system off the field as well. With the Bison sending up its students and its band, Harvard seems to feel it will be able to respond with its recent momentum, even outside of the football roster.

Energy has been high, focus has been great, and playmakers have been making plays.

Wes Ogsbury Defensive Back

“I feel like this atmosphere is going to be a great one,” Ogsbury said. “They’re bringing their band, we’ll have our band, and I think our band has actually stepped up a little bit this year.”

While the band has done its job so far this season, the Crimson will also be looking to also take care of business on the field against Howard, looking for its first non-conference victory of the season. joseph.minatel@thecrimson.com

The sights and sounds of Harvard.

The Crimson @crimson_photo