The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 106

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI, No. 106 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | friday, october 18, 2019

editorial PAGE 4

editorial PAGE 4

sports PAGE 6

The Women of Harvard Athletics’ mission is commendable.

Op-Ed: Visit Israel, just not on a Birthright trip.

A look inside Harvard athletes’ scooter obsessions.

Admins Discuss Survey Results By shera s. avi-yonah and iris m. lewis

Union, Univ. Add Contract Items

Crimson Staff Writers

More than 50 Harvard affiliates gathered in the Science Center Thursday evening at a town hall to discuss the results of a campus-wide sexual misconduct climate survey that found incidences of sexual misconduct have remained largely unchanged over the past four years.

Several University administrators including University President Lawrence S. Bacow spoke at the event and fielded questions from student attendees. Bacow reiterated comments he made in an email accompanying the survey results Tuesday. At the time, he wrote they were “profoundly disturbing.”

“I’m profoundly saddened and disturbed that we find ourselves after five years in essentially the same position that we were before,” Bacow said.

“Each individual who calls this university home should be made to feel as if they are welcome, they are free from harassment, and that this is a place where they can be their best selves.”

After Bacow concluded his remarks, he ceded the podium to Business School professor Kathleen L. McGinn, who co-

By jamie s. bikales Crimson Staff Writer

­

Harvard and its graduate student union tentatively agreed on two new contract provisions Thursday in the first bargaining session since union members began voting on whether to authorize a strike over a lack of progress in negotiations.

The two sides came to a consensus on a provision regarding international student rights, as well as one on workspaces and materials. Meanwhile, the union will keep polls open for its strike authorization vote at least into next week, according to bargaining committee member Rachel J. Sandalow-Ash ’15.

Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers bargaining committee member Ege Yumusak ’16 wrote in an email that the new international students agreement will “set standards” for graduate student union contracts at other universities.

“The tentative agreement we reached today will do much to advance immigrant and international student workers’ rights on campus,” Yumusak wrote.

“We are committed to continuing to fight for immigrant justice.” ­

University President Lawrence S. Bacow speaks at the beginning of a town hall summarizing the results of the 2019 American Association of Universities sexual misconduct survey. camille g. caldera—Crimson photographer

chaired the steering committee that planned and analyzed the survey alongside Deputy Provost Margaret “Peggy” E. Newell.

McGinn spent roughly an hour going through the survey results, at one point calling them “mind-numbing.”

The Association of American Universities administered the survey — the largest of its

kind — in April. Nationwide, 180,000 students at 33 universities answered questions about harassment, stalking, and their experiences with sexual misconduct on campus. Harvard’s response rate was roughly 36 percent of the University, or 8,300 students.

The 2019 iteration of the survey came four years after its 2015 debut, when Harvard

found that 31 percent of its senior undergraduate women had experienced nonconsensual sexual contact during their time at Harvard. Since then, the University Title IX Office has undergone significant changes.

The Office split in two in 2017, and it implemented mandatory trainings for students, faculty,

See survey Page 5

HKS Diversity Report Shows Little Change From 2018 Harvard Kennedy School Demographics U.S. Students by Race

Professors by Gender

Two or More Races: 5% Black or African Unknown: 1% American: 8%

Hispanic/ Latinx: 11%

58%

Support of U.S. Students Fossil Fuel are White Divestment

Female: 22%

White: 58%

78% of Professors are Male

Asian: 17%

Male: 78%

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 0% American Indian or Alaska Native: 0% matthew j. tyler—Crimson Designer

By isabel l. isselbacher Crimson Staff Writer

The Harvard Kennedy School has seen little or no change across various demographics in its student, faculty, and staff population, according to the school’s annual diversity report released Thursday.

The school saw only a marginal uptick in the racial diversity of its student body compared with last year. Fifty-eight percent of students this year identify as white, while 60 percent did last year. The school continues to have no students of Native American, Alaskan Native, Native Pacific Islander, or Native Hawaiian background.

The tenured faculty composition remains identical to last year — professors at the Kennedy School are 79 percent white and 78 percent male.

Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf ’85, who emailed the report to school

affiliates, said in an interview Thursday that there was a need for improvement in representation.

“Improving the Kennedy School. . .is a responsibility that I have as dean, a responsibility that all the members of our leadership team share in, and a responsibility that everyone at the school shares in some ways,” he said.

When the Kennedy School released its first diversity report in 2018 — per the advice of its Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion — many affiliates voiced concerns about the lack of diversity it revealed within the school and called for administrators to improve the representation of minority students and female faculty.

In response to the continued gender imbalance within the school’s faculty, Elmendorf said the school matches the

See hks Page 5

OTTO Pizza Reopens in the Square After Fire and Repairs By sydnie m. cobb and ellen m. burstein Crimson Staff Writers

OTTO Pizza reopened in Harvard Square this past Friday after a hood-vent fire over the summer forced the restaurant to close temporarily.

The fire, which caused no injuries, had forced OTTO to shutter its Square location for four months to repair the resulting damage.

In celebration of its reopening, OTTO will be randomly offering 1,000 “free slice” cards to patrons in Harvard Square.

Since the reopening, OTTO Pizza has not seen any major changes in foot traffic, according to shift manager Skyla Zo. “We have had a lot of new customers come in and mostly our ritualistic customers, which has been wonderful for us and for them,” Zo said. “Everyone seems to be very excited that we have opened back up.”

The Harvard Square Business Association worked to highlight OTTO’s reopening ­

See otto Page 5 Inside this issue

Harvard Today 2

Harvard Square pizza mainstay OTTO Pizza reopened after closing due to a hood-vent fire and subsequent renovations. OTTO will offer a free promotion as a result of the closure. delano r. franklin—Crimson photographer

News 5

Editorial 5

Sports 6

Today’s Forecast

partly sunny High: 59 Low: 39

International student workers will be allowed five days off to work through visa issues under the tentative agreement, according to Yumusak. It also guarantees that immigration attorneys will visit campus each semester, and that student workers denied entry to the United States due to visa issues will have job security.

University spokesperson Jonathan Swain wrote that Harvard is pleased with the developments in negotiations.

“We welcome the progress today with the two additional tentative agreements,” Swain wrote in an emailed statement.

“The University continues to approach these negotiations and the discussion on the issues at the bargaining table in good faith.”

Under the tentative workspace and materials agreement, the University will provide student workers with necessary supplies and desk space “at no cost,” Sandalow-Ash wrote.

The agreement on desk space marks a “substantial improvement” because some student workers currently lack permanent desks, Sandalow-Ash added.

See union Page 5

Athletics Director Scalise to Depart By devin r. srivastava Crimson Staff Writer

Athletics Director Robert L. Scalise will retire in June 2020, after more than 50 years at Harvard serving in a variety of roles including coach and Business School associate dean.

In an email to the Athletics department Thursday, Scalise thanked the people he has worked with over his tenure and wrote that he is “proud” to have served as director for 18 years.

“Harvard is many things to many different people, but in my mind, the purpose of Harvard has always been to create knowledge and to educate leaders to serve the world,” he wrote. “I am very proud to have supported this work by leading an Athletics department whose mission is to Educate through Athletics and to Build Community and Pride in Harvard.”

He also noted that he will continue to serve as an adviser to Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay on athletics throughout the 20202021 academic year.

Scalise was a former Ivy league varsity athlete himself, receiving All-American honors for playing lacrosse at Brown University. He first came to Harvard in 1974 as coach of the men’s lacrosse team. In 1977, he started the women’s varsity soccer program and coached both men’s lacrosse and women’s soccer until 1986 and 1987, respectively.

After earning a masters degree from the Harvard Business School in 1989, Scalise later became the associate dean for administration and senior executive office at HBS, where he oversaw the school’s $200 million budget from 1996 until his appointment as Athletics Director in 2001. He will end his tenure June 30.

Former University president Lawrence H. Summers and ­

See scalise Page 5

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

OCTOBER 18, 2019

Page 2

Harvard Today

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

For Dinner Pepper & Sausage Pizza Terriyaki Turkey Tips Tofu Curry Noodle Stirfry

Today’s Events Pride Kickoff Science Center Plaza, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

in The Real World

The BGLTQ+ Office of Student Life, CEB, and OFA present Pride Kickoff in the Science Center Plaza today. The Keynote speaker is Olympian Adam Rippon(!), and the event includes student performances, stations with DIY projects, drag workshops, and more!

JUUL To Stop Some Online Sales

JUUL is poised to stop selling fruity flavored pods online in preparation for the enforcement of federal regulations. While JUUL no longer sells the sweet flavored pods in physical stores, it had continued to sell them online. However, online sales only account for about 10% of JUUL’s total revenue.

A Public Address by Michelle Bachelet Institute of Politics, 4-5:15 p.m.

Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, will give a talk at the IOP on global human rights. This event is co-hosted by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, so stop by if you’re looking to end your week on an educational note!

Tritonal at Harvard Winthrop SCR, 6-7 p.m.

Head to the Winthrop Senior Common Room to join the Harvard College Electronic Music Collective in a workshop and discussion with Tritonal, the American DJ duo!

NOAA Predicts Warm Winter

Tourists in Harvard Square pass Out of Town News. The store’s newsracks are now empty after 64 years in business. delano r. franklin—Crimson photographer

Daily Briefing

NOAA has released its 2019-2020 winter weather predictions, and for most of the US, including Boston, they are predicting a warmer than average winter. This doesn’t necessarily mean we’re in the clear — the predictions are based on averages rather than specific weather events — but if you’re not a big fan of winter, this might be welcome news.

More than 50 Harvard affiliates gathered in the Science Center Thursday evening at a town hall to discuss the results of a campus-wide sexual misconduct climate survey that found incidences of sexual misconduct have remained largely unchanged over the past four years. Several University administrators including University President Lawrence S. Bacow spoke at the event and fielded questions from student attendees. In other news, Harvard and its graduate student union tentatively agreed on two new contract provisions Thursday in the first bargaining session since union members began voting on whether to authorize a strike over a lack of progress in negotiations.

Around the Ivies DArtmouth A survey conducted by the Dartmouth revealed students’ mixed opinions on a settlement reached between the college and plaintiffs in response to a recent sexual misconduct lawsuit, according to the Dartmouth. That suit alleged Dartmouth turned a blind eye to inappropriate sexual behavior committed by former psychological and brain sciences professors Todd Heatherton, William Kelley, and Paul Whalen. A majority of the student body, 72 percent, believe that Dartmouth is culpable. Twenty three percent felt dissatisfied, 26 percent felt satisfied, and 51 percent of students felt indifferent about the settlement.

princeton

Princeton students transformed a bulletin board on a campus center into a Lennon Wall to show solidarity with the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, according to the Daily Princetonian.

The Lennon Wall pays homage to the famous John Lennon Wall in Prague, which put pressure on the communist Czech Republic of the 1980s to become democratic. A day after the wall was constructed at Princeton, it was taken down from the bulletin board. Administrators said they had removed it because the group did not get approval to use the bulletin board.

columbia

Columbia’s graduate student union will resume collective bargaining talks with the university, the Columbia Spectator reported. In November of the 2018-2019 academic year, the University announced its decision to begin bargaining with Graduate Workers of Columbia-United Automobile Workers, which had organized for almost two decades for recognition. Since then, the groups have met over 15 times. In these discussions, they have agreed to meet quarterly in a joint session and to continue to follow the rest of the negotiated contract in the case that parts of it are found in violation of the law.

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

Night Editor Caroline S. Engelmayer ’20

Design Editor Matthew J. Tyler ’22

Assistant Night Editors Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21 Ema R. Schumer ’22

Photo Editor Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21

Story Editors Angela N. Fu ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20

Editorial Editor Robert Miranda ’20 Sports Editor Cade Palmer ’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.

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.

ARTS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | OCTOBER 18, 2019 | PAGE 3

MUSIC

Lewis Capaldi Leads the Boston Royale in Qualified Catharsis JOY C. ASHFORD CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

COURTESY OF ALEXANDRA GAVILLET

COURTESY OF ALEXANDRA GAVILLET

Lewis Capaldi began his set at the Boston Royale on Oct. 9 with drama — drowning the empty stage with red light, throbbing, chaotic drums, and rippling energy. But then, in a flash, the lights ended, the stage went dark, and a quiet man with a boyish grin and a dark green sweater loped onstage. The sweaty crowd laden in eyeliner and leather jackets had lined up outside the Boston nightclub to see a sad, goofy Scottish boy play his guitar.

Swaggering and silly, Capaldi sauntered on stage making peace signs and pointing at the crowd like a parody of his own genre. “You

like rock concerts?” he asked with mock-seriousness. “Then you’ll fucking hate this one.” It’s the kind of joke that would fit right into his notoriously self-deprecating social media. But in an abrupt pivot to his off-Twitter persona, he grabbed the mic with a vengeance and launched into “Grace,” the opener to his new album “Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent.” “I’m not ready to be just another of your mistakes,” he yelled, before quieting down for the first verse. With instant, second-nature vulnerability, he swayed back and forth to the music, an open-book grin on his face. On stage, he looks and sounds like the same kid who achieved notoriety via a SoundCloud recording on his iPhone. Strip away most of the lights, tech, and gimmicky comedy and a little is a lot — the main event is his powerhouse, effortlessly expressive voice.

Thankfully, Capaldi’s voice as rich and emotive live as in the studio, each syllable articulated with an undertone of desperation.

That desperation runs through his lyrics — on his next song, the lingering “Forever,” a mournful, swelling melody makes a wellmatched backdrop to lyrics with unadorned longing. In front of an enveloped audience, the song played like an “anti-ballad,” a chorus of shared desire and regret to bring people together. The crowd screamed while he held on to the next-to-last note, until he finally capped it off with the song’s final, soaring “forever.”

After “Forever,” Capaldi stopped to introduce himself. “Boston, how ya fucking doin?” he asked in his thick, drawling accent, before telling us, “I just turned 23 two days ago.” The crowd broke out into an impromptu chorus of “Happy Birthday” but, oddly enough, it didn’t break up the seriousness of the show. Somehow, Capaldi can still make “happy birthday” sound like a break-up ballad.

There’s something in the fundamental structural rawness of his voice that inevitably commands attention, signaling, even before the words, that he’s about to pour his heart out.

Watching Capaldi on stage, his vulnerability is instantly compelling. But beneath the gripping performance, it’s easy to forget the almost-dangerous undertone of what he’s actually saying. As he transitions to his next heartbreak song “Bruises”, he belts out, “Counting days / Since my love up and got lost on me,” then “And if only I could hold you / You’d keep my head from going under.” On “Hold Me While You Wait,” later in the night, he sings, “So tell me,

can you turn around? / I need someone to tear me down” and on “Someone You Loved:” “And you’re not here to get me through it all / I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug.

That theme — of complete emotional reliance on another person, and an onslaught of anger and bitterness when they change their mind — was present in nearly every song he sang that night.

It would be wrong to draw parallels from everything he writes to who he is as a person, but that edge of entitlement to the emotional support of someone else is certainly present in his music. The kind of over-reliance he writes about can go both ways, but there seems an echo of the particular privilege of masculinity in the way Capaldi sings it. How many women feel entitled to the emotional support of others, so much so that they feel comfortable demanding it from someone even after a breakup? As beautiful as they are, Capaldi’s heartbreak ballads still seemed to unite listeners around an uncomfortable one-way sense of entitlement.

Following “Bruises” with several songs off his new album, Capaldi told the audience he would be closing out out the night with his second-biggest hit, “Hold Me While You Wait.” In one of his many resemblances to Ed Sheeran, a fellow fan of heart-break ballads, “Hold Me While You Wait,” alongside reigning chart-topper “Someone You Loved,” made Capaldi the only artist other than Sheeran to have two songs in the top 5 of the UK Singles Chart.

“Hold Me While You Wait” is incredibly compelling live, each swelling repetition of “won’t you stay awhile?” more earnest than the last. Its final drum solo made an utterly cathartic culmination of the concert, the singular piano chord at the very end like a collective exhale. After the song’s end, Capaldi shrugged his shoulders, mimed an exaggerated clap, and put on a pair of ridiculous, bedazzled John Lennon glasses. Convincing as he was, it was hardly believable that he was about to walk off stage without singing the song that made him a household name. Halfway through his exit, he laughed, turned around, rolled his eyes, and finally capped off the night with an unforgettable finish — the seven-week reigning single on the UK Singles charts, “Someone You Loved.”

—Staff Writer Joy C. Ashford can be reached at joy.ashford@ thecrimson.com.

BOOKS

Zadie Smith Polishes the Art of the Short Story in ‘Grand Union’ JESSICA DONG CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Lacking the core advantage of a continuous plot, anthologies of short stories can feel like an overwhelming whirlwind of incongruous tales, jumping from story to story within a matter of mere pages. It’s one thing to slowly digest the stories filed under the New Yorker’s “Flash Fiction” section, yet another to keep up with the racing, mental vertigo-inducing shifts of setting, character, and conflict in an anthology.

“Grand Union,” Zadie Smith’s latest release, manages to mitigate this caveat with ease. Although not avoiding it altogether, this diverse collection of stories written in dazzling, pitch-perfect prose contains a central thread: personal tragedies. To create these sensitive, cutting stories, Smith uses poignant and heartbreakingly accurate descriptions, oftentimes at the expense of sufficiently comprehensive plots. At times, this works in her favor, but other times it doesn’t — luckily the versatility of a collection allows for both successes and failures.

In the outstanding “The Lazy River,” the stream-of-consciousness narrations are captivating and full of Smith’s proclivity for the colorful and oddly specific. They follow the structure of an inner monologue, one that ends almost as soon as it begins, and lack entirely conclusive endings due to their stream-of-consciousness nature.

“The Lazy River” is an intentionally vague commentary of the 21st century mores that have held us hostage in subliminal ways. The story itself is self-aware of the lazy river as a metaphor for numbly drifting with the current of society, which prevents it from becoming another trite, reflexive rejection of questionable societal paradigms. To create this self-aware story, Smith interweaves specific yet minute details of reality with the metaphor itself: “Even if you don’t move you will get somewhere and then return to wherever you started, and if we may speak of the depth of a metaphor, well, then, it is about three feet deep, excepting a brief stretch at which point it rises to six feet four.”

The technique falls flat in other stories, such as “Miss Adele Amidst the Corsets,” that have a narrative with more concrete characters and settings. It’s not that these stories lack Smith’s signature eloquent prose, and it’s not difficult to grasp the com-

plex, raw emotions that the characters feel. But when the bulk of the story is dedicated to these poetic descriptions, it is hard to be reeled into the story itself. The painstakingly detailed interactions between the characters seem unnecessary and futile when placed inside the slow-moving plots that never quite reach the zenith of their potential.

However, Smith is able to find an optimal balance between the plot and the elaborate descriptions in other stories. “Big Week,” a story that uncovers the causes of a long-married couple’s separation, achieves this. The development in this story is clever, as it switches from the husband’s perspective and ends on the wife’s perspective: “Time began to cautiously reshape itself around her broken body, and she found she wanted to be alone with it once more.” This abrupt switch of perspective reframes the story not as a relationship destroyed by some external force, but rather as a woman’s search for fulfillment — something that a man ultimately could not and is in no place to control.

These stories aren’t entirely a form of literary escapism. In the moments that they appear to be so, they will awaken the reader out of a state of reverie with subtle social commentaries.

Smith doesn’t force these down the reader’s throat, but deftly weaves them in, perhaps like chocolate cake discreetly flecked with shreds of zucchini. She explores “wokeness” and how fragile and self-interested the foundations of one’s wokeness can be in “Just Right.” In “Downtown,” Smith briefly refers to the Kavanaugh hearings with apt frustration, seeming to make a statement about a woman’s right and need to take up space.

Will the short story ever be perfected? Perhaps we can unfix our gaze on the standard, archetypal figures whose works have been beaten to death in our 10th grade English classes and instead direct our attention toward Smith, who has demonstrated an unparalleled ability to capture the hardening struggles of life alongside the bursting epiphanies — the complete, tragic range of the human experience, in economical bundles that when combined, do in fact coalesce to form — get this — a grand union.

—Staff writer Jessica Dong can be reached at jessica.dong@ thecrimson.com.

COURTESY OF PENGUIN PUBLISHING GROUP

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | OCTOBER 18, 2019

Page 4

Editorial The Crimson Editorial board

column

Women of Harvard Athletics Speak Out

A

s Director of Athletics Robert L. Scalise prepares to step down, a new group of athletic leaders is making itself known across Harvard’s playing fields and campus. A group of seniors founded Women of Harvard Athletics — a club aimed at combating what its founders characterize as “underrepresentation” of women in Harvard athletic programs. Citing inequalities in game attendance, cultural attitudes, and institutional and financial support, the new organization hopes to support women athletes through the challenges of underrepresentation with a variety of measures, including workshops, panels, and wellness classes.

We applaud Women of Harvard Athletics’ creation, and are heartened by the rapid growth of the organization, which already boasts over 100 members. Given the horrifying recent national and Harvard related scandals which have disproportionately affected women’s athletics programs, we believe student advocacy on these issues is incredibly important both in its own right and toward spurring the athletics administration to devote more attention to them.

As the University and its affiliates more broadly works to overcome the legacy of gender inequality in athletics, the athletic administration should move decisively to address their concerns.

A timely administration response is also crucial, as it will lighten the load on students leading the way. As athletes and students with extensive time commitments in both, these women already face enough work without also having to de-

vote their time to achieving fair representation in athletics, which should go without question to begin with.

Therefore, while we applaud students for leading WHA and working to effect change through it, we worry about the extent to which the extra work they put into these advocacy efforts detracts from their capacity for self-care and the other responsibilities of their lives. The administration should take into account this labor and step up to share the load of these efforts in enacting changes.

We hope that going forward the athletic administration, as well as students, will increase efforts to publicize, support, and create events surrounding women’s events as they do for many men’s events.

Failure to do so on the part of the administration suggests a lack of respect for the difficulty of shouldering the added responsibility of advocating for fairness that should be the bedrock of any competent administration.

We hope that going forward the athletic administration, as well as students, will increase efforts to publicize, support, and create events surrounding women’s events as they do for many men’s events.

It is important to note that while this organization seeks to address the diffi-

culties associated with the particular experience of one group at Harvard, namely female athletes, some of those difficulties are not unique to them. WHA no doubt fills a serious gap, but we also hope the group considers how some of their concerns may overlap with those of other groups on campus.

The broader problems of body image and increased vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence affect female-identifying people across Harvard.

In recognition of that, we hope WHA considers fostering inter-group dialogue and collaboration across different campus groups to advance common goals for a more equitable community.

As Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay noted in her email announcing his retirement, Scalise’s administration worked to expand opportunities for female athletes during his tenure, most recently through the addition of the women’s rugby team.

But this work is only the beginning, and we are glad to see WHA pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a female athlete on our campus and how our community can support these women in their competition and care of self.

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

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Visit Israel, Just Not on Birthright

F

rom the vibrant and colorful fruit stands in the streets of Palestinian cities to the friendly store owners at every corner, I am always ecstatic to be in Palestine. Being home means being surrounded by loved ones and being in a place that continues to give me above and beyond what I could ever repay it. I consider it a blessing and an honor to call Palestine home. I strongly urge anyone who can to visit the region. But you should you go about doing that?

The opportunities and options to visit Palestine and Israel are numerous, many of which are organized trips that are fully funded by different parties. Currently, Harvard Hillel’s registration for one of these fully-subsidized trips, Birthright, is in full swing and the campus is flooded with students sharing registration information.

I am here to tell you one thing: Visit the region, just not on Birthright.

Birthright is a ten day trip to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18 to 32.

Their mission statement is “to ensure the vibrant future of the Jewish people by strengthening Jewish identity, Jewish communities, and connection with Israel.”

But the reasons I am encouraging you to not partake in this trip outweigh the one justification, represented in the mission statement, for going on a Birthright trip.

First, Birthright trips do not expose their groups to the harsh reality that Palestinians living just minutes away from some of the trip’s destination experience.

The lack of resources, blatant discrimination, and danger that Palestinians experience is difficult to grasp even with a well-rounded approach, but absolutely impossible to comprehend through a trip like Birthright, which chooses to completely disregard and intentionally overlook this reality.

This trip never exposes participants to Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps. Attempts to enter Palestinian controlled areas are carefully planned and executed in a way that avoids confronting the reality people are living.

The region, which is exposed to Israeli oppression and occupation is carefully,

Riya Sood SMILE OR GRIMACE

I

n America the people who are deemed “other” are being controlled by the white men in power.

Native Americans are fighting to keep their land out of the hands of those who are stealing it away for their own personal gain. The government has little sense of legitimate order to it.

Am I referring to America in 1492 or 2019?

Honestly, it is hard for even me to say.

Of course, we’ve come so far in the past few centuries. We have electricity! We have the Internet! We have smartphones smaller than our hands that have more power and access to knowledge than anything in human history! We have nuclear weapons!

We’ve come so much further than anything people could have imagined when they first arrived in America.

However, not all people have basic rights, even in America — the self-purported bastion of the Western world. One would think that in the over 500 years since Columbus “sailed the ocean blue,” we would have made more progress in terms of equality for all people.

One would hope that women and men would be treated equally. One would hope that Native Americans would no longer be demanding basic rights from the government. One would hope a lot of things that are simply not true.

In some ways, it is alarming how many parallels do still exist between 21st century America and 15th century America. In 1492, European colonizers came to this country and claimed it for their own.

They decided to abuse Native American people and take their land away without a legitimate claim. Then they silenced them so that they would have no ability to actually protest any of these changes.

In some ways, it is alarming how many parallels do still exist between 21st century America and 15th century America.

The Crimson

By Nadine S. Bahour

Monday, October 14, 2019: Colonist Day

and dare I say strategically, left out of the trip agenda, contributing to a one-sided and biased perception of the status quo.

This reality was experienced firsthand by a Birthright participant, Risa Negal, who decided to venture off her meticulously planned trip and wrote about her experience afterwards.

A target audience for Birthright are individuals who have never visited or lived in Israel before. Participants receive full funding for the trip, including excursions on the itinerary.

Choose a trip that exposes you to a range of voices and reach your own conclusions, do not let anyone else do that for you. That is something you owe yourself, and your community, as an active citizen in this world.

Whereas on the other hand, Palestinian refugees living all around the world, yearning to visit, are not allowed to step foot in their birthplace or visit family living in the region. So how is this dynamic fair?

On another note, Birthright’s largest donor and prime cheerleader is the rightwing casino magnate and mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, who happens to be one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers and one of his largest donors.

When receiving something of value for free, one should be extra cognizant, be it a new smartphone or a free trip to Israel.

Who is ultimately paying for your freebie matters, and has the potential to come back and haunt you and your career, not to mention blinding you from reality.

Case in point is the Jeffrey E. Epstein fiasco that recently reached both Harvard and MIT, both of which Epstein donated to.

The trip and its agenda is as problematic as the planning and people behind it.

People and powers who fund Birthright are detached from the reality of the situation, and are moving the pawns of that

region’s chess game from far away without truly experiencing the reality on the ground.

The ramifications of Birthright can be overlooked by those who support the trip, but they are truly detrimental to citizens of the region. ‘ Consequences extend far beyond the ten days the participants spend in Israel, especially when the eligible audience is taken into account.

This program definitely feeds a vision of creating a large Jewish, predominantly American Jewish, youth diaspora that has a very strong loyalty to the State of Israel, even though they are usually raised in a different country with a totally different set of values.

In the past, some individuals returned to Israel after a Birthright trip to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces, often directly affecting the same Palestinian population they were never exposed to during the trip.

I am in no position, and cannot force anyone, to not go on a Birthright trip; it is ultimately a personal choice. I am merely trying to offer an opinion from the other side of the checkpoint and the separation wall that Birthright trip participants do not get the opportunity to witness or hear.

I am asking you to pay my side of the wall, the wall that I think should not exist, a visit, and then make your judgement about the region and everyone living in it.

With that said, I still completely stand by my recommendation that every single willing and able person should visit Palestine and Israel, and there are several other opportunities for that.

Some of the Jewish focused trips that visit both Israel and Palestine and have a diverse line-up of speakers from different backgrounds and views include Encounter, Extend, If NotNow, Green Olive Tours, J Street and others.

Choose a trip that exposes you to a range of voices and reach your own conclusions, do not let anyone else do that for you. That is something you owe yourself, and your community, as an active citizen in this world.

—Nadine S. Bahour ’22 is a Neuroscience concentrator in Leverett House.

And today? Only two years ago, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized the Keystone XL Pipeline regardless of the effects it would have on Native American water supplies or the fact that it would be built near “culturally sensitive sites in North Dakota.” Native Americans still have poverty rates of 26 percent and a median income that is only 69 percent of the national average.

Naturally, the United States government recognizes the second Monday in October as Columbus Day. It recognizes it as such in order to ensure that we never forget the “amazing” accomplishments of Christopher Columbus.

The man who enslaved over one thousand people on Hispaniola — not even taking into account the hundreds of thousands who were enslaved in the next few decades by his followers.

The man who slaughtered people in order to stem rebellions by those who simply wanted their own land and autonomy restored. The man who introduced so many new diseases to these populations that his arrival was essentially equivalent to waging biological warfare. The man who has been given credit for discovering the New World — a land where an estimated 60 million people were already settled.

But of course we should want to celebrate Columbus Day instead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. If there are going to be only ten official federal holidays, it makes sense that one would be for Christopher Columbus.

He basically is just as important and revered as Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Washington — the only other two people who get a federal holiday for themselves.

Veterans may get a day as a collective group, but of course the service they’ve made to this country as a whole is equivalent to Christopher Columbus’.

Maybe as we reflect on this most recent Columbus Day, we should think about the fact that according to true American values, no one is ever owed anything.

Why don’t we hand out days to some other people? Why not give Andrew Jackson a celebration because, even if his actions did lead to the Trail of Tears, he also championed the rights of the common man?

Or Richard Nixon, who founded the Environmental Protection Agency, even if he was also the only president to ever resign?

Maybe as we reflect on this most recent Columbus Day, we should think about the fact that according to true American values, no one is ever owed anything. Instead, one must earn their spot — or at least that’s what we proclaim to others when asserting our superiority. And while this principle may have proved not to be true in recent situations, it is still a core principle of this country.

So why don’t we hold Columbus Day to these same standards?

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

Page 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | october 18, 2019

hks From Page 1

union From Page 1

HKS Releases Diversity Data

Union, Univ. Reach New Agreements

industries from which it draws scholars.

“That reflects in part the gender composition of the fields from which we do most of our hiring,” he said. “The most common disciplinary backgrounds [among] the faculty at the Kennedy School are Economics and Political Science.”

“But, we think we can do better over time,” he added.

He said the school has introduced new hiring processes to account for gender bias among its feeder fields.

Bryan Cortes, a member of the school’s Journal of Hispanic Policy and the Latinx Caucus, wrote in an email that his organization plans to push administrators to improve the “abysmal” representation of minorities among its students and faculty.

Professor Khalil G. Muhammad, who teaches on history, race, and public policy, said there is a need for a larger transformaton of the culture of diversity at the Kennedy School. “[The report] is far from a sufficient reflection of the need for a massive shift in the culture and climate of the Kennedy School,” Muhammad said.

Muhammad is currently the only tenured black faculty member at the Kennedy School after professor William J. Wilson ’96 retired earlier this year.

He said the difficulties the school appears to face with minority recruitment and retention within its student body are mirrored at the faculty level.

Muhammad said the school must look beyond numbers when seeking to improve diversity and consider all aspects of its “larger systemic issues.”

“Even if the numbers were to improve marginally, that would not necessarily reflect the significance of the culture, climate, and pedagogical changes that need to occur at the school,” Muhammad said.

Latinx Caucus co-chairs Karla B. Magana Figueroa and Thomas A. Franco wrote in an ­

email that a lack of financial aid at the school also exacerbates its issues with racial diversity.

“While we are working to increase the number of admitted underrepresented minorities, we are also analyzing how lack of financial aid is contributing to the issue,” they wrote.

Elmendorf said the school has need-blind admissions, but struggles to meet students’ financial needs.

We do not meet the needs of our students the way the College does.

Douglas W. Elmendorf ’85 HKS Dean

“We do not meet the need of our admitted students in the way the College does,” he said.

“And that is a challenge. It was a priority of my predecessor and is a priority of mine to increase financial aid at the Kennedy School, so more people can come here who don’t have the means.”

According to Elmendorf, the Kennedy School has undertaken several new initiatives to improve minority recruitment at the school and to incorporate diversity into faculty hiring practices. In an effort to attract more minority applicants, the school recently appointed an administrative fellow and a new assistant dean of enrollment services who are working to develop new recruitment strategies.

The Kennedy School has also partnered with the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Latinx Caucus in the United States House of Representatives to encourage students of color to apply.

“We are actively working to cast a wider net,” Elmendorf said. isabel.isselbacher@thecrimson.com

otto From Page 1

OTTO Pizza Returns to Harvard Square when it planned its Oktoberfest event this past weekend, according to HSBA Executive Director Denise A. Jillson.

“I made it really, you know, a real conscious decision during setting up the map for Oktoberfest, not to put anybody in front of OTTO Pizza,” Jillson said.

Jillson added that when businesses have issues with their property or their machinery and are forced to close, the HBSA “takes its cue from the business” when evaluating how best to assist the store.

Along with the updated space, OTTO patrons can also look forward to new Italian specialties on the menu.

“We’ve added some new pies, we’ve added some new sal­

ads, and now we even offer tiramisu,” Zo said.

Though OTTO is resuming its operations, the Square continues to see considerable commercial turnover. In the past four months, Square hallmarks including Out of Town News, Flat Patties, and Black Ink have all announced that they will close by the end of the year.

OTTO Pizza supervisor Steve Smith said he is excited to return to work.

“I like being back at work honestly. I know it sounds weird to say that,” Smith said. “But I enjoy the people that I work with. It’s nice being back here.” sydnie.cobb@thecrimson.com ellen.burstein@thecrimson.com

Swain added that the international students agreement came out of the work of a subcommittee, which met outside of full bargaining sessions and included representatives from the Harvard International Office, the University’s negotiating team, and HGSU-UAW. Student workers across the University began voting Tuesday on whether to authorize a strike.

Tuesday marked the one year anniversary of the beginning of negotiations. HGSU announced the vote Oct. 8, citing stalls on certain contractual issues — including compensation, healthcare, and harassment and discrimination protections.

If two-thirds of voting members approve the authorization, the HGSU bargaining committee would be authorized to call a strike when it sees fit. ­

Polling stations have been open in at least 21 locations across the University’s Cambridge and Longwood campuses since Tuesday.

The energy of the strike vote has been amazing.

Rachel J. Sandalow-Ash ’15 HGSU-UAW Member

Sandalow-Ash wrote that despite Thursday’s agreements, “major outstanding issues” remain unaddressed by the University. She said that the strike authorization vote will continue into next week.

It was previously unclear whether voting would conclude on Friday — the final day listed on the union’s initial voting

schedule.

“This past week, the energy of the strike vote has been amazing,” Sandalow-Ash wrote. “It is clear that student workers across campus are deeply frustrated by the administration’s refusal to agree to fair pay, comprehensive and affordable healthcare, or protections against discrimination and harassment.”

“Student workers are ready to take action,” she added.

Thursday’s developments mark the ninth and tenth provisions agreed upon since negotiations began, and the first since Sept. 9, when the two sides came together on a provision regarding student travel reimbursements.

Also on Thursday, the National Labor Relations Board extended the comment period for its proposed rule chang-

es on who can be classified as a student employee, according to a press release. The proposed changes would essentially reverse a 2016 decision that opened the door for students at private universities and colleges — including Harvard — to unionize. The original 60-day comment period was set to end on Nov. 22, but the submission window will now remain open through Dec. 16, the release said. Replies to the initial comments can be submitted until Dec. 30.

HGSU has been encouraging its members to submit comments to the proposed rule change.

The next bargaining session will be held on Oct. 30, according to bargaining committee member Lee Kennedy-Shaffer. jamie.bikales@thecrimson.com

scalise From Page 1

Athletics Director Scalise Departs Univ. former Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles appointed Scalise with the goal of broadening the range of students who participate in the College’s athletic program in mind.

Scalise’s resume as Athletics Director includes 22 national titles, 144 Ivy League titles, and 14 victories over longtime rival Yale in the 17 editions of “The Game” during his tenure. He received the National Football Foundation’s Toner Award for excellence in athletic administration and dedication to college athletics in 2018.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay

wrote in an email to FAS affiliates that Scalise’s impact has been wide-ranging over his tenure.

“Whether you are a varsity athlete, a participant in an intramural club sport, or someone like me who just takes a break from work to let off steam on the treadmill, Bob’s thoughtful leadership has touched your life and helped to shape your Harvard experience,” she wrote.

She stressed that Scalise’s years as director were about more than just winning championships, “He has been a leading voice in national discussions of the

student athlete experience,” she wrote.

“On campus, he has led Department-wide discussions of culture, enhanced training opportunities for students and staff, and successfully advocated for expanded mental health support for athletes.”

Scalise’s retirement comes at a tenuous time for the department.

Former Harvard fencing coach Peter Brand was dismissed in July for violating Harvard’s conflict of interest policy.

Gay also recently announced that outside consulting firm Mercer would conduct a review

of the Harvard’s Athletics program in the coming year.

Scalise’s retirement also coincides with the retirement of former Senior Associate Athletic Director Patricia Henry, who stepped down in June, concluding her 40-year tenure.

Scalise wrote that he hopes to spend more time with his wife and children following his retirement.

Harvard will conduct a national search to identify Scalise’s successor, and he will serve until a new director is appointed, according to Gay. devin.srivastava@thecrimson.com

survey From Page 1

Admins Discuss AAU Survey Results and staff in subsequent years.

The 2019 survey, however, found that Harvard’s rate of students experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact remained stagnant. While students reported feeling more knowledgeable about Title IX policies and definitions, 32 percent of undergraduate women said they had experienced unwelcome sexual contact while at Harvard.

Less than half of students said they are “extremely” or “very” confident that campus officials would conduct a fair investigation based on a complaint of sexual misconduct.

McGinn highlighted other trends in the data toward the end of her presentation, noting that the majority of people who had reportedly committed sexual misconduct were themselves students.

She also pointed to data showing that the majority of both survey-takers who reported misconduct and the alleged perpetrators drank alcohol before the incident in question, and that on-campus housing was the most common location

for such incidents when they involved undergraduates.

During a question and answer session at the end of the evening, Newell spoke to the strategies and goals the University has moving forward — including the importance of including men in conversations about sexual assault.

Several students also asked McGinn and Newell how they would use the survey results to directly decrease sexual assault rates.

McGinn responded by turning their questions back — she asked audience members for advice, input, or stories they think would help the steering committee.

“You can’t create cultural change by having committees,” she said. “You have to start with community-wide conversation.

That’s what we’re starting tonight. And I can see all of you struggling in the same way that we struggle, with what can we do to move forward?” shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com iris.lewis@thecrimson.com

The sights and sounds of Harvard.

The Crimson @crimson_photo

The latest on student life.

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Sports

FOOTBALL

about the team

2018 Overall Record 3-1 ______________________________________ Conference Record 2-2 ______________________________________ Games

______________________________________4 Streak

W3 ______________________________________ Points

162 ______________________________________

Total Offense 1696 ______________________________________

upcoming games ______________________________________

Red Zone Percentage 89% ______________________________________

Football vs. Holy Cross 1 p.m., at Holy Cross

Fumbles Recovered

4 ______________________________________ Blocked Punts 5 ______________________________________ Sacks

21 ______________________________________

Football vs. Princeton 1 p.m., at Princeton

football

Preview: Defense Key in Holy Cross Contest Saturday

By Cade Palmer Crimson Staff Writer

When calculating Ivy League standings, non-conference games are given no weight.

From the vantage point of an Ancient Eight title, then, Harvard’s football game at Holy Cross this weekend means nothing.

If precedent is any indication, the Crimson (3-1, 2-0 Ivy) might be thankful come Saturday. The Crusaders have been an unforeseen difficult opponent. Last season, Harvard’s win came in the form of a game-winning field goal from senior Jake McIntyre as time expired. The time before, in 2016, the Crimson lost by 10.

While Saturday’s game is the 71st meeting between the two teams, and the Crimson leads the series 43-25-2, Holy Cross (3-3, 1-0 Patriot) has won four of the last five home games against Harvard. Meanwhile, the Crimson’s loss to San Diego is the only other time this season the team played outside of Harvard Stadium.

“They are better team than they were a year ago,” coach Tim Murphy said. “They’re playing at home. They’re playing at homecoming. It will be a big crowd. It will be a very emotional, intense Holy Cross football team we play. We’re going to have to play better than we did a week ago to get a victory.”

The Crimson arrives in Worcester, Mass., propelled by the momentum of a three-game win streak. After dropping its first contest to San Diego by eight points, the team has not faltered again, downing Brown, Howard, and Cornell. The wins came by margins of 35, 45, and 13, respectively.

“We handled business at home,” said junior defensive back Isaiah Wingfield “We lost on the road the first game of the season. Now it’s our chance to be road warriors.”

Harvard’s explosion has propelled it to the top of the division in scoring, averaging 40.5 points per game. The team also paces the division in first downs and red-zone offense.

The stat leaders for the Crimson offensive front are juniors quarterback Jake Smith and running back Devin Darrington. Smith is averaging a 238.5 yards per game with 11 touchdowns through the team’s four games. When dished the ball, Darrington averages 92.8 yards per game having barreled his way to five touchdowns on the ground.

When Smith drops to pass, he’s been favoring senior Cody Chrest, senior Jack Cook, and junior B.J. Watson. The trio has 44 grabs for eight touchdowns and 626 yards.

When other teams’ quarterbacks have taken their threestep drop, they’ve been largely unsuccessful at converting.

Harvard leads the nation and division in team sacks. Sophomore Truman Jones is third in the nation and first in the Ivy League in tackles for a loss. He also leads the league in sacks.

This dominance will face a test in Holy Cross quarterback Connor Degenhardt. The one opponent in common the two teams have is Brown, and the six foot six inch junior put up 315 yards and four touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 47-31 routing of their Ivy League opponent last week. That’s five more points than the Crimson managed in it’s own contest against the Bears two weeks ago.

“They’re going to pass that ball, they throw the rock,” Wingfield said “I’m just excited to compete, make some plays, and just come back with the win.”

Given Degenhardt’s and his success throughout the season, it’s no wonder that the team hardly runs. The team’s leading rusher is Domenic Cozier, a senior that averages just 48.4

EYES ON THE PRIZE Junior Devin Darrington eyes the end zone in last week’s victory over the visiting Big Red. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—Crimson photographer

yards per game. Even Degenhardt has more rushing touchdowns than his leading running back, with two.

On Saturday, Cozier will likely run for even less. Harvard leads the nation and league in rushing defense. In addition, to defense, the Crimson has been stellar on special teams through

four games. The team leads the nation in blocked punts.

When Degenhardt throws, he’s not particular about where he passes so long as the man that grabs the toss is wearing purple.

Four Holy Cross receivers have over ten catches on the season — Tenio Ayeni (25), Spencer Gilliam (22), Derek Mountain (18),

and Ayir Asante (11).

On Harvard’s side, each win is important as Murphy marches closer to becoming the winningest coach in Ivy League history. Right now, the Crimson coach is three wins away from passing Carm Cozza of Yale.

“We had no idea honestly, that’s great,” Wingfield said.

“That’s exciting that we’re going to get that for him, hopefully in the next two weeks. Coach Murphy isn’t the type to brag about something like that so this is the first I’m hearing of it, but we’re going to go get that for him.” cade.palmer@thecrimson.com

Feature

To Save Time, Varsity Athletes Scoot Across Campus By alex Wilson contributing Writer

Upon walking into Annenberg, the first thing a freshman sees

is a sign that reads, “Please park your SCOOTER at the back of the dining hall between the two statues. Thank you!” A look to the right and one sees an army

of scooters parked against the back wall. It does not take long to figure out that the scooters mostly belong to athletes.

Although this is a new phe-

nomenon on Harvard’s campus and the sign in Annenberg was just added this school year, the athletes claim they are useful for a variety of reasons. First-

DEALS ON WHEELS Scooters, and scooter parking locations, have popped up on campus, even in the Quad. EAMON J. MClOUGHLIN—Crimson photographer

year men’s basketball player Idan Tretout says he mostly uses his for convenience, and that it will especially come in handy when it starts to get cold outside.

“Instead of a 15 minute walk, it’s going to be a four minute scooter ride,” Tretout said.

Tretout’s scooter is electric, so he expends minimal energy when he crosses the river to go to the gym. While only a couple of basketball players owned scooters when Tretout bought his in mid-September, now four players do.

While scooters are gradually becoming more popular on the men’s basketball team, men’s varsity heavy-weight crew is a different story. On a team where bikes are the common mode of transportation, first-year Tom Horncastle received his share of banter when he came to practice with a scooter. His teammates originally made fun of him and lightly threatened to slash his tires, and Horncastle does not really blame them.

“It’s almost as if it’s a kid’s toy used by big athletes, and so it’s kind of ironic in that sense,” Horncastle said. “Now they’ve kind of accepted it,” Even so, Horncastle sticks with his scooter because he has valid reasons for owning one over a bike. He began the year with a knee injury, and a sophomore gave him a scooter for free to alleviate his knee pain and help him get across the river. Also, since bikes are more expensive than non-electric scooters, he figured a free scooter was an excellent deal.

Another member of the team even bought a scooter himself.

Despite this, Horncastle recognizes that bikes are both faster and more durable in the snow, and he thinks that they’re prob-

ably a better long-term investment.

Scooters are evidently growing in demand, but some believe that they have more cons than pros. First-year men’s soccer player Galen Lewis uses a bike and argues that they’re the better purchase.

“You can’t lock up a scooter,” Lewis said. “There’s bike racks literally everywhere outside of any building on campus, so I just lock up my bike.”

Athletes with scooters have to carry the scooters into their classes. Lewis also says that scooters do not truly make crossing the river that much easier; they are only slightly faster than walking, while bikes save much more time and completely take the pressure off an athlete’s feet.

“If you’re playing a sport, scootering can actually make you pretty sore after a while,” Lewis said.

Lewis says the men’s soccer team is a mixed bag when it comes to transportation. He guesses that approximately a third of the team uses scooters, a third uses bikes, and the remaining third either uses skateboards or walks.

First-year Sarah Burn of varsity sailing purchased a non-electric scooter to alleviate her morning commute to team lift at 7:20 a.m. and attests to the fact that it’s a worthy purchase. However, she didn’t get the idea from her teammates, but from other freshman athletes. In fact, no upperclassmen on the team own scooters at all, but many of the freshmen do.

“In previous years, scooters weren’t popular with athletes,” Burns said. “First-year athletes are changing that, and maybe some upperclassmen will be joining that trend.”