The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 137

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI, No. 137 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | friDAY, december 6, 2019

editorial PAGE 8

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Harvard’s outreach to African American students is justified.

College affiliates met to talk about transportation issues posed by the Allston expansion.

Men’s ice hockey faces second straight loss.

Deliveries Blocked As Strike Enters Day 4 Delivery Blockages Lead to Delays

Law School Prof.

Testifies

By camille g. caldera and ruoqi zhang

By michelle g. kurilla Crimson Staff Writer

Crimson Staff Writers

Mail and package deliveries across the University were disrupted Wednesday and Thursday by the graduate student union strike, which will enter its fourth day Friday.

United Parcel Service is not delivering to Harvard in support of picketers, according to several University communications. At other locations across the University Wednesday and Thursday, individual picketers attempted to block delivery entrances and asked drivers to withhold their deliveries.

Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers went on strike Tuesday after more than a year of contract negotiations with the University. While the parties have reached 12 tentative agreements in the 28 bargaining sessions held so far, differences remain on key issues such as compensation, health

spondence about that decision between Bacow, Gay, and Romance Languages and Literatures department chair Mariano Siskind; and open an investigation into García Peña’s case for “procedural errors, prejudice, and discrimination,” according to a letter they circulated.

García Peña did not respond to a request for comment on her tenure case.

During the rally, Harvard Ethnic Studies Coalition member Laura S. Veira-Ramirez ’20, a former Crimson editor, told protesters that Thursday was the last day of García Peña’s course SPANSH 126: “Performing Latinidad.” She said García Peña’s mentorship inspired many of her students’ advocacy for a formalized ethnic studies

Surrounded by a crowd of United States Representatives and reporters, Harvard Law School Professor Noah R. Feldman ’92 testified in the first House Judiciary Committee hearing into the Trump impeachment inquiry on Wednesday.

The hearing, which featured several law professors’ testimony on the constitutional landscape of impeachment, followed the first round of hearings regarding President Donald Trump held by the House Intelligence Committee.

After a months-long investigation, the Intelligence Committee produced a report Tuesday charging Trump of soliciting the Ukrainian government’s aid in the 2020 presidential election and attempting to obstruct the congressional investigation into his connections with Ukraine.

In his testimony, Feldman said Trump abused his office through corrupt solicitation of Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rivals, including during the 2020 presidential election.

“On the basis of the testimony and the evidence before the House, President Trump has committed impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors by corruptly abusing the office of the presidency,” Feldman said.

He said the words abuse of power are neither “mystical” nor “magical” and are applicable to Trump’s actions with Ukraine.

“The abuse of office occurs when the President uses a feature of his power, the awesome power of his office, not to serve the interests of the Americna public but to serve his personal, individual, partisan, electoral interests,” Feldman said. “That is what the evidence before the House indicates.”

Alongside Feldman, law school professors Pamela S. Karlan, Michael J. Gerhardt, and Jonathan Turley also served as witnesses in the inquiry. The four professors discussed the constitutional history of impeachment and opined on whether Trump’s communications with Ukraine

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Left: Picketers blocked delivery and mail trucks from entering Johnston Gate of Harvard Yard. Right: Union members picketing Harvard Yard held a Time’s Up rally on the third day of the HGSU strike. kathryn s. kuhar and owen a. berger—Crimson photographers

Departments Check TF Strike Status, Prompting Harvard Union Backlash By declan j. knieriem and ruoqi zhang Crimson Staff Writers

Several academic departments across the University emailed graduate student teaching staff asking whether they are participating in the graduate student union’s strike this week, prompting anger among union ­

members.

Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile went on strike Tuesday after more than a year of contract negotiations with the University. Despite the 12 tentative agreements the two parties have reached, differences remain on key contract provisions including compensation, health ben-

Related Stories Students Trade Pipettes for Pickets

efits, and grievance procedure for sexual harassment and discrimiantion complaints.

The memo — originally sent out to Government department affiliates by Chair Jeffry A. Frieden — was posted in part on Twitter by union members. Frieden informed

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Non-Harvard Unions Support Strike See SUPPORT Page 5 Follow The Crimson’s strike coverage at thecrimson.com

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Harvard Affiliates Rally for Professor By amanda y. su Crimson Staff Writer

Hundreds of Harvard affiliates crowded the steps of Widener Library Thursday to protest the decision to deny Romance Languages and Literatures associate professor Lorgia García Peña tenure and demand an ethnic studies program.

The University informed García Peña — who specializes in Latinx studies — of the tenure decision Nov. 27. Since then, students and faculty across the University have protested the verdict by penning letters to top Harvard administrators, staging a sit-in at University Hall, and interrupting a faculty meeting.

Ethnic studies advocates have called on Harvard to reverse García Peña’s tenure decision; publicly release corre­

Students protested in front of Widener Library calling on Harvard to increase the number of Ethnic Studies faculty and to formalize the academic program. mariah ellen d. dimalaluan—Crimson photographer

Harvard to Focus Fundraising on Aid By cindy h. zhang Crimson Staff Writer

In the wake of its record-breaking capital campaign that wrapped up last year, Harvard has focused its fundraising on student financial aid, securing graduate fellowships, and continuing development in Allston, University Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development Brian K. Lee said in an interview Wednesday.

Student financial aid is currently one of the University’s top fundraising priorities, Lee said. During the $9.6 billion capital campaign that ended in June 2018, Harvard struggled to meet its financial aid goal as quickly as other targets. Financial aid is not fully endowed and an economic downturn could lead to increased need from students and families.

“Across the University, student financial aid, support of ­

Inside this issue

Harvard Today 2

our students, is going to remain critical,” Lee said. “There are two things that define, that will sustain excellence at Harvard, and that’s continuing to attract the very best students and to attract the very best faculty.”

“These will remain among the highest priorities in any post-campaign environment,” he added.

Though Lee is in charge of Harvard’s fundraising, he is not in charge of determining the University’s fundraising priorities. Rather, the fundraising is directed by goals “articulated by the academic leaders of the institution,” according to Lee. Another such goal is securing funding for additional graduate fellowships, according to Lee. “I’ve actually, in my 33 years of doing this, I really rarely see the level of consensus and

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Editorial 8

SEAS Dean Urges Respect in Divest Debate By ruth a. hailu and amy l. jia Crimson Staff Writers

A mid disagreement over fossil fuel divestment among professors at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, SEAS Dean Francis J. Doyle III urged both sides to respect each other in an interview Thursday.

Students, faculty, and alumni at Harvard have repeatedly called on the University to divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry — an action University President Lawrence S. Bacow and his predecessors have resisted on the grounds that Harvard should not use its endowment for political purposes.

Doyle said he applauds the efforts of student activists and believes climate change is “the existential threat of our lifetime” but urged that conversations on divestment should take place “at the right time and with ­

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the right tone.”

“In any conversation, both sides have to respect each other,” Doyle said. “It needs to be a discourse and not...a shouting match from one side with no intent to hear the other side.”

Doyle said that given his limited knowledge of investment strategy, he cannot speak on how the University should invest its endowment but hopes to promote awareness of climate change through teaching and research instead. “[Teaching and research are] not the only thing we need to do, and I know it falls short of solving the problem, but it’s things that I have direct agency as dean,” he said.

SEAS faculty members have offered contrasting perspectives on whether the University should divest from fossil fuels.

More than 390 faculty — spanning multiple schools

Today’s Forecast

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SEE PAGE 7

Harvard’s Graduate Student Council met in Lehman Hall to discuss a mental health survey. jenny m. lu—Contributing photographer

rain/snow High: 36 Low: 24

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

December 6, 2019

Page 2

Harvard Today

For Lunch Chicken Vindaloo Red’s Best Fresh Catch Roasted Vegetable Panini

For Dinner Citrus Marinated Pork Fried Buttermilk Chicken Vegetable Pot Pie with Biscuits

Today’s Events Following the Guiding Star Memorial Church, 8-10:30 p.m.

in The Real World

Come watch the Kuumba singers at their annual Christmas concert!

Tickets are free from the Harvard Box Office, and the performance will take place at Memorial Church. If you can’t make it today, there will be another show at the same time and place.

Robbery and Police Chase in Florida Led to Multiple Fatalities

Summer Programs and Funding Fair SOCH, 1-4 p.m.

House Begins Drafting Articles of Impeachment

Let the Office of Career Services help you find your dream summer internship! Located at the Student Organization Center at Hilles at 59 Shepard St., the summer program funding fair will come in clutch with more than 80 summer programs to consider and apply to. Whether you want to find an internship, do public service, do research, or travel, there’s something for everyone.

A Florida jewelry store was robbed. The robber hijacked a UPS truck, which led to a police chase around Broward County. It eventually ended in a shootout, in which one woman was hurt and others were reported dead.

Students and visitors passing through Harvard Yard were greeted by a snowy scene. camille g. caldera—Crimson photographer

Daily Briefing

Movement toward impeachment against President Donald Trump has started, as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House has begun drafting articles of impeachment. Pelosi stated that Trump’s behavior with regard to Ukraine meant Democrats had “no choice but to act.”

Graduate student union members who are striking have taken to blocking deliveries from reaching campus. As a result, packages mailed to the Freshman Mail Center or the upperclassman houses will be delayed. In other news, several departments have emailed their graduate student teaching assistants asking them to report their participation in the strike.

Around the Ivies YALE Yale Faculty of Arts and Sciences senators are discussing student activists’ calls for Yale to divest from fossil fuels and Puerto Rican debt, according to the Yale Daily News. The Senate Executive Committee met to talk about The Game’s halftime protest on Tuesday, and — though the meeting agenda has yet to be finalized — the full Senate will meet again Dec. 10. According to Chair of the FAS Senate John Geanakoplos, the Senate plans to hold a session next semester to educate faculty on ways Yale can address issues of climate change.

brown

One year after a working group recommended that Brown University increase funds for its Off Campus Federal Work-Study Program, funding remains unchanged, the Brown Daily Herald reported. Just 110 of the 148 qualified students who applied for off-campus work study received funding. Brown allocates just seven percent of its federal work-study funding for the off-campus work study program — the federallyrequired minimum level of funding, and the lowest percentage in the Ivy League.

cornell

A Cornell campus survey found little support for a smoking suspension, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. The survey — which was sparked by fears of spiraling nicotine use and subsequently spawned a motion to ban tobacco from Cornell campus — found that smoking rates at Cornell could actually be lower than expected. Most respondents said they would support a proposed two- to three-year process of establishing a nicotine-free campus, but two-thirds responded that they did not support a total nicotine ban.

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 Editors Michael E. Xie ’20 Assistant Night Editors Simone C. Chu ’21 Declan J. Knieriem ’22 Story Editors Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21 Alexandra A. Chaidez ’21 Delano R. Franklin ’21 Angela N. Fu ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Devin B. Srivastava ’21

Design Editors Camille G. Caldera ’22 Matthew J. Tyler ’22 Photo Editor Ryan N. Gajarawala ’22 Editorial Editor Kristine E. Guillaume ’20 Sports Editor Will G. Connaughton ’22

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

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | December 6, 2019

One Killed, One Injured in Crash

By Ema r. schumer Crimson Staff Writer

A car crashed near one of Harvard’s freshman dorms early Thursday morning, leaving the driver dead and the one passenger in critical condition, according to the Cambridge Police Department.

Before 4 a.m., the driver veered off of Massachusetts Avenue and plowed into a gate and a tree next to Wigglesworth Hall, a dorm in Harvard Yard.

Officers from CPD, the Harvard University Police Department, and Massachusetts State Police responded to the scene of the accident. Police closed the intersection between Massachusetts Avenue and Bow Street to traffic until approximately 7:15 a.m. First responders transported the driver and passenger — both males who were neither affiliated with the University nor Cambridge residents — to local hospitals, according to CPD spokesperson Jeremy Warnick. The driver was later pronounced dead and the passenger received treatment for serious injuries.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by CPD, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, and the State Police, according to a citywide

Harvard Affiliates Win Scholarship

­

By Arvin Hariri and margaret m. hylton contributing writers

A driver died and a passenger received serious injuries after their car crashed through a fence on Massachusetts Avenue near Wigglesworth Hall. ryan n. gajarawala—Crimson photographer

alert sent Thursday morning.

Warnick said he believes that the accident underscores the need for traffic regulations to ensure safety in the Square.

He cited the Cambridge City Government’s Vision Zero ef-

fort, which aims to reduce the speed limit on most Cambridge streets.

“Reducing driving speeds from 25 mph to 20 mph will help make Cambridge safer for people of all ages and abilities walk-

ing, biking, and driving on our streets, while at the same time potentially having a significant outcome in the event of a crash,” Warnick wrote. ema.schumer@thecrimson.com

Cambridge To Vote On Budget Proposals By declan j. knieriem and katelyn x. li Crimson Staff Writers

Cambridge residents will cast ballots this week as part of the city’s participatory budgeting process, selecting their top five choices among 20 total resident-submitted proposals, in order to decide how to spend $1 million of the city’s budget next year.

The budgeting process involves soliciting proposals from the general public on ways to improve public spaces. The city will set aside more money of its 2021 fiscal year budget compared to recent years to fund and implement the winning proposals. Last year, the city allocated $925,000 to participatory budgeting.

The budget for fiscal year 2020 totaled more than $678 million, a 5.7 percent increase from the previous year.

Voting began Dec. 1 and continues through the end of this week. All Cambridge residents age 12 and over, regardless of citizenship status, are eligible to vote, as well as any university students living in the city. This year marks the sixth cycle of the city’s participation in participatory budgeting.

The city received more than 1,600 proposals from residents in this year’s cycle, according to ­

Six University affiliates – including three Harvard seniors – learned Thursday they will have the opportunity to earn a master’s degree in Beijing next year through the Schwarzman Scholars program.

Seniors Anirudh Suresh ’20, Christopher M. Vassallo ’20, and Kangrong “Allison” Zhang ’20 each received the scholarship alongside Sara S. Surani ’18, Jullian A. Duran ’18, and Christopher Li ’18.

They form part of the program’s fifth class.

This year’s applicant pool included 4,700 applicants from 41 countries and 108 universities.

Beginning in the fall of 2019, the 145 Schwarzman Scholars will study at Beijing’s Tsinghua University for one academic year, graduating with a master’s degree in Global Affairs.

Scholars can concentrate in public policy, international studies, or economics, and they accompany their classroom studies with hands-on experience in their fields of interest. Students also study Mandarin during their year abroad.

CEO and co-founder of financial firm Blackstone Stephen A. Schwarzman founded the scholars program.

Several of the scholars said they were attracted to the scholarship because it afforded them the opportunity to learn in a different environment.

Zhang, a joint concentrator in applied math and history, said her time growing up in China and the U.S. initially sparked ­

Matt Nelson, the participatory budgeting coordinator for the city’s budget office.

“This is a way to really bring in residents, not just by sending folks their tax bills and the annual budget process, but also bringing in residents more deeply,” he said. “I think this year we’ve got a great group of projects on the ballot.”

After receiving the list of initial proposals submitted over the summer, participatory budgeting delegates spent several months reviewing proposals, according to Nelson. When necessary, some proposals were combined or rejected if they did not meet certain criteria. These delegates, in conjunction with other city staff, provide a shortlist of “viable and feasible” projects to be included on the ballot, per Nelson.

The 20 final proposals on the ballot would funnel money toward proposals ranging from environmental preservation efforts to traffic-related improvements to the construction of new public amenities.

There are two bicycle-related proposals this year — one which aims to increase the availability of bike parking and one that would install more Bluebike stations near affordable housing. One proposal suggests putting in public WiFi throughout Cambridge, while

another proposal advocates installing more benches across the city.

Environmental proposals include expanding the city’s tree canopy and replacing open trash bins with Big Belly Solar Compactors. One project, Make the City Bloom with a Habitat Corridor, suggests planting “native flowers and vegetation” along a strip that connects Fresh Pond and Mt. Auburn Cemetery — an area that is “crucial” to the city’s biodiversity, according to the project description.

City Manager Louis A. DePasquale wrote in a statement that the goal of participatory budgeting is to promote “engagement” among Cambridge residents.

“I have always looked for ways to connect the community with city finances, and Participatory Budgeting has been a great tool for achieving this goal,” he wrote. “I am proud that through the first five cycles Participatory Budgeting, we have funded over $3.6 million in 33 capital projects – all of which were submitted, developed and voted on by the Cambridge community.”

This year’s $1 million allocation stands as the highest capital commitment to the project so far. Past winning projects include solar panel installations at a public library, bike repair

stations, and public restrooms.

Rochelle G. Ruthchild, a member of the 888 Women’s History Project, contributed to a proposal to build a public art installation in commemoration of the black, feminist, and LGBTQ activists who occupied 888 Memorial Drive in 1971.

“The women’s movement in general, it is the least documented, of any of the great social movements of the 20th and 21st century, so to do a public art installation that both honors the community activists of Riverside, and the women who took over the Memorial Drive building goes some way towards increasing the visibility,” Ruthchild said.

Lifelong Cambridge resident, Amanda Peters, said that the participatory budgeting process is an important tool of democratic governance.

“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for residents to be able to have some say in how their money is spent,” Peters said. “To have a portion of the money that can go to projects that might seem like side projects, but in fact are really important for the life and the livability of the city. . .it’s really great to have those ideas come directly from residents.” declan.knieriem@thecrimson.com katelyn.li@thecrimson.com

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her interest.

“Having grown up in both Beijing and California, I’ve been interested in China and its changing relationship with the rest of the world,” she said.

She said she hopes to ultimately live in China full-time.

“Personally, because I hope to explore the possibility of working in China in the long term, Schwarzman Scholars will also be a great way to begin reintegrating myself into Chinese society,” Zhang said.

Vassallo, who studies history at Harvard, plans to study U.S. foreign policy “from a Chinese perspective.”

He added that he one day hopes to work on the state department’s policy planning staff or on the National Security Council.

“These are settings where policymakers hash out key decisions that ultimately shape the relationship between the world’s superpowers,” Vassallo said.

Vassallo added that the scholarship will allow him to take the “first step towards cultivating a unique, authoritative voice on US-China relations.”

“A year as a Schwarzman Scholar will allow me to transition from careful observer to active participant in the debate that is reshaping foreign policy,” he said.

Suresh, a mathematics concentrator, said he is most interested in exploring themes of “artificial intelligence” and “general technology.”

He said he also hopes to learn about “political and social issues” in China and to learn Mandarin.

Committee Ponders Allston Transport By sanjana l. narayanan Crimson Staff Writer

A s Harvard prepares to open the new Allston campus in fall 2020, the Committee on Student Life discussed challenges associated with the move — including transportation and dining options — at its last meeting of the semester Thursday.

The CSL — an advisory panel that includes Harvard administrators, faculty deans, house committee chairs, and Undergraduate Council representatives — will share these concerns with the committee supervising the Allston campus, UC President and CSL member Sruthi Palaniappan ’20 said in an interview Thursday. Members of the Allston committee will attend the next CSL meeting in February so that the two bodies can work together to examine potential solutions, according to Palaniappan.

“Not unexpectedly, issues such as food, transportation, class schedule, and social and study spaces came up in the Committee on Student Life,” said Dean of Students Katherine G. O’Dair in an interview Thursday.

Of these issues, Pforzheimer House Faculty Dean Anne Harrington ’82 said she is particularly concerned about transportation between the Quad and the new SEAS campus, because the Quad houses are farther from Allston than the river houses.

“Transportation is a slightly different kind of problem than the problem of dining and study spaces, because it’s a problem that can’t be solved completely

by Harvard alone,” Harrington said. “It will require negotiating with the City of Cambridge.

It will require figuring out bus routes, managing the flow of traffic of just other Cambridge citizens.”

Currier House Faculty Dean Sylvia I. Barrett also said she thinks that transportation from the Quad to Allston might frustrate students. “It really impacts the sense of community that we have in the Quad if people are not happy because of this major issue,” Barrett said. “And it’s not too late to come up with a reasonable solution.”

University spokesperson Brigid O’Rourke wrote in an emailed statement that Harvard has made significant investments in transportation infrastructure to support the Allston project. “New infrastructure including upgraded bike and pedestrian amenities, ­

entirely new streets, mobility hubs, shuttle stops, wayfinding and green spaces are being built to support the building’s operation,” O’Rourke wrote. “Additionally, shuttle service has been expanded to serve Allston in recent years and will be further expanded and increased as the building nears completion.”

Harrington proposed sev-

It doesn’t matter how wonderful Allston is going to be ... if people can’t get there.

Anne Harrington ’82 Pforzheimer Faculty Dean

eral measures aimed at remedying the transportation problem, including building a new campus bridge across the river to Allston with “an express bus lane.” She also suggested creating a carbon-neutral subway line under the river. Harrington said she thinks administrators and students can work together to make the new campus accessible to students from all residential houses.

“It doesn’t matter how wonderful Allston is going to be — and it is likely going to be wonderful — if people can’t get there,” Harrington said.

UC Representative and CSL member Alexa C. Jordan ’22 said she thinks Allston will be an “amazing resource for students,” and that the UC might be able to facilitate alternate modes of transportation. She pointed to the UC’s current bike subsidy program as an example.

“One thing from the UC standpoint that I’ve been thinking about a lot is the potential for possible ride sharing, bike sharing options,” Jordan said.

“So is there a way in which the UC can help subsidize scooters or bikes?”

Palaniappan said that though the proposed transportation options seem “unclear” at the moment, she believes that the CSL’s upcoming meeting with the Allston committee in February will provide some answers. The UC can also serve as a forum for representing the undergraduate population’s needs to the administration, according to Palaniappan.

“I can see the UC as being an important body in relaying what those student concerns are once the Allston campus does open,” Palaniappan said. sanjana.narayanan@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

december 6, 2019

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rally From Page 1

Ethnic Studies Coalition, Union Rally for Professor program at Harvard, a demand with an almost 50-year-long history.

“Beyond Professor García Peña, we’re fighting for an ethnic studies department,” Veira-Ramirez said. Activists have linked García Peña’s tenure decision to the broader fight for an ethnic studies program. García Peña helped establish the ethnic studies track in History and Literature and is currently serving on a search committee for faculty who specialize in Ethnic Studies.

Ethnic Studies Coalition member Rosa L. Vazquez ’20 said at the rally that the University has touted the diversity of its students without supporting them. “We’re fighting for our histories to be taught in these classrooms that preach diversity but don’t actually teach us anything,” Vasquez said. “Harvard loves to put our faces on admissions pamphlets but won’t actually teach our histories or our culture.”

The Ethnic Studies Coalition contends that administrators’ responses to the issue have been unsatisfactory. University President Lawrence S. Bacow and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay responded to students’ demands in two separate emails Wednesday night, according to an open letter posted by the group on Medium.

Bacow’s email stated that he

could not publicly offer an explanation about García Peña’s tenure denial because the tenure review process is confidential, the letter states.

In a separate email, Gay wrote that she supports Ethnic Studies, according to the letter. She also wrote that FAS has launched a cluster hire of three to four faculty members who specialize in Asian American, Muslim American, and Latinx studies.

During her speech at the rally, Ramirez called the emails from Bacow and Gay “inadequate” and accused Bacow of hiding behind bureaucratic “red tape.”

“In our response, we demanded that they have a comittee to review any discrimination that could have taken place and likely took place in this tenure process,” she said. “We must acknowledge that these people need to be held accountable.”

University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain and FAS spokesperson Anna G. Cowenhoven both declined to comment on the tenure decision regarding García Peña. They also declined to comment on Bacow’s and Gay’s emails.

In addition to García Peña, at least three other professors who specialize in race or religion have been denied tenure or left the University to take a job elsewhere. In November 2018, the University denied tenure

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to Harvard Graduate School of Education associate professor Natasha K. Warikoo; History assistant professor Genevieve A. Clutario accepted a position at Wellesley College soon after; and Science and Religion associate professor Ahmed Ragab was denied tenure at Harvard Divinity School last spring.

Roughly 100 Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers picketers on strike Thursday joined the ethnic studies rally in a show of support.

HGSU-UAW, which represents approximately 5,000 student teaching staff and graduate research assistants across the University, has been on strike since Tuesday. Members have given up their teaching and research responsibilities until the union negotiates a contract with the University. Though the two parties have reached 12 tentative agreements, they remain at odds on key issues including compensation, health benefits, and grievance procedures for sexual harassment and discrimination complaints.

During the ethnic studies rally, HGSU-UAW organizer Justin Bloesch said the union’s student workers support the protesters’ fight for ethnic studies at Harvard, connecting the two groups’ missions.

“This has been a fight for decades on campuses across the country. Harvard is decades

Advocates for a formalized Ethnic Studies program at Harvard rallied in front of Widener Library. mariah ellen d. dimalaluan—Crimson photographer

behind,” he said. “The fight for economic justice isn’t the same fight without racial justice.”

“Whether it’s ethnic stud-

ies or grievance procedures to address discrimination or harassment or adequate mental health care, Harvard is not do-

ing enough to make this place an equitable campus,” he added. amanda.su@thecrimson.com

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Packages, Delayed Departments Check Grad Strike Status

by Union Strike benefits, and grievance procedure for sexual harassment and discrimination complaints.

The decision by UPS not to deliver to Harvard has delayed packages addressed to the University’s Cambridge campus.

Several undergraduate Houses experienced delays, according to email announcements from House administrators over email lists. “[Harvard University Mail Services] is in the process of scanning in all of today’s UPS packages and expects to deliver those packages to the Houses tomorrow, 12/6,” the announcement read. “HUMS is not planning to keep delivering UPS’s packages should UPS continue to withhold delivery tomorrow onward.”

The email noted that students with urgent deliveries, like medications, should contact HUMS for expedited access to their packages. The strike also disrupted BorrowDirect — a service that enables library borrowing across academic institutions in the United States — according to an email publicized

by HGSU on Twitter. Some BorrowDirect deliveries rely on UPS. Harvard Library is now looking at alternative methods to address delivery delays for borrower services and other deliveries as part of the ongoing University-wide contingency plan should the strike continue, according to University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain.

In the meantime, Library patrons were cautioned to “expect fairly long turnaround times for loans.”

Ann-Catherine I. McNeill, a Ph.D. student in the Study of Religion who lives in a freshman dorm in Harvard Yard, did not receive an expected delivery from UPS Wednesday.

“I didn’t get my UPS delivery today but that was totally worth it,” McNeill wrote in an email, noting that she supports the strike “wholeheartedly.”

“I would much rather get fair working conditions, ha-

rassment protections, and adequate healthcare coverage than a timely delivery of my online shopping (preferably both but if one has to choose) and I am grateful for UPS Teamsters supporting us,” she added.

“Let’s hope I get a fair contract and my mail sooner rather than later.”

Members and supporters of HGSU picketed at gates, loading docks, and delivery centers, including Johnston Gate, the Center for Government and International Studies, the Harvard Kennedy School, Quincy House, Leverett House, Currier House, and Eliot House.

“We’re out in this particular spot because we’re trying to talk to people that make deliveries to Harvard to get them to not make deliveries in solidarity with the Union,” said Physics Ph.D. student Lev H. Kendrick, who was stopping deliveries outside of Quincy House Wednesday morning.

Physics Ph.D. student Alexis Turner, another picketer stopping deliveries outside of Quincy House, said the group stopped one of the three deliveries made in the morning.

“A second gentleman informed us that if we got in touch with his union management, next week at this time he won’t deliver,” she said.

Sean M. O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25 — a union representing roughly 12,500 people including delivery workers in the Boston area — wrote that its members “always” honor picket lines.

“Solidarity is key to getting a fair wage with proper rights and protections, and we are proud to support our union brothers and sisters. These student workers have already learned that only by standing together can working people hold greedy employers accountable,” O’Brien wrote. camille.caldera@thecrimson.com ruoqi.zhang@thecrimson.com

“management” and are still responsible for their “instructional responsibilities.”

In a separate email, the department asked graduate students teaching fellows whether they are striking. “The Department, meaning I in my official capacity as Department Chair, has emailed all graduate students who are serving as Teaching Fellows to ask if they are working,” Frieden wrote in an emailed statement. “We are collecting that information, as requested by the administration.”

In preparing to send out the memo, the Government department consulted University administrators, according to Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain.

Though other departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences later sent similar memos to their students, they did not do so under the instruction of the University, Swain wrote in an emailed statement.

Administrators at Harvard Divinity School, the Physics department, and the African and African American Studies department also sent emails to graduate students asking whether they are striking or not. “Please respond to this email to confirm whether or not you intend to fulfill your responsibilities as a Teaching Fellow,” reads a segment included in many of these emails. “Please note that by not responding to this message, you are confirming your decision to strike.”

It is unclear whether the Divinity School, the Physics department, or the African and African American Studies department also sent the memo reminding students and faculty of their teaching responsibil-

ities. But some departments declined to send either the memo or an email asking students to report their strike participation.

Administrators from the Classics, the Celtic Languages and Literatures, the Astronomy, the Comparative Literature, the East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and the Germanic Languages and Literatures departments said they did not send departmental emails to student workers asking whether they are striking.

Divinity School Dean David N. Hempton emailed students asking whether they will fulfill their teaching duties in an attempt to collect information about “matters of payroll.”

“Due to the timing of the strike and the closing of the payroll period, all teaching fellows will receive their regular pay for December, whether they strike or not,” Hempton wrote.

“Future decisions about payroll matters will necessarily be determined by Harvard’s central administration.”

The union organizing committee later wrote letters to department chairs stating that they are concerned about emails asking faculty members to report graduate students’ strike status, according to a copy of a letter obtained by The Crimson.

The union’s letter stated that administrators may use the information to “dock students’ pay,” and it urged department chairs to “proceed with more caution” when distributing work to department members.

“We’re concerned that members of the Harvard community are being given new managerial responsibilities they have never before had to shoulder,” the

union wrote.

In an email to members, the union’s organizing committee provided suggestions on how members should respond to these kinds of requests. In the email, they addressed academic responsibilities, teaching responsibilities, and strike benefits.

“As suspected may happen, the Harvard administration started attempting to intimidate student workers from striking, rather than devoting time to bargaining a fair union contract,” the organizing committee wrote. “We believe that these emails are primarily intended to intimidate, as depending on email non-responses from student workers is unlikely to be a reliable indication of who is participating in the strike.”

Swain wrote in an emailed statement that strikes are not “secret actions,” and therefore student workers on strike should not expect to be paid.

Swain also referred back to a University-wide email from University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 last week in which Garber wrote that retaliation is against the law and University policy. Garber also wrote that there is “no question” that retaliation is “unacceptable.”

“For multiple reasons, including considerations for compliance with federal laws, the University has an obligation and a legal right to track whether work is being performed or not, and to use that information to determine whether or not a worker will be paid,” Garber wrote.

Former Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board William B. Gould IV that there

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is nothing “inherently unlawful or improper” about departments asking students whether they are on strike.

“What can be potentially ominous from the employee’s perspective is the fact that if you are on strike, you can be temporarily replaced and be permanently replaced,” Gould said.

Gould said that though employers are legally allowed to temporarily or permanently “replace” striking employees, they cannot disrupt or change employment relationships because employees engage in a strike.“There have not been many strikes in higher education in these kinds of jobs,” Gould said. “We’re really travelling down unchartered territory.”

HGSU did not respond to a request for comment.

Germanic Languages and Literatures Chair Alison F. Johnson said she refused to ask graduate students in her department whether they are working during the strike.

“I don’t think you should impute a position about responsibilities and obligations to Harvard based on failure to answer an email,” she said. “People have the right to define their position themselves in their own voices, and they should not be bullied or threatened or harassed into a position that they haven’t declared themselves to hold.”

Swain declined to comment on Johnson’s comments, but referred back to Garber’s email, which stated that faculty and staff “must fulfill their academic responsibilities to their students.” declan.knieriem@thecrimson.com ruoqi.zhang@thecrimson.com

Page 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | december 6, 2019

Longwood Students Trade Pipettes for Picket Line By ema r. schumer and amanda y. su Crimson Staff Writers

A 40-minute bus ride away from Harvard Square, over the Charles River and through Boston, a picket line at Harvard’s Longwood campus marks another fault line between the University and Harvard’s graduate student union.

Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers members began picketing at the Longwood campus Wednesday, a day after their strike began in Harvard Yard.

Union members formed two picket lines in Longwood — one outside of Gordon Hall, a Harvard Medical School administrative building, and the other outside the Kresge Building, which holds the Harvard School of Public Health.

After more than a year of contract negotiations with the University, HGSU officially began its strike on Tuesday.

Though the two parties have reached 12 tentative agreements, they remain at odds over health care benefits, compensation, and a procedure for adjudicating sexual harrassment and discrimination complaints.

The Longwood campus houses the School of Public Health, the Medical School, and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. More than 2,500 students and 11,000 faculty populate the campus.

Picketers at Longwood chanted various science-themed slogans, including “Put pipettes down! We need a contract now!” and “Hey don’t make that buffer, while your fellow students suffer!”

University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain wrote in an emailed statement Monday that the University still believes that a strike is “unwarranted.”

“Student workers have [a] vital role in fulfilling Harvard’s teaching and research mission, and with that in mind, the University is committed to addressing concerns that have been raised throughout this process,” Swain wrote. “A strike ­

will neither clarify our respective positions nor will it resolve areas of disagreement.”

Systems Biology Ph.D. candidate Daniel S. Eaton said he was impressed by the turnout at the Longwood strike since many who work at Longwood are faculty or staff scientists,

A strike will neither clarify our respective positions nor will it resolve areas of disagreement.

Jonathan L. Swain University Spokesperson

not graduate students.

“I’m actually really impressed with how we’re doing here,” he said.

“I think things are staying excited, and I hope that we’ll be able to propagate this energy into the future.”

Though the picket lines in Longwood resemble those in the Yard, union members at the medical campus shared a particular interest in the bargaining provisions concerning health.

HGSU negotiators have asked that all union members automatically receive full health, vision, and prescription drug coverage.

The union’s proposed health care system would lift the 40-visit cap on mental health care visits and would cover the majority of health care costs of members’ dependents.

The union is also demanding that the University pay 90 percent of dental care costs. Currently, the dental health plan for graduate students requires students to opt-in and pay an additional fee.

In response, the University has stated that it will not agree to cover the costs of each member’s health care. Harvard has instead offered pool funds to offset health insurance premiums, as well as cover dental care and child care.

Population Health Services

Picketers gathered outside of Gordon Hall on Harvard’s Longwood campus as part of the graduate student union’s strike. The union organized picket lines in both Cambridge and Longwood on Wednesday and Thursday. amanda y. su—Crimson photographer

Ph.D. candidate Mathilda Regan said her role on the picket line is an extension of her commitment to health.

“I think especially studying public health, we realize how important it is for people to have access to good medical care,” Regan said.

Following a morning of picketing Thursday, HGSU hosted a rally in Longwood that drew a crowd of roughly 50 strikers.

Speakers, who criticized the University for its alleged unfair treatment of graduate students, also took time to celebrate graduate student research and work.

Biological Sciences in Public Health Ph.D. candidate Caroline Keroack argued in a speech at the Thursday rally that graduate students cannot contribute to the study of health through their research if they are not

healthy themselves.

In her speech, Keroack said

We cannot be the gears that grind forward this institution if we cannot keep ourselves physically and mentally healthy.

Caroline Keroack Ph.D. Student

she has suffered from severe depression since the age of 12.

Though her condition requires weekly therapy treatment, she said she is unable to afford therapy under Harvard’s current health care plan.

“We cannot be the gears that grind forward this institution if we cannot keep ourselves physically and mentally healthy,” Keroack said.

Swain declined to comment on criticisms of Harvard’s current health care plan.

In support of the graduate student worker strike, 18 construction laborers working on a restoration project near the Longwood picket line shut down their job site for the day.

Jason R. Achstetter, a labor foreman for the construction management firm Walsh Brothers, said the workers walked out to show support for striking union members.

“Being in the union you know what a strike is about and how you’re supposed to react to a strike,” he said.

“I called my supervisor and

he talked to Harvard and talked to the unions and it came down that we were going to have a walk out for a day so we could show our respect.”

Massachusetts Nurses Association President Donna Kelly-Williams said in an interview that Harvard’s student workers should not need to strike in order to be recognized by the University. Kelly-Williams spoke at Wednesday’s rally at Longwood.

“Harvard is so involved in medical research, and we give the greatest care in the world to patients that come to seek care here and in Massachusetts, and we’re not taking care of our own,” she said. “What kind of a message is that?” ema.schumer@thecrimson.com amanda.su@thecrimson.com

Local, International Unions Support HGSU-UAW Strike By camille g. caldera Crimson Staff Writer

Members of academic unions worldwide have thrown their support behind Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers this week as they began their strike Tuesday.

At least 20 other student unions have written statements of support for HGSU-UAW on Twitter, and some individuals have taken other actions, like striking in solidarity, picketing at Harvard, and donating to a hardship fund for striking workers.

HGSU-UAW went on strike Tuesday after more than a year ­

of contract negotiations with the University. Over the course of 28 bargaining sessions, the union and the University have reached 12 tentative agreements.

But HGSU-UAW and administrators remain at odds over several key issues including health benefits, compensation, and grievance procedures for sexual harassment and discrimination complaints.

Numerous graduate student workers from local colleges and universities have spent time on the picket line during the first three days of the strike, holding colorful signs bearing slogans like “An Injury to One is an Injury to All! Solidarity from

UMass Lowell” and “UMass Boston Stands with Harvard Workers.”

Boston University Ph.D. student Megan J. LeBarron spent time on the picket line on Tuesday with friends from Boston College and Northeastern University. She said she is currently planning a return trip.

“There’s something really wonderful and inspiring about hearing the beats and marching along, and that physical solidarity of being in the same place at the same time, dedicated to the same cause,” she said.

LeBarron added that her time on the picket line left her feeling empowered to support unionization efforts at Boston

University.

Though BU graduate students are not currently unionized, an organizing committee is working to gain recognition on their behalf, she said.

“There’s something really powerful in seeing that you are not alone here,” she said.

“You feel marginalized and so do all of these other people.

And in that, there is some degree of strength.”

MIT Ph.D. student Crystal Lee said she spent time on the picket line Thursday.

This semester, she served as a Teaching Assistant for the Harvard course HISTSCI 119VH: “Sugar, Spice, and Science: Colonialism and Com-

Members of academic unions affiliated with other local universities, including Boston University and MIT, joined members of Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Automobile Workers as they picketed in Harvard Yard during the first days of a strike. kathryn s. kuhar—Crimson photographer

merce in the Making of a Global History of Science.”

Lee, who is not part of the union, emailed her students at Harvard on Tuesday to inform them that she planned to stop performing her Harvard teaching duties in solidarity with HGSU-UAW. In her email, which she later posted to Twitter, she said her decision was due to “the momentous nature of the discussions between the Union and the Harvard administration.”

Lee said she worried about being used to break the strike if she did not withhold her labor.

“I don’t really want to be a strike breaker because I think it is entirely conceivable for Harvard to look to outside labor, look at Tufts, MIT, BU, etc. to try to replace Harvard graduate student labor and I want no part in that,” she said.

“To put it crassly, I don’t want to scab on my fellow graduate students at Harvard.”

MIT graduate student Ethan G. Baker also said he hopes to deter Boston-area students from doing work for Harvard.

He wrote in an email that he is “trying to make sure coworkers understand to not unintentionally replace the labor of striking workers.”

Away from the picket line, many HGSU-UAW supporters outside of Boston have found ways to support the strike from afar.

Jeff R. Schuhrke — a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago who also served as the former president of their Graduate Employees Organization — said the strike is important to his union, which held a strike for nearly three weeks this spring.

“It’s heartening to see other grad unions going on strike as we did,” he said. “We understand what’s at stake, and how difficult it is and how risky it is and how much work it takes to organize it from our own experience.”

He added that he is closely following disputes between HGSU-UAW and Harvard over grievance procedures for sexual misconduct.

“It’s becoming our main issue that we’ll be taking on going forward in our next contract campaign, so seeing what happens with HGSU and with their

strike is really important to us and we hope that they get some kind of strong language in their contract about that,” he said.

Alex J. Miller — the communications chair for Academic Labor United, a group of graduate students at the University of Hawaii attempting to unionize — said that this strike is an important example for his organization.

“It’s important for our members to see what a strike looks like and what a strike on a university campus looks like,” Miller said. “It’s about showing them the numbers that we need.”

Robyn Orfitelli ’06, who currently works as an English lecturer at Sheffield University in

There’s a saying that goes, “the longer the picket line, the shorter the strike.”

Robyn Ortifelli ’06 English Lecturer at Sheffield University

the United Kingdom, has taken similar steps to “signal boost” the HGSU-UAW strike online.

She said she has “donated to their fighting fund” and plans to write a letter to Harvard’s administration expressing support for the strike.

Orfitelli is a member of the UCU — the University and College Union — which represents academic workers at several universities across the U.K. Members of the UCU, representing more than 6o universities in the U.K. including Sheffield, held a strike from Nov. 25 to Dec. 4, overlapping with the strike at Harvard for two days.

“There’s a saying that goes, ‘the longer the picket line, the shorter the strike,’” Orfitelli said. “In today’s internet age, the picket line isn’t just the people who are physically on the picket line. It’s all of the people on the internet, who are expressing support or sharing information so that new people can learn about what’s going on, because a lot of industrial action is a battle of public opinion,” she added. camille.caldera@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

December 6, 2019

Page 6

Radcliffe Fellow Talks Data Policy Ni Lab Conducts Ultracold Process By maria g. gonzalez Contributing Writer

Computer scientist Francine Berman discussed the need for data policy that promotes the public good and protects consumer security at the Radcliffe Institute’s Knafel Center Wednesday evening.

Berman, who is a Radcliffe fellow, gave her talk, entitled “Civilizing the Internet of Things,” as part of the Institute’s Fellow’s Presentation Series. A computer science professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, her research has focused on cyberinfrastructure — advanced technological systems — and the responsible use of data.

She began her discussion by describing the unprecedented amount of technology in use around the world.

“Today, there are many more connected devices than there are humans on earth,” she said.

“If we think about it, we’re really talking about this connected world, what it is, and where ­

we’re headed.”

Berman’s current work focuses on the social and environmental impact of this digitally connected world, which she calls the “Internet of Things.” “[The IoT is[ a deeply interconnected set of sensors and cameras and smart systems and all kinds of devices and other technologies that are connected to one another, that share and exchange data, that work together to make decisions, and that often operate autonomously in the background, with or without you knowing it,” Berman said. “[It] has the promise of technology that will really enhance our environment.”

Berman, however, noted that there are also many risks associated with the IoT, citing security problems with baby monitors, self-driving car crashes, and Amazon’s Alexa sharing private conversations.

“The question becomes, is the IoT a future utopia or a future dystopia?,” Berman said.

“It’s up to us as we develop and nurture the IoT that we’ll be

seeing in the future.”

In her talk, Berman pointed to policy, regulation, and civic involvement as potential solutions to the more dangerous aspects of the IoT. “The government can help in lots of different ways,” she said.

“We have to know what rights we can expect in the Internet of Things. We have to know what kind of data protections we have.

“We need an IoT equivalent of OSHA to keep us safe,” she added. “We need guidelines for ethical development. We need clarity on who’s responsible and who’s liable when things go wrong.”

Ethan Cowan, a master’s student at the Harvard Extension School, said he found the connection between technology and policy important.

“The technology has far outpaced the public policy and political knowledge and I don’t think that we have — not just in the U.S., but as a species — come to terms with the radical effects of the amount of data that we’re

generating and what it can tell us about ourselves and about individuals,” Cowan said.

Connecticut high school student Lauren C. Uhl also said that information about the IoT is missing from political discourse.

“We don’t really hear politicians talk about this — aside from Andrew Yang — you don’t get a lot of context into politicians and their views,” she said.

Yang, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has proposed the idea of giving individuals property rights to their data. Berman said that voters should take a close look at candidates’ platforms and views on technology in order to remedy this problem and facilitate discussion about an ethical IoT that promotes the public good.

“The head of the country has an enormous responsibility to set the tone for where the U.S. is going to be in terms of information technology,” Berman said.

“It’s important to know that about your candidate, and to ask your candidate that question.”

DOYLE From Page 1

SEAS Dean Urges ‘Respect’ in Debate w ithin the University — have signed onto a petition by Harvard Faculty for Divestment. At least a dozen professors listed their affiliation as SEAS. Environmental Science and Engineering assistant professor Marianna K. Linz ’11 wrote in an email that she “strongly believe[s]” the University should divest from the industry.

“Personally, I hate that they funded efforts to discredit my entire discipline,” she wrote.

“More importantly, they knew about the warming of the planet and chose and continue to choose present profit over future risk.”

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to com­

ment.

Engineering Sciences and Geophysics professor James R. Rice said his opinion on the issue of divestment is “mixed.”

He said he favors a gradual replacement of fossil fuels with more sustainable forms of energy and believes “we’d be in trouble” if the University immediately divested from all activities involving fossil fuels.

“I think that’s a battle that ought to be fought at the ballot box in terms of the politicians we elect and what we expect of them, rather than telling the University to divest,” Rice said.

Rice added that divestment is further complicated by the fact that investment returns en-

able the University to have “students, faculty, decent facilities, and everything else.”

“I would prefer the University to be very selective about who it invests in, but I can’t oppose it, having some priority in investing in investments which make returns to the University,” he said.

Like Rice, Atmospheric and Environmental Science professor Steven C. Wofsy said he was initially skeptical that divestment from fossil fuels represents the best way to address environmental concerns. He said he later changed his mind, after observing fossil fuel companies’ active opposition to “anything that has to do with

the environment.”

“I’ve come down on the notion that something is ethically flawed to participate in profiting from the fossil fuel industry, writ large, at the current time,” he said.

Wofsy added that while he previously prioritized the nuances of fossil fuel divestment — in particular, where to draw the line — he now believes that the University can resolve the complexity at a later time, after it has divested.

“Why can’t you pursue your core mission with more vigor and also divest?” Wolfsy said. ruth.hailu@thecrimson.com amy.jia@thecrimson.com

By simon j. levien and christina t. pham Contributing Writers

A team of Harvard chemists has succeeded in performing the coldest chemical reaction to ever occur, according to a Nov. 29 paper they published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Science.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology professor Kang-Kuen Ni leads the team, which has been working on this ultracold chemical process for four years.

The team created a technique using lasers that allowed them to set the reaction temperature just a few millionths of a Kelvin above absolute zero — the lowest physically possible temperature. They used the reaction to study the process by which the chemical reactants broke down.

Ming-Guang Hu, a postdoctoral researcher in Ni’s lab, said the team wanted to observe the effects of the ultracold technique on a chemical reaction. Hu is one of the first authors on the paper, along with Yu Liu, a graduate student in the lab.

“Our goal is to apply the ultracold molecule technique to different fields,” Hu said. “For this project specifically, we want to apply the ultracold molecule technique to study the chemical reaction.”

Hu added that scientists have long understood the theoretical basis of the different stages of chemical reactions, but that the new experiment allows them to more directly observe inter­

mediate stages. Hu and Ni said scientists have relatively little knowledge of the short-lived middle stages between reactants and their final products.

“What we were looking for was the products of this reaction, to confirm that these chemical reactions were happening, going from reactants to product,” Ni said. “But a bit of a surprise was that we also see the intermediate, which is usually more transient in nature.”

Hu said he hopes the study will help future researchers to better control the speed of ultracold chemical reactions.

“The long-term goal is really to be able to control, or alter, the reaction rate of chemical reactions,” Hu said. “The ultracold technique is probably the most close to that dream.”

The team is currently exploring new ways they can use the ultracold technique, according to a Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology press release. The release states that the technique may help researchers manipulate reactants during a reaction, prematurely “excite” them, or physically “nudge” them around.

Ni said she has heard very positive reactions to the experiment from other researchers.

“In the very immediate community, people are very excited.

It was a bit of a puzzle for at least ten years,” Ni said. “But, moreover, we also saw something that we didn’t expect. Now we have opened up new possibilities to everybody, so the com-

The latest on student life.

impeach From Page 1

Feldman Testifies in House Inquiry warranted impeachment. The three scholars invited by Democrats — including Feldman — testified that Trump’s attempt to coerce Ukraine was an impeachable offense. The fourth professor, who was invited by Republicans, said there was not sufficient evidence for impeachment.

Feldman began his opening statement citing his role at Harvard, which includes teaching a course about the U.S. Constitu-

tion from its origins to the present.

He said the Constitution’s framers included impeachment out of fear that the President of the United States might abuse the power of the office to attempt to corrupt the electoral process and ensure reelection or to subvert national security.

When addressing the Judiciary Committee, he said that Congress has the sole power of impeachment.

“Let me be clear,” Feldman said. “It is not my responsibility or my job to determine the credibility of the witnesses who appeared before the House thus far.”

“That is your constitutional responsibility.”

Feldman said the provision for impeachment was included for instances such as the one before the House.

“The framers were not prophets, but they were very

smart people with a very sophisticated understanding of human incentives,” Feldman said. “They understood that a president would be motivated naturally to try to use the tremendous power of office to gain personal advantage, to keep himself in office, corrupt the electoral process, and to potentially subvert the national interest.” michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com

lee From Page 1

Fin. Aid Continues to Be Top Fundraising Priority unanimity around the fundraising objectives,” Lee said.

“There seems to be virtually unanimous consent that securing additional resources for graduate fellowships should be considered among Harvard University’s highest priorities going forward post campaign.”

Harvard’s recent expansion into Allston has also necessitated funding focused on that area.

The new campus will house the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, an Enterprise Research Campus, and the American Repertory The-

ater.

Identifying potential donors who can help further support the “Allston dream” is a high priority, according to Lee. “We’re continuing to think creatively about how we might approach other opportunities, but I can tell you that identifying those individuals who share a passion for achieving this goal in Allston is a high priority,” Lee said.

“We continue to work on articulating a case for support there as well.”

In addition to fundraising, Lee has focused on “sustain-

ing a momentum” following the capital campaign. He assumed his position in November last year, shortly after the campaign concluded.

“Our challenge and our opportunity is to engage our constituents, our alumni, and our donors in helping us to think about how we take this to the next level,” Lee said. “So we spend a lot of time engaging in discussion with our leaders within the institution about the very best strategies to sustain levels of engagement that will lead to continued fundraising success.”

Despite the possibility of an economic downturn and University-wide recession planning, Lee said there is “reason to hope” that Harvard’s fundraising would still “fare reasonably well.”

“From the fundraising perspective, I’ve had conversations with some of our some of our alumni,” Lee said. “And I have reason to believe that they would stick with Harvard, and they would continue to be generous to Harvard, despite economic downturns.” cindy.zhang@thecrimson.com

Harvard, from the Law School to Longwood.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

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Page 7

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | december 6. 2019

GSAS Student Council Talks Mental Health Team Seeks to Treat Obesity By luke a. williams Crimson Staff Writer

Nearly a quarter of surveyed doctoral students across the University are at risk for moderate to severe depression and anxiety, two Harvard College Institutional Research representatives reported at the Graduate Student Council’s meeting Wednesday.

The results come from the HCIR Graduate Student Mental Health Surveys project, spearheaded by former head of Harvard University Health Services Paul J. Barreira.

The project works with Ph.D. students across the University to develop department-specific surveys. Upon completion and analysis, the surveys provide students with personal risk factors for different mental illnesses and evaluate departments’ support for mental health issues.

Since 2017, the University has administered 42 unique surveys. Eleven of the surveys contain directly comparable data and average a response rate ­

of 54.4 percent.

The survey results revealed that across the 11 surveys, on average, 60.4 percent of students score positive for Imposter Phenomenon; 54.9 percent for loneliness; 23.6 percent for depression, 23.1 percent for anxiety; 11.1 percent for suicidal thoughts; 3.7 percent for suicidal plans; and 0.4 percent for suicide attempts.

Regarding departmental culture, on average, 44.8 percent of students reported “knowing where to turn” for “advisor issues,” 50.5 percent “feel comfortable sharing personal concerns with a faculty member,” and 76.3 percent feel their department faculty are “moderately or very much” invested in the success of their research.

HCIR representatives Karen Pearce and Christine Huang presented the data from the surveys at Wednesday night’s GSAS Student Council’s open meeting.

Pearce highlighted the proactive role students have played in facilitating the surveys.

“There’s no other research like this right now,” Pearce said.

“We need students to play their part. We need you to mobilize your departments, to come to us and ask for us to do this. We want to do this for you.”

Student proactivity is especially important in departments that may resist administering the surveys, according to Pearce.

“There have been some departments that have been less than open to all of this,” Pearce said. “We’ve been able to run it in every department where graduate students came forward and asked to do it, but there have been some departments that have caused some problems — the faculty have not wanted it to happen.”

The GSC announced at the end of the presentation that the executive board is applying to the Presidential Innovation Fund to create a $25,000 “Mental Health Award” to be regularly given to the GSAS department which best addresses mental health issues.

GSC President Zachary M.

Hayworth said in an interview that the GSC is currently in conversations with GSAS administrators and HCIR to determine more “concrete” ways to address mental health issues.

“It’s a call to action,” Hayworth said. “It shows us why we exist as an advocacy body. We’re all hands on deck for partnering with the administration for finding and implementing solutions.”

Wednesday’s meeting also saw GSAS Athletics Fellow W. Éamon Callison call on graduate students to email Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay to ask that the administration guarantee the continued existence of GSAS intramural sports following the completion of the Dudley House Transition.

Recent years have seen GSAS students compete under the banner of Dudley House in the College intramural sports league.

Dudley House will officially transition to the GSAS Student Center during the 2020-2021 academic year, leaving GSAS

students without an athletic league of any form.

GSAS Athletic Fellows are working with College, University, and GSAS administrators to formulate a solution. One option on the table is creating an independent GSAS intramural league.

“We’re trying to come up with a plan that will give us our own independent IM league within GSAS, or possibly open it up to other schools beyond GSAS,” Callison said.

Callison said that administrators have “a fair amount of concern” that losing athletic facility access and competitive teams may lead to negative mental health effects as well.

“This is important. Being physically active impacts your mental health. There’s a fair amount of concern on behalf of the deans with us no longer having access to sports,” Callison said. “We want to make sure going forward that we still have access to gyms and courts and we aren’t pushed out.”

luke.williams@thecrimson.com

Former Australian PM Talks U.S.-China Relations By nidhi patel and kavya m. shah Contributing Writers

Former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd discussed the current state of U.S.-China relations and the possibility of future conflict between the two countries at the JFK, Jr. Forum Thursday night.

The discussion — which centered around “The Avoidable War,” a book of major speeches delivered by Rudd in 2018 — was moderated by Graham T. Allison, a government professor at the Kennedy School, and Jane Perlez, a New York Times correspondent who covers Chinese foreign policy.

Rudd, who currently serves as the president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, began the ­

talk by sharing details about his book.

He explained that, per the title, he believes that military conflict between the two superpowers can be avoided.

“War might be seen by some as inevitable — I don’t have that view,” Rudd said. “It might be seen by some as probable — I don’t actually share that view, either. But I do think that it is possible, through mutual mismanagement and a very difficult decade ahead.”

Rudd also explained the principle behind his book, a concept he calls “managed strategic competition.”

He noted that there are currently two prevailing schools of thought on the state of U.S.-China relations: one that emphasizes American economic domi-

nance, and one that advocates for Chinese political supremacy.

“What I’ve tried to do is identify a third way, which is, ‘How could these two mature states, who between them actually have much historical wisdom, how can they navigate a peaceful but competitive future between them?’” Rudd said.

Perlez said she believes a total American or Chinese victory is improbable, and asked Rudd about his view on the details of negotiations between the U.S. and China about power struggles in the Indo-Pacific region.

In response, Rudd said that he believed the current state of affairs was likely to continue into the future.

“There are plenty of things that can go wrong in the China

model, but it’s prudent for everyone to assume that this model, which has been around for 40 years or so, is going to bumble on, and on balance, continue to work, to a greater or lesser degree,” he said.

Several forum attendees said that Rudd’s ideas piqued their interest.

Noriyuki Shikata — who served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in China and currently serves as an associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs — said he was interested in Rudd’s idea of managed strategic competition.

“I don’t have a lot of difficulties in accepting this concept, but still, I guess he’s working on this concept in this book,” Shikata said.

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“And today, I guess, you know, time is so limited, that we didn’t hear very much about the content of this idea, so I’m really looking forward to the reading,” he added.

Benjamin B. Bolger, an alum of the Graduate School of Design, said he found Rudd to be a “profound leader” with “penetrating insights and deep analysis.”

“He spoke to the current dynamic, where the current leader of China may have plans to be in office for a considerable time,” Bolger said.

“And it’ll be very interesting to see how the U.S. and Australia deal with that evolving dynamic of internal power in China, and how it affects foreign policy both for America and Australia.”

By christina t. pham Contributing Writer

A team of Harvard scientists have found a potential new method of treating obesity by limiting the body’s absorption of fat, according to a paper published Nov. 25 in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Md Nurunnabi, a former postdoctoral fellow at the Wyss Institute and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, led an eight-month project to test the interaction between fat molecules and choline and geranate — known as CAGE — an orally administered liquid salt. Bioengineering professor Samir Mitragotri first developed CAGE in 2014. He initially tested the ionic liquid’s ability to improve the body’s absorption of medicines, an experiment which helped the team conceive of CAGE’s potential ability to also prevent fat absorption.

When the team was look­

We are going to continue working on CAGE. Md Nurunnabi Former Postdoctoral Fellow

ing at how the intestines absorb certain molecules, they found that CAGE was able to enhance the delivery of insulin and other medicines. They also discovered that CAGE caused the body to not absorb hydrophobic molecules. “That was very puzzling and counterintuitive,” Mitragotri said. “It led us to the idea that maybe we can use CAGE to reduce the transport of a hydrophobic molecule. And what molecule that came to our mind was fat, and the idea that if you can reduce the uptake of fat, it could have therapeutic applications.”

The team assembled a mixture of CAGE and fat to test their hypothesis. The mixture formed particles that were noticeably larger than when the fat mixed with water alone.

The team fed a mixture of a high-fat diet and CAGE to rats and found that those large particles reduced fat absorption in the rats’ intestines, which ultimately reduced the body mass of rats with high-fat diets. Additionally, the team observed that the rats treated with CAGE ate less food compared to the experiment’s control groups.

Mitragotri said he believes CAGE could become a simple, safe, and cost-effective treatment for obesity. The team noted in their paper that over 70 percent of American adults are overweight or obese — a fact Mitragotri said makes this type of research particularly important. “Obesity is a huge issue. It is extremely pertinent. And it is at the root cause of many secondary complications, including diabetes, cardiovascular, and many other conditions,” Mitragotri said.

Eden E.L. Tanner, a postdoctoral bioengineering researcher who contributed to the experiment, wrote in an emailed statement that she believes it is important to reduce discrimination against people who are overweight or obese, though finding new medical treatments is also necessary. “While working to combat this discrimination is of critical importance, some people opt to reduce their body mass,” Tanner wrote.“Orally administered CAGE shows great promise at being able to provide a safe alternative to conventional approaches.”

Nurunabbi said he believes the study’s results are promising, but that CAGE requires further research.

“We are going to continue working on CAGE, because we are still in a very early stage,” Nurunnabi said. “Does it work or not? We see, ‘yes.’ Now we have to answer the question: ‘how does it work?’”

“The immediate question is how does this finding translate to the clinic for humans,” Mitragotri also said. “That requires many more studies and testing and collaboration with other clinicians in moving it forward. So that’s the path we would need to explore moving forward.”

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | December 6, 2019

Page 8

Editorial The Crimson Editorial board

column

A Defense of PSAT Recruitment

The Ancestor You Will Be

A

new working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research asserts that Harvard intentionally recruits applications from a large pool of African American students who “effectively have no chance” of admission.

The authors speculate that the College does so in order to “downplay the magnitude of race-based preferences.”

Despite acknowledging that attracting a diverse applicant pool could promote diverse incoming classes, the study questions whether these recruitment strategies amount to students being sold false promises to serve the school’s interests.

We believe that the College is justified in conducting thorough outreach to African American students.

Previous research has shown that a vast majority of low-income high-achievers do not apply to selective colleges.

Moreover, many high-potential students may have lower test scores, not because they aren’t deserving of admission, but because of the many flaws of these tests, as well as the fact that potential cannot be narrowly defined by a score.

Broad-based recruitment is essential to encouraging these students.

Rather than indulging in speculation that such practice is a cover for the opportunistic manipulation of admissions statistics, we support Dean of Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons ’67’s testimony during the trial for Harvard v. Students for Fair Admissions trial.

Lower test-score cutoffs for recruiting African American applicants are warranted because “economic disadvan-

tage” has given them “less of an opportunity, on average at least, to prepare well and to do well on standardized testing.”

It seems clear to us that as long as the College is transparent about applications for fee waivers, such that it does not unduly take money from economically disadvantaged students, it should continue its recruitment strategies.

Furthermore, we believe this paper is part of a set of research reports that seeks to discredit Harvard’s admission process as racially discriminatory and subsequently dismantle the practice of affirmative action in higher education spearheaded by SFFA’s legal campaign.

As we have opined in the past, holistic

We believe that the College is justified in conducting thorough outreach to African American students. Previous research has shown that a vast majority of low-income high-achievers do not apply to selective colleges.

cerned with future potential.

No applicant’s academic success can be entirely encompassed by a test score.

Lastly, and more generally, we are uncertain whether the use of statistical modeling and analysis can provide a sufficiently robust understanding of the admissions process.

Undeniably, the aggregation of data surrounding college admissions can reveal implicit biases that are unintended for each applicant and only noticeable when considering a wider group of applicants. These studies, however, consider only the end results of the admissions process — that certain students do not apply to selective colleges, or that Asian American students have lower personal scores — but fail to consider the substantive process behind each applicant’s admission.

Admissions are done on a case-bycase basis, considering the contextual factors around each applicants’ background, and studies that merely focus on what the outcome looks like should be taken with a grain of salt, especially when they are used to determine whether the entire process passes the muster of nondiscrimination.

admissions captures students with nontraditional interests and academic backgrounds, and these applicants, who do not fall into a standard bucket of successful applicants, contribute to the diversity of our student body.

At best, test scores are a product of past performance and circumstance.

Harvard should continue to be con-

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

Submit an Op-Ed Today!

Op-ed

Why ‘The Asian Advantage’ May Not Be An Advantage

A

fter a federal judge ruled in October that Harvard doesn’t illegally discriminate against Asian American applicants, I’m once again confronted with the meaning of being Asian American at Harvard, a prestigious institution, and more broadly, the meaning of being Asian American in an educational context. Being immersed in a setting where diversity and inclusion are constant topics of discussion, I have introspectively delved into my personal experience of being Asian American and found that it’s characterized by high levels of stress and anxiety perpetuated by the idea of the “Asian Advantage,” or more accurately a “stereotype threat” that is masked by a phrase with positive valence. Asian Americans have been labeled the “model minority,” a label marked by hidden stereotype threats and microaggressions; this not only undermines the performance of Asian American students, but causes mental health issues and affects long-term performance.

The term stereotype threat is defined as circumstances where “individuals who know of a stereotype associated with a group to which they belong are anxious about confirming the stereotype, and their anxiety causes them to perform below their real abilities.”

In the case of Asian Americans, there’s a persistent stereotype that Asian Americans are intelligent, self-disciplined overachievers who are naturally gifted in the sciences and math — or STEM — fields and thus possess an advantage. These perceptions have manifested into the idea that stereotypes imposed on Asian Americans are “stereotype lifts,” or stereotypes that benefit Asian Americans’ performance in learning and academic situations.

However, recent research has shown that these “positive” stereotypes held, and even endorsed, by teachers and peers lead to psychological distress and a reluctance to seek help.

The high expectations put on Asian Americans can cause Asian American students to “choke” under pressure, and there’s evidence that feelings of threat from stereotypes can undermine academic learning.

Therefore, characterizing the stereotype threat against Asian Americans as a stereotype lift does not take into account the various responses that these stereo-

types induce on Asian Americans and only serves to perpetuate Asian Americans’ emotional distress from pressure to conform to high expectations and feelings of invalidation in response to everyday putdowns.

Stereotypes also contribute to the presence of microaggressions, or subtle comments and actions that express a prejudiced attitude and are often unintentional or unconscious. The most common microaggressions inflicted on Asian Americans are inaccurate attributions of intelligence and alienation in one’s own land.

These microaggressions once again create pressure to succeed academically and negatively affects self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Therefore, Asian Americans are subjected to being stereotyped and socially marginalized, which additionally affects their sense of social belonging, or their sense that they have good relationships with others. Negative sense of social belonging, along with negative self-esteem and self-efficacy, is correlated with lower academic performance and poor mental health.

The interaction of stereotype threat and microaggressions against Asian Americans only hurts their sense of social-belonging and once again, perpetuates psychological distress and pressure on academic performance.

Critics may argue that the stereotype threat doesn’t really undermine Asian American students’ performance given the statistical data on their educational achievement and household incomes, but that is not necessarily true. An important consideration to account for is that the immigration of Asians to the United States is hyper-selective due to U.S. immigration laws.

Many of the Asians entering the U.S. are highly educated and highly skilled.

Their children are able to start off at a more favorable starting point due to high socioeconomic status, which has been shown to be a positive indicator of academic performance.

Additionally, other outside influences may include Asian cultural norms, which emphasize the importance of education and high motivation to succeed academically, which is commonly shared among children of immigrants due to their parents’ sacrifices.

While teachers’ perception and subsequent actions towards Asian American students may cause some Asian Ameri-

C

ritics will say that there is no power in protesting. They will walk by a rally or strike and scoff, remaining unfeeling even as crowds of students and alumni take to the football field to call divestment in the name of climate change. They like to write it all off as inconveniences when the Ethnic Studies Coalition stages a sit-down for faculty denied tenure, or when the Harvard Graduate Student Union vote to go on strike for a better contract.

But even these cynics have to recognize the power behind these actions: how a cause can be enough for hundreds and thousands of people to come together, united because the only option is to take a stand, especially when it is hard.

I felt this same power when I attended the San Francisco Never Again Action protest this past July. Though I was only interning in the area for the summer and did not know anyone in the crowd, I found myself amongst company that was comforting, strangers who felt familiar through the convictions we all shared. See, in our shared goal of calling out the injustice of the “concentration camps” for detained migrants at the border, I did not have to know these people in order to trust their commitment to the cause we all stood behind — their decision to stand with me was enough in that moment. In the closing of the protest, one of the organizers took to the stage with the microphone and looked at all of us for a long moment. His voice was steady as he told us some wise words a mentor had once shared with him: “Think deeply: What kind of ancestor do you want to be?”

I’ve thought a lot about this question since hearing it. The concept of ancestors is always something that I had not given much attention to

In the age of today, we have a choice in how we will join the ranks of tomorrow — as members of an imperfect world, where people are denied rights in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, you and I are tasked with the responsibility to protest.

The Crimson @thecrimson

By Christine Z. Song

Tajrean Rahman On the Edge of the Elite

cans to internalize these perceptions and achieve more than they normally would have, the stereotype on Asian Americans is still a double-edged sword with the high cost of mental health issues that plague many Asian Americans who feel pressured and “don’t feel Asian” because they don’t fit the stereotype.

In fact, the stereotype threat affects Asian Americans in the long-term, both professionally and mentally. The “positive stereotypes” bleed into Asian Americans’ post-academic life, where the same stereotypes of being self-disciplined and naturally gifted in STEM fields morph into negative stereotypes of being quiet, uncreative, and lacking social and leadership skills.

Ironically, the same stereotype used to explain why Asian Americans achieve higher educational outcomes is the same reason that there’s a large disparity in Asian Americans and white Americans’ occupational achievement and leadership positions in the labor market; despite making up a large percentage of the professional workforce, Asian Americans do not obtain executive positions at the same rate.

Additionally, the same distress that Asian Americans feel about confirming the stereotype of academic excellence in educational contexts carries over to the workforce where their colleagues perceive them to have traits that society deems negative, binding Asian Americans to the bamboo ceiling.

The first step in dismantling the bamboo ceiling is breaking the ideas of the “model minority,” “Asian Advantage,” and “stereotype lift;” that starts with unveiling the hard truths behind those seemingly optimistic terms.

As Asian American students who have constantly experienced the notions behind the label of the “model minority” and will continue into the workforce barred by the bamboo ceiling, it is important for us to inform others about the challenges we face and not accept the stereotypes that are placed on us, including the stereotype of being shy and complacent.

As students who will possibly continue on into educational fields or policy making, it is important for us to constantly challenge these notions to bring awareness to a large group of the population that is constantly overlooked.

—Christine Z. Song ’22 is an Economics concentrator in Currier House.

before college: The circle of my family has always been confined to my parents and siblings. Though the rest of my extended relatives live an ocean away, the distance has always left me feeling detached from the motherland. It is not a surprise then that my ancestral ties feel even fainter, but the absence feels heavy for some reason — especially with the recent loss of my final grandparent.

To some respect, we all crave a desire to know where we came from and who was here before us.

It’s why historians scour through archives and scientists work out countless theories. I am not immune to this pull, having always envied people who are able to trace back their family lineages, easily connecting the dots from great-grandparent, to second-aunt, to third cousin twice removed — mapping out their history from generation to generation. With the death of my grandparents, I was suddenly struck with a sensation of feeling unmoored by yet another generation of people who once shared my blood. The disconnect is like being alone at sea, knowing that there were others before you but not having access to their charts and maps in the pursuit of your own journey.

So I have chosen my own ancestors. I read through the biographies of activists like Malcolm X, who worked tirelessly to organize and advocate during the civil rights era. I turn to people like Rosalind Franklin, English chemist and X-ray crystallographer specialist, whose work was key in determining the structure of the DNA molecule. I find inspiration with figures like Lalla Fatma N’Soumer, a woman who rallied her indigenous people against the French invasion in Algeria. I follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, a leader who was driven out of his own community for preaching for justice and change, unfaltering in his faith even when it would have been so much easier to just quit.

And yet, we learn about them today because they chose to take that stand, whether in choosing a career that women were encouraged against, or facing a stronger opposition that tried to intimidate them to surrender. These ancestors go down as having been on the right side of history. In the age of today, we have a choice in how we will join the ranks of tomorrow — as members of an imperfect world, where people are denied rights in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, you and I are tasked with the responsibility to protest. As our ancestors have done before us, we must demand change for every instance of injustice, establishing a legacy that teach our future generation to accept nothing but what is right. Because even when we are forgotten, the record of our deeds and the choices we made will serve as a testament to the people we were and the causes we fought for. Will that person be someone who chose to be narrow minded and selfish? Someone who turned a blind eye to atrocities like the Uighur re-education camps and mindless exploitation of immigrant laborers?

It is the people who don’t know how to dream or how to fight, who choose to criticize and condescend because they are the easier options, asserting that no real change will come about because they fear the process of change will be hard — it will be, but at the promise of something so much better. The question then remains: Will you be remembered for being on the wrong side of history?

—Tajrean Rahman ’20 is a History and Science concentrator in Currier House. Her column appears on alternate Fridays.

Page 9

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | December 6, 2019

Sports

Weekend event

schedule

Friday ______________________________________

saturday ______________________________________

sunday ______________________________________

Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Yale 6 p.m., Bright-Landry Hockey Center

Men’s Basketball vs. Massachusetts 1 p.m., Lavietes Pavilion

Men’s and Women’s Swimming Minnesota Invitational 9 a.m.

Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Cornell 7 p.m., Bright-Landry Hockey Center

Women’s Basketball vs. Maine 1 p.m., Maine

Men’s Ice Hockey

Harvard Bows to BU for Second Straight Loss

By Spencer R. Morris Crimson Staff Writer

After opening the 2019-2020 campaign with the longest winning streak in program history, the No. 12/9 Harvard men’s hockey team saw its first losing streak of the season begin on Tuesday night.

The Crimson (6-2-0, 6-0-0 ECAC) suffered a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Boston University (5-6-5, 3-3-4 HEA), struggling to establish the dominance that defined its first six games of the season.

“Guys played well from the start of the game to the end of the game,” BU coach Albie O’Connell said. “We forechecked them really well….

That team [Harvard] can really skate, and I thought we did a good job of taking away some time and space from them.”

Taking a one-score advantage into the first intermission, the Terriers carried play and extended their lead in the middle period. Late in the frame, the referees signaled a delayed penalty call on junior defenseman Reilly Walsh for roughing; Walsh raised his arms as he hit a BU skater near center ice.

With the extra attacker on the ice, the Terriers pinned the Crimson in its defensive zone.

The long attacking shift culminated in captain Patrick Curry ripping a one-timer past Harvard goaltender Cameron Gornet (4 GA, .875 SV%). Junior blue-liner David Farrance, who nabbed a pair of assists in Tuesday’s outing, served up the clapper with a savvy cross-ice feed.

Curry’s foray into double-digit goal scoring on the year gave his team a multi-point lead at the period horn — one which it was able to defend in the ensuing third stanza.

Five minutes into the final frame, BU defenseman Cam Crotty bulged the twine with

a slapshot from the right circle, stretching the home team’s edge to three. The snipe put the game out of reach for the visiting Crimson, as Harvard’s late-third-period powerplay goal, courtesy of sophomore Jack Drury, made only a dent in the deficit.

Terriers backstop Sam Tucker (2 GA, .920 SV%), familiar with the Crimson from his days at Ivy League rival Yale, put forth one of his better performances on the season. In particular, he made several saves in the bout’s late stages to preserve his squad’s comfortable lead.

Harvard attacked with significant momentum after Drury’s tuck and perhaps would have narrowed the margin to one without Tucker’s stout play.

BU hung on, however, and potted an empty-net goal with just over a minute remaining to seal the victory.

“We ended up taking a penalty and they scored a goal,” coach O’Connell said. “[Tucker] made a huge save. It could have gone 4-3 very easily, [but] he made a highlight-reel save on a one-timer to keep the game, and then we ended up getting another one.”

The high-octane Crimson, which arrived at Agganis Arena as the number-one scoring team in the country (5.00 goals per game), failed to string together long spurts of crisp passing, threatening chances, and overall offensive dominance in Tuesday’s affair. The ice was tilted in the Terriers favor especially in the first two periods.

“The first two goals, they didn’t really have to work very hard for,” Harvard coach Ted Donato ’91 said. “The first 10 minutes of the game were pretty sloppy, and teams were trading chances. I also think that we took a couple of penalties that were unnecessary and didn’t allow us to get to our game. I real-

ly didn’t feel like we started to skate until the third period.”

Tuesday’s contest saw three goals before the halfway point of the first period, the most action-packed segment of the game.

Freshman forward Trevor Zegras opened the scoring less than 90 seconds into the tilt, burying an in-alone chance on Gornet. Senior Patrick Harper forced a turnover in the Crimson’s zone, leading to the topshelf finish from the Anaheim Ducks first-round selection.

Harper finished with a gamehigh three points.

Prior to Zegras’ fifth of the season, BU had not scored since Nov. 23, as the team suffered shutout defeats to Sacred Heart and Cornell on either side of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The lousy start continued for the visitors when sophomore forward Baker Shore took a hooking penalty on the shift following the Terriers’ opening strike. Already ahead, 1-0, BU embarked on an early powerplay opportunity. Fortune quickly reversed for Harvard, however, as the penalty-killing unit raced up the ice and found twine on the rush.

Captain Nathan Krusko connected on a give-and-go with Walsh, who beat Tucker under the pads. Walsh’s tally erased his squad’s stumble out of the gate, but the ledger did not remain even for long. At the 12:30 mark of the frame, freshman forward Ethan Phillips toedragged around Walsh and threw a puck toward the goal which redirected in off fellow rookie Robert Mastrosimone.

The hosts took the 2-1 advantage into the first intermission.

“In road games, you want to get on a team early,” Krusko said. “You want to take the energy away from the building.

I felt like we didn’t do it good enough tonight. It felt like we

TOUGH SKATING AHEAD The Crimson immediately turns to No. 2 Cornell, who visits the Bright-Landry Hockey Center pm Friday courtesy of BU Athletics

were in and out. A lot of the lines couldn’t sustain any offense…. It just took too long for us to get to our game.”

Tuesday’s loss marks Harvard’s second straight and another blown opportunity in the past week to pocket a victory over a prestigious Boston hockey school. The team’s non-conference games have significant bearing on the Pairwise rankings, so in this regard the defeat will go down as a disappointment.

“Regardless of teams’ rankings and teams’ conferences, every night is a battle in this league,” Krusko said. “You have to come out every night play-

ing like they’re the number-one team in the country. In terms of the national conversation, obviously we feel strongly with the group we have. We have to take care of business with our out-of-conference games. We don’t get many of them, so that kind of increases the pressure on every single game.”

Additionally, the Crimson’s early-December schedule — including clashes with Boston College, BU, and Cornell — provided a crucial chance for the group to validate its position among the NCAA’s elite teams.

Still winless after two of these matchups, Harvard will turn to the No. 2 Big Red on Friday in an

attempt to reaffirm its lofty national ranking and place in the national college hockey conversation.

“We felt like we established who we wanted to be early, winning a lot of games” Krusko said. “These past two games kind of gave us a shock and gave us a reminder that maybe we’re not as good as we think we are [yet]…. It’s really fortunate that we have such a great team coming into our building Friday because it gives us an opportunity to reestablish our identity and let everyone know that starting 6-0 wasn’t a fluke.” spencer.morris@thecrimson.com

woMen’s Basketball

Harvard Suffers Nail-Biting Loss to Northeastern

By Ema R. SCHUMER Crimson Staff Writer

Harvard’s late game comeback against Northeastern (2-6) fell short in Wednesday’s game, which ended in a 46-44 victory for the Huskies, who trailed by double figures in the first frame.

The game, which saw five lead changes, was fast-paced. At times, the movement on the court was chaotic, in parallel with the energy throughout Lavietes Pavilion, which brimmed with about 1,200 local children who came to watch Harvard for Education Day. Both teams

committed at least 20 turnovers each.

Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said the speed of the game hurt the Crimson (6-3), which was vying for its fourth consecutive win on Wednesday morning.

“Young teams who are still trying to connect have a tenden-

cy to rush,” she said. “As soon as [opponents] turn the heat up, our answer is to rush some more, when in fact [we] should do the opposite.”

Freshman guard Lola Mullaney said that she and her teammates need to do a better job of combatting opponents’

PACKED HOUSE 1,200 schoolchildren were in attendance on Wednesday night. Ema r. Schumer—Crimson photographer

pressure and setting their own pace.

“Teams tend to speed us up,” she said. “We’re really working on creating the tempo from our perspective and not letting them rush us.”

Undeniably, Wednesday’s game solidified Mullaney’s role as the offensive lifeblood of the Crimson team. The two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week, who finished the game with 17 points, spent its first three quarters struggling to get into a groove, hitting 1 of 8 three pointers.

Mullaney found her rhythm in the fourth quarter, shooting three for five from downtown to lead the Crimson’s attempt to come back from an 8 point deficit to start the final period. With just under three minutes remaining in the game, Mullaney scored 8 consecutive points — via back-to-back triples and a breakaway layup—to erase Harvard’s deficit and put her team up by two points, 4442.

Northeastern answered Mullaney’s shooting with a three of its own from No. 11 guard Stella Clark to snatch the lead from Harvard. That three proved to be the final basket of the ball game, as Harvard was unable to connect on its next two offensive possessions and on the defensive end failed to foul the Huskies before the clock ran out.

Despite Mullaney’s lull, the Crimson initially found success on offense, though it was unsustainable. Sophomore guard Maggie McCarthy and junior forward Rachel Levy fueled the Crimson’s dominant first quarter, which ended with Harvard ahead 16-8.

McCarthy scored the team’s

first five points, finishing a reverse layup off an offensive rebound to score the first field goal for both teams and then adding a three from the top of the key.

Levy, who came off of the bench, scored 8 points in her first four minutes on the court.

The versatile scorer laid in a bucket over two smaller Northeastern opponents and then sank two three pointers from the corner and top of the key.

In the second quarter, the Huskies tripled its score. The team went on a 12-0 run to ultimately outscore the Crimson 15-7.

Senior forward Jeannie Boehm, generally a steady contributor to Harvard’s offense, failed to score in her 35 minutes on the court, only attempting to score four times. Though she was silent as a scorer, Boehm did assert herself as a rebounder, pulling in 12 rebounds.

Despite Boehm’s strong rebounding, Delaney-Smith was not satisfied with her team’s performance in this area. Harvard allowed Northeastern to grab 14 offensive rebounds, which Delaney-Smith said “caused a lot of problems pointwise but also foul-wise.”

Over a month away from Ivy League play, Delaney-Smith hopes to turn each loss into a learning opportunity, and Wednesday’s game was no different.

“The educator in me says, you gotta lose it to learn from it,” she said. “We have a lot to learn.”

The Crimson will play at Maine on Saturday in its final non-conference away game.

Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. ema.schumer@thecrimson.com

Page 8

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | DECember 6, 2019

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