The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 68

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI No. 68 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Wednesday, May 8, 2019

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Sports PAGE 6

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We support divestment from fossil fuels.

Baseball Wins first Ivy League Championship since 2005

Track and Field competes at Heptagonal Championships

Shopping Week HMC Officer Debates Divest Activists To Stay For Now By alexandra a. chaidez Crimson Staff Writer

By Jonah s. berger and molly c. mccafferty Crimson Staff Writers

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to keep the Harvard scheduling quirk known as “shopping week” until at least 2022 at its final meeting of the semester Tuesday.

The Faculty also sparred over and ultimately approved a proposed Quantitative Reasoning with Data requirement for the General Education program. Students beginning with the Class of 2023 must now take a class that allows them to “think critically about data.”

The approval of Tuesday’s course registration legislation marks the end of a months-long debate over the fate of shopping week, a period at the beginning of the semester during which students sample classes before enrolling. Though some faculty and graduate students have said shopping week leaves teaching assignments uncertain, student leaders have praised the flexibility it offers undergraduates.

The legislation will establish a ­

new standing committee tasked with creating algorithms to predict course enrollments, proposing improvements to shopping week, and coordinating course lotteries. If the committee favors abolishing shopping week, it could deliver a proposal to scrap it to the Faculty in spring 2022.

German Professor Peter J. Burgard asked at the meeting for assurance that the language in the proposal would leave open the possibility of retaining shopping week in its current form.

“I’m wondering whether this legislation, intentionally or unintentionally, turns this into a one-way street towards the abolition of shopping week,” he said. “I want to be assured that it doesn’t.”

Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda J. Claybaugh — who presented the proposal — said in response that studying the issue is “critical,” despite the pushback she has received from some colleagues, and that

See Shopping Page 5

Harvard Management Company Chief Compliance Officer Kathryn I. Murtagh spoke about Harvard’s investment policies Monday at a panel that also featured students and faculty calling for the University to divest from companies with ties to the prison and fossil fuel industry.

Activists from Divest Harvard and the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign — groups opposed to fossil fuel investments and prison system investments respectively — participated alongside Murtagh in the event, which was billed as a debate. Executives from HMC, the University’s investment arm which manages Harvard’s $39.2 billion endowment, rarely make appearances on campus.

At Monday’s discussion, Murtagh — who manages sustainable investments for HMC — defended Harvard’s decision to maintain its status as a shareholder and “active owner” of a variety of assets. She said that being a shareholder provides the opportunity for investors like Harvard to engage in “formal dialogue” with companies’ management about sustainabil-

A panel on divestment, which included a Harvard Management Company executive, discussed divestment and compliance. mi a b. frothingham—Crimson photographer

ity issues.

“Active ownership, engagement, advocacy, stewardship — these are all tools that institutional investors can leverage to drive corporate change,” Murtagh said.

Murtagh referenced HMC’s decision in January 2019 to join

a methane emissions reduction working group. The working group specifically calls on companies to manage, report, and reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas and pollutant associated with natural gas.

Murtagh said that since the working group’s inception in

2017, Exxon Mobil has publicly supported the need for strong methane policy in formal comments to the Environmental Protection Agency in 2018.

“Stewardship engagement work[s],” Murtagh said. “It

See Hmc Page 3

Affirmative Action Can Limit Dean Says Harvard College Influence of Money Says Dean Looking to Limit Spending By joshua s. archibald

By shera s. avi-yonah and delano r. franklin

Crimson Staff Writer

­ raduate School of Education G Dean Bridget Terry Long said in a Tuesday interview that while money and other advantages skew access to higher education in the United States, research conducted at the Ed school may help alleviate its effects.

Long said the reveal of the national college admissions scandal in March, implicating top universities including Yale and Stanford, seemed shocking to the public because it was an example of how extreme wealth can lead to advantages and abuse of the college admission system.

“Hard work is supposed to pay off; you’re not supposed to cheat,” Long said.

Long, who researched college financial accessibility before becoming dean in July 2018, said differences in financial resources can widely affect students’ educational opportunities: Lower-income students cannot afford tutoring, test preparation, writing help,

See long Page 3

Crimson Staff Writers

Dean Bridget Terry Long is the 12th Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. melissa w. kwan—Crimson photographer

­ arvard College is exploring H ways to limit spending in preparation for a future fiscal downturn more than ten years after the 2008 financial crisis hit the University, College Dean for Administration Sheila C. Thimba said in an April 30 interview.

“I think we’re all concerned about a recession,” Thimba said.

“And so we’re all concerned about being very judicious about costs and thinking really carefully about cost growth even outside of a recession.”

Thimba said the College is looking into limiting the amount of student programming it puts on in order to reduce its overall spending.

“One of the things I’m always eager to hear from students are ideas about how we can program less,” she said. “There’s ten things happening on any given night, and you can’t figure out which one to go to, because you’ve got five that you really want to go to. So we’re sort of cannibalizing ourselves in terms of your attention and in-

terest. And that isn’t costless, right? It costs staff time. It costs bagels and cookies, or whatever it is we’re putting out.”

Thimba’s statements come months after University President Lawrence S. Bacow said he is examining the University’s finances more broadly in anticipation of an economic slowdown. At the time, he said he had asked each of Harvard’s schools to conduct “scenario planning” for how they would respond to a fiscal crisis.

Former University President Drew G. Faust began her tenure just as Harvard’s endowment plunged $11 billion in value during the 2008 recession.

In response, the University axed hot breakfast in the 12 upperclassmen Houses, delayed the start of its eventually record-breaking capital campaign, and froze faculty salaries and hiring. In 2016, the endowment shrank by almost $2 billion.

The College’s finances are particularly responsive to the national economy because thirty percent of the College’s $60 million budget comes from Harvard’s nearly $40 billion en-

dowment. The College’s revenue is a subset of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’, 51 percent of which was derived from the University’s endowment in fiscal year 2018.

Over the past three years Harvard’s endowment returned to and then surpassed its pre-crisis size, though endowment returns still lag behind those at other Ivy League schools. Harvard Management Company, which oversees the endowment, has continued to report lower percentage growth than every other Ivy League school.

Thimba said donations to the College also make up a substantial portion of its revenue, though they are inconsistent and require College administrators to continually seek out new gifts.

She also said the College often sees a flurry of donations after the appointment of new deans. Because Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana took the post nearly five years ago, administrators may need to seek out new revenue sources if some

See college Page 5

Arboretum Installs Over 1,000 Solar Panels By juliet e. isselbacher Crimson Staff Writer

Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum is undertaking an ambitious sustainability initiative to install more than 1,000 solar panels near the Weld Hill Research Building, which houses affiliated scientists who conduct work in plant biology.

Established in 1872, the Arboretum is simultaneously a research institution and a public park. The Weld Hill Research Building stands just outside the Arboretum’s living collection.

The solar panels are part of the Weld Hill Solar Project, which nears completion this coming fall, and is projected to produce more than 25 percent of the total energy used at the Research Building.

Steven Schneider, director of operations at the Arboretum, said the system will feature bat­

Inside this issue

Harvard Today 2

tery storage, taking stress off the electrical grid at times of peak energy usage.

“It helps on those 90 degree days when everybody’s running their air conditioners, and so the demand for electricity goes way up,” Schneider said.

The rechargeable batteries “cost a small fortune,” bringing the project’s total cost up to “a couple million,” Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Arboretum William Friedman said.

Friedman also said Harvard has lent funds for the project at a zero percent interest rate. He said he expects the Arboretum to pay back the University within 10 years.

“I’m not trying to tell you everything’s perfect with Harvard, but what’s been great is that they put cash on the table,”

See Solar Page 5

News 3

Editorial 4

The Arnold Arboretum is in the process of installing new solar panels to generate energy as part of their mission to lower their carbon footprint. kathryn s. kuhar—Crimson photographer

Sports 6

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MAY 8, 2019

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Harvard today

For Lunch Japchae Beef Bulgogi Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sub Spicy Tofu with Green Beans

For Dinner Arugla, Goat Cheese, and Bacon Multigrain Pizza Red’s Best Catch Wild Mushroom Ravioli

Today’s Events Israel Story Live Show Smith Campus Center 7:30-9:30 p.m Join Harvard Hillel in the Smith Campus Center tonight to hear a live showing of Israel’s hit podcast “Israel Story.” The podcast will be accompanied by a live Israeli band and visuals from artist Hinoch Piven.

Carnival Hosted by the Waltham Lions Club 5-10 p.m.

This carnival is in Waltham, so it’s a little out of the way, but it’s the last day of reading period! Why not live it up by grabbing some friends and celebrating with food and rides as a final hurrah?

Tickets are $30 for unlimited rides.

in The Real World Recently Uncovered Tax Information Reveals Some of Trump’s Past Financial Losses

A New York Times investigation of President Donald Trump’s tax information from 1985-1994 Trump had numerous losses in his core businesses.

A lawyer for the president stated that the tax information that the New York Times obtained was “demonstrably false.”

One Dead, Eight Injured in Denver School Shooting Crabapple trees, which are part of the Arnold Arboretum ‘s collections, bloom on a sunny May day. KATHRYN S. KUHAR — Crimson photographer

At around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, a shooting at STEM Schools Highland Ranch left one student dead and eight students injured. Two suspects, believed to be students at the school, have been taken into custody.

Fears of Trade War Between U.S. and China Cause Stock Sell-off

Daily Briefing The Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday to keep shopping week, the scheduling quirk that allows students to try out classes before officially enrolling, until at least 2022. The Faculty had previously debated whether it should eliminate shopping week due to concerns that it led to last-minute teaching fellow assignments and cut into instruction time. In other news, Harvard Management Chief Compliance Officer Kathryn I. Murtagh spoke about Harvard’s investment policies at a panel that featured several divestment activists.

Stocks took a hit on Tuesday due to worries surrounding a trade war between the United States and China. Analysts are specifically concerned that the Trump administration’s implementation of higher tariffs could harm global growth.

Around the Ivies princeton

Dozens of Princeton students participated in a sit-in Tuesday to demand changes to the university’s Title IX policies, according to The Daily Princetonian. The sit-in is the latest in a series of protests this month over Princeton’s Title IX policies, including graffiti found reading “Title IX protects rapists.” Protestors began gathering outside Nassau Hall — the administrative offices of Princeton’s president — at 10 a.m. and plan to remain there “until the University addresses the demands of the student body for Title IX reform,” according to Facebook post for the event.

Cornell

Cornell loans and private loans have increased 516 percent and 78 percent, respectively, from the “lows of last decade,” as reported in The Cornell Daily Sun. In 2008, Cornell utilized a new financial aid initiative to decrease student loans — $15 million among 923 borrowers in 2009 to $9.74 million among 555 borrowers in 2011. Despite this effort, Cornell announced in 2012 that it was scaling back its financial aid. As a result, students were forced to take out more loans.

Brown

At a faculty meeting Tuesday, Brown University faculty members discussed replacing their Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies with a new committee that would have broader responsibilities, according to The Brown Daily Herald. Members of Brown Divest have taken issue with the proposed change, writing that the new committee would be “ineffectual” and complicate their discussions on divestment. The new committee would “specifically (identify) issues related to social responsibility with regard to the endowment, business practices, labor issues, gift acceptance and other related matters,” according to the proposed motion.

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Associate Managing Editor Jamie D. Halper ’20

Arts Chairs Kaylee S. Kim ’20 Caroline A. Tsai ’20

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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 Editor Amir Mamdani ’21

Corrections The May 6 article “Scholars Call Brazil to Fund Disciplines” incorrectly stated Baum is currently doing research in Brazil. In fact, Torres is doing research in Brazil.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | May 8, 2019

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HMC Compliance Chief Disputes Divestment

Dean Long Discusses Affirmative Action, Money

does, but it takes patience and it takes time.”

This event comes as activists on Harvard’s campus have escalated calls for divestment from the fossil fuel and prison industry. Both fossil fuel and prison divestment advocates have rallied in Harvard Yard and released petitions that have garnered wide-support from Harvard affiliates.

University President Lawrence S. Bacow has maintained the University’s long-standing position against divestment.

He has repeatedly said the endowment should not be used as a mechanism for social change and that the University, rather than divesting, should engage with the fossil fuel and prison industries through its scholarship and shareholder status.

Representatives from Divest Harvard and HPDC reiterated many of their demands Monday and called on Murtagh to directly respond to their concerns about Harvard’s investment policies.

Divest Harvard member Eve Driver ’20 questioned the effec­

tiveness of Harvard’s policy of engaging with fossil fuel companies.

“Harvard’s shareholder status means that it wants to see these fossil fuel companies continue to profit,” Driver said. “Doesn’t this radically constrain capacity to ever push these companies to prioritize a shift toward renewable energy over profit?”

HPDC organizer and Law School student Amber A. James ’11 called Harvard an institutional investor that profits from the injustices of the prison industry, including poor healthcare, high commissary prices, and expensive telephone calls.

“To be clear, in case you haven’t picked it up from my comments thus far, there is no way to invest responsibly in companies that profit from human caging,” James said.

In response, University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain said Bacow has offered to organize a meeting between the Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility and the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign — an invitation to

which he said HPDC has not responded.

The CCSR met with members from the fossil fuel divestment group in 2016. Bacow has met with members of both the fossil fuel and prison divestment groups several times in the past year.

When asked to respond to activists’ comments, Murtagh referred to the Corporation’s jurisdiction to make investment policy.

The CCSR is comprised of members of the Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing body that sets investment policies.

“I think it might be an important comment to know is that the University does reserve the right to divest, the decision to divest lies with the Corporation,” Murtagh said. “It doesn’t lie with the Harvard Management Company. What the Harvard Management Company is charged with is being an active owner and a good steward to the investments that we do have in the portfolio.” alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com

or the tuition at schools with the resources to offer students high-quality academic and college admissions advice. Long said affirmative action and other holistic admissions processes can be helpful in avoiding abuses like those at the colleges affected by the scandal.

“This also goes hand in hand with the discussions about affirmative action, the discussions about outreach and financial aid; that students are not one dimensional, that everything is not a test score, and that we have to take into account multiple measures and what they’re going to contribute to a community,” Long said. Her comments come as the College awaits a decision in a years-long lawsuit alleging that its admissions policies discriminate against Asian American applicants. The lawsuit was brought by anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions and could have nation-wide implications for the future of the admissions practice. She said that researching ways to create equal opportunity and counter the influence of money in admissions is ­

part of the Graduate School of Education’s broader mission to improve the educational experiences of students from a variety of backgrounds. “Money

Hard work is supposed to pay off; you’re not supposed to cheat Bridget Terry Long Dean of the Graduate School of Education

and unfair advantages and preferences play out throughout American society in very, very unfair ways for low income people,” Long said. In particular, she pointed to programs at the Graduate School of Education that partner with Boston-area schools and provide low-income students with some of the resources they lack. She said individual faculty projects, including some of her own, work toward this goal, but could be better coordinated to have a greater impact.

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“I’ve done some fairly large projects within the Boston Public Schools, helping families with college savings and financial aid forms and other things like that,” Long said. Long said that solutions to access inequities in the education system will take years to fix and must start early. “In education, you know, there’s some things we talked about, well, you know, over the course of five, 10 years, we, you know, we can do X, Y, and Z,” Long said. “I think a lot about well, what about the five year old that’s just starting kindergarten right now? There’s an urgency to this as well.” Current problems with the education system are not unsolvable, though, Long said. She said various colleagues’ research can be useful in developing solutions, and that as dean it is her job to “elevate” that work and be their “biggest cheerleader.”

“I’ve seen my role as dean has been to be the optimist, and to give some hope that while these are big, difficult problems, they do have solutions,” Long said. joshua.archibald@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | May 8, 2019

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Editorial The Crimson Editorial board

op-ed

In Support of Fossil Fuel Divestment

Our Roots Keep Us Grounded

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ast month, students and other community members gathered in Tercentenary Theatre to ask Harvard to divest its holdings from fossil fuel companies. Cambridge Mayor Marc C. McGovern endorsed these activists, joining them in calling for divestment.

The event served as the culmination of Heat Week — a series of intense on-campus events centered on climate change — which has brought concerns about Harvard’s investment in fossil fuels to a fever pitch. As conversation intensifies around this movement, this Board feels compelled to reconsider our long-standing stance on divestment.

For a long time, we have staunchly opposed divestment as a practice. We’ve argued it just isn’t practical: It won’t really affect the market; it won’t reverse climate change; it will hurt our endowment.

In lieu of divestment, we have noted the necessity of scholarship to combat climate change and its effects.

We have called on the University to use its investments to continue working with fossil fuel companies toward a more sustainable future. And we have envisioned a future where fossil fuels are simply a bad investment. And while we have not supported divestment as a practical measure, we have acknowledged its symbolism.

But in an era in which climate change is more rampant, more destructive, and more visible than ever — not to mention the attacks on its scientific reality — we realize that we can no longer view an endowment with investments in fossil fuels as an economically sensible future. Listening to our peers and reflecting on our values as a Board has led us to conclude that our past perspectives have become increasingly dated — not because they were misguided — but because symbols matter, and the endowment is a symbol of Harvard’s values.

Divest Harvard activists have called for the University to honor three requests: disclose, divest, and reinvest. We support these demands.

Disclosure is not unprecedented: Last month, after intense pressure, University President Lawrence S. Bacow disclosed that Harvard’s private investment

in companies tied to the prison industry totalled $18,000.

We commend Bacow for this act of transparency, as well as the work of protesters who pushed Bacow to disclose the figure. As we have often opined, administrative transparency is incredibly important. But transparency is necessarily an ongoing process. The next step toward a more responsible and ethical investment practice is for the University to fully disclose its fossil fuel investments.

We believe divestment is, first and foremost, a moral issue. Our University’s investment practices reflect its values. Harvard’s current argument that its endowment is apolitical belies its past investment choices. The University’s stance on fossil fuel divestment compromises its efforts to position itself as an academic institution at the forefront of the fight against climate change.

Divest Harvard activists have called for the University to honor three requests: disclose, divest, and reinvest. We support these demands.

Harvard’s endowment was arguably political when the University decided to divest from the tobacco industry in the 1990s. It was similarly political when Harvard, regrettably, decided to only partially divest from companies doing business in apartheid South Africa.

We hope that Harvard does not make the same mistake on the front of climate change. Simply put, we should not allow our educations to be funded by the destruction of the environment and degradation of human life, particularly those who are already systematically disadvantaged.

But just because we see divestment as a moral and symbolic issue does not discount the practical effects such action has begun to have. Since our earliest discussions on the topic, the divest movement has gained speed and has been cited as a reason for fossil fuel company bankruptcy. Over a year ago, Har-

vard published its plan to become fossil fuel-neutral by 2026 and fossil fuel-free by 2050. In so doing, the University has not only deemed the elimination of fossil fuels as something worth aspiring towards but also identified a realistic path to achieve that goal. In short, Harvard has done its research, and it has thrown its resources and symbolic leadership behind a fossil fuel-free future.

But the University cannot absolve itself of the emissions enabled by its investments; these, too, constitute a real portion of its carbon footprint. Any effort to go fossil fuel-free must take this fact into account. Fossil fuels pose an existential threat to humanity and our planet, one which particularly threatens communities of color and other disadvantaged groups. As such, we do not take supporting divestment lightly. It is a decision that merits deep reflection and which is appropriate only for the most extreme cases of widespread impact.

The tactic of divestment should not be taken lightly or used in all or even most instances of a morally problematic industry. The standard for supporting divestment is incredibly high; given the dangers of climate change, we believe the fossil fuel industry meets that standard. We therefore call on Harvard to critically evaluate its current and future holdings and work to reinvest those which are incompatible with the aims of divestment.

Fundamentally, Harvard’s investments reflect its values, speak volumes about its moral character, and model the world it wishes to see and have a hand in building. Harvard students have the right and obligation to make their voices heard in this essential work. We have not led this charge. But we now join it.

It’s time for the Harvard administration to do the same.

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.

danu A. Mundannayake — CRIMSON illustrator

Column

Asking The Difficult Questions Sahil Handa Ambivalent dissendent

T

his is my last column of the semester, and there are simply too many pieces I would like to write. I recently tried to write one about Harvard’s admissions lawsuit — but honestly, I am not yet confident enough in my position to state it publicly. Instead, I have decided to bring up several topics that I am struggling to take a position on. Contrary to the impression that Harvard’s student body might give you, they do not have easy answers. First, the problem of identity.

The battle for recognition has dominated American history — for people of color and other minority groups, participation was not a matter of choice. Discrimination still exists — both individually and systemically. Yet we have progressed to a point when no identity group is entirely cut off from the political system.

Now, we are faced with the following question: Do we want to continue to reinforce the divides between groups of people or strive towards a society that places no weight on one’s background, sex, or skin color? If we opt for the former, redress is required and catastrophe recognized; reparations must be provided and the differences between groups must be celebrated. But if we opt for the latter, then cultural appropriation, affinity groups, and quota systems are steps backwards. A belief that gender is a social construct, for example, cannot logically be reconciled with a belief in the necessity of gender-based quotas. A desire to live in a race blind society cannot be achieved through race-based identity politics.

Second, the issue of diversity — specifically, what is meant by the word diversity. It sometimes seems that liberal circles are under the illusion that diversity is simply a mixture of cuisine, dress, and color. But real diversity is difficult, because it requires real difference; differ-

ent ideas and belief systems living side by side — in our own university and across the world. The dream of cultural pluralism has never been fully realized, because nothing in human history suggests that unbridled and peaceful diversity is possible. We like to believe that multiculturalism can be reconciled with assimilation; that people with fundamentally different outlooks will all coalesce behind a set of greater values. But what happens when people prioritize one part of who they are over another? What happens when people choose to segregate rather than assimilate? Studies have shown that areas of high diversity tend to be less tolerant.

Others have shown that cosmopolitan identities can coexist with local ones.

The need for multilateral responses to climate change and artificial intelligence makes this question even more complicated. We must determine whether we want to exist in a world with one single culture or preserve that which is to be loved in every culture; whether tolerance means a toleration of all views or a toleration of all people. Third, the question of meaning. Life expectancy in America is falling by the year, likely driven by increases in deaths due to drug overdoses and suicide. Rates of depression and anxiety, especially among college and high school students, continue to rise.

Clearly, wage stagnation is part of the cause. But mental illness is increasing even through a time of relative economic stability. The symptoms point to a deeper trouble: the crisis of meaning in Western democracies. One story is economic: that neoliberalism has left the human being behind. Capitalism excels at creating wealth, but is terrible at distributing it.

Meritocracy provides the illusion of progress, but it perpetuates its own system of inequality. Our economic system has turned into a culture of its own — one that commodifies art, education, and people. With the power of corporations

only set to increase and rapid advances in technology taking human fate out of our hands, it is time for dramatic upheaval.

Then there is the reverse narrative: that cultural change is what has compromised our wellbeing. Children have been taught to overlook life’s biggest questions, and extremist ideology has stepped in to fill the inevitable void. The decline of religious institutions has made it easier to see people as means, and politics has seeped further into the private realm. According to this view, capitalism requires a social fabric to combat loneliness, greed, and tribalism. Liberal democracy cannot sustain itself when people seek to solve all their problems in the voting booth. Capitalism is flawed, but nobody has a long list of viable alternatives. It has been used to justify exploitation, but has helped lift people out of starvation. If culture and economics are constantly talking to each other, we must find a way to make them have a better conversation.

We must address inequality by moderating free market excess and take seriously the loss of meaning that rapid change can bring; we must reclaim traditional forms of meaning and do our best to discover new ones. These questions are not original; nor do they invite easy conclusions. But the fact that they often seem to be missing from the conversation concerns me. Many prefer to hide behind buzzwords than reckon with first principles; to praise individuality and intersectionality; multiculturalism and integration; equality of opportunity and local community — as if they all amount to one and the same. These questions have an urgency that the immediacy of our political cycles often clouds. Along with our relationship to the natural world, they will define humanity’s future.

—Sahil Handa ’21, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Social Studies and Philosophy concentrator in Cabot House. His column appears on alternate Wednesdays.

By George c. arenas

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ooking out the window, a red Mars greeted me. The rocky expanse of the Chihuahuan desert made me wonder how anyone could live in a place so devoid of water and life. It was my first time landing in El Paso.

While many of my friends were enjoying the beach or heading home for spring break, I decided to take a journey with my father to El Paso, Texas to learn about my family’s history. Growing up in Ohio, I was removed from the Hispanic culture that defined my father’s family and his life growing up.

To be able to sit at one big table exchanging laughs, stories, and Spanish with my cousins did not surpassed my father’s retellings. To be there living it — that was something completely different.

The mountainous landscape dotted with adobe homes and pickup trucks felt more like Northern Mexico than America.

My own prejudice of what “America” looked like included front lawns, burger shacks, country clubs, and “Anglos” as my cousins call them.

That’s what I was used to seeing in the Midwest and the east coast. Yet El Paso was comforting to me in a way that I had never felt before.

As students, we may find out that we have more in common after digging into our roots and realize the important part many of us play in our own family legacies.

It seemed that family members and cousins were scattered everywhere. At the presidio and the panedería, our family was known just because of our last name. They even pronounced it correctly.

Over flautas, some good Texas barbecue, and an old George Strait record, I learned of my family’s past.

Listening to stories about my grandparents and cousins gave me a newfound appreciation of the struggles they faced growing up in a small town founded in the 1500s on the border, where Spanish was spoken everywhere but high school.

Somehow, amazingly, my grandparents were able to progress through hardship and secure a better future for themselves and future generations of the family. I am a product of their success.

Living in a predominantly “Anglo” town in southwestern Ohio, I grew up in a very comfortable bubble. I spent my weekends and summers playing catch with the neighborhood kids, got good grades in school, and somehow earned a spot at Harvard after working really hard in high school.

Yet looking back, none of this would have been possible had it not been for the work of my grandparents.

Since the start of high school, I bought into the idea of focusing on differentiating myself from others: in school, in order to make friends, and in order to try and figure out what I was good at.

However, I have realized that this mentality can lead to a feeling of loneliness, a result of convincing myself that I was the center of my own world. For a while, my identity had nothing to do with my family and where we came from.

Some of that was because of where I grew up, and some of that was because I chose not to include it. I now acknowledge my family’s legacy as an integral part of my own story, and it now shapes the kind of person that I want to become in the future.

We owe it to ourselves and our ancestors to dig a little deeper: to find out how we came to be, and to humble ourselves in the dreams we are living out for those who came before us.

As Harvard students we especially fall victim to the negative side effects of a “self-improvement” mentality, with all the amazing opportunities for personal achievement at this institution. We seek out exclusive opportunities, friend groups, and comps. And we do it because we want to be “better.”

Even student groups place an emphasis on performance, rather than fellowship and creating meaningful relationships. This hyperfocusing can become harmful when many of us somewhere along the line, are a product of a humble beginning. As students, we may find out that we have more in common after digging into our roots and realize the important part many of us play in our own family legacies.

Regardless of race, ethnicity, or skin color, those of us with humble beginnings share some kind of family miracle, where our relatives defied the odds and lived some version of the “American Dream,” even if it wasn’t in America.

Many of our friends and classmates at the College are that miracle. For those of us who were fortunate enough to grow up in comfortable circumstances, finding our roots provides the opportunity to better connect with those who are trying to make a better future for their own families.

As people growing up in the maelstrom of an increasingly hyper-focused and self-gratifying world, we owe it to ourselves and our ancestors to dig a little deeper: to find out how we came to be, and to humble ourselves in the dreams we are living out for those who came before us.

—George A. Arenas ’22, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Grays Hall.

Page 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | may 8, 2019

Shopping From Page 1

solar From Page 1

Faculty Votes for Shopping Week to Stay

Arboretum Installs Over a Thousand Solar Panels

any proposal to abolish shopping week would be “extremely detailed.”

“It is my commitment to offer the faculty a clear and concrete sense of what they are voting for,” Claybaugh said.

The faculty also voted Tuesday in favor of adding a data requirement to the General Education program to replace the current Empirical and Mathematical Reasoning requirement — though the motion faced some dissent. Echoing concerns raised at the last faculty meeting, multiple professors criticized the new requirement for not including mathematics courses which do not have a data component but currently fulfill the EMR requirement.

“I would like to weigh in on the side of inclusiveness in liberal education, and nimbleness in our requirements in the face of a rapidly changing world,” Mathematics Department Chair Curtis T. McMullen said.

Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Professor Salil P. Vadhan proposed an ultimately successful amendment to appoint a committee in 2022 or 2023 that will “deeply and thoughtfully” study the implementation of the new requirement to ensure its “identity” remains clear.

“The new QRD requirement seems to have a narrower scope than the requirement it replaces with a greater emphasis on data, but we have not discussed the rationale or what were the failings of the EMR requirement beyond those faced by the original Gen Ed requirement,” he said.

During the question and answer portion of the meeting, University President Lawrence S. Bacow fielded a question from History Professor Maya R. Jasanoff ’96 regarding student outcry over Winthrop House Faculty Dean Ronald Sullivan’s

decision to represent film producer and accused rapist Harvey Weinstein. Jasanoff said Winthrop has experienced an “unacceptable level of tension” since Sullivan’s announcement that he would represent Weinstein and asked Bacow to clarify how he understands faculty’s responsibilities to students’ education and well-being.

She cited a confrontation in Winthrop dining hall between Danu A.K. Mudannayake ’20 — an Eliot resident and Crimson design editor — and Winthrop tutors Carl L. Miller and Valencia Miller, the Millers’ plans to file a Title IX complaint about the confrontation, and the Millers’ defamation suit against Eliot House Faculty Dean Gail A. O’Keefe after O’Keefe called the Millers’ conduct “unprofessional” in an email to Eliot residents.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Jasanoff called the events a “startling breach with anything resembling civility.”

She also criticized the Millers’ attorney, George J. Leontire, for his negative comments on a recent sit-in in Winthrop dining hall.

“Students are hurting. House administrators and faculty members are stressed. Community values are cracking,” Jasanoff said. “What could have been a teaching moment has become a campus crisis.”

Bacow said in response that the issue is “largely” being handled by Dean of FAS Claudine Gay and Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana.

“I’ve tried to be respectful of the locus of authority for dealing with these issues, which lies largely in the College,” he said.

Leontire called the remarks about himself and his clients “another example of tribal politics” in an interview after Tuesday’s faculty meeting.

“It is simply outrageous that people who are permitting the

wrongful conduct attempt to turn themselves into the victims rather than address the behavior they’ve engaged in,” Leontire said.

“Those who support that kind of tactic should recognize they have failed to critically examine the issue before making comments.”

The faculty also voted Tuesday to establish a joint master’s degree in biotechnology run by Harvard Business School and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Medical Anthropology Professor Arthur Kleinman — who had raised questions about the program in the past — said he received assurance from Professor Mark Fishman, who helped design the new degree program, that it would place an emphasis on how technological innovations have adversely affected society.

The Faculty closed the meeting by voting to approve updates to the student handbook and FAS and Harvard Extension School course offerings for the 2019-2020 school year.

Khurana called the changes to the handbook, “non-substantive,” noting that most had already been approved by the Faculty in previous votes.

He added that in a copy of the updated handbook circulated in advance of the meeting, administrators mistakenly struck multiple pages of the College’s policies on drug and alcohol use from the handbook.

Because of the omissions, it appeared that the College had overturned rules limiting the types liquor that can be served at social events, requiring tutors to check on parties, and specifying that event hosts must verify students are over 21 before serving them alcohol. In fact, those rules remain intact. jonah.berger@thecrimson.com molly.mcafferty@thecrimson.com

Friedman said. “That’s a really empowering sort of policy. And most universities, I’d say, probably don’t have those kinds of things.”

Despite this loan to the Arboretum’s clean energy initiative, Harvard has not given any indication that it will divest its nearly $40 billion endownment from the fossil fuel industry.

University President Lawrence Bacow has said multiple times that Harvard will not divest.

On whether Harvard should divest, Friedman said divestment may or may not “move the needle on carbon immediately.”

“From my perspective, what we’re really interested in is immediately reducing how much carbon we as scientists — or as a community here at Harvard — put in the air,” he said.

Schneider said he thinks the

project will not have an effect on whether Harvard ultimately decides to divest.

“None of this, I would say, really has any relation to sort of the bigger picture of the Harvard Corporation and what they choose to invest in or not,” Schneider said.

“This is more of a project that focuses on the the local energy economy, if you will.”

The solar project follows the installment of two other solar arrays on Arboretum-affiliated buildings, as well as efforts to install energy efficient windows and compost dead plant matter.

Schneider said he hopes the Arboretum will “be a shining example of what is possible” for other institutions in Boston — a city that aspires to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Sheryl White, the coordina-

tor of visitor engagement and exhibitions at the Arboretum, said the Arboretum intends to use the project to educate the local community on solar energy.

“I also work with our art exhibitions. And so it’s possible there’s something that we can connect [the solar panels] to art in some way,” she added.

Schneider said he wants people to take sustainable actions in the future.

“We’ve gotten people coming in and saying ‘Wow, this looks really cool,’” Schneider said.

“We want people to see this.

We want them to be inspired and say, ‘Hey, what can I do?

How could I do something like this? And we want that to be the regular homeowner.” juliet.isselbacher@thecrimson.com

college From Page 1

Dean Says College is Looking to Make Cuts donations are not renewed.

“If that flush of donor support comes as gifts, those gifts last three to five years,” she said.

“Rakesh has been dean for five years, so we’re probably coming up on some gifts that were given in his first year that are now going to lapse. And we need to do some work to assess how to reup those gifts or replace them with other gifts.” ­

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Sports

Weekly Recap

SCORES

softball vs. Cornell W, 8-4 ___________________________________________________________

men’s heavyweight crew Vs Northeastern W ___________________________________________________________

woMen’s Heavyweight Crew Eastern sprints 2 ___________________________________________________________

men’s tennis Vs. no. 10 TCU L, 4-1 ___________________________________________________________

softball vs. cornell w, 9-1 ___________________________________________________________

baseball vs. Brown w, 7-4 ___________________________________________________________

Baseball vs. brown W, 7-2 ___________________________________________________________

BaseBall

Baseball Wins First Regular Season Title since 2005 By amir mamdani Crimson Staff Writer

Tomorrow will mark the 14 year anniversary of Harvard baseball defeating the Cornell Big Red by a 2-0 score at Joseph O’Donnell Field, to win the 2005 Ivy League Championship Series.

Nearly a decade and a half later, a 7-2 victory over Brown in Providence on Monday guaranteed Harvard its first regular season Ivy League championship since 2005, and the right to host Columbia in the Championship Series in two weeks time It was only fitting for a season in which Kieran Shaw set several records for the Crimson (25-13, 14-7 Ivy) and across the Ancient Eight, that the junior would be the one putting the finishing touches on Harvard’s most victorious season since its standout 2005 campaign. The Los Gatos, Cali., native struck out the Bears’ Garett Delano to secure the title and conclude the 2019 regular season.

“He’s a bulldog for us, he’s a worker, it goes back to his mentality, he’s kind of a blue-collar guy who comes in to work hard every day,” said coach Bill Decker of Shaw’s finishing touch. “It was awesome to see.”

While the Crimson will certainly relish its accomplishment, the team will have its focus fixed firmly on the upcoming series against the Lions after a two week lay-off. Harvard’s series against Columbia two weekends ago at O’Donnell Field was the season’s most competitive slate, featuring three three-plus hour contests, including a 14-inning marathon.

With the Crimson and Lions set to face off for the right to advance to the NCAA Tournament, Coach Decker is prepared for a highly competitive series, and is confident that his players will be as well.

“I have little doubt that they will be ready,” Decker said. “It ­

CHAMPIONS OF CAMBRIDGE Baseball was victorious over Brown on Monday, securing its first Ivy League regular season title since the 2005 season. courtesy of harvard university athletics

will be another good series as we’ve had for the seven previous ones. And you never know who’s going to step up, I think that’s the big thing with this group.”

Juniors Chad Minato and Hunter Bigge led the way offensively for the Crimson, recording four hits apiece. The No. 5 and 6 hitters combined to go 8-of-9 at the dish, with two doubles and a walk. Minato scored five of Harvard’s seven runs, an impressive conclusion to an durable Ivy League campaign that included a remarkable hit streak.

“You know, it’s easy to talk about Pat and Suds because

they’ve put up ridiculous numbers,” said senior pitcher Kevin Stone of Pat McColl and Jake Suddleson, the No. 3 and 4 hitters in the Crimson lineup.

“Chad hasn’t missed a start, he’s been in the lineup every day and plays shortstop, so he’s a leader on the field and having him in the lineup as a steady defensive presence and having his bat come around has been absolutely pivotal.”

Senior Ian Miller toed the rubber on Monday afternoon for the Crimson squad that was looking to put the finishing touches on its best season in over a decade. Miller’s 5.2 inning performance, ceding

merely two runs, was enough to give Harvard the win. Since a nightmarish 1.1 inning, seven run start at Dartmouth two weeks ago, Miller has entirely reversed course and has helped the Crimson to wins in each of his last two starts.

“The statline might not show stellar performances every week, but Ian has always toughed it out and kept us in ballgames,” said Stone of his fellow veteran starter. “For him to come out yesterday and give us a really solid performance in a game in which it took us a while to get going offensively was huge for us.”

In the absence of sophomore

stalwart starter Buddy Hayward, Miller’s performances in the past two weeks have been crucial. Miller and Stone, both in their final seasons with the program, have combined to anchor the rotation, helping steady the team and the rotation through the home stretch of the season.

Coach Decker and the rest of the team are hopeful to have Hayward available for the Championship Series, as the tall second-year starter has excelled on the mound.

“My sense is that he’ll be able to toe the rubber for us in some capacity,” Decker said of Hayward. “He’s been very diligent

with his rehab, and very confident that in some capacity he’ll be able to get on the bump for us.”

With the season drawing to its conclusion, Harvard and its core of senior leadership will look to extend its campaign a little bit further into the spring, and qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 seasons.

The Crimson has been spectacularly consistent this season, as the team has yet to lose a series this year, doing no worse than splitting a four-game matchup in the opening slate of the season against Wofford.

Harvard has taken two out of every three games across the Ivy League campaign, and will look to do so one more time — realizing the dream of many college baseball players, and making it to the NCAA Regionals. The team has won an impressive 25 games this season, but still has no recent postseason run to look to for inspiration.

“2005 is so far in the past that we don’t really know any of the players, or the stories from those days,” Stone said. “It’s really special that 14 years later we can call ourselves Ivy Champions and look to go even further.”

Advancing to the NCAA tournament is something that hasn’t been done in over a decade for Harvard baseball. In his sixth season at the helm of the Crimson, Coach Bill Decker has his team just two wins away from reaching the pinnacle of Ivy League baseball, and his seniors are more than prepared for the challenge.

“The road to Omaha is something that every college baseball player has in their mind,” said Stone of the College World Series’ iconic venue. “The fact that we can make it to a Regional and it’s within our grasp is every college baseball player’s dream. amir.mamdani@thecrimson.com

Track and field

Track and Field Impress at Heptagonal Championships By mahtab shibab Crimson Staff Writer

The weekend the track and field team had been waiting for finally arrived. All the long practices, distant meets, and hard workouts were to prepare the team for the crucial weekend of Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.

Both the men’s and women’s team had the chance to compete against the very best of the Ancient Eight and try to secure a ti-

tle.

“We’re using all these different meets as opportunities to prepare for the Championships in Princeton” freshman sprinter Max Serrano-Wu said “We hope to improve on our 2nd place finish (women) and 3rd place finish (men) from the indoor championships.”

The teams had outstanding performances this past weekend but could not improve upon their finishes from indoor season. The women’s team finished

in second, while the men finished in third.

“This was a great weekend for the Harvard track and field team,” said Jason Saretsky, the William W. “Bill” McCurdy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. “In total, we had 11 conference champions and numerous additions to our alltime performance lists.”

The most dominant performance of the meet came from freshman thrower Sam Welsh. Welsh was named Co-

Most Outstanding Field Athlete by placing first in the discus (58.88m) and second in the shot put (16.66m). His first place performance in the discus was almost thirty feet ahead of the rest of his competitors.

“Leading up to the meet, I did my normal preparation and worked with my coaches on meet simulation throws, explosive weight room work, and visualization,” Welsh said.

“One week before the competition, I had one of the best prac-

SWEEPING THE SPRINTS Crimson sprinters run in previous action. The Crimson women swept the top five spots in the 100m sprints in the Ivy Heps this weekend. Quinn G. Perini — Crimson photographer

tices I’ve ever had with my dad where I made some major breakthroughs. It set me up for a great week of practices and throws, feeling relaxed and explosive.”

His second place performance in the shot put while not surprising, exceeded the expectations of the thrower considering the conditions of the meet and his past performances.

“Going into day two when I competed in shot put, it was raining and the circle was wet but I managed to come out with an outdoor PR and second place,” said Welsh of his weekend’s standout performance for the Crimson. “It was a very exciting weekend and I was happy to be surrounded by my teammates after working hard with them all year to get to this point.

I was very happy to be representing Harvard and share this moment with my coaches and teammates.”

Along with Welsh’s throwing spectacle, the men’s team also excelled in its sprints and middle distance. After sophomore sprinter Rodney Agyare-May broke the school record in the first round of the 400m with a time of 46.94, his teammate won the event in the 400m finals and proceeded to take back the record, winning in a time of 46.73.

Senior middle distance runner Myles Marshall continued his excellent track at Ivy Heps by defending his 800m crown.

He raced his way to victory in the 800m in 1:48.23, completing an impressive sweep of the 800m event by winning at both Indoor and Outdoor Ivy Heptagonal Championships.

Marshall, Agyare-May, and Williamson would team up with sophomore sprinter Kah-

lil Wassell to take home the 4x400m title, a feat they already accomplished during the indoor season. This stacked lineup of runners would win the last event of the day in a time of 3:11.35.

On the women’s side, the sprinters dominated the 100m event sweeping the top five spots. The unprecedented sweep was led by fourth-year sprinter Ngozi Musa who ran a time of 11.675. Junior sprinter Micah Meekins would also bring home a league title for the women from Cambridge, winning the 200m in a speedy 24.00.

Stellar performances also came out of the distance and jumps events for the Harvard women. Sophomore distance runner had the eighth-fastest 1500m in school history, running a time of 4:24.72 to secure first place in the event.

Junior distance runner Lisa Tertsch would go on to sweep the 5000m and 10000m events winning both with times of 16:13.95 and 35:05.32 respectively.

Finally, junior jumper Simi Fajemisin completed the Indoor/Outdoor sweep of the triple jump, earning the win with a mark 13.14m.

Both the men’s and women’s team had excellent performances this past weekend full of school records and personal bests. The Crimson, however, do not planning to be resting on their laurels.

The season is not over yet for the Crimson. Harvard track and field looks to continue their success at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Princeton next weekend. mahtab.shibab@thecrimson.com