The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume Cxlv, No. 84 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | tuesDAY, september 18, 2018
editorial PAGE 4
Arts PAGE 4
Sports PAGE 12
Wider consultation of current students needed on schedule changes
Students explore history of drinking at new art museum exhibit
Led by front lines, football routs San Diego 36-14
HKS Students Push Diversity By Alexandra A. Chaidez Crimson Staff Writer
The Harvard Kennedy School has taken a number of steps in recent months to address concerns students and faculty raised about diversity at the school last year — and students have praised the changes and pledged to keep pushing for more. Activism around diversity came to a head last spring, when students held town halls, hung posters around the school, and organized schoolwide events to call attention to the dearth of women and minorities at the school. Concerns raised years earlier prompted Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf to organize an internal task force in 2016 dedicated to creating a report about the demographic makeup of the school, the diversity of its curriculum, and the experiences of people of different genders and races at the school. The 76-page long report, circulated internally starting in May 2017, highlighted stark underrepresentation in the racial and gender makeup of HKS affiliates. African-American students constituted only 4 percent of the Masters in Public Policy program, the school’s largest degree program, in 2015. “Hispanic Americans” and Asian-Americans each made up 7 percent of MPP students in 2015 — and the school saw declines in the percentage of students in all three categories between 2005 and 2015. The report recommended the Dean hire an administrator to focus solely on diversity and inclusion. Elmendorf appointed Robbin Chapman the Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion in Jan. 2018. Chapman is now working at the School “full-time,” according to Kennedy School Dean of Communications Thoko Moyo. Even as the school has made strides, Priyanka Kaura — a stu-
dent involved in activism last semester — said students will continue to advocate for additional measures to diversify the school. “There are still a lot of us that are interested in continuing the work has been going on and that was amplified last year,” Kaura said. “We’re still here, we still care strongly about advocating for diversity and inclusion and belonging and we do plan to sustain those efforts.” Camilla N. Taufic, another student leader, said Chapman “should be a partner” to the group. “She [Chapman] came to almost all of the events that were hosted last year by students and faculty at the end of the year,” Taufic said. “I think even before she was officially going into school, she attended one of the events. She’s definitely shown that she’s here and she’s caring.” Chapman could not be reached for comment. Apart from hiring Chapman, the school also held a structured retreat focused on diversity and inclusion over the summer, which faculty and administrators attended. Kennedy School student Eamon S. O’Connor called it a “notable” development in the administrators’ response to last year’s protests. Moyo wrote in an email that “some” faculty and staff underwent training on diversity-related issues before the academic year started. “The trainings covered a number of topics including: unconscious bias; making productive connections, issuing and accepting observations (bystander skills),” Moyo wrote. O’Connor said the school’s response has exceeded his hopes. “The fact that it happened, just kind of miles beyond what we could’ve expected,” he said. O’Connor also pointed to the appointments of Cornell W. Brooks – the former NAACP CEO
See Diversity Page 9
Nearly Half of UC Reps Exit College By Jonah S. Berger Crimson Staff Writer
Almost half of the Undergraduate Council representatives who served during the spring term will not be returning to the council, which will begin holding elections on Monday. At least 23 representatives who served during the spring term, of the 51-member body, are either declining to run for re-election or have resigned their positions in recent months. In addition, six former UC representatives graduated in May. Of the at least 23 students
An Evening With Champions
who will not be returning to the Council this fall — a figure which could run higher if any current representatives lose their bids for re-election — eight resigned in the spring and 15 are not running for re-election. Among the impacts of high turnover on the Council are a loss of several high-ranking members of the body, particularly on some of the UC’s committees. The Finance Committee, which manages a roughly $300,000 budget — a figure which could jump after the student activities fee more than doubled this academic year —
Adam Clymer, Former Crimson President, Dies at 81
SERVICE Page 8
The College is assessing its public service offerings.
Clymer, a New York Times veteran, passed away on Sept. 10
By Molly C. McCafferty Crimson Staff Writer
TITLE IX Page 8
All undergrads completed a Title IX training module, a sharp uptick from previous years. title ix module
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Inside this issue
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Harvard Today 2
The way Adam Clymer ’58 saw it, being called an asshole by the president of the United States was a badge of honor. It was the fall of 2000 — in the thick of that year’s presidential race — and Clymer was covering a George W. Bush rally for the New York Times. Clymer had previously authored some relatively unfavorable articles about Bush, so — when the Texan spotted Clymer in the crowd — he leaned over to his running mate to alert him. “There’s Adam Clymer, major-league asshole from the New York Times,” Bush said to Cheney. He was unaware that his microphone had picked up the exchange, broadcasting his aside to the crowd — and later, the nation. In the aftermath, Clymer appeared on the front pages of newspapers across the country, a phenomenon that Christopher Jencks ’58, a former college classmate of Clymer’s, said elicited “a big smile” from those familiar with his old friend’s work. “By then, Adam was a distinguished journalist,” Jencks said. “It was fun to see him on the front page as a participant rather than an observer.” “I think the ‘major-league asshole’ thing was a point of pride for Adam, even though his voice mail blew up with nas-
News 8
Editorial 10
ty messages from conservatives afterwards,” Maureen B. Dowd, a former colleague of Clymer’s and a long-time columnist for the Times, wrote in an email. Clymer — a former Crimson president — died of pancreatic cancer in his home in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 10. He was 81. During his long and storied career at the Times, Clymer covered, among other things, eight presidential elections, the Watergate scandal, and the Vietnam War. Outside of the newsroom, he wrote definitive histories of the life of Edward M. Kennedy and political drama at the Panama Canal. He was known among colleagues as a journalist and editor with an undying devotion to to “getting it right,” Jencks said. Clymer got his start in journalism at The Harvard Crimson. There, he covered a wide range of topics, interviewing politicians including Adlai Stevenson and surveying local precincts in presidential races. According to Jencks — who worked with Clymer at The Crimson and later served as an editor for the New Republic — it “wasn’t an accident” that Clymer rose through the ranks to become president of the organization. “He was the kind of person who would become president of something or other,” Jencks said. During his tenure as president, Clymer was a “main man”
Sports 12
See Council Page 9
Team Excel Junior skates across the ice in the Bright-Landry Hockey Center on Friday during An Evening with Champions. Kathryn S. Kuhar—Crimson photographer
See Clymer Page 5
See Inside
will be particularly hard hit, with nine of its 12 members leaving, including its chair. Henry S. Atkins ’20, the Finance Committee chair, is among the 23 representatives who will not return this fall. As a member of the UC’s executive committee, Atkins did not need to run for re-election until the spring, however, he indicated that he was forced to choose between the Council and ROTC due to the high time commitments required by both activities. “I’m leaving in order to
in the fight to grant Radcliffe women full status as Crimson editors, according to George H. Watson ’58, who served as Managing Editor at the time. Back then, administrators required that women who wrote for the paper obey strict curfews, complicating staffers’ ability to produce The Crimson every night. Watson wrote that Clymer’s battle to remove these curfews “wasn’t easy,” noting that the young president faced serious objections from both Harvard and Radcliffe administrators. “One [objection] I remember
Adam Clymer ’58, a fromer Crimson president, died on Sept. 10 at 81. Courtesy of Richard L. Burke
Today’s Forecast
Debuts Policy for Clubs By Caroline S. Engelmayer and Michael E. Xie Crimson Staff Writers
Harvard has debuted a new procedure for punishing student groups that violate school policy. The new system — detailed in the 2018-2019 Recognized Student Organization Resource and Policy Guide — outlines a fourstep process by which administrators will address alleged violations of College rules: “Report,” “Review of Incident,” “Outcome,” and “Appeal.” The guide also details possible punishments that Harvard can deliver to organizations found in violation of school policy. A “Warning” — the weakest action — means the College will send a formal communication alerting the group to its misstep. Under “Revocation,” the strongest penalty, administrators will revoke recognition for the group, prohibiting it from using Harvard’s name and brand. Organizations disciplined in this manner will have “no opportunity” to re-apply for recognition. Intermediate to the two most extreme punishments are “Period of Probation” and “Suspension.” Groups put on probation will be “given the opportunity to demonstrate [their] ability to abide” by Harvard’s policies and procedures. At the discretion of the College, probation may also lead to a temporary suspension of party-hosting privileges and other benefits typically afforded to recognized student organizations. The guide does not specify how long probation will last. Organizations facing suspension are required to “cease all organizational activities” for a
See Policy Page 9
Lawrence Bobo Named Dean of Social Science By Cecilia R. D’Arms Crimson Staff Writer
Lawrence D. Bobo, professor of African and African American Studies and Sociology, will become the divisional dean of Social Science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on October 1. Bobo first joined the Faculty in 1997. From 2005 to 2007, he briefly left Harvard for Stanford, where he headed Stanford’s Center of Comparative Study in Race and Ethnicity. Bobo has served as chair of the AAAS Department since 2013. FAS Dean Claudine Gay — who served as dean of Social Science before assuming her current role this summer — announced Bobo’s appointment Monday. As Social Science dean, Bobo will oversee all departments, centers, and programs within the Social Science division of FAS, and will serve as a member of the Academic Planning Group, a board which advises Gay on policy and resource issues. In her announcement, Gay cited Bobo’s assistance in the “Inequality in America” Initiative, a multidisciplinary effort to conduct and publicize research on social and economic inequality. Bobo helped Gay found the initiative during her own term as dean. Several of Bobo’s colleagues praised his selection, calling his appointment “fantastic” and “wonderful”. “He’s been an extraordinary chair [of the AAAS department],” said AAAS and Anthropology Professor John Comaroff. “He’s a very imaginative,
thunderstorms High: 75 Low: 62
strong leader. He’s very supportive of his colleagues and students. He’s a man who can listen very carefully to those around him.” History and AAAS Professor Emmanuel K. Akyeampong said he has confidence in Bobo’s leadership, as demonstrated during his tenure as AAAS department chair and as a key figure at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Studies. Bobo assumes the deanship as FAS adjusts to a new schedule, new President, and new Dean, and copes with a growing national skepticism of higher education. Government Department Chair Jennifer L. Hochschild, who has a joint appointment in AAAS, said she anticipates that a top challenge for Bobo will be to work on “incorporating the Allston community” within the course schedule when Harvard’s Allston campus opens in 2020. Both Comaroff and AAAS Professor Suzanne P. Blier said that Bobo will also face the challenge of becoming dean in a political climate that they called “very challenging”. “I can think of no one I would trust more to help to shape this institution going forward,” Blier wrote in an emailed statement. Some colleagues also commented on Bobo’s excellence as a teacher. He was named a Harvard College Professor — a prestigious
See BOBO Page 9
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this man flew to japan to sing abba in a big cold river