The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLVI, NO. 33 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019
ARTS PAGE 3
EDITORIAL PAGE 8
SPORTS PAGE 10
Critic Hilton Als and novelist Claire Messud discuss culture and humanity.
Harvard must increase cultural event institutional support.
Women’s basketball concludes regular season with win against Columbia.
Univ. Leaders Take Harvard’s Side SEAS Mandates Diversity Reports By SHERA S. AVI-YONAH CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
questionnaire sent to colA lege and university presidents around the country in January showed that only four in 10 surveyed are confident Harvard will win its current admissions lawsuit, according to findings published Friday. Inside Higher Ed conducted the annual survey with analytics group Gallup. The results aggregated the opinions of 784 college and university presidents on topics ranging from the admissions suit and affirmative action to Title IX regulations. The admissions lawsuit, brought by anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions, alleges that Harvard admissions policies unfairly discriminate against Asian-American applicants. Harvard has rejected these allegations and has argued its race-conscious admissions policies are necessary to achieve diversity in its student body. The outcome of the suit — which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court — may shape the fate of affirmative action at private colleges and universities nationwide. Only 37 percent of surveyed presidents said they strongly agree or agree that they are
By RUTH A. HAILU and AMY L. JIA CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Incoming and current faculty members at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are now required to report their involvement in promoting diversity and inclusion, which could then affect the assignment of faculty bonuses, Dean of SEAS Francis J. Doyle III said in a February interview. Administrators implemented the requirement this academic year in accordance with a number of other diversity initiatives. Prospective faculty members must now provide a “diversity, inclusion, and belonging statement” as a part of their application, according to Doyle. “I have found this to be a very important thing that we want to use in our recruiting to, again, set the tone that we value this — we think it’s a priority,” Doyle said. SEAS has also implemented a requirement that current faculty members report any efforts they are undertaking to promote diversity, inclusion, and
A survey of university presidents asked them about the admissions lawsuit and a host of other topics. University President Lawrence S. Bacow’s office is in Massachusetts Hall. SHERA S. AVI-YONAH—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
“confident in Harvard’s defense of itself and the principles of affirmative action.” Sixty-two percent, however, agreed that colleges and universities should continue to account for race in their admissions processes. A
majority of those surveyed — 57 percent — disagreed with a statement asking whether their institution is planning for a possible end to affirmative action. Slightly over half also said private colleges like Harvard
should continue to consider legacy status — whether an applicant has a family member who is an alumnus — when deciding whether to admit applicants.
SEE SURVEY PAGE 9
belonging. Such efforts could range from modifying course curricula to mentoring student affinity groups. Doyle said that while he does factor other aspects of faculty members’ job performance when assigning bonuses, he considers this information a “priority” in his decision. “This is the way, in the University setting, that I can indicate the importance of this and reward accordingly when our faculty are invested deeply in that area,” Doyle said. The diversity statement is one of a number of new initiatives created in the wake of an April 2018 climate survey that found more than a quarter of respondents have experienced harassment or discrimination at some point during their time at SEAS. Alexis J. Stokes, director of diversity, inclusion, and belonging at SEAS, said that requiring incoming and current faculty to report their commitment to diversity serves as a consistent means of monitoring their involvement in fostering an inclusive environment.
SEE BONUSES PAGE 7
HUHS, Athletics Dept. Create Student Athlete Program
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By DEVIN B. SRIVASTAVA and OLIVIA C. SCOTT CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
A car crashed into the front door of The Crimson Monday evening, damaging the exterior of the building. Nobody was injured in the crash. KAI R. MCNAMEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
he Athletics Department and T Harvard University Health Services’ Counseling and Mental Health Services have collaborated to launch a program for student athletes that primarily focuses on mental health screening, education, and care through workshops for students and coaches. The new initiative, dubbed the “Crimson Mind and Body Performance Program,” debuted at the beginning of last semester in response to survey data collected over the previous few athletic seasons. The program provides mental health
services specifically tailored to College students on varsity sports teams. Two licensed clinical social workers spend half of their time working with student-athletes and coaches through the program, according to Brant Berkstresser, the associate director of athletics for student-athlete health and performance. Their main responsibilities include meeting with student athletes individually and holding workshops for them, as well as coaches. In the past, some student-athletes turned to their coaches for support, but the new system promises to streamline resources and give athletes easier access to mental health pro-
fessionals, according to Women’s Soccer Head Coach Chris Hamblin. “The coaches aren’t licensed clinicians...we deal with a lot of different situations and then trying to support us to athletes as best we can,” he said. “We don’t have the tool kit to be able to really be able to navigate some of these challenging struggles that students face.” Some students said they think the program is necessary because of the stigma that some athletes face in seeking mental health support. “There’s a lot of access available but I think there’s a lot of negative stigma surrounding
SEE ATHLETE PAGE 9
Pilot Program Delivers Free Safer Sex Supplies Economics Plans Entry-Level Courses By MICHELLE G. KURILLA and TAMAR SARIG CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
By SOPHIA S. ARMENAKAS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
The Economics Department is working to create more entry-level courses focused on the applications — as opposed to theory — of economics in an effort to attract more freshmen and sophomores, according to Department Chair Jeremy C. Stein. The department currently has one main introductory course that is a prerequisite to upper-level courses — Economics 10: “Principles of Economics.” Ec10 focuses very heavily on theory, which may discourage some students from taking the class or pursuing economics more broadly, Stein said. To combat this issue, the department has already created one application-heavy introductory course — Professor Raj Chetty’s Economics 1152: “Using Big Data to Solve Economic and Social Problems” — and hopes to introduce more like it. Both Stein and Economics Director of Undergraduate Studies Jeffrey A. Miron said some students have not found Ec10’s theory-first approach particularly interesting.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Harvard Today 2
“To some students, ec10 (and 1010a, 1010b, 1123) are the ‘spinach’ while electives and applications are the ‘dessert.’ So it’s reasonable to allow the option of getting a taste of dessert first,” Miron wrote in an email. Freshmen interested in issues beyond economic theory, like income inequality or health care, have a harder time getting a flavor of such topics early on in their college career because they must start with Ec10 before taking other electives, according to Stein. The smaller range of course options early on may turn some people off from the field, he added. “For juniors and seniors, we have a wide variety of offerings — lots of topics and many terrific faculty. But for freshmen and sophomores the pipe is narrower,” Stein said. “And so maybe they conclude, ‘this is not for me, this is for people who want to be business majors.’” Chetty’s course, targeted at freshmen and sophomores, aims to address this issue by showing the applications of “big data” and how it can be used to understand and solve current
SEE ECONOMICS PAGE 7
Arts 3
Editorial 8
In an effort to make safe sex practices more widespread across campus, Sexual Health Awareness and Relationship Communication Educators are piloting a “SHARC Kit” program through which College students can receive supplies like condoms anonymously. The program — which is currently underway in Currier and Leverett Houses — allows students to fill out a Google form and request to receive a kit through the College mailing system, according to SHARC Co-Director Brandi Moore ’19. The group eventually plans to expand the program. “It allows students who don’t feel comfortable necessarily going in a dining hall to pick up safer sex supplies — or going into one of the offices on campus to get that — to kind of just have a really discrete way to have safer sex supplies with a fair amount of ease,” Moore said. “So that’s something awesome and we hope to roll it out to other houses because it’s been very, very popular, which is really exciting.” SHARC will also continue to provide safe sex supplies for students during their office
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Sexual Health Awareness and Relationship Communication Educators hold office hours in dining halls around campus to distribute free safer sex supplies. KATHRYN S. KUHAR—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
hours in dining halls on campus. Currently, students can see SHARC counselors from 9-10:30 p.m. in Currier Dining Hall on Sundays, Kirkland House Dining Hall on Mondays, Leverett House Dining Hall on Tuesdays, and Quincy House Dining Hall on Thursdays.
TODAY’S FORECAST
Before becoming a peer educator group in 2017, SHARC was a peer-counseling organization. The organization changed its status following the results of a sexual health survey released in 2016. The group shifted its focus to “actually engage in more active
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outreach” and have the ability to set up events with students, according to Moore. Moore said the group wants students to know that SHARC does more than hand out safe sex supplies, though.
SEE SHARC PAGE 9
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