The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLVI, No. 71

The Harvard Crimson The University Daily, Est. 1873 | Volume CXLVI, No. 71 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | wednesday, May 15, 2019

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Humanities departments in Brazil should be protected.

Harvard offers full time and benefits to HUCTW temporary workers.

FC Chelsea practices at Harvard Stadium.

MACDL Anti-Semitic Lampoon Image Draws Backlash Backs Dean Sullivan

By Shera S. avi-Yonah and Delano r. Franklin Crimson Staff Writers

By shera s. Avi-Yonah and aidan f. Ryan Crimson Staff Writers

The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers released a statement Monday condemning Harvard College administrators’ decision not to renew Winthrop Faculty Deans Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr. and Stephanie R. Robinson.

The statement comes two days after Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana announced his decision in an email to Winthrop House residents Saturday.

Since Sullivan first announced his decision to join Weinstein’s legal team — which he left Friday — students have called for the College to remove him from his faculty dean position through rallies, sit-ins, and open letters.

MACDL President Derege B. Demissie cited lawyers’ duty to represent defendants regardless of their popularity in remarks Sunday, according to the group’s press release. MACDL

See sullivan Page 3

More than 250 Harvard College students signed a petition denouncing the Harvard Lampoon, an undergraduate humor magazine, for its decision to publish an anti-Semitic Photoshopped image depicting Holocaust victim Anne Frank.

Students circulated the petition, titled “Demand Public Accountability from the Harvard Lampoon,” over Facebook starting Sunday evening. Separately, Executive Director of Harvard Hillel Rabbi Jonah C. Steinberg emailed editors of the Lampoon comparing the publication of the image “to the obscenity of the Nazis.”

The image depicts a cut-out of Frank’s face superimposed on an image of a woman in a bikini. It also includes a caption reading, “Gone Before Her Time: Virtual Aging Technology Shows Us What Anne Frank Would Have Looked Like if She Hadn’t Died.”

“Add this to your list of reasons the Holocaust sucked,” the caption continues.

Frank — a Holocaust victim who died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at age 15 — became famous after her death when her father published her account of hiding from Nazi troops, “The Diary of a Young Girl.”

Current Lampoon co-pres-

The Harvard Lampoon is located at 44 Bow St. Students recently denounced a digitally edited image of Holocaust victim Anne Frank that was published in the most recent issue of the Lampoon. delano r. Franklin—Crimson photographer

idents Nicholas S. Grundlingh ’20 and Jack G. Stovitz ’20, along with former president Liana A. Spiro ’19, apologized for the publication of the image in an emailed statement to The Crimson.

“In the past few days, the

Lampoon has heard from many whom we hurt with content from the latest issue of our magazine, specifically a Photoshopped image of Anne Frank.

We realize the extent of offense we have inflicted and understand that we must take re-

sponsibility for our actions,” the statement reads.

“We as individuals and we as an organization would like to apologize for our negligence in allowing this piece to be created for and printed in our latest issue. We are sorry for any harm

we have caused. Furthermore, we want to both affirm and emphasize that the Lampoon condemns any and all forms of anti-Semitism,” they added.

Spiro, who served as the

See lampoon Page 3

Bacow Discusses Harvard-City Partnerships in Phoenix Trip By alexanrda A. Chaidez and aidan f. Ryan Crimson Staff Writers

spring flowers

After a rainy start to the spring, students were welcomed into finals week with sunny weather. Quinn G. Perini—Crimson photographer

Fox Grad Members Vote to Stay All-Male By samuel w. Zwickel and sanjana L. Narayanan Crimson Staff Writers

The Fox Club has voted once more to keep its group all-male.

The Fox’s graduate association converged on the final club’s yellow meetinghouse at 44 JFK St. Tuesday morning to decide the fate of a gender-neutral membership proposal brought by its undergraduate members. But the measure failed after 52.9 percent of voters — less than the two-thirds necessary to change the club’s membership policies, per the club’s governing documents — assented.

A total of 346 graduate members voted either in person or through a mail-in absentee ballot, according to documents obtained by The Crimson. Of the 346 total voters, 183 voted in favor of gender-neutral membership, 160 voted against it, and 3 chose to abstain.

The vote comes less than three months after the Fox’s undergraduate membership votInside this issue

Harvard Today 2

ed twice to go co-ed this spring.

The motion passed with more than the required two-thirds vote each time.

The graduate board followed up on the undergraduates’ second vote with a two-hour discussion about the proposal on April 6, according to an internal email.

As a male final club, the Fox is subject to the College’s sanctions against single-gender social organizations. The social group penalties — which debuted with the Class of 2021 — bar members of single-sex Greek organizations and final clubs from captaining athletic teams, receiving College endorsement for prestigious fellowships, and holding leadership positions in student organizations.

But even if the Fox had gone co-ed, it likely would have still remained subject to the sanctions “based on the [Graduate] Board’s understanding of Harvard policies,” according to a

See fox Page 3

News 3

Editorial 6

University President Lawrence S. Bacow traveled to Phoenix, Ariz. last Wednesday, meeting with Phoenix Mayor Katharine W. Gallego ’04 and other city officials to discuss the importance of partnerships between universities and cities.

The trip is the latest in a series of stops Bacow has made across the country. In his first year as University president, Bacow has visited his hometown of Pontiac, Mich., San Diego, Calif., and Miami, Fla. to meet with alumni and discuss how Harvard can benefit those

outside Cambridge, Mass.

Bacow said in a statement that he enjoyed learning about the city of Phoenix and is proud of Gallego’s work as mayor.

“My recent visit to Arizona was especially wonderful because I was able to learn about the good work being done in Phoenix by Mayor Gallego and her team,” Bacow said. “Harvard alumni like Kate are making major contributions to the public good, and I am always interested to hear how the University might enhance or establish partnerships that put more of the knowledge we generate on campus to use in communities across the country.”

Bacow was also slated to

speak at a primary and secondary school in Houston, Texas on Friday, but the event was cancelled due to flooding in the area.

In Phoenix, Bacow met with Gallego as well as city manager Ed Zuercher and deputy city manager Karen L. Peters at Phoenix City Hall. Bacow is the first Harvard president to visit the city for at least decade, Gallego said in an interview Monday.

Harvard began their relationship with Phoenix in 2017 when former mayor and current U.S. representative Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) and Peters

See bacow Page 3

See groups Page 4

E T H N I ECS

Affirmative ACTION

STUDI

WORKER‘S RIGHTS

Immigration

The Role of Asian Cultural Organizations

By amanda y. Su Crimson Staff Writer

Students squeezed into the Winthrop Senior Common Room — some balancing on window sills, others perching on a nearby piano bench — last month for a two-hour discussion on the responsibilities of Asian affinity groups on campus.

Some of the biggest Asian cultural organizations, including the Asian American Association and the Chinese Students Association, ­

Sports 8

Today’s Forecast

had recently attracted censure for their membership policies and programming.

The criticism, much of it taking place through anonymous posts to the Harvard Confessions Facebook page, spurred the April 23 meeting in Winthrop.

The event, titled “The Role of Asian Cultural Organizations on Campus,” kicked off with introductions from everyone present, revealing that the attendees came from a wide range of organizations —

from the Vietnamese Association to the Asian American Brotherhood.

Throughout the evening, participants discussed issues of inclusivity and political advocacy. During lulls in the conversation, AAA co-President Amy Zhang ’21 read off anonymous comments submitted to a live feedback from.

The April 23 discussion — co-sponsored by six different organizations — marked the culmination of years of frustration from

cloudy High: 62 Low: 43

Asian and Asian American students at the College.

Undergraduates have long questioned how Asian affinity groups should serve students on campus.

The College has roughly 25 Asian cultural affinity groups. Even more Asian-focused student organizations exist, running the gamut from the Asian American Dance Troupe to the Task Force on Asian and Pacific American Studies.

These groups have struggled with decisions over

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peaches

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MAY 15, 2019

PAGE 2

HARVARD TODAY

For Lunch Red Spiced Chicken Shrimp and Monterey Jack Quesadilla Pesto Roasted Tofu withTomato

For Dinner Emerald Beef and Vegetable StirFry Red’s Best Fresh Catch White Bean Stew

TODAY’S EVENTS Annual Bike Appreciation Breakfast 7:30-9:30 a.m.

Head to Dudley House this morning for a bike appreciation breakfast!

There will be food and coffee, as well as DIY bike tune ups. This is a great chance to network with other bikers and speak with local bike commuting organizations.

Harvard-Yenching Book Sale 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Harvard-Yenching Library is holding a book sale in its sub-basement today. There will be Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Western materials.

Journals are free, and books will go for as low as $1. The sale is cash-only.

IN THE REAL WORLD Trump Jr. To be Interviewed by Senate Intelligence Committee

Donald Trump, Jr. — President Donald Trump’s son — will appear for an interview by the Senate Intelligence Committee next month. This comes after the committee subpoenaed Trump Jr. to discuss his answers to a 2017 interview with its staff.

Facial Recognition Ban in San Francisco

Lowell House recently saw its bells returned to the bell tower after months of construction forced their relocation. AWNIT SINGH MARTA — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

San Francisco has become the first major city in the United States to ban the use of facial recognition technology by municipal agencies, including police. While facial recognition technology has been used successfully in the past to help identify perpetrators of crimes, some are concerned that its widespread use could lead to an oppressive surveillance state.

DAILY BRIEFING The Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers released a statement Monday condemning Harvard College administrators’ decision not to renew Winthrop Faculty Deans Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr. and Stephanie R. Robinson. The statement comes two days after Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana announced his decision in an email to Winthrop House residents Saturday. In other news, Hundreds of Harvard College students signed a petition denouncing the Harvard Lampoon, an undergraduate humor magazine, for its decision to publish an anti-Semitic Photoshopped image depicting Holocaust victim Anne Frank.

AROUND THE IVIES DARTMOUTH

Beto O’Rourke hosted a town hall at Dartmouth that drew roughly 300 people, the Dartmouth reported Tuesday. O’Rourke discussed his policy platform for the 2020 presidential election, including a promise of “guaranteed high-quality universal healthcare for every American.” He also called for a $15 national minimum wage and criticized President Donald Trump. At the beginning of the rally, a campaign staffer unsuccessfully tried to start a “Beto” chant, and then tried five more times to no avail.

YALE

Authorities suspect foul play in a Sunday fire at a New Haven mosque, according to the Yale Daily News. The fire, which broke out seven days into the holy month of Ramadan, rendered the mosque uninhabitable, and is now the subject of a federal investigation. Connecticut and New Haven elected officials, including Governor Ned Lamont and Senator Richard Blumenthal, have condemned the suspected arson. A fundraiser to support repairs has raised $70,000 so far, surpassing its $10,000 goal.

COLUMBIA

Hillary Clinton sat down for an interview with Columbia University President Lee Bollinger at the school’s Forum in front of over 400 students, according to the Columbia Daily Spectator. During the interview, Clinton discussed her views on 2016 Russian interference, the landmark Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision from 1954, and “pointed to the need for younger movements and an urgent, persistent push for change.” Clinton described 2016 Russian interference as “no different than Watergate,” stating that Trump “unequivocally ‘obstructed justice.’”

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

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FM Chairs Norah M. Murphy ’20 Abigail L. Simon ’20

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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

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Assistant Night Editors Brie K. Buchanan ’22 Luke W. Vrotsos ’21

Photo Editor Kathryn S. Kuhar ’20

Story Editors Angela N. Fu ’20 Jamie D. Halper ’20 Caroline S. Engelmayer ’20

Editorial Editor Ari E. Benkler ’22 Sports Editor William C. Boggs ’22

Sports Chairs Joseph W. Minatel ’21 Henry Zhu ’20

Copyright 2019, The Harvard Crimson (USPS 236-560). No articles, editorials, cartoons or any part thereof appearing in The Crimson may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the President. The Associated Press holds the right to reprint any materials published in The Crimson. The Crimson is a non-profit, independent corporation, founded in 1873 and incorporated in 1967. Second-class postage paid in Boston, Massachusetts. Published Monday through Friday except holidays and during vacations, three times weekly during reading and exam periods by The Harvard Crimson Inc., 14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138 Weather icons made by Freepik, Yannick, Situ Herrera, OCHA, SimpleIcon, Catalin Fertu from flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0.

CORRECTIONS The Harvard Crimson is committed to accuracy in its reporting. Factual errors are corrected promptly on this page. Readers with information about errors are asked to e-mail the managing editor at managingeditor@thecrimson.com.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | May 15, 2019

Lampoon From Page 1

Fox From Page 1

Anti-Semitic Lampoon Image Sparks Controversy

Fox to Remain All-Male After Grad Board Rejects Co-Ed Proposal

Lampoon’s president last year, edited the issue in which the image appeared. The image bears the initials “CdLLdR,” in reference to Lampoon contributor Cristóbal de Losada López de Romaña ’21, who did not respond to a request for comment.

The issue was distributed around campus over the weekend. Sunday evening, several undergraduates began to criticize the image on Facebook and Twitter. That same evening, Danu A.K. Mudannayake ’20, a Crimson design editor, started the petition calling for the College to disaffiliate from the Lampoon.

Days later, the petition was amended early Wednesday morning to include allegations detailing broader issues with the organization’s culture, The revised petition featured additional demands including calls for public apologies from Losada, Spiro, Grundlingh, and Stovitz, and the release of a report on how the photo was published.

Mudannayake said in an interview that she hopes to organize more around the issue in the fall. As of early Wednesday morning, 287 people had signed the petition.

College spokesperson Aaron M. Goldman declined to

comment on whether the College has responded to concerns about the Lampoon.

Asked about the image, Steinberg pointed to the email he wrote to the Lampoon’s editors. He wrote that the image is offensive both because it sexualized a child and because it parodied Frank’s death in the Holocaust.

“Your depiction of Anne Frank’s face grafted to pinup imagery goes far beyond the distastefulness and provocativeness you obviously intend. It is the sexual violation of a child – one who, in life, was subjected to the most hideous of crimes,” Steinberg wrote.

Steinberg added in the email that he believed the image recalled Nazi propaganda.

“It is an image one can imagine Julius Streicher, publisher of Der Stürmer, producing and celebrating – in the ‘lewd and disgusting’ vein to which the judgment against him at the [Nuremberg] tribunal refers,” he wrote.

Gregory E. Lipson ’20, who commented on a Facebook post about the image, wrote in an email that he thinks both the College and the Lampoon should respond to the backlash and investigate why the magazine published the photo.

“Perhaps Harvard could start an investigation into the organization and its culture, and only recognize the group after it demonstrates real institutional change,” Lipson wrote. “The Lampoon should apologize for the image. Then it should figure out how an image so obviously offensive could be published and make real steps towards institutional or cultural change.”

The Lampoon also posted the apology letter on their website and wrote that they plan to publicize organizational changes aimed at “improving the publication” this summer, including changes to their editing process. They wrote that the changes are based on conversations with the organization’s graduate board, other undergraduates, and the Office of Diversity Education and Support.

“Moving forward, we will approach the content of our magazine with greater care.

We realize that our publishing process lacks sufficient editorial oversight, so we are going to restructure our review process for issues to prevent the publication of content like this,” the statement reads. shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com delano.franklin@thecrimson.com

sullivan From Page 1

Lawyer Association Criticizes Harvard for Dismissing Sullivan is the “pre-eminent” association of criminal defense lawyers in the state and is an affiliate of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, according to its website.

“A defense lawyer should never face adverse consequences for representing a person accused of a crime, no matter how reprehensible the crime or repugnant the person may be,” Demissie said in the release.

“Harvard should uphold the tradition set by one of its most distinguished graduates, John Adams, who defended the British soldiers accused of murder during the Boston Massacre.”

In the months since Sullivan first faced criticism, other lawyers have made similar arguments both in open letters and on Twitter. In March, 52 of Sullivan’s and Robinson’s colleagues at Harvard Law School signed a statement in support of Sullivan’s decision to represent Weinstein.

College spokesperson Rachael Dane declined to comment on the statement, instead reiterating points Khurana made in his email to Winthrop students. Rather than connecting the decision not to renew Sullivan and Robinson to Sullivan’s representation, Khurana wrote that an “untenable” environment in Winthrop drove his decision.

“The actions that have been taken to improve the climate have been ineffective, and the noticeable lack of faculty dean presence during critical moments has further deteriorated the climate in the House,” Khurana wrote on Saturday. “I have concluded that the situation in the House is untenable.”Since January, the House has been the site of protests and vandalism. At one point, a student ac-

tivist and a Winthrop tutor both filed police reports with Harvard University Police Department after a confrontation in the House dining hall. The College opened a “climate review” into the House in February, inviting students to share concerns by filling out an online survey and speaking to former Dean of Freshmen Thomas A. Dingman ’67.A Crimson report published Friday revealed that issues at Winthrop started years before Sullivan decided to represent Weinstein.

More than a dozen current and former House affiliates alleged that Sullivan and Robinson targeted tutors they deemed disloyal and created a difficult work environment that led to a rapid staff turnover.

In a February interview, Khurana said he supports faculty members’ “academic freedom” in response to a question asking if he supported Sullivan’s decision to represent Weinstein.The MACDL statement argues that the College’s decision not to reappoint the pair “speaks incredibly poorly” of Harvard’s position on racial equality, among other things.

When they moved into Winthrop House in 2009, Sullivan and Robinson were the first African American faculty deans since the undergraduate House system was established in the 1930s.“Professor Sullivan and Ms. Robinson were the first African-American faculty deans in Harvard’s history,” the statement reads. “That they are now being removed under these circumstances speaks incredibly poorly of Harvard’s commitment to due process, the rule of law, and racial equality, and should concern all of Harvard’s students and faculty.”

Several black student groups

Harvard, from the Law School to Longwood.

The Crimson

have weighed in on the controversy surrounding Sullivan. In February, the Association of Black Harvard Women released a statement calling on him to resign and arguing that his decision harmed their members.

ABHW has since helped organize several events condemning Sullivan’s leadership of Winthrop.

“What has been made especially clear is that you have failed us,” they wrote in February. “You have failed the Black women in this community, not only as one of the few Black Faculty Deans on campus but also as a community leader--someone who we respected and looked to for guidance.”

Several weeks later, the Harvard Black Law Students Association released a statement in support of Sullivan — who advises their group — and alleged that the College’s response to student outcry over Sullivan’s representation of Weinstein had “racist undertones.”

“We are also concerned of the racist undertones evidenced by the disproportionate response to this issue by the University,” the statement reads. “It is not lost on us that Professor Sullivan was the first African American appointed to the position of Faculty Dean in Harvard’s history. Taking his statements as true, he is also the first Faculty Dean to receive such outsized treatment in the case of a controversy.”

Sullivan and Robinson are slated to end their term on June 30. The College plans to appoint an interim set of Winthrop faculty deans and launch a search for their permanent replacements. shera.avi-yonah@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com

letter Fox Club Graduate Board President Hugh M. Nesbit ’77 sent to the club’s graduate affiliates on April 4.

Nesbit could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday night.

In voting against going gender-neutral, the Fox remains one of several all-male groups that have forgone the status of a Recognized Social Organization. Such organizations are exempt from the sanctions due to their co-ed membership policies and cooperation with the University. They reap benefits like access to University spaces and College funding for their events. All but one all-female social group and four all-male groups have chosen to pursue RSO status.

The May 14 vote is the latest decision about the Fox’s membership policies after several years of vacillation between tradition and co-ed proposals.

The club first voted to go coed in October 2015, when nine women joined the organization.

But in July 2017, the Fox terminated the women’s “provisional” membership status, effectively eliminating them from the group.

In fall 2016 — the last time a proposal to go co-ed came up for graduate approval — the count of affirmative votes came just short of reaching the two-thirds threshold: 63.5 percent. A total of 548 members voted in that iteration of the referendum, 58.4 percent more than the number of voters in this month’s referendum.

Unlike in 2016, when all graduate affiliates could vote, only dues-paying members of the Fox could cast a ballot in Tuesday’s referendum. Member dues are based on class year, with recent graduates generally paying less than older members, according to internal emails.

In September 2018, the Fox announced its plan to become gender-neutral as an RSO — only to reverse its decision 11 days later when the College said the club was no longer pursuing RSO status.

The failed vote comes as Harvard faces twin state and federal lawsuits alleging the sanctions policies violate students’ freedom of association and discriminate against students based on gender. Opponents of the sanctions are also lobbying federal lawmakers to protect members of single-gender groups.

Last month, hundreds of fraternity and sorority members from across the nation traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with more than 450 Congressional offices as part of their lobbying efforts. sanjana.narayanan@thecrimson.com samuel.zwickel@thecrimson.com

bacow From Page 1

President Bacow Meets With Arizona Leaders About Partnerships were part of the inaugural class of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, a collaboration between the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Bloomberg Philanthropies to “inspire and strengthen city leaders.”

Bacow, Gallego, and the city officials also discussed the “HeatReady Collaboration” — an ongoing effort between Harvard, Arizona State University, the city of Phoenix, and others to examine heat mitigation in the city.

The initiative is being driven by a $100,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the participants are hoping to develop an urban heat plan and heat-ready certification model among other measures.

Gallego said Bacow also spoke about the College’s new summer public service stipend for incoming freshmen in

the Class of 2023. Participants in the program will receive a $1,500 stipend to pursue 100

I represent more people than the entire state of New Hampshire, and I feel like so much of the future of the country is outside of the Boston area.

Katharine W. Gallego ’04 Phoenix Mayor

hours of community service in their hometowns, both in the United States and abroad.

Gallego praised the program Monday for providing students with the opportunity to serve

their own cities and towns.

“I think there’s been a concentration of alumni in a couple cities mostly on the coast, and I see great value in people serving throughout more diverse locations as well as having financial support to do public service,” Gallego said.

Gallego stressed the value of universities like Harvard engaging with cities in the growing southern and western parts of the country.

“I represent more people than the entire state of New Hampshire, and I feel like so much of the future of the country is outside of the Boston area,” Gallego said.

“If you’re going to be doing important scholarship on cities, Phoenix should be at the table,” she added. alexandra.chaidez@thecrimson.com aidan.ryan@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MAY 15, 2019

PAGE 4

GROUPS FROM PAGE 1

Asian-American Groups Carve Out Campus Niche membership policies, the definition of “Asian American,” and the prioritization of political advocacy.

“Some people join certain organizations because they just want to find just a community or a place to feel at home whereas others join because they want to have more advocacy or they want purely cultural events or purely social events,” AAA co-president Sami G. Um ’21 said in an interview.

“As leaders of a cultural organization, especially an organization like AAA that’s supposed to be catering to all those different interests, it’s about finding a way to balance that,” she said.

‘BARRIERS TO ENTRY’

When asked whether they are part of a certain cultural organization, many joke, “Well, technically I’m on the mailing list.”

Many students say a disconnect exists between board members and general members of Asian affinity groups.

Though these groups hold weekly meetings and frequent bonding events for board members, they often do not host enough events that bring the entire membership together, according to Daniel Lu ’20.

“I don’t think most students feel like they’re part of CSA unless they’re on CSA board. And that’s myself included,” said Lu, who is on the CSA mailing list but does not consider himself a member.

Many organizations do occasionally host open snackthemed study breaks and coordinate “sib-fams,” which pair freshmen with an older “sibling” in the organization. Lu said he thinks these groups have the “right idea,” but must hold such events on a more regular basis and tailor them to their general membership.

The divide is apparent as early as September of freshman year. Many organizations have freshman-exclusive board positions for students looking to get involved with an affinity group. But these “frosh-rep” positions are often limited. For most Asian affinity groups, interested freshmen submit candidacy statements and deliver speeches to the general membership — people on the mailing list — who then vote.

This election process may not allow adequate assessment of prospective candidates’ qualifications, according to incoming South Asian Association Academic-Political chair Javin Pombra ’22. A candidate’s public speaking skills, pre-existing friendships with organization members, or previous leadership experience can often be the determining factor in such elections.

“I can’t imagine being rejected by a cultural organization,” Pombra said. “Let’s say a cultural organization rejects you as a frosh-rep and they’re like, ‘But we still want you to be actively involved.’ How is it going to feel as a first semester freshman to go to all these cultural events and talk to people who have literally just said that you don’t deserve to be on board?”

This year, SAA eliminated the frosh-rep election process, allowing any interested freshman to join the board. Previously, 20 to 30 freshmen would run for frosh-rep positions, but only

eight people would be elected.

Dharma, Harvard’s Hindu students organization, also has an open frosh-rep system.

“Culture is about buy-in,” Sonya Kalara ’21, who is a member of SAA and Dharma, said.

“So if someone wants to be a part of a cultural organization, I don’t think there’s any sense in saying, ‘No, you can’t be a part of a culture’ because culture is something that only exists when it is shared.”

Some organizations not only have cuts for board positions, but also general membership. The Organization of Asian American Sisters in Service and AAB, for example, both have recruitment processes that require prospective members to get meals with every current member. Members then deliberate, accepting certain individuals through a unanimous vote.

Several students have criticized these organizations for gatekeeping spaces to students.

“Whenever you create barriers to entry, you privilege some types of people over others,” Kalara said. “That’s just inevitable.”

OAASIS administrative co-Director Lily B. Ge ’20 did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Whenever you create barriers to entry, you privilege some types of people over others...

That’s just inevitable.

Sonya Kalara ’21 College Student

AAB president Jonathan T. Paek ’20 said the organization limits its membership to create a close environment that cultivates their members’ abilities to serve Asian American students on campus more broadly. He also pointed out that AAB has had a diverse membership including the leaders of many cultural organizations, as well as non-Asian members and nonmale identifying members.

“AAB is a very internally facing organization, but we have a lot of individuals who are very ingrained within the Asian American community,” Paek said. “The purpose of our [AAB] check-ins, to me, is to have a tight-knit space where we can always continually challenge ourselves to be better and then to go off into our individual spaces to improve those organizations, those communities as well.”

Some organizations have created more programming open to their entire membership, not just board members.

SAA, for example, organizes Ghungroo, an annual dance showcase that celebrates South Asian culture. Students of any background can participate as producers, dancers, choreographers, and set designers.

“Ghungroo is probably one of our most inclusive events,” incoming SAA co-President Fatima Shabhaz ’21 said in an interview. “A huge goal of mine as president is to create more events like Ghungroo where people can come out to feel like they’re part of the community.”

The Korean Association has also hosted more open events for non-board members, according

to outgoing KA co-President Nicole H. Kim ’20. The organization started a Facebook group to more easily communicate information to members and has begun hosting biweekly “Community Kickbacks.”

‘SYSTEMATICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED’

Some organizations must also deal with exclusivity in the form of demographic representation. Pan-Asian groups like AAA face the unique challenge of encompassing a diverse population originating from a continent that comprises 48 different countries.

Though cultural organizations serve as spaces for people to negotiate identities, many South Asian Americans and Southeast Asian Americans at Harvard say they do not feel that their identities are represented in pan-Asian groups like AAA, whose board is predominantly East Asian.

“When people think of Asian American they mostly think of East Asia,” Harvard Vietnamese Association president Thang Diep ’19 said. “And so I can’t help but feel like this ‘panAsian’ community is a specific way that doesn’t include me in the first place.”

Some students say attempts to coalesce a pan-Asian community oftentimes homogenize and neglect the culturally and socioeconomically unique experiences of different groups.

Catherine H. Ho ’21, who has attended AAA events in the past, says the relative homogeneity of AAA’s membership is reflected in its programming.

“I’ve never seen any of their programming that talks about Southeast Asia,” Ho said. “Their programming is really interesting about representation, Jeremy Lin, and their study breaks are really cool. But I never felt like my identity was represented there.”

“Southeast Asians are systemically underrepresented,” she added.

“There are huge poverty differences and economic differences within different groups of people, whether that be ethnicity-wise or how they came to America, whether they were, like, immigrants, or had work visas, or were refugees.”

Many Southeast Asian and South Asian students have instead opted to join organizations like SAA or HVA. “The first thing that I saw when I went to an AAA event was that it was primarily East Asian,” Narayan T. Narasimhan ’19, a former SAA Academic-Political chair, said. “I think that while AAA is a wonderful organization in its own right, the only difference was that SAA specifically catered towards my culture compared to AAA which frequently went and participated with CSA and other East Asian organizations.”

Um said it is impossible for a pan-Asian organization like AAA to represent every single experience, but the organization is taking steps to address the issue, including partnering with other groups.

“We could start by being more open or having branches of the organization that are responsible for organizing certain initiatives to help cater to these different identities run by people who have actually experienced that themselves,” she

said.

Various groups have tried to foster “pan-Asian” solidarity at Harvard.

Two years ago, Alex Z. Zhang ’20 and Julie S. Chung ’20 founded the Pan-Asian Council to promote coalition building. PAC unites the leaders of 16 Asian affinity groups.

During monthly council meetings, organization leaders update others on upcoming events and possibilities for co-sponsorships. For example, AAB annually hosts Reflections, a catered dinner honoring graduating seniors who have made a positive impact on Asian American students.

Twelve other organizations decided to co-sponsor Reflections after hearing about it at a council meeting.

“I think PAC is just a way for people to connect,” Ho, a current council co-chair, said.

“Even though we do have differences being Vietnamese American versus Chinese American, there are issues that affect all of us.”

Students have also organized events independent of specific organizations. Former Asian American Women’s Association board members Emily C. Zhu ’19 and Chung — an inactive Crimson editorial editor — started “Asian American Community Brunches” this semester to give students a space to unpack what it means to be Asian American at Harvard.

“We’re not really tied strongly to any particular organizations,” Zhu said. “We were thinking about what Asian American community feels like outside of a specific group or board.”

During the first brunch, the some 20 attendees brainstormed topics to discuss in upcoming weeks. Those topics include public service and a debrief of “East Side,” a recent musical put on by the Harvard College Asian Students Arts Project.

“It’s really meant to be a space where people can grow together,” Zhu said. “And even if there’s no clear answer, and there will never be one, we can try to figure things out together.”

THE PERSONAL AND THE POLITICAL

Some argue Asian American was never really a cultural identity to begin with — it’s a political one.

Activist and historian Yuji Ichioka coined the term “Asian American” in 1968 to build a collective political identity after seeing the success of the Black Power movement. It signaled an interconnected history of a once relatively small population in the United States, united by issues like immigration, labor exploitation, and racism.

The term was also a rejection of the label “Oriental,” an imperialist, Eurocentric term that geographically saw Asia as relative to Europe.

“The term Asian American was built out of a necessity for coalition building,” James Z. Gui ’20 said. “It’s more important than ever that we really examine what are the problems that people sharing this racial identification have in this country and what are we doing to build community that isn’t solely based on boba or partying.”

AAA was initially conceived

with this political identity in mind. After Harvard refused to recognize Asian Americans as a minority, a group of students founded AAA to seek minority status for Asian American students and repudiate the Asian “model minority” myth.

But a common perception of AAA today is that they have strayed from their political roots. For some, the lack of advocacy opportunities and conversations in AAA and other Asian cultural organizations has been disappointing.

Lu argued that it is impossible to separate culture from politics.

“Part of what defines our racial identity or cultural identity is how it interacts with other people in society and how it interacts with different political issues,” he said. “When we talk about immigration and undocumented people, that’s affecting our very culture and sometimes even the different members of these organizations.”

In recent years, TAPAS, a student organization that advocates for a formalized ethnic studies program at Harvard, has become a “de-facto progressive Asian students association,” according to Lu. He and Gui joined TAPAS — which is explicitly not a cultural organization — because of its focus on advocacy.

Several Asian American cultural organizations have opted to take a more apolitical stance on issues so as to not alienate members with different views.

But Lu argued that cultural organizations do not have to take a stance on an issue to be

It’s wrong when you have a social space that also ends up excluding people.

It’s hard to separate the social from the political.

Thang Diep ’19 College Student

politically engaged.

“You can just provide a space to talk about things like mental health, immigration issues, sexual assault,” he said. “Maybe there will be some people with pretty differing opinions on them, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea to still have the conversation.”

Political issues can also creep into social spaces, according to Diep.

“It’s not wrong to want a social space,” Diep said. “I think it’s wrong when you have a social space that also ends up excluding people. It’s hard to separate the social from political because I think even when planning our social events, we have to think critically about who are you having these social events for.”

At the April meeting, an AAB member off-handedly mentioned that he had heard homophobic and anti-black comments at an AAB meeting, drawing criticism to the group for tolerating homophobia and racism.

Responding to those criticisms, Paek said in an interview that AAB does not accept “any form of homophobia, misogyny, anti-blackness.”

“We absolutely condemn that,” Paek said. “And what’s important is we constantly keep each other and our communities accountable.”

Even beyond political engagement within the Asian American community, Narasimhan said he wants to see Asian affinity groups work on activism related to other marginalized groups, including Latinx, black, and queer students at Harvard.

“There needs to be a really great push to accept the fact that if we want to be true allies with one another, we have to accept the fact that we have to be allies with everybody else,” he said. “I think that’s historically been a problem within the Asian American community.”

MOVING TOWARD A PANASIAN COMMUNITY

Several Asian affinity group leaders said the April meeting has already prompted plans for new initiatives.

Immediately following the event, CSA emailed its members, stating it would release an open calendar of events to general members, host two town halls each semester, publicize open board meetings, and reform board training.

Similarly, AAA will hold more open board meetings, host organization-wide checkins three times a semester, and email members a calendar of events at the beginning of each semester. The group will also create “Chair Committees,” which anyone can join to plan events.

“Cultural spaces should be an inclusive, open place where you can connect with people who look like you,” CSA co-President Cindy Gao ’21 said in an interview. “It’s a very valuable space for people to not have to necessarily think about, or feel alienated because of, the cultural part of their identity just because they’re surrounded by people who also share that.”

Though tensions rose during the forum, organization leaders said they are appreciative of the event’s high turnout and eager for future opportunities during which Asian American students at Harvard can convene under one roof.

“I was pleasantly surprised by how much I felt like the community and all these disparate organizations really came together to come up with concrete ideas about things they’d like to see,” Zhang said. “I think it just goes to show how much people care about this community.”

Several students said they are hopeful campus groups will coalesce into a broader panAsian body.

“I think a pan-Asian community at Harvard exists insofar as we had this event and people who maybe don’t always feel like they’re that connected still came out and still shared space together,” Lu said. “The question is just how we want to move forward from it. Clearly it’s not very well formed or well organized.”

“But seeing a lot of people at this event is encouraging to me because a lot of people do want to make it an even stronger and inclusive, supportive community,” he added. amanda.su@thecrimson.com

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MAY 15, 2019

Dean Claudine Gay Defends Spousal Hiring Policy

By JONAH S. BERGER and MOLLY C. MCCAFFERTY CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Dean of the Faculty and Sciences Claudine Gay defended Harvard’s professional support for spouses of prospective hires in a Thursday interview, responding to concerns about faculty retention raised in a recent Government department report.

The issue arose in the final report of the Government Department Committee on Climate Change, which outlined a litany of challenges and potential changes to departmental policies, including those surrounding faculty recruitment and retention.

The Department formed the

Committee in March 2018 in response to public allegations from 18 women that former Government Professor Jorge I. Dominguez committed repeated acts of sexual misconduct over four decades.

The “recruitment and retention” subcommittee of the CCC examined long-term trends in the gender and racial diversity of the department, writing in the report that such diversity serves as a “crucial component” of an “environment” in which sexual misconduct is less likely to occur.

In the past 25 years, the department has only put two women up for tenure — one of whom was promoted — compared to 14 men put up for tenure, of whom 12 gained promo-

tion, according to the report.

While the proportion of women in the department — around 30 percent — is roughly comparable to peer institutions, the CCC wrote that the department still has an “obvious problem” in retaining junior female faculty members.

Harvard’s policies on career offers to spouses could be one of the primary factors contributing to the low retention rate, the report states.

“Several women have left the department as a result of moving with their spouses,” the report reads. “The problem is exacerbated by the university policy of not making ‘spousal appointments’ for the purpose of retaining faculty.”

Gay said on Thursday that

Harvard provides significant “transitional assistance” to spouses in finding a position at Harvard or a nearby institution. She pointed out that there are several faculty couples within FAS. “The level of commitment to responding to the legitimate needs and professional ambitions of the partner is very high,” she said. “This is something that we take seriously, because we realize that when we’re hiring someone, we’re not bringing just that person, but we’re bringing, in many cases, a whole family.”

Though the report notes that the University does occasionally hire spouses for nontenure-track positions, it argues that such hiring “may not

be enough” to convince all prospective hires.

“There is probably not much we can do about this; it is mainly a problem at the university level,” the report states.

Gay argued that instead of using a one-size-fits-all policy, the University attempts to examine each prospective spousal hire separately.

“Every circumstance is different, and so the conversations are never about a blanket policy, it’s about in this particular circumstance, how do we work together to support the professional needs of the partner of a faculty member that we are eager to recruit?” she said.

In an interview last month, Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity Judith D.

Singer also said that in order to remain competitive in the academic market, the University has increased its support for couples seeking faculty positions.

“Our faculty are constantly getting inquiries from other places,” Singer said. “One of the other things we’ve had to do is increase our supports for work life and dual-career couples.”

“The old days of calling somebody up, usually a man, and saying, ‘You want to come to Harvard?’ and he’d say yes and go home and say, ‘Honey, we’re moving to Cambridge — that is a thing of the past,” she added. jonah.berger@thecrimson.com molly.mccafferty@thecrimson.com

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MAY 15, 2019

PAGE 6

EDITORIAL OP-ED

THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

Exploring The Crimson’s Stigma Among Communities of Color

For the Sake of the Humanities

By RUBEN E. REYES JR.

EDITORS’ NOTE: The Crimson is not, and has never been, a perfect institution. We have taken a number of steps to become a more welcoming organization for editors of color. We have seen these initiatives come into fruition in recent years with increased representation in leadership and throughout the publication’s staff. Nevertheless, we recognize there is more work to do. We are publishing this piece in the interests of continuing a dialogue about how to address important questions and considerations of diversity and inclusion.

—Jessenia N. Class ’20, Editorial Chair —Robert Miranda ’20, Editorial Chair —Kristine E. Guillaume ’20, President

“W

ith growing frequency, outside critics have charged that the lack of skin color diversity on The Crimson’s news board undermines our mission and our integrity,” a former Crimson executive wrote in 2001.

“That darned elite news board [was] too white” for many reasons, including “several historical incidents of questionable editorial decisions [that] have become the stuff of institutional memories for both sides.”

“Our critics believe that this leads The Crimson to make coverage decisions that blight or marginalize minorities on campus,” he wrote.

Eighteen years after this editor penned his piece, I felt myself living out his words.

As I first joined The Crimson during my freshman spring, I was pulled, back and forth, between the Latinx community that had made Harvard feel like an echo of home and the prestigious newspaper organization I sought to be a part of.

Though the feeling has transformed, shifted slightly over many months, it still lingers as I walk inside the brick walls of 14 Plympton Street or at weekly dinners with Fuerza Latina. The tension lives in the side-eyes, cautionary tales from upperclassmen, and questions from Latinx freshmen about whether they too should join the organization — questions I still can’t fully answer.

“Diversifying The Crimson requires pioneers,” the editor wrote. “Aspiring journalists of color need to test the validity of the stigma.”

Eighteen years later, I’ve navigated The Crimson like any real pioneer — facing hardship head-on, managing stress, breaking barriers, working through trauma, and fighting the temptation to turn back. Eighteen years is a lifetime. In 2001, members of the recently admitted class of 2023 were just coming into the world.

We’d yet to experience the financial crisis, a revolutionary overhaul of the College’s financial aid system, two Harvard presidencies, and two terms of the United States’ first black president. And yet in my past three years as a Crimson editor, I’ve seen The Crimson’s stigma as an organization inhospitable to many people of color persist in different forms.

The frayed relationship between the paper and communities of color is rooted in decades of coverage decisions, missteps, and omissions. Though not the fault of contemporary editors who inherit these histories, in casual conversations with my fellow editors at The Crimson, I’ve seen that it affects their experiences every day. Before seeking solutions, we have to acknowledge, without sanitizing or softening words, that The Crimson’s coverage has negatively affected communities of color for decades.

A HISTORY OF “QUESTIONABLE EDITORIAL DECISIONS”

Over the past few decades, The Crimson has gained a negative reputation among students of color, sometimes for unintentional but harmful gaffes and at others for an antagonistic relationship with certain campus leaders.

During the 1994-1995 school year, The Crimson Editorial Board had a contentious public reckoning in its pages with then-President of the Black Students’ Association Kristen M. Clarke ’94. After calling for her resignation, one student wrote that “The Crimson let its readers know that the editors are not interested in discovering what people actually think.

Rather, they seek to stir up the campus and carry out personal vendettas.” Leaders from ten different affinity groups, including Fuerza Quisqueyana, the Asian American Association, and the Society of Arab Students, signed a letter taking issue with The Crimson’s mis-contextualization and calls for Clarke’s resignation.

“Harvard’s ethnic organizations will not tolerate such irresponsible journalism and unthinking sensationalism,” the letter concluded.

“Apparently, this is how things go ‘on the Harvard plantation,’” multiple leaders of black affinity groups co-wrote in a piece titled “Crimson Is No Friend Of Black People.” The three months in which all these editorials ran are but a snapshot of a larger history in which The Crimson’s journalistic decisions have significantly hurt their relationship with communities of color, especially the black

community. A few other images stand out as well.

In 2012, The Crimson published an opinion piece about affirmative action that claimed that “helping those with primarily low academic qualifications into primarily academic institutions makes as much sense as helping the visually impaired become pilots.” The piece made a number of students from underrepresented racial groups feel so unwelcome that they were still writing about it two years later.

In 2015, a 5,000-word piece on black student activism was not published because the reporter, Henry S. U. Shah ‘15 had a supposed conflict of interest for attending a thousand-person Black Lives Matter solidarity protest. “For people of color, the decision was none too surprising,” Shah wrote in The Harvard Advocate. “Many of my interviewees for the article brought up incident after incident in which they felt The Crimson had published material that excluded or hurt their communities.”

When Renegade magazine debuted in 2015, it was not a coincidence that many of the individuals who co-founded and contributed to the magazine were people of color who had formerly written for The Crimson. In a public online forum, The Crimson Editorial Board was identified as one site of identity and race based issues on campus.

If we call those ghosts for what they are, if we sit with them, and then work to make their presence less salient — we can move towards making The Crimson an organization where anyone, regardless of their background, can thrive.

In 2016, a group message composed of more than two hundred Latinx students discussed the fact that The Crimson’s Fifteen Most Interesting Seniors did not include a single Latinx or Native American senior. Multiple individuals voiced their disappointment, a feeling not alleviated by the fact that the profile of one of the white “interesting” seniors said that one of her characters was “a middle-aged Jamaican woman.”

A historical overview reveals that the tension between The Crimson and cultural affinity groups, especially those comprised primarily of underrepresented students at the College, cannot be boiled down to one or two “questionable editorial decisions.”

But before we convince ourselves that these missteps and mini-crises are things of the past, it’s critical to see how these histories inform racial and ethnic tensions today. As I reflect on them, it doesn’t feel outlandish to say that these stories — and all those lost as seniors graduate and new freshmen arrive — dictate The Crimson’s present.

THE STAKES OF THE CRIMSON’S MISTAKES

At times, interactions between The Crimson and communities of color have been blatantly adversarial. At others, seemingly harmless coverage decisions or mishaps have fostered mistrust, created frustration, and hurt the paper’s credibility among students of color.

When I first joined The Crimson, I was told to proceed with caution. In 2015, when I arrived on campus, upperclassmen involved in Latinx affinity groups insisted that The Crimson was too white, too rich, too problematic. Their perception was informed by The Crimson’s actions, those that they personally experienced or heard telephoned on group chats and listservs.

I have a complex relationship with The Crimson, in no small part because of the aforementioned histories explored, those both lived and inherited.

During my year as co-chair of the Editorial Board, attempts to bring issues of diversity were met with pushback, evasive platitudes, and little progress towards grappling with our past. I dealt with having to justify my use of Spanish, in the building and on paper.

I found myself defending the organization’s publication decisions, even against peers whose pain and dissatisfaction was palpable. I left my position at The Crimson exhausted, and my experiences at the paper dominated my therapy sessions in the long year that followed.

In other moments, I felt supported in both my journalistic work and my attempts to make The Crimson as more welcoming place, especially to those who look like me. At times that red brick building on 14 Plympton Street has been a home, and at others it’s been the space at Harvard I’ve felt most out of place.

This paradox exists for many editors of color who inherit The Crimson’s reputation, its historically tense relationship with communities of color, and a continual desire to better account for the stories of all the communities it claims to cover — an unmet goal for the journalism industry nationwide.The cycle becomes

self-defeating quickly. The historically fraught relationship with communities of color may discourage underrepresented editors from joining The Crimson.

Without their perspective, the organization runs the risk of committing more editorial mistakes and tone-deaf decisions.

To mitigate the phenomena, the organization is constantly implementing new initiatives to substantially grapple with issues of diversity and inclusion in the building to ensure that editors from underrepresented groups remain involved.

In the past few years, there have been strides made by the building’s Diversity and Inclusivity committee with tangible effects through a task force model created in spring 2018.

More and more women of color influence coverage in their leadership roles or as reporters, designers, and editorial writers. The Crimson’s leadership has also introduced building wide implicit bias trainings in the last year.

Throughout our history, there have been editors — often from marginalized groups themselves — who’ve worked to address The Crimson’s “diversity problem” and its reputation.

Those efforts are continued today by those at the helm. With persistent efforts, we can continue moving toward a time where being committed to both The Crimson and communities of color does not appear as paradoxical as it historically has. Yet maintaining a staff that is representative of the College’s student body is complicated by the weight of The Crimson’s past mistakes. A reputation is not an easy thing to shake, and a relationship built on adversary with communities of color is a tenuous one that could easily splinter. Therefore, a prolonged commitment to atoning for the paper’s past, and actively working to foster a more just and equitable organization, is crucial. How we convey that commitment, to those at The Crimson and beyond, is perhaps our most monumental task.

I write these words, urgently and with a cautious optimism, as a way of reminding us of where we’ve been and the work we’ve yet to do. If it pretends that everything is rosy, and that ignorant editorial decisions are a thing of the far, far past rather than an influential centerpiece of the present, The Crimson risks undoing all the back-breaking work that’s been done so far.

WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

In this piece, and previous pieces that dealt with internal criticisms of the organization, I’ve had to parse my words, carefully and delicately. I’ve approached these articles with the understanding that an editor could decide to not publish them at any moment. Attempts to provide this organization with much needed introspection, have been very difficult, stressful, and taxing.

I wrote the first draft of this piece last April, nearly a year ago. It’s only going to press today. The process has been long-drawn and draining, not least of all because the task at hand requires a careful handling of decades-worth of history. There have been few public interrogations of The Crimson’s relationship with communities of color, which have made writing this piece feel both necessary and impossible.

When The Crimson’s work is criticized, I’ve noticed that it’s primarily done in private, among friends, and often in whispers. Members of marginalized communities are hurt by our journalistic decisions, and it’s unfair to hope that they will take the energy to write letters to the editor or Facebook posts each time a mistake is made.

Instead, The Crimson must be proactive in hosting a discussion about these issues within its pages, whether through the creation of something like The New York Times’ Reader Center or other internal initiatives that put criticisms of its work out in public.

A more sustained, public, and institutional dedication to criticism of The Crimson’s work would lessen this burden, mend its relationships with marginalized communities, and prevent internal criticisms held by Crimson editors from festering into unaddressed frustration.

I entered The Crimson ignorant of its past transgressions, yet constantly felt the ghost of editors past floating around me. At various points, I was left frustrated by individuals who insisted on hiding from them, pretending they weren’t as bad as they were, or simply ignoring their existence. Perhaps that’s what this article is about; about archiving everything I know to be real, everything I carry on my body and mind that many others refused to see.

If we call those ghosts for what they are, if we sit with them, and then work to make their presence less salient — we can move towards making The Crimson an organization where anyone, regardless of their background, can thrive. The lengths we’ll traverse to do so depend on us, and on the editors to come.

—Ruben E. Reyes Jr. ’19, a former Crimson Editorial Chair, is a History & Literature concentrator in Leverett House.

A

n open letter written by Harvard Ph.D. students in support of Brazil’s continued funding of sociology and philosophy programs has received signatures from over 800 institutions. The total number now exceeds 9,000, including signatures from various Harvard affiliates. The letter responds to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s tweet on April 27, which endorsed a policy initiative to cut funding to sociology and philosophy departments at public universities in Brazil.

Defunding academic disciplines — especially those in the social sciences and humanities — threatens the freedom of speech and thought that are essential to a healthy society.

We appreciate and sympathize with the sentiments expressed in the letter by the two Sociology graduate students, Derick S. Baum and Mo Torres. They are drawing critical attention to a serious issue. This attack on sociology and philosophy is not only a marker of Brazil’s current political climate, but also bears enormous consequences for the battle against the humanities and social sciences taking place in the United States.

In the wake of national leaders and politicians calling for the defunding of different academic departments and programs in American universities, it is clear that the humanities and social sciences are being called into question not just in Brazil but here as well. As students are pushed toward increasingly pre-professional tracks, liberal arts degrees are being devalued — deemed a waste of time and money.

As liberal arts students ourselves, however, we beg to differ.

The humanities and the social sciences advance the reaches of our collective knowledge, call into question our ways of life and most fundamental assumptions, teach us to interrogate normative social structures, and continue to strive for a more equitable and just world.

Together, sociology and philosophy ask “what kind of life do we live?” and “what kind of life do we want to live?” These questions are not superfluous, nor are they unnecessarily abstract: They are increasingly important in a world that seems to be changing faster than ever and faces significant existential challenges.

Scholars and students have the serious task before them of contributing novel research across fields and passing down that knowledge for the benefit of the world. The work that professors, graduate students, and even undergraduates like ourselves put into their studies should not be trivialized.

The role of the academy should not be to serve pre-professional interests. Scholars and students have the serious task before them of contributing novel research across fields and passing down that knowledge for the benefit of the world. The work that professors, graduate students, and even undergraduates like ourselves put into their studies should not be trivialized.

But perhaps most importantly, defunding academic disciplines — especially those in the social sciences and humanities — threatens the freedom of speech and thought that are essential to a healthy society. That’s true across the globe. And that’s true in terms of research as well as pedagogy.

As we have opined in the past, voters’ interests and concerns are influenced by their unique exposure to historical, ethical, and cultural claims. When young people are exposed to the breadth and critical scope of the liberal arts, they become engaged, thoughtful, and well-rounded citizens.

For the sake of humanity, let’s preserve sociology and philosophy.

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

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON | MAY 15, 2019

Some Contingent Workers Offered Full-Time Jobs

By JAMES S. BIKALES and RUOQI ZHANG CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Forty-two temporary and lessthan-half-time workers at Harvard were offered regular staff positions in March and April following the implementation of new contract provisions for nonfull time workers that went into effect in March, according to a union email sent Tuesday.

The new policies stemmed from an agreement reached during contract negotiations last year between the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers — Harvard’s largest union representing more than 5,000 employees — and the University.

The new contingent worker policy requires the University to provide full staff-level compensation and benefits for contingent workers — which include temporary and less-thanhalf-time workers — if they are employed for more than three months or for more than 14 hours per week. The rule also prohibits University departments to cycle workers between less-than-half-time and temporary status more than once.

Though the new policy officially went into effect in March, the transition is still ongoing, according to HUCTW President Carrie E. Barbash. Contingent workers who signed contracts after the new rules went into effect must wait three months to

qualify for regular staff benefits.

Barbash said she does not have exact numbers, but expects that more temporary and less-thanhalf-time workers will gain regular staff positions in the coming months.

“I would be shocked if there weren’t more,” Barbash said.

She said these transitions will likely happen either in June — when contingent workers who signed on in March reach the three-month maximum — or at the end of the summer, when temporary employees are typically hired for the school year.

She said the departments that decided to make the transitions in March and April were “ahead of the game.”

Barbash said there are 1,000-

1,200 contingent workers at Harvard in any given week.

Most of these workers, however, will not be affected by the policy because they were already being employed according to the new rules.

HUCTW pushed for the rule after its research last year revealed that around 300 temporary and part-time workers at Harvard worked “excessive” hours without overtime pay.

“What makes these 42 jobs unique is that they were working for an extended period of time as a temp or a [less-thanhalf-time employee], and then they were converted,” Barbash said. “That’s a really positive thing for us to see because it means that the policy in some

departments is working the way we intended it to.”

Temporary workers and less-than-half-time workers enjoy fewer benefits compared to those provided to regular Harvard staff members despite the similarity of their work to permanent staff, according to Barbash.

“It just seems like if these people are kind of doing this type of work regularly and not just for short projects, they should have the same benefits as everybody else,” Barbash said.

University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain wrote in an emailed statement that there has generally been an increase in the number of these types of hires. Swain, however, wrote

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he could not verify the number HUCTW’s specific numbers.

The contract also established a Joint Committee on Contingent Work to ensure departments comply with the policy and requires that Harvard share monthly data on its use of contingent workers with HUCTW for analysis to identify potential contract violations.

The current HUCTW contract with the University went into effect in December 2018, after the contract negotiations dragged weeks past the expiration of their previous contract.

The current three-year contract will expire in September 2021. james.bikales@thecrimson.com ruoqi.zhang@thecrimson.com

SPORTS

WEEKEND

PREVIEW

FRIDAY ___________________________________________________________

SATURDAY ___________________________________________________________

Softball takes on No. 6 Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Harvard posted a 25-17 record but will face off against a formidable Wildcat team (42-12). First pitch is at 11:30 p.m.

Baseball will look to defend its vy League regular-season title in the league championship series against Columbia. The winner of the best-of-three set will advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Game One gets underway at Harvard at 1:00 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER

Fans Brave Rain to See Chelsea Players at Harvard

BREAKING THE HUDDLE Chelsea players continue their practice at Ohiri Field. The English club will take on the New England Revolution on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium before flying back across the pond to prepare for its May 29 Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Blues will take on fellow London squad Arsenal in the contest. COURTESY OF ZACH REYNOLDS/HARVARD ATHLETICS

By EAMON J. MCLOUGHLIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

A nyone who has spent any extended period of time at Harvard knows that running into famous people is a fairly common occurrence on campus.

In addition to the world-renowned professors and scientists that are employed by the university, well-known politicians and artists often drop by for a talk, or sometimes just a tour.

One sight that is rarer is an entire professional sports team.

On Monday and Tuesday, fans got to see just that as the English Premier League’s Chelsea ­

FC trained on Harvard’s Ohiri Field.

The London-based club, one of the world’s most popular teams, spent two days training on Harvard’s campus in preparation for a friendly match on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium.

The match will see them take on the New England Revolution, in Chelsea’s first friendly of the summer.

For Harvard sophomore Smit Chitre, the training session was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“These are the players that I’m supporting day in day out, that I have supported for the past nine years,” Chitre said.

“To see them with all these familiar sites in the background, to see them with Harvard Stadium, and Ohiri Field where we play IM games, to see these two elements of my world intersect is just surreal.”

Wednesday’s friendly isn’t the only way Chelsea is getting involved in America, as they recently completed the transfer of 20-year old American phenom Christian Pulisic from Germany’s Borussia Dortmund.

The winger’s $73 million transfer fee makes him the most expensive American soccer player of all time, and the club’s large American fanbase will surely be looking for the Her-

shey, Penn. native to make good on his chance with the Blues.

Unfortunately for those fans, Pulisic did not travel with the team for Wednesday’s friendly.

Chelsea is one of the most active football clubs in the world doing campaigns.

Bruce Buck FC Chelsea Club Chairman

Players took pictures and signed autographs on the field after training, rewarding fans

who stood in the rain for hours to watch.

Following the public training session, club chairman Bruce Buck and former manager Avram Grant took questions from the public at a Q&A event, talking about the role of sports in bringing people together, as well as their respective histories with the club.

The duo was joined by firstteam players Cesar Azpilicueta and Olivier Giroud, who answered questions about Chelsea’s off-the-field initiatives, and their careers with the Blues.

“Education is the base to eradicate all discrimination in life and in football. We are lucky

that football can move people.”

Azpilicueta said. “We can teach a lot of people and they listen to us. We have to use the power of getting to millions of people in the right way.”

“Chelsea is one of the most active football clubs in the world doing campaigns. We participate in a lot of events and we are proud of it. We will keep going because there are still a lot of problems.”

These are the players that I’m supporting day in day out, that I have supported for the past nine years.

To see them with all these familiar sites in the background, to see them with Harvard Stadium, and Ohiri Field where we play IM games, to see these two elements of my world intersect is just surreal.

Smit Chitre ’21 College Student

LOOKING SKYWARD Chelsea forward Eden Hazard plays through the rain during practice. The Belgian has produced massive numbers for the Blues, netting 16 goals and 15 assists in his 37 appearances this season for the club. COURTESY OF ZACH REYNOLDS/HARVARD ATHLETICS

The proceeds of Wednesday’s match, called the Final Whistle on Hate game, will be donated to a variety of charities which aim to combat anti-Semitism and increase tolerance.

The match is just one of the ways Chelsea has expanded its role in the community in recent years, as they aim to positively change the image of the club.

Despite the club’s increased involvement with charitable initiatives aimed at fighting racism, the unsavory reputation held by their fans is proving hard to overcome.

Just this season, the team made headlines twice after racist chants targeting opposing players were heard in their stands. While events like the Final Whistle on Hate game help to bring awareness and funds to an important cause, the club has a long way to go given the recent actions of their fans. eamon.mcloughlin@thecrimson