The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 49

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLVI, NO. 49 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019

EDITORIAL PAGE 4

SPORTS PAGE 6

SPORTS 6

The Undergraduate Council should actively support constructive dialogue.

Harvard men’s golf competes at Princeton and Matchplay Madness

Women’s water polo relies on its seniors as the season draws to a close.

Tutors Harvard Introduces Mental Health Task Force Allege Title IX Breach

By SHERA S. AVI-YONAH and AIDAN F. RYAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

A lawyer representing Winthrop House tutors Carl L. Miller and Valencia Miller wrote in a Tuesday letter to Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana they plan to file a Title IX complaint regarding their interactions with College student Danu A.K. Mudannayake ’20 in the Winthrop dining hall last Wednesday.

The Millers’ lawyer, George J. Leontire, alleges in the letter that Mudannayake “harassed” them in the Wednesday incident; Mudannayake has stated that Carl Miller harassed her.

Leontire also copied University President Lawrence S. Bacow, University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay on the letter.

That same day, Mudannayake, Eliot Faculty Dean Gail A. O’Keefe, and several student groups also distributed emails, letters, and blog posts in response to the incident, which concluded with both Mudannayake and Carl Miller filing conflicting reports referencing each other with Harvard police.

Mudannayake said she ­

SEE WINTHROP PAGE 3

The Office of the Provost, which is housed in Massachusetts Hall, created a new task force on managing student mental health.

JONATHAN G. YUAN—CRIM-

SON PHOTOGRAPHER

By ALEXANDRA A. CHAIDEZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Harvard’s Office of the Provost has created a new task force on managing student mental health that plans to evaluate and respond to an increase of reported mental health issues on campus, the University announced Tuesday.

The task force — which consists of more than 40 social sci­

ence and medical experts; undergraduate and graduate students; graduate student union members; and administrators — will assess how social, academic, and institutional problems at Harvard can influence student mental health. They will also examine various methods of care for mental health issues.

This announcement comes at a time when Harvard’s mental health services continue to

face long wait times and understaffing. Despite new hiring, Counseling and Mental Health Services’ staff, which consists of 50 mental health professionals, are often overwhelmed by the number of students seeking to book appointments.

Harvard received a failing grade in a study about Ivy League colleges’ leave of absence policies that critiqued protocols mandating a mini-

mum length for leaves and setting a strict deadline for applications to return.

Sociology Professor Mario L. Small, who is heading the task force, said the group’s diversity of professional backgrounds and identities will aid them as they gather data and formulate final conclusions and recommendations “We’re going to be deploying the skills of all of these people to

By OLIVIA C. SCOTT and DEVIN B. SRIVASTAVA CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard will train its athletics coaching staff on its conflict of interest policy in the wake of an investigation into head fencing coach Peter Brand for engaging in a real estate transaction with the parent of a current and then-prospective fencer.

The planned training, first covered by the Boston Globe Saturday, comes after the Globe reported Thursday that Brand sold his home in Needham, Mass. to iTalk Global Communications, Inc. co-founder Jie Zhao in 2016 for approximately $300,000 above its market val­

The City Council Housing Committee met Tuesday to discuss the proposed Affordable Housing Overlay. AMANDA Y. SU—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

uation. Zhao’s younger son was admitted to the College shortly thereafter to fence for Harvard. Zhao’s older son, who was already on Harvard’s fencing team, graduated in 2018.

Zhao told the Globe that the purchase was not meant to help his son gain admission.

The University’s conflict of interest policy, published on the Harvard Information for Employees website, states that those who violate the policy could face disciplinary action as serious as termination.

“A conflict of interest exists when individual commitment to the University may be compromised by personal benefit. Employees are expect-

ed to avoid situations or activities that could interfere with their unencumbered exercise of judgment in the best interests of Harvard University,” the policy reads.

“Failure to disclose possible conflict of interest or commitment or refusal to cease activities that are determined to be in conflict with the University’s best interests may be grounds for disciplinary action and may lead to termination,” the policy adds.

Head Varsity Squash Coach Mike Way wrote in an email to The Crimson Monday that his office has not heard anything

By JANIA J. TUMEY CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Activists and experts discussed the intersection of racism, xenophobia, and mass incarceration at a panel in Emerson Hall Tuesday.

The panel featured Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy Cornel R. West ’74, American History fellow Kristina Shull, criminal justice reform activists Arthur Bembury and Douglas Rogers, and Orlando Lopez, a Latin American undocumented immigrant who was previously detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Five Harvard College student groups sponsored the event: Act on a Dream, Black Men’s Forum, Latino Men’s Collective, Harvard Organization for Prison Education and Advocacy, and the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign. ­

Dr. Kristina Shull speaks about incarceration rates in America during a panel event titled Mass Incarceration in the Black and Latinx Community. KATHRYN S. KUHAR—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

News 3

Editorial 4

Sports 6

TODAY’S FORECAST

HKS Creates Online Program

By JANIA J. TUMEY CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

During the panel, Lopez recounted his experience with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said he moved to the United States after multiple family members passed away in a six-month period. While being detained, he said he feared that he would be permanently separated from his infant son.

Other panelists linked mass incarceration to a history of white colonization.

“The rise of the prison system rests within histories of slavery and Jim Crow segregation and Native American removal and erasure,” Shull said.

Bembury and Rogers, both of whom were formerly incarcerated, encouraged attendees to volunteer with criminal justice reform organizations.

“Criminal justice reform is a new civil rights movement. We’re soldiers in the

The Harvard Kennedy School announced a new online public leadership credential program Thursday, joining the trend of Harvard schools expanding their online academic offerings.

Anyone with a bachelor’s degree, a minimum of five years of professional work experience, and proficiency in English is eligible to register for the certificate program.

The flexible program is geared toward individuals with commitments that would prevent them from relocating to Cambridge for a traditional Kennedy School degree.

“Through the Public Leadership Credential, we will extend the benefits of Harvard Kennedy School knowledge and training to a wider group of individuals currently working to advance the public good,” Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf said in a press release about the program.

“The PLC program will provide participants with tools and insights to improve the lives of people in their communities, cities, and countries.”

The program offers six courses that are each six weeks in length. Students can choose to take any number of courses, but all six are required to earn the Public Leadership Credential.

Program co-leader Christopher Robichaud said the program offers people interested in intervening in the current state of world politics to do so without having to take time off their

SEE JUSTICE PAGE 5

SEE KENNEDY PAGE 5

SEE COACHES PAGE 3

Expert Panel Discusses Mass Incarceration

Harvard Today 2

SEE TASK FORCE PAGE 3

Harvard To Train Coaches on Conflict of Interest Policy

SEE PAGE 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

try to see what we can do about this,” Small said.

Small said the task force comprises two working groups centered on both undergraduate and graduate students. Psychology Professor Matthew K. Nock chairs the undergraduate working group, and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean Emma Dench chairs the graduate and professional school working group.

Small said the task force will work with data collected from surveys from previous years as well as interviews and focus groups with students, faculty, and staff about these issues.

Both Nock and Dench noted that the working groups — one of which met for the first time in March — have seen “extraordinarily good attendance.”

“In all the meeting so far, it’s been striking how invested our whole community is in this issue,” Dench said.

Dench also noted that the graduate student working groups will concentrate in “a very urgent and focused way” on gathering more data, especially for students outside of GSAS. In a HUHS survey released in November, graduate students in four Faculty of Arts and Sciences programs reported rates of depression as high as 31 percent, more than six times the national average. Harvard Law School students filled out a similar survey at the time, but the results of the survey have yet to be released.

Last Thursday, Law School students hung posters during admitted students weekend

PARTLY CLOUDY High: 51 Low: 32

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free cone day

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

APRIL 10, 2019

PAGE 2

HARVARD TODAY

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

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

TODAY’S EVENTS Love Your Enemies 6-7:15 p.m.

IN THE REAL WORLD

Interested in learning about dissolving America’s culture of contempt? Head to the Institute of Politics tonight for a discussion with President of the American Enterprise Institute Arthur C. Brooks and University Professor Danielle S. Allen.

Canada Plans to Make Major Change to Refugee System

Following an influx of asylum seekers, Canada introduced amendments to their refugee system Monday evening. These amendments will enable immigration officers to refuse refugees who have made claims in countries such as the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. With over 200,000 pending asylum claims and tensions in the Canadian government concerning the funding of refugee services, the Canadian refugee system has become a hot-button political issue.

TPS Justice Teach In/Phone Bank 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Interested in learning about Temporary Protected Status and its impact on the Harvard community?

Want to help convince Governor Charlie Baker to join the fight for TPS justice? Join the Harvard Student Labor Action Movement at the Phillips Brooks House Association for a TPS Teach-In followed by phone banking!

Political analyst, David Axelrod, spoke at the IOP on Tuesday about his experience as the Former Chief Strategist for Barack Obama. He advises the students in the room to “have a purpose in mind” when pursuing politics. CHRISTIE HUNG —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

DAILY BRIEFING Winthrop House tutors Carl L. Miller and Valencia Miller will file a Title IX complaint referencing their confrontation with College student Danu A.K. Mudannayake ’20 last week, according to an email sent from their lawyer to Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana Tuesday. Mudannayake and the Millers filed conflicting police reports last week about an incident in which the Millers accuse Mudannyake of harassing them. She has alleged the opposite and said Carl Miller harassed her. In other news, the University provost’s office has created a task force on student mental health.

Facebook Unveils New Changes Concerning Our Deceased Loved Ones While Facebook has enabled accounts to be memorialized since 2009, Facebook users would still receive notifications reminding them to interact with deceased loved ones whose profiles had not been memorialized. By using artificial intelligence, Facebook hopes to put an end to these painful notifications. Facebook is also introducing legacy control, which will enable users to designate certain people to manage their tribute content after their deaths.

AROUND THE IVIES PRINCETON

Two juvenile males, ages 14 and 17, were arrested for suspicion of committing arson on Princeton’s campus, according to The Daily Princetonian.

The fires, which were started on Monday, caused more than $1 million worth of damages. The fires sprung up in four locations on campus, including two bathrooms and two classroom buildings, in addition to one at the Institute for Advanced Study.

The Princeton Police Department, which had already been investigating the crime, made the arrest after a caller notified them that two youths were igniting a fire behind another building.

PENN

Philip Esformes, whose son was admitted to Penn, was found guilty on Friday for 20 charges, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. The court’s decision implicated Esformes in the national admissions scandal, as a witness stated that Esformes had sent $400,000 to college consultant William “Rick” Singer’s charity fund. Evidence showed that Esformes had exchanged texts with Singer, discussing his concern for his son’s chances of being admitted. The jury has not yet reached a verdict on the charges of Medicare fraud that Esformes is facing.

CORNELL

The Cornell Daily Sun reported that on Saturday the Ithacan police charged a woman with two counts of felony assault and one misdemeanor count for resisting arrest. The woman, identified as 22-year-old Rosie Degroat, purportedly attacked a police officer, preventing him from arresting another man, whom officers said they had seen attacking another man in the Commons. The crowd surrounding the area became involved in the altercation, with some observers demanding Degroat’s release. A police officer took out his stun gun and demanded that the dissenters stay away from the situation.

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

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.

Night Editor Lucy Wang ’20

Design Editor Margot E. Shang ’20

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Photo Editors Quinn G. Perini ’22 Amanda Y. Su ’22

Story Editors Angela N. Fu ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Jordan E. Virtue ’20 Luke W. Xu ’20

Editorial Editor Isaac O. Longoboardi ’21

CORRECTIONS

Sports Editors Amir Mamdani ’21 David Manikas ’22

PAGE 3

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | APRIL 10, 2019

Affordable Univ. to Train Coaches on COI Policy Housing Overlay COACHES FROM PAGE 1

By DECLAN J. KNIERIEM and KATELYN X. LI CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

The Cambridge City Council Housing Committee discussed the Affordable Housing Overlay proposal at their Tuesday meeting, the latest step in an ongoing process to create more affordable housing in the city. The proposed zoning reform would offer affordable developers incentives to build residential units, allowing them to successfully compete with market-rate developers. The proposal would also amend zoning regulations to streamline approval processes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency for new affordable housing construction.

At the meeting, city officials from the Community Development Department addressed questions and concerns from the Housing Committee, which includes every City Council member. During the meeting, several councilors raised concerns about the project, including various technical aspects such as height restrictions on buildings and potential legal challenges. Councilor Dennis J. Carlone, a former architect and urban design consultant, questioned the City’s ability to address urban design challenges including cost management and building capacity, calling it “the big question mark.”

“I think we’re avoiding the big issue, and I want this to succeed like all my fellow councilors, and we will make it succeed,” he said. “It seems we’re not ready and just accept that and let’s get the work done.”

Other councilors focused on the potential environmental impact of such a project. Councilor Quinton Y. Zondervan said he is concerned about a negative “tradeoff” between lower-cost housing and more environmentally friendly building standards.

Zondervan cited the tree protection legislation passed by the City Council in February that has halted the issuance

of tree-cutting permits for one year. Trees on properties considered to be affordable housing, however, are exempt from this protection. “We need housing, and we also need to mitigate against climate change,” he said. “This could be an opportunity to achieve both.”

Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui, co-chair of the Housing Committee, reiterated the importance of ongoing dialogue between the Council and Cambridge residents to ensure the overlay proposal proceeds with “clarity.” “The ability to work on something and play around with it conceptually will help this committee,” she said.

While the meeting did not allow public comment, over a dozen members of the public attended. Cambridge resident David E. Sullivan said he attended because he supports the proposal, and wanted to hear the councilors’ concerns.“It affects me in the sense that I care about the diversity of our city, and I want it to continue to be a place where you don’t have to be rich to live here,” he said.

The city will hold a public hearing on April 16, during which Cambridge residents can share their opinions on the Affordable Housing Overlay. The Housing Committee will continue its discussion on zoning reform in the following meeting, scheduled for April 25. Mayor Marc C. McGovern urged the Council to continue its dialogue without giving way to negative criticism. “I don’t want us to be ruled by fear of backlash,” he said. “I want the best project, the best ordinance we can get, and I’m open to anything that achieves what it is we’re saying that this is about.”

“I don’t want us to be ruled by fear of backlash,” he said. “I want the best project, the best ordinance we can get, and I’m open to anything that achieves what it is we’re saying that this is about.” declan.knieriem@thecrimson.com katelyn.li@thecrimson.com

TASK FORCE FROM PAGE 1

University Creates New Task Force calling on administrators to release all of the findings of the survey.

Small said the task force intends to publish a report available to the entire University about trends in data collected as well as methods for outreach.

“The idea is to make this report open to the public,” Small said. “And the more people are thinking about these issues, the more people know what we’ve been doing.”

Nock said the task force also hopes to address the stigma surrounding mental health issues on university campuses.

“The more students are aware of what the rates of these things are and the more the faculty are aware of what the rates of these things are, the better prepared we are to address these things and take action,” Nock said. alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com

about the conflict of interest training yet. Three other varsity coaches declined to comment on past conflict of interest training. Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay wrote in an email Thursday to FAS affiliates that Harvard had commissioned an “independent review” of the transactions between Brand and Zhao.

Brand is still listed as the head coach of the men’s and women’s fencing programs on GoCrimson.com, the official website of Harvard Athletics.

Zhao first became friends with Brand during his older son’s freshmen year of college, according to the Globe. Zhao’s sons had trained at the Virginia Academy of Fencing in high school under the direction of Alexander Ryjik. Ryjik’s son also fenced at Harvard under Brand and graduated in 2015.

Gay stressed in her email that Harvard’s admissions practices are rigorous and different from other institutions in that all applications are reviewed by a full committee of approximately 40 members. She also wrote that all recruited student-athletes receive interviews by admissions officers or alumni interviewers. Athletics Director Robert L. Scalise said in an interview March 28 that though coaches can recommend applicants to the admissions of-

fice, the admissions committee makes its decisions separately.

“What we have is a situation where the coaches recommend to the admissions office the people that they feel are the best candidates to both help the team and to be a part of our Harvard community. But it’s the admissions office that actually admits them,” Scalise said. “It’s a little bit more of a safeguard. I mean when we talk about admissions in athletics, we don’t really talk about slots or spots.”

The official website of the Ivy League, an intercollegiate athletic conference that includes Harvard, states that Ivy League coaches can advise applicants through the college admissions process.

“Ivy League coaches are knowledgeable about admissions policies, can be valuable resources in guiding prospects through the application process, and may offer advice and counsel based on feedback from admissions,” the website reads.

Coaches are then able to relay their support to the admissions office.

“Coaches may communicate to the Admissions Office their support for candidates who are athletic recruits,” the website adds.

The investigation into Brand comes at a time when the admissions processes of top universi-

Harvard is holding Conflict of Interest training for coaches in wake of the fencing scandal. CHRISTIE HUNG—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

ties are under intense scrutiny, specifically in the wake of the nationwide “Operation Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal and the affirmative action lawsuit against Harvard filed

by Students for Fair Admissions last year. Thirty-three parents were charged in the scandal.

Several of them are accused of bribing coaches at various elite

colleges across the country to list their children as recruited athletes to give them a leg up in the admissions process. These schools included Yale, Stanford, and the University of Southern California, but no Harvard coaches were implicated. olivia.scott@thecrimson.com devin.srivastava@thecrimson.com

WINTHROP FROM PAGE 1

Winthrop Tutors File Title IX Complaint approached Miller Wednesday evening after she believed he may have taken photos and videos of her while she ate dinner with a friend. The Millers offered a different account — both wrote in emails that Mudannayake harassed and provoked them and their family while they ate. Valencia Miller wrote that they were taking photos of their child who was with them.

Leontire wrote in the letter that the Millers plan to file the Title IX complaint with the University in response to their interactions with Mudannayake. Title IX is a federal law that guides the University’s approach to handling incidents of gender and sex-based misconduct and discrimination.

Mudannayake, an Eliot House resident and Crimson design editor, said in an interview Tuesday that she has not been informed of any Title IX complaint filed by the Millers.

Harvard spokespeople could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Mudannayake also circulated a Medium post titled “i will not be silenced” over the Eliot email list Tuesday. In the post, she repeated her allegations that Carl Miller photographed her multiple times from across the Winthrop dining hall as

she ate dinner with a friend last Wednesday.

Mudannayake has made international headlines for her activism regarding Winthrop Faculty Dean Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr.’s decision to represent Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein as he stands accused of rape. In Facebook posts and at protests, she has previously called for Sullivan to step down from his post as faculty dean.

The Wednesday night incident last week was not the first time Carl Miller and Mudannayake allegedly interacted.

On Feb. 25, Mudannayake and a group of other students distributed flyers calling for Sullivan’s removal in Winthrop. She wrote in her Medium post that Carl Miller followed her around the House that morning as she passed out the flyers.

“The night that myself and 4 other students distributed fliers in Winthrop House, Dean Sullivan’s Senior Tutor, Carl Miller, proceeded to follow me around the entirety of Winthrop despite the fact that I was well within my rights of free speech to distribute my fliers,” she wrote.

Mudannayake also wrote that Sullivan has used “methods of intimidation” against her and disputed his comments that

Harvard, from the Law School to Longwood.

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she and College administrators have acted in a racially-biased manner against him in response to his choice to represent Weinstein. The College launched a “climate review” of Winthrop after student backlash to Sullivan’s decision.

“I, a 21 year-old college undergraduate being targeted by tutors who are much older than me and a Dean who is one of the foremost defense lawyers in the country,” she wrote. “As a brown international woman at Harvard I believe that the narrative put forth by Dean Sullivan and the Millers, accusing any and all critics of being racially motivated, is a detriment to those who are truly suffering from racially motivated attacks.”

Dean O’Keefe sent an email to Eliot affiliates Tuesday criticizing the Millers’ decision to file a police report against Mudannayake.

“The two Winthrop tutors acted totally unprofessionally and dishonestly,” O’Keefe wrote. “Here at Eliot we would never condone nor allow tutors to make a public attack on an undergraduate, let alone in such a blatant and clumsy political way.”

Leontire criticized O’Keefe’s statement in his letter, calling

her comments “inappropriate.”

Three campus groups — anti-sexual assault advocacy organization Our Harvard Can Do Better, the Association of Black Harvard Women, and the Harvard Student Labor Action Movement — also distributed a letter over several House-wide email lists Tuesday criticizing the Millers’ version of events.

“This response is a blatant attempt to intimidate student activists broadly and especially Mudannayake herself,” their statement reads. “We support Mudannayake’s right to free speech and commend her moral courage in speaking out against rape culture on campus in the face of intimidation, harassment, and threats.”

The groups also reaffirmed their previous calls for Sullivan to step down, arguing that the dual police reports are a “distraction” from his decision to represent Weinstein.

“Students deserve better from the leaders of their house communities,” they wrote Sullivan did not respond to a request for comment on Mudannayake’s statement, O’Keefe’s email, and the student groups’ letter. shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | APRIL 10, 2019

PAGE 4

EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

OP-ED

Supporting Constructive Dialogue

As an Israeli, I Oppose the Occupation

T

he Undergraduate Council has recently found itself in no shortage of controversy, as its members have debated whether to fund and endorse a number of contentious issues.

Last week, the UC voted to allocate $2,050 to fund “Israeli Apartheid Week” — an international movement to raise awareness of treatment of Palestinians in Israel — hosted by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee on Harvard’s campus.

This week, the Council voted to endorse and publicize “Heat Week” — a series of events speaking to climate change and fossil fuel divestment hosted

by Harvard Undergraduates for Environmental Justice and Divest Harvard.

On the heels of this decision, it also endorsed a petition created by the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign.

In voting to fund or endorse an event, members of the UC should continue to engage in thoughtful and meaningful conversation that provides a platform for a wide array of perspectives on complex issues.

Internal discussion on weighty matters is not enough, however.

By way of ballot referenda, public forums, or other means of sourcing valuable student opinion, the Council should always consider its overriding goal: to represent the student body and its values in its projects.

The UC must strive to make its decisions on whether to fund or endorse initiatives through an objective, fair, and balanced process.

At present, it is unclear how these choices reflect the UC’s collective values and sense of purpose.

For example, though UC President Sruthi Palaniappan ’20 and Vice President Julia M. Huesa ’20 cited a referendum on divestment from fossil fuels as

Internal discussion on weighty matters is not enough, however. By way of ballot referenda, public forums, or other means of sourcing valuable student opinion, the Council should always consider its overriding goal: to represent the student body and its values in its projects. part of the logic of their endorsement, Huesa noted that the legislation is meant to promote dialogue.

While there need not be a contradiction here, we call on the Council to clarify whether it funds events as political endorsements or in its capacity as an organization charged with promoting dialogue.

This is not to say that UC-funded or endorsed events should avoid politics altogether.

On the contrary, the Council should continue to fund initiatives or movements on campus that speak to a variety

of ideologies. For many of these groups, the UC may be their only means of securing funding.

However, events that are chosen for funding should be rooted in the goal of sparking meaningful and constructive dialogue within our student body.

Initiatives that aim to simply provoke or espouse hateful beliefs toward any members of our community should not be supported through the UC platform merely for the sake of offering different perspectives on campus.

To the extent that the UC might make decisions on political bases, the tone and content of its elections should reflect that aspect of its members’ role.

If elected representatives endorse or fund certain events as a result of these ideologies, the student body should have the right to consider this aspect during the election season.

Politics aside, we hope to continue seeing members of the UC involved in comprehensive dialogue before deciding to endorse or fund an initiative.

To truly be representative of the student body, it must strive to consider each project fully before casting a final vote.

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.

Submit an Op-Ed Today!

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op-eds@thecrimson.com

COLUMN

Conserving Disagreement Sahil Handa AMBIVALENT DISSIDENT

A

ccording to the philosopher Roger Scruton, conservatism is the defense of that which one loves.

Such things include family, beauty, moral order, individual liberty; the rule of law, freedom of speech, religious practice, the nation state.

Of course, several aspects of these institutions have not been worth defending: those steeped in racism, sexism, or the subordination of any other group.

But for Scruton, a true conservatism seeks to adapt in order to preserve; it addresses the flaws of the present while remaining skeptical of those who seek to tear its foundations to pieces.

This definition got me thinking: What, if anything, do I love enough to preserve at all costs? What, if anything, do I believe my society would be helpless without? It strikes me as strange that I have never attempted to answer this before.

I have always been so confident in the Pinkerian view of human progress — where Enlightenment-style reason is our final triumph over tribalism — that I have not often paused to reckon with the fact that we are always at the potential endpoint of history.

A few weeks ago, Arthur C. Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute, wrote a piece arguing that civil discourse is headed down a dangerous path; we are more polarized, less patient, and quicker to assume bad intentions.

We speak in order to signal rather than speaking in order to connect. We claim to be able to see inside people’s souls and are surrounded by distractions that keep us from staring into our own.

Social media is the clearest example of this trend. It is manufactured to exploit our worst capacities, encourage outrage and misinformation over nuanced debate, and dramatically reduce face to face interaction.

It is difficult to call somebody evil if they are sitting in front of you. It is far easier to do so if a set of followers is waiting to applaud you.

Why do I mention all of this in a piece about conservatism? Because the ability to disagree is exactly what I am most

scared of losing.

Disagreement anchors every freedom I value today. It is the ability to think out loud; to be wrong and learn from it; to engage in a conversation and find out what I believe in the process.

Family is worth protecting because it forces us to love in spite of difference. Political parties take turns so that no government has a blank check to do what it likes.

Disagreement makes us certain of what we do know and reveals to us what we don’t know. It demonstrates the radical contingency of our beliefs and encourages us to adapt when events alter their validity.

Unity of opinion is simply not an ideal worth striving for.

Even the thought of a society in which everyone shared my beliefs makes me queasy.

Not only would it be intensely boring, but it would make the obvious mistake of assuming that it could do no wrong.

Disagreement makes us certain of what we do know and reveals to us what we don’t know. It demonstrates the radical contingency of our beliefs and encourages us to adapt when events alter their validity. Unity of opinion is simply not an ideal worth striving for.

It would foster a lack of gratitude, a lack of humility, and a lack of responsibility — an obliviousness to the fact our generation is one Jenga block at the top of a mountain.

In order to change a mind, one has to reach a heart. That sounds like a cliché, but it is absolutely true.

Moral psychology has made it clear that people are far more likely to question their beliefs when they are approached with compassion. It is far easier to be persuaded by someone you love than someone you hate.

To the extent that I am a conservative, I want to conserve conversation; if we lose respectful disagreement, we lose the foundation of our freedom.

Relationships, not the government, are the foundation of respect. Democracy cannot function if we do not engage with the strongest versions of each other’s arguments.

Scruton’s conservatism is a warning against complacency; a reminder that if one wishes to tear apart the foundations of a society — be they moral, social, economic, or cultural — one ought to be aware of how such an attempt could go wrong and what could be lost in the process.

Without a sense of the past, it is all too easy to place false confidence in the future. Steven Pinker, Hans Rosling, and other liberal optimists all make excellent points about the underreported victories across history.

But progress is not linear — the tremendous advances we have made should not fool us into thinking that the future invites a blindfold.

There is no doubt that social media companies need serious reform (I doubt that Mark Zuckerberg understood the magnitude of his creation in Kirkland House 15 years ago).

But on an individual level, there is much that can be done.

For my part, I will continue to do everything I can to disagree better.

I can think more carefully before I comment and question myself before I dismiss an opinion.

I can better familiarize myself with the views of our professors and take courses that will offer me a variety of perspectives.

I can make sure that my Twitter feed covers more of the political, geographical and identity spectra — not because I endorse everybody’s beliefs, but because I want to learn what people truly believe.

Most importantly, I can make it my duty to engage in difficult conversations — conversations that demand good faith and complete transparency. Not in order to take the moral high ground, but to treat those around me with mindfulness and humanity.

To see flawed human beings as flawed human beings and conserve disagreement, the practice that I value most of all.

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

By OREN RIMON OR

T

he Undergraduate Council’s vote to fund Israeli Apartheid Week generated more conversation than anyone had expected. When prominent newspapers framed the UC decision as controversial, and when members of Harvard Hillel claimed that IAW risks the safety of Jewish students on campus, there is a need to remind ourselves of some definitions that were lost during this week.

I am an Israeli Jewish student and I am against the appeals made by some Hillel members to the UC. I am against the occupation, but my religion has nothing to do with it and neither does anyone else’s religion. The situation in Israel-Palestine is political and is a matter of human rights and justice, not one of ideology or religion as we so often hear.

The fact that certain Jewish students feel attacked by IAW has no connection to their religious affiliation. These students feel attacked because of their political views. They feel attacked because they support a country that was politically criticized and condemned during the events held last week.

When you spend years in Israel you have two choices: seeing the occupation or closing your eyes in front of it. Twenty-two years were absolutely enough for me to see that we live under a system that discriminates between people based on their national identity.

As a Jewish Israeli student, IAW did not deal with my religion. It did, however, challenge the political actions of the country I come from. As long as we wish to adhere to democratic values, IAW, as any other political activity, should not be silenced.

The blur between anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel is a phenomenon that we should all resist. A religion and a government’s policy are fundamentally different things. Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are not the same, and we should refrain from putting them under the same umbrella.

The fact that we even need to emphasize this raises concerns. Claiming that by criticizing Israel one makes a claim about Jewish people in general is in fact an anti-Semitic statement. There are many Jewish people around the world that have no connection to Israel.

Jewish people, like anyone else, have the right to adopt their own political views. Attributing Zionism to any Jewish student on this campus violates their right to freedom of thought, and as a Jewish student, I am glad that the UC decided to differentiate between the two.

Many people make this exact mistake by starting with a political argument that slowly slips into a religious one, until the two seemed unseparated. This silences voices that should be heard and we should resist that. Today, students know that by criticizing Israel they take the risk of being falsely accused of anti-Semitism.

A religion and a government’s policy are fundamentally different things.

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are not the same, and we should refrain from putting them under the same umbrella.

I am an Israeli Jewish student and I criticize my government; would you call me anti-Semitic?

I have spent 22 years there, all my beloved ones are there, together with my past and probably my future. But those years have brought me, like other editorial contributors, to be “silent no longer.”

Unlike them, however, I say silence no more to the occupation.

When you spend years in Israel you have two choices: seeing the occupation or closing your eyes in front of it. Twenty-two years were absolutely enough for me to see that we live under a system that discriminates between people based on their national identity.

Twenty-two years were enough to see houses in the West Bank and East Jerusalem being demolished by Israel in front of their Palestinians owners’ eyes. It was enough to see the Israeli settlers’ freedom of movement in stark contrast to the harsh restrictions on Palestinians’ movement, it was enough to see the deprivation of water, the arrests of children and the bombings on Gaza.

Twenty-two years on this land were enough, and are definitely too long, to say silence no more to the occupation.

We should all remain silent no more in the face of those who wish to prevent freedom of speech on our campus as well. Falsely accusing students who take political stands of anti-Semitism hurts our fundamental right to speak.

I chose to participate in a student panel held at the beginning of the week, because of my political beliefs, because as an Israeli and as a human being I resist the occupation and support human rights.

In the panel, I was asked whether I am afraid to voice my political opinions in this campus. More than anything else, the silence of voices is what we should all be afraid of, if not terrified of.

We should all say: silence no more. During the last week, Harvard students said it loudly.

—Oren Rimon Or ’22 lives in Weld Hall.

PAGE 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON | APRIL 10, 2019

KENNEDY FROM PAGE 1

JUSTICE FROM PAGE 1

Kennedy School Opens New Online Program

Expert Panel Discusses Mass Incarceration

jobs to be trained in person.

“There’s kind of a crisis of of leadership going on,” Robichaud said.

“There’s a whole wide range of individuals out there who want to respond to this crisis of leadership, who want to genuinely engage in the world with a set of skills for public service, who can’t take a year off from their jobs or family commitments to come to Cambridge to study.”

“The idea is anyone can take any of these six courses and have a great learning experience For the ambitious who want to take all six, there will then be an opportunity for a final capstone essay evaluation,” Robichaud added.

The courses are split into three branches that focus on different skill sets in public policy and leadership.

Each branch was designed in collaboration with a Harvard Kennedy School faculty member.

Robichaud said he has been

personally involved in building courses on leadership and ethics.

There’s a whole wide range of individuals out there who want to respond to the crisis of leadership, who want to genuinely engage in the world.

Christopher Robichaud Program Co-Leader

“Course A is a six-week course, and it focuses mostly on the individual working their way in an organization, learning a little bit about their own values and principles, and how to engage in a kind of practice of effective leadership,” Robichaud said.

Course B, the second part of the leadership and ethics set, focuses on behavioral sciences

and theory, according to Robichaud.

In addition to the leadership and ethics branch, courses will be offered in the subject of evidence for decisions, led by Lecturer in Public Policy Theodore Svoronos, and policy design and delivery, led by Senior Lecturer in Public Policy Michael Walton.

Robichaud said that he and the other faculty developing the program said they are still in the process of deciding what a capstone assessment might entail for those seeking a certificate.

The Kennedy School is not alone in developing its online options.

Harvard Business School recently rebranded its online iteration — HBS Online — and has seen a spike in applications and website traffic.

The Business School has also expanded the number of courses available to participants. jania.tumey@thecrimson.com

trenches. We need you with us,” Bembury, who directs a

We’re soldiers in the trenches. We need you with us.

Arthur Bembury Criminal Justice Advocate

mentorship program for inmates seeking college degrees, said. “Lend your voices, lend your connections, lend your resources.”

Rogers, the founder of an organization that focuses on the experiences of BGLTQ+ individuals in the prison industrial complex, encouraged attendees to send letters to incarcerated individuals through his organization’s pen-pal program.

“I stood up to a prison guard who assaulted me, and I watched him try to assault another individual, and I didn’t let that happen. So they put me in solitary confinement for one year. The only thing I received

of human touch was my mail,” he said.

West said that to enact change, individuals must “go against the grain.”

“I think we at Harvard can rededicate ourselves to Veritas.

The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak. When you listen closely to the voices of the suffering, it’s an invitation to care,” West said.

At the end of the panel, student members of the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign briefly discussed their work on campus and their confrontation last week with University President Lawrence S. Bacow.

Protesters calling on the University to divest its nearly $40 billion endowment from companies tied to prisons interrupted a talk by Bacow Thursday eventually leading to him and other speakers relocating to a different room.

Bacow said in an interview immediately after the talk the protester’s behavior does not “encourage” him to meet with them again.

The T closes. We don’t.

Breaking news, 24/7.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

Bacow has previously given several reasons as to why the University stands by its longstanding precedent of refusing to use its endowment to achieve for political ends. The Universty previously divested from the tobacco industry in 1990,

The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak. When you listen closely to the voices of the suffering, it’s an invitation to care.

Cornel R. West ’74 Panelist and Professor

as well as from companies in South Africa in 1986.

Bacow has called these incidents rare exceptions to University policy. jania.tumey@thecrimson.com

SPORTS

SPOTLIGHT

KRISTEN HONG

CLASS SENIOR ___________________________________________________________

MAJOR SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY ___________________________________________________________

HOMETOWN ORINDA, CALIF. ___________________________________________________________

CAREER-HIGH POINTS 7 (2X), LAST ON 3/24/18 ___________________________________________________________

HEIGHT 5’8” ___________________________________________________________

CAREER-HIGH GOALS 6 (3/17/16) ___________________________________________________________

POSITION ATTACKER ___________________________________________________________

CAREER-HIGH ASSISTS 5 (3/5/16) ___________________________________________________________

WOMEN’S WATER POLO

Harvard Leans on Seniors as Postseason Draws Near jor’s dedication to helping others academically.

By DAVID MANIKAS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

The Crimson’s slate of games this past weekend marked the last time that its senior leaders would be playing in Blodgett Pool.

Facing off against George Washington, Bucknell, and St. Francis in a repeat of the previous week’s matchups in the nation’s capital, the Crimson looked to capitalize in its final stretch of home games with decisive victories against its conference opponents.

The seniors were honored before their second game on Saturday, a meeting with Bucknell for the third time this season.

Keeper Samantha Acker’s impressive 13-save performance against the Bison kept the game low-scoring, but Bucknell edged out Harvard, scoring nine goals to the Crimson’s seven.

With the start of the CWPA Championships approaching, senior leadership will be more important than ever before, as Harvard looks to build off its impressive regular season with a deep playoff run.

Here is a look at the seniors who will be leading the Crimson into the postseason: ­

SAMANTHA ACKER The team’s senior captain has been a key part of the team since her start with the program. In her debut for the Crimson, Acker filled up the stat sheet, recording 12 saves, a steal, and an assist in a contest against Villanova. She would go on to finish her freshman campaign with 55 saves.

Her sophomore contest was highlighted by an ACWPC Superior All-Academic Team selection, which rounded off a successful year as Acker recorded 79 saves to go along with

NOTHING WRONG WITH HONG Senior Kristen Hong has left her mark on the Crimson water polo program, having broken through the Harvard record for most career goals — an astounding 248 tallies, previously held by Yoshi Andersen ‘16. TIMOTHY R. O’MEARA — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER.

20 assists and 21 steals. Against George Washington that year, Acker recorded a career-high five assists to go along with eight saves.

Having six games with double-digit saves, Acker showed her dominance in goal as a Junior. She ended the year with 163 saves along with 17 assists and nine steals earning the title of captain for her last year with the team.

Leading the team in her final season, Acker has set an example for the freshmen, name-

ly first-year goalkeeper Zoe Banks, to follow. Banks, in fact, was good friends with Samantha when the two were teammates in Henry M. Gunn High School.

“It’s really important to be friends with your other goalie.

We spend so much of our time together and we train everyday together,” said Acker, referring to the close bond that the two goalkeepers share. “Watching her grow here has been so great.”

HALEY BOWE The Irvine, Calif. native has been a key to the Crimson’s defense.

In her first year with the program, Bowe saw playing time against No. 9 San Jose State, where she capitalized and scored one of her 11 goals on the season.

She also saw time in the CWPA Championships, where she tallied two steals against Hartwick, adding to the nine other steals on the season.

In her sophomore and ju-

nior campaigns, Bowe saw increased action and contributed once again to the defensive side of the game. Scoring 27 goals and recording 39 steals over those two years, Bowe was an important piece to the squad.

Yet her leadership may be one of her most important contributions to the team.

“She’s definitely helped a lot of the younger players, especially the ones who are going into pre-med or biology concentrations.” said Acker, discussing the Neurobiology ma-

KRISTEN HONG Kristen Hong’s ability to score has been evident since her start with the program in 2016. As a freshman, Hong led the team with 80 goals, tying the single-season program record.

She would continue to lead the squad in scoring throughout her sophomore and junior years, and she is currently on pace to be the top goal-scorer for the Crimson in 2019 as well.

Her ability to score from the start earned her Team Rookie of the Year honors, and her continued success placed her on the CWPA all-conference squad her sophomore year before being named to the All-CWPA Division-I second team in her junior campaign. To go along with these honors, Hong’s performance in the pool set a program record, as she broke the program’s career goals record in her final season at Harvard, surpassing 250 career goals to amend the record books.

“During the CWPA Eastern Championships my freshman year, [our former social media correspondent] watched me score a half-court goal and remembers this entire time,” recalls Hong after a recent encounter with the correspondent when reflecting on her most memorable goal during her time with the program.

The three seniors look to continue their impactful performances in the postseason, which begins after a final conference matchup against Michigan this Saturday.

Entering the CWPA Championships for their last time, the Harvard fourth-years hope to make a deep push and cap off their historic regular season with some hardware. david.manikas@thecrimson.com

MEN’S GOLF

Harvard Competes at Princeton and Matchplay Madness

By KOSTAS TINGOS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

This past weekend was an eventful one for Harvard golf.

The men’s and women’s teams both traveled to Princeton, N.J. for the Princeton Invitational and Matchplay Madness events, respectively.

The men competed in their traditional stroke play fashion, placing ninth out of the 13 teams with a combined score of 864.

On the other hand, Yale rode a scorching-hot second-round score of 270 to victory as it finished with a total of 829 to best the Crimson.

This mark was also a whopping 14 strokes better than second-place Pennsylvania, who shot a total of 843, and 25 strokes better than Harvard’s outing.

Thus, it is no surprise that three out of the top six golfers on the individual leaderboard were Bulldogs.

A pair of sophomores, Paul Stankey and Teddy Zinsner, took first and second with scores of 202 and 204 over three rounds of play.

Stankey in particular played some impressive golf. He led all athletes with 17 birdies, and he did most of his damage on parfours, on which holes he shot eight-under-par for the weekend to mark a solid performance.

This play resulted in a tournament-best score of 64 in his second round.

The top Crimson golfer was freshman Brian Isztwan. He finished with an even score for the invitational, which translated to an individual finish of 16th place.

Isztwan notched his best score of 68 in the first round and piled on 10 birdies along with 35 pars in total.

“I think we’ve all been do­

ONE LAST TUNE-UP On the men’s side, Harvard golf has one final attempt to hone its game before Ivy League Championships begin. The women begin the conference playoffs in two weeks. COURTESY OF HARVARD ATHLETICS.

ing the right things and I’ve found some stuff over the winter that’s been super successful for me,” Isztwan said. “I think we’re all making strides in the right direction, and I like what I’m seeing from everyone on the team. I think we’re in a really good place right now.”

This is the freshman’s second consecutive strong showing.

In the spring season opener at the Michigan Desert Mountain Tournament, Isztwan recorded the second-best Harvard score with 30 pars and eight birdies.

Junior Ryan Rhee was next in line for the Crimson, finishing at four-over-par (217) for the weekend.

Placing in the top 40 individually were sophomore Peter George and junior Rij Patel with scores of 219.

This experience was quite different than that of the Harvard women.

The team was able to compete in a special matchplay format, which involved scoring based on head-to-head matchups against opponents from another team.

“That’s not an opportunity that we’re given often,” senior Anna Zhou said. “Our tournaments are typically stroke play so it was a fun event for everyone to play in. Also, given that it’s the event right before Ivies, we were able to assess where we stand as a team and see what we needed to work on.”

This different style of competition was a refreshing change of pace for the team, and for Zhou specifically.

She won her last two matchups, against Princeton and Pennsylvania, to go 2-1 on the weekend.

“I think matchplay has always been something I do fairly well in because it helps me stay present and focus on one hole

at a time,” Zhou said. “I think that the match play format has always been compatible with me as a player. I think overall my game’s in a pretty good spot right now.”

Freshman Elizabeth Wang was the only Crimson golfer to top Zhou’s mark. Impressively, she swept her three matchups to become one of only four golfers at the event to go unbeaten.

Like Isztwan on the men’s side, Wang’s strong performance is a continuation from her first spring tournament.

There, she snagged fifth on the individual leaderboard to lead Harvard to a second place finish.

That being said, it was quite a balanced effort for the Crimson.

All seven golfers won at least one matchup, and five of them finished .500 or better. This culminated in a third-place finish at the event.

Harvard had ambiguous results on the first day, beating Brown but then falling to the Tigers. The squad managed to finish strong on the second day, making quick work of the Quakers.

Looking ahead, both the men and women will turn their sights to the future. Next up for the women’s team are the Ivy League Championships beginning on April 19th.

The men will have one last tune-up, the Yale Opener, before they too begin the Ivy League Championships on the same day as the women.

“Compared to how our fall went, we are really much improved and super excited,” Isztwan said. “It’s a lot of work that goes into it but I think we’re seeing the right stuff… [We have to just] keep doing what we’re doing, controlling the controllables and doing the right stuff.” kostas.tingos@thecrimson.com