The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI No. 54 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Wednesday, April 17, 2019
editorial PAGE 6
news PAGE 3
sports PAGE 8
Harvard should engage in thoughtful discourse with student protestors
University holds conference on mental health for students of color
Men’s baseball sets sights on repeat Beanpot championship
By ALexandra A. Chaidez and Aidan F. Ryan Crimson Staff Writers
University President Lawrence S. Bacow said in an interview Friday that he is confident Harvard is on the right side of the law in a lawsuit alleging that Harvard unlawfully possesses and profits off two photographs of American slaves that are believed to be the oldest of their kind in existence. Tamara K. Lanier filed the lawsuit against Harvard on March 20, alleging that the University illegally maintains the daguerreotypes, which she says depicts her great-great-great grandfather, Renty, and his daughter, Delia. She also alleges that Harvard played a role in perpetuating slavery. Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz commissioned the photos in the 19th century in an attempt to prove a theory of white superiority, according to the complaint. Bacow took issue with Lanier’s claims that the school has “refused” to acknowledge its ties to the American slave trade and was profiting off of the images.
Though the University has yet to file a formal response to the claims, Bacow defended Harvard’s position, referencing former University President Drew G. Faust’s efforts to recognize Harvard’s complicity in slavery in an interview Friday. In 2016, Faust, along with United States Representative John R. Lewis (D-Ga.), dedicated a plaque to four enslaved persons who lived and worked on campus in the 18th century. She also accepted a Harvard Law School committee’s recommendation to remove the school’s seal, which included the Royall family crest. Isaac Royall, Jr., whose family owned slaves in the 18th century, helped endow Harvard’s first law professorship. “The suggestion that Harvard has failed to acknowledge its past links, or to engage on these issues, it’s just not true,” Bacow said. Bacow said the images were displayed with the intent to illustrate the slaves’ humanity. “The way in which the University displayed the images of
See BACOW Page 3
Percentage of Underrepresented Minority Faculty
Bacow Counters FAS Sciences Struggle with Diversity Underrepresented Minority Faculty in the Sciences Photo Litigation 16% 12% 8% 4% 0%
‘04
‘05
‘06
‘07
‘08
‘09
By jonah S. Berger and Ruth A. Hailu Crimson Staff Writers
Though much of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has seen recent increases in the proportion of underrepresented minority tenure and tenure-track faculty, the Sciences division continues to lag behind. Students and faculty say this lack of diversity limits the perspective that faculty can add to their research, teaching, and mentorship and leaves minority students — and prospective faculty members — feeling they do
not belong. Administrators acknowledge that more work remains to be done, but say they believe they are making progress in both recruitment and retainment. An annual report on faculty diversity released last week shows that the proportion of tenured faculty in the Sciences who identify as Hispanic, African American, or Native American has remained at 5 percent when compared to 2015, whereas the rest of FAS has grown. And unlike in the Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and School of Engineering and Ap-
Crimson Staff Writers
Virginia L. Giuffre sued Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan M. Dershowitz for defamation in federal court Tuesday, claiming he falsely accused her of perjury after she implicated him in a sex ring operated by billionaire Harvard donor Jeffrey E. Epstein. Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, first brought allegations against Dershowitz in court in 2015, when she claimed that Epstein, a convicted sex offender, forced her to have sexual relations with Dershowitz multiple times starting at age 16. She is seeking a trial by jury in her defamation suit and at least $75,000 in damages. Dershowitz has denied the allegations repeatedly, stating that he does not know Giuffre.
City Councilor E. Denise Simmons speaks about an affrodable housing zoning proposal at a meeting at Cambridge City Hall Tuesday evening. Quinn G. Perini—Crimson photographer
Divinity Students Call for Ragab to be Tenured A group of Harvard Divinity School students have joined undergraduates in criticizing the school’s decision to deny Associate Professor Ahmed Ragab tenure in a letter to University President Lawrence S. Bacow, University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76, and Divinity School Dean David N. Hempton this week. Ragab is the first Muslim faculty member to come up for tenure at the Divinity School, according to the letter. In the letter, members of the Harvard Divinity School Students Association praised Ragab’s teaching and mentorship of students from underrepresented groups. They asked the Divinity School to review his tenure process and reconsider him, citing the school’s mission of “building a world in which people can live and work together across religious and cultural divides.” “We strongly believe that Inside this issue
Harvard Today 2
‘12
‘13
‘14
plied Sciences, the proportion of tenure-track faculty from underpresented minorities in the Sciences has fallen — from 10 percent to 3 percent — from 2015 to 2018. As of Sept. 1, 2018, just one out of 31 tenure-track faculty members in the Sciences self-reported as an underrepresented minority. Recent hires have brought that figure up to four, according to Dean of Sciences Christopher Stubbs. Still, over the 15-year period highlighted in last week’s report, the proportion of underrepresented minorities in the
Alan Dershowitz Argues Innocence By Connor W. K. Brown and Molly C. MCCAfferty
Crimson Staff Writers
‘11
the denial of tenure to Professor Ragab is antithetical to the vision of this institution,” the students wrote. Multiple members of HDSSA’s board did not respond to request for comment or declined to discuss the letter. The HDSSA letter is the second large-scale student statement sent to administrators about Ragab since his tenure denial. Last week, hundreds of students and alumni signed a letter denouncing the Divinity School’s decision and calling on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences — where Ragab holds an affiliate position — to put Ragab up for tenure review. The undergraduates’ and alumni’s letter said Ragab is the first scholar at the Divinity School in a decade to be denied a full professorship without receiving a review from an ad hoc tenure committee. Both letters pointed to Ragab’s scholarly contributions, contending that he is the “most published” professor of any who
See RAGAB Page 3
News 3
Editorial 6
‘15
‘16
‘17
‘18
‘19
margot E. Shang—Crimson Designer
SEE PAGE 5
By Jonah S. Berger and Molly C. MCCAfferty
‘10
He has also publicly called on Giuffre and Sarah Ransome — another woman who alleged in a separate suit that Epstein directed her to have sex with Dershowitz — to repeat their claims publicly so he can sue them for defamation. “Using his role as a powerful lawyer with powerful friends, Dershowitz’s statements were published internationally for the malicious purpose of further damaging a sexual abuse and sexual trafficking victim; to destroy Roberts’s reputation and credibility; to cause the world to disbelieve Roberts; and to destroy Roberts’s efforts to use her experience to help others suffering as sex trafficking victims,” the complaint states. Dershowitz said Tuesday that he “welcomes” the suit, that Giuffre’s allegations
See Lawsuit Page 3
SEE PAGE 4
Crowds gather at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street on Patriots’ Day. Quinn G. perini—Crimson photographer
Sports 8
Today’s Forecast
sunny High: 59 Low: 40
Sciences has increased — from 1.9 percent of ladder faculty in 2004 to 4.5 percent in 2019. The University’s ladder faculty comprises both tenured professors and those on the tenure track, including assistant and associate professors. That incremental progress, though, is not enough for some students. “The lack of diversity in the faculty for the Sciences has made me question my future more than once,” Arin L. Stowman ’19, president of the
See sciences Page 5
Garber Updates Univ. on Proposal By Ruoqi zhang Crimson Staff Writer
Harvard has put forward its economic proposals outlining compensation and benefits for student workers represented by the graduate student union in a bargaining session Monday, University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 wrote in an email to Harvard affiliates Tuesday. The University’s proposals — which came a month after Harvard Graduate Students Union– United Automobile Workers presented its full set of economic proposals — drew heavy criticism from union negotiators. Harvard has estimated that the union’s economic proposal will double expenditures for each graduate student, according to Garber’s email. He wrote that the union’s proposal would have a “significant” financial impact on the University. “Were the University to agree to these proposals, there would likely be direct consequences for the number of graduate students who could be supported,” Garber wrote in the email. Union bargaining committee member Ashley B. Gripper, however, contended that the University’s proposals did not adequately address student concerns. “The administration’s proposed economic package, taking into account cost of living increases, would likely amount to a net loss for student workers over the next three years and a net loss as compared to the status quo,” Gripper wrote in an emailed statement. The union described the University’s compensation plan as an “effective pay decrease” in a bargaining update posted to the group’s Instagram account. The proposed increase in graduate student stipends across a three-year period would be the smallest raise over a three-year period in a decade and would not keep up with the living cost, according to an HGSU-UAW
See garber Page 7
Visit thecrimson.com. Follow @TheCrimson on Twitter.
goatpettingzoo!