The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVII, No. 2

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLVII NO. 2 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2020

EDITORIAL PAGE 4

NEWS PAGE 5

SPORTS PAGE 4

Elsayed: Whiteness without the priviledge

Harvard University Health Services ‘closely monitoring’ coronavirus

Senior Robert Baker excels after summer at NBA

Texas, Overseer Campaign On Track to Reach Goal Harv.

Profs Beefing

By MICHELLE G. KURILLA CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Ten days ahead of a Feb. 1 nomination deadline, Harvard Forward — a student and alumni group working to bring attention to climate change within Harvard’s governance boards — announced Wednesday that it is 500 signatures away from placing all of its endorsed candidates on the Board of Overseers ballot.

Harvard announced nominees for five spots on the Board of Overseers Jan. 8.

Though Harvard Forward put forth its own candidates in October, Harvard did not ultimately nominate any of the group’s endorsed Overseer candidates.

A Harvard Forward candidate can still make it onto the ballot, however, through petition and submission of 2,936 alumni signatures — one percent of eligible voters — by Feb. 1. ­

By CAMILLE G. CALDERA CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Two faculty members at the Harvard School of Public Health have become embroiled in a public debate over spam emails and industry-funded research after criticizing the framing of an article on red meat in a respected research journal.

The article — which was published in Annals of Internal Medicine in Sept. 2019 — summarized a study on red meat consumption conducted by NutriRECS, an international coalition of scientists led by Bradley C. Johnston, a professor at Texas A&M University.

After circulating a press release with the prospective title of the article — “New guidelines: No need to reduce red or processed meat consumption” — Christine Laine, the editor-in-chief of Annals of Internal Medicine, told the Journal of the American Medical Association that she received roughly 2,000 “vitriolic” emails, some of which she said appeared to be generated by a bot, in the span of half an hour.

Laine could not be reached

by The Crimson for comment.

Annals of Internal Medicine declined to comment.

Laine told JAMA the emails came from the True Health Initiative, a nonprofit devoted to “fighting fake facts and combating false doubts,” per its website.

THI did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A statement posted to its LinkedIn states that it “has never made use of ‘bots’ to disseminate any message, and has no recourse to any such service or device.”

On Wednesday, Texas A&M University Chancellor John Sharp sent a letter to

SEE BEEF PAGE 5

The Board of Overseers — the University’s second highest governing body — is responsible for providing input on decisions about the direction of the University, advising top Harvard administrators, and approving certain actions taken by the University’s highest governing body, the Harvard Corporation. The overseers’ terms last six years.

The Harvard Forward platform includes divesting all University assets from fossil fuels, reserving 20 percent of seats on the Board for recent graduates, and developing more transparent investment guidelines, according to the press release.

Lisa Bi Huang said in the release that she was running for a position on the Board to influence the University’s response to climate change.

“I’m doing this because I know the impact Harvard can have,” Huang said.

SEE OVERSEERS PAGE 3

MATTHEW J. TYLER—CRIMSON DESIGNER

HLS Profs. Release Report on Labor Law Gray Hair Linked to Stress, Per Study

By KELSEY J. GRIFFIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

A n initiative of Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program — called Clean Slate for Worker Power — released its final report Thursday calling to overhaul American labor laws and increase workers’ collective bargaining power.

Law School Faculty members Sharon Block and Benjamin I. Sachs led the project.

The initiative brought together leading activists and scholars to recommend policies aimed at empowering working people.

The report claims that an extreme concentration of wealth in the hands of few people has created economic and political inequality in the United States.

“The country’s wealthiest 20 people own more wealth than half of the nation combined — 20 people with more wealth than 152 million others,” the report states. ­

Two Harvard Law Professors released a report calling to overturn the labor laws in America. ALLISON G. LEE—CRIM-

for more personal reasons.

“Seeing your mom and your dad cry is something I wish upon nobody. Never mind when

A group of Harvard scientists and Brazilian researchers released a study Wednesday showing that hair pigmentation loss can be at least partly attributed to stress.

While initially conducting experiments on pain using mice, a team of Brazilian scientists affiliated with the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases made a surprising discovery – inducing pain upon the mice consistently caused their fur to turn white. Thiago Mattar Cunha, a researcher at the CRID, said in a press release that the team theorized stress was the key factor in these tests.

“We set out to check the hypothesis that the loss of fur color resulted from pain-induced stress,” Cunha said. “We designed a very simple experiment to see if the phenomenon was dependent on activation of sympathetic nerve fibers.”

Cunha — along with a group of scientists at Harvard who separately made the discovery — found that stress increases activity in the sympathetic nervous system, the network that controls the body’s “fight-orflight” response to stress.

This process triggers melanocyte stem cells — which produce hair color — to undergo cell differentiation, the process by which stem cells can turn into other types of specialized cells. Because cell differentiation is permanent, this heightened activity depletes the supply of melanocytes, essentially leading to loss of hair pigmentation.

“We used various methodologies to show that intense sympathetic activity speeds up differentiation significantly,” Cunha said. “In our model, therefore, pain accelerated the aging of melanocyte stem cells.”

The research may pave the way for future studies into the physical impacts of stress, according to Ya-Chieh Hsu, the study’s senior author and a Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology professor at Harvard.

“Our discovery of the connection between the sympathetic nervous system and this stem cell population raises many questions about how stress might be

SEE SWISSBÄKERS PAGE 5

SEE GRAY HAIR PAGE 3

SEE LABOR LAW PAGE 3

SON PHOTOGRAPHER

Swissbäkers Reopens Allston Location After Recent Closures

By BENJAMIN L. FU and CHRISTINA T. PHAM CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Forty-three days after abruptly closing all of its Greater Boston locations, local European-inspired bakery chain Swissbäkers has reopened its Allston location, signifying a second attempt at life for the chain.

The Allston eatery’s Jan. 16 reopening marks the first phase in the owners’ plans to revitalize their business, whose other locations included a café housed in Harvard’s Smith Campus Center.

The opening is only “partial,” and the company has not yet rehired its paid employees, according to its website.

A family-run business that has operated since its start in a garage 13 years ago, Swissbäkers’s compounding problems brought its operations to a sudden end Dec. 4.

The transformation of Swissbäkers from its simple origins to a large-scale company catalyzed its eventual closure, according to Tobey Stohr, the founders’ son and helper at the bakery.

“This is a family — my mom, my dad, my brother — that has never started a company, that has never been in a situation of employing a hundred plus people, that has never had to deal with these ups and downs,” he said. ­

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Harvard Today 2

Swissbäkers reopened its Allston cafe 43 days after it abruptly closed all of its Greater Boston locations. The soft opening on Jan. 16 came with a limited selection of coffee and baked goods. RYAN N. GAJARAWALA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

A final bake-off that the business hosted three days after its closing drew about a thousand patrons from the local community, Stohr said.

But local outcry in the family

News 3

Editorial 4

business motivated the founders’ sons to make the brand succeed again.

The family received letters, emails, and gifts from fans of the bakery, according to Stohr.

Sports 6

After they decided to reopen, a group of local residents volunteered to help restructure the company financially.

Stohr also said that he pushed for the chain’s rebirth

TODAY’S FORECAST

By ETHAN LEE CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

RAINY High: 46 Low: 36

VISIT THECRIMSON.COM. FOLLOW @THECRIMSON ON TWITTER.

spam

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

JANUARY 24, 2020

PAGE 2

HARVARD TODAY

For Lunch Penne Sausage Peppers & Onions Red’s Best Fresh Catch Morrocan Stew

For Dinner Fried Buttermilk Chicken Grilled BBQ Pork Chop Samosa with Tamarind Chutney

TODAY’S EVENTS The Rohingya Crisis: A View from the Ground Belfer Center Library, 12 p.m.-1:15 p.m.

IN THE REAL WORLD

Former UN Human Rights Officer John Coughlan discusses the current situation of the Rohingya and brings attention to the state of human rights and lack of international attention.

A student from Texas A&M University is being examined for the deadly Wuhan coronavirus after traveling from Wuhan, China. Health care providers have yet to report the results of testing, but if confirmed, it would mark the second case of coronavirus in the United States.

Texas A&M Student Tested For Coronavirus

I Stayed in Berlin All Summer Carpenter Center, 7 p.m.-7:45 p.m.

Come to the Carpenter Center for a screening of “I Stayed in Berlin All Summer.” The 1994 film, which was originally filmed in German, will have English subtitles.

Advanced Machine Learning with IACS Science Center, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

The Harvard Institute for Applied Computational Science is hosting advanced machine learning workshops open to the public. Workshops assume fluency in Python.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Tells Greta Thunberg to Study Economics

Returning students walk through Harvard Yard Thursday in the early afternoon. RYAN N. GAJARAWALA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

DAILY BRIEFING Environmentalist Board of Overseer campaign Harvard Forward is 500 signatures away from placing all of its endorsed candidates on the Overseers ballot, according to a press release the group released Wednesday. All nominations for the ballot must be submitted by Feb. 1. In other news, two faculty members at the Harvard School of Public Health are entangled in a public debate over industry-funded research after criticizing the framing of an article on red meat.

Steve Mnuchin told press at the World Economic Forum that Greta Thunberg should stop calling for divestment from fossil fuels until she “goes and studies economics in college.” Responding to the comment on Twitter, Thunberg stated “it doesn’t take a college degree in economics” to understand the effect of fossil fuel subsidies and investments on carbon emission.

Netanyahu and Gantz To Visit Trump Next Week The White House announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political opponent Benny Gantz will arrive in Washington on Tuesday to discuss a plan for peace in the Middle East. Trump told reporters the peace plan details will likely be released before the meeting.

AROUND THE IVIES BROWN According to the Brown Daily Herald, the Department of Public Safety has launched a hate crime investigation into a series of homophobic graffiti found in a Brown dormitory. Residents first found the vandalism in November 2019 and reported the messages to the LGBTQ Center in early December. DPS has recorded more than 15 incidents in the dorm, including graffiti designating each of the building’s refrigerators for use by either “queer” and “straight” students.

CORNELL

The Cornell Daily Sun reported that the school’s Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life has set new regulations for Greek life events. Chapters can no longer serve alcohol themselves and should either hire liquor-licensed caterers to sell drinks or follow a “be your own bartender” rule. The regulations also require any events with more than 99 attendees to hire third-party security and prohibits beverages with more than 15 percent alcohol by volume. Greek events are also limited to four days per week.

YALE

Yale student Erik Boesen launched a new app meant to help Yale students find parties on campus on Jan. 7, according to the Yale Daily News. Users of the app — called “Comethru” — can advertise and rate events and choose to share their current location with friends through the app’s GPS tracking. Boesen began working on the app in October during Yale’s annual hackathon. When there are no posted events, the app’s homepage reads, “Nothing’s happening right now. What is this, Harvard?”

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

The Harvard Crimson Aidan F. Ryan President Shera S. Avi-Yonah Managing Editor Emily M. Lu Business Manager

Associate Managing Editors Alexandra A. Chaidez ’21 Molly C. McCafferty ’21 Associate Business Manager Andrea M. Lamas-Nino ’21 Jonathan V. Garzon ’21 Editorial Chairs Ari E. Benkler ’21 Isaac O. Longobardi ’20

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Arts Chairs Iris M. Lewis ’21 Allison J. Scharmann ’21

Design Chairs Margot E. Shang ’21 Matthew J. Tyler ’22

FM Chairs Andrew W.D. Aoyama ’21 Nina H. Pasquini ’21

Multimedia Chairs Allison G. Lee ’21 Ryan N. Gajarawala ’22

Blog Chairs Ariana Chiu ’22 Sahara W. Kirwan ’21

Technology Chairs Alexander K. Chin ’21 William Y. Yao ’21

Sports Chairs William C. Boggs ’22 Joseph W. Minatel ’21

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

Night Editor Simone C. Chu ’21

Design Editor Matthew J. Tyler ’22

Assistant Night Editors Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Camille G. Caldera ’22

Photo Editor Ryan N. Gajarawala ’22

Story Editors Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21 Alexandra A. Chaidez ‘21 Delano R. Franklin ’21 Molly C. McCafferty ’21

Editorial Editor Ari E. Benkler ’21 Sports Editor Leon K. Yang ’21

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

PAGE 3

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | JANUARY 24, 2020

Lowell House Opera Rebrands

By SYDNIE M. COBB and DECLAN J. KNIERIEM CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

A s part of an effort to rebrand, the Lowell House Opera has appointed Adrienne Boris as the group’s first executive producer, the company announced in a press release earlier this month.

In addition to serving as the Stage Director for the 2019 season, Boris — who holds a Master’s degree from the Boston University College of Fine Arts — has previously worked in several other theatrical institutions including Opera Boston, OperaHub, Opera North, New Repertory Theatre, and Boston Opera Collaborative.

The Lowell House Opera is the oldest opera company in New England and the only professionally-led opera company in residence at Harvard. The company is currently composed of 19 young performers, with five hailing from Harvard and the other 14 from conservatories across the Boston area.

Boris said in an interview that her primary aim is to transition the Opera from a “volunteer effort” to a “pedagogically rich” organization with professionals at the helm. She also said the Opera has begun efforts to “raise the profile” of the company, including a redesigned logo, more expansive promotion, a revamped website, and a new tagline, “feel at home in opera.”

Boris added that she will also aim to make participation in the opera more accessible to undergraduates. Harvard undergraduates’ involvement has more than quadrupled over the past year, Boris said.

“One of the things that’s important to me is that there ­

With house renovations completed, the production of the Lowell House Opera, hosted in Lowell Dining Hall, will begin again. RYAN N. GAJARAWALA —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

doesn’t feel like there’s a hierarchy,” she said. “But it can definitely be hard when you’re dealing with a large group that comes from completely different backgrounds. But again, I think that’s also sort of part of the fun.”

The opera is scheduled to return to its permanent setting in the Lowell House dining hall with the production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sweeney Todd in March 2020 following the House’s reopening.

Lowell House Faculty Deans David I. Laibson ’88 and Nina Zipser said in the press release they look forward to welcoming the Opera to the House’s new-

ly-renovated dining hall.

“We are honored to work with Lowell House Opera, one of Boston’s and Harvard’s extraordinary cultural treasures,” they said. “Literally living with a renowned and reinvigorated opera company in our new home is one of the out-of-thisworld privileges of being faculty deans of Lowell House.”

Joseph Turbessi — who serves as music director for the company — wrote in an email that he believes the chance to work with young performers is among the company’s strengths.

“I find that, as long as everybody comes to the compa-

ny with an open heart and eager attitude, the dynamic largely takes care of itself,” he wrote.

“The undergraduates are held to the same artistic expectations as the professionals, and this can encourage them to reach beyond themselves to find levels of excellence they may have not previously realized they were capable of.”

He added that he believes the production, though challenging, will be “wildly successful.”

“Producing something this vast in a dining hall is not for the faint of heart!” he wrote. declan.knieriem@thecrimson.com sydnie.cobb@thecrimson.com

The T closes. We don’t.

Breaking news, 24/7.

OVERSEERS FROM PAGE 1

Campaign on Track to Reach “Its students, alumni, and faculty are in many ways already leaders in working to solve the climate crisis, and Harvard has led on other important issues before.”

Alumni supporting Harvard Forward’s candidates can fill out nomination forms in person during office hours the campaign has held in more than 50 cities around the world, including Berlin, Los Angeles, and Tel Aviv.

Nominations can also be submitted directly to the University online through Harvard’s Election Website.

Danielle Strasburger, the campaign’s manager, said in a press release that the campaign received 1,000 signatures in 24 hours as part of its Global Networking Night event on Jan. 15.

“On January 15, we had more than 100 volunteers at 60-plus events for 4,500 Harvard graduates in 20 states and 20 cities overseas,” Strasburger said. “We reached our goal of more than 1,000 signatures

in 24 hours for our candidates, and we’re confident we’ll get the 2,936 signatures needed to qualify by the February 1 deadline.”

Strausburg said in the press release that if ballot nominations are assured, the group’s efforts will shift toward securing votes for the election.

“We know how to raise awareness and reach our supporters, and we believe that they will vote for the Harvard Forward slate,” Strausburg said.

“In fact, given the level of outreach we have done already, we expect turnout will surpass the 12 percent that is typical in these elections,” she added.

Board of Overseer elections begin April 1 and close on May 19 at 5 p.m.

All Harvard degree holders — except members of the Harvard Corporation and those in University instruction and governance positions — are eligible to vote for the Board candidate. michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com

LABOR LAW FROM PAGE 1

HLS Profs. Release Labor Law Report It argues that current labor laws have fostered systematic racial and gender oppression. It also asserts that labor laws exclude vulnerable workers from vital labor protections and devalue the work performed by these workers.

“Labor, such as caregiving, historically performed by women and people of color — and women of color and Black women in particular under the institution of slavery — has long been undervalued,” the report reads.

“In many cases, statutorily and in common parlance, caregiving labor is not even considered ‘work.’”

Block and Sachs said they believe addressing this economic and political inequality would require a completely new system of labor law, rather than simply adjusting current policies.

“We both spent a lot of our career thinking about smaller changes to labor law, and we both came to the realization that that time has passed. The challenges are so great that we really need to think about a new system, not just new ways of doing the old system,” Block said.

The report recommends that labor laws better enable working people to build collective organizations to increase their leverage with employers and in the political system.

“Our primary objective is enhancing worker power so that workers can countervail the power of corporations and the wealthy,” Sachs said.

The policy recommendations aim to increase worker representation and inclusion by expanding the coverage of labor laws for independent contractors, as well as undocumented, incarcerated, and disabled workers.

The report lays out an array of options for alternative worker representation in addition to

labor unions, such as work monitors — employees who would ensure compliance with federal labor regulations.

“To make democracy at work a right, and not a fight, the statute should provide for a range of representational structures made available to workers according to a system of graduated rights,” the report states.

Another policy idea outlined by the report is a federal mandate that employers must provide paid leave for voting and

This isn’t something to put on the back burner. This something that has to be front and center in light of the growing challenges, both in the economy and our democracy.

Sharon Block Director of the HLS Labor and Worklife Program

engaging in civic activities.

The report also recommends a switch to a sectoral bargaining system, in which a union would bargain on behalf of all workers in an industry, rather than just those within a single company.

Block and Sachs said they hope the release of this report sparks conversation about the state of America’s labor laws and increases the representation and rights of workers.

“This isn’t something to put on the back burner,” Block said.

“This is something that has to be front and center in light of the growing challenges, both in the economy and our democracy.” kelsey.griffin@thecrimson.com

GRAY HAIR FROM PAGE 1

Stress Linked to Gray Hairs, Study Finds

The Crimson thecrimson.com

affecting cell and tissue regeneration throughout the body,” Hsu wrote in an email to The Crimson. “It opens up many different avenues of research that we hope will lead to progress in addressing the health impacts of stress, and its potential connection with ageing [sic].”

For instance, Hsu wrote that she hopes the new findings will help researchers find a way to prevent negative impacts of stress — a problem for which there is no clear solution.

“One of our experimental validators had a protective effect in the mice we studied,” Hsu wrote. “However, I would like to also emphasize that there is still a long way from having an intervention for humans that is both safe and effective. Our

study is the start of a long journey to discovering and developing interventions, but identifying the mechanism is always the key first step.”

The team plans to expand its research by working with peers in Cambridge to investigate other possible effects of stress.

“We have some exciting new collaborations planned with our colleagues within the Harvard, MIT, and [Harvard Stem Cell Institute] community, and we hope to look more deeply into the potential links between stress and other stem cells in the skin, as well as to explore interactions between nerves and stem cells in the skin,” Hsu wrote. ethan.lee@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | JANUARY 24, 2020

PAGE 4

EDITORIAL OP-ED

OP-ED

Opt Out

By MILO B. BECKMAN

After graduating, I took a prestigious finance job and then, three months later, I quit. I used to regret it sometimes. These days I’m sure it’s the best decision I ever made.

I’ve been meaning for a few years to write an op-ed in The Crimson explaining my reasons and encouraging others to do the same.

It was going to be a persuasive essay with a thesis and three or four well-argued points. Here are some excerpts from notes on my phone: “Which do you value more, your money or your time?”

“Why are you doing what you do? No, not the stock answer you use at cocktail parties — or have you repeated it enough that you believe it too?”

But this wouldn’t be honest. The truth is, I don’t have a thesis. That’s kind of the point.

Harvard students are great at solving optimization problems — the hard part is knowing what to optimize for. Most of us come into freshman year having just spent an adolescence on good grades and impressive activities, maximizing our appeal to admissions officers. And then what?

I guess that’s what the education part was for. We were supposed to sit down, read some books, hash it out.

But the world was complicated, and the devil’s advocate was loud, and our curriculum was so radically agnostic that many of us graduated in a state of moral confusion, ready to subscribe to whichever narrative came bundled with two years deferred graduation and weekend trips to Bali.

I fell for it too — I understand the appeal. It’s a decision that feels, comfortingly, like indecision. It offers security disguised as freedom, compliance branded as achievement.

And its core premise is simple, even beautiful: Your wealth is earned. Your power is legitimate.

But the premise is false. And you know that it’s false. And you don’t care that you know that it’s false. You pretend you believe it, or just as damningly, you

pretend you believe nothing.

It’s not you, it’s how the game is played. We bottle up questions and reservations to avoid offending our bosses.

The thing is, our bosses are bullshitting too: that’s why they hired us!

“We got a Harvard kid to sign off on this, so whatever happens, you know we did our best.” They take five percent, rain or shine.

I’ve argued previously in these pages that college incentivizes us to write papers that look and sound smart, regardless of actual content. I’m now convinced

We’ve met the secret cabal that runs everything, and boy, they don’t have a clue what’s going on either. I mean, it’s almost funny if you don’t think too hard about the consequences.

Section kid controls the means of production! the problem runs deeper. This signaling game isn’t just how teaching fellows distribute grades, it’s how holders of capital distribute wealth. I’m a living, breathing “whom.”

My job is to make a company look smart and legitimate. I’m just embarrassed it took me until the second time a CEO led investors to my workspace to notice.

A friend, now working as a teacher, told me the other day that our mutual acquaintance (a bro-y drunk, as I remember) is now casually moving hundreds of millions of dollars a day.

This is a common genre of laughthen-sigh joke for people who have entered and exited the Harvard bubble: We’ve met the secret cabal that runs everything, and boy, they don’t have a clue what’s going on either.

I mean, it’s almost funny if you don’t think too hard about the consequences.

Section kid controls the means of production!

So no, I’m not telling you to quit your job. I don’t know what you should do

with your time, or what I should do, for that matter. But I’m working on it. I wish you’d join me.

I wish there was a context where we could talk freely and earnestly about what we think we believe, what we think we want, and what we’re really just unsure about.

I wish we could approach the open 60-year canvas ahead with true uncertainty, without the constraint that the next step has to follow logically, respectably from the last.

I wish these conversations didn’t put you in the defensive crouch of arguing that what you do for 40+ hours a week is fundamentally good.

Maybe I sound like a scold, but really: Imagine what we could do if we viewed social problems with a fraction of the creative urgency with which Silicon Valley views the distance between a twentysomething and the laundromat. We, of all people, are not passive observers of this drama!

No, I’m not so naïve as to think that some grand theory of everything, the key to a virtuous and consequential life, is just around the corner.

In all honesty, I doubt most of us will ever be fully satisfied we chose the best life available to us.

But I reject the idea that we should throw up our hands and take refuge in the dubious wisdom of crowds. We can try.

So here’s what I ask. Sometime soon, create a distance between yourself and the rhythms of your life. Travel somewhere alone, without work friends or internet.

Even just take a long walk with your phone off. When the noise is shut out, when the instant feedback of your social network is reduced to a far-off hum, ask yourself two questions: What are you doing?

And what do you think someone with your skills, resources, and connections could be doing in this moment?

You have nothing to lose but your check-plus.

—Milo B. Beckman ’15 is a graduate of Eliot House.

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The Crimson @thecrimson OP-ED

The Danger of Monopoly Money

By JONAS A. G. NELLE

P

laying Monopoly as a child, I was always fascinated by the apparent paradox that Monopoly money was both useful and yet had no value. While playing it was necessarily and rightly valued, at the end of the game it became utterly useless.

As with Monopoly, so too with the game of life. Currencies that have only instrumental value can quickly lose their importance. As soon as these instrumental currencies are no longer useful for reaching the ends we care about, they become altogether worthless.

One such currency is potential, the ability to “do anything.” As undergraduates at Harvard, we are familiar with pre-professional potential afforded to us by “all the doors that a Harvard degree opens.”

No doubt, accumulating this potential is often worthwhile and does legitimately open many doors. Yet, just like Monopoly money, the danger is forgetting why that potential is valuable. The danger is ending the game without having converted the potential into something we actually care about.

This danger is realized in Harvard undergraduates, who are far too focused on increasing potential. We forget the reason we pursue potential; we lose sight of its instrumental nature. Instead, we accumulate potential for its own sake.

Like a child infatuated with accumulating Monopoly money, we end the game with millions in unspent potential.

For instance, many undergraduates choose concentrations in order to “keep options open.” Even after graduating, an astounding fraction of graduates go into the fields of consulting, technology and finance because they want to “gain skills” and “be able to go into any other field after a few years.” The problem? Amassing this potential can become a goal in and of itself, and the skills are never put to use on anything that matters.

Given what it takes to get into Harvard, this isn’t all that surprising. Most undergraduates are here because they

worked hard to garner enough potential to be accepted into Harvard. Furthermore, many of us chose Harvard precisely because we wanted to be able to do anything once we graduate.

The point isn’t to condemn or shame those of us who focus on maximizing potential, be it through taking consulting or finance jobs, or deciding to pursue high-potential concentrations. In fact, for some of us, those options are worth pursuing because we enjoy them and care about that work. But I fear that many of us will find ourselves in these fields for longer than we would want now, for the wrong reasons.

It’s easy to forget how hard it is to resist the allure of potential, especially when the social culture reinforces its pull. High-potential internships, extracurriculars, and jobs carry significant

It’s easy to forget how hard it is to resist the allure of potential, espeically when the social culture reinforces it’s pull.

High-potential internships, extra-curriculars, and jobs carry significant social clout. social clout.

Too often, conversations of “what are you doing next summer” lead to positive affirmation if and only if the answer is “Goldman Sachs” or “Google.” I, too, have been guilty of both over-asking the question and reinforcing these dynamics by being impressed with these answers.

With that in mind, it is not surprising that the fraction of Harvard undergraduates who intend to pursue consulting, finance, or technology jumps from 20 percent among first-years to half the class by graduation.

Of course, this issue isn’t limited to Harvard. The same issue occurs in business contexts so frequently that economists coined the phrase “Goodhart’s Law.”

In fact, there are psychology studies showing that merely introducing a medium, or currency, leads us to focus on maximizing that medium rather than the things we care about. Maximizing potential is so difficult to beat, in part because thinking this way is hardwired into the way we think about the world.

To overcome this instinct, we must remind ourselves why we care about potential, and we must reject the system that leads us to fetishize potential in and of itself.

There’s no better time to start questioning potential than during college.

In the next few years, we will make decisions that will determine large parts of our lives. Many of us are unsure of what we want to do with our lives, which is understandable.

Yes, going into consulting, finance, or technology for a few years can teach valuable skills and be a resume booster.

But the solution isn’t always to maximize potential.

And even when it is the best next step, the most important promise we have to make to ourselves is not to fall for the danger of Monopoly money. Not to become accustomed to how impressed others are when we tell them where we work and to well-paying employers that offer massages and meals at work.

We must try hard to battle this habituation and continue to ask ourselves what we want to do with our lives. And we must be willing to give up potential once we find meaning, once we discover what we were saving Monopoly money for all along.

Being good at making Monopoly money is what got us into Harvard. But success in our next phase, adult life, involves figuring out for ourselves what we want to spend our Monopoly money on.

What do I value?

Am I doing what is important to me?

It isn’t about what you do, but why you do it.

—Jonas A. G. Nelle ’21, a Crimson Editorial Editor, is a special concentrator in Rationality in Eliot House.

Whiteness Without the Privilege

By SALMA ELSAYED

W

orried that I would not be able to afford college, I spent the better part of my senior year of high school applying to dozens of scholarships. I grew frustrated as I read through the eligibility criteria of multiple scholarships that deemed me ineligible. I sent emails hoping that perhaps they would understand: I am Middle Eastern, not white. But it was to no avail.

The United States Census Bureau considers people descended from the Middle East and North Africa (known as the MENA region) to be white. Scholarship programs that are targeted towards minority students often use the Census’s race and ethnicity definitions. Despite how uncomfortable I felt checking the “white” box on every form, it was not until that moment last year that I fully understood the consequences of the conflation of Arab and white identity on the U.S. Census.

Arab communities have spent decades lobbying the U.S. Census Bureau to create a separate category for themselves. Toward the end of President Obama’s term, the Bureau considered doing so. However, in 2018, the Bureau decided to ask respondents to write in which country they are from after selecting their race, with Egyptian, for example, as an option under white for the 2020 census, which is already underway in Alaska.

This option is not enough. Categorizing Ar-

The U.S. government denies us resources by calling us white, all while subjecting us to the discrimination that our “white counterparts” are excluded from. abs as white or black is inaccurate because much like Latinx communities, Middle Easterners and North Africans are racially diverse even within the Arab countries they hail from. By indiscriminately characterizing Arabs as white, the Census and the many organizations that use their race and ethnicity definitions erase the different racial identities that Arab Americans hold. Instead, we are left in limbo, neither seen as white in American society nor considered minorities by the government.

Beyond these identity issues, the lack of representation of Arabs on the U.S. Census has had other significant consequences for our communities. Population data is used for many purposes including political redistricting, the allocation of resources to communities, and the assessment of racial disparities in healthcare. The exclusion of North African and Middle Eastern communities from the Census has resulted in a lack of political power, health data, and social services. Diversity recruitment programs and scholarships for minority students often rely on Census definitions of race and thus exclude Middle Eastern and North African applicants. The end result is that our communities are neglected by both the federal government and private institutions.

Despite the overwhelming consequences of our lack of inclusion, some Arab Americans have legitimate concerns about a separate MENA box.

The Arab American existence has been inextricably tied to government surveillance due to media and government branding of us as terrorists, radicals, and extremists. Attacking Muslim communities has been a timeless government pursuit from Bush’s NSEERS (an Arab and Muslim registry), to Obama’s counter-radicalization policing program, to Trump’s Muslim ban. Some Arab American Muslims have concerns that given the government’s track record, providing them with the exact locations of Arab Americans is risky at best.

This concern is justified. In my hometown of New York City, the New York Police Department spent a decade spying on my Arab-Muslim community, designating mosques as “potential terrorist organizations.” Plainclothes officers spied on Muslims in cafes and stores where they considered the presence of a Quran a potential sign of radicalization. When I travel, I am almost always pulled to the side for an extra pat-down and somehow my family’s bags are always selected for TSA’s random checking. If only my whiteness could help me in those circumstances. The U.S. government denies us resources by calling us white, all while subjecting us to the discrimination that our “white counterparts” are excluded from.

Last fall, the inaugural Harvard University Pulse Survey on Inclusion and Belonging found that Middle Eastern respondents felt the least belonging of all other races and ethnicity, with only 68% of Middle Eastern respondents indicating that they at least “somewhat agree” that they belong at Harvard. In contrast, 81% of white respondents indicated that they felt that they belong, the highest of all racial or ethnic subgroups. Despite these disheartening results, it was validating that the University acknowledged our very existence and that we may have unique struggles as a separate ethnic group by including a Middle Eastern category.

Rather than rely on the Census’ false racial and ethnic definitions, college surveys, diversity initiatives, and scholarship programs should recognize Middle Eastern and North Africans as a separate ethnic group, and bring us one step towards being counted in American society. Perhaps the 2030 Census will give Arab Americans minority status through a distinct Census classification without fear of surveillance, but instead with pride in their heritage.

—Salma Elsayed ’23, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Stoughton Hall.

PAGE 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | JANUARY 24, 2020

HUHS Closely Monitors Virus

By FIONA K. BRENNAN and MICHELLE G. KURILLA CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

A s cases of a deadly coronavirus around the world increase, Harvard University Health Services Director Giang T. Nguyen said his office is monitoring the outbreak and planning for its potential impact on campus.

The coronavirus — a type of virus that can cause respiratory illness — broke out in Wuhan, China in December and has since infected over 800 people globally, killing 25. Chinese authorities put Wuhan on partial lockdown in response to the rapid spread of the virus, which has now been recorded in six Asian countries and — in one case — in the United States.

Nguyen wrote in an email to The Crimson that HUHS is monitoring the virus and preparing staff in the event that a Harvard affiliate contracts it.

“We are closely monitoring the situation with the novel coronavirus coming out of China,” Nguyen wrote. “While we have no indication that Massachusetts or the Harvard campus are affected, we are working diligently to ensure that our clinical staff are prepared in the event that someone presents to HUHS with symptoms and a clinical history that may indicate the novel coronavirus.”

In mid-January, a Washington man contracted the illness after returning from a trip to Wuhan.

He is currently in good condition and is recovering in an isolated unit, according to the New York Times. No other cases of coronavirus have currently been reported in the United States.

Since doctors diagnosed the man, health officials have worked to alert anyone with whom he interacted while he traveled in China.

David C. Hooper, who serves as the chief of the Infection Control Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the spread of the virus to Massachusetts is unlikely but that health officials and doctors are still taking precautionary measures to ensure that they can quickly respond to any possible cases. ­

“Everyone is being cautious and putting in place procedures for identifying possible patients so that they can be appropriately isolated, to protect health care workers and others, and tested,” Hooper said. “The CDC is also developing test kits that will, at a later point, be deployed to all of the state health department laboratories.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implemented public health entry screenings at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, and San Francisco International Airport on Jan. 17 in response to the coronavirus.

This week, the CDC also added entry health screenings at Atlanta International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Boston Logan International Airport is not screening passengers for the illness because there are no direct flights or connecting flights from Wuhan to Boston.

In a letter to health care providers sent Jan. 22, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health wrote that the risk posed by the coronavirus to Massachusetts residents is low.

“At this time, the risk to residents in Massachusetts is low,” the letter read. “CDC staff are screening passengers arriving from Wuhan into LAX, JFK and SFO which receive 74% of the flights from those areas.”

Despite international worries about the coronavirus, Nguyen said he believes Harvard affiliates should be more concerned about a less novel illness — the flu.

“As students arrive back to campus, we are most focused on keeping our community healthy and safe in the midst of flu season,” Nguyen wrote. “Although HUHS has not received indications to-date that Harvard University has experienced an unusual number of flu cases this winter, the number of reported cases in Massachusetts and across the country has begun to increase, as is customary for this time of year.” fiona.brennan@thecrimson.com michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com

BEEF FROM PAGE 1

Texas A&M, HSPH Profs. Feuding University President Lawrence S. Bacow expressing “dismay” over THI’s alleged actions.

He specifically criticized two School of Public Health faculty members who serve on its council of directors, Frank B. Hu and Walter C. Willett.

Hu wrote in an emailed statement that he is one of about 500 members of THI, which he called “a pretty informal organization with no membership fee and no compensation.” The organization’s website lists several hundred people as members of its council of directors.

Willet said Harvard is unconnected to THI. Hu later said in an interview that he had heard nothing about the spam emails prior to the article in JAMA and found it a “very shocking allegation.”

Willet also said in an interview that he did not send any bot-generated emails to Laine.

“I wouldn’t know what to do with a bot if I had one,” Willet said.

Hu and Willett each said that they sent one email to Laine to share concerns regarding the article prior to its publication.

They each also signed onto a joint letter from 12 THI members publicly posted to the group’s website.

Willett said he was most con-

cerned with the title of the article about red meat, calling the phrase “new guidelines” “inflammatory.”

“We requested that the journal modify that headline because it was guaranteed to at-

I woudn’t know what to do with a bot if I had one.

Walter Willett Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health

tract a lot of attention and mislead people,” Willet said. “The usual ‘guidelines’ are developed by a group of people who are experienced in that field, by some sort of organization, the federal government or American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association, and encompass all the relevant evidence.”

In his letter to Bacow, Sharp wrote that the actions of THI, Hu, and Willett “are unethical, distort the results of important scientific research, and, in our opinion, are false and harmful to Texas A&M University.” He called on Harvard to resolve the issue.

“Such resolution should include a serious assessment by Harvard of its affiliation with THI and a comprehensive ethical review into any Harvard faculty involved with THI,” Sharp wrote.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton confirmed the University received the letter. Laylan Copelin — the Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications for Texas A&M — said that though Sharp and Bacow have been travelling and “missed one another,” their “staff members are talking.”

The letter from Sharp also criticized Willet for “attack[ing] a distinguished Texas A&M professor and the university itself as being influenced by industry,” calling the claim “unsubstantiated.”

Willet said he believes there is “clearly a conflict of interest” at Texas A&M. After the Annals of Internal Medicine published the article about red meat, multiple outlets reported that Johnston, the lead author, had failed to report potential conflicts of interest.

Annals of Internal Medicine issued a correction in December 2019 stating that Johnston failed to disclose he and his coalition had received funding from Texas A&M’s Agriculture and

Life Sciences program, which includes educational programming for beef cattle producers and promotes Texas beef to consumers, per the Washington Post. At times, AgriLife studies have been funded by The Texas Beef Checkoff program, an industry marketing arm funded by cattle ranchers.

Copelin noted that AgriLife gets just 5.4 percent of its research money from beef, pork, and lamb sources, all of which is reported on its website.

In his letter to Bacow, Sharp noted that in an illustrated model Willet presented at an academic conference, he listed Texas A&M and its Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Patrick J. Stover — another author on the red meat study — as “representatives” for big beef.

Willett clarified that he is not trying to “accuse anybody of doing anything nefarious or wrong.”

“Would there be any conflict of interest if a report on the health effects of potatoes was co-authored and partly led by the dean of agriculture at the University of Idaho? There is an inherent conflict of interest,” he said. camille.caldera@thecrimson.com

SWISSBÄKERS FROM PAGE 1

Swissbäkers Reopens Allston Location it’s because it feels like you’ve lost everything you’ve worked 20 plus hours a day, seven days a week for now 13 years,” he said.

Despite having high hopes to reopen other locations in the area, reinstate its catering business, and return to wholesale, Stohr said that many factors needed to accomplish those goals are out of the family’s immediate control.

As they start from scratch again at the reopened Allston location, the family’s current focus is simple: reinstate their bakery’s presence in the com­

munity.

Asked whether Swissbäkers

We hope that one day we can look back at this as just the bumps in the road.

Tobey Stohr Son of Swissbäkers Founders

would also reopen its location in the Smith Campus Center,

Never miss a moment.

The Crimson @thecrimson

Stohr said the family is not prioritizing one location over another.

Stohr hopes that the business’s full revival comes quickly, allowing them to move past their setback and serve their customer base.

“We hope that one day we can look back at this as just the bumps in the road, but obviously it’s an incredibly tough time for our family, and we’re working day in and day out to try to make this dream happen,” Stohr said.

“My family’s incredibly

grateful again for the community that we’ve all built together,” he said. “ “And I don’t mean that as my family, I mean that as the staff and the community itself, bringing other people here, getting everyone together,” he added.

The Allston location is currently open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. benjamin.fu@thecrimson.com christina.pham@thecrimson.com

SPORTS

WEEKEND EVENT

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY ______________________________________

SATURDAY ______________________________________

SUNDAY ______________________________________

Women’s Ice Hockey @ St. Lawrence 4:00pm, Cheel Arena

Women’s Basketball vs. Dartmouth 2:00pm, Lavietes Pavilion

Men’s Tennis vs. Minnesota 12:00pm, Murr Center Tennis Courts

Women’s Tennis vs. Boston College 5:00pm, Murr Center Tennis Courts

Men’s Ice Hockey @ Cornell 7:00pm, Lynah Rink

Men’s Squash vs. Rochester 12:00pm, Murr Center

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Baker Excels After Summer Working at NBA

By AMIR MAMDANI CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Even at a school full of standouts, Robert Baker has always stood out.

Listed at 6’11, the senior towers over most, if not all of his Harvard classmates. Whether it be in an Economics section or even in practice, where he stands nearly a foot taller than some of the team’s guards, it’s hard to ignore Baker’s frame.

Weighing in at only 205 pounds, the spindly senior weaves his way through Harvard’s Winthrop House in the same graceful manner with which he cuts through Ivy League frontcourts.

Those who know Baker best say that, although his size and lankiness are what first meets the eye, it is ultimately his smile and infectious personality that best define the Walker School product.

Ever the consummate locker room jokester, Baker can be found interrupting his teammates’ post-game interviews after wins with light-hearted humor or by recording a social media story. He is in many ways the comedic relief that helps keep his teammates loose and cheerful during tough stretches in the schedule.

But if there’s one thing that the man known as “Bake” is serious about, it’s basketball. Baker was part of Coach Tommy Amaker’s highly touted 2016 recruiting class, which ESPN ranked 10th in the nation.

The No. 96 recruit on ESPN’s 100, the forward was offered spots to play on several Power Five schools, including Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, amongst others. Ultimately, Baker decided that the draw of Harvard and the blossoming competitiveness of Ivy League Basketball was too compelling to ignore, bringing him to Cambridge to play for Coach Amaker and the Crimson.

The path to Ivy League success didn’t directly translate for the Top 100 recruit, however.

Through his first two seasons at Harvard, Baker averaged under or around 10 minutes per game and fewer than three points per ­

contest. But in his senior season, the Woodstock, Ga., native has finally cemented himself as a crucial cog for Amaker’s team.

His next start will be the 13th of the season, after starting just 13 games the prior three years.

“Obviously his length, and his size, Robert is multi-dimensional,” said Amaker of Baker’s potential after the senior’s career-high 19 points against UMass on December 7th. “He’s long and makes plays a lot of different ways for our team. Very, very happy for Robert.”

The 2019-2020 campaign has seen Baker take a tremendous statistical leap, which is especially crucial in the wake of fellow forward and senior Seth Towns’ season-ending surgery.

In addition to becoming a regular member of the starting lineup, the native of the Peach State has accumulated career-highs in minutes, field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals, all on a per game basis.

And although he has raised the bar in practically every statistical category, perhaps the most critical quality that Baker has exhibited this season that had been ever so elusive previously is consistency. Baker’s skill set as a versatile defender, accurate three-point shooter, and physically gifted athlete have never been in question, but the Crimson is starting to reap the rewards of his dependable and effective play — as well as his nearly 50 percent field goal percentage.

“The key now with Robert, we’ve seen these moments, and I’m not trying to get ahead of myself,” Amaker said previously in the season. “Can he become a consistently high-achieving, high-performance player?”

While his performance on the court is a crucial part of his relationship with basketball, it’s not the only link that ties him to the game. This past summer, Baker worked at the NBA League offices in New York City, as an intern in the G League business operations department.

“I had the opportunity to do a lot of different things across

VYING FOR THE TOURNEY Baker’s athleticism has been a focal point of his play well before he arrived on campus. He will join his highly touted 2016 recruiting class and the rest of the team in Harvard’s bid for a March Madness birth, which has proved elusive in recent years. COURTESY PHOTO

the department,” Baker explained. “I got a touch of time on the marketing side. I got to help create pitch decks to send to prospective partners and make insight reports for all 27 G League teams.”

Baker’s time in New York was also full of encounters

with several prolific characters in the basketball industry.

With his trademark grin etched across his face, Baker recounts working under both deputy NBA commissioner Mark Tatum and G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim, men he is still in touch with today, as

IN THE BIG APPLE Senior Robert Baker spent his summer working at NBA League offices in New York City where he worked with several significant characters in the basketball industry. Baker said that he is considering eventually working in a front office role. COURTESY PHOTO

well as a chance sidewalk encounter and selfie with college basketball personality Fran Fraschilla.

The 6’11 senior wryly admitted that the City’s summer humidity and congestion, accompanied by its hallmark dirtiness grew tiring by the end of the internship, but he nevertheless still characterized the experience as a “really fun and a terrific opportunity.”

Baker would hardly be the first alum affiliated with Harvard basketball to transfer his love of basketball into the NBA or a team’s front office. In the past eight years, both Jason Rosenfeld ‘12 and Zach Sogolow ‘15, former managers for the Crimson, have found themselves in front office roles.

After stints with multiple NBA teams, Rosenfeld is currently the Chief Strategy Officer for sports analytics company Big League Advance, while Sogolow is a Senior Manager in Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers. The idea of transitioning to an off-court role in basketball is one that Baker would relish down the road.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to play for however long,” Baker said. “But in the future I could definitely see myself doing some type of NBA or sports team work.”

And while the senior forward might not know what his long term future will look like, the short term vision for Baker and his teammates is much clearer. Just over the horizon is the Ivy League Championship, which will be held at Lavietes Pavilion, a one game playoff for the right to advance to the NCAA Tournament — a game that Harvard will hope to play in for the third consecutive season.

The past two seasons have ended cruelly for a Crimson team that has lost consecutive Ivy League Championships as the No. 1 seed, in what were essentially true road game environments. In the 2019-2020 campaign, however, there can be no doubt that an appearance in the NIT will not cut it this year — especially with Harvard

hosting the Ivy League Tournament.

“This team can be special,” Baker insisted. “I think we’re on the right track. I think we’re right where we should be.”

Harvard’s six game win streak entering Ivy League play last weekend was the longest in program history to end a non-conference schedule, reflecting the team’s balance and confidence even without Seth Towns and Bryce Aiken. And although the Crimson will expect Aiken to return sometime soon, the contributions of crucial role players like Baker are the perfect example of the “Bench and Balance” that Coach Tommy Amaker so effusively emphasizes after victories.

And while Baker’s future may one day lead him to the NBA League offices once again, or perhaps the front office of an NBA franchise, those are opportunities to consider on another day. The reality is that “Bake” and his six classmates comprise what is widely accepted as the best recruiting class in modern Harvard basketball history. But three seasons and three Ivy League tournaments have left the Crimson’s seniors, at one time ranked as a top 10 recruiting class nationally, without a single, ever so elusive, NCAA Tournament appearance.

There can be no doubt, if you approach Baker in the coming weeks and months, you’ll get a tape-measure smile or maybe a high five. He’s unlikely to alter his demeanor from the kind-hearted, infectious, happy-go-lucky guy he always seems to be — the role his teammates so fervently adore him for.

But until an Ivy League Tournament title is secured, with an appearance on Selection Sunday and in March Madness imminent, there remains an inescapable reality that even the upbeat senior would surely admit.

Robert Baker and the Class of 2020 have unfinished business. amir.mamdani@thecrimson.com