The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI, No. 56 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | FriDAY, april 19, 2019
editorial PAGE 4
news PAGE 5
sports PAGE 8
Op-Ed: Harvard should divest from fossil fuels.
The Harvard Book Store is printing copies of the Mueller Report.
Coach Jenny Allard commands Soldiers Field.
Donors Make Up HKS Students Demand Curricular Changes Half of Revenue By jania j. tumey Crimson Staff Writer
By cindy h. zhang Crimson Staff Writer
Forty-five percent of Harvard’s annual revenue comes from donors — either as endowment returns or direct gifts — University Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Finance Thomas J. Hollister said in an interview Wednesday. Hollister said that 35 percent of the University’s revenue each year comes from returns on Harvard’s endowment, currently valued at more than $39 billion. Another nine percent of the annual budget comes from current use gifts, which are donations that may be completely spent upon their receipt. “Harvard is a huge beneficiary of loyal and committed donors from a funding standpoint. It’s probably vital. In many ways, it enables Harvard’s excellence,” Hollister said. The endowment represents the largest single source of revenue for the University. Student income, the second-largest source, makes up just 21 percent of Harvard’s annual revenue, according to the University’s 2018 financial report.
Fiscal year 2018 saw “record totals in current use giving” in part because of the University’s five-year capital campaign, according to the report. Harvard’s capital campaign concluded last June after raising a record-breaking $9.6 billion. Of that, 42 percent has been designated for the endowment, according to Hollister. Endowment donations must be held and only the investment returns on the gift may be spent. Hollister said that current use gifts — comprising 35 percent of the funds collected in the capital campaign — have either already been spent or, if they have not yet been collected, will be spent soon. Non-federal sponsored support, which includes research funding from individuals and corporations, made up 11 percent of capital campaign donations, according to Hollister. “One interesting aspect of campaigns is that the way you count the collection, a lot of it is current,” Hollister said. “Over half of the campaign is money that’s already spent or is
See DONORs Page 3
As part of ongoing efforts to promote greater diversity and inclusivity at the Harvard Kennedy School, student activists recently launched a petition demanding more faculty of color and more attention to issues of race and racism in curriculum. Addressed to the Kennedy School administration, the petition calls for the addition of at least three new tenure-track faculty of color and three new courses that discuss policy issues through the lens of race and racism. As of Thursday afternoon, it had garnered 275 signatures according to Janice S. Tolbert, a Kennedy School student involved who helped organize the petition. The petition was first made available April 5, coinciding with the Kennedy School’s admitted students day. The petition also urges administrators to continue offering Professor Khalil G. Muhammad’s course DPI 391: “Race, Inequality and American Democracy” – or a course similar to it – while he is on sabbatical. Many students who initially organized the petition said they were inspired by the course,
Students hit the books at the Harvard Kennedy School. A group of students started a petition calling for curricular changes at HKS this week. sanjana s, ramrajvel—Contributing photographer
which examines constructs of racial identity and ideology in American history. Tolbert took the class last semester and referred to it in an
email as “by far the most powerful and transformative course” of her academic career. “Many students walked away from Professor Mu-
hammad’s Race, Inequality, and American Democracy course asking why this type of
See HKS Page 5
Epstein Harvard Graduate Council Launches Advocacy Group Donated to Hasty Pudding By luke a. williams Crimson Staff Writer
The Harvard Graduate Council has created a lobbying body, the External Advocacy Committee, to advocate for local, state, and federal policies supporting graduate student rights. HGC, the University’s most comprehensive student government body, comprises representatives from all twelve of the graduate schools. The EAC will streamline the HGC’s responses to proposed policies — both at the University and in the political arena — that could negatively impact Harvard’s graduate student population. Before the EAC, such a response fell on the shoulders of one member, who then had to draft statements and submit them for voting at HGC meetings. The process could take up to two months, according to Chair of Finance Kelly E. Menjivar. The EAC is Menjivar’s “brainchild,” according to HGC Chair of Advocacy Franklin “Tre” D. Tennyson III. In HGC’s 2017-2018 term, Menjivar led fellow representatives to
By molly c. mccafferty and aidan f. ryan Crimson Staff Writers
A charity connected to convicted sex offender and Harvard donor Jeffrey E. Epstein gave tens of thousands of dollars to the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 and a non-profit linked to a Harvard professor, according to tax filings obtained by The Crimson. Epstein served as president of a private foundation called Gratitude America, Ltd. in 2014. Gratitude America donated $50,000 to the Hasty Pudding — an umbrella organization that includes the Hasty Pudding Club, Hasty Pudding Theatricals, and the Harvard Krokodiloes — in 2016. As recently as Wednesday afternoon, the Hasty Pudding website listed Epstein as one of its 2018 donors who have given more than $50,000. In 2016, Gratitude America also gave $110,000 to Verse Video Education, the non-profit organization that funds English Professor Elisa F. New’s television show and digital initiative “Poetry in America.” Gratitude America operates out of the United States Virgin Islands, where Epstein lists his permanent address. Its 2014 filings list Epstein as the president and Darren K. Indyke and Erika A. Kellerhals as the treasurer and secretary, respectively. Tax filings from 2015 to 2017 still list Indyke and Kellerhals as employees for the charity, but Richard Kahn replaces Epstein as president. Kahn and Indyke have also worked on the boards of previous charities tied to Epstein. In addition to being Epstein’s longtime lawyer, Indyke served as vice president of Epstein’s previous foundation, the C.O.U.Q. Foundation. Epstein, a billionaire investor, faces allegations that he ran an underage sex ring out of his Palm Beach, Fla. home from 2001 to 2006, according to a
See epstein Page 3 Inside this issue
Harvard Today 2
matthew j. tyler—Crimson Designer
create a lobbying- and student advocacy- focused branch. After voting to alter their bylaws in fall 2018, HGC was able to pass the EAC’s governing charter earlier this spring. The EAC will officially start its activities next fall. The new committee will have three boards manned by graduate students nominated from each of the 12 graduate schools. One board will research federal politics affecting graduate students, a second will research local and state policies, and a third will draft response statements. “[The EAC] allows us to have people who are dedicated to filtering all the information coming out of society, and then kind of investigate how these things may impact life here at Harvard,” said Tennyson, author of the EAC’s charter. When a policy is flagged as potentially worthy of response, the EAC will draft a statement, get approval from the HGC’s president and chair of advocacy, and publish the statement on HGC’s website. The EAC will
See HGC Page 5
With Body Scrubs and Treats, OSAPR Holds Self-Care Events By michelle g. kurilla and tamar sarig Crimson Staff Writers
The Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response is hosting events centered on self-care in the undergraduate houses as part of its efforts to increase engagement with students. As part of the initiative — which began on April 10 and will continue through May 2 — OSAPR has held nighttime events in upperclassman house dining halls and other campus locations involving activities to promote self-care. OSAPR has already held events in houses including Mather, Winthrop, Kirkland, Lowell, Dunster, and Cabot. Their most recent event took place in Leverett House Thursday, according OSAPR Director Pierre R. Berastaín Ojeda ’10. The events revolve around a variety of calming do-it-yourself stations, including stress
News 3
Editorial 6
balls, drawing, aromatherapy jewelry, body scrubs, “affirmation cards,” gratitude letters, and a discussion board where students can write their thoughts on the importance of self-care. Consent Advocacy and Relationship Education tutors in each of the undergraduate houses have partnered with the Title IX Office and received funding from the Dean of Students office to help carry out the events. Berastaín estimated that more than 300 students have attended the events as of Thursday night. He said he hopes to carry out self-care events more frequently throughout the upcoming academic years. OSAPR Educational Specialist Nina Harris said the office seeks to give people resources so that they can determine what self-care looks like for them. “I think to give people the
See break Page 5
Sports 8
Leverett residents decorate stones, mix custom body scrubs, and write notes about how they relax at an OSAPR hosted study break. jocelyn wang—Crimson photographer
Today’s Forecast
partly cloudy High: 74 Low: 62
Visit thecrimson.com. Follow @TheCrimson on Twitter.
prosecco ice cream cake
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
April 19, 2019
Page 2
Harvard today
For Lunch Chicken and Swiss Melt on Whole Wheat Panini Red’s Best Fresh Catch Seitan Tostadas
For Dinner Mussels in White Wine and Tomato Sauce Spanish-Style Roasted Chicken Vegetable Paella
Today’s Events Passover Seder 7:30-10 p.m.
in The Real World
All identities and religions are welcome at Harvard Chabad tomorrow from 7:30 - 10 p.m. for a home-cooked meal and warm company to celebrate the Passover holiday. The seder dinner includes a reading of the Haggadah and foods including matzoh, haroset, and gefilte fish.
TLA vs. Lowkeys 8-9 p.m. Head to Science Center E for a free improv and acapella show to kick off your weekend. The competition will be hot, and you won’t want to miss it! Watch the improv trouple and the singing group battle in their sixth annual face-off.
Harvard Ballet Company: in search of 8-9:30 p.m. Purchase tickets for $8 with an HUID for an unforgettable, immersive dance show set to minimalistic music. This spring production will take place at the Loeb Drama Center, and there’s another show tomorrow if you can’t make this one.
Mueller Report Released to Public
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on potential collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice by President Trump was released to the public yesterday. According to Mueller, there was insufficient evidence to determine whether or not Trump or members of his team collaborated with Russia to sway the results of the election.
National Enquirer Sold to Travel Retailer
Boots Riley speaks about his experience in film, music, and activism at an event hosted by the Harvard Graduate Student Union and and W.E.B Du Bois Graduate Society of GSAS in the Smith Campus Center Thursday evening. kathryn s. kuhar —Crimson photographer
The National Enquirer, a tabloid that has often published stories favorable to President Trump, was sold to James Cohen, the CEO of travel news retailer Hudson News. The sale comes after the parent company of the National Enquirer became frustrated with the reporting done by the tabloid.
Governor Vetoes Stringent Abortion Bill
Daily Briefing Harvard receives nearly half of its annual revenue from donors, University Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Finance Thomas J. Hollister said in an interview Wednesday. Hollister also said that 35 percent of the University’s revenue comes from returns on its nearly $40 billion endowment. In other news, students at the Harvard Kennedy School circulated a petition demanding that the school hire more faculty of color and ensure its curriculum addresses issues of race and racism.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a bill that would have required doctors to try to save the life of any child born alive during an abortion. Explaining the veto, Cooper said that he believed that current laws “already protect newborn babies.”
Around the Ivies cornell
A football player who ran for student-elected trustee, J.T. Baker ’21, was disqualified by the Trustee Nominating Committee shortly after a Cornell Athletics official emailed other athletes at the school about Baker’s campaign, encouraging them to vote. The TNC claims the official’s email “altered the fairness of the election” and was cause for a disqualification. Posts from students supporting Baker, who is Black, say that race may be a motivation for Baker’s disqualification.
penn
Members of the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s volleyball team had one of their worst seasons in program history, which included filing eight complaints against their coach this year, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. The athletes said their coach, Iain Braddak, harassed and abused them after they advised Penn administrators to not to hire him. They also said Penn administrators failed to respond to their concerns in an appropriate fashion. At least one team member — senior captain Caroline Furrer — quit the team because of her concerns.
yale
Members of the Yale University Security Officers Association — Yale’s security union — handed out pamphlets criticizing the University to prospective students amid a contract dispute with administrators, the Yale Daily News reported. Yale is currently holding Bulldog Days, a multi-day event courting admitted students. The security union and the University began negotiations more than two years ago. Their last agreement has since expired, though the parties agreed to extend it through the end of this month.
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 Lucy Wang ’20
Design Editor Matthew J. Tyler ’22
Assistant Night Editors Shera S. Avi-Yonah ’21 Andrea M. Bossi ’21
Photo Editor Mariah Ellen D. Dimalaluan ’20
Story Editors Jordan E. Virtue ’20 Angela N. Fu ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20
Editorial Editor Daniel Kim ’21
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.
Sports Editors Jackson R. Delgado ’22 Amir Mamdani ’21
Corrections The Harvard Crimson is committed to accuracy in its reporting. Factual errors are corrected promptly on this page. Readers with information about errors are asked to e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@thecrimson.com.
Page 3
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | april 19, 2018
Bookstore Prints Mueller Reports By shera s. avi-yonah and alexandra a. chaidez Crimson Staff Writers
In a bid to satisfy Cambridge political junkies, the Harvard Book Store began printing copies of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s report on links between the Trump campaign and Russia Thursday, shortly after Attorney General William P. Barr released a redacted copy to the public. Owner Linda Seamonson said the store’s in-house printing press, nicknamed “Paige M. Gutenborg,” takes roughly ten minutes to print the 448-page report, stamp a matte white cover with red print, glue the book together, and spit it out. Seamonson added that after it is finished printing, the bound book comes out still warm from an opening in the Espresso Book Machine printer. She purchased the printer a decade ago. “They are actually warm when it comes out of the machine,” Seamonson said, laughing. “Everybody always says ‘hot off the presses.’” After the store advertised their $18.95 copies of the report on Facebook and Twitter, Seamonson said that customers immediately began calling in and asking to purchase freshly printed copies. She said the store’s management decided to print the full report “to help the world see what has been happening.” Mueller’s sprawling report is the result of a two-year investigation. In May 2017, then-Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein appointed Mueller to investigate ties between Presi
Half of Revenue Is From Donors earmarked for spending.” Though the University may spend current use gifts immediately, 78 percent of the endowment and current use gifts collected during Harvard’s capital campaign is restricted and can only be used for specific purposes designated by the donor. Hollister said that two percent of the donations received during the capital campaign comes from life-income funds, with the last 10 percent reserved for construction. Though Harvard maintains the world’s largest university endowment and just concluded a record capital campaign, Hollister said that those numbers can be misleading. “The popular press always emphasizes that Harvard is extremely wealthy, and the num-
Harvard Book Store co-owner Linda Seamonson picks up a new copy of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s report. The store started printing copies after the report was released. kathryn s. kuhar—Crimson photographer
dent Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia. His team first presented findings about activities related to Russian social media strategy, real estate deals, and email hacks to federal officials in March. A redacted version was released to the public Thursday. Printing the report’s 448 pages presents some challenges for “Paige.” Seamonson said the report’s numerous redactions — estimated to be more than a third of the entire document — double
the time it takes to be printed. “With all of that solid, it just takes longer,” Seamonson said. “Usually a book about this size would take about five minutes, and these are taking ten.” Thursday evening, one copy went straight from the machine’s mouth to the hands of a store employee, waiting to complete a sale. While “Paige” printed that copy, several customers watched and asked if they could hold it. “Some will be shipped, but mostly people who are calling
up are people who are local, and some people have wanted to come in tonight,” Seamonson said. “One person called a little while ago and said that they were going out of town tomorrow, could they come in tonight and get one. And so that person got the next one that came off the machine.” Seamonson said she plans on printing as many copies of the report as the store can sell. shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com
epstein From Page 1
Epstein Funded the Pudding, Per Tax Reports November 2018 Miami Herald investigation. The Herald identified around 80 women who say Epstein molested or sexually abused them before 2006, when a team of lawyers — including Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan M. Dershowitz — struck an extraordinary plea deal with the District Attorney’s office. The Daily Beast first reported Epstein’s connections to Gratitude America in an April 16 article. The foundation has also donated to MIT, the Crohn’s Colitis Foundation of America, and Friends of Elton John, according to its tax filings. Kellerhals, who is listed on the tax forms as the foundation’s bookkeeper, did not
donors From Page 1
respond to a request for comment. Epstein’s lawyer also did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Though Epstein is neither a Harvard alumnus nor a faculty member, he has given millions of dollars to Harvard over the past three decades. Before Wednesday afternoon, the Hasty Pudding listed Epstein as a 2018 “Guardian of the Sphinx,” a designation given to its highest donors — those who have given at least $50,000. Hasty Pudding Institute Chairman Andrew L. Farkas ’82 and several other representatives from the Pudding did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Shortly after The Crimson reached out to the Pudding on Wednesday, Epstein’s name disappeared from, and an anonymous donor was added to, the 2018 donors page. Hours later, the 2018 page was replaced with a new list of 2019 donors, which does not include Epstein. The Poetry in America website lists Gratitude America as one of the organization’s funders. The organization is both a PBS television series that first aired in 2018 and a “multi-platform digital initiative” that offers free online courses. New declined to comment on the donation. The Hasty Pudding and Poetry in America initiative
Transformative coverage.
aside, Epstein has a long history of strong financial ties to the University. He has pledged donations of up to $30 million to individual researchers and funded the construction of the building that houses Harvard Hillel, among other contributions. Epstein also maintained an office in Cambridge for several years and forged close personal friendships with current and former faculty and administrators including Dershowitz, former University President Lawrence H. Summers, and former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Henry Rosovsky. molly.mccafferty@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com
ber they point to is the size of our endowment,” Hollister said. In fact, he said that there are wealthier schools than Harvard when considered on a per capita basis. One example of an area Harvard continues to develop is its undergraduate financial aid. While the amount of funding distributed to students is steadily increasing, scholarships are still not fully endowed, according to Hollister. “Fortunately, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences has one of the most generous, if not the most generous program in the country, but they have to come up with spare money every year to make sure it works,” Hollister said. cindy.zhang@thecrimson.com
Allston Workshop Covers Open Spaces By Brie K. Buchanan and Peter E. O’Keefe Crimson Staff Writers
The Boston Society of Architects hosted an Allston Esplanade Design Workshop Thursday evening, encouraging public participation in designing open spaces around upcoming construction projects in the Allston area. Architects, engineers, and local activists participated in the workshop. Discussions focused on green spaces, public bike paths, and walkways stemming from the future I-90 construction project. The $1.1 billion project will raise Soldiers Field Road alongside the Charles River onto a new viaduct and will lower the Mass. Turnpike to ground level. The project may not begin for several years and may take eight years before it is completed. Roughly 100 participants mingled in the BSA’s Atlantic Ave. office before hearing introductions to Allston sites and their respective histories. Attendees then broke into design groups to analyze three distinct construction areas: the intersection of the BU/Grand Junction Bridges and Soldiers Field Road, the “throat” cross-section, and the Agganis Way connector. “I’ve lived in Brighton Allston for many, many years as a landscape architect,” Patrick J. Callahan, a workshop participant, said before the event. “I know the area well, and I just wanted to come and see what this was about and just give my two cents and just be able to help out.”
I’ve lived in Brighton Allston for many, many years as a landscape architect. Patrick J. Callahan Workshop Participant
Charles River Conservancy Executive Director Laura J. Ja-
sinski said she believes combining local architectural expertise and activist knowledge will improve the final construction outcome. “[This] can help solve a number of problems, get people excited about new ideas, really tap into the design community in Allston, and solve a really big issue that’s going to affect the whole site,” Jasinski said. Discussion leader Jessica B. Robertson said she was hopeful the Esplanade Workshop would generate new ideas for open spaces in Allston. “Events like this Boston Society of Architects charette tonight are a great opportunity to get some fresh creative thinking,” Robertson said. Many participants said they believed that proposed solutions had the potential to affect MassDOT’s policies regarding the I-90 project. “Hopefully, these groups will come up with ideas that the state will at least look at and consider,” said Thomas J. Nally, planning director of A Better City, a local non-profit. “If they are good enough, they’ll either be adopted or maybe adapted in a way that that can actually be done.” Robertson referenced a prior BSA charrette that focused on the Beacon Yards area, where the state eventually incorporated their design suggestions into the final construction project. She said it is possible another “exciting breakthrough” would emerge from this year’s workshop. BSA Urban Design Committee Chair Seth Riseman said he hopes the proposals in this year’s design workshop “will find resonance within the community, within the advocacy groups, and within MassDOT itself,” generating“a creative way to do something that we hadn’t necessarily thought of before.” Following Thursday’s workshop, a summary of the proposals, sketches, and design principles will be made available. brie.buchanan@thecrimson.com peter.o’keefe@thecrimson.com
Like The Crimson on Facebook.
The Crimson thecrimson.com
THE HARVARD CRIMSON |
april 19, 1998
Proud to cover Harvard for 146 years and counting.
Keep the old sheet flying.
The Crimson thecrimson.com
Page 4
Page 5
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | april 19, 2018
HKS From Page 1
Kennedy School Students Make Diversity Demands conversation was not taking place elsewhere,” Tolbert wrote. Kennedy School Black Student Union president Akina E. Younge was a course assistant for Muhammad during her first year at the Kennedy School. She said the readings for his class – which included works by black intellectuals and organizers like W.E.B. Du Bois – differed markedly from her Master in Public Policy core classes. “That’s not a content that is woven yet into the MPP core, even though it very easily could be woven into every single part of our MPP core,” Younge said. Younge said when she first came to the Kennedy School, she was struck by the lack of discourse about racial equity issues. “I was very surprised at the lack of conversations about institutional and structural racism at a place like the Kennedy School, where people are going to be making policies for the world,” Younge said. During her first semester at the Kennedy School last fall, Tolbert had a similar experi-
ence. She said many classes failed to thoroughly explore racial disparities. “When we are talking about any kind of policy area – like health policy or economic policy – there should be a conversation on racial disparities, but I also think that there should also be a discussion on how those disparities came about,” Tolbert said. “I don’t really hear a lot of that taking place.” In addition to demanding new courses that explicitly address race and racism, students are pressuring the Kennedy School to amp up recruitment efforts for faculty of color. Only one professor identified as Hispanic or Latinx and only two professors identified as Black or African American, according to a diversity report released by the Kennedy School last October. Younge said this lack of racial representation among faculty is worrying for many reasons, one being that it limits “true pluralistic conversation.”
HGC From Page 1
break From Page 1
Tolbert said while everyone can benefit from a diverse faculty, racial representation among faculty is especially important for students of color. “It’s an opportunity to connect and to build mentoring relationships, or to secure future advocates for the journey ahead,” Tolbert said. The students also took issue with broader diversity efforts among Kennedy School administrators and staff in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Younge said though the administration has supported racial equity efforts in theory, they have not taken sufficient action. “I’ve been here for two years, I haven’t seen any significant results,” Younge said. “I don’t feel like the culture of this place has changed, and where it has changed has been all student-led.” Gail Chalef, a spokesperson for the Kennedy School, declined to comment on the petition and students’ statements.
The latest on student life.
jania.tumey@thecrimson.com
HGC CAMHS Sponsors Creates Self-Care Programs Lobby Group a lso send the statement to the relevant politician who can address the issue. The EAC’s statements will be governed by a platform drafted and approved this spring. Such issues include First Amendment rights, discriminatory policies, subsidized graduate student healthcare and childcare, Title IX issues, and protections for international students. Because the HGC is not a political body, the EAC must tread a fine line when issuing its statements, Tennyson said. “When I say ‘lobbying,’ that word is loaded with the idea that there are interests that are politically motivated. We are very careful to stay clear of that. Our interests pertain exclusively to graduate student life here at Harvard,” he said. “But we want to be very cautious of the fact that we represent students coming from very different backgrounds, very different ideologies.” Menjivar got the idea to create an advocacy committee in 2017 from then-HGC president
Our interests pertain exclusively to graduate student life here at Harvard. Franklin Tennyson HGC Chair of Advocacy
Kevin Tian. She sought help of MIT’s graduate council to create the EAC. “We worked with [them] on being able to see how the equivalent of the EAC at MIT was working and how we could perhaps do better,” Menjivar said. “We borrowed the platform from MIT and presented it to the HGC, and MIT allowed us to use and modify their platform.” Menjivar said she hopes MIT’s graduate council and HGC will work together in the future to release joint statements because such statements have “more reach and more impact.” She said this may happen soon: 2020-2021 academic year. When asked what the EAC could have done over the 20182019 academic year, Menjivar was quick to answer. “For one, DACA,” Menjivar said. “For the amount of students it would have affected at Harvard and how these students felt, we would have been able to support our community,” she added. luke.williams@thecrimson.com
resources and opportunity to care for oneself beyond the ‘I’ll make an appointment at CAMHS,’” Harris said. “And yes, while that is an important dimension - what do you do in between? What do you do on the day to day?” “We can create a shift in this culture where we feel constantly overwhelmed and there’s no time to do these things,” Harris added. “And just taking a little bit of time to do something simple like, you know, watering your budding butterfly plant can be very therapeutic and healing in a lot of ways.” Berastaín said the self-care initiative partially stems from OSAPR’s philosophy of “community engagement” in which the office seeks to not only be a resource, but to integrate itself in the Harvard community. OSAPR tries to fulfill this mission by creating events for students and participating in student-run activities, according to Berastaín. Charlotte K. Zelle, a Divinity School student and OSAPR intern who helped plan the event, said it was important that the office actively engage with students. “I think that this [event] is
an example of how OSAPR has started to be more proactive instead of responsive,” Zelle said. Several College students who attended the Leverett event said they found the event valuable. “At an institution, especially here, I think we forget to take care of ourselves,” Arlesia G. McGowan ’19 said. “We put everything, like our academics and extracurriculars — even though we might enjoy our extracurriculars — we put all of that first and then we get home at the end of the day and we’re tired and we forget to take care of ourselves. ” Attendee Delanya M. Storey ’21 said it is important to deliberately take time to unwind. “I think it’s important because on campus sometimes you can get caught up in like, work and classes and a lot of other things,” Storey said. “So having this event kind of like reminds you like to stay grounded, to care for yourself and do things that make you happy.”
The Crimson @crimsonflyby
michelle.kurilla@thecrimson.com tamar.sarig@thecrimson.com
Proud to cover Harvard for 146 years and counting.
The Crimson @thecrimson
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | April 19, 2019
Page 6
Editorial The Crimson Editorial board
op-ed
Student Voices and House Communities
I
n a recent meeting, the Undergraduate Council voted against a measure that would have issued a formal statement of support for Danu A.K. Mudannayake ’20, a student activist, who has called for Winthrop House Faculty Dean Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr. to step down in the wake of his decision to represent Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Mudannayake, a Crimson Design editor, was involved in an incident with Winthrop House tutors Carl L. and Valencia Miller during which Miller claimed Mudannayake harassed his family without provocation, and Mudannayake claimed Miller took pictures and videos of her while she was eating dinner. The two parties have filed reports with Harvard University Police Department reflecting their opposing accounts of the April 3 confrontation. If the UC won’t stand behind its constituent students in their right to voice their opinions, then we will. This Board stands by the right of students to voice their opinions and free speech of students. Regardless of the nature of the differing opinions, they point to a concerning issue. We are deeply troubled by the state of affairs in Winthrop House. Our concern, as we have opined, began with Sullivan’s decision to take on the role of Weinstein’s attorney, while acting as faculty dean, a choice that made for a questionable House environment for victims of sexual misconduct and assault. Those concerns have been worsened by the perpetuation and heightening of troubling
power dynamics in the House, as relates specifically to student-tutor relations and more broadly to students’ sense of place in a House community. In critiquing the power dynamics in Winthrop House here, we do not claim to know the reality of the conflict in the dining hall two weeks ago. However, the way in which that conflict has played out makes clear that Harvard lacks an adequate procedure for these sorts of grievances outside of going to the police.
If the UC won’t stand behind its constituent students in their right to voice their opinions, then we will. Given that, the University should establish or, if already in place, clarify institutional processes available to students when they may not feel comfortable expressing questions, concerns, or grievances to those figures who have explicit or implied hierarchical and potentially punitive authority over them. Students who choose to speak up should not have to fear retaliation in airing their concerns. Such a process should address and level power dynamics in institutional relationships by providing an impartial evaluative body and framework, much like the Title IX office exists for cases of sexual or gender-based harassment.
We stand behind students who are making their voices heard to fight against these dynamics and this environment as well as those who have felt victimized by it. Moreover, we acknowledge that we are by no means the first to call attention to this issue. Rather, we hope to lift up the words of those around us who have spoken on their behalf, including the deans of other Houses and many of our peers. Last week, Eliot House Faculty Dean Gail A. O’Keefe sent an email to Eliot House denouncing the way in which the Millers have navigated the incident. We laud O’Keefe for standing behind her student and setting a positive example for the broader community. The language the Millers have used to describe and respond to the incident is disturbing at best. As a community, we should continue to encourage students to voice their opinions. Students who speak out in our community — with the intent of and goodfaith actions toward creating a welcoming and inclusive home for all — should feel safe in their ability to do so. 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.
Be a Crimson Cartoonist!
The Crimson @thecrimson Column
University Ethics and the Spirit of Accountability Anwar Omeish The University And Its Discontents
I
n 1980, Cambridge City Hall was draped in purple to mourn the city’s “slow death.” The killer? Harvard land purchases, which, due to Harvard’s tax-exempt status, endangered property tax revenues. As a result, the burden of funding city services — including those benefiting Harvard affiliates — fell on Cambridge’s other, often poorer residents. Today, Harvard owns 10 percent of Cambridge and six percent of Allston, paying a fraction of what would otherwise fund city operations. In this respect, as one union organizer put it, Harvard acts less like a university and more like a hedge fund with a university attached to it. This is true of past and present investments, labor practices, affiliations, and actual behavior as Greater Boston’s neighbors. It is clear to many of us that this relationship between Harvard and surrounding communities — a growing UniverCity — is immoral. Indeed, many agree that we need greater accountability for our impact on communities locally and globally; Harvard, it seems, must be held accountable to something. But to what? And what would that look like? Our motto, for its part, claims communal accountability to truth. University President Lawrence S. Bacow commented on the nature of this accountability at a recent event: He noted that Harvard scholarship on the harms of the prison-industrial complex — i.e. Harvard’s revelation of truth — offsets our moral imperative to divest from that complex — that is, to be held accountable based on truth we reveal. Far from “reasonable,” this is a moral logic distorted by power: We ourselves are not held accountable to values because our role is to produce the very terms within which those values operate. In this way, our truth production operates not as liberatory but as grounds for a state of moral exception in which shedding light is deemed more important than addressing that which light is shed upon. Our pursuit of truth is so sacred, we say, that it cannot be tainted by work toward its own logical conclusions. But whose job is it to hold us to truth, anyway? Theoretically, university ac-
countability is in faculty hands: Tenure grants them independence they subsequently use to steer decision-making responsive to truth’s imperatives. But the last half-century has seen the number of university administrators multiply, limiting faculty purview. Simultaneously, we have realized that those we are taught to trust — faculty, congresspeople, judges — rarely reflect the needs of those marginalized by the power they wield. As a result, we are left with arrogantly vacant self-accountability structures lacking both jurisdiction and perspectival knowledge necessary to their mandate. We, all-knowing, concurrently reveal the truth and hold ourselves accountable to it. This self-accountability pervades campuses, seemingly innocuous. We tailor political programming, for example, to student interest, granting self-gratification precedence over moral discomfort. We deem time commitments “barriers” to public service, creating insignificant service opportunities easier to squeeze into self-centered schedules. We limit our political stances based on donor discomfort, even discomfort borne of their own complicity. Even student-activists sometimes adopt this logic: We argue not in terms of justice, but based on campus opinion — the Harvard community wants x, so administrators should deliver. After all, we think, we produce leaders (and soon-to-be-donors!) here; we must indulge their interests, not hold them accountable to higher values. Our measure of success is not what good we produce in the world; it is, instead, whether we are seen by ourselves (and those we deem peers) as having produced it. Given rampant university corporatization and self-satisfied anointing of ourselves as arbiters of what needs doing in the world, we become lawmaker, judge, and jury of our own actions. This leaves us without answers to the age-old question: Who guards the guardians? The fact is, just like the state, we cannot trust universities to hold themselves accountable — especially as decision-making moves into administrative hands with neither tenure-granted independence nor insight into most-affected constituencies. Instead, to engage the world around us with moral courage, we must build systems that genuinely empower local and otherwise non-Harvard voices in our decision-making. Only
by doing so can we create space for true, rather than self-serving, institutional accountability. During my time here, I have been lucky to glimpse such possibility. Through the Phillips Brooks House Association, I am part of generations of students challenging Harvard to do better not according to self-defined standards, but according to what partner communities want for themselves. Because we are held accountable to these partners through our organizational structures, we hold others at Harvard accountable for community impact, too. That’s a form of leadership that centers non-Harvard voices over Harvard ones — and is stronger for it. PBHA is perhaps unique nationwide (and product of decentralized history rather than institutional design), but other structures suggest similar potential. The Harvard Foundation, for example, despite its significant flaws, had a director with the autonomy to challenge policies that hurt students of color (autonomy that will disappear upon integration into the Dean of Students Office and conversion to administrative leadership). Imagine if the Foundation had used that autonomy to pull stakeholders from communities of color into decision-making bodies that, rather than simply advancing student needs, challenged the University’s impact on marginalized communities worldwide! Imagine if that sort of accountability structure was a resourced, accepted part of campus ecology, part of continual self-review we make possible because our duty toward justice is so great that we cannot entrust it to ourselves alone. If we take our values seriously, we must find ways beyond ourselves to be held accountable for our impact. In pursuit of radical, liberatory universities that serve justice, what might shared ownership and control of universities look like? What might happen if we give those we hurt a stake in decision-making power over us? In confronting ourselves through others’ eyes, what types of institutions might we build — together? —Anwar Omeish ’19 is a Social Studies Concentrator in Lowell House. Her column appears on alternate Fridays.
The Kind of Community We Want to Be By Salma Abdelrahman and Ilana A. Cohen
I
n response to recent events on campus, University President Lawrence S. Bacow has asked the question, “What kind of community do we want to be?” We, as members of the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign and the Fossil Free Divest Harvard Campaign, want Harvard to be a community that has the right relationship with other people and our planet. Both mass incarceration and global climate change reflect a systematic disregard for the wellbeing of our communities and our collective home. We, above all else, are working for a world in which these relationships are healed and balanced — a world in which we are liberated. We recognize that this vision extends beyond Harvard’s endowment. We have seen the destructive forces of racial and climate injustice first-hand in our hometowns and here in Boston. As members of the Harvard community and of communities beyond these walls, we want a Harvard that advances a more just and sustainable future. We want a Harvard that displays the civic leadership it expects from its students. This is why we are asking the administration to honor our commitment to Veritas by divesting from two industries whose aims undermine the principles for which it claims to stand. Over the past few weeks, President Bacow has emphasized the importance of civil discourse. We recognize that real engagement between community members is vital for working towards a better future. However, that engagement must be equitable and honest. The efforts of organizers of color to show the urgency of these issues like mass incarceration, which disproportionately affect black and brown communities, seem to have been interpreted by the administration as hostile or aggressive. This framing has consistently been used nationally and historically to silence people of color, and specifically women of color, speaking honestly to the urgency of issues that destroy lives. This means that “civil” discourse is simply impossible for us to achieve on the president’s terms. We cannot have real civil discourse if the administration refuses to recognize the reality of the violations against people and communities it is perpetuating and the legitimate challenges to its disparate financial and ethical principles. As it stands, conversation around Harvard’s endowment can occur only on the terms of those with the power to manage it. Members of the Harvard community, who are not included in the closed-door meetings of the Harvard Corporation and Harvard Management Company, cannot know the realities of Harvard’s investment portfolio. Without any transparency or public accountability, injustice breeds behind those closed doors and Harvard faces no repercussions for profiting off of the exploitation of individuals, communities, and our planet. We have already seen efforts by the administration to keep those doors closed. Recently, Harvard Management Company scrubbed its website of references to divestment. There is no longer any mention of the ethical reasons to divest or any recognition of Harvard’s past decisions to do so from firms doing business with the apartheid South African government and big tobacco. Harvard’s administration is not only refusing to engage in real dialogue, it is actively working to stifle it. The first step towards real engagement, then, is to publicly disclose Harvard’s investment portfolio. For the time Bacow has been in office, he has ignored our vision of the community we want to be and of the leadership we want Harvard to display. In Fossil Free Divest Harvard’s public forum, he reiterated the same arguments against divestment that have been used since 2012 to justify Harvard’s inertia. Since 2012, the existential threat posed by climate change has only accelerated and over two million incarcerated people have suffered egregious human rights abuses behind bars — abuses off which Harvard continues to profit. Bacow told us that he responds to “reason,” not “pressure.” Yet it seems that even on the plane of “reasonable” discourse he cannot make a substantive contribution to the conversation we are asking to have. If Harvard can engage positively with the fossil fuel and private prison industries to shape a better future as the president contends, where is the evidence of that engagement? If industries predicated on extraction and exploitation can suddenly change their model of business to accommodate our ethical principles, where is the proof? At the public forum, Bacow asked, “What happens the day after we divest?” President Bacow, the answer is that — after celebration, of course, as Chemistry professor James G. Anderson suggested at the forum — we keep working. We are not fooled into thinking that divesting Harvard or just one actor, albeit a very economically and politically powerful one, can alleviate the stains of climate and racial injustice on our world. Divestment is just one step forward in the fight to remove these stains. But it is a step that our community can take, and one we have taken before. Disclosure of Harvard’s endowment holdings is a necessary component in beginning meaningful dialogue around what ethical investment truly means. During Harvard Heat Week, we are inviting our allies around the world to join us in calling for divestment. Yet our call is for Harvard’s administration to do much more than divest: We are calling for them to join us in realizing our vision for a more just and sustainable world and for a Harvard that is a leader in it.
— Salma Abdelrahman ’20 is an African and African American Studies Concentrator in Eliot House, and is a member of the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign. Ilana A. Cohen ’22 is a joint concentrator in Philosophy and Social Studies in Pennypacker Hall, and is a member of Divest Harvard.
ARTS
THE HARVARD CRIMSON | APRIL 19, 2019 | PAGE 7
THEATER
‘Coppélia’ Brings Lightness and Humor to the Stage Once Again ALINE G. DAMAS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER © THE GEORGE BALANCHINE TRUST; PHOTO BY ROSALIE O’CONNOR, COURTESY OF BOSTON BALLET
“Coppélia,” one of the oldest ballet shows, is not an unusual choice for a dance company, but it has been almost six years since the Boston Ballet last performed it. This wait made its return back to the stage all the more exciting and enjoyable for its spring run, from March 21 to 31. Often known as the “sweet ballet,” “Coppélia” gets pushed over in favor of more Romantic ballets like “Giselle” or “La Sylphide” Yet this production stood out through its principals’ strong comic abilities and meticulous footwork. George Balanchine’s flamboyant choreography shone in the hands of capable principals Ji Young Chae and Junxiong Zhao, who put on a splendid performance as Swanilda and Franz, respectively. Based on the fantastical story “Der Sandmann” by German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, “Coppélia” was first turned into a ballet and choreographed in 1870 by Arthur St. Léon, then was restaged in 1884 by the legendary Marius Petipa. Since then the show has remained relatively untouched, until George Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova re-staged the production in 1974. They kept the storylines of Acts One and Two but added new choreography, as well as an entirely new section consisting of a celebratory marriage and a number of village festivities that ultimately lead up to a magnificent finale. “Coppélia” follows Franz, a young man living in an Eastern European village, who unwittingly falls in love with Coppelia, the daughter of the old inventor called Dr. Coppelius (Isaac Akiba). When Franz’s fiancée Swanilda gets wind of his infatuation, she sneaks into Coppelius’ home to investigate her rival, only to find out that Coppelia is not a gorgeous, threatening young woman, but rather a wind up doll. Hoffmann’s original tale is a much darker one involving attempted murder, feverish nightmares, and a more menacing version of Coppelius. However, in ballet form, the story is ultimately more humorous. Chae was particularly winning as Swanilda, giving depth to her character through her sheer earnestness. Characterized by lightness of movement, sharp pirouettes, and incredible stage presence, her solos were particularly noteworthy. With her great attention to her acting and her perfect timing, Chae danced with remarkable musicality and stage presence, making it clear that her full immersion
into the character makes her perfect for the role. Zhao exhibited an equally enchanting stage presence. Like Chae, he leaned into the work’s innate humor, emphasizing his character’s egregious faults to bring out the utter cheekiness and irony. Unfortunately, by Act Three, Zhao’s energy seemed to wane slightly, as his spirit did not quite match up to the first two thirds of the work: Several of his turns devolved into slightly unstable landings and weaker jumps. Still, he managed to recover in time to join the rest of the cast for a truly spectacular ending, almost allowing one to forget about some of his more lackluster jumps in his previous dances. Overall, the other soloists also impressed with their spot-on acting. With his over-the-top pantomime, Akiba deservedly drew most of the laughs. He played Coppelius’ curmudgeonly behavior so well it was easy to forget the dancer’s youthfulness. With her stateliness and strength, Lia Cirio made an excellent War & Discord. Though this part of the performance — the Hellenic masque involving a dancing phalanx of warriors — felt incredibly artificial due to flimsy costumes and the scene’s expendability, one cannot help but overlook this artificiality in the face of the scene’s perfect formations and synchronization, and its dancers obvious excitement. It gave a corny, borderlineridiculous plotline surprising value. The Boston Ballet’s orchestra also excelled under the strong leadership of its relatively new music director Mischa Santora. Continually marked by its accuracy and virtuosity, the orchestra could not help but shine with their rich, warm tone. Their first couple of notes during the opening overture soared gloriously, imbuing the entire theater with a grandness and magnificence that the performance deserved. It seems that with this season, the Boston Ballet cannot do any wrong. From their incredible take on more contemporary works to this classical ballet, they have effectively displayed their versatility. Staff writer Aline G. Damas can be reached at aline.damas@thecrimson.com
CAMPUS
The Art of Vacant Storefronts AMELIA F. ROTH-DISHY CRIMSON STAFF WRITER After receiving 400 submissions of artwork and choosing 13 finalists, the Cambridge Community Development Department has announced the five winning submissions of the Vacant Storefront Creative Design Contest. The winners were voted on by the Cantabrigian public. Owners of vacant properties may now request a large-scale print of any of the five designs, all of which are works by local Cambridge artists, to display in their windows. The design contest, announced back in January, invited local artists to submit two-dimensional images that would hang in the windows of vacant storefronts in Cambridge. The project, spearheaded by the Cambridge Arts Council and the Cambridge Economic Development Division, aims to curb the detrimental effects of vacancies on the public environment. “This type of partnership with economic development and local businesses really gives us an opportunity to, in a very effective and high-profile way, make sure that artists are part of how we experience retail districts,” Jason Weeks, Director of the Cambridge Arts Council, said. “It was really about the community, interpreted by the community, on all levels,” he added. The design contest is part of a larger effort by the Cambridge Community Development Department to minimize potential negative economic impacts of street-level vacancies. The Department created a retail strategy plan in 2017, which spurred a vacant storefront study that was released last year. A database of retail vacancies in Cambridge is now available online. “Obviously [vacancies] affect street-level continuity, because if you’re walking along, the quality of your experience is impacted,” Lisa Hemmerle, Economic Development Director at the Community Development Department, said. “We’re really identifying best practices from other cities, whether it be artwork in the space, or pop-up stores in the space.” This research has led to a sustained dialogue between Cambridge Economic Development and the Cambridge Arts Council. “We’ve long partnered with them to think about how to activate some of these spaces in the short term,” Weeks said. “This project kind of came out of those conversations.” The ability for property owners to request prints of the selected pieces mitigates some of the challenges that arise from using original artwork and artist pop-ups to fill vacancies. “The constraints for property owners is that they don’t want to put real artwork in the store for insurance and liability issues,” Hemmerle said. “So we thought through this process of promoting our own city artists […] and if we are able to put the media on our website, and award it to certain artists, and the
property owners can download it and display it as prescribed.” “[The owners] may not want to occupy the space with longterm durable hard objects, because they need it show-ready,” Weeks said. “The artist’s work in this case will be right on the windows, at that human scale, that you’ll see as you pass by.” Many store owners whose properties are surrounded by vacancies have said that they are looking forward to the initiative. They also acknowledge, however, that it’s a temporary fix to a systemic local issue of rising rents and business turnover. “I think it’s a dramatic improvement over brown paper covering those windows,” Randy Ricker, owner of Brattle Square Florist, said. “Do I think it will change the business dynamic of the area? I don’t think so,” he added. Andy Farrar, who works at Moleskine on Brattle Street, was more hopeful. “It probably, ideally will bring more people and have them keep walking,” Farrar said. “I know right now, a lot of people just stop at that corner and they don’t really continue,” they added, referring to the corner of Brattle Street and Eliot Street, which currently contains two adjacent vacancies. According to the January-February 2019 Cambridge Ground Floor Vacancy database released by the Cambridge Community Development Department, 14 of the 50 vacancies in Cambridge are in the Harvard Square neighborhood. “Coming over here now, like, this is Harvard Square, seeing all these vacancies, it’s pretty disappointing,” Claude Jeudy, another employee at Moleskine, said. So far, however, there are signs that the design contest will bring some much-needed cohesion to Cambridge streets. “A variety of property owners across the city that have expressed interest and a few have begun to commission the prints. We expect the first round of images will be up around Cambridge in the upcoming weeks,” Pardis Saffari, a senior manager at the Economic Development division, wrote in an email. Members of the local arts community received the initial call for submissions through the Cambridge Arts Council newsletter when the project was announced. The winning pieces utilize a variety of media, from photography to landscape painting. Deidre L. Tao, a Central Square-based artist whose work was selected as one of the five winners, was excited to hear about the initiative. “I think it’s a really positive solution,” she said. “I love the idea of utilizing two-dimensional art as a way to help revitalize some of these spaces.” “I submitted a few pieces that I thought were relevant to Cambridge,” Judith Motzkin, whose artwork was also selected, said. Motzkin has long been embedded in the local art
scene and she founded the Open Studios program, now run by the Cambridge Arts Council. Shane Taremi, another contest winner, also submitted work that he intended to evoke the city of Cambridge. “This unreal reality series that I created combines architectural elements from the particular city with the inhabitants of the city,” he said. “Having local residents from Cambridge and Boston seeing in a vacant storefront a photo of what they were really walking amongst, I thought it would make sense for the design contest and what they were trying to do.” After an internal committee winnowed down the many submission to 13 semi-finalists, the artists were notified that their pieces had advanced to a public vote. “I didn’t do too much for getting people to vote for my piece — posted it on Facebook and asked some friends,” Motzkin said. “I was able to say to all my people, on Instagram and on my newsletter, vote for me!” Tao said. “It was neat that it was both private jurors and then allowed for the public to vote.” In exchange for beautifying vacant storefronts with their work, the selected artists will receive on-the-ground publicity and an increased stake in the local arts community. “They had a $1,000 stipend, and I’m going to using that to actually rent a space for a Friday night or something to show the exhibition, so it’s almost feeding itself,” Taremi said. “I would love to see it printed on a translucent medium,” Motzkin said of her selected piece, calling the layered photographic work an exploration of “nature plus.” “It’s a mystery to me how that process will unfold,” she added. On the future of the project, both the artists and city employees involved expressed hope that it would continue as long as necessary. “For this, my images can be used for up to two years,” Tao said. The collaboration between Cambridge Arts Council and the Economic Development Division will also continue to drive the project. “As we move into the second year, we’ll find things that worked or didn’t work,” Hemmerle said. Weeks echoed this commitment to finding best practices. “We’ll continue to be partners throughout,” he said. “As we move into the second year, we’ll find things that worked or didn’t work,” Hemmerle said. Weeks echoed this commitment to finding best practices. “We’ll continue to be partners throughout,” he said. Staff Writer Amelia F. Roth-Dishy can be reached at amelia. roth-dishy@thecrimson.com.
Sports
Weekly Recap
SCORES
Baseball vs. umass L, 9, 10 ___________________________________________________________
woMen’s rugby vs. dartmouth w, 22, 17 ___________________________________________________________
softball Vs. dartmouth w, 4, 3 ___________________________________________________________
men’s volleyball Vs. George mason l, 0, 3 ___________________________________________________________
women’s tennis vs. brown w, 4, 3 ___________________________________________________________
women’s lacrosse vs. Princeton L, 12, 14 ___________________________________________________________
men’s heavyweight crew vs. brown w ___________________________________________________________
SOFTBALL
Coach Jenny Allard: Commander of Soldiers Field By james joyce Crimson Staff Writer
Jenny Allard was about to take a leap of faith. This is the right thing to do. Computer monitor on and new email open, she took her position in front of the keyboard. I’m just being honest. She began to type. I’m not pushing an agenda – I’m just telling them what’s happening. For the first time, but certainly not the last, in her lengthy and lucrative tenure as Harvard’s head softball coach, Jenny Allard was moments away from making history. ***** It was the summer of ’97 – think pre-scandal Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods’ first (and counting!) Masters victory, and Mike Tyson biting that dude’s ear off. Jenny Allard, a 28 year-old former star pitcher for the Michigan Wolverines, had come to Harvard’s campus two years prior, first as the school’s first full-time head softball coach and then as an on-campus freshman proctor. On the softball side of things, Allard was establishing her dominance in the world of Ivy League coaching – though she inherited a team that had not earned a winning record in the Ivies since 1989, she had already led the squad to two second-place Ancient Eight finishes. But as a proctor, Allard faced a predicament. “I really loved proctoring, but my partner was on the West Coast, and we had decided that it was time for her to move in with me and take it to the next step of our relationship,” Allard said. “At that time, gay marriage wasn’t legal in [Massachusetts], but I didn’t want to give up proctoring. The only way I could really do that was to be honest. So I went to the Freshman Dean’s Office, and they were unbelievably supportive. They had a gay couple working in one of the dorms already, so when I asked if it would be okay [for my partner] to move in, they said yes.” On the proctoring side of things, Allard was all set – but as a coach, she was left with a problem. “The question remained: what do I do in terms of my team?” Allard said. “At the time, coaches would still hide their partners and not be open, but I thought, ‘Well, she’s gonna be living on campus with me so we’re gonna be very visible.’ I’ve always wanted an honest relationship with my players, so I decided that I needed to tell them – I just wanted them to know who this person [was] and not lie about it.” By coming out to her team, Allard was about to take a historic step in the world of college sports. At the time, the number of openly gay coaches could be counted on one hand – however, Allard’s question of what to say turned into a dilemma of how to say it. Because these events were unfolding over the summer, members of the Crimson softball team were not on campus. However, Allard wanted her squad to “hear all the information at once.” “What I did was just craft a really nice email to let them know,” Allard said. “Then, they could process the information and react in their own way – there was no expectation of how they should or shouldn’t react to it. I just sent them the email in a leap of faith. I remember doing it and thinking ‘This is the right thing to do, I’m just being honest, I’m not pushing an agenda, this is just what’s happening.’” As Allard would soon find out, her leap of faith would pay off. “It was really well-received – I was shocked,” Allard said. “One of the players wrote back ‘Congratulations, we’re so happy for you!’ and I was like ‘Is this real? This is amazing!’ It gave me a lot faith in the next generation for how things could change and develop.” Come next softball season, things went on as normal for the
Harvard softball team, with one small caveat. Instead of “hiding out in the outfield” and avoiding the players, as partners of gay coaches tended to do at time, Allard’s partner became part of the team – a revolutionary step in the world of college coaching. “In that way,” said Allard, “she became part of that Harvard softball community I worked so hard to create.” The members of Allard’s first teams affirmed this sentiment. Jennifer Manabat, then Jenny Franzese, captain of the ’98 Crimson, spoke to the natural flow that came with the addition of Allard’s partner. “I don’t remember [her] email specifically, but I do remember that her partner would come to our games and take part in team activities,” Manabat said. “She was always there helping out and supporting us – everything just flowed very naturally.” For Coach Allard, this seamless transition was a victory: the first in a series of many. ***** Though Jenny Allard describes her relationship with her team as primarily centered around honesty, collaboration certainly comes in at a close second. “[Allard] was a very handson coach and was always doing stuff with us,” Manabat said. “We’d do team building activities and go on runs together – we had a lot of early morning practices where[…] we’d play Ultimate Frisbee or go to the squash courts for a little bit before we started practice. She was always thinking outside of the box, and we didn’t have to be rigid in what we did. It felt like she was an older version of one of us, just as a leader and coach.” Manabat credits Allard with taking the time to learn how Harvard’s softball team operated, rather than simply jumping in and imposing her own coaching methods upon the program. By doing this, Manabat said, Allard was able to create a culture of trust and sisterhood – with, of course, the prospect of winning an Ivy League title looming in the background. “I was the first full-time head coach of the program, as they had only had a part-time coach in the past,” Allard said. “I was very young – I had just turned twenty-six – and I just remember how much potential I thought this program had to grow and develop. When I asked what [the athletic department’s] goal was, it was to not only win an Ivy League title, but to consistently be on top of the conference and always have that shot to win down the stretch.” That goal, of always being in the mix and shooting for the title cup, is what drove Allard’s coaching practices. “What guided my philosophy on the program was that we’re not going to win an Ivy League title every year. No matter how hard you work and no matter how much effort you put in, there are always things out of your control. But what you can control is that culture of being in the mix every year for the Ivy League title – and you may or may not win. Many times, it comes down to one hit or one out, so I just always operated under that philosophy of doing the best we can.” As it turns out, the “best Allard could do” wasn’t too shabby – with seven Ivy League titles to her name, she is both the longest-tenured and winningest coach in Ancient Eight softball. When asked to name her greatest moment as a coach, Allard claimed that it was impossible to choose just one (she went on to list four); however, the first triumph she mentioned brought her back to where it all began. “Obviously one of the greatest moments was to finally win our first Ivy League title,” Allard said. “Most of these ‘great moments’ culminated in years of work – that ‘98 [victory] was a sum of years of work by players that elevated the program, wanting to compete at that
LEADING THE WAY Head Coach Jenny Allard earned her 300th Ivy League victory this month, making her the most winningest coach in Ivy League Softball history. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
championship level. There was just so much hard work that prior teams put into that ’98 win, so that was a huge moment for us.” “We had the best year ever. I hope it continues in the future, and I think it will,” Manabat said of that victory in an 1998 Crimson article. “The returning players know what it takes, and they have what it takes.” Manabat was more than correct. That ’98 squad set the tone for the rest of Allard’s ongoing career, with additional Ivy League victories in 2000, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2012, and 2018. However, those years aren’t simply wins – to Allard, each of those dates comes with a story. “Another great moment was in 2012, when we not only won an Ivy League title but went on a ride at Regionals, beating Texas Tech and Maryland,” Allard said. “The ’12 team was one of those storied teams in Harvard history to get into a regional final and pull off two postseason wins against teams ranked higher than them. I think that was a great moment for me because it also marked the oneyear anniversary of my dad’s death, so it was a real emotional weekend, and for the team to do that well is something I’ll never forget.” Another Allard story comes from the squad’s 2007 victory – but this time, her anecdote
comes from off the field, rather than on. “Another great moment was when our captain of the 2007 team, Julia Kidder, got married at Harvard,” Allard said. “The reception was in downtown Boston and she invited every single one of her teammates that she every played with at Harvard. I remember being at that wedding and I remember that all of those players came. Every single one. One came from Japan, where she was teaching English, but she came all the way from Japan because she wasn’t going to miss that wedding. In that moment, I realized how powerful those relationships between teammates are; that was just a spectacular moment.” To Allard, it’s those bonds formed between team members, rather than technical adjustments and on-the-diamond successes, that her players will be left with after their time at Harvard. Though she may be right, the sense of camaraderie that Allard has facilitated between members of her squad has certainly led to its fair share of game-time achievements – take Allard’s 300th Ivy League win just a few weekends ago. “Just the actual game felt great,” said Allard of that milestone. “Columbia was playing very strong, but we came out
in such an aggressive fashion. [The game] felt great, and that’s what I was focused on – but then, all of a sudden, it was the 300th win, which was also such a great way to celebrate such a memorable win.” The gravity of that moment was not lost by the women of Harvard’s softball squad, who took it upon themselves to plan a surprise celebration for their coach. “They had a surprise reception on the Sunday after the series against Columbia,” Allard said. “Parents came, players came, staff and alums that were local came. They put together a video of a lot of alums saying congratulations, so that was really sweet.” For Allard, that 300th Ivy League win was simply one more victory in this season’s journey to postseason success. Currently, the crusaders in crimson sit atop the Ancient Eight, holding a 9-3 conference record. Allard admits that the team struggled during early out-of-conference play, but are starting to find their groove as they take on their Ivy League opponents. As the coach of such a closely-knit team, one that seems poised to continue to build upon recent successes, it’s easy to see why Allard has remained in her position for twenty-five years.
“It’s simple,” said Allard of her motivation to coach. “I love what I do and I’m passionate about the game. I really like the values of the Harvard athletic department and I just love the women I get to coach. They work so hard, they’re bright, they’re smart, they’re motivated, and they’re just a joy to work with every day. To get up and work with them and work through the challenges they bring me as a coach – it’s just a great privilege.” Compared to its pre-Allard counterpart, the Harvard softball program of today is unrecognizable. With seven Ancient Eight titles, five NCAA tournament appearances, and seven Ivy League Players of the Year, the Crimson boast an exceptional repertoire of accolades – and they owe it all to Jenny Allard, the commander of Soldiers Field. Harvard softball fans can rest easy knowing that the program’s future lies in the hands of Coach Allard, a leader whose path, if history has its way, will be full of many more post-milestone celebrations. After all, Jenny Allard is a history-maker, her life littered with moments that tell of the remarkable career of a revolutionary woman. james.joyce@thecrimson.com