The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI, No. 101 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Thursday, OCtober 10, 2019
editorial PAGE 6
news PAGE 4
sports PAGE 7
We urge Harvard to actively support immigration initiatives on campus
Ralph Nader encourages law students to pursue public interest careers
After defeating Howard in their first meeting, Harvard takes on Cornell
External Firm Assists in Epstein Review Hasty Pudding
President Lawrence S. Bacow discusses a review of donations made by Jeffrey Epstein on Monday. Kathyrn S. Kuhar—Crimson photographer By Alexandra A. Chaidez and Aidan F. Ryan Crimson Staff Writers
University President Lawrence S. Bacow said in an interview Monday an external law firm is assisting the Office of the General Counsel in their review of donations made to Harvard by billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein. Bacow announced in an email to Harvard affiliates last month that the University would review Epstein’s dona
tions, writing that his connections to the school “raise important concerns.” Just over a week after Bacow’s announcement, Vice President and General Counsel Diane E. Lopez disclosed that the Office of the General Counsel would be conducting the review in an email to Harvard affiliates. Bacow said Monday he made the decision to have the Office of the General Counsel conduct the review. The University also hired Boston-based law firm Foley Hoag to aid in the process.
Bacow said that including external counsel in this review was the proper route to take for this investigation. “It seemed like the appropriate thing to do under the circumstances to ensure that people felt comfortable talking,” Bacow said. Harvard has retained Foley Hoag to conduct external investigations prior to the Epstein investigation. In 2013, the University commissioned a lawyer from the firm to review an internal investigation into whether Harvard had authorized secret searches of resident deans’ email accounts. “It’s one of the more prominent firms in Boston,” Bacow said Monday. “It’s well regarded.” Epstein had long-standing ties to Harvard, donating nearly $9 million to the University between 1998 and 2007 — including a $6.5 million gift to support the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. Bacow wrote in his email last month that most of the money Epstein gave to Harvard has been spent, but an unused portion totalling $186,000 would be given to organizations that support victims of both human trafficking and sexual assault. The billionaire and convicted sex offender died by suicide in August and faced multiple
allegations of sexually abusing underage girls. The Miami Herald reported Epstein operated a sex ring out of his Palm Beach, Fla. home for years. Roughly 80 women said Epstein molested or sexually abused them before 2006, according to the Herald. Epstein only spent 13 months in a county jail after federal prosecutors arranged an extraordinary plea deal. The 2008 prosecution was led by former United States Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta ’90, who resigned after federal prosecutors in New York opened a new investigation into Epstein. In Monday’s interview, Bacow said the University is investigating Epstein’s financial ties to ensure they have a “good handle” on the donations he has given. “We think we understand what he’s given directly and the timing of those gifts,” Bacow said. “There were allegations and representations by some that he may have directed gifts from others. We’re trying to understand if that happened.” Bacow said he did not have a timeline for the investigation but that it will “last as long as it needs to.” “We want to make sure that it’s done thoroughly and
See Bacow Page 4
Donates $50K By Shera S. Avi-Yonah and Delano R. Franklin Crimson Staff Writers
I n the wake of an August petition calling on the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 to donate funds connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Hasty Pudding announced a $50,000 donation to an anti-sex trafficking nonprofit Monday. Undergraduates in the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, which falls under the Institute, organized a petition calling on its graduate board to donate money connected with Epstein to a charity that combats sex trafficking. Dozens of women have accused Epstein, a billionaire investor, of sexually assaulting them when they were children. The Epstein-linked charity Gratitude America, Ltd. donated $50,000 to the Hasty Pudding Institute in 2016, according to tax filings; Epstein served as president of Gratitude America in 2014. The August petition called on the graduate board to donate an equal amount to charity. Hasty Pudding Institute spokesperson Guan-Yue Chen ’17 and Hasty Pudding Theatricals President Elias W. “Eli” Russell ’20 did not respond to
multiple requests for comment on whether Epstein-related pushback prompted the Monday announcement. Still, the Pudding’s donation satisfies the request outlined by the petition. The organization gave funds to Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, a group that supports underage and young adult victims of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. “It is impossible to overstate the import and efficacy of the work that [GEMS President] Rachel Lloyd and GEMS does for horrifically exploited young woman. GEMS is, in many ways, unique in its mission and its success stories,” Hasty Pudding Institute President Andrew L. Farkas ’82 said in a press release announcing the donation. The Hasty Pudding’s announcement came less than two weeks after The Crimson reported on the petition and other internal efforts to push the organization toward donating the Epstein-linked funds. The Monday press release also briefly noted other donations the Institute made this year, including gifts to the Arthur Miller Foundation and the
See Pudding Page 3
Harvard Harvard-Funded Starts Crosswalks Delayed Grant for Inclusion By Brie k. Buchanan and Peter E. O’Keefe Crimson Staff Writers
Long-running Harvard-funded efforts to build and renovate pedestrian crossings over Soldiers Field Road in Allston have fallen behind their scheduling projections. Harvard first committed $3.5 million in 2014 to build pedestrian and bicycle crossings in Allston. The planned footpaths are intended to increase accessibility between the Charles River parklands and the neighborhoods. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation announced at a public meeting in November 2018 that final design plans for the project would be completed in spring 2019, and construction on the footpaths was slotted to begin in 2019. The designs of the crossways, however, are currently at only 25 percent completion, DCR spokesperson Ol
By Amanda Y. Su Crimson Staff Writer
The Office of the President and the University’s Office for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging officially launched a joint initiative called the Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund to promote diversity and inclusion, the University announced in an email Wednesday. The fund will award competitive grants up to $15,000 or more to pilot and scale ideas that address and solve critical challenges regarding diversity and inclusion at Harvard. The initiative is now accepting project applications through the beginning of December from teams of Harvard students, staff, faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and academic personnel. The selection process includes a written application followed by a pitch competition. “We’re going to try to tap into not the entrepreneurial spirit that is tied to personal wealth, but the entrepreneurial spirit at Harvard that is tied to a kind of common wealth — the campus culture and the sense of community that we have here,” John S. Wilson Jr., senior advisor and strategist to Harvard’s president, said in an interview. The theme of the 2019-2020 funding cycle is “Advancing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging through Technology Driven Solutions.” The fund is soliciting ideas that leverage technology to “strengthen and advance” Harvard’s culture of belonging, according to the email. “This Harvard Culture Lab is going to make us proactive,” Wilson said. “Most of the offices of this type are reactive, responding to crises and conflicts all over the campus.” This past spring, the fund awarded its initial pilot grants — given in advance of the fund’s official release this Wednesday — to projects ranging from webbased platforms to assessment tools, awareness campaigns, and
See Innovation Page 3 Inside this issue
Harvard Today 2
ivia K. Dorrance wrote in an emailed statement Monday. In addition to the DCR, the University has partnered with the Boston Planning and Development Agency and the City of Boston to plan and complete the project. To date, the DCR has focused designs on building a crossing at Everett Street and renovating an existing footbridge at Telford Street, though additional sites may be considered if funding permits, according to Gerald Autler, senior project manager of the BPDA. Autler said Tuesday that plans for the project have centered on the Everett Street development following stalled conversations about how to execute the Telford Street construction. “The decision was made that they should focus on Everett Street,” Autler said. “The reason for that was that there was
See Crosswalk Page 4
Pedestrians cross the intersection between Solders Field Road and Cambridge Street across the Charles River. Steve S. Li—Crimson photographer
Researchers Analyze Viral Assembly Process By Juliet E. Isselbacher Crimson Staff Writer
Bassist Toby Leaman plays during a concert for America rock band Dr. Dog in the Rockland Trust Bank Pavillion. Amy Y. Li—Crimson photographer
News 4
Editorial 6
Sports 7
Today’s Forecast
Harvard scientists have settled a long-standing debate about how viruses assemble, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Sept. 30. Chemical Engineering and Physics Professor Vinothan N. Manoharan led the small team — comprising Applied Physics research associate Rees F. Garmann and former Applied Physics graduate student Aaron M. Goldfain — working on the project.The specific virus they examined consists of an RNA strand of about 3600 nucleotides, bounded by a protective capsule — known as a capsid — of 180 proteins, according to Manoharan. Manoharan and Garmann said the team sought to settle a debate between two theories of
rainy High: 55 Low: 53
viral assembly. The first theory — called the “en masse” pathway — posits that most of the requisite proteins glom onto to the RNA in a disordered way, and then subsequently sort themselves into a capsid. The second theory — termed the nucleation and growth model — suggests that a few proteins drift onto and off from the RNA molecule, at some point forming a critical mass — or nucleus — from which the capsid proceeds to grow rapidly. Manoharan added that past experimentation has not been able to resolve the question. “People had done experiments looking at many viruses assembling at the same time, and kind of averaging over all of that data. But that doesn’t give you enough information to see which of these pathways actually is actually working,” he
See virus Page 3
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