The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 126

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLVI, NO. 126 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2019

EDITORIAL PAGE 6

NEWS PAGE 3

SPORTS PAGE 8

Op-Ed: Why the mandatory minimum meal plan is unfair

Response and ECHO return to Lowell House post-renovation

Harvard set to face Penn in Ancient Eight Battle

Mathew and White-Thorpe Win UC Race

By KEVIN R. CHEN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

James A. Mathew ’21 and Ifeoma “Ify” E. White-Thorpe ’21 will lead the next session of the Undergraduate Council as president and vice president, respectively, despite not receiving the most first-choice votes, the UC Election Commission announced Thursday night.

Mathew and White-Thorpe ran on a campaign to foster inclusion and improve student wellness and safety under the slogan “Harvard Can’t Wait.”

Mathew is a Mather House resident who serves as one of two chiefs of inclusion and belonging on current UC President Sruthi Palaniappan ’20 and Vice President Julia M. Huesa’s Executive Cabinet. White-Thorpe, ­

a Leverett House resident, has served on three UC committees and is currently the UC’s head of communications and chair of its Black Caucus. They will take office in December.

The duo won the election despite the fact that they did not receive the most first-choice votes under the Borda voting system the Council adopted last year. Voters ranked all five candidates, and each ticket received a quantity of points corresponding to its ranking on the ballot — first-choice tickets received one point, second-choice tickets received 0.5 points, third-choice received 0.33, fourth-choice received 0.25, and fifth-choice received 0.2.

Aditya A. Dhar ’21 and Andrew W. Liang ’21 — a Crimson business associate — received

Sanika S. Mahajan ’21 and Rushi A. Patel ’21 await the results of the election on Thursday night. CAMILLE G. CALDERA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

the most first-choice votes, with 1,063 students ranking the ticket as their top choice. Mathew and White-Thorpe followed with 1,025 first-choice votes, and Sanika S. Mahajan ’21 and Rushi A. Patel ’21 came in third with 965 first-choice votes.

Under the Borda voting system, Mathew and White-Thorpe won with 1,938.0 points.

Dhar and Liang came in second with 1,865.8 points, followed by Mahajan and Patel with 1,846.3, Prashanth “PK” Kumar ’21 and Michael O. Raji ’22 with 1,436.3, and M. Thorwald “Thor” Larson ’21 and Case McKinley ’21 with 1,298.0.

Student turnout for UC presidential elections has increased significantly over the past few

SEE UC PAGE 4

By DEVIN B. SRIVASTAVA CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

rize the Higher Education Act of 1965 — and legislation to repeal a tax on university endowments, all amid the impeachment inquiry.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) initiated the impeachment inquiry Sept. 24 following revelations that Trump allegedly asked the Ukranian government to investigate former Vice President and current presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the matter.

Bacow has supported both pieces of legislation, personally meeting with legislators in both houses about these issues and lobbying them to enact

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay announced Thursday the composition of a University-wide committee to find a replacement for longtime Athletics Director Robert L. Scalise.

Former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith will chair the six-person committee, according to Gay’s emailed announcement, which she sent to Harvard Athletics affiliates.

The other members are former Athletics Director John “Jack” P. Reardon ‘60, Dean of Students Katherine O’Dair, Cabot House Faculty Dean Stephanie R. Khurana, Professor of African and African American Studies and Philosophy Tommie Shelby, and former Vice Chair of the Board of Overseers Gwill E. York ’79.

Jed Hughes and Tierney Remick of outside consulting group Korn Ferry International will aid the search.

Hughes has spent 20 years coaching football at the professional and intercollegiate level and is Korn Ferry’s Global Head of Sports Practice.

Remick currently serves on the Leadership Board of Harvard Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program.

Scalise, who has served as Athletics Director for the past 18 years, announced in October that he would retire in June.

He wrote in an email to the Athletics Department last month that he will continue to serve as an adviser for Gay on athletics throughout the 20202021 academic year.

Gay wrote Thursday that the search committee will direct “extensive consultation” of members of Harvard Athletics.

Throughout the search process, the committee will post information about consultation events to a website, and they will solicit feedback via a publicly available email address.

The consultation meetings will give affiliates of Harvard Athletics a chance to offer their input on the “qualities, experiences, capacities, and vision” that they hope to see in the new director and to share the issues they believe the new director should prioritize, according to the website.

The search for Scalise’s

SEE BACOW PAGE 3

SEE ATHLETICS PAGE 3

­

Andrew W. Liang ’21, Aditya A. Dhar ’21, and their supporters wait for the results of the election. KAI R. MCNAMEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

James A. Mathew ’21 told his mom via FaceTime that he had been elected President of the College’s Undergraduate Council. AMY Y. LI—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Bacow Uncertain on Higher Ed Bills

SEE PAGE 3

By ALEXANDRA A. CHAIDEZ and AIDAN F. RYAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

University President Lawrence S. Bacow said in an interview Tuesday that it is “unclear” how quickly higher education legislation will make it through Congress given the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

“At the moment, given the fact that Congress is tied up with other issues — which are in the press daily — it’s unclear what legislation is going to move forward,” Bacow said.

His comments come weeks after Democrats in the United States House of Representatives introduced the College Affordability Act — a bill to reautho­

Several Cambridge politicians have proposed measures to increase the amount of affordable housing in the city.

KATHRYN S. KUHAR—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Athletic Director Search Begins

UC Launches Mental Student Search Health Screening

By KEVIN R. CHEN and MICHELLE G. KURILLA CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

The Undergraduate Council plans to launch a mental health screening in partnership with Counseling and Mental Health Services, according to UC President Sruthi Palaniappan ’20.

The platform, which includes a brief questionnaire aimed at identifying students’ mental health concerns, will be both free and confidential, according to Palaniappan. “I think the idea behind creating something as such, was that a lot of students sometimes feel as if they’re struggling but don’t quite know whether or not they should contact a mental health professional,” she said. ­

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Harvard Today 2

Palaniappan added that the UC designed the questionnaire to be brief and easy to complete, clocking in at fewer than five minutes for students who fill it out.

Universities including Wellesley College and the University of California, Berkeley currently offer similar online mental health screening services.

After completing the screening, the questionnaire will provide feedback regarding whether students are experiencing something “temporary” or if they should seek out more formal help.“Whatever the results spit out, basically, what it will also give you is relevant

SEE SCREENING PAGE 3

News 3

Editorial 6

Program Under Fire

By CAMILLE G. CALDERA CRIMSON STAFF WRITER ­The longtime college admissions practice of purchasing student names and information from the College Board — in which Harvard has long participated — has come under scrutiny from experts who say the program commodifies admissions and violates student privacy.

The College Board’s Student Search Program licenses lists of high school students’ names and approximate PSAT or SAT

SEE SCORES PAGE 5

Sports 8

The Admissions Office leads tours of the campus from its visitor center in Agassiz House on James Street. ZADOC I.N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

TODAY’S FORECAST

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

November 15, 2019

Page 2

Harvard Today

For Lunch Dan Dan Noodles Red’s Best Fresh Catch Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese

For Dinner Pepper and Sausage Pizza Teriyaki Turkey Tips Tofu Curry Noodle Stirfry

Today’s Events Still LowDin Opp Acapella Jam Sanders Theater, 7-10 p.m.

in The Real World

Relive your shopping week days with a fun a cappella jam over at Sanders Theatre. The Harvard Opportunes, Lowkeys, and Din and Tonics will be performing in their first jam of the year.

Bevin Concedes to Beshear in Kentucky Governor Race

Current Republican Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin conceded defeat to Democrat Andy Beshear on Thursday, following a recanvass of votes that showed Bevin still trailing by more than 5,000 votes. Beshear is the current state attorney general and won by a slim margin in last week’s election.

He will be sworn in on Dec. 10.

Hasty Pudding Theater Fall Show X 45 Dunster St, 8-9:30 p.m.

Looking for music, comedy, improv, and a “top secret surprise performance” ? Come see music by the Krokodiloes; stand-up comedy; improv

by Three Letter Acronym and On Thin Ice; and a debut performance by the cast of HPT 172: Mean Ghouls!

University of Florida Student President Faces Impeachment Students and tutors mingle at a Dunster House event celebrating sophomore Concentration Declaration Day. Joshua A. ng—Crimson photographer

Daily Briefing James A. Mathew ’21 and Ifeoma “Ify” E. White-Thorpe ’21 will lead the next session of the Undergraduate Council as president and vice president, respectively, despite not receiving the most first-choice votes, the UC Election Commission announced Thursday night. Mathew and White-Thorpe ran on a campaign to foster inclusion and improve student wellness and safety under the slogan “Harvard Can’t Wait.” In other news, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay announced Thursday the composition of a Universitywide committee to find a replacement for longtime Athletics Director Robert L. Scalise.

Following an Oct. 10 speech from Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, the student body president of the University of Florida is facing impeachment. Students have accused UF student body president Michael Murphy of abusing his power to benefit Trump, which they believe violates a rule against using student activity funds in support of or against a political party. Murphy has denied wrongdoing.

Around the Ivies Yale

More than 100 students, activists, and New Haven area residents gathered in Hamden Town Hall Wednesday night to protest the Hamden Police Department, according to the Yale Daily News. The protests targeted the ongoing employment of one of the two police officers who shot two unarmed New Haven residents in April. Last month, the Connectiut State’s Attorney released a report charging the officer with one count of assault and two counts of reckless endangerment — a decision that has revitalized the protests.

cornell

Cornell has suspended a fraternity where a freshman attended a party immediately before he was found dead in an Ithaca gorge last month, according to the Cornell Daily Sun. The fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, apparently hosted a “dirty rush” through which the organization broke the rules that typically regulate freshman recruitment.

Cornell Police have conducted more than 60 interviews since the student’s body was found, but the cause of death remains unclear. The student’s parents are offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with a new, verifiable tip.

PENN

The University of Pennsylvania is retracting its former claim that transgender individuals are not protected from workplace discrimination under federal law, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian.

In July, a former employee alleged she was fired because she identifies as transgender. As part of the case, Penn previously argued that the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination, Title VII, does not apply to transgender individuals. Now, however, Penn lawyers claim that the university offers full protections to transgender employees.

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

Design Chairs Elena M. Ramos ’20 Akhil S. Waghmare ’20

Associate Business Manager Amy E. Zhou ’20

FM Chairs Norah M. Murphy ’20 Abigail L. Simon ’20

Multimedia Chairs Kathryn S. Kuhar ’20 Kai R. McNamee ’21

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.

Night Editor Sonia Kim ’20

Design Editor Matthew J. Tyler ’22

Assistant Night Editors Camille G. Caldera ’22 Iris M. Lewis ’21

Photo Editor Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21

Story Editors Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21 Alex C. Chaidez ’21 Angela N. Fu ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Molly C. McCafferty ’21 Sanjana L. Narayanan ’21

Editorial Editor Jessenia N. Class ’20 Sports Editor Leon K. Yang ’21

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 | November 15, 2019

Response, ECHO Return to Lowell

By Charles xu and julia kendall contributing Writers

T wo Harvard peer counseling groups — Response and Eating and Concerns Hotline and Outreach — recently returned to a newly renovated Lowell House, according to the organizations’ websites.

Indigo Counseling has moved to Thayer basement, where Response used to reside.

Response, which focuses on relationship issues, and ECHO, which addresses body image issues and eating disorders, both relocated their services during the renovation of Lowell in 2017.

Response temporarily moved to Thayer and ECHO transferred to Eliot. Now, the peer counseling groups have reclaimed their original spots in Lowell basement.

Indigo, previously operating out of the Adams H Entryway, provides counseling related to issues of race, class and first-generation status.

After its inception in spring 2016, Indigo experienced a staff shortage that prompted a yearlong hiatus, but reopened in Sept. 2017.

Lowell House Administrator Elizabeth B. Terry praised Response’s move back to the river.

“The peer counseling that Response offers is very important, especially in light of the results of the recent Harvard AAU Survey,” she wrote in an email.

Last month’s Association of American Universities survey reported that the prevalence of sexual assault and harrassment at Harvard has remained unchanged since 2015.

bacow From Page 1

Bacow Uncertain on Higher Ed Bills

­

The peer counseling room is located in the basement of Lowell House. Both Response and ECHO are returning to Lowell post-rennovations. kendra n. wilkinson—Crimson photographer

“I’m glad that Lowell House has been able to retain space for this group for so many years, even into the renewed House,” Terry wrote.

“I hope that it will be useful and comforting to the River area students to have the RESPONSE office nearby.”

Darius Atefat-Peckham ’23 said that more students may seek help now that Indigo has relocated to the Yard.

“I know as a Harvard student, I’m just working all the time, so something that’s like a big time commitment and

Athletics From Page 1

Athletics Director Search Starts successor comes during a time of nationwide turbulence surrounding college athletics.

In March, the United States Department of Justice charged more than 50 individuals for partaking in a nationwide admissions scandal to win the children of wealthy parents admission to elite universities.

As part of the scheme, some varsity coaches received bribes to falsely classify applicants as prospective varsity athletes, vastly increasing their chances of admission.

Coaches at multiple universities — including Yale and Stanford — were implicated.

Though Harvard itself was not involved in the scandal, six Harvard alumni were charged for participating in the illegal scheme.

A month later, Harvard grappled with a scandal of its own that resulted in the firing of head fencing coach Peter Brand after he violated the University’s conflict of interest policy. Brand had sold his home for

proposals in favor of institutions of higher education.

Bacow said Tuesday that the University is trying to “mitigate” the impact of any delay in passing this legislation, especially efforts to repeal the endowment tax. The tax on universities’ endowment returns was originally signed into law in December 2017, and since its passage, Rep. Brendan F. Boyle (D-Pa.) introduced a bill to repeal the tax.

“It’s unclear what legislation is going to move forward, given the fact that Washington is consumed at this point by the impeachment inquiry, what may turn out to be a trial. We’ll see how that works out,” Bacow said. “But that’s what we can do, is to try and mitigate the impact of that.”

Last month, Harvard and 30 other colleges and universities jointly submitted their opposition to the United States Treasury’s proposed rules for levying the endowment tax.

Boston College political science professor David A. Hopkins ’99 said though the impeachment inquiry will take up some time in Congress, there were already questions as to whether the College Affordability Act would progress through Congress even under normal circumstances.

“Even before impeachment, there was already a pretty complicated set of negotiations going on between the House and the Senate,” Hopkins said. ­

more than $300,000 above its market valuation to the family of a prospective fencer, the Boston Globe reported in April.

Last month, the NCAA announced that student-athletes could profit from their names, images, and likenesses, a decision that could impact thousands of student-athletes at Harvard and across the nation.

Scalise has said in the past that he believes student-athletes should not be compensated in any way for their athletic abilities, past those expenses that playing their sport incurs.

Contemporaneously to the search for a new Athletics director, outside consulting firm Mercer is conducting a review of the Athletics Department.

Scalise said in October that the study will primarily focus on the “structure” and “culture” of the department.

Membership of the committee conducting the review has not been announced publicly. devin.srivastava@thecrimson.com

[which] I have to walk far for won’t happen generally, even if I need it on a lesser scale, like a haircut,” he said. “So I think it’s definitely beneficial to have things nearby.”

Benjamin J. Dreier ’22 also said he thinks that freshmen can benefit from counseling centers near their dorms.

“I guess in general I support those things being closer to the Yard, because freshmen in general are more likely to use the services,” Dreier said.

Indigo declined to comment on the move.

Response and Harvard University Health Services did not provide comment in time for publication. ECHO did not respond to a request for comment.

Indigo joins two other peer counseling groups who will stay on in Thayer basement — Room 13, which provides general peer counseling, and Contact, which supports LGBTQ mental health.

Indigo has drop-in hours every night in Thayer B-01, and Response and ECHO have drop-in hours every night from Sunday through Wednesday.

information about what you are experiencing whether that’s anxiety or depression or an eating disorder, bipolar disorder,” Palaniappan said. “[It will] also tell you kind of what type of support would be best and show you the types of relevant resources that exist.”

Software company MindWise Innovations will run the questionnaire. The company’s offerings include online mental health tools to provide guidance to patients, according to its website.

Though Palaniappan and UC Vice President Julia M. Huesa ’20 started working on the initiative last March, Palaniappan said they had to go through administrative formalities before implementing the screening — including vetting questions and making them Harvard-specific.

In addition to customizing the questions to be specific to Harvard students, Palaniappan said her group also had to ensure the survey wouldn’t present legal problems.“We also had to go through the process to get approval from the Office of General Counsel, so ensuring that we’re not going to run into any legal troubles,” Palaniappan said. “That kind of took up the

summer.”

Beginning next week, the UC will make the questionnaire available to Harvard-affiliates.

“I think it is important to note this is also a University-wide resource,” Palaniappan said. “It is not something specific to the College — but if you are a graduate student or a staff or a faculty member — this applies to all of Harvard’s 22,000 members.”

Chief of CAMHS Barbara Lewis will meet with Harvard University Information Technology on Tuesday to launch the screening tool, according to Palaniappan. Harvard University Health Services did not respond to a request for comment on the partnership.

Palaniappan said she does not view the questionnaire as a replacement for mental health resources, but that she hopes it will fill a “gap” on campus for students seeking mental health resources by providing immediate feedback and encouraging students to seek help. “I’m hoping that this system in particular will help with that early level detection,” she said. kevin.chen@thecrimson.com michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com

alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com

Affordable Housing Overlay Has Tentative Majority

By Declan J. knieriem Crimson Staff Writer ­A large enough majority of Cambridge City Councilors elected Nov. 5 support the city’s proposed affordable housing overlay in its current form that the council may now be able to pass the long-debated legislation into law.

The overlay — which became a central issue over the course of the campaign — is a zoning reform proposal to streamline affordable housing permit approval processes and reduce costs, thereby incentivizing developers to build affordable units in Cambridge.

Municipal zoning laws require a minimum of six votes to pass the council, and during the current session overlay proponents were unable to garner sufficient support. The measure was tabled in September ahead of the biannual election.

After the November election, however, six of nine incoming councilors back the proposal as it stands, according to interviews and Crimson survey sent to candidates.

Cambridge Mayor Marc C. McGovern, who has been a

strong proponent of the overlay, said in an interview that he is hopeful for the legislation’s passage in the coming term. He added that it is critical to address Cambridge’s “extremely difficult” affordable housing situation.

“If we do not deal with that, and we leave it up to market forces, then the only development we’re going to see is high end developments,” he said.

McGovern, along with incumbent councilors E. Denise Simmons, Sumbul Siddiqui, Alanna M. Mallon, and Timothy J. Toomey Jr. have previously supported the overlay and indicated their intention to vote in its favor. These five incumbents are joined in their support of the overlay by newly elected challenger Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler.

McGovern added that much of the disagreement came from the “nitty gritty,” and said he believes the councilors should be willing to compromise in order to address the housing crisis.

“No one’s ever gonna get 100 percent of what they want,” he said. “I’m not getting 100 percent of what I want. But, you

know, at the end of the day, are we going to stand by our commitment to build more affordable housing or are we going to find excuses not to?”

In order for the proposal to be considered in the coming term, it will need to be reintroduced and go through the typical legislative channels before a vote can take place. This process involves being considered during at least one Ordinance Committee hearing.

Newly elected councilor Patricia “Patty” M. Nolan ’80 — who opposed the current version of the overlay during the campaign — said she would like to see “some version” of the overlay passed by the next council.

She added, however, that aspects of the proposal would have to be changed in order to gain her support including permit applicants’ right to appeal zoning decisions.

“I expect an overlay come to before us, but I hope that it doesn’t pass as written, because I think we can do better,” she said.

“I think there’s overlays that would produce less time delay and less restrictions and less

Screening From Page 1

UC Launches Free Mental Health Screen

He added timing issues could be compounded if the House voted for impeachment and the Senate became tied up in a trial.

“We could see months or more of the Senate calendar being mostly taken up by an impeachment trial,” Hopkins said.

“And that would, at that point, I think, present a possible obstacle to other legislative business getting done.”

M. Matthew Owens, the executive vice president for federal relations at the Association of American Universities said, however, that the political system is equipped to handle both impeachment proceedings and other legislative matters.

“There’s a larger legislative and political environment that is already challenging here in Washington and as such, the impeachment inquiry is yet another factor in all of that,” Owens said.

Bacow noted Tuesday that the impeachment inquiry appears to be on the top of legislators’ agenda in Washington.

“I think anybody who watches what goes on in D.C. recognizes that there are a whole series of pressing issues in which there are legislative proposals pending, of which this is just one,” Bacow said. “And it seems like, and I say this just as an observer, lots of things seem to be grinding to a halt at the moment.”

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problems for developers who want to do 100 percent affordable housing and probably produce more units.”

Both McGovern and Nolan said they would like to see a compromise where councilors could come to a unanimous — or nearly unanimous — consensus.

David E. Sullivan, a former city councilor, said he believes the council will pass some form of the overlay in the next term, describing the election itself as a “referendum” of sorts on the proposal.

“I think the voters spoke clearly,” he said.

Nolan disputed the idea of the election as a referendum, saying she found many residents remained “concerned” with the proposal as it stands.

“The election results did not show that people supported the overlay,” she said.

“There was actually a lot of concern. As I was door knocking, even from people who supported, people who were in front of the overlay, they still were concerned about the overlay as written.” declan.knieriem@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

PAGE 4

Researchers IOP Hosts Meeting on Environment Help Map Space

By JESSICA LEE and SHARON XU

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

By BENJAMIN L. FU and HAEMARU CHUNG CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Harvard astrophysicists are among researchers from 13 countries who have designed the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, a telescope that will soon map the locations of galaxies across the universe and explore dark energy.

DESI is a scientific device with 5000 fiber-optic “eyes” that work to estimate and project the distance between Earth and millions of galaxies as well as other remote celestial objects across the universe, according to a press release from the Harvard Center for Astrophysics.

The tool also studies dark energy, an unknown force that comprises approximately 68 percent of the universe and increasingly expands it.

Each sensor on DESI is approximately the width of a human hair, according to the release.

It is intended that DESI will be able to conduct measurements involving 5000 galaxies every 20 minutes with each sensor being able to track a new galaxy every two seconds.

Harvard Astronomy professor Daniel J. Eisenstein, a spokesperson for the initiative, estimated that DESI will begin operating in 2020. It is currently housed at the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Ariz.

“The installation began about 18 months ago,” Eisenstein said. “The project started in 2012 or 2013, and that was the first approval sequence.

The project was really several years in design and then several years in active construction, and now will be about a year-and-half in installation.”

DESI will improve upon technology from similar devices used in the past to measure ­

light in space, according to Eistenstein.

“The technological capability of DESI is to be able to measure those spectra at a much faster rate than what was done in the past, something like 20 times faster than the previous survey instrument,” Eisenstein said.

Eisenstein noted that DESI will enable researchers to study the history and composition of the universe in more detail because of the new maps it can create.

“It’s not just mapping out the universe as it is now, it’s actually making a map of what the fluctuations must have been in the first million years after the Big Bang or even the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang,” Eisenstein said.

“There’s an empirical aspect of DESI, which is to measure velocities and make maps from those velocities,” he added. “But then there’s the application side of DESI, which is studying dark energy and general cosmological clustering by understanding the patterns in those maps and using those patterns to infer things about the expansion history.”

Eisenstein said it was a “very exciting time” for the project that brought together researchers across the globe. Harvard astrophysicists are among the 500 researchers at 75 international institutions who contributed to designing DESI. “We have been working on it for a long time, and we are now starting to see this very capable and compelling new instrument come into life,” Eisenstein said.

“It is an ongoing process but it is a really fun process to be able to collaborate with so many talented people from around the world and a wide range of skill sets that come together to make something like this happen.”

UC FROM PAGE 1

Mathew and WhiteThorpe Win UC years. A total of 3,672 students voted in this year’s election, a 31 percent increase from the 2,797 students who voted last year.

Mathew and White-Thorpe’s platform lays out three main goals: advocate for inclusion and belonging on campus; innovate solutions to problems; and foster a “community-oriented” student experience, according to their campaign website. The duo also proposed creating a “Unity Caucus,” a group of UC members and other students that collaborates on legis­

I think their campaign was really well-integrated. It makes sense they won, and I’m excited to see what they do with their term.

Aman Panjwani ‘20

lation and other projects.

Mathew and White-Thorpe declined to comment for this story.Several students said they are excited for Mathew and White-Thorpe’s term on the council.

“I’m very happy that James and Ify won,” Aman Panjwani ’20 said. “I think James especially was a great person to bring the campus together and embrace the diversity that we need on this campus.”

Panjwani added that he hopes Mathew and White-Thorpe will embrace some parts of the other tickets’ platforms as well.

Ava M. Hampton ’21 said she thinks the duo’s campaign was well-planned.

“I think their campaign was really well-integrated,” Hampton said. “It makes sense that they won, and I’m excited to see what they do with their term.”

The UC Election Commission also announced the results of the referenda on the ballot.

The Council voted last week to split the three referenda that gained enough signatures to appear on the ballot into seven separate statements.

The statement asking

whether the University should commit to divesting its endowment from the fossil fuel industry by Earth Day 2020 earned support from 69.3 percent of student voters, slightly down from the 71.5 percent of voters who supported fossil fuel divestment last year.

Meanwhile, 72.5 percent of voters agreed that the University should adopt the reinvestment principles of Fossil Free 350 — a reference to the organization 350.org, which urges institutions to make investments that promote social equality and ecological well-being.

Roughly 82.2 percent voted in favor of the University publicly disclosing its investments in the fossil fuel industry.

University administrators have long contended that the University’s endowment should not be used as a tool to enact social change. Instead, University President Lawrence S. Bacow has argued Harvard must work with industry players to combat climate change.

The referendum to merge BoardPlus and Crimson Cash into a single system won overwhelming support from students with 91.2 percent voting in favor. Currently, as a part of the undergraduate meal plan, students receive $65 of BoardPlus per semester to spend at Harvard University Dining Services cafes and House grilles. Crimson Cash may be used for laundry, printing, and at various restaurants and stores both on and off campus.

The proposed single system would allow students to choose to spend combine their BoardPlus and Crimson Cash for any of these purposes.

The third referendum regarding mealtimes also gained wide support. The proposal to extend breakfast closing times in all Dining Halls to 10:45 a.m. won support from 76.3 percent of voters, and the proposal to extend dinner closing times to 7:45 p.m. won support from 85.2 percent of voters. Finally, 89.4 percent of voters agreed that HUDS workers’ pay should be increased accordingly should mealtimes be extended. kevin.chen@thecrimson.com

Journalist Tatiana C. K. Schlossberg discussed the environmental impact of everyday consumption at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Thursday night.

Speaking alongside president of The Atlantic and Institute of Politics resident fellow Bob Cohn, Schlossberg — who authored the book “Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have” — examined the environmental implications of different consumer behaviors regarding fashion, internet usage, food, and fuel.

The event began with a discussion of Schlossberg’s recently published book. Schlossberg said she wrote the book after becoming anxious about climate change, and beginning to report on the subject for the New York Times. ­

She added that she decided to write “Inconspicuous Consumption” to make the issue more accessible for readers who may not have an extensive science background.

“It is almost impossible to make sustainable choices given the system that we live in,” she said. “And that’s a problem, but we can’t solve that problem unless we understand it.”

Schlossberg and Cohn also discussed the fashion’s industry impact on the environment. Schlossberg spoke about her work to explore fast fashion companies creating a “disposable culture” and its significance on the environment.

Additionally, she examined the topic of technology through the lens of environmentalism, speaking about Internet usage and the impact data centers fueled by diesel had on the environment.

Schlossberg said companies like Amazon and Microsoft

Finalists for Allston Campus Released

By BRIE K. BUCHANAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Harvard has selected three development teams — Alexandria Real Estate Equities and National Development, the HYM Investment Group, and Breakthrough Properties — as finalists for a bid to develop the University’s new Enterprise Research Campus in Allston.

The Enterprise Research Campus is a project intended to promote collaboration between commercial and research-focused tenants of Harvard’s Allston campus and University-affiliated research groups. The research campus will extend along an approximately 14 acre stretch of land near the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. ­

There will be a continued public process once a developer is chosen.

Molly McGlynn BPDA Spokesperson

The Boston Planning and Development Agency Board approved Harvard’s Planned Development Area Master Plan for the Enterprise Research Campus in March 2018. The master plan included a proposal for 900,000 square feet of new development for a “variety of uses,” including offices, labs, a hotel and conference space, and housing, according to BPDA spokesperson Molly McGlynn.

The Harvard Allston Land Company released a request for proposals for the project in June 2019 and received 18 submissions by the end of July, according to University spokesperson Brigid O’Rourke.

In August, the land company pared the list of contenders to 10; the list then narrowed to nine after two development teams merged their proposals.

The land company selected the final three in early November, according to O’Rourke.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, which has headquarters in Pasadena, Calif., maintains several property holdings in the Greater Boston area dedicated to biotechnology and life science, including Alexandria Center at One Kendall Square and multiple locations on Binney Street.

Based in Boston, the HYM

Investment Group is a real estate company with a focus on mixed use developments that seek to bring together residential, retail, and commercial elements in its projects, according to its website.

The group redeveloped the Bulfinch Crossing in downtown Boston and served as the development advisor for Waterside Place, a luxury apartment complex in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood.

Breakthrough Properties is a joint venture of Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital founded this year, according to a press release distributed at the time.

The company is located in Los Angeles and works to facilitate collaborations in the life sciences through real estate development.

Representatives from Alexandria Real Estate Equities and National Development, the HYM Investment Group, and Breakthrough Properties declined to comment.

Harvard Allston Land Company CEO Thomas P. Glynn III wrote in an emailed statement that the land company kept a set of “core principles” in mind while considering development team candidates.

“Throughout the partner selection process HALC has used a guiding rubric of principles and goals it wanted developers to respond to including proposals that showed a commitment to a vibrant, sustainable public realm, a thoughtful approach to the inclusion of affordable housing, a focus on sustainability and resiliency, a plan to include space for various start-ups, and a diverse development team,” Glynn wrote.

The land company plans to remain involved in the selection process and hopes to arrive at a final decision before the year ends, according to Glynn.

“HALC was incredibly pleased with the responses from all of the finalists and is excited to move forward to the final round with three development teams,” Glynn wrote.

McGlynn wrote that the BPDA will continue to be engaged in the development of the Enterprise Research Campus after a developer has been selected. “There will be a continued public process once a developer has been chosen, and we look forward to re-engaging the community to work together on the future of this site.”

have such a big impact on the environment because of the scale of their operations, and that these companies should be leading the way in terms of environmentalism efforts.

“There has been too much emphasis on the consumer to make the right choice and that narrative of personal responsibility has been destructive in a lot of ways because it has taken the attention away from those who are actually responsible,” she said.

Schlossberg added that she thinks voting is the most effective response to the environmental concerns she studies.

“I think the most important individual action is to vote and to get involved in the political process and to put pressure on companies or not support companies that aren’t at the very least transparent,” she said.

Audience members echoed Schlossberg’s focus on political action. Toward the end,

IOP President Anna L. Duffy ’21 asked Schlossberg how she thinks voters can make climate change more important in political debates.

Several attendees said they found the event informative.

Attendee Abigail M. Fennelly ’23 said she was struck by the high amounts of waste produced by the fast fashion industry.

“H&M and other fast fashion brands, especially Forever 21, is designed to fall apart, so you have to shop again,” Fennelly said.

Daniel Bicknell ’13 said that he enjoyed the event and appreciated the chance to learn about environmentalism.

“The forum generally has a lack of climate and environment events, so I was thrilled to see one dedicated to everyday environmentalism,” he said. “I’m proud to support more events like this in the future at the forum.”

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | november 15, 2019

Scores From Page 1

Student Search Under Scrutiny a nd approximate PSAT or SAT scores, in addition to a limited amount of other demographic information like ethnicity.

Combinations from up to 2.5 million names are distributed to 1,900 accredited colleges and universities, scholarship organizations, and non-profit programs. The dissemination of this information is intended to help students “start important conversations with colleges and scholarship organizations and explore their options,” per College Board spokesperson Zachary Goldberg.

In a typical year, more than 60 percent of the students who end up attending the College were among the names the College purchased from Student Search, according to Harvard spokesperson Rachael Dane.

The percentage is even higher — over 80 percent — for minority students at the College.

While the search is free for students, colleges and universities must pay 47 cents per name to license a student’s information.

Anthony P. Carnevale — the director of the Georgetown University Center on Education ­

and the Workforce — said that he finds the practice of selling the names “questionable.”

“The students are being treated as a commodity,” Carnevale said. “The College Board is getting every last nickel that it can out of anybody who touches them.”

Goldberg wrote in an email that the College Board “re-invest[s] the funds” into programs like fee waivers and opens up the door for more students to enroll in colleges and universities.

Students who participate in the search are 12 percent more likely to enroll at a 4-year college, Goldberg said, referencing a College Board research study.

Experts questioned the intent of colleges that purchase prospective students’ names from the College Board.

Zak Harris, a former admissions officer at Johns Hopkins University and Bowdoin University who works at InGenius Prep, said he thinks purchasing names is useful because it helps tailor marketing materials to certain demographics.

“When you’re buying search names, part of what you’re able

to do is to customize where they’re coming from,” Harris said. “Colleges are buying names as a way to get into territories or get into markets where maybe they’re not very popular.”

Carnevale said colleges may purchase these names to boost the number of applicants each year and lower their acceptance rate.“There are two ways the names seem to have value for institutions. You get more people to turn down, which improves your standing, or you find people who you can accept that you’re having difficulty finding,” Carnevale said.

Other experts have concerns about student privacy.

Leonie Haimson ‘76, cochair of Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, said the current standard for student consent in the Student Search is troubling.

“One of the issues we have is that there is no parental consent required for this,” she said, calling the instructions to students “extremely confusing and often deceptive.”

Students must actively choose to opt-in and can opt-

out of the Student Search at any time, Goldberg said.

Harris said more critical attention to admissions programs like the Student Search is needed, given increased scrutiny to college admissions in the wake of recent scandals.

In an investigation dubbed “Varsity Blues” that made headlines in March, federal authorities uncovered a nationwide scheme in which parents bribed coaches at elite universities like Yale and Stanford to designate their children as athletics recruits to increase their chances of admission. In April, the Boston Globe uncovered real estate transactions between the Harvard fencing coach and a parent of a recruited athlete.

“As we’ve seen with all of the admissions stuff happening over the past year to year and a half, I think it’s fair to say that all of our kind of standard practices deserve some other level of scrutiny, to see if they can be better, and see if it’s something that can be changed or edited in a way that is more inclusive or that is more fair,” Harris said. camille.caldera@thecrimson.com

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Zero Emissions Plan Proposed

By Davit Antonyan Contributing Writer

The Climate Protection Action Committee unanimously supported recommendations to the City Manager’s Office that aim to combat climate change in Cambridge in a meeting Thursday night.

The recommendations came as part of the committee’s Net Zero Action Plan, a strategy to promote eliminating all production of carbon emissions in buildings and infrastructure throughout the city.

The committee presented the recommendations in an Net Zero Action Plan Progress Report to ensure the city implements its previously stated goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Cambridge produced 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in 2012, according to a recent report conducted by the City’s Community Development Department.

Three committee members who spoke at the meeting said they found it urgent to make actionable recommendations to the City Manager’s office to institute certain suggestions from the Net Zero Action Plan.

Though they agreed Cambridge is on track to meet their broader goals, they said they believe the city is behind schedule in adopting their recommendations.

Cambridge Net Zero Energy Planner Seth Federspiel led the discussion to vote on the progress report, which the committee will send to the City Manager at the end of the year.

“We support being aggressive in this. It was supposed to be adopted in fiscal year 2019 and it hasn’t been adopted yet,” Federspiel said.

“Our goal is to get to net zero emissions by 2050. They should move forward in adopting it.”

A spokesperson for the City Manager’s office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.

Cambridge’s commitment to decreasing emissions has in­

spired community members to join the Climate Protection Action Committee to further promote the cause.

John Bolduc, an environmental planner and committee member, facilitated the latter part of the meeting, outlining Cambridge’s carbon consumption and its greenhouse gas emissions.

He focused on a partnership between the committee and the Recycling Advisory Committee to develop feasible strategies to address climate change issues, referencing a mission statement previously drafted by the

It’s nice to see that people are actually getting together and trying to solve these climate issues.

Bernardo Garcia Exchange Student

committee.

“The idea would be a possible scope for a joint subcommittee between CPAC and the RAC to work on this issue of greenhouse gas emissions and consumption,” Bolduc said.

The committee also voted unanimously to approve the mission statement and prepared plans to send it to the Recycling Advisory Committee by Jan. 2020.

Bernardo García, an exchange student from Monterrey, Mexico studying at UMass Boston, was one of several students from the Boston area studying climate change who attended the meeting.

García said he appreciated that Cambridge residents came together to take decisive action on climate change — something he has not noticed in his own hometown.

“I just wanted to come in here and take a look at how these types of meetings go,” he said. “Not being from here, it’s nice to see that people are actually getting together and trying to solve these climate issues.”

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | November 15, 2019

Page 6

Editorial The Crimson Editorial board

op-ed

CAMHS’s New Pilot Program Is Good, But Not Great

L

ast week, Harvard’s Counseling and Mental Health Services announced that it will launch a pilot program in which it will offer a limited amount of same-day appointments for non-urgent cases.

Beginning at 8:30 a.m. on weekdays, students who are not already regularly seeing a CAMHS counselor can now call to book 30-minute appointments on a first-come, first-served basis.

We welcome this announcement, and believe that this new service offered by CAMHS will provide much-needed help to students facing unanticipated challenges.

It can be hard to foresee mental health issues and episodes.

Allowing students to set up a sameday appointment is an important development in improving the quality of mental health care at Harvard for individuals with unique and rapidly evolving needs.

But we find ourselves wondering whether this new pilot program isn’t just a band-aid for the proverbial wound.

Mental health on campus is in a dire state.

According to the mental health survey the University conducted in 2017 and 2018, Harvard students experience depression and anxiety at rates significantly higher than the national average reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Outgoing Harvard University Health Services Director Paul J. Barreira has said that in addition to clinical symptoms, many students regularly face

acute feelings of loneliness, feeling like an imposter, and a sense of being overwhelmed.

Despite recent hires, CAMHS is seriously understaffed, which results in students often waiting several weeks for an appointment and turning to student peer-counseling groups for help.

Especially with the closing of the Bureau of Study Counsel and its replacement by the Academic Resource Center, many students have legitimate concerns both about their own mental health care

The creation of same-day appointments is certainly a positive measure in providing stronger mental health care.

But to tackle the mental health crisis, a much larger and more ambitious approach is needed. and the University’s commitment to providing robust and comprehensive mental health services.

We encourage Harvard to increase accessibility to mental health services by hiring more CAMHS counselors and making mental health a priority in the same way physical health care is.

In that vein, we believe that ideally each College student should be assigned a mental health care professional, just as we are assigned a physician or an academic adviser.

This would serve as a critical step in destigmatizing mental health issues, ensure that all students are equipped with the knowledge of where to turn in case of a mental health crisis, and provide the infrastructure for them to do so.

Yet, it is not enough to merely focus on how to deal with mental health issues after they arise.

The University should recognize that it is partially responsible for these widespread mental health issues and should focus on instituting more preventative measures.

One way in which the school could do this work would be to train all faculty on what healthy academic environments look like, how struggling students can be assisted in the context of their academic work, where courses can be tailored and reinforced to accommodate students who are dealing with mental health problems.

The creation of same-day appointments is certainly a positive measure in providing stronger mental health care.

But to tackle the mental health crisis, a much larger and more ambitious approach is needed.

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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Pete Buttigieg, Candidate for the (White) People Riya Sood Smile or Grimace

T

here is a man running for president who speaks seven languages, including Norwegian, Italian, and French. He was the valedictorian of his high school class before graduating from Harvard College magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in History and Literature. He then won a Rhodes Scholarship and received first class honors in philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University. He was a McKinsey consultant for three years before transitioning to public service and politics.

Pete P.M. Buttigieg ’04 might be the most relatable candidate for president!

Obviously, none of these accomplishments are a bad thing. However, considering 75 percent of Americans only know one language and the average American is expected to have only 13 years of schooling, he is not exactly relatable. There is a reason he chooses to go by “Mayor Pete” and emphasize his Midwestern background as opposed to his elite education. Buttigieg, though, is dangerously effective at making the American public fall in love with him.

We hear him speak Norwegian and we swoon a little. He makes a joke about how tasty Chick-fil-A is and we want to be the ones laughing with him.

He responds to a question with a perfectly crafted yet improvised comment and our eyes become hearts.

We seem to have forgotten that he is only 37 years old. That he is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a city with a population of 100,000 — making it smaller than the extremely famous city of Evansville, Indiana and only a few thousand people larger than Carmel, Indiana. This is obviously the experience we should seek in our presidential candidate!

Let’s just take a look at all of the people of color and women who have similar levels of experience and serious presidential runs! There seems to be more than a grain of truth to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s claims that if there were other

small-town mayoral candidates of different demographic backgrounds, they would not necessarily attain the same level of praise.

Because we Americans are afraid in some ways. We followed up President Barack Obama with President Donald Trump, who beat out Hillary Clinton.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of people responded by saying that it had been too soon for a black president and that the country was not ready for a female president either. Regardless of the truth of either statement, can we at least acknowledge that this does not mean that Democrats should run into the arms of our

Why would one want to vote for an actual person of color when instead one can vote for an eloquent white man who repackages their ideas?. white male candidates, such as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, so that the party can seem palatable and accessible to average Americans?

We are a majority female country and are projected to become a majority-minority country in the next 20 to 30 years.

Do these two facts alone not imply that we should run away from the past instead of towards it?

And it is clear that Pete Buttigieg is not the candidate for people of color. He has basically nonexistent support from black voters. And it is extremely unlikely that this is due to homophobia on the part of black voters, as some articles have recently suggested. Of course it seems pretty shocking that a white, male, Midwestern candidate might struggle with issues relating to people of color!

It’s not as though people of color could dislike Buttigieg because his track record on civil rights is poor and because he doesn’t have strong stances and clear

plans related to the issues that affect them most.

Yet somehow, we have to acknowledge that maybe Buttigieg is not the best candidate for everyone?! He is the mayor of a city that is 40 percent Black and Latinx, yet his police force is 90 percent white. One of the first things he did while in office was to fire South Bend’s first black police chief. His own constituents have been unsatisfied with his responses to issues of police misconduct in South Bend. The leadership for his presidential campaign team is known for being undiverse. And the wonderful list of reasons why people of color are falling over themselves to support Mayor Pete go on and on.

He says he supports ideas raised by people of color. His new Douglass Plan, which calls for increased funding for historically black universities (something Kamala Harris, the only candidate who graduated from an HBCU, has already supported), and reducing mass incarceration (something Cory Booker has been championing for years), is clearly drawing on original thoughts and personal experience rather than echoing the ideas of the other candidates who actually know these struggles.

Why would one want to vote for an actual person of color when instead one can vote for an eloquent white man who repackages their ideas? With his charisma, it’s clear that he would be the president who will end the black school-to-prison pipeline. The one who will help stop gun violence. The one who will end police brutality. Does it really matter who came up with the ideas as long as he’s the one who says them eloquently?

Well, even if Mayor Pete won’t be able to effectively convince voters of color that he will improve their lives, at least he will be able to explain in Norwegian.

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

Why the Mandatory Unlimited Meal Plan is Unfair

By Jacob A. Fortinsky

T

hough 98 percent of Harvard students live on campus, few of us pay attention to our mandatory unlimited meal plans.

Many students were rightly upset when the student activities fee, an optional fee to fund student life and activities, increased from $75 to $200 last year, yet the exorbitant $6,755 cost of dining that the College imposes on virtually all students is discussed far less frequently.

This fee is fundamentally unfair and ought to become optional.

First of all, many students frequently eat meals outside of the dining hall or skip breakfast and thus eat far fewer than 21 meals in the dining halls each week.

The fact that students who live on campus are forced to pay for potentially hundreds of unused meal swipes is exploitative.

Students deserve the right to spend their money how they wish and, especially with tuition costs increasing rapidly, all nonessential costs ought to be made optional.

Given the option, I believe many students would opt for plans that are far more limited.

Students deserve the right to spend their money how they wish and, especially with tuition costs increasing rapidly, all nonessential costs ought to be made optional.

Currently the cost of the unlimited meal plan is roughly $32 per day. If every student were given $32 each day for food, I highly doubt that most students would spend the entirety of it in Harvard’s dining halls.

Ask yourself: if you had $14 for dinner and you could choose between eating in the square and the House, how many nights a week would you eat in the dining halls?

Students who live off campus are allowed to choose between a variable meal plan with 5, 10, or 21 meals, or they can opt out of a dining plan entirely.

By providing this option for students who live off campus, Harvard has demonstrated that it has the capacity to allow students to purchase partial meal plans.

It also provides an incentive to move off campus for those who find the cost of board to be onerous, and many students I know who have moved off campus have cited dining costs as one of the primary reasons for their move.

There are legitimate reasons why Harvard requires students to have an unlimited meal plan.

On its website, HUDS states that it helps create “many life-changing moments and memorable conversations” and to “foster life-long friendship networks and engender the intimate feeling of family and community.”

By mandating that all students on campus have unlimited dining options, HUDS ensures that “you are able to eat all meals and participate in dining hall activities with your peers in every House.”

Yet, Harvard could still require that all students have at least some meal swipes without requiring an unlimited amount.

Abandoning the requirement for all on-campus students to have unlimited meal plans would go a long way in lightening the financial burden that many students carry and in increasing the ability of students to control their diets.

And Harvard could easily make all dining halls accessible to students who do not swipe in, as several Houses already do.

Regardless, the argument that requiring students to pay such a high cost for meals that they do not fully use is necessary in order to build strong communities does not outweigh the exploitative and burdensome nature of the $6,755 fee.

Moreover, Harvard’s dining halls stack up very poorly against other schools.

According to Niche’s ranking of best college food — which takes into account cost, quality, health, and variety of food — Harvard is 317th in the nation and seventh among Ivy League schools.

For a school that seeks excellence in all fields, this is embarrassingly low. Allowing students to opt out of unlimited dining would provide a method of holding HUDS accountable and incentivizing it to improve the quality of the food, increase options for vegans or students who observe religious dietary restrictions, and remain open for longer.

It is important for Harvard to foster a sense of community on campus and within the Houses.

The dining halls certainly play a key role in this effort, however, granting students the option to choose a variable dining plan rather than an unlimited one would not seriously hurt the sense of community.

Abandoning the requirement for all on-campus students to have unlimited meal plans would go a long way in lightening the financial burden that many students carry and in increasing the ability of students to control their diets.

—Jacob A. Fortinsky ’21, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Social Studies concentrator in Winthrop House.

ARTS

The Harvard Crimson | November 15, 2019 | page 7

BOOKS

‘Little Weirds’ Shows Us the Beauty of the Strange Book titles generally do a good job of encapsulating their contents, but few are as on the nose as “Little Weirds,” Jenny Slate’s memoir (of sorts). The book is coomposed of many chapters for such a slim volume, most of which live up to the weirdness Slate promises. Slate’s voice, unfiltered and unpolished, meanders through the strange thoughts that everyone’s brain produces. Even in the most irreverent moments, Slate’s writing gives the reader a clear understanding of how she thinks and who she is — precisely what the book sets out to do.

Slate writes like she performs her stand-up comedy — for which she is better known — full of starts and stops and circles until she finally addresses it head-on. It’s refreshing, however, to get such a voice so clearly in each of her short vignettes. In these moments, the frenetic energy of Missy, her character on “Big Mouth” shines through.

Slate focuses a great deal on the house she grew up in, referring to it over and over again. She even revives the New England Mobile Book Fair, a once-thriving, now dilapidated bookstore that puts any Barnes & Noble to shame in terms of size and variety of books sold. (Thanks to Amazon, it has considerably shrunk in size, but loyal fans still flock to it to find something they might not otherwise see in a national chain store.) Though “Little Weirds” often veers off into the abstract, it remains grounded in the places that have touched Slate, such as her home, Norway, and the plant shop.

Arguably the best chapters are those that have a concrete narrative. One of these is entitled “A Prayer,” and the entire chapter is one line: “As the image of myself becomes sharper in my brain and more precious, I feel less afraid that someone else will erase me by denying me love.” The best kind of writing is the kind that both makes readers pause and think, succinctly identifying a particular thought or feeling. Slate has done that with this one sentence.

The book is a metaphorical wandering through the expansive meadow that is one’s brain, but Slate nevertheless manages to have razor-sharp insight that can be taken beyond the confines of the book. Many of us have forgotten what it’s like to have an intimate connection to nature, but Slate reminds us that “information about art and nature feels like the best stuff to have, and if you have it, it is powerful and excellent to pass it on. That is an act of power, showing what you know, giving it to another person.”

Without telling her audience to take care of themselves, she basically tells them to do so (take note, Harvard students!). Near the end of the book, she writes, “it occurs to me that if anyone ever bullies me again I will warn them one time but probably start to stop loving them, and that if they do it again I will have my final, that a person who does that to me does not love me.”

The most poignant chapter was “To Norway,” in which she — not surprisingly — goes to Norway and does what she does best: observe others. One of her subjects is a woman who nonchalantly orders a hot dog, something that Slate thinks would comparatively be weird for an American woman to do. The chapter contains a beautiful description of her breakfast: a simple list of what she ate, but with an air of appreciation suggesting that she viewed the meal as more than just a meal. Slate exemplifies the beauty of observation.

Her musings on Hammurabi as the first patriarch inspire a pause too. Slate doesn’t necessarily say it, but rather floats the possibility of what it would be like if to undo 2,000 years of convention. Actually, the entire book does that: Is it possible to embrace the little rabbit holes of the human brain, and truly explore what’s there?

Staff writer Cassandra Luca can be reached at cassandra. luca@thecrimson.com, or on Twitter @cassandraluca_

Courtesy of little, brown and company

Cassandra Luca CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

CAMPUS

A Book Fair for Art Lovers: The Third Annual Boston Arts Book Fair Jacob Jimenez and Sara Komatsu CONTIBUTING WRITERS

Sara Komatsu / contributing photographer

The language of art, creativity, and social change swirled through both conversation and publication at the Cyclorama for the third annual Boston Arts Book Fair. Artists and publishers alike set up booths on Nov. 8 for three days of panel discussions, art installations, workshops, and community, open to the public.

The Boston Arts Book Fair has grown into one of the largest art book fairs on the East Coast since it began in 2017. In its first year the fair housed 60 exhibitors; this year over 130 exhibitors participated in the event. The Boston Center for the Arts and Bodega, an apparel brand, sponsored the fair to facilitate conversations and community among artists and give a public platform for their art. Some artists emphasized self-worth through interactive installations, such as a blind self portrait station where fair visitors drew their faces while staring in a mirror. Others celebrated female artists, black artists, and gender nonconformity or called for prison reform and political activism.

Still, exhibitors centralized the communal impact of art that brought this event together. Kevin Austin Bryant, a Converse employee, initiated a program showcasing the artwork of young artists from Madison Park High School at the fair. He said he valued giving young students the opportunity to engage with the greater Boston art community.

“There are a lot of big publishers, big brands like ours here… for a high school student from Boston, you know, this isn’t really a reality for them, being able to afford a table like this on their own,” Bryant said. “People were asking them to sign the artwork. They were taking [posters] and it gave [the students] a level of realization like, ‘Oh wow! This is what a real artist is like.’”

The students had the opportunity to jump directly into the art world through other exhibitors — such as the Boston Compass, a free, four page monthly art and culture guide — who actively advertised their publications for submissions from new artists at the fair.

“My vision constantly is to get people involved in any way possible,” Kevin Dacey, editor of the

Boston Compass, said. “I think people forget that something like this is volunteer-run and we are always looking for people to get involved and help us make it.”

Volunteer-run publications and continual expansion motivated multiple exhibitors, many of whom began as one-person-shows. Several of these artists participated in a panel discussing the challenges of independent publication. Others asked questions to see how they could broaden their art and give new artists the opportunities they had.

“All the work starts with me, Lorenzo, the artist,” Lorenzo Diggins Jr. of Colour Bloc Creativ said. “I think through me sharing my experience, I’m really opening it up to other people to explore.”

Diggins’s publication agglomerates the work of independent artists but began with his art, which he said seeks to prove that “we’re all the same.” Based out of Los Angeles, Diggins and Colour Bloc Creativ mirror the scope of the Boston Art Book Fair, bringing together passionate artists from Boston and across the country.

The Boston Art Review is one example of a local success story. Michaelann Ferro, a motion graphic designer for the Review, spoke to how the Review found its origin at the fair.

“We have a fantastic editor and chief, Jamison Johnson… [who asked] what would they like to see if there was another new publication,” Ferro said. “What she found out is that they wanted a more contemporary art review magazine … and it’s been a labor of love.”

Fair-goer Alejandro C. Eduarte ’23 said he appreciated seeing new and upcoming artists. After remarking on the concentration of independent publishers, Eduarte said that the fair has inspired him.

“I think it’s inspired me to look up more of the visual arts stuff that’s happening in the City of Boston,” Eduarte said. “And I think as a student… it’s really cool to know that there’s independent uncategorizable art that some of these publications are doing. So I think it’s really important for students to see some of that work.”

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Weekend event

schedule

Friday ______________________________________

saturday ______________________________________

sunday ______________________________________

Cross Country NCAA Northeast Regionals 12 p.m., Audubon Golf Course

Fencing @ Elite Invitational All Day, University of Pennsylvania

Women’s Rugby vs. Army West Point 2 p.m., Mignone Field

Men’s Basketball @ Buffalo 2:30 p.m., Soctiabank Arena

Women’s Basketball @ Rutgers 2 p.m., Rutgers Athletic Center

football

Harvard Set To Face Penn in Ancient Eight Battle By cade palmer Crimson Staff Writer

For 20 of the Crimson’s players, the four-year stint of contests in the historic Harvard Stadium comes to a close this Saturday as the Crimson challenges Penn (4-4, 2-3 Ivy) in its last home game of the season. The senior class, which has 14 victories in its tenure of 20 home games, will be honored prior to play against the division rival.

“This senior class is very typical of the senior classes who have come before them in the best possible context,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “By that, I mean they’re tough, high character guys who will go out into this world and will accomplish some really great things.”

The Quakers and the Crimson (4-4, 2-3) enter the contest on nearly equal footing. In this, the 90th meeting between the teams, both have the same season record, the only difference being that Penn lost to Yale and Harvard dropped one to Princeton.

Notwithstanding the singular difference of divisional opponents, the Quakers and the Crimson are on opposite trajectories at the moment. Penn has won its last two contests, dismissing Cornell and Brown in consecutive matchups by a total of three points. Harvard, on the other hand, is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, having dropped each of the most recent three contests by within the margin of a single score.

The most recent heartbreak came in overtime to Columbia last weekend.

“That game we never dreamed of losing,” junior quarterback Jake Smith said. “It just goes to show you that you’ve got to take every opponent in the Ivy League seriously. I think

everybody in the locker room is pretty pissed off about the way that we’ve been playing because we know that we can do so much better. We really want to get this one.”

When one compares the nature of these victories and defeats, the implications for this week’s contest become clear.

The Crimson, over the course of the season, has won three of its four home games. The only loss came at the hands of Dartmouth and its last-second prayer of a throw that was tipped into a Big Green receiver’s hands as time expired.

The Quakers, on the other hand, has proved the inverse when competing outside the walls of Franklin Field. The squad has managed only one victory in four contests when on the road. That singular win came in the form of a four-point triumph over Lafayette in week two.

On the ground, senior running back Karekin Brooks leads the visitors. Over the course of the season, the veteran has logged 806 total yards, averaging 115.14 per game. Brooks will be lining up against the nation’s best first-down defense and the league’s best rushing defense in Harvard.

“They run the football very well,” Murphy said. “They’re one of the top rushing teams in the Ivy League. They stay on the field a lot and with few exceptions, they score a fair amount of points.”

The quarterback situation for Penn remains more volatile than its nearly one-man backfield. Quarterback Nick Robinson has traditionally been the man to take first snaps behind the center. He’s been solid on the season, completing 154 passes, for an average of 221.75 yards per game, throwing three

touchdowns, and surrendering four interceptions. In the Quaker’s homecoming contest with Cornell last weekend, Robinson was limping around the field and eventually pulled by Coach Ray Priore.

Enter junior quarterback Ryan Glover. It took Glover just one drive to throw a 40-yard touchdown pass to tie the contest. With less experience this season, Glover has completed only six passes but for 79 yards and a touchdown. His running stats are similar stinted. He’s carried the ball five times for 68 yards.

The third-year was only one of three Penn quarterbacks to throw a touchdown in the Cornell contest. Robinson tossed a strike in the second quarter and so too did sophomore Owen Goldsberry in the fourth. The sophomore’s went 80 yards to Eric Markes.

Hauling in the majority of the trio’s passes are sophomore wide outs Ryan Cragun and Rory Starkey. Cragun leads the team, averaging 108 yards per contest with 756 total yards.

The second favorite target is Starkey, who has 498 yards and four touchdowns to his name.

“I think this is one of the less explosive offenses we’ve faced,” captain Wes Ogsbury said.

“They have some good skill players but from what I’ve seen, not the explosiveness, not the complicated play calling from some other offenses particularly like Dartmouth and Princeton. But that doesn’t change anything for us. We’re going to prepare the right way and try to hold them to as little points as possible.”

Against this offense, the Crimson will field a defense that leads the nation in team sacks with 4.63 per game and in fumbles recovered with

COMEBACK GAME After three straight losses, all decided by less than a score, the Crimson hopes to rebound in its match up against Penn this weekend at Harvard Stadium. Timothy r. O’MEARA—Crimson photographer

eight. Senior Brogan McParland boasts a league-leading seven sacks while teammate junior defensive lineman Nasir Darnell has forced three fumbles. Both Darnell and junior linebacker Jordan Hill are tied at the top of the Ancient Eight with two fumble recoveries.

“This week is just like every other week,” Ogsbury said.

“We’re trying to minimize big plays, stop the run, and let everything else fall into place.”

Leading the Harvard offensive front is junior quarterback Jake Smith, junior running back Devin Darrington, freshman back Aidan Borguet, senior receiver Cody Chrest, and senior receiver Jack Cook.

“The flat out honest reality is we need to score more points,” Murphy said. “You might have to go back 20-something years

to see a Harvard team score one touchdown in eight quarters.”

The squad will face off against a hot Quaker defense.

Last week, defensive lineman Emili Prince earned 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Over the course of the season, the defender has dropped teams a total of 45 yards with his 11.5 tackles for loss and 52 overall tackles. Senior linebacker Zach Evans leads the team in tackles with 69 and one interception.

On special teams, the Crimson holds the strong advantage.

Between two kickers, Penn has made only two field goals on the season in six attempts. Meanwhile, Harvard leads the nation in blocked kicks and blocked punts. With three of his own, sophomore safety James Herring leads the country in blocked punts.

“James Herring is a tremendous football player,” Murphy said. “He has great instincts and he’s applied those instincts to being able to block punts.

He’s just got a great knack for it.”

While the Ivy League title is likely secured for Dartmouth, if the Crimson wins out, it has an opportunity to tie Yale for the league’s third place position. This one contest is the sole hurdle Harvard must clear before next weekend’s rendition of The Game.

“The only way you can really focus is by focusing on the task at hand,” Murphy said. “Every game is a new week. Our mantra is ‘our next game is our biggest game.’ So, our biggest game is Penn.” cade.palmer@thecrimson.com

Basketball

Harvard Bests Siena to Remain Perfect at Home

By David Manikas Crimson Staff Writer

In a tightly-contested finish that was decided by a missed three-pointer, the Crimson edged out a narrow victory over Siena despite being without Noah Kirkwood, Bryce Aiken, and Seth Towns.

The Crimson (3-1) looked to build off of a comfortable win against Maine on Sunday with ­

a victory over Siena (2-2), led by sophomore guard Jalen Pickett — the preseason MAAC player of the year returning to play for the Saints after declaring for the 2019 NBA draft following his freshman campaign. Generating notable interest from NBA teams, Pickett attracted several NBA scouts to Lavietes to watch Thursday’s contest.

The trend of slow offensive starts for the Crimson contin-

ued tonight, as Harvard found itself down 15-7 early against a Siena team led by sophomore Donald Carey, who started the game perfect from the field, scoring eight points in the first six minutes. Pickett, on the other hand, struggled in the opening minutes, going 0-3 from the field while facing tough defenders in junior Rio Haskett and senior Justin Bassey. After picking up two quick fouls, he found

himself a place on the bench for the remainder of the half.

Looking for an offensive spark, coach Tommy Amaker went to his bench early, playing a total of 10 players in the first 10 minutes of the half. Immediately, he found one in freshman Chris Ledlum, who came in sinking triples in three consecutive possessions after not hitting a single one in his first three collegiate appearances.

CAREER NIGHT Freshman Chris Ledlum drives to the basket on what would become a career night, finishing with 14 points as the Crimson managed to stave off a late Siena run. With the win, Harvard extended its home win streak to three games. Henry ZHU—Crimson photographer

The freshman continued his hot start throughout the first half, scoring a career high 14 points in only eleven minutes on the floor. With 52 seconds to go in the first, however, Ledlum came down grabbing his ankle in transition. Although he came back after halftime, he played limited minutes in the second half and did not add to his point total.

“We don’t win tonight if he doesn’t have that kind of first half and give us confidence,” Amaker said. “We got down early and he was able to come help dig us out.”

The frequent substitutions allowed multiple players to contribute offensively, leading the Crimson to pick up the scoring towards the end of the half. Contributions from freshmen Idan Tretout and Luka Sakota and junior Danilo Djuricic off the bench added to the three point shooting by Haskett and Bassey.

Harvard finally began to find its groove offensively, ending the half on a 13-4 run to go up 37-30.

The Crimson’s hot end to the first didn’t carry over into the second, however. Sparked by its crowd, Siena began to nag Harvard defensively and generate points off of turnovers. To deal with yet another slow start to a half, Amaker stuck with his original plan, rotating players often to create points. Among these substitutions was captain Henry Welsh, seeing his first action of the season. Playing four minutes in his first game back, Welsh scored in the paint on his only attempt of the night.

Pickett’s woes continued into the second half, as he continued to struggle shooting from the floor. His first points came in the paint with five minutes to go in the game, which he followed up on the next possession with another bucket to keep Siena in the game. The Rochester, N.Y. native finished the game with four points, shooting 20 percent from the field.

The Siena fan section erupted in response to Pickett’s first points, changing the atmosphere in Lavietes to what felt like a road-game atmosphere for the Crimson. Feeding off its crowd, the Saints quickly worked their way back from a seven-point deficit, scoring six straight points including a layup by senior forward Sammy Friday with 46 seconds to go to cut the lead down to one.

After senior Chris Lewis was called for a travel in the paint, Siena found itself with a chance to take the lead. With the shot clock turned off and everyone on their feet, the ball found itself in Carey’s hot hand.

Guarding him was Haskett, who was looking to get one more stop after a game of intense defensive pressure on the Saints’ top scorers. Haskett stayed in front of Carey diligently, forcing the Siena guard to put up an off-balance three with time winding down that missed the mark.

Senior guard Christian Juzang’s two made free throws iced the game for Harvard, which extended its home game win streak to three as the contest ended with a score of 59-56.

Although it wasn’t pretty, the close finish was certainly a crucial learning experience for a team loaded with young talent.

“Being in a game where you have to grind it out...that’s huge, especially for our younger guys who haven’t been in those situations,” Bassey said. “Those sorts of moments are really helpful to get in early and have an opportunity to learn to be able to handle those situations when they come down to the Ivy League tournament.”

Ahead for the Crimson is a trip up north to play in Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, where it will face off against Buffalo in the James Naismith Classic on Saturday. david.manikas@thecrimson.com