The Harvard Crimson - Volume CXLIX, No. 33

The Harvard Crimson THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

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VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 33 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

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THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022

EDITORIAL PAGE 4

OP-ED PAGE 4

SPORTS PAGE 6

This March 10th feels like a bright new beginning. Seize it.

Two years ago, the future I’d imagined for myself imploded in 24 frames

Four women’s soccer players are set to take the field for their national teams

Univ. Has No Holdings in Russia

By DEKYI T. TSOTSONG and ERIC YAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard does not hold direct investments in Russian companies, University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement to The Crimson Wednesday. The proclamation comes as American institutions face widespread calls to divest their holdings from Russian businesses as the country wages war in Ukraine.

The University had previously remained silent on its investments in Russia. A few days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Harvard affiliates held a rally supporting Ukraine in Harvard Yard that called on the University to disclose its financial ties to the Kremlin.

Newton wrote that Harvard does not believe it has indirect holdings in Russian businesses.

“Like all investors, we do not have complete transparency into every investment made by third-party managers, but we believe there are no material indirect holdings with Russian corporations,” he wrote.

But some organizations and

FAS Outlines Tenure Changes

By ARIEL H. KIM and MEIMEI XU

­

SEE RUSSIA PAGE 3

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay sent a plan to faculty Tuesday outlining how the FAS will implement recommendations published in October by a committee that examined Harvard’s tenure review procedures.

The changes outlined in the plan aim to improve communication and feedback between deans, candidates, and review committees; offer more guidance for those in the system; and spur more tenured faculty participation.

Most changes will go into effect on July 1, 2022. The FAS also plans to include peer observations of teaching in future tenure reviews, but does not yet have a plan for how it will implement the practice.

The tenure review process has long been contested among faculty, particularly for its use of confidential ad hoc committees. Before reaching a final appointment decision, the University president or provost can ­

Demonstrators held Ukrainian flags last weekend at a rally condemning Russia’s invasion of the country. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

choose to convene and oversee a confidential group of administrators and scholars to review a tenure case.

After the University denied tenure to Romance Languages and Literatures associate professor Lorgia García Peña, more than 100 faculty members called for a formal review of the tenure system in December 2019.

Gay agreed days later to form a review committee.

The committee’s report, released last October, called the FAS’ tenure-track system “structurally sound,” but said ladder faculty feel a “lack of trust in” and “low morale” about the process.

Gay wrote Tuesday that informational sessions will be held starting this spring to help familiarize faculty and department administrators with the amended processes.

She added that the FAS will also host sessions to clarify the roles of the Committee on Appointments and Promotions and ad hoc committees.

SEE TENURE PAGE 3

After Two Years, Housing Day Returns In-Person

By AUDREY M. APOLLON and CHRISTINE MUI CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

It’s the Thursday before spring break. Upperclassmen students clad in Harvard House gear are set to make their way from the John Harvard statue to freshman dorms, where they will greet eager freshmen.

At long last, Housing Day has returned.

Exactly two years after Harvard sent undergraduates home due to the Covid-19 outbreak, students will pour into Harvard Yard for the College’s first in-person Housing Day since the onset of the pandemic.

Housing Day is an annual tradition during which freshmen get assigned to one of Harvard’s 12 upperclassman Houses or the Dudley Co-Op. The College first postponed Housing Day in 2020 before moving it online after shuttering its cam­

pus. In 2021, freshmen again received their housing assignments over Zoom.

This year, the DSO has modified the festivities to comply with Covid-19 guidelines.

Here’s an explanation of the new take on a storied tradition.

What Happens Before Housing Day? Every year, freshmen choose up to seven peers to live with in their future House through a process called blocking. The Dean of Students Office conducts a random lottery to determine where the blocks will go.

In the lead-up to Housing Day, the houses and Dudley release music videos featuring their residents and highlighting their amenities.

On the eve of Housing Day, some freshmen engage in a tradition not sanctioned by the College — River Run. In a

CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

The Harvard Future of Teaching and Learning Task Force issued a report on Wednesday detailing the learning innovations inspired by the pandemic and recommending the University invest in making digital tools and new forms of online content available globally.

University President Lawrence S. Bacow and Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 convened the task force, composed of 17 Harvard faculty and administrators in February 2021 — almost a year after the Covid-19 pandemic drove Harvard classes online. The 47-page report examines Harvard’s online learning innovations and develops strategies for the University to take advantage of them, culminating in a three-phase implementation plan.

The executive summary of the report, which acknowledges Harvard’s experimentation ­

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Harvard Today 2

What Will This Year’s Housing Day Look Like?

The DSO announced that upperclassmen will be able to engage in modified “dorm-storming” to notify freshmen of their housing assignments.

The celebration will commence at 8 a.m. when upperclassmen representing each of the 12 Houses and Dudley swarm the John Harvard

SEE HOUSING PAGE 3

This Housing Day marks the first since 2019 to take place with campus at full density. At lunch, freshman will eat in Annenberg Hall with members of the house they get placed into. JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Future of Teaching and Learning at Harvard Task Force Recommendations

Report Supports Digital Learning

By CARA J. CHANG and ISABELLA B. CHO

doomed attempt to avoid being assigned to a House in the remote Radcliffe Quadrangle, freshmen take shots of alcohol at each of Harvard’s nine river houses, often fettered by security guards.

The First Year Experience Office also organized a night of activities in Annenberg, including trivia, a Build-a-Bear activity, and mocktail mixing.

with remote and hybrid learning began far before the spread of the virus, cites the University’s adaptive strategies during the pandemic as opportunities for future innovation.

“Our investments in and experiences with asynchronous, synchronous, and hybrid offerings over the prior decade created essential foundations for the transition to remote teaching,” the report reads. “Now those learnings have been expanded by individual and collective innovations through the Harvard community.”

The report’s recommendations are divided into three phases by time frame: immediate, over one to three years, and long-term. Phase One recommendations revolve around enhancing a “culture of innovation,” encouraging faculty and schools to continue exploring online forms of learning for more adaptive and interactive curricula. Schools should also

PHASE I Immediate

Enhance a culture of innovation.

By FELICIA HE and JAMES R. JOLIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Editorial 4

The Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a state agency, has awarded Harvard $3 million to support the development of next-generation robotics and wearable technologies.

The funding, announced in a March 2 press release, will support four research projects under a Harvard and Boston University initiative to commercialize research on medical devices for stroke recovery, injury prevention, and other rehabilitation approaches.

The research projects are housed within Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Boston ­

PHASE II 1 to 3 Years

PHASE III Longer Term

Invest in technology infastructure and content strategies.

Explore new possibilities.

SEE REPORT PAGE 3

News 3

Grant Awarded to SEAS Projects

CAMILLE G. CALDERA—CRIMSON DESIGNER

Sports 6

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLOUDY High: 51 Low: 30

SEE SEAS PAGE 3

VISIT THECRIMSON.COM. FOLLOW @THECRIMSON ON TWITTER.

guard

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 10, 2022

PAGE 2

HARVARD TODAY

For Lunch Coconut Curry Chicken Philly Cheese Steak Sub Seitan Cheese Steak Sub

For Dinner Chipotle Chicken Pork Carnitas Red Bean Jambalaya

TODAY’S EVENTS Housing Day All Day

IN THE REAL WORLD

First years, make sure to check out your newly assigned house’s day of programming to welcome you to your next three years at Harvard! From steins to open houses to your first official dinner in the dining hall you will come to love, every second of programming tomorrow will be worth it!

Russian Forces Bomb Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Ukraine

At least 17 people were injured Wednesday after Russia bombed a maternity and children’s hospital in southern Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed outrage at the attack, calling it an “atrocity” and “proof of genocide.”

Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Ship Found After 107 Years

Harvard Startup Stories: Beacon Bio 12 p.m.-1:15 p.m.

Hop on Zoom with Dr. Black, founder of Beacon Bio, to learn about his biomedical device startup developed at Harvard University and Mass Eye & Ear. Theatre, Entertainment, & Media Meet-Up 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Hosted in partnership with Hasty Pudding Theatricals, meet with Harvard alumni in theater, entertainment, and media fields in this Zoom networking event.

Despite spring break being only days away, gentle flurries coat Quincy courtyard in a thin coat of white. CHRISTOPHER HIDALGO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Ernest Shackleton’s ship, called Endurance, has truly endured. It survived over a 100 years at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Antarctica before being discovered after a two week expedition. The ship will be preserved as a historical site and monument by the Antarctic Treaty.

AROUND THE IVIES

House Committee Accuses Amazon of Potential ‘Criminal Conduct’

YALE: Yale Money Pulled From Russia After Invasion —THE YALE DAILY NEWS COLUMBIA: As Mask Mandates End, Students Cautiously Enter Post-Pandemic Life —THE COLUMBIA SPECTATOR PRINCETON: Rodney Priestley Named Next Dean of Graduate School —THE DAILY

The House Judiciary Committee alerted the Justice Department of potential ‘criminal conduct’ by Amazon, alleging that the company lied about its use of data from third-party sellers. The Justice Department is currently investigating the accusations, a spokesperson told ABC News.

PRINCETONIAN

CORNELL: Following Harvard University Sexual Assault Scandal, Students Discuss Safety at Cornell —THE CORNELL DAILY SUN

COVID UPDATES

LAST 7 DAYS CURRENTLY

CAMPUS

217

In Isolation

384 1.15% Total New Cases

Positivity Rate

LAST 7 DAYS

CAMBRIDGE

440 1.09% 76%

Total New Cases

Positivity Rate

Fully Vaccinated

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY Millett Urges Women to Oppose Draft

At a Harvard Kennedy School forum, feminist political activist Kate Millet called on women to oppose the draft, the international patriarchy, and global female oppression.

Turning to the University, Millet said the ratio of male to female tenured professors was “abominable.”

March 10, 1980

Suspected Cheating at MIT is Debunked

Officials at MIT said allegations that a hacker broke into the grading system for a biology class and changed the grades of 22 students were not true. A person authorized to enter grades made an inadvertent error, according to a press release from the MIT News Office.

March 10, 2000

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873

The Harvard Crimson Raquel Coronell Uribe ’22-’23 Associate Managing Editors Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 President Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24 Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Associate Business Managers Managing Editor Taia M.Y. Cheng ’23-’24 Isabelle L. Guillaume ’24 Amy X. Zhou ’23 Business Manager Editorial Chairs Guillermo S. Hava ’23-24 Orlee G.S. Marini-Rapoport ’23-24

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Arts Chairs Sofia Andrade ’23-’24 Jaden S. Thompson ’23

Design Chairs Yuen Ting Chow ’23 Madison A. Shirazi ’23-’24

Magazine Chairs Maliya V. Ellis ’23-’24 Sophia S. Liang ’23

Multimedia Chairs Aiyana G. White ’23 Pei Chao Zhuo ’23

Blog Chairs Ellen S. Deng ’23-’24 Janani Sekar ’23-’24

Technology Chairs Ziyong Cui ’24 Justin Y. Ye ’24

Night Editor Noah J. Caza ’22-’23 Assistant Night Editors Cara J. Chang ’24 Davin W. Shi ’24 Story Editors Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24 Kevin A. Simauchi ’21-’22

Sports Chairs Alexandra N. Wilson ’23-’24 Griffin H. Wong ’24

Copyright 2022, 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.

Design Editors Camille G. Caldera ’22 Toby R. Ma ’24 Photo Editor Aiyana G. White ’23 Editorial Editor Libby E. Tseng ’24 Sports Editor Elizabeth K. Pachus ’22-’23

CORRECTIONS The March 9 article “Students on Campus Observe Lent” incorrectly stated the class year of Fadzai Ngwerume ’24.

PAGE 3

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

RUSSIA FROM PAGE 1

MARCH 10, 2022

SEAS FROM PAGE 1

Harvard Donations Draw Scrutiny State Awards SEAS Projects Harvard affiliates say the University needs to go further in disclosing its financial exposure to Russia. Emily Channel-Justice, a program director at Harvard’s Ukrainian Research Institute, said it is “reasonable to ask universities to be more transparent.”

“It’s very interesting — what they’ve said — that they claim no direct holdings without having complete transparency,” she said.

Some critics have taken aim at donations Harvard has accepted from Leonard Blavatnik, a Ukrainian-born billionaire who sold his stake in a Russian oil company in 2013 for $7 billion.

Blavatnik, a citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom, donated $200 million to Harvard Medical School in 2018.

The Anti-Corruption Action Center — a Ukrainian organization dedicated to combating corruption in the country — released a petition urging “all Western institutions to halt all forms of cooperation with Kremlin-connected entities and sponsors.”

The petition specifically calls on Harvard to rename programs and buildings that bear Blavatnik’s name, claiming that he “derives massive insider benefits from Putin’s regime, suppresses free speech, cooperates with corrupt Russian officials and funds Russian entertainment propaganda.” Multiple programs within HMS are named after Blavatnik.

A spokesperson for Blavatnik’s company wrote in a 2019 statement to Mother Jones that Blavatnik “has no dealings with the Russian government or its leaders.”

Tetiana Shevchuk, the head of international programs at AntAC, said the organization is utilizing the method of “name and shame” to enact change.

“Writing them in private, asking them, would not make a difference,” she said. Oleh Kotsyuba, the Ukrainian Institute of Research publication manager, wrote that he is “far from satisfied” by the University’s statement, arguing that Blavatnik and other wealthy individuals tied to Russian oligarchs are “laundering their reputations” through their donations

to prominent universities like Harvard.

Kotsyuba criticized previous University statements — which describe Blavatnik as a “philanthropist” and his donation to HMS an “unprecedented act of generosity and support” — for omitting the billionaire’s ties to Putin.

Kotsyuba said accepting Blavatnik’s money “damages the moral standing of the University,” even though the initiatives funded by Blavatnik’s donations “represent a worthy cause.”

“At least as late as 2014, Harvard University should have removed Blavatnik’s name from all of the above initiatives and re-dedicated some of the funds received towards helping Ukrainians and supporting Ukrainian studies at Harvard and beyond,” Kotsybua said.

Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Newton declined to comment on criticisms of the Blavatnik donations.

Harvard affiliates have also circulated a petition in recent weeks calling on the University to support Ukrainian students

and condemn Russia’s actions.

Georgiy Kent ’22, who helped publicize the petition, noted that the statement asks for support for Ukrainian Harvard students, “as well as disclosure of potential financial connections with Russia.”

Some Harvard affiliates have expressed appreciation for shows of support from students and faculty.

In remarks last week, University President Lawrence S. Bacow decried the “deplorable actions of Vladimir Putin” that “put at risk the lives of millions of people and undermine the concept of sovereignty.”

“Institutions devoted to the perpetuation of democratic ideals and to the articulation of human rights have a responsibility to condemn such wanton aggression,” Bacow said.

Ilya Timtchenko, a Ukrainian Harvard Kennedy School student and founder of the Ukraine Caucus at HKS, said he wants Harvard to be “a school of principles and dignity as it preaches.” dekyi.tsotsong@thecrimson.com eric.yan@thecrimson.com

HOUSING FROM PAGE 1

College Housing Day Returns In-Person statue. A half-hour later, small groups of upperclassmen wearing masks will “storm” the hallways of freshman dorms, instead of entering rooms, for a maximum of five minutes.

Freshmen were granted the option of not having upperclassmen “storm” their dorm, per the DSO’s announcement.

Dorm-storming is expected to conclude by 9 a.m., and any freshmen who opted out will receive an email with their House assignment by noon.

Following the festivities, the path to Annenberg Hall will be lined with decorated tables,

where upperclassmen from all the Houses will hand out merchandise to freshmen on their way to lunch.

What are the Houses Doing?

During the evening, several Houses will host in-person events to welcome the freshmen, House Committee Chair Leslie Arroyo ’23 said Dunster House originally planned to bring back certain Housing Day traditions — hosting a stein and playing golf — but changed course due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Instead, Dunster will host a dinner, ice cream bash with Faculty Deans, and a scavenger hunt. Arroyo said the Dunster-themed scavenger hunt is meant to function as a tour to get freshmen acquainted with the House.

Quincy’s HoCo chair, Odessa X. Deng ’22, said the house plans to host a dinner for freshmen to meet the Faculty Deans, tutors, and others in the House.

Quincy will also invite freshmen to attend their first FESTA, the house’s version of stein.

Eliot House will invite freshmen to an enhanced dinner

Thursday evening, per a House email.

Nina Chung ’23, HoCo chair for Currier House, said the House will invite freshmen to a dinner followed by an introduction to the Faculty Deans, House tours, and a stein with s’mores. Chung also said that Currier’s mascot, Woody the Tree, will also attend the festivities outside Annenberg and maybe “engage in some fights” with some of the other House mascots. audrey.apollon@thecrimson.com christine.mui@thecrimson.com

University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

The researchers from both schools will collaborate at the Harvard Move Lab, a SEAS initiative that brings together engineers, clinicians, and researchers from wide-ranging disciplines.

“The thing that we are focused on doing is taking this interesting research and putting the technical maturity behind it that is necessary to move it out of a lab and into a real-world application,” Harvard Move Lab Executive Director David Perry said.

“So we’re focused on translating research that can help improve people’s lives,” he added.

The project also includes two industry partners, Rewalk Robotics and Imago Rehab, both of which develop technology to assist those with mobility issues.

Imago Rehab, a startup that emerged from the Harvard Biodesign Lab one year ago, aims to develop a “telerehabilitation” service that utilizes wearable technology to remotely assist individuals with neurologic conditions, according to Clinical Programming Lead Kristin

Nuckols.

“More than 5 million Americans live with some degree of upper limb paralysis after stroke and we hope to improve the lives of many in this population with our unique solution,” Nuckols wrote.Nuckols added that the grant and collaboration with the Harvard Move Lab will enable Imago Rehab to potentially license new technologies for upper extremity stroke rehabilitation.

In the SEAS press release, Massachusetts Governor Charlie D. Baker ‘79 lauded the work of Massachusetts researchers, adding that this latest grant will improve patient care across the globe.

“Massachusetts is a global leader in both technology and healthcare because of our support for important research, the ability to leverage our network of partnerships, and our constant focus on fostering innovation,” he wrote.“With these additional resources, we can advance the development of new assistive devices that will have applications for patients around the world.”

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REPORT FROM PAGE 1

TENURE FROM PAGE 1

Report Promotes Digital Learning

FAS Releases Tenure Review Changes

expand pre-matriculation programs as well as programs accommodating remote learning, the report said.

At the University-wide level, the report recommends that Harvard develop standardized tools and techniques for faculty, including best practices, classroom tools, and best practices.

In the second implementation phase, recommendations center around University-wide changes, focusing on advancing Harvard’s technology infrastructure and developing content strategies.

In addition to building new classrooms for online synchronous learning and space for faculty to learn new digital tools, the report recommends that the University build a new Harvard-wide online platform.

But it offered few details on how the new platform should look.

The report, which is in its third phase of recommendations, adds that investing in the University’s digital presence could create “a more global Harvard,” offering more accessible learning experiences.

The report advocated for Harvard to conduct more outreach to international populations and engagement with alumni.

Phase Three also recommends updated policies for faculty who share their scholarship in “short-form and other innovative formats.”

The report cites examples of such “short-form” interactive learning formats, which include fromats like digital encyclopedias and faculty-sponsored podcasts.

The report concludes with the hope that Harvard can expand its educational content as well as expand its global reach.

“We will offer an improved experience to more and better learners,” the report reads.

“We will share our educators and expertise more broadly, consistently, and accessibly. And we will engage deeply with learners and communities, partners and institutions, to revolutionize access to education worldwide,” it continues. cara.chang@thecrimson.com isabella.cho@thecrimson.com

Ad Hoc Committees and Committee on Appointments and Promotions Tuesday’s plan seeks to increase transparency about CAP and ad hoc processes.

In the final steps of a tenure review, CAP advises the FAS dean on whether to forward a candidate’s case to the president.

Tuesday’s plan states that after CAP makes its recommendation, the divisional dean or the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences dean will give feedback to the department chair about the strengths and weaknesses of the case.

After the president meets with the ad hoc committee, the plan said, the FAS dean will provide feedback to the department chair to aid in preparation for future reviews. Should the faculty member receive the tenured position, the divisional or SEAS dean will offer feedback to the faculty member and help them evaluate how best to “contribute to Harvard’s mission.”

French professor Virginie Greene wrote in an email that the plan avoids addressing the “most contested” aspect of the review — the ad hoc commit-

tee. She said that the changes should offer feedback after unsuccessful tenure reviews.

“The plan may improve certain aspects of the review, but will not mitigate the lack of transparency and the difficult aftermath of unsuccessful tenure reviews,” she wrote.

Associate Professor Criteria The plan also outlined changes to associate professor criteria.

Currently, candidates have to demonstrate “sufficient promise and achievement to qualify for tenure at a major institution within three to five years.” With the new changes, candidates must exhibit the potential to qualify for tenure at Harvard, specifically. This would standardize the criteria between the associate and tenure reviews.

These changes will be implemented in the 2023-2024 academic year to allow assistant professors to receive feedback to prepare for the changes.

External Letters The plan altered and clarified guidelines relating to let-

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ters of recommendation, including the number of required letters, who may write letters, and in what cases additional evaluations may be solicited.

Associate professorship reviews will now require five letters, up from the previous guidelines allowing between three to five. For tenure reviews, departments will require a minimum of ten letters, instead of twelve to fifteen.

Communication and Feedback The plan encourages departments to provide feedback to tenure-track faculty throughout their time teaching at Harvard, and states that feedback from previous reviews will be shared with the tenure review committee.

In addition, the plan establishes a window of time during the associate and tenure review processes when the candidate and review committee may engage in limited communication to clarify any aspects of the candidate’s materials.

The FAS also encourages departments to “foster robust cultures of discussion, where colleagues can candidly debate the

strengths and weaknesses of promotion cases.”

Tuesday’s plan also clarified that teaching means teaching offered in classrooms, advising refers to intellectual support, and mentoring refers to professional support.

Former Harvard College Dean Harry R. Lewis ’68, a professor of Computer Science, wrote in an email he is glad reviews will treat teaching, advising, and mentoring as separate categories of consideration, though he said it will be “messy to administer.”

“It will make tenure reports more complex, and it may not be easy to distinguish these three categories,” he wrote.

“But now department chairs will be able to say to junior faculty in complete honesty that no matter how good a performer you are in the classroom, you aren’t going to get tenure if you deservedly earn yourself a reputation for being indifferent or mean to students,” he added.

Harvard spokesperson Rachael Dane did not respond to a request for comment Thursday evening. ariel.kim@thecrimson.com meimei.xu@thecrimson.com

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

MARCH 10, 2022

PAGE 4

EDITORIAL THE CRIMSON EDITORIAL BOARD

OP-ED

Notes from Day 730: The End Of Covid?

Class of ’24 Frames

We have grown and changed immensely over these two blurry, dreadful years.

M

arch 10th changed everything.

Everyone.

Exactly two years ago, Harvard students saw their world collapse unto them — flinging them far apart, away from their friends, in a one-way ticket toward an ocean of uncertainty.

Two years and two new class cohorts later, our campus is not the same. And neither are we.

Every single one of us experienced the pandemic in different, devastating ways, each tuned to their own personal unraveling. Our oldest students hurriedly jammed their entire lives into suitcases and boxes almost overnight — some they carried with them, some were left behind, dusting and awaiting an eventual return. The youngest cohorts were never kicked off their college campus but gave up their last few months (years, sometimes) of high school instead, missed proms and severed teenage years be damned. Some of us were forced to return home amid uncertain visa statuses and travel bans, torn away from a country, a life, and a mosaic of loved ones with no return date in sight.

And a sizeable minority experienced pure loss. Family members, friends, loved ones. Absent faces mourned haltingly amid the chaos, sometimes from afar.

As our campus dissolved into pixelated classes, a single unifying thread tied our experiences together: collective, seemingly boundless, grief. It defined our young outlook in a rotten reality. And it dragged on, and on, and on, no matter how hard we pinched or prodded ourselves to wake up from the dystopic hellscape.

Every morning: the rising and falling curves, the mounting tolls, the distraught. Pictures of eerily empty streets and refrigerated trucks overflowing with passed ones; an endless flurry of new variants and unsettling long-term side effects.

Masks that, though necessary, hid and tortured our smiles.

We lost our spring break and then the summer after that. We lost hope for a

quick fix and a normal return in the fall.

We missed Christmas and then spring, and then summer again. During our formative years, our best years, the years where we were supposed to discover ourselves, grow, and figure out how we fit into this confusing, vertiginous world, we got nothing — nothing but collective grief.

But the end is in sight. Or so it seems.

Severe Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are down, thanks in no small part to our medical prowess. Cambridge is about to lift its mask mandate. Harvard, too, is lowering pandemic-era restrictions, and shifting towards maskless life and classes. We are, by most accounts, on the brink of relative normalcy.

That cautious, promising truth is a reason for gratitude.

We are grateful for those who got us here. For those who suffered, acknowledged or not, through years of immense pain and struggle — from the frontline workers, who risked their lives everyday to significant tribute but lackluster pay increases, to those who suddenly found themselves unable to read lips and hence interact with the world around them. We are grateful, above all, for the normalcy that our easy access to vaccines, masks, and care has afforded us.

But gratitude is not enough. Today, March 10th, 2022, is a time for joy. Joy at the fact that, against all odds, we are back to (roughly) where we yearned to be during the very worse: to hugs, and smiles, and our in-person, no longer indefinitely delayed lives.

Of course, not everything is fine — last week’s case numbers proof that convincingly. The “end of covid” doesn’t mean we don’t need to be mindful about residual or new restrictions; it doesn’t imply that the scars of the past two years will heal magically overnight. But it does mean we finally get to live the first years of our young adulthood.

And we should. If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that there is genuinely no guarantee that we will be able to do so tomorrow. New crises will emerge; our volatile reality could, at any

point, shatter once again. We’ve learnt that everything we cherish — grabbing coffee at that one special spot, spending time with loved ones, complaining about classes that you actually love — might not be there in the future.

Now, on the apparent back end of things, is the time to finally stretch our legs and run with all that we love. Time to experience all the things we couldn’t to the fullest extent we can, to fix every regret, fulfill every delayed wish or aspiration. Seniors, please appreciate every last second of the full senior spring others missed. Juniors, make sure to finish your (effective) freshman spring strong.

Sophomores and freshmen, get a taste of everything — yes, everything — for the very first time.

We have grown and changed immensely over these two blurry, dreadful years. They weren’t, after all, just a void, a gap in our memory — even if many of us initially faced them on those terms. We must, past the initial shock, take stock and pride ourselves for all that we did to create a sense of normalcy in fundamentally abnormal conditions – to build something whole in a time where everything felt broken.

We should remember and cherish our own strength. We should remember, too, that this was a collective experience, a global, never-ending funeral — and that collective kindness and solidarity for others should define our newly reborn perspectives.

Only time will tell whether this is truly the end of our Covid days or just a mere, disappointing pause before the next scary-sounding variant emerges.

But this March 10th feels like a bright new beginning. Seize it.

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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COLUMN

‘Casein’ Point: The Hidden Messages of ‘Geronimo Stilton’ Nour L. Khachemoune NOSTALGIA: WHAT’S IT HIDING?

P

eople often speak of words jumping out at you on a page, but how many series really exhibit this besides “Geronimo Stilton?” The books are immediately striking for their unique typeface, if nothing else. Each page is in full color, with author Elisabetta Dami playing with fonts, sizes, and tiny in-line illustrations. The visual presentation of the books captures children’s attention immediately, drawing them into Geronimo’s world of New Mouse City.

Our protagonist mouse and his murine friends live in a world that never lets you forget its inhabitants are rats, yet, this world also seems so human, reflecting the inner workings of our own society. Geronimo enjoys curling up after work with a hot drink just as us humans do, although his is a steaming cup of hot cheddar. He is also a writer and runs a newspaper, despite having paws, and is purportedly the true author of his own stories. Perhaps the series’s wordplay seems a bit more logical when it is supposed to be written by the mouse himself.

Incessant references to cheese are sprinkled throughout the stories, making it clear what the true author, Dami, imagines mice would have on their minds at all times. She humorously refers to two mice always being together “like cream and cheese,” and even includes darker references that demonstrate the mice know their place in this strange world, saying ideas can stick “like a mouse in a

glue trap.” She also plays with the line, or lack thereof, between rats and mice, although the phrase “slimy sewer rats” is still used as a common insult.

In Geronimo’s society, a rat or mouse can be almost anything its little heart desires, and yet, surprisingly humanoid aspects of life are still omnipresent. There is still somewhat of a class system looking down upon sewer rats in this interesting world.

Common tropes such as the snobby butler are also found throughout the “Geronimo Stilton’’ books, yet their usage never seems contrived. The cheese-related puns that frame them render these tropes digestible to the children encountering them for the first time on their literary journey.

The series’s absurd style, especially its concentration of cheese-related puns, makes it humorous to all ages. The attention-grabbing typesetting satiates the reader’s eyes (and perhaps their stomach as well through its abundance of cheese), and allows them to overlook the more subtle references that are often included in normal fonts.

References to the outside, very human, world are twisted throughout the narrative, often as asides that fly over young readers’ heads. Geronimo encounters a giant pet cockroach named Kafka curiously living in a one room house, and thinks nothing of this oddly specific name.

Young readers wouldn’t, either, until they might happen to read “The Metamorphosis,” a classic by Franz Kafka, where the tale of a giant cockroach might suddenly seem familiar. In the same story, Geronimo finds himself snout-to-

snout with his friend’s grandfather, Professor Frankenstein, a mad scientist presumed to be dead but later found to come back to life. These highbrow references are presented with little fanfare compared to the heaps of cheese-related jokes, yet still take hold in the minds of children only to be drawn out later in life, perhaps in English class.

Literary references may intentionally whet children’s appetites for classics and the world around them in a subtle way, or may simply be included for sport. But there is no doubt that they are significant and serve to prove that wording and references to the outside world can have deep implications for children.

The references in “Geronimo Stilton” are decidedly harmless and even positive in what they expose children to, but not all children’s literature ages (like cheese) in the same way. In this case, we praise subliminal messaging, but it reminds us above all of the impact that dropped-in lines have upon children.

In one instance, Geronimo’s boorish cousin Trap references pouring boiling oil on enemies in medieval times, and Geronimo remarks that he is impressed by his cultural knowledge. Trap scoffs in response and reveals that he learned that from a cartoon. How self-aware of such a rough-edged mouse. Like Trap, we readers inadvertently learned so much about the world from the references melted into “Geronimo Stilton.”

—Nour L. Khachemoune ’22-’23 is a joint concentrator in Chemistry and Anthropology in Dunster House. Her column “Nostalgia: What’s it Hiding?” appears on alternate Thursdays.

By IAN D. SVETKEY

I

never wanted to take a gap year.

It wasn’t an option that had ever been on the table. I was graduating high school in June of 2020, and then I was going to college in the fall. That was as fixed as the sun rising over the horizon day after day.

Then my high school postponed an economics summit hosting international students from China.

My mom brought up the topic for the first time at the beginning of March. It was offhand: “If this thing gets worse, you might want to think about taking a year off.” I brushed her words away. An overreaction.

Then it hit. Two weeks at home, then a month, then three. Suddenly, the end of my childhood was a ceremony without pomp, the catharsis of graduation thwarted by the cortisol of half an apocalypse. As I tell my friends now, I got all of high school — except the good part.

Somewhere in the pile of milestones turned inside out by that new reality was college. My parents pressured me to defer my admission, but I saw a gap year as an extension of the purgatory of that spring into a small eternity. Our fights punctured the eerily quiet fabric of a life on hold.

As the deadline approached, it became clear they were not going to change their minds, and there was nothing more I could do.

The loss of control was terrifying. If I couldn’t stop one year from disappearing into the void of the pandemic, what would I do if Groundhog Day lasted two years? Three? I needed to reinvent myself, but I had no access to the person I was going to be, not yet.

I looked at the calendar and saw only March 15, 2020. I relived the shift I’d worked that morning at Starbucks, my last memory of a world now frozen in an alien amber.

In February 2021, I drove to my high school’s parking lot and listened to songs that reminded me of senior year, trying to exhale.

I still couldn’t.

Taking a gap year — not any gap year, but this gap year — felt like abdicating part of my identity.

The pandemic was terrible for the class below us too, but they had time to prepare. We were blindsided; they were not. 2020 was our trauma, our bonding experience, our storm to weather. What happened to me when I put up an umbrella and waited for it to pass?

The semesters I missed, by all accounts, were awful. Those who stayed tell me I made the right choice, and I see why: Zoom school can’t hold a candle to the real thing.

But as my long-awaited launch date approached, it felt wrong. When I left everyone behind, running away from the hollow mess of a year at college they endured together, I thought I’d lost the privilege of anticipation. I shoved that feeling so deep inside I could feel only its tremors on the surface.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t convince myself that I was living in the right timeline. Maybe it was grief — an amalgamation of denial and bargaining — or a coping mechanism, but starting in about April 2020, I’d daydream that none of it was real.

But I couldn’t help but pinch myself the first time I set foot in Annenberg. I still went through five concentrations in three months. And I felt guilty — that with every inexperienced move, I was letting my true cohort fly further and further away.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t convince myself that I was living in the right timeline. Maybe it was grief — an amalgamation of denial and bargaining — or a coping mechanism, but starting in about April 2020, I’d daydream that none of it was real.

I’d forget every deformed milestone, every night spent pacing my basement trying to psychoanalyze away the shot that destroyed my bestlaid plans. The movie was over, and I was going to Harvard in the fall after graduating from high school, living the life I had pictured when the world made sense.

The dreams have come less frequently these days, as the chasm between reality and fantasy has widened, but they haven’t disappeared.

Sometimes I let them stay a few extra seconds, just to feel the warmth.

I worry that the control I lost will never return, even when Covid-19 is a distant memory.

This fear is a faint alarm in the back of my head.

The conductor plays a slow diminuendo, but the drone goes on and on.

But as the strings draw out their single note, so too do I go on. I’m not the same person I would have been if things had happened the way I’d planned.

There was no pause button, as much as I might have wished for one. I worked a full-time job, and spent a season at an intensive outdoor program.

I’m in a different place than I envisioned I’d be when I applied to college, but I have new perspectives, new opportunities. Whether or not every part of the year was valuable, calluses are now embedded in the patchwork guiding me forward.

I’m slowly learning to accept them, to grow comfortable with the contours of this new landscape I inhabit.

Two years ago, the future I’d imagined for myself imploded in 24 frames. Now, I shape my life from its ashes, in a world that bends on the whims of fortune more than I ever thought was possible.

—Ian D. Svetkey ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Hurlbut Hall.

PAGE 5

THE HARVARD CRIMSON |

Proud to cover Harvard for 149 years and counting.

Keep the old sheet flying.

The Crimson thecrimson.com

MARCH 10, 2022

SPORTS

WEEKLY RECAP

SCORES

WOMEN’S WATERPOLO VS. RV CAL STATE W, 10-7 ___________________________________________________________

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL VS. PRINCETON L, 53-73 ___________________________________________________________

WOMEN’S TENNIS VS. NO. 24 OLD DOMINION L, 0-7 ___________________________________________________________

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL VS. PRINCETON W, 3-1 ___________________________________________________________

BASEBALL VS. RICE UNIVERSITY L, 6-9 ___________________________________________________________

MEN’S WRESTLING VS. EIWA CHAMPIONSHIP 9TH ___________________________________________________________

SOFTBALL VS. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA L, 0-5 ___________________________________________________________

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Four From Harvard Ready to Take International Stage

By ZING GEE CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

While Harvard’s season (12-31, 5-2-0 Ivy League) may have ended late last fall after an impressive regular season and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, numerous Crimson players are either slated to or have already taken the field across the world this spring with their respective national teams.

“I think it’s fantastic for these players to get such good experiences at that level,” said head coach Chris Hamblin. “It is the highest level available to represent your country at the World Cup, and so to have those experiences…and bring them back to our team and our environment, is such a valuable asset for our program.”

Sophomore forward Cayla McFarlane is playing for Trinidad and Tobago’s senior national team as they gear up for the CONCACAF Women’s Championship in Mexico this July, which is the qualifier for both the 2023 World Cup in Australia and the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. McFarlane has Trinidadian citizenship through her mother, who was born there.

McFarlane started during both of Trinidad and Tobago’s matches on Feb. 17 and Feb. 20, in which they defeated Nicaragua 2-1 and Dominica 2-0, respectively.

“I definitely think there’s a level of physicality that the international game has that college soccer just does not…it’s just a lot more intense,” said McFarlane. “Every little bit, every little aspect, of what we do internationally is taken so seriously…and we really try to show and demonstrate how taking something extremely seriously can really advance our game here at the college level.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Karpenko and first-year defender Jade Rose are both playing for Canada’s U20 squad in the U20 CONCACAF Championship in the Dominican Republic, which is being held right ­

now from February 25 through March 12. The event is also Canada’s qualification route for the 2022 U20 World Cup in Costa Rica.

Rose and Karpenko’s Canada squad has excelled thus far in their most recent leg, having won their last five matches, with their sixth and final competition slated for later today against Mexico.

Hamblin spoke highly of the duo, highlighting their previous accomplishments and their bright futures.

Rose started fifteen games last fall, and was second on the team in minutes played.

She was also named to FirstTeam All-Ivy, in addition to having won the Canada Soccer Youth Player of the Year award, twice.

Karpenko, who is starting in goal for the U20 team, played in fourteen games last season, splitting time in goal with junior Hannah Gardner.

First-year midfielder Hannah Bebar is playing for the U.S. U23 national team which is currently midway through the Thorns Preseason Tournament, having faced off against the National Women’s Soccer League’s Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns FC so far, drawing 0-0 and losing 0-3, respectively, ahead of their third and final upcoming match against OL Reign on Friday, March 11.

Bebar is coming off a fantastic rookie season, having been awarded Ivy League Rookie of Year, First Team All-Ivy, and Third Team All-America.

She ranked fifth nationally in assists per game with 0.67, led the Ivy League in assists, and finished with five goals and ten assists.

While the Crimson has historically always had a number of players playing at the international level, Hamblin alluded to the increasing amount of active players competing with their respective national teams—including a handful of players beyond just McFarlane, Rose, Karpenko, and Bebar—and the benefit it has on the program.

GOING GLOBAL First-year defender Jade Rose (front) manuevers a defender against the University of Kansas on Sept. 19, 2021 as first-year midfielder Hannah Bebar looks on. Both have contributed to a standout class of first-year international talent this year. OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Hamblin also referenced the level of commitment and time it takes to balance Harvard academics and athletics with national team preparation and play, applauding his players for doing so.

He explained how he and his coaching staff communicate frequently with the coaching staffs of different national teams both to help players prepare for international play but also to receive feedback from

their time playing on the international circuit.

Players focus much more on individualized training plans and skill-work when in the college offseason.

Preparation for playing in temperate environments like the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica requires some creativity during wintertime in Cambridge, which for the Crimson includes using stationary bikes inside the Blodgett Pool

building to condition in a warmer, more humid environment.

As international play continues, McFarlane, Rose, Karpenko, and Bebar have a chance to advance and qualify for even bigger stakes—World Cup and Olympic appearances—all the while gaining valuable experience they can use to hone their game heading into next fall’s NCAA season.

“It’s really special for us to have such a diverse group of

players from all around the world bringing in their experience to our locker room,” said Hamblin.

“Soccer is the global game, Harvard is the global university, and so it’s a really, really cool combination that we’re able to get together and put the Harvard women’s soccer product out on the field from all corners of the planet,” she added. zing.gee@thecrimson.com

SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS Hannah Bebar (center) celebrates her second goal over in a 3-1 win over Dartmouth with teamates (left to right) Sophie Hirst, Angela Caloia, and Nicola Golen. OWEN A. BERGER—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER