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CHEMICAL CONCERNS Cambridge is temporarily switching water sources after the the city detect ed increasing levels of chemical pollutants in the municipal water supply.
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Through much of 2020 and 2021, Lilia M. Kilburn, an Anthropol ogy Ph.D. candidate at Harvard, worked closely with the University’s Office of Dispute Resolution, which was investigating a sexual harassment com plaint she filed against professor John L. Comaroff.ByJanuary 2022, further Harvard investigations concluded Comaroff had violated the school’s sexual harassment and professional conduct policies. Fac ulty of Arts and Sciences Dean Clau dine Gay subsequently levied sanctions against the professor. Now, months after the investigations have ended, ODR’s fact-finding process remains mired in controversy. Kilburn and two other graduate students, Margaret G. Czerwienski and Amulya Mandava, filed a lawsuit against Harvard in February alleging the school ignored years of sexual ha rassment by Comaroff. In new filings submitted in July and August, Harvard and thed plaintiffs sparred over wheth er Kilburn gave consent to the school to obtain and distribute her therapy notes to Comaroff during the its investigation. In the tenth count of the suit, the plaintiffs claim Harvard violated Mas sachusetts privacy laws by failing to ob tain Kilburn’s written consent for the access, use, and disclosure of Kilburn’s therapy records. The University holds that Kilburn encouraged ODR investigators to con tact her therapist and obtain those notes.During its investigation into Kil burn’s complaint against Comaroff, ODR was given her therapy records from her private therapist. The records were later distributed to Comaroff, his legal team, faculty members on Har vard’s appeal committee, the Universi ty’s Office for Gender Equity, and deans as part of ODR’s final report. The suit alleges that Comaroff used the therapy notes to “gaslight” Kilburn by “claiming that she must have imag ined that he sexually harassed her” be cause of her post-traumatic stress disor der; however, the suit claims she devel oped PTSD as a result of his harassment of her.Over the summer, the University asked U.S. District Court Judge Judith G. Dein to rule in its favor with a sum mary judgment on the tenth count. In a memorandum supporting its motion for partial summary judgment, the University claims Kilburn provided her therapist’s information to ODR and told the office that her therapist “should have” some “notes or memories” for in vestigators. The school maintains that before Kilburn steered investigators to her therapist, ODR notified her “no fewer than seven times” that evidence obtained in an investigation would be shared with Comaroff as part of usual ODROnproceedings.Aug.23,the plaintiffs opposed Harvard’s motion, arguing that exhibits submitted by the University show Har vard lacked evidence of written consent from Kilburn. They further argued that the University based its argument on an “ambiguous” verbal statement from Kil burn.According to a memorandum in sup port of Harvard’s motion by ODR in vestigator Ilissa A. Povich, she emailed Kilburn several documents outlining the Harvard’s sexual harassment poli cies and investigative procedures at the start of the investigation. After Kilburn asked for clarification on the policies, Jessica L. Shaffer, an ODR staff member at the time, respond ed in an email that both parties would have “the right to review and respond to all information that ODR may rely on in theIninvestigation.”anaffidavit,Kilburn wrote she did not get “straightforward” answers af ter asking how ODR “would determine whether it ‘may rely’” on certain infor mation for its conclusion, she wrote. Per Kilburn’s affidavit, Comaroff stated in his August 2020 response to Kilburn’s ODR complaint that he be lieved the “substantial emotional dis tress” he observed in Kilburn was brought on “for reasons unrelated” to him. Kilburn maintains she decided to involve her therapist in the investiga tion in order to prove to ODR that her emotional distress “largely” stemmed from his alleged harassment of her. According to the affidavit, Kilburn emailed her therapist on Aug. 20, 2020, asking if she “might have notes from our sessions that mention” the misconduct she described experiencing from Co maroff. The therapist said she offered to write up “a brief statement acknowledg ing that we talked about sexual harass ment by professors in your department” and the effects it had on Kilburn. Days later, Kilburn submitted a re sponse to ODR saying her therapist could attest to having conversations about Comaroff’s alleged behavior. “She is currently on vacation, but I believe she has specific memories of our conversations about misconduct in my department, my concerns about the damage Professor Comaroff could do to my career, and my repeated and unfruitful attempts to get assistance,” she wrote. “She is ready to attest to this when she returns from vacation.” During an interview ODR conducted with Kilburn on Aug. 28, 2020, Kilburn told ODR that the therapist “should have a bunch of notes or memories for you,” according to ODR’s notes of the conversation.ODRexplained to Kilburn during the interview the process and criteria for including witnesses for investigators to contact, adding that it asks “every single witness if they have documents that are relevant, which we share with you,” per ODR’sKilburn,notes.however, wrote in her affi davit that she did not take ODR’s state ments during the interview to mean that ODR would seek to obtain records from her therapist. Rather, she assumed the investigators would only ask the therapist whether or not such records existed.Povich’s affidavit claims that follow ing the interview, Kilburn sent her ther apist’s name and email as a witness for ODR to contact. The witnesses’ names and information are redacted in the email from Kilburn that Harvard sub mitted to the court. Kilburn noted in her affidavit that she had originally planned to review any relevant materials or statements from her therapist “before deciding whether to submit them to ODR.” But she did not contact her therapist after listing her as a witness.“Iwanted to reach out to my thera pist myself, but because I believed that ODR would consider this an improper communication and discredit my thera pist’s account, I did not reach out to her,” shePovichwrote. wrote that she and Shaffer interviewed Kilburn’s counselor in Oc tober 2020, and that Shaffer explained to the therapist that ODR would share with both Comaroff and Kilburn any relevant information learned during the
It was past midnight in Lima, Peru, but when Ana Ventosilla learned her son had been arrested at an airport in Indo nesia, she called him immediately. On a WhatsApp video call, her son, Rodrigo Ventocilla Ventosilla, said au thorities in Bali, where he was traveling on a honeymoon, were demanding up to $100,000 for his release after he was ar rested on drug charges. “ Mom, I’m going to negotiate. I’m going to tell them that I [will] give them $13,000,” her son told her, Ventosilla re counted in an interview Monday. But it did not work. Hours later, the amount had risen to $200,000, Ventosil la said her son told her. “ It was an extortion,” she said. Three days later, Rodrigo Ventocilla’s honeymoon trip to Bali, one of Southeast Asia’s most popular and idyllic tourist destinations, ended in tragedy when he died at age 32 at a hospital in Denpasar while still in police custody. A transgen der man who co-founded a trans rights advocacy group in Peru, Ventocilla was about to enter his final year as a master’s student at the Harvard Kennedy School. The cause of Ventocilla’s death has become the source of international con troversy. Police in Bali say he died after consuming unseized drugs in custody. He was arrested five days earlier when authorities found a grinder and other items containing marijuana in his pos session at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Inter national Airport, according to the Bali Police.But his family has called into ques tion officials’ explanation, alleging the arrest was motivated by racism and transphobia. Ana Ventosilla said in an interview with The Crimson on Monday that her son was beaten by police and received inadequate medical attention while he was hospitalized.
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Ex-Leverett Deans Fostered Toxic Culture, Affiliates Say
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Mother of Student who Died in Bali Alleges Violence Grad Student, Harvard Spar in Court Over Therapy Records Claim
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FOR SOME CURRENT and former Leverett residents, the early departure of faculty deans Brian D. Farrell and Irina P. Ferre ras is too little, too late. Thirteen affiliates maintain the pair fostered a toxic culture characterized by mismanagement and a loss of traditions. Their four-year tenure brought student complaints, formal inquiries, and a resurgence in anxiety over the unchecked power of Harvard’s faculty deans. 6
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SemesterClassReturnStudentstoforFall RYAN H. DOAN-NGUYEN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY, EST. 1873 | VOLUME CXLIX, NO. 72 | CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 Season Preview: High Expectations for Harvard Football PAGE 15 FOOTBALL Bacow Delivers His Final AddressConvocationtoFreshmen PAGE 5 CONVOCATION
MUCH WORK REMAINS It’s easy to feel insulated from homophobia and hate here. Harvard has been one of the most accepting and thoughtful spaces I’ve encountered when it comes to support ing queer students and staff. But we aren’t insu lated, really. 8 City
Students flooded the Harvard campus’ paths, hallways, and buildings as they made their way to classes on Wednesday, the first day of the fall semester. This year marks the second year since Harvard’s campus returned to full capacity and the first semester since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that Harvard is not requiring stu dents to wear masks or test reg ularly for the virus. For Brayden H. Orpel lo-McCoy ’24, the continua tion of in-person classes meant strengthening friendships and feeling better acclimated to the College environment. “ Having been a sophomore last year, we really didn’t have a real first in-person freshman year,” he said. “This felt more comfortable and more familiar.” But Orpello-McCoy added that getting to interact with peers and professors without masks was “like navigating a new social dynamic.” I’ll be honest, it kind of felt awkward,” he said. Tessa I. Conrardy ’24, a ju nior who transferred to Har vard last year, also described feeling more at ease on campus as anIt’supperclassman.definitelystrange com ing back to campus and feeling that everything is really famil iar and feeling like we’re actu ally veterans for once,” she said. Conrardy, who is deaf in her right ear, added that she is grateful to be able to see peo ple’s faces without masks this year. She noted that since she relies on reading lips, commu nicating was “definitely tricky” while the University’s mask
SCHOOL SEE ‘DEATH’ PAGE 13
Dem AG Primary Down to Final Days
TRUONG L. NGUYEN—CRIMSON PHOTOG RAPHER
MOTION DENIED. A federal judge on Thursday rejected Harvard professor Charles M. Lieber’s request for a new trial, another legal blow to the embattled research chemist, who was convicted last year of lying to the government about his ties to a Chinese government-run recruitment program. United States District Court Judge Judge Rya W. Zobel ’53 denied Lieber’s request in an order released Thursday after noon, rebuffing arguments made by his lawers, who said his conviction was a “manifest injustice.” Lieber is now scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 11, 2023.
BACK TO THE GREAT OUTDOORS. Last month, hundreds of Harvard students emerged from the New England wilderness having completed, for the first time since 2019, the FirstYear Outdoor Program outdoors. One of six pre-orientation programs offered by the College, FOP sees more than 450 incoming freshmen, led by upperclassmen, take to the out doors to forge new friendships through games, traditions, and team-building exercises. Many of “FOPpers” lauded the return of the original format of the program, citing new friendships and thrilling experiences.
week, from first-years in Harvard
THE COLUMBIA SPECTATOR COLUMBIACORNELLUPENNYALE LAST WEEK2 SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON
’24 high-fived a group of fans at the team’s home opener against North eastern on Monday, which the Crimson won, 3-2. ZADOC I. N. GEE—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER BIGGER BEDS BLAZE. A truck transporting 188 “Big gerBeds” — a product offered via Harvard Student Agencies product — to Harvard burst into flames on the Massachu setts Turnpike Monday. COURTESY OF WILLIAM A. STERN 10 boards. 300 editors. 149 years of history. make your mark. Comp The Crimson. open houses 9.6, 9.7, and 9.8 | 7 - 8:30 p.m. | 14 Plympton St.
EDITORIAL. El Jefe’s Taqueria opened in its new location in the Abbot building ahead of the fall semester.
JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Directors of Yale’s FOCUS pre-orientation pro gram announced they would cancel a partner ship with New Haven Department of Parks and Trees after an external supervisor directed par ticipating students to clear tents and clothing belonging to unhoused people from a West River encampment, the Yale Daily News reported Wednesday.
THE CORNELL DAILY SUN
THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN
to upperclassmen in the houses. JULIAN J. GIORDANO —CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER FINDING THE FANS Harvard women’s soccer midfielder Megan
Reproductive rights activists assembled at Cor nell’s Arts Quad on Saturday for the launch of Our Bodies, Their Laws, a semester-long event series that seeks to educate and motivate stu dents on reproductive health issues, the Cornell Daily Sun wrote on Monday. Cornell faculty created the series in response to the Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson to over turn federal protection for abortion rights.
BACK FOR THE FALL. Harvard University president Lawrence S. Bacow, left, and his wife, Adele F. Bacow, greet ed new Harvard freshmen and helped them move into their dorms. “It was wonderful to see the campus come to life,” Bacow wrote in an email to students. Bacow is in his final year as Harvard’s president, after announcing plans to step down in June 2023.
Orientaton Program Returns OutsideRetrial for Harvard Chemist Rejected METROCOLLEGEFAS
‘FREE PALESTINE’ PROTEST. Student organizers from the Palestine Solidarity Committee interrupted the Class of 2026 Convocation ceremony to condemn Har vard’s support of what they described as “Israeli Apartheid.”
The Week in Pictures
THE YALE DAILY NEWS
TRUONG L. NGUY EN—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER HARVARD CHORUSES CONVOKE. The Har vard Choruses performed at convocation, along with other Harvard musical groups such as the Harvard band, to welcome in the class of 2026.
Two years after the Columbia marching band voted to dissolve following accusations of sexual misconduct and racism, Columbia Athletics an nounced the formation of a University-led spirit band, The Columbia Spectator wrote Tuesday. The student-led marching band has histori cally clashed with the administration: In 2016, officials banned the band from attending Orgo Night — a long-standing Columbia tradition in Butler Library – and band members flouted the decision, sneaking in instruments concealed in backpacks. A Columbia employee, rather than a student, will oversee the new spirit band.
MOVE-IN DAY. Students wheel their belongings through campus. All College students moved in over the past Yard J. Mackey
JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
A WARM WELCOME. At Wednesday’s convocation, Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana welcomed members of the Class of 2026. JULIAN J. GIOR DANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER BACOW HARVARDSTUDENTSGREETSINYARD AROUND THE IVIES
University of Pennsylvania students protested the sale of 70 affordable housing units at Mon day’s Class of 2026 Convocation. University President Liz Magill emphasized the importance of “productive disagreement” after being inter rupted by protesters’ chants to “stop Penn-tri fication.” Residents of the affordable housing units, located in a historically black neighbor hood, will be evicted on Oct. 8 according to the current schedule, the Daily Pennsylvanian re ported Monday night.
CAMPBELL VS. LISS-RIORDAN. With Massachusetts voters set to head to the polls Tuesday for a statewide primary elec tion, the Democratic race for attorney general has emerged as one of the most competitive contests in the state, with a pair of high-profile progressives seeking to replace Maura T. Healey ’92, who is running for governor. Former Boston City Councilor Andrea J. Campbell is facing labor attorney Shannon E. Liss-Riordan ’90, who has never held public office. Quentin Palfrey ’96, an attorney who served in the Obama and Biden administrations.
POP-UP CERAMICS SHOW: VESSELS Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Ceramicist Lauren Levine used coil-throwing, a slow process of forming clay, to prepare the piec es for this exhibition. Her large vases, ranging from 16’’-22” tall, are all completely unique.
WHY SHARKS MATTER: SHARK SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION Virtual or In-Person at Haller Hall, 6 p.m. Have a conversation with marine conservation biologist David Shiffman on the latest in shark science and learn why sharks are important for the oceanic ecosystem as conservationists seek to protect the oft-feared fish.
CRIMSON JAM Old Yard, 5:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m Harvard’s annual fall concert, Crimson Jam, returns for the first time since 2019 featuring Social House, whose hit song “Magic in the Hamptons” has just over 384 million streams on Spotify. Jasper G. Goodman X. Zhou
Sophia
What’s Next A preview of what’s on the agenda around Harvard University Monday, Saturday,9/59/3
’23-24 Eleanor V. Wikstrom ’24 Arts
’23 Managing Editor Amy
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Janani
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MAPPARIUM TOUR Christian Science Center, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. Explore a famous Boston landmark – the Mappari um – this Sunday. Located at the Christian Science Plaza in Back Bay, the Mapparium is an inside-out stained-glass globe that stands three stories tall.
PFIZER BOOSTER CLINIC Harvard University Health Services, 12 p.m.-3 a.m. Harvard University Health Services is offering a Pfizer booster clinic. Participants can make an ap pointment on the HUHS patient portal using their HarvardKey login prior to the clinic.
Thursday, 9/8
Guillaume ’24 Editorial
FRESHMAN JAM Sanders Theatre, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Head over to Sanders Theatre Sunday afternoon to see performances from eight of Harvard’s acapella groups, including the Harvard Krokodiles, the Rad cliffe Pitches, and the Harvard Opportunes.
FAIR Tercentenary Theatre, 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Round out your first week of classes by getting involved with some extracurriculars. Friday after noon’s Student Organization Fair will host more than 500 student organizations, with a table for each club staffed by current members. L. Chairs S. Hava Chairs Chairs V. Ellis ’23-’24 S. ’23 Chairs S. Deng ’23-’24 Sekar ’23-’24 Chairs N. Wilson ’23-’24 H. Wong ’24 Design Chairs Yuen Ting Chow ’23 Madison A. Shirazi ’23 Multimedia Chairs Aiyana G. White ’23 Pei Chao Zhuo ’23 Technology Chairs Ziyong Cui ’24 Justin Y. Ye ’24
The United Nations cited the mass de tention of Uyghurs and other Muslims by China’s government as potential crimes against humanity. A report released by the UN human rights office Wednesday evening found significant human rights violations by China in Xinjiang — including torture and sexual violence in the region’s detention centers, the Associated Press reported. China’s permanent mission to the UN criticized the report as a politically mo tivated attack by the West, denying its findings as slander. Prior to the release, Chinese officials had called on the international organization to suppress the report. Human rights watchdogs have estimated that 1 million Uyghurs and mem bers of other majority-Muslim ethnic groups have been detained in Xinjiang in the past five years. The Food and Drug Administration ap proved new Covid-19 booster shots target ing Omicron subvariants on Wednesday. The Biden administration ordered more than 170 million doses of the redesigned vaccines – pro duced by Pfizer and Moderna – for public use for next week. Children over 12 can receive only the Pfizer vaccine, while those 18 and older can re ceive either, provided they have not had a boost er shot in the last two months. While fewer than 40,000 people are hospitalized due to Covid-19 and the death rate has remained flat over the past few weeks, FDA officials and the Biden administration are encouraging Americans to get the booster shot as a precaution before the winter. However, the infrastructure and funds needed for a large-scale vaccine rollout have dwindled, according to the New York Times. A retired New York City police officer was sentenced to a decade in prison on Thurs day for his involvement in the January 6 attacks. The retired officer, Thomas Webster, was charged with a number of felonies, includ ing assault. Though Webster, who swung a metal flagpole on the day of the Capitol Hill riots, de fended himself before a jury with a self-defense argument, he received the longest sentence yet recorded in cases connected to the riots. Video footage shows Webster pushing at the barri cades and attempting to harm a Washington officer, according to the New York Times.
STUDENT ORGANIZATION
Maliya
Sofia Andrade ’23-’24 Jaden S. Thompson ’23 Magazine
Liang
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Friday, 9/2
CORRECTIONS
Sports
Sunday, 9/4
IN THE REAL WORLD
CLOSED LABS, OPEN KITCHENS: LESSONS FROM THE PANDEMIC Science Center, Hall C, 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Join authors Dave Arnold and Harold McGee for a Monday evening discussion. CS50 PUZZLE DAY 2022 Science & Engineering Complex, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Residential students at Harvard University are in vited to compete in teams of two to four people at CS50 Puzzle Day. Competitors will work on a packet of puzzles, with prizes available for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as one raffle winner.
’23 Business Manager FALL RETURN CORY K. GORCZYCKI — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
UN REPORT FINDS POTENTIAL CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY BY CHINA IN XINJIANG FDA AUTHORIZES OMICRONFOCUSED COVID BOOSTER SHOTS EX-POLICE OFFICER RECEIVES 10 YEAR SENTENCE FOR INVOLVE MENT IN JAN. 6 RIOTS NEXT WEEK 3SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON Associate Managing Editors Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24 Associate Business Managers Taia M.Y. Cheng ’23-’24 Isabelle
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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Raquel Coronell Uribe ’22-’23 President
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STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Night Editors Brie K. Buchanan ’23 Natalie L. Kahn ’23 Assistant Night Editors Cara J. Chang ’24 Isabella B. Cho ’24 Sarah Girma ’24 Brandon L. Kingdollar ’24 Paton D. Roberts ’25 Mayesha R. Soshi ’24 Story Editors Kelsey J. Griffin ’23 Natalie L. Kahn ’23 Taylor C. Peterman ’23-’24 Jasper G. Goodman ’23 Design Editors Toby R. Ma ’24 Madison A. Shirazi ’23 Yuen Ting Chow ’23 Photo Editors Julian J. Giordano ’25 Pei Chao Zhuo ’23 Cory K. Gorczycki ’24 Editorial Editors Guillermo S. Hava ’23-24 Eleanor V. Wikstrom ’24 Sports Editors Alexandra N. Wilson ’23-’24 Griffin H. Wong ’24 Arts Editors Sofia Andrade ’23-’24 Jaden S. Thompson ’23 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 Crim son. 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
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Economic and Social Problems Economics
Equality of opportunity Access to higher education
BY PAUL E. ALEXIS CRIMSON STAFF WRITER FinancialIncreasesHBS Aid paul.alexis@thecrimson.com Big Data to Solve 50 Open to All Students 2023: Mon/Wed 1:30-2:45 PM No Prerequisites
The Harvard Business School rolled out a new financial aid program earlier this month which covers the full cost of tuition for about 10 percent of the school’s MBA students. The scholarships pro vides $76,000 per year to its recipients, covering tuition and course fees. Students who receive the aid are still responsible for living ex penses.“Harvard Business School should be a place where the most talented fu ture leaders can come to re alize their potential,” Busi ness School Dean Srikant M. Datar said in the Aug. 16 press release announcing the move. “We want to remove the financial barriers that stand in their way and allevi ate the burden of debt so they can focus on becoming lead ers who make a difference in theTheworld.”aid increase comes after a handful of other changes in recent years that the school says are aimed at attracting students from di verse socioeconomic back grounds.Harvard Business School has expanded the number of need-based scholarships it offers, revised its financial aid formula to account for socioeconomic background, and instituted an applica tion fee waiver. In 2018, the school launched the For ward Fellowship, which of fers funding to students who financially support fami ly members during business school.
PEI CHAO ZHUO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER spoke to freshmen at the College’s Ceremony.Convocation
Satisfies Quantitative Reasoning with Data (QRD) requirement.
NEWS 5SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON ADMINISTRATORSCONVOCATION
BY VIVI E. LU AND LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
vivi.lu@thecrimson.com leah.teichholtz@thecrimson.com
Innovation and entrepreneurship Professor of Economics Raj Chetty
Using
"I am constantly bringing up things I learned in class in conversations with friends." "If you're gonna take a single Economics class at Harvard, it's got to be this one With no prereqs and a strategy of approach ability, the high enrollment numbers justify themselves easily..." "This is one of the best courses I have taken at Harvard I hadn't been interested in taking economics before, but the fact that this class started with issues I care about and taught the rest through them made it awesome " Racial disparities Criminal justice Climate change Visit the Canvas page or opportunityinsights.org/course for more information
Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow welcomes the Class of 2026 in his annual Convocation address. It will be his final Convocation ad dress, as he is set to step down in June 2023.
H undreds of Harvard freshmen crowd ed into Tercentenary Theatre Tuesday afternoon for the College’s annual Convoca tion, which featured an address by University President Law rence S. Bacow and a protest by the Palestine Solidarity Com mittee.The ceremony, which wel comed 1,649 freshmen to the College, included remarks from College Dean Rakesh Khurana and other top Harvard admin istrators. During the program, musical performances by the Kuumba Singers, Harvard cho ruses, and the Harvard Univer sity Band resonated in the Yard. In his speech, Bacow — who will step down in June 2023 — advised freshmen to pursue truth by engaging with differ ent“Ourperspectives.mottois ‘veritas,’ and it’s more than a motto. It’s the reason we exist, to seek the truth. But truth needs to be test ed, needs to be revealed. And that can only happen on the an vil of competing ideas,” Bacow said. “It’s really, really import ant to engage with people who think differently from you.” Khurana called on students in his address to take up the challenge of seeking truth even when it is difficult. “Some of the most powerful obstacles to searching for the truth actually come from with in us. One of these obstacles is the temptation to conform,” Khurana said. “The forces of conformity can be strong and work against our ability to seek answers to tough questions.” “We need to ask those ques tions,” he Followingadded.Khurana’s ad dress, a group of student pro testers from the Palestine Sol idarity Committee chant ed and displayed a poster that read, “Veritas? Here’s the real truth: Harvard Supports Israe li Apartheid.” Several protest ers were stationed next to the freshmen throughout the cer emony. College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo declined to comment on the protest. Harvard Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Jonah C. Stein berg criticized the display as “anti-Israel” and “anti-Har vard” in an email to Hillel mem bers Tuesday afternoon. “Beyond being unfortu nate, such a display is also in advertently ironic and terri bly counterproductive,” Stein berg wrote. “Perhaps the best use one may make of such a mo ment is to lift up — by contrast to what we have just seen in the Yard — the nuance and the depth available to Harvard stu dents through the programs of Harvard Hillel.” In a statement to The Crim son following the protest and Hillel’s email, PSC member Joshua D. Willcox ’24 wrote that there is “no right time and place” to protest. “We believe that we have the responsibility to leverage our education to hold Harvard ac countable and condemn the op pression that it is actively in volved in, especially when these actions are so contradictory to the values that the administra tion purports,” the statement read.The ceremony also includ ed an address from Dean of Stu dents Katherine G. O’Dair, who used viral online game Wordle as an analogy for students’ tran sition to life at Harvard. “I am not embarrassed to say that most of the time I am per fectly average at Wordle. But just like in life, I have my days of excellence and my days of frus tration,” O’Dair said. “I ask that you grant yourself some grace when you don’t get everything absolutely right the first time.” Many students in the Col lege’s Class of 2026 said they en joyed their Convocation, which marks their official start as Har vard“Hearingundergraduates.theband for the first time, seeing all the cho ruses — I didn’t realize a lot of how amazing the organizations here are,” Eileen K. Ye ’26 said. “It’s really sinking in that we’re here.”
Freshmen Urged to Test the Truth
Spring
"Lecture really broadened my perspective on some of the biggest issues in the world"
“There’s definitely a lack of re spect in the house — a lack of re spect about referring to people as they want to be referred to,” said Alyx Britton ’21, who attended the event.Intheir May statement to The Crimson, the faculty deans said they “deeply regret this incident” and are “sincerely sorry for this mistake.”“Wediscussed this incident af ter the fact and how to make sure that all student’s pronouns are known and respected, and [Far rell] apologized at that time to the students and to the tutors who managed the event,” they wrote.
Within the first year of the pair’s term, houses.laterallytransferrederbuildingministrator,dean,theover,seniorunusuallyexperiencedLeveretthighstaffturnincludingresidenthouseadandmanag–twoofwhomtoother
Leverett Affiliates Report Toxic Culture Under Past Deans
“It is unconscionable to think that she would yell at a student in the Dining Hall, or in the art room, or at any location or oc casion, and it would be surpris ing, especially given the level of scrutiny we have been under, that this would have happened and remained unaddressed in the moment it happened,” the pair wrote.At Leverett’s virtual thesis showcase in 2021, Farrell misgen dered students despite repeated verbal and written attempts by attendees to correct him, accord ing to four students and staff who attended the event.
John L. Pulice III ’15 Former Leverett Resident Tutor It is impossible to succeed in this house. Being a tutor in Leverett House is an act of constant “holdunfitthatcoddlingcapitulation,denigration,andofleadershiparecompletelyandunqualifiedtothisposition.
The number of former and current Leverett HoCo members and facultycreatedenvironmenttheinLeverettsaidmembersofTheyearduringthecromanagedtheystaffresidentialwhosaidweremibyfacultydeanstheirfour-tenure.numberformerstaffwhotheyleftHouseparttoescape“toxic”workbythedeans.
“The students I talked to were just so hurt and sometimes would come up to us in tears,” the tutor said. “It was a constant bat tle where she would just chase people and scream at them to put away all their dirty dishes.”
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IN JUNE, LEVERETT’S Faculty Deans stepped down from their posts, a year before the end of their term. For some affiliates who allege a pattern of mismanagement and a loss of culture, their departure is ‘long overdue.’
Two students said they wit nessed a specific instance in which Ferreras loudly rebuked a student in the dining hall. The former faculty deans de nied the allegations, writing that Ferreras has “never yelled at any community member.”
‘The Great Exodus’ Two years into his time as a resident tutor in Leverett, John L. Pulice III ’15 said he suffered a breakdown due to what he de scribed as the faculty deans’ “constant pattern of microman agement, undercutting, and un professional behavior.” Pulice, who began at Leverett in 2018, said he was immediate ly given a “massive” number of responsibilities on top of advis ing residents, including handling the House’s website, mailing lists, and room reservations. In early 2021, Pulice triggered a College inquiry into the facul ty deans, according to an email exchange with Dean of Admin istration and Finance Sheila C. Thimba. In a 19-page statement submitted to administrators, Pu lice said he was forced to shoul der the blame for decisions made by the faculty deans and bur dened with more work than oth er tutors.“Itisimpossible to succeed in this house,” Pulice wrote. “Being a tutor in Leverett House is an act of constant denigration, capitula tion, and coddling of leadership that are completely unfit and un qualified to hold this position.”
The number of times that former facultytheistratorsHarvardreachedIIIJohnresidentLeveretttutorL.Pulice’15saidheouttoadminaboutformerdeans. 9 BY VIVI E. LU AND LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
COVER STORY6
JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON DESIGNER
LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ — FLOURISH CHART
SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON
Suriya Kandaswamy ’20 re called an incident during which Ferreras began “screaming” at students in Leverett’s art room, threatening to revoke access to the space after students had not cleaned“We’reup.not children,” Kandas wamy said. “It’s one thing to take away our access if we’re not fol lowing the rules but to come and scream at everyone in front of ev eryone — it’s a little bit demean ing.”A former resident tutor said Ferreras on occasion raised her voice to students, particularly around the dining hall.
Though Farrell and Ferreras said reachedtheyout to all pair’smonthsemailwasA.mertofirmtutorsnon-residenttocontheirdesirecontinue,forNRTJoshuaReyes’05-’06firedoverseveralintotheterm.
E lizabeth C. “Liz” Hove land ’22 brought concerns about former Leverett Fac ulty Deans Brian D. Farrell and Irina P. Ferreras to Harvard ad ministrators four times between June 2020 and June 2021. During the meetings, admin istrators from the Dean of Stu dents Office advised Hoveland to wait to share her feedback with a review committee established to evaluate the couple — standard practice for faculty deans in their fourth year of a five-year appoint ment to determine if they should be renewed for another term. The review committee spent months meeting with affiliates like Hoveland to understand the house environment. Though the committee’s findings were not publicly released, a few months later, Farrell and Ferreras abruptly announced they would step down at the end of June — a year before the scheduled end of theirTheterm.role of faculty dean, known as “house master” before 2016, is unique to Harvard Col lege. Each pair of faculty deans oversees one of the school’s 12 up perclassman houses. The job in volves administrative tasks — in cluding hiring tutors and staff, dispensing a budget, and approv ing housewide events — but a significant part of the role is set ting the house’s culture and tra ditions.Farrell and Ferreras took over Leverett in fall 2018. A cou ple months after their arrival, the pair told The Crimson they were keeping up the house’s “strong traditions” and “actively build ing” Leverett’s Senior Common Room, a network of advisors and other affiliates who have ac cess to the house and sometimes mentor students. But a year later, many resi dents complained that some of the house’s most beloved tra ditions had disappeared and the SCR lay dormant. Discon tent brewed on house email lists, where students bemoaned closed common spaces and shelved house traditions. The spring earlier, students in Lev erett circulated copies of a polit ical cartoon depicting the faculty deans as the Standard Oil octo pus.In 2019, just 27 percent of graduating Leverett residents said they trusted Farrell and Fer reras in a Crimson survey — the lowest of any house. Their trust rating was 13 percentage points below the second-lowest rated faculty deans, whose contract in Winthrop House was not re newed by the College that year due to concerns about the house culture.Ininterviews conducted with 48 current and former Leverett residents, tutors, and staff over the past six months, many said the house’s culture suffered af ter Farrell and Ferreras arrived. Thirteen Leverett affiliates said the faculty deans fostered a toxic atmosphere in the house, marked by mismanagement and distrust. Though many students and staff shared positive experienc es, others in the house said tradi tions and good will withered un der Farrell and Ferreras as senior staff turned over at a high rate. Some sources spoke on the con dition of anonymity due to con cerns about their job security at Harvard or fear of retaliation from Farrell and Ferreras. In a May statement to The Crimson before they announced their departure, Farrell and Ferre ras said the criticisms are not rep resentative of the house culture they fostered, instead describing a “vibrant, happy, friendly, wel coming atmosphere” different from the one they inherited. “We have done everything we can to dismantle what was a tox ic, topdown and paternalistic work environment upon our ar rival that was bad for the commu nity,” they wrote. They added that several of the criticisms were levied by those who have “privately and publicly harassed” them and are “accom panied with lightly-veiled inter sectional sexism and racism” to ward Ferreras, who is Latinx. The pair wrote they previously “heard and refuted” many of the allega tions, which they claim originat ed from a “very small group of people.”Still,a number of current and former staff and residents allege that the pattern of mismanage ment Farrell and Ferreras intro duced was widespread. “When I met with the [review] committee, and I told them my issues, I cried,” Hoveland said. “And they said, ‘We believe you. Your complaints echo what we’ve been hearing in all of our inter views.’ That was the moment that I was like, ‘I’m not alone in this.’” Their Way Or the Highway Farrell and Ferreras entered Leverett as successors to Howard M. Georgi ’68 and Ann B. Geor gi, who announced their resigna tion after 20 years in 2018. Nicholas J. Durham ’20 de scribed the Georgis as “real ly approachable and warm” and recalled eating Leverett’s home made monkey bread during their weekly open house events. The Georgis left “pretty big shoes to fill,” said former Leverett resident Philippe Noel ’20. Under Farrell and Ferreras, some beloved Leverett traditions — including a faculty dean open house serving monkey bread, a weekly “Physics Night” to work on homework in the dining hall, and a frequent social called Not Just Sherry Hour — did not sur vive.In the May statement, the pair wrote that monkey bread was discontinued due to a stu dent’s allergies and they modified Not Just Sherry Hour into Social Hour, which they described as “very successful.” Physics Night, Farrell and Ferreras wrote, drew complaints for rendering the house’s dining hall “largely un available.” After the two resched uled the event, the Physics Night professor moved it to a different house which resulted in the end of the tradition, they claimed. “It was really their way or the highway. They were not recep tive to student feedback,” said for mer House Committee chair Ben jamin I. Sorkin ’20. “It was very much their vision for the house rather than what the house had been like before.” Five students and staff said Farrell and Ferreras often made decisions without input from stu dents or Duringstaff.their second year, stu dents noticed the house’s Senior Common Room, private dining room, art room, and kitchen were locked. Access to the Junior Com mon Room became restricted to Leverett students only, and its pi ano was locked shut. Following a 27-message housewide email chain criticiz ing these changes to Leverett in 2019, a group of students docu mented their grievances in a fivepage Google Doc, deploring the closure of common spaces and a lack of regular house events. “To this day, I’ve never seen the inside of the private dining room nor the Senior Common Room,” Garrett M. Rolph ’22 said in a March interview. In their statement to The Crimson, the faculty deans said tutors can book Leverett’s private dining room and SCR for meet ings, including those attended by students. The art room and stu dent kitchen can be reserved by students who complete a train ing, they Despitewrote.some student com plaints, some Leverett residents reported positive experiences with the faculty deans. “The deans are great,” Jacob P. Winter ’24 said. “They feel per sonable. I can approach them and talk to them like I would a teach er.”“They’re extremely support ive and they create a very warm environment,” Abigail R. White ’24 Still,said. other house residents told a different story, alleging that Ferreras was hostile to stu dents in Leverett common spac es.
“I left my position in Lever ett House for one reason and one reason only—the unrelentingly toxic work environment created by Brian Farrell and Irina Ferre ras,” Pulice wrote in a June email. “My thoughts are with all the stu dents and staff for whom this de cision came far too late.”
COVER STORY 7
leah.teichholtz@thecrimson.comvivi.lu@thecrimson.com
JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON DESIGNER LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ — FLOURISH CHART
SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON His concerns weren’t anom alous: six other current and for mer staff members said their mental health deteriorated un der the leadership of Farrell and Ferreras. Eleven students and staff said the faculty deans micro managed them. In their statement to The Crimson, Ferreras and Farrell described a “strong working re lationship” with the house tu tors, citing their creation of “tu tor committees” to distribute work equitably and provide tu torsOveragency.the pair’s tenure, staff meetings occasionally devolved into shouting matches, accord ing to six current and former staff members. Farrell and Ferreras denied the allegations. “We do not yell at each other or anyone else but we do some times differ in opinions as indi viduals, as is normal,” they wrote. “Characterizing someone with a strong accent as speaking too loudly or as unintelligent is a fa miliar racist trope.” Pulice and one other staff member described feeling un comfortable during a 2020 tutor social at which Ferreras allegedly questioned attendees about their ethnic backgrounds. “A mandatory end of semester virtual tutor social started with asking tutors how exactly they’re Jewish, and finished with grill ing each person about their eth nic background and 23andMe results,” Pulice wrote in his 2021 report.Intheir statement, Ferreras and Farrell dismissed the inci dent as an “invented story,” point ing to racial and gender-based discrimination Ferreras has ex perienced.“Forus, it is hard to believe and painful to hear a narrative of this nature,” they wrote. “Iri na has suffered racial and gen der-based bias since the begin ning of our tenure.” Six current staff members de scribed in interviews positive ex periences with Farrell and Ferre ras.Building manager Mohamed Zaker said he has not “had an is sue” with the faculty deans, citing strong communication and sup port from the pair. Robert Roessler, a resident tu tor who started in 2019, said he has been “extremely supported” by the faculty deans, who have gone “above and beyond” to help him create a game room and se cure new jerseys for intramurals. “They treat both students and tutors, if you let them, really like family,” Roessler said. Margaret C. “Maggie” Nowak, a resident tutor since 2019, wrote she “cultivated a very strong rela tionship” with the faculty deans but acknowledged “tension does happen” within Leverett’s circles. Leverett had unusually high staff turnover among top admin istrative positions under Far rell and Ferreras. The house had three resident deans, two build ing managers, and two house ad ministrators over Farrell and Fer reras’ four-year tenure. In 2019, Resident Dean Bilal A. Malik announced his mid-year departure from Leverett, thank ing only the Georgis in his fare well message. An interim resi dent dean served from 2019 to 2020, and the succeeding resi dent dean, Katie Daily, departed this June after just two years in the role. Both Malik and Daily cit ed family reasons for their depar ture in announcements to house affiliates.OnlyCabot House had a simi lar level of resident dean turnover over the four-year period. Pulice departed Leverett in summer 2021 but stayed at Har vard as a resident tutor in Adams House.That same year, both Lever ett’s house administrator and longtime building manager also departed. Like Pulice — and un like most departing staff — they stayed at Harvard through later al transfers to other houses. Ac cording to existing data, aside from Leverett, just three resident tutors and one building manager have transferred laterally since fall“We2018.cannot comment on staff transfers and do not know how usual or unusual this is,” the fac ulty deans wrote in May. “We do not know the particulars of these transfers and understood that at least one was due to another’s House need for experience.” Hoveland described Leverett’s staff turnover as “the great exo dus.”Five former staff members in terviewed by The Crimson said they left the house in part to es cape the “toxic” work environ ment. Two others said they were fired. One former resident tutor said they left because of the facul ty deans, despite enjoying inter acting with and advising Leverett residents.Leverett’s annual resident tu tor turnover was lower than that of other houses, aside from its above-average turnover in the couple’s first year. Early into the faculty deans’ tenure, Leverett saw rapid staff turnover in its Senior Common Room network, which includes both non-resident tutors and staff and alumni affiliated with theJohnhouse.Trumpbour, who serves as a non-resident tutor and has been affiliated with Leverett since the mid-1980s, said many members of the SCR were let go under the current faculty deans’ reign, though he was not. Eleven of Leverett’s 42 non-resident tutors in the 20182019 school year were still Lev erett affiliates during 2021-2022, per data from the house’s web site. The network shrunk to 31 members over this period. In their statement to The Crimson, Farrell and Ferreras claimed they wrote to all existing affiliates to confirm their desire to continue.ButJoshua A. Reyes ’05-’06, a former non-resident tutor in Le verett, said he and others were unexpectedly fired by the facul ty deans in January 2019 in what he deemed the “great SCR purge.” “We are writing to confirm our decision to terminate your status as a Non-Resident Tutor at Lever ett House, effective immediately. We know this comes as a disap pointment,” the email from Far rell and Ferreras read, according to a copy provided to The Crim son. “After an analysis of the roles that NRTs are needed to fill at this time, we have reviewed all NRTs and have had to let many go.” Farrell and Ferreras wrote in a follow-up statement to The Crim son that they convey hiring deci sions based on the guidance of tu tor “Thesecommittees.tutor recommenda tion-based decisions can also in clude nonrenewal of non-resi dent tutors,” they wrote. “This is not out of the ordinary. Turnover is in the nature of these roles.” Though some former faculty deans remain house affiliates, the Georgis belong to Lowell House’s SCR rather than Leverett’s. Far rell and Ferreras said they invited the Georgis to the SCR in October 2018, but Howard Georgi “ac tively undermined [them] with a group of students and staff.” The Georgis wrote in a state ment that they tried to assist Farrell and Ferreras during the transition and had “hoped and assumed that they would work hard to make Leverett a home for all Leverett students.” “Alas, subsequent events have shown this not to be the case,” the Georgis wrote. “While we were anguished for our many friends in the Leverett student body, SCR and staff, we did not make our concerns public out of respect for Harvard’s wonderful House sys tem.”“We hope that the system will emerge stronger from this expe rience,” they added. ‘A Personal Vendetta’ Despite mounting tension in the house, few staff and students raised their concerns directly to the faculty deans. Three current and former staff members said Ferreras and Farrell did not take kindly to feed back, and eight current and for mer affiliates said they feared re taliation from the pair. Kandaswamy said she be lieves she faced retaliation when she condemned an email from the faculty deans regarding the George Floyd protests in summer 2020. The faculty deans’ email, sent on a housewide email list, called riots “socially destructive andKandaswamyself-defeating.”replied all to the email — a privilege she had due to her former position as House Committee intramurals repre sentative — to criticize their state ment.“Perhaps riots are a big issue, but your job as faculty deans is first and foremost to stand by your students and ensure that not a single one feels marginal ized, and that they can all trust in Leverett House as a place to speak and be heard,” Kandaswamy wrote in the thatperceivedment.tytionthinkandtheumsministrativetyfor.facultylyresentativewamyintramurals“institutionalmovalthem.”studenttheaboutwritingStudentsining“petty”tivealyKandaswamy’sinleges,liceemail,Followingemail.Kandaswamy’sthefacultydeanstoldPutoremovehermailingpriviwhichhehadalreadydoneanticipationoftheirrequest.removalnearpreventedherfromrecruitingnewintramuralsrepresentaviaemail—amoveshecalledand“ridiculous.”Pulice,whooversawthemaillist,documentedtheincidentanemailtoAssociateDeanofLaurenE.Brandt’01,thathewasconcerned“apersonalvendetta”thatfacultydeansheld“againstawhodareddisagreewithHeworriedthatherrewouldresultinalossofmemory”fortheprogram.KandaswasabletofindanewrepafterPuliceultimateapprovedheremail,whichthedeansreprimandedhimIntheirstatement,thefaculdeanswrotethatitwasan“adoversight”thatalhadnotyetbeentakenoffemaillistpost-graduationdeniedfoulplay.“Anyonewhocouldpossiblywearecapableofretaliadoesnotknowus,”thefaculdeanswroteintheirMaystate“Wearesorrythealumthisasretaliation,butisnotfactual.”Reyes,theterminatednon-residenttutor,hadpreviouslyemailedthefacultydeansaskingthemtodenouncehatefuldrawingsfoundinLeverett.Reyessaidhewaslaterremovedfromtheemaillistandswitchedfromthepre-businessadvisingcommitteetothepre-medicalcommittee.“TheytoldmethatIhadnotadvisedenoughpre-medstudents,”saidReyes,whohasnomedicalbackground.“Isaid,‘Idon’tunderstandwhyIwouldbedoingthat.I’mnotamedicaldoctorandhaveneverbeenonthepre-medcommittee.’”Reyessaidhebelievesthefacultydeansactedoutofretaliationduetohisearlieremails.Thefacultydeanswrotethatthereis“zerotolerance”foroffensivegraffitiinthehouseandemphasizedthatNRThiringishandledbyresidenttutorcommittees.“Wewouldbesurprisedifanon-residenttutorhadbeenmovedbetweenpre-careerandpre-med,astheydon’ttendto have overlap,” they wrote in a fol low-up statement. ‘Wait and See’ Pulice said he met with Col lege administrators nine times to discuss the Leverett faculty deans between August 2020 and Sep temberBoth2021.Hoveland, who served as House Committee chair in 2020, and Sorkin, who was chair in 2018, said they raised concerns about the faculty deans to Brandt and Dean of Students Katherine G. O’Dair.Sorkin said while administra tors “lent a sympathetic ear” and were “on the side of students,” they were ultimately unable to ef fect actual change. “Folks are supportive but have a really kind of ‘throw their hands up’ attitude about it because oth er than when their five-year re view hits, no one is kicking out faculty deans, unless it was real ly, really crazy egregious,” Sorkin said.Eight students and staff mem bers who brought complaints to administrators said they found the response largely inadequate. Following the inquiry cat alyzed by Pulice, Thimba told Pulice that Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana had read the report and administrators had provided the faculty deans with “clear and specific feedback.” But months later, Pulice emailed Thimba that “the results of any intervention lasted less than four weeks” and the house environment had only worsened.
Benjamin I. Sorkin ’20 Former House Committee Chair Folks are supportive but have a really kind of ‘throw their hands up’ attitude about it because other than when their five-year review hits, no one is kicking out faculty deans, unless it was really, really crazy“egregious.
Harvard Medical School pro fessors Eileen E. Reynolds ’86 and Daniel G. Deschler currently serve as Leverett’s interim faculty deans, while former resident tu tor John F. Nowak has taken over as interim resident dean. Sorkin, who served on Lever ett’s previous faculty dean selec tion committee, said he hopes student input is more strongly considered in the search for the house’s next leaders. “I really just hope that this time around, people will listen to student voice and bring on peo ple who understand that Leverett is not in a good place — or is in a place where there’s a lot of room for growth and improvement,” he said.For others, Ferreras and Far rell’s departure is “long overdue.”
“The Harvard administra tion’s actions have made clear that the situation will not change,” Pu lice wrote. “I am working to ex plore other options since I simply cannot continue to be in this abu sive and hostile environment.” College spokesperson Jona than Palumbo declined to com ment on criticisms of the admin istration’s response, explaining that the College is unable to com ment on personnel matters. In addition to at least two in quiries prompted by individu al complaints, formal reviews of the Leverett faculty deans began late last fall, including a “Facul ty Dean Leadership Assessment” survey led by Rachael L. Ellison, a consultant from Harvard’s Cen ter for Workplace Development. The survey asked respondents to rank the overall effectiveness of the faculty deans on “focus ing on the right priorities” and “resolving conflict and complex situations.” It also asked wheth er the deans furthered belong ing and traditions and fostered a “supportive community.” At the same time, Leverett’s official review committee — chaired by former Adams Fac ulty Dean John G. “Sean” Palfrey ’67 and consisting of seven other administrators — began solicit ing information about the facul ty deans and house environment. Ellison and Palfrey declined to comment on the findings of their assessments of Leverett. In a March 29 email to house tutors that was obtained by The Crimson, Farrell and Ferreras speculated that the newspaper was investigating them in antici pation of their five-year tenure re view. The pair urged tutors to re spond to Crimson inquiries and communicate an “accurate” de piction of the house, thanking staff for their “time and support.” Two months later, Farrell and Ferreras’ sudden resigna tion came as a surprise to some. It remains unclear why the facul ty deans left prematurely. In their announcement to Leverett affil iates, the pair wrote that it was “with deepest sadness” that they were“Wedeparting.believethis decision is the best for us and our family as we enter a new chapter of our lives,” Farrell and Ferreras wrote. Both Palumbo and the former faculty deans declined to com ment further on the reasons be hind the early departure. Still, some continue to call for greater accountability for one of Harvard’s least understood posi tions. Decisions on faculty deans are the responsibility of Khura na, the dean of the College. Britton lamented the lack of “direct oversight” in Harvard’s house system and said it creates “room for abuse.” “There should be a way to hold people in high positions of pow er accountable,” Hoveland said. “Other than just reporting it and the ‘wait and see’ method.” A Blank Slate Around 80 percent of the Lev erett Class of 2022 reported some level of satisfaction with their liv ing conditions, the second lowest satisfaction rate of all houses. In 2021, just 66 percent of Leverett’s seniors were satisfied, the lowest of anyButhouse.even before the arrival of Farrell and Ferreras, Leverett consistently received low scores in house satisfaction surveys. Some attribute this to its size and layout: disjointed buildings com prising among the largest under graduate population of Harvard’s houses.Intheir statement to The Crimson, Farrell and Ferreras noted that their position came with the “stress of optimizing limitedReyesresources.”saidhehas been in con versation with the current House Committee chairs on expand ing house life with Leverett tradi tions he experienced as an under graduate and as a former House Committee“Leverettchair.culture has really withered under the [former fac ulty deans],” he said. “It is import ant to restore the institutional memory.”Withthe turnover of all of Le verett’s deans this year, some are hopeful that a blank slate can lead Leverett in a new direction.
—Maia Patel-Masini ’25, a Crimson Editorial Edi tor, lives in Kirkland House.
MyFindingHateInInboxIT’SEASYTOFEELINSULATEDFROMALLOFTHIS.
Students are continuously placed in Little Red’s shoes. “ BY BRIAN M. BOUGHTON BY MAIA PATEL-MATINI
—Brian M. Boughton is Assistant Director of Housing Operations & Student Life IT.
Toxic Networking and the Wolves of Harvard
OP-ED
internship if we aren’t constantly interacting with people in power? Students are continuously placed in Little Red’s shoes when we are encouraged to na ively navigate the woods of networking filled with monsters we should be able to trust. Networking is an essential skill stressed here at Harvard. Whether through classmates or profes sors, there is an unwritten rule that we must expand our networks right away to be successful. Even for first-years, there’s no escaping academic advisors, upperclassmen, or the plethora of Harvard websites stressing its importance. Harvard’s culture of trans actional relationships plagues our ability to priori tize our comfort zones and pushes us to strive for our best work, but not always in the best way. There’s nothing inherently wrong with network ing. However, beyond having 500-plus LinkedIn connections or being on a first-name basis with your professor, networking’s toxic nature lies in the am biguity defining student-professor relationships.
When meeting someone well-respected, women, es pecially, need to make an effort to stand out: express interest through a smile, offer to help before being asked, or laugh at their jokes (even if they aren’t fun ny). Professors know we have to do this, but the na ture of power imbalances continues to leave us vul nerable to wolves waiting along our paths. One of many wolves at Harvard is John Comaroff, whose reputation as a tenured professor was solid. He worked closely with graduate students, alleged ly pressuring some to be closer with him than they wantedThreeto.of these students bravely came after Har vard’s supposed sheltering of Comaroff with a law suit. The graduate students described the difficul ties of navigating experiences that left them feeling uncomfortable while knowing that the success of their academic endeavors hinged in large part on the support of their faculty advisors. Comaroff was the wolf blocking their paths to their goals, holding them within his claws. Their future success was con tingent on his control and thus their submission. Although there are some indicators that graduate students are more likely to be sexually harassed by professors, Harvard undergrads are conditioned to practice the same toxic networking habits that lead us down the same path. Just “saying no” only works if that is a viable option, and free will is near-void when a professor has so much power over one’s post-grad uate success.
Nineteen years ago, on October 17th, 2002, at 8:47 a.m, I was brought into this world. Smil ing and wide-eyed, I didn’t even cry as I was pushed out of my mother’s womb into the waiting hands of the doctors surrounding her. Little Red Riding Hood is a story many of us grew up with; a naive girl in her famed red hood sent off to deliv er goodies to her sick grandma gets tricked and eat en by a wolf. Our parents thus instructed us to not be dumb and beware of strangers, or else we would be the next Little Red. But is it right to blame her for talking to the wolf? It seems as though she felt pressured to do so, as most people would have been given the presence of a literal beast blocking their path. Little Red’s story is, unfortunately, a perfect alle gory for rape and the abuse of power by those in con trol of one’s future, like a menacing wolf or a sheepclothed professor mentoring students. If not becoming the next Little Red was as sim ple as avoiding talking to strangers on campus, then one in five women would not get sexually assaulted during college. After all, 85-90 percent of sexual as saults reported by college women are perpetrated by someone they knew, so not talking to strangers won’t cut it. This makes Harvard’s toxic networking cul ture so dangerous; how are we supposed to land that
Harvard has been one of the most accepting and thoughtful spaces I’ve encountered when it comes to supporting queer students and staff. But we aren’t insulated, really.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSONEDITORIAL8 OP-ED NAYELI
There is no doubt that power dynamics with in systems of academia perpetuate Little Red’s sto ry. Little Red was not dumb. She was a girl who felt her only choice was bending to the wolf’s will, like students here at Harvard. Little Reds should never be called dumb for wolves getting the better of them. The lawsuit iterates against the disgraced professor that “students rarely speak out about harassment or sexual misconduct because when they do, they risk their education and their careers.” The complaint filed against Harvard accuses the University of accommodating this culture when hir ing Comaroff, choosing to overlook the history of sexual misconduct allegations against him at the University of Chicago “even when warned about it.” It was not until the lawsuit materialized that loud, public faculty cheers for Comaroff were withdrawn and he was held accountable. Harvard’s complacen cy and silence normalize power imbalances and are thus responsible for endangering students. In response to the lawsuit, 73 professors wrote how faculty should be demanding “more expedi ent, transparent, equitable, and independent inves tigative procedures” for future cases. As students, we couldn’t agree more. However, this only passively addresses the problem, as it implies there will indef initely be more sexual misconduct cases to investi gate. We must understand that the toxic networking culture at Harvard enables students to be taken ad vantage of and keeps us from speaking out – a truth that’s even more apparent with Comaroff back teach ing at the college this fall. Toxic networking has to go, so we never have to worry about replicating Lit tle Red’s nightmare again – however, its inherently insidious nature makes it seem like a world free of it can only exist in a fairy tale. CARDOZO — CRIMSON DESIGNER
It was sort of odd, learning that I had been the target of a hateful, homopho bic email via a campus-wide message from President Bacow denouncing it. But it’s August and fall move-in is under way, which, for an employee in the College Housing Office, means some emails take a little longer to get to this time of year. More than odd, though, it was anachro nistic. I don’t intend to share the email pub licly for the same reasons President Bacow outlined, but it felt like something out of my childhood. Growing up in the 90s and 2000s, hate organizations like the West boro Baptist Church were common fix tures in the media, protesting the funerals for victims of brutal hate crimes like Mat thew Shepard or picketing college cam puses. They employed rhetoric similar to that which I saw in the email, including ref erences to HIV/AIDS or, now, Monkeypox. I admit I was initially amused at the thought that someone had gone through the effort of crawling through Harvard websites or list-servs to identify openly BGLTQ staff and faculty and send such a vileButscreed.then I realized there is nothing amusing about it. The last several years have seen a resurgence of hate against queer folks in this country. Pundits and pol iticians use false rhetoric about “groom ing” to erase queer people from school curricula. Far-right extremists target in nocuous events where drag performers read to children with threats of violence and hate speech. Hate groups have recent ly disrupted joyful Pride month events na tionwide.Ataround the same time I read the email, Boston Children’s Hospital — an in stitution (and Harvard Medical School af filiate) at the forefront of gender-affirm ing care for transgender youth — issued a statement about threats its clinicians and staff have received. More than a doz en states have passed laws that target trans people, including by denying them access to life-saving healthcare and barring chil dren from playing sports. It’s easy to feel insulated from all of this. Harvard has been one of the most accept ing and thoughtful spaces I’ve encoun tered when it comes to supporting queer students and staff. During my six years working at Harvard, I’ve been continual ly impressed by Harvard’s efforts to make sure queer students are safe on campus. It helps, of course, that we live in Massachu setts — the first state in the U.S. to embrace marriage equality and one known for its political and social progressivism. But we aren’t insulated, really. Just a few years ago, we saw the “Straight Pride Parade” march on Boston City Hall. That same year, one Harvard University police officer called another a homophobic slur. It’s not clear whether this email was writ ten by a Harvard affiliate, but I don’t doubt that there are some individuals on campus who hold those beliefs. There will always be more work to do to make Harvard a more inclusive space –work that is inextricable from that of creat ing a more inclusive society. Harvard does not exist in a bubble. While students are here, they greatly impact the Cambridge, Boston, and Massachusetts communities. After graduating, many of our alumni will become leaders — the people empowered to move their fields, their hometowns, the country, and the world towards a fuller embrace of the BGLTQ community. That work starts on campus. We can begin by making it clear that hate has no place at Harvard. To BGLTQ staff, faculty, and gradu ate students, I encourage you to add your name to the Out @ Harvard list to ensure that queer students know that they are welcome here and have resources they can contact.Toupper-level students, make sure you welcome first-years to campus warm ly and remind them that all students, re gardless of their identities, belong at Har vard. To all students, stay engaged with the events hosted by the Office of BGLTQ Stu dent Life and BGLTQ specialty tutors and proctors.Beyond our campus, vote and advocate for politicians and policies that affirm the dignity of all queer people. And, if you ha ven’t already, register to vote either here or in your home state and request your ballot prior to November’s elections. A lot has improved since I was younger, but the events of the past few years in our community (and my inbox) are a remind er that there remains much to do. I chal lenge members of the Harvard community to think about what your role is in advanc ing inclusion and belonging both on and off campus. There will always be more work to do to make Harvard a more inclusive space – work that is inextricable from that of creating a more inclusive society. Harvard does not exist in a bubble.
The crux of the abortion debate is not battling between ideologies of pro-life and pro-choice, but rather failing to understand that our places within this world could have easily been fulfilled by another mind.
IN ANY PLACE, BUT ESPECIALLY AT HARVARD, I would say that idea is unrealistic, fraught with traces of toxic positivity — a mindset characterized by “dis missing negative emotions and responding to distress with false reassurances rather than empathy.” Although appealing in theory, an attitude of toxic positivity avoids deep engagement with emotional struggles, leaving one unable to grapple with difficult emotions that will inevitably turn up again later on.
my mother, I would not want to be here today. I would not want to be the source of my mother’s continued grief. I would not want to experience my mother’s residual psychological damage from being forced to carry me after being sexually assaulted. I would not want to live with potential abnormali ties or chronic illnesses that would drastically di minish my quality of life, had I been a product of incest.My mother’s mental health would and should always come before the “what if” of my supposed success, defined by men who will never know the gravity of these situations. That is what love is: to make the sacrifice of one’s own life in order to see the ones you love be happy. I know that my mother was ready to become a mom and raise me properly to become the suc cessful person I am today. I am the product of her having a choice to do so. When that choice is stripped away, when women who didn’t want to be mothers are forced to raise children, they can not put in the effort to raise a child properly. Or worse, young mothers take the decision into their own hands and try dangerous methods of abor tion that lead them to kill, scar, and emotionally damage themselves. As my mother’s daughter, I would’ve wanted her to decide to have me. As my mother’s daugh ter, I would’ve wanted her pregnancy with me to have been safe and filled with love and excite ment. As my mother’s daughter, I thank her for having me, but do not burden her with the what if’s of my older sibling. As the daughter who got to live, I am still prochoice.
From Boston to Boylston.
Nineteen years ago, on October 17th, 2002, at 8:47 a.m, I was brought into this world. Smiling and wide-eyed, I didn’t even cry as I was pushed out of my mother’s womb into the waiting hands of the doctors surrounding her. Little did I know the incredulous odds of my ascension into this world. About two years earlier, when my mother was 19, she became pregnant with my older sib ling. Being 19 years old, how could she have possi bly been expected to give up the rest of her life to raise and provide for a child? So she had an abortion. And then two years later, she was pregnant again — except this time, it was with me. Some might argue that this piece of my life should install me as an avid ally of the pro-life movement.Butasthe one who survived, I am still prochoice.Iam now the very age my mother was when she first got pregnant. As my mother’s daughter, I am now acutely aware of just how vulnerable being young and pregnant made her. Even now that I have achieved my life’s greatest success in making it to Harvard, and gained so many invalu able life lessons throughout my time here, I still do not feel anywhere near mature enough to al low myself to carry a baby to full term. And as a victim of sexual assault, I can only imagine what it would’ve been like had I been impregnated and forced to carry that forced baby. The decision I make every day to wake up and choose to support those who have abortions is a deliberate, intentional one. The fact that I am able to make this decision every day undoubtedly relies on how my moth er decided to carry me to term — but even if she had not, there would have been many others in the world making the same decision every day in myAsabsence.thechild who lived, I am comfortable with the knowledge that I might not have. My contri bution to this earth is not yet complete — but any such contribution I have made has not been and will not be unique. The crux of the abortion de bate is not battling between ideologies of pro-life and pro-choice, but rather failing to understand that our places within this world could have eas ily been fulfilled by another mind. Another child would have been born on my exact birthdate, made it into Harvard, and contributed something else to society in my vacancy. Knowing the outlook for little girls and wom en across the country now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned has only strengthened my re solve in my decision. Had I been the product of rape or incest, or had my fetal stage been killing
A HarvardFeel-GoodYear
I Am the One Who Survived.
I Am Still Pro-Choice
SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON EDITORIAL 9
My time at and before Harvard has been defined by goals. Academic. Athletic. Per sonal. There is no path to a hyper-selective college like Harvard that does not demand constant self-appraisal. In high school, I routinely assessed how impressive my goals were and how they might measure up to those of other applicants. The ability to become my own admissions officer may have helped me get into Harvard — yet, upon entering Harvard’s gates, this tendency lingers so powerfully that at times I forget to live my life for myself.This is why from now on, I will be driven by only one goal: to feel good. Such a goal might seem trivial, but during my freshman spring, this state of being was not a giv en for me. After contracting Covid-19 in February, I developed an array of maladies that persisted for months, including loss of concentration, headache, andEvendepression.before these symptoms, life at Harvard had often felt overwhelming; perpetually feeling physically unwell only made matters worse. When I recall my most recent semester at Harvard, the harder moments come to mind first: being hope lessly bedridden, drowning in schoolwork, and crying… a lot. If I dig a little deeper, though, other memories begin to surface, much brighter in color and lighter in weight. I rejoice in the new friends I made during the spring and the older friendships that strength ened. I think of the special moments I had with the many people I came to love: eating BerryLine by the river, dancing in the rain on Widener steps, placing second in an international a cappella com petition with the Opportunes. I remember conversations I had with people I knew I could lean on — late nights spent sharing little pieces of ourselves with each other, one frag ment at a time. When I allow myself to focus on these memo ries, the good ones, they come crashing down like waves, their foam concealing darker times hidden beneath the surface. But can we strive to feel good all the time by merely allowing goodness to wash over the negative? In any place, but especially at Harvard, I would say that idea is unrealistic, fraught with traces of toxic positivity — a mindset characterized by “dis missing negative emotions and responding to dis tress with false reassurances rather than empa thy.” Although appealing in theory, an attitude of toxic positivity avoids deep engagement with emo tional struggles, leaving one unable to grapple with difficult emotions that will inevitably turn up again later on. That’s the thing about the ocean: as the tides change and currents shift, the depths of the sea floor churn to the surface. Life will stir up your world whether you’re ready for it or not. You can’t escape feeling bad sometimes. At Harvard, feeling bad has become endemic. From 2014 to 2018, nearly one in three Harvard un dergraduates reported that they have or think they may have depression and anxiety. This was before the coronavirus pandemic triggered a 25 percent increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depres sion worldwide and an even worse mental health crisis on our campus. In such a pressure-filled environment, it can be really hard to feel good. The average Harvard stu dent overworks, undersleeps, and finds themselves hard-pressed to choose between academic excel lence and social satisfaction. Desiring to appear “successful,” many act like they have it all together, though few actually do. One part of the problem is our narrative around success, which often focuses on end results rather than the journey to them. When we define success by grades, internships, or awards, we rely too heav ily on external metrics for fulfillment, abandoning our internal selves in the pursuit. Our daily experi ences become stale and difficult to appreciate: we rush walks to class, allow passions to fade into ob ligations, and let precious time spent with friends become transactional and stressful. Entrapped by a constant need to optimize, we take a backseat in our own lives. We become sick. We feel bad. This semester, I’m redefining success to revolve around feeling good, if only by slowing down just enough to appreciate all the good that is already around me. I want to seek out moments that bring me joy: dancing on the Quad lawn, singing with the Opportunes, and laughing with my friends. I want to sleep a little more, stress a little less, and redirect my thoughts towards gratitude as much as possi ble. I want to fill my ocean up with as much love and appreciation as I can, while I can. That doesn’t mean ignoring the bad. When life at Harvard inevitably sends the waters churning, bringing tough emotions to the surface, I want to meet them with more self-compassion and give myself more grace. You can’t strive to feel good all the time through focusing on the positive. It would be exhausting to try. But perhaps feeling bad gives us an opportuni ty to feel good about the way we can care for our selves — to appreciate our capacity to direct kind ness inwards in the same way we project it out. If I could do this consistently, that would be all the success I need. I feel good just thinking about it.
BY ELLA J. DEANS
The Crimson thecrimson.com
—Ella J. Deans ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Currier House. This semester, I’m redefining success to revolve around feeling good, if only by slowing down just enough to appreciate all the good that is already around me.
—Kelisha M. Williams ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Kirkland House.
OP-ED BY KELISHA M. WILLIAMS AS MY MOTHER’S DAUGHTER, I WOULD’VE WANTED HER TO DECIDE TO HAVE ME. As my mother’s daughter, I would’ve wanted her pregnancy with me to have been safe and filled with love and excitement. As my mother’s daughter, I thank her for having me, but do not burden her with the what if’s of my older sibling.
OP-ED
Many students said they enjoyed El Jefe’s new location. TRUONG L. NGUYEN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Cambridge is temporari ly switching water sources after the Cambridge Water Department detected increas ing levels of chemical pollutants in the municipal water supply, the city announced last week in a pressAfterrelease.the department found rising levels of synthetic chem icals — namely, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — in an August sample of Cam bridge tap water, city officials announced last Friday that the Massachusetts Water Resourc es Authority would supply water to the city until 2023. The switch took place Tuesday morning. The switch will cost an ad ditional 2 million dollars each month for the city, according to the press release. PFAS compounds, often called “forever chemicals” for their slow deterioration and ability to re main in the human body for many years when ingested, are widely found in an array of com mon household goods, including furniture, food packaging, and non-stick cookware. Ingesting PFAS chemicals has been linked to a higher likelihood of birth de fects, weakened immune sys tems, and some cancers, among other health effects, according to theCambridgeCDC.
brandon.kingdollar@thecrimson.com
BY ELIAS J. SCHISGALL CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
READ IT IN MINUTESFIVE
Cambridge Switches Water Sources
JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
BY BRANDON L. KINGDOLLAR CRIMSON STAFF WRITER CHEMICAL CONCERNS. The city of Cambridge detected rising levels of synthetic chemicals in its tap water earlier this month.
Cambridge Police Officer Arrested for Drunk Driving
Water Depart ment managing director Samuel Corda said the department “took action” to ensure residents would not feel the need to “be concerned and take any action themselves.” “No one has to be concerned about using the water or their health issues or anything of that nature,” he said of the new plan. In October 2020, the Massa chusetts Department of Environ mental Protection introduced a regulation limiting the amount of PFAS chemicals in drinking wa ter to 20 parts per trillion. Cam bridge’s water — which flows from the Stony Brook Watershed into a reservoir at Fresh Pond and then into a treatment plant — has had PFAS levels between 10 and 20 parts per trillion since the Wa ter Department began testing in 2019.Corda said preliminary testing results from an August sample indicated that average PFAS lev els for July, August, and Septem ber would exceed the state maxi mum, prompting the switch. In contrast, the MWRA, which supplies water to Boston and Somerville, has not found PFAS compounds at detectable levels, according to testing from April 2021.While the EPA does not cur rently restrict the level of PFAS compounds in drinking water, the agency announced Friday that two of the most common PFAS chemicals — Perfluorooc tanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane sulfonic Acid — will be designat ed “hazardous substances.” The EPA plans to propose an enforce able limit this fall. Though the EPA had previ ously advised a limit of 70 parts per trillion of PFAS chemicals in drinking water, the agency is sued a revision of its non-enforce able health advisory in June, rec ommending no more than 0.004 parts per trillion of PFOA and 0.02 parts per trillion of PFOS in drinking water to ensure safe life time consumption. A July sample of Cambridge municipal drinking water detect ed PFOA and PFOS levels at 7.7 and 3.5 parts per trillion, respec tively, exceeding the EPA’s ad visedButlimits.Corda said he thought the EPA’s recommendations were “difficult to substantiate” and ar gued that more data and research are necessary to arrive at the “cor rect level.” He noted that current PFAS testing cannot detect quan tities lower than two parts per trillion.Philippe A. Grandjean, an ad junct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who re searches the health impacts of PFAS contaminants, said that the danger of PFAS chemicals lies in their long-term accumulation in the human body. “Once they get into your body, these compounds will accumu late, and they will take years and years for you to eliminate them from your body,” Grandjean said. Grandjean added that the most pressing health risk posed by PFAS compounds is a weak ened immune function in chil dren and newborns, who can in gest PFAS compounds both from breastfeeding and from baby for mula made with PFAS-contami natedCambridgewater. will return to us ing the municipal water supply after the installation of a new granular activated carbon water filter at the city’s water treatment plant.Corda said he expects the new filtration system, set to be com pleted in November 2022, will fil ter out half of the current PFAS chemicals in the water, returning it to within legal limits. But in a Monday interview, city councilor Quinton Y. Zonder van expressed concerns that some PFAS chemicals — includ ing those not tested for by the Wa ter Department — would remain in the municipal water supply and called for a “zero-tolerance” policy toward PFAS chemicals in drinkingZondervanwater.also indicated that he is considering introducing a policy order to the City Council to make the switch to MWRA water permanent, despite the increased costs to the city.
FTA REPORT CITES CONCERNS WITH MBTA BODY FROMRECOVEREDCHARLESRIVER Cambridge Water Works is located at 250 Fresh Pond Parkway. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
It was only the second day of class, but Sabrina M. “Rezzy” Reznik ’25 estimated she had visited El Jefe’s Taqueria “three or four times” since arriving on campus for the fall semester. El Jefe’s, which has been a stu dent hotspot since it opened in Harvard Square in 2015, relocat ed this August to a new store front in the newly renovated Ab botWhilebuilding.the lines at new El Jefe’s move faster than it did at the old location, according to Reznik, “it doesn’t have the same ambiance that old Jefe’s did.” “It’s the nostalgia,” Reznik said. “It’s walking in every time and remembering all the mo ments that you remember and more so, the moments you can’t remember — and enjoying that.” The new location, which straddles Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street, lies just around the corner from its for mer location at The Garage, a longtime shopping mall in the Square.The new space, which spans two floors and almost twice the square footage of its previous location, also offers increased menu options. El Jefe’s added al pastor steak as a new meat option when it opened in August, and the restaurant intends to apply for a full liquor license to serve frozen margaritas.Manystudents said they en joyed the new location, citing its spaciousness compared to the previous venue. “It’s bigger, it’s less chaotic,” said Debjani “Debby” Das ’24, a Crimson Arts editor. “The main street has CVS and all the oth er stores anyway, so I feel like it’s moreButconvenient.”forReznik,part of her nos talgia for the old location is how hectic it would get late at night. “It’s just the chaos and the ex citement of not knowing if your burrito is going to be right,” she said. “Standing in that line and the classic ‘will Tasty Burger be faster’ debate — and it never is. ” Several students said though the quality of the food remains unchanged, El Jefe’s signature late-night ambiance has disap peared with the old storefront. “I don’t think the food’s any different, but I do think the atmo sphere is different,” said senior Justin Y. C. Wong ’22. “Seems a bit more touristy than college — but I’ll still come.” El Jefe’s regional manager Jon Eller said in an interview last month the taqueria left its venue in the Garage, which is slated to begin major renovations in the coming months, due to the pros pect of shutting down while the shopping mall completed con struction.Samuel Y. Ho ’22-’23, who said he preferred El Jefe’s former lo cation, said he may frequent Fe lipe’s Taqueria — a Mexican restaurant on the other side of Brattle Street — due to the prox imity of the two restaurants since El Jefe’s“Sincerelocation.Iwasin Eliot House, at least mentally, it seemed clos er to go to Jefe’s,” Ho said. “Now, I think I’d be open to go into Fe lipe’s just as much.” Other students felt indiffer ence about the store’s relocation. Lena M. Tinker ’25 said she believed the new space is “beau tiful” but the location has not sig nificantly changed her routine. “It’s really half a block away,” said Tinker, a Crimson Arts edi tor. “For me, it doesn’t make that much of a difference. If I want to go, it’s late at night, whatever it is — it’s still right there.”
JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER elias.schisgall@thecrimson.com
METRO10
SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON
An off-duty Cambridge Police of ficer was arrested Monday morn ing for driving while intoxicated following a crash with three mo torcyclists.Theofficer, Michael A. Danili uk, allegedly drove through a red light and struck three motorcy clists at the intersection of Co lumbia and Broadway. He has been charged with driving under the influence and failing to stop at a red light, ac cording to a Cambridge Police pressDaniliuk,release. who serves as a youth resource officer and has worked for CPD for more than two decades, has been placed on administrative leave while the case is pending. No one involved in the acci dent sustained apparent major injuries, according to the press release, though Daniliuk and two of the motorcyclists were taken to localDaniliukhospitals.pled not guilty during his arraignment in Cam bridge District Court on Monday. He was released on personal re cognizance by the judge and is set to return to court on Oct. 19. Officers testified at the ar raignment that Daniliuk refused a field sobriety test at the scene of the accident and smelled strong ly of alcohol, according to the lo cal news outlets WCVB-TV and 7NewsDaniliukBoston.did not respond to a request for comment.
miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.comvivi.lu@thecrimson.com
Cambridge’s new water filtration system is expected to be completed in November.
Cambridge’s water supply was found to contain rising levels of synthetic chemicals.
Students Mourn, Celebrate Relocated El Jefe’s
Like The Crimson on Facebook BY MILES J. HERSZENHORN AND VIVI E. LU CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
The Federal Transit Admin istration released a report Wednesday condemning the MBTA for lack of safety, insuf ficient maintenance, and poor staffing. Federal officials called on the embattled public transit agency to make system-wide improvements to communica tion and oversight to resolve chronic safety concerns, which have led to accidents such as the July fire that forced passengers to jump from an Orange Line train into the Mystic River. The Boston Globe reported that offi cials criticized MBTA leadership throughout the 90-page report for ignoring basic safety and maintenance in favor of expan sive capital projects, finding that the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities had failed to adequately oversee the transit authority. Governor Charlie D. Baker ’79 said in a statement that he will seek $200 million from Beacon Hill to alleviate the con cerns raised by the FTA report. A 32-year-old woman’s body was recovered from the Charles River on Aug. 17 after a three-hour search, accord ing to the Massachusetts State Police. The woman, who has not been named by police, was seen by witnesses diving off the John W. Weeks Footbridge on Aug. 17 and did not resurface, according to Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio. Her body was recovered by the Cambridge Fire Department’s Marine Unit at 11:12 p.m. The Harvard University Police Department assisted in identifying the woman, who was “not a permanent resident of Cambridge,” Procopio wrote in an email. It is “likely that she was a member of the local area home less community,” he wrote. Mas sachusetts State Police, Cam bridge Police, the Cambridge Fire Department, and Boston Police responded to the call at approxi mately 8:30 p.m. The woman was deceased when the Cambridge Fire Department recovered her body, according to Procopio. She was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.
The main thing I really wanted was a kitchen and having a really big common space also really “helps.
HSA President Alexander J. Kim ’23 said HSA’s customers have been understanding of the freak“Peopleaccident.have been pretty re ceptive to when you have a 26foot truck burned out on the high way, there’s really nothing you can do about that,” Kim said.
A truck carrying mattress toppers for Harvard students caught fire last Monday. COURTESY OF WILLIAM A. STERN AND THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT
BY VIVI E. LU AND LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Brett BiggerBedHarrisonCo-Founder & CEO
Nearly 200 mattress toppers rented by Harvard undergrad uates met an untimely end after the U-Haul transporting them to campus erupted in flames on the side of the Massachusetts Turn pike Monday afternoon. The moving truck went up in flames at around 3:19 p.m. Mon day on the exit ramp toward Cam bridge, drawing attention and sparking memes at Harvard and beyond. The drivers vacated the vehicle after noticing smoke and were not injured. The mattress toppers were a product of BiggerBed, which con verts twin XL mattresses into fullsize beds using a mattress topper and a bed frame extension. Har vard students can rent the prod uct for $399 through Harvard Student Agencies. All 188 mat tress toppers set to be delivered to Harvard were destroyed in the fire.BiggerBed co-founder and CEO Brett Harrison said he and his colleagues are “working [their] butts off” to make the sit uation right, and they hope to de liver a fresh set of mattress top pers to Harvard students by early next“Everythingweek. was running real ly smoothly,” Harrison said. “We felt really on top of it, and then, of course, your truck explodes.” BiggerBed employee William A. Stern, who was driving the U-Haul with another worker, said they noticed the truck’s tempera ture dial had “gone completely haywire.” The two parked on the side of the highway to let the truck cool, but as the U-Haul started to smoke, they exited the vehicle. Stern said he was on the phone with a director from HSA to ex plain the delay when he heard an explosion which engulfed the truck in flames. “We heard a bang and I was like, ‘I’m gonna have to call you back,’” Stern said. “So I called 911, and the police were there in two minutes.”TheBoston Fire Department, which responded to the incident alongside the Cambridge Fire De partment, tweeted Monday that there was a “major cleanup” fol lowing the incident. One fire fighter was taken to Mass. Gen eral Hospital after responding to the incident, according to the Boston Globe.Harrison wrote an email to BiggerBed customers Monday afternoon where he at tached a picture of the truck en gulfed in flames and explained the“Iincident.knowthat you had put your faith in us to deliver these prior to your arrival on campus, and I sincerely apologize that we failed you,” Harrison wrote. “I am work ing with my factory to get more toppers made as soon as human ly possible.”SamD. Cohen ’24, who or dered a BiggerBed, said his reac tion went from one of concern to amusement after reading the email, which was shared to hun dreds more Harvard students af ter it was posted anonymously on meme platform Sidechat. “They sent a picture of the burning truck, and it blew up into this incredible meme,” he said.
NEWS 11SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON HOUSING
Customer Harrison R.T. Ward ’23 said the incident was “only a minor inconvenience,” and he joked that it might lead to in creased strain in his relationship due to his dorm’s location in the Radcliffe Quadrangle — situated roughly a mile from the nine up perclassmen River Houses. “Being in a River-Quad rela tionship definitely makes it hard er when you don’t have a big
Wamda M. Garo ’24 Lowell House Resident
LAST FRIDAY, Jackson was nominated to lead the Supreme Court after many attempts. Thejudgde will complete the Court.
Quad Bikes, a non-prof it founded in 2003 by two Cabot undergraduates, offered refur bished bicycles, affordable repair services, and bike maintenance classes to Harvard students and Cambridge residents. Though the shop used Harvard’s space rent-free, it operated as a busi ness independent from the Uni versity.Tim D. Ledlie ’02, who found ed the shop alongside Juan C. Agudelo ’03, said Quad Bikes was an “invaluable resource,” servic ing thousands of bikes and pro viding an “approachable” en vironment for questions on all things“Wecycling.allreally believe that hav ing robust services and support for bike stuff on campus is a real ly important thing,” said Ledlie, who stepped away from operat ing Quad Bikes in 2006. “It seems to have been a very helpful thing to the Harvard community over the past 18 years.” But as campus life shuttered during Covid-19, Quad Bikes halt ed its operations. When campus roared back to life but the shop stayed closed, Cabot senior Ever ett C. Sapp ’23 began reaching out to administrators about its re opening.“There was still the same sign on it from, I think, March of 2020, which was like, ‘We’ll be back soon,’” Sapp said. “At the same time, I started to notice a bunch of my friends around campus hav ing really small issues with their bikes and then not being able to get that taken care of, and then they would end up just having to park their bikes.” Sapp said he aims to “hit the ground running” when students return to campus this fall by cleaning the space and servicing bikes.“My goal moving forward is to eventually create something that lasts sustainably throughout the years,” he said. Sapp said that several other undergraduates, including his roommate, have already volun teered to help reopen the shop. Nathaniel Hoyt, a former me chanic and later a shop manag er at Quad Bikes, took on the job in 2012 while studying at the Har vard Extension School. Hoyt de scribed his seven years at the shop as “the best job I ever had” and said he has been actively in volved in the revival effort. “We aren’t sure yet what sort of form it’s going to take when it does reopen,” Hoyt said. “But the shop is still there. The tools are all still there. The only thing that we really need are just people who have that same goal as we did and have the time and energy to spare to openLedlieit.”said Quad Bikes, which will continue to operate in Cabot’s basement, “wouldn’t exist” with out the support of the College ad ministration.“Allofthe faculty deans — I think there have been four of them in the history of Quad Bikes — have been instrumental to its existence and and been very sup portive of it,” he said. Cabot Faculty Dean Ian J. Mill er wrote in a statement to The Crimson that he and co-dean Crate Herbert are “big fans” of the effort to revive the shop. “Cabot is really eager and ex cited to re-start Quad Bikes and to support student leaders who are working to make that hap pen,” Miller wrote. “This is a stu dent-led institution, and we’re proud to support it.” Ledlie said he hopes Quad Bikes can smoothly return to campus, citing the positive and lasting influence of bicycles on Harvard and its surroundings. “It’s an important thing for the Harvard community, specif ically with all of the transporta tion and sustainability needs of the campus, but also more broad ly in the world,” Ledlie said. “The world would be greener and more healthy and more efficient and less wasteful if there were Ian J. CabotMillerFaculty Dean Cabot is really eager and excited to re-start Quad Bikes and to support student leaders who are working to make that happen. This is a studentled institution and we’re proud to support it. “
The three houses in the Radcliffe Quadrangle are using the Chronkhite Center, located on Brattle Street, for overflow student housing this school year.
PEI CHAO ZHUO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER audrey.apollon@thecrimson.comdeyki.tsotsong@thecrimson.com
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Ana Ventosilla said her son and his spouse, Sebastián Marallano, were subjected to “physical and psychological violence” at the hands of Indo nesian authorities. The fam ily, which is now pursuing legal action in Peru, has “evi dence of torture,” she said. Her allegations are the most severe claims of police misconduct Ventocilla’s fami ly has levied to date, going fur ther than an initial press re lease family members put out earlier this month. “For us, it is very painful,” she said. “There is evidence of torture, and we want to clear Rodrigo’s name.” Ana Ventosilla said her son was beaten by Indonesian au thorities after he was detained at airport customs. Ventosil la’s account of the events that transpired after her son’s ar rest are based on what Maral lano recounted after return ing home to Peru, according to a spokesperson for the family, Luzmo Henríquez. In a statement earlier this month, Ventocilla’s fami ly said they “do not know the real causes of his death” be cause an independent autopsy has not taken place. The fam ily is calling on the Peruvian government to authorize an immediate autopsy once the body arrives in Peru on Friday. Stefanus Satake Bayu Se tianto, a spokesperson for the Bali Police, denied allegations of violence in a statement Wednesday.Ventocilla’s family has also sharply criticized the Peruvi an consular services in Indo nesia, charging that officials failed to provide Ventocilla and Marallano sufficient sup port after they were detained. Ana Ventosilla said family members “blew up the phone of the Peruvian consulate in Indonesia” following Vento cilla’s arrest. But officials at the embassy did not provide “timely attention,” hindering the family’s request for help, Ventosilla said. The Peruvian Foreign Af fairs Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The government initially defended its actions in a press release last week, but changed its tone after it came under fire from the fam ilies of Ventocilla and Maral lano.In a press release on Friday, the ministry asked Indonesia to produce an “official report” about the circumstances that led to Ventocilla’s death — a sharp reversal from an initial statement it put out two days prior that defended its consul ar services and backed up the Bali Police’s explanation of the arrest.“The first communication was really aggravating and humiliating for us,” Ana Ven tosilla said in the interview Monday. “It hurt our souls.” Ventosilla took aim at Ju lio Eduardo Tenorio Pereyra, head of consular services for the Peruvian Embassy in In donesia, saying he refused to fly to Bali from Jakarta, Indo nesia’s capital, even as Vento cilla’s health deteriorated. Tenorio told family mem bers they needed to submit paperwork before he could travel to Bali, where Ventocil la and Marallano were being treated in local hospitals, Ven tosilla said. On Aug. 11, Tenorio agreed to take the next commercial flight to Bali, according to Ven tosilla. Two hours later, she re ceived word her son was dead. After Ventocilla’s family in formed Tenorio of the news, he delayed his trip to Bali, ac cording to Ventosilla. He told them he would not travel to the island until after a death certificate was issued, she said.“That’s what he writes to me,” Ventosilla said. “Not even the slightest, ‘I’m very sorry, ma’am.’” HKS
Nia N. Meadows ’22-’23 is spending her senior year living in overflow hous ing located across the street from Lowell House — her residence of yearsMeadowspast. opted to move to Ridgely Hall to secure a single room for her final year at the Col lege, rather than a double in Low ell. The singles in Lowell House were all taken before her turn in the housing “Everyonelottery.who got a single was a senior,” she said. “The sin gles went pretty quickly because they’re just Studentsnice.”like Meadows were placed in overflow housing this year due to the record-size Class of 2025 and students returning from leaves of absence during the pandemic. All upperclassman houses except Leverett House have placed students in alter nate buildings due to space con straints.Some students have lauded the alternative accommodations as moreKolbyspacious.R.Johnson ’25, a stu dent in Kirkland House, said his dorm in the Prescotts offers a “better housing situation.” “The Prescotts is a bit nicer in terms of actual living facilities,” Johnson said. “It’s actually just very spacious, and it feels more like apartment living as opposed to dorm living, which I kind of en joy.”Wamda M. Garo ’24 opted for Ridgely housing to avoid Lowell’s “extremely small” singles. “The main thing I really want ed was a kitchen and having a re ally big common space also really helps,” Garo said. Still, students relegated to overflow housing said their ar rangement brings some disad vantages, citing a physical and figurative disconnect from house life. Garo said she misses being able to walk through the Lowell courtyard as she exits her room. “Lowell has a really beautiful courtyard, and I think every time you walk out, you appreciate it and appreciate the house,” Garo said. “It’s definitely a difference — living across the street, hav ing to make an effort to go to your courtyard, rather than just walk ing into it and seeing your friends every single time you walk out yourJohnson’sdoor.” dorm in the Prescotts is located half a mile from his assigned house — Kirk land. He must travel to another upperclassman house to eat in a dining hall. “A major con though is obvi ously the walk back to Kirkland,” Johnson said. “So we’re far away from the housing community for things like food and social inter action.”Houses located in the Rad cliffe Quadrangle — once known for its spacious singles — are lodging additional students in Cronkhite Center, a former grad uate student dormitory locat ed next to the Admissions Office. Students living in Cronkhite must travel to the Quad or another up perclassman house for dining. Still, Johnson said he prefers living in overflow housing “The big thing for me is as long as I am living with people I vibe with, I’m gonna have a great time,” Johnson said.
BY AUDREY M. APOLLON AND DEYKI T. TSOTSONG CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
Harvard Dorm Mattress Toppers Burn in Explosion on Mass. Pike
‘DEATH’ FROM PAGE 1 Alexander J. Kim ’23 Harvard Student Agencies President This is maybe a oncein-a-decade, once-ina-lifetime event, but certainly grateful that it ended without any physical injury or any threat to the safety of the “drivers.
Everything was running really smoothly. ... We felt really on top of it, and then, of course, your truck “explodes.
leah.teichholtz@thecrimson.comvivi.lu@thecrimson.com
Harvard undergraduates are set to reopen Quad Bikes, a bicycle repair shop nested in the base ment of Cabot House, after a roughly two-year closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
BaliViolenceAllegesMotherByPolice miles.herszenhorn@thecrimson.com
Mixed Views On HousingOverflow
ger bed to convince someone to come to the Quad, which is tough for sure, but it’s part of life,” said Ward, a Crimson magazine edi tor. “It was just, I think, very fun ny.”Kim said despite the delay in delivering the mattress toppers, he was thankful that the truck drivers were unharmed. “This is maybe a once-in-a-de cade, once-in-a-lifetime event, but certainly grateful that it end ed without any physical injury or any threat to the safety of the driv ers,” Kim said.
BY VIVI E. LU AND LEAH J. TEICHHOLTZ CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS
REGASSA CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS BY JADEN S. THOMPSON CRIMSON STAFF WRITER APRIL 1, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSONARTS12
KENDRICK LAMAR CREATES HIS OWN NARRATIVE
LOUDROLLING BRINGS THE HEAT
On May 20, at the world pre miere of the Australian film “The Stranger” at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, director Thomas M. Wright was asked if he would like to say a few words before his film began. He politely declined — “I would like to offer up the film,” he said simply. Indeed, his arresting true crime thriller, in fused with affecting elements of psychological horror, certain ly speaks for itself. “The Strang er” stars Joel Edgerton (who also produced the film) as an under cover cop tasked with befriend ing a suspected child abductor in order to gain his trust and find evidence for his arrest. Based on a true story, “The Stranger” is a gritty and suspenseful fictional ization of one of Australia’s most high-profile missing persons cases, that of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe in 2003. This darkly atmospheric film, defined by its steady pacing and a gruff yet lay ered performance from Edger ton, follows a standard story arc yet also features an evocative por trayal of its protagonist’s unravel ing“Thepsyche.Stranger” begins with two men named Paul (Steve Mou zakis) and Henry (Sean Harris) meeting on a bus, cast in dark shadows as they ride through Australia at night. Paul tells Hen ry that he knows a way to help him make some money, and in structs him to meet his contact Mark the next day to learn his as signment. Enter Joel Edgerton as Mark, a stoic crime boss whom Henry will be answering to. The audience soon learns, however, that Mark isn’t named Mark at all. In a surprising reveal early on, Edgerton explains into a voice re corder that he’s a cop in an under cover operation to gather infor mation on Henry Teague, who is suspected of kidnapping a child 8 years earlier in 2002. The entire crime organization and referral from the also-undercover Paul is but an elaborate police effort to find out more about the elusive Henry, as there’sthey have reason to believe he was behind the kid napping despite the police’s lack of firmTheevidence.majority of the film fo cuses on Mark’s efforts to gain Henry’s trust, a slow process that leaves viewers increasing ly on edge as the story progress es. Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris fit perfectly into their respective roles; Harris brings an entirely unnerving presence to the screen as the flighty, fidgety Henry, whom viewers immediately dis trust. Edgerton is captivating as the brusque and hardened Mark, and even more so as the man be hind this facade. When he leaves behind his undercover identity for the day, he goes home to his son, whom he has shared custo dy of. His relationship with his young son, whom he simply calls “mate,” adds an unexpected di mension to the film. Though he maintains his tough exterior, ten der scenes of him with his son — playing hide and seek, giving him a bath — provide an intriguing contrast to his demeanor at work. As Mark delves deeper into the case and gets closer to Hen ry, his job starts to take a psycho logical toll which Edgerton por trays with a riveting intensity. In one scene, Mark turns off the lights in his house and swears he sees Henry looming in the shad ows. He begins to have disturbing nightmares about the suspected killer, and has frantic moments where he fears his son is in dan ger. The suspense swells as the undercover cops appear close to coaxing a confession out of Hen ry, and audiences are glued to the screen as they wait to see how the investigation unfolds. “The Stranger” is impressive in its formal execution as well as its buildup of suspense. There are several shots captured with a keen eye for natural beauty; a par ticularly remarkable image is one of Mark and Henry’s figures sil houetted against the dark night sky as they stand next to a burn ing car. Tension is also amplified by the film’s dynamic sound de sign and score, which features heavy drone-like synths that pe riodically jolt the viewer to at tention. Aerial shots of a densely foliated mountain, whose sig nificance only becomes clear in the third act, are interspersed throughout. Through these con verging techniques, Wright pres ents a well-constructed narra tive that is engrossing in terms of both story and aesthetics. Al though Mark’s psychological state could have been interrogat ed more deeply at the film’s con clusion, “The Stranger” remains a genuinely captivating thrill er more layered than most true is a Riveting True L. S.
Crime MUSIC BY ANYA
HENRY AND ALISA
The Stranger” is a gritty and “casesprofileAustralia’sfictionalizationsuspensefulofoneofmosthigh-missingpersons COURTESY ROLLING LOUD/ @HenryHwu
alisa.regassa@thecrimson.comanya.henry@thecrimson.comjaden.thompson@thecrimson.com
THE CONCERT. Aminé and Kendrick Lamar, two of Rolling Loud Miami’s most anticipated artists, delivered stunning performances that cemented this year’s iteration of the hip hop festival as one to remember.
A
MINÉ BRINGS THE BLOCK TO MIAMI Decked out in a bright orange and green tracksuit with matching chunky sun glasses, Portland-native Aminé brought an unapologetically pos itive energy to Rolling Loud Mi ami’s day two lineup. Accompa nied by his tour DJ Madison LST, who spun everything from a Spice Girls throwback to a “Drop It Like It’s Hot” sample, Aminé’s set was a true block-party — brimming with two-steps, colorful lights, and dripping sweat, because damn, Miami “is hot as a bitch, in nit?”Due to an 8:15 p.m. set time directly before crowd-favorites Latto, Polo G, and Dababy, many of the audience members who had pushed their way to the bar ricades were only somewhat fa miliar with Aminé, choosing to slink through and stake out in preparation for the later per formers. While a few die-hard fans matched Aminé bar-for-bar, some even hanging over the bar ricade for the chance to make eye contact with the rapper, oth ers chose to just “bop” — as he en couraged everyone to do — before chiming in for his most popu lar songs. Like on the U.S. leg of his most recent tour, “Best Tour Ever,” Aminé performed “Spice Girl,” “RED MERCEDES,” and a slowed-down version of “Caro line,” complete with his trade mark catchphrase: “If you ain’t Black don’t say it.” The crowd’s unfamiliarity with his songs didn’t stop Aminé from putting on an amazing per formance full of fanservice. For long-time fans of the musician, watching his set felt like a jour ney through his artistic develop ment. While he included songs from his newest album “TWO POINTFIVE” — which he only re cently finished touring in the U.S earlier this year — like “Mad Fun ny Freestyle” and “meant2b,” he didn’t shy away from tapping into the archives of his discography. In performing throwbacks like “Yellow,” a song that personifies an upbeat acknowledgement of his newly found musical success from his 2017 debut album, “Good For You,” Aminé reminded his lis teners of how far he has come in the past five years. No one present at Hard Rock Stadium could deny that Aminé simply had fun onstage that day. Armed with his signature one-legged hop and arm pump, Aminé’s energy was infectious. From Aminé asking the camera man to “show them how the sweat is like, glistening on my body right now” to yelling “you’re beauti ful” to the crowd — to which they would respond “I know!” — the set never had a dull moment. As readers can see in Rolling Loud’s official livestream of the perfor mance, hands were always up and bouncing.Thegroovier and bass-heavy tempo of Aminé’s discography fa cilitated one of the tamer crowds of the weekend. Even though spectators jumped, yelled lyrics, and occasionally moshed — par ticularly when Aminé realized he only had one song left and urged concert-goers to get “every mosh pit live in this motherfucker, but be safe” before playing “REEL IT IN” — the energy never felt too chaotic. Unlike the notably in tense crowds for Playboi Carti, who Carti himself has even called a “Cult,” onlookers for Aminé ex perienced unadulterated fun. As Aminé kicks off the sec ond leg of his “Best Tour Ever” throughout Europe in early Sep tember, consider listening to both his recent and older projects. There is officially one year left until Rolling Loud Miami strikes again and in case Aminé finds his way onto the line up once more, it’s time to hit that play button.
Few musicians are as dedicat ed to putting on a show as Kend rick Lamar proved himself to be at Rolling Loud Miami this past weekend. The 35-year-old rap per from Compton closed out the three-day festival with a cinemat ic bang of a setlist, weaving a co hesive narrative through both his acting and rapping. Simply put, Lamar delivered a once in a life time, truly unforgettable show for Miami on WearingSunday.acrown of thorns, La mar stepped out on stage as the visual embodiment of his 2022 album “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.” The costume was a ref erence to his latest album’s art work and represents a study in religious imagery and artistic de pictions of “hood philosophies,” according to creative collabora tor Dave Free. Despite these larg er than life allusions, Lamar’s lyr ics made it clear that his persona was a mimetic allegory for his personal struggle and persever ance rather than personification of a savior figure. In performing songs like “Savior,” for example, Lamar points out that great art ists — J.Cole, Future, and himself — are just human. “The cat is out the bag, I am not your savior / I find it just as difficult to love thy neigh bors,” the rapper told Miami with accompanying vocals from Baby Keem and Sam Dew, calling out those who hold him up to God-like standards.Astheconcert kicked off with “N95,” the stage flooded with backup dancers clothed in jump suits and face masks — a nod to the Covid-related tropes in the song’s lyrics. Lamar himself took part in the acting, guiding the au dience like an orchestral conduc tor during the introductory lines “Hello, new world, all the boys and girls / I got some true sto ries to tell.” The choreographed stage continued to act like a liv ing, breathing extension of his lyrics, as the dancers marched to “N95”’s lyrics “You steppin’ or what?;” moshed on stage for the chorus of “m.A.A.d city;” and stood still to the melody of “ELE MENT,” closing in all around La mar like the crowd of haters he’s rappingEveryabout.aspect of his stage de sign contributed to the narrative, down to the LED display, which illustrated transition slides for “Kendrick Have A Dream” into “Backseat Freestyle,” “Rich Spir it, Broke Phone” into “Rich Spir it,” and “Compton, USA” into “m.A.A.d city.” The live camera feed displayed behind him, shot from multiple angles with a mov ie-like sepia filter, cutting in and out to the beat, only further con tributed to the cinematic, au dio-visual experience of Lamar’s set. These displays served to both structure the set chronological ly as well as to get the audience hyped up before the next song’s beatThedrop.technicality of Lamar’s rapping amazed the crowd, who watched in awe as the multiple Grammy award-winning art ist effortlessly switched between tracks, taking no time for a breath er between the breakneck flows in “King Kunta” and “LOYALTY,” for example.Thehigh energy of his deliv ery was matched by the crowd, with multiple mosh pits forming to the deep thrum of 808s. The excitement escalated when La mar brought out Kodak Black to perform their song “Silent Hill.” The crowd went wild at the sight of these two legends on the same stage for the first time ever — es pecially since Black is a South Florida native. Crucially, the per formance also came after Lamar faced backlash from some fans for including Black on the album in light of the rapper’s rape and sexual assault charges that re sulted from a 2021 sexual assault case and subsequent plea deal. (Black was later granted commu tation by then-president Donald Trump.)Still,Lamar made sure to make the rapper feel welcomed, even getting him to do a couple of dance moves to the chorus. That wasn’t the last guest ap pearance Sunday’s crowd saw; “Everybody! Energy!” shouted La mar’s cousin Baby Keem as he re turned to the stage to perform “Family Ties” for the second time that day. Many speculations were circulating throughout the day that Lamar would bring out his cousin and touring partner. The anxious crowd got exactly what they wanted in an explosive per formance that proved why the song took home the trophy for Best Rap Performance at the 64th Grammy Awards. “I go by the name of K.Dot, Kendrick Lamar, Oklama. I love y’all,” Lamar said at one point. Switching between the per sonas of past albums, Lamar executed a musically chrono logical performance that repre sented his journey and growth as an artist. While K.Dot from 2017’s “DAMN.” focuses on spitting bars to prove his ambition and repre sent the hood youth of Compton through songs like “HUMBLE.,” Kung Fu Kenny from “To Pimp A Butterfly” is a more lyrically sen sitive rapper who takes his time to capture the poetry in “Alright.” The majority of his Rolling Loud set was spent in the character of the big stepper, who has the wis dom and experience to know his limits and work on his flaws — Like in “Count Me Out,” where La mar’s ruminations come to light in lyrics “Even my strong points couldn’t survive / If I didn’t learn to loveTheremyself.”are great musicians, and there are great performers. With this performance, Kendrick Lamar proved himself to be both. As he left the stage, his crowd of backup dancers parted for him like the Red Sea — not out of bib lical reverence, but out of respect for his artistic genius.
From Cannes: ‘The Stranger’
A SOUL POP COMEBACK FOR THE MODERN ERA
Andy Grammer: Being a “Girl Dad” JEN A. HUGHES MEDIA SAVVY. When Andy Grammer had his first radio smash, many chocked him up as a one-hit wonder. They were wrong. In fact, Grammer has cemented him self as a modern star as well as the creator of countless feelgood throwbacks. His TikTok, @andygrammer serves as a bridge between these two eras, making space for new and old fans alike.
A ndy Grammer is the sing er-songwriter behind all of your favorite feel good hits. From his 2011 debut single “Keep Your Head Up” to 2019’s “Don’t Give Up On Me,” Grammer has been spreading hope and joy through his music for over a de cade. How has he managed to spread that message without los ing sincerity along the way? As Grammer put it in an interview with The Harvard Crimson, “at the core, [it’s] just who I am.” It’s a sincerity that shines across an impressive collection of chart-topping hits that Grammer has racked up over the course of his career — hits that he’ll be bringing along to his Aug. 6 Bos ton concert at the Leader Bank Pavilion with co-headliners Fitz and the SongsTantrums.like“Keep Your Head Up” and “Don’t Give Up On Me” bring a glimpse of hope and opti mism in an otherwise dark world. Similarly, songs like “Fresh Eyes,” “Fine By Me,” and “Honey I’m Good” apply Grammer’s positive outlook on a smaller scale, re minding listeners that you real ly can find a “Good Man.” They’re songs that describe what Gram mer calls “life proofs” — neatly packaged messages articulating seemingly universal life experi ences.“That’s my main goal [when writing]: How do I find a part of life that we’re all going through?” said Grammer. “I think that mu sic has a way of getting at those things better than anything else.” While Grammer’s approach to songwriting has remained con sistent throughout his career, the experiences informing his writing have undergone major changes. In addition to marrying his wife, Aijia Grammer, in 2012, Grammer recently became a fa ther, welcoming two daughters into his family. “It’s been really fascinating to have a whole different relation ship with the feminine,” Gram mer said when asked about how fatherhood has impacted his mu sic. “I spent most of my life writ ing love songs, like straight across to my wife. And there’s something really fun about writing down ward.”Grammer’s most recent single “Good Man (First Love)” clear ly shows how Grammer is ex ploring this new aspect of his life through music. A song bound to become the soundtrack for thou sands of father-daughter dances to come, the ballad describes how a father sets the standard of love for their daughters. It’s a clear re flection of Grammer’s own per spective as he imagines a future for his young daughters, show casing Grammer’s skill at apply ing specific experiences from his own life to make his music genu ine and relatable to a wider audi ence.Grammer will be co-headlin ing an Aug. 6 Boston concert at the Leader Bank Pavilion with Fitz and the Tantrums. Grammer will be co-headlining an Aug. 6 Boston concert at the Leader Bank Pavilion with Fitz and the Tantrums. By Courtesy of Alex HarperNew personal experiences ar en’t the only changes Grammer has navigated over the course of his career. He’s navigated the music industry through the shift away from radio and downloads toward the dominance of stream ing services. It’s a shift that has changed his approach to releas ingInmusic.hisearly career, Grammer focused his efforts on longer proj ects, releasing four albums from 2011 to 2019. Grammer’s more re cent releases, on the other hand, have favored a steady stream of one-off singles and short er works such as the five-track long “Art for Joy” EP released in June. In a change of pace for the artist, his next album will come as the culmination of many sin gles dropped over the coming months.“Even for me if someone drops an album, even if I love them, I find my attention span is [too] low to appreciate all of it,” said Gram mer while explaining the shift in his release strategy. “I don’t want a track eight to just never get heard. I care so much about every one of these songs.” Before becoming a multi-plat inum selling recording artist, Grammer got his start busking on the streets of Santa Monica. “It was like the most humbling thing that you could do, where you are just being ignored,” said Gram mer. “Sometimes artists can get caught in, thinking that they are special or singing down to people […] when you’re street perform ing, you’re just in it and nobody cares about Grammeryou.”credits these hum ble beginnings for his success in another new venture — TikTok. Grammar has set himself apart from the countless celebrities who have floundered on the fick le social media app which favors young, internet-based influenc ers. In spite of defying the stereo typical TikToker, the singer has managed to build himself a siz able following on the app, sur passing 1.2 million followers and posting several viral videos garn ing millions of views and likes. “[On Tik Tok] it was really fun to go, ‘I’m not a celebrity. I’m just a person here. What are we do ing? What’s the game? How are we playing?’ […] Finding joy and checking your ego at the door is, I think, the key to success,” he said. Aside from releasing new Tik Toks and new music, Grammer has been on a whirlwind sched ule that shows no signs of slow ing down anytime soon. The sing er kicked off the year by returning to the stage with ‘The Art of Joy Tour Parts 1 & 2.” Between shows, he found time to crash a fan’s wedding, introduce President Joe Biden at the White House Fourth of July Celebration, and give the keynote address at Men tal Health America’s annual con ference in Washington D.C. Now, the singer is heading back on the road to co-headline “The Wrong Party Tour” with Fitz and the Tan trums.Fans can expect to hear more than just music during the up coming tour as Grammer plans to incorporate spoken-word piec es into his set. “To me, music is the bed for what I’m about to say,” said Grammer. “With poetry, you take everything out and just put the complexity in the words. And I really love that.” But he also knows the risk in serving audiences something they aren’t expecting. “You pick your spots, you can’t go too far … [But] if done right, you can real ly elevate the next song and cre ate really special moments in the show.” In his interview with The Crimson, Grammer also teased that audience members will get to hear an upcoming collabora tion between the co-headliners titled “The Wrong Party.”
Music, TikTok, &
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Grammer has been spreading hope and joy through his music for over a decade ALEX HARPER — COURTESY IMAGE SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON ARTS 13 ARTIST PROFILE BY
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The Crimson poses for a team photo after the 3-2 win over Northeastern. ZADOC I.N. GEE — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER HAT(SBO)
ZING GEE CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Harvard 3, Central Connecti cut 0 While the team shone as a collective unit against the Blue Devils (1-2-0, 0-0), the spotlight was on sophomore center mid fielder Josefine Hasbo, as she scored all three Crimson goals of the night—the first program hat-trick since Midge Purce ‘17 in 2015. The first came on a loose ball, while the second and third were assisted by first-year forward Audrey Francois and Bebar,“Sherespectively.coversaton of ground, and we’ve been working with her to try and get into the box more,” Hamblin said.“She showed up in the right spaces.” “I think the key is our abili ty to work together and man age our energy…on and off the field,” said Hasbo, reflecting on the team’s preparation and drive, which has been key to its success so Harvard’sfar. success has not gone unnoticed away from Cambridge, either; three Crim son players have been called up to compete with their respec tive national teams during qual ifiers for the 2023 FIFA Wom en’s World Cup, which will take place in Australia and New Zea land. Hasbo, Gunnlaugsdóttir, and sophomore defender Jade Rose will be competing for Den mark, Iceland, and Canada, re spectively.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSONSPORTS14 WOMEN’S SOCCER
“Overall, I think it’s just kind of this huge opportunity that I’m so happy the team has sup ported me in,” added Hasbo, who flew out the day after the Central Connecticut game, but will only miss two games. Harvard hits the pitch again this Friday on the first part of its trip to North Carolina, squaring off against UNC Greensboro for its third game of the year. Two days later, on Sunday, it plays highly-anticipated opponent NCAgainstState. the Wolfpack, Har vard will surely earn a boost from the return of Hasbo, who will be back from Denmark af ter scoring in the Danish na tional team’s 5-1 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers win over Monte negro on Thursday.
Harvard replied with the even tual game-winner in the sec ond half, as sophomore forward Ainsley Ahmadian headed in sophomore midfielder Áslaug Gunnlaugsdóttir’s corner kick to secure a thrilling victory. The game proved to be the first test of the season. “I think there’s a lot of ar eas where we need to do better… and I think shining the light on those areas is going to help us now,” Hamblin said. “I think when you don’t play great, but you still find a way to win, that’s a really good sign of the resil ience of the group. I don’t think anyone’s walking away from here thinking that we played re ally well.”
ZADOC I.N. GEE — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
Harvard Out to a 2-0 Start
Anna Karpenko makes a diving save attempt at the Huskies’ equalizer just before halftime.
Senior midfielder Hollyn Torres defends Northeastern’s Rose Kaefer. ZADOC I.N. GEE — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
TRICK. Sophomore center midfielder Josefine Hasbo, scored three goals in the Crimson’s Aug. 26 victory over Central Connecticut State, marking the first hat trick by a Harvard player since Midge Purce ’17 in 2015. The Dan ish national then scored for Denmark on Monday in a 5-1 victory over Montenegro. 3 The level of practice has been outstanding. Every weight room session has been at a really, really high standard. Chris Hamblin Head Coach zing.gee@thecrimson.com
Harvard celebrates after Ainsley Ahmadian’s header to put it up 3-2 against Northeastern. ZADOC I.N. GEE — CRIMSON
NC State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last November, while the Fort Worth, Texas squad made it all the way to the third round, where the Horned Frogs fell to Rutgers in penalty kicks. Harvard 3, Northeastern 2 The Crimson went down early to the Huskies (1-2-1, 0-0) as Northeastern found the net in the seventh minute, but Har vard struck back in the 16th minute after senior midfielder Hannah Griffin fired a pass to sophomore midfielder Hannah Bebar, who then found senior forward Angela Caloia for the goal. The Crimson went up 2-1 after roles were reversed and Bebar scored off an assist from Caloia.The Huskies scored the equalizer just before the first half ended, netting a tough shot that sailed above the out sretched hand of junior goal keeper Anna Karpenko despite her full-extension save attempt.
“[It’s] really an incredible, incredible opportunity [and] achievement for all of them,” Hamblin said. “That’s going to now give other people the chance to step up, which we’ve really excited about as well.”
T his season is going to be about us really just con tinuing to hit our high est possible standards, because I think when we do that, we’re going to be a difficult team to defend and play against,” said Harvard women’s soccer head coach Chris Hamblin, reflecting after the team’s season-opening win over Central Connecticut. Harvard is back in action and there was no shortage of ex citement in a successful week. It outshot Central Connecti cut 18-2 en route to a dominant 3-0 victory on Friday, Aug. 26, in New Britain, Conn. and fol lowed it up with a thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Northeast ern in the home opener at Jor dan Field three days later. The Crimson (2-0-0, 0-0) en tered the season ranked No. 2 in the Ivy League preseason me dia poll, trailing only the Brown Bears. Harvard starts this sea son with outstanding returning talent and incoming first-year players.Itis poised to compete for a title following last season’s success – which saw it go 12-31 overall and 5-2 in conference play, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Tour nament for the first time since 2004 in the process. “The level of practice has been outstanding, the level of commitment to every activity, every video session,” said Ham blin, who later added that as sharp as his players have been, the team still has a long way to go. ”Every weight room session has been at a really, really high standard.” He also praised the team’s success in supporting and integrating the class of five first-years as they begin their time at ThisHarvard.season, the Crimson will play an even more chal lenging non-conference sched ule than it did in 2021, with op portunities to compete at North Carolina State and Texas Chris tian University, both top-25 teams last year.
Harvard foot ball’s 2022 cam paign will begin on Sept. 16 in a season
THE RETURN. Harvard football is rev ving up for the start of the 2022 season with high expectations.
ShaneStadium.mackagainstopenerMerriatHarvardTheCrimson’sseniorclassincludesestablishedstandoutssuchaswidereceiverKymWimberlyandlinebackerJackMcGowan.McLaughlin in an intrasquad scrimmage. DYLAN J. GOODMAN — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
THE GAME. On Nov. 19, Har vard will face Yale in the 138th rendition of The Game. It will be nationally televised for the third time and take place at Harvard Stadium for the first time since 2016. Nov. 19
We’re all going to be better. With an increased workload and increased carries, that just means you have to work harder in the offseason and expect more of yourself inseason. “ Aidan RunningBorguetBack griffin.wong@thecrimson.com honoree Jonah Lipel, whose pair of 47-yard field goals were integral in the victory over Yale. After blocking three kicks in 2019, Herring deflected two more in 2021 and will lead Har vard’s special teams once more this upcoming season. In a month’s time, the Crim son’s best and brightest football players will once again shine under the lights, as the Merri mack contest marks the first of three Friday night games that Harvard will play this year, the most of any Ivy League school. After welcoming the Warriors, the Crimson will travel to play Brown on Sept. 24, return home for a meeting with Holy Cross on Oct. 1, and battle Cornell un der the lights in Ithaca, N.Y., on Oct. 7. Eight days later, it will travel to the nation’s capital to face Howard on Audi Field, a rematch that the Bison surely hope to be more prepared for af ter falling, 62-17, in 2019. Then, in one of the most hotly anticipated matchups of 2022, Princeton will travel to Cambridge for a Friday night contest on Oct. 21. Harvard will then seek revenge against the Big Green in Hanover, N.H. on Oct. 29, welcome Columbia on Nov. 5, and head back on the road for a battle against Penn on Nov. 12. Finally, on Nov. 19, the Crimson will conclude its season with the 138th edition of The Game, the first match up between Harvard and Yale in Cambridge since 2016. The clash against the Bulldogs will mark the Crimson’s third na tionally televised game of the season, following the Cornell and Princeton games. Literally or figuratively, Harvard prom ises to be under the spotlight more than any other Ivy League team in 2022. “It’s going to be great to have [The Game] at home,” Murphy said. “All the tickets for the Har vard side sold out in three days, so that gives you an idea of the appetite to get back in Harvard Stadium for the Harvard-Yale game. It’s going to be rocking.”
BY GRIFFIN WONG CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
FOOTBALL SPORTS 15SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON
The onus to replace Hill’s contributions in the locker room will fall on the shoulders of se nior defensive lineman Tru man Jones, who was named the 148th Captain of Harvard Foot ball last fall. The Atlanta native will lead a talented defensive unit that racked up national topten marks in rushing defense (64.6 yards per game, first), third down conversion per centage (28.2%, sixth), fourth down conversion percentage (25%, second), first downs al lowed (174, sixth), interceptions (17, tied for eighth), red zone de fense (69.2%, eighth), scoring defense (14.9 points per game, fifth), team passing efficiency defense (102.46, fourth), sacks (38, second), tackles for loss (80, tied for fifth), and turnover margin (11, second) in 2021. In addition to Jones, the de fensive line will be led by Grif fith, who was an FCS Freshman All-America Second Team er last season, and junior de fensive lineman Nate Lesk ovec, whose 6.5 sacks in 2021 was good enough for second on the team. Despite losing Hill, Larkee’s linebacker corps still boasts plenty of talent, led by McGowan, senior Jake Brown, and sophomore Matt Hudson, the latter two of whom saw lim ited action in 2021 but appear poised for breakouts this up coming season. The secondary returns a trio of strong start ers from the previous season, with Washington aiming to build on his stellar sophomore campaign and junior defen sive back Khalil Dawsey, who had long interception returns in two consecutive games ear ly last season, lining up opposite him. Senior safety James Her ring was mostly a special teams ace in his sophomore season be fore breaking out in 2021 with three interceptions and 69 tack les, good for second on the team. Together, Washington, Dawsey, and Herring put the Crimson in great position to replace the contributions of Khalid Thom as, who had six pass breakups and three interceptions in 2021 before committing to play his fi nal season at Samford. “I think it really comes down to the mentality,” said Jones when asked about the keys to building on the defense’s strong 2021 campaign. “Keeping the defense simple enough that we’re able to play fast, but also complicated to keep offenses on their toes and add some va riety and add some variability. I think, between linebackers and defensive linemen, we have great communication and are always on the same page to un derstand when we can play off eachAfterother.”astellar season in 2021, led by the talented running back trio of Shampklin, Borguet, and sophomore Sone Ntoh, the of fense will be bolstered this sea son by fresh faces, returning stars, and familiar names who hope to be even better in big ger roles. Last season, Murphy turned to three different sig nal-callers, two of whom will return in 2022. Junior Charlie Dean started for three games early in the 2021 season be fore suffering an injury in the loss to Princeton, while senior Luke Emge started the final three contests. Whether Dean or Emge ultimately lines up un der center on Sept. 16, he will have a wide array of targets to choose from, as Wimberly opt ed to suit up for his senior sea son and sophomore wide re ceiver Kaedyn Odermann will return from an injury that end ed his freshman campaign pre maturely. Additionally, Har vard rosters young talents like Barkate and Ledger Hatch, who broke out late last season with a touchdown catch in the final game against Yale. The Crimson has a history of producing talented tight ends, including alumni Kyle Juszczyk ’13 – the highest-paid fullback in NFL history – and Camer on Brate ’14, who won a Super Bowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. This year’s crop is no exception, with ju nior Haven Montefalco hav ing enjoyed a strong breakout season in 2021 and sophomore Tyler Neville making a clutch catch to open the game-win ning drive against Yale on Nov. 20. The offensive line rebounds from the departure of Spen cer Rolland, an All-Ivy First Teamer who will be playing for the University of North Caroli na this season, with Alec Bank, who is projected to earn confer ence First Team honors him self. But for offensive coordi nator Mickey Fein’s unit, it all starts with Borguet, who took his 115 carries for 602 yards and eight touchdowns as a comple mentary back to Shampklin last season.“We have pieces all around. It’s not just about the run ning back, it’s about our offen sive line, it’s about our quar terback play, our wide receiv ers as well,” Borguet explained. “We’re all going to be better. With an increased workload and increased carries, that just means you have to work hard er in the offseason and expect more of yourself in-season. And so with that being said, our whole offense will be expecting more of ourselves for this entire season.”Noless valuable to Harvard’s hopes of earning an 18th Ivy League title is the special teams unit. Although the Crimson lost two-time All-Ivy First Team punter Jon Sot to Notre Dame, it will return 2021 First Team
Buccaneers.theeron49ersSanJuzczykNFLalumniCrimson’stherecentarestarsKyle’13oftheFranciscoandCamBrate’14ofTampaBay
The theseason.duringoverallCrimson’srecordthe2021WithinIvyLeague, it went 5-2. 8-2
Expectations High for Harvard
Junior quarterback Charlie Dean throws a pass against Brown. ANGELA DELA CRUZ — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER The number of seasons Harvard head coach Tim Murphy has led the Crimson. 29 Among
Senior defensive lineman Truman Jones (90) lines up for a snap in a 49-21 victory over Columbia in New York City on Nov. 6, 2021. The Atlanta native will serve as the 148th Captain of Harvard Football this fall. OWEN A. BERGER — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
A fter narrow ly missing out on an Ivy League ti tle in 2021 with an 8-2 campaign, a season of redemption soon begins for Harvard football. In just over a month, the Crim son will return to the field for a Sept. 16 clash at Harvard Sta dium against Merrimack. Ex pectations for the coming sea son are sky-high; in the 2022 Ivy League Football Preseason Me dia Poll, Harvard was tabbed to win the conference, tied with Dartmouth with 108 points. Furthermore, 12 Crimson ath letes were named to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-Ivy Team, pacing the“Theconference.biggest thing for us is…knowing what we have in our locker room and uphold ing a standard of excellence,” said junior running back Aidan Borguet, who earned Preseason Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year Recognition. “That’s something that we keep hold of year round, so by the time the polls come out with who they think will be the best teams in the Ivy League and stuff like that, that’s our expectation in the winter and in the spring, to practice like it so we can play likeInit.”2022, Harvard can expect to receive significant contribu tions by athletes from all class es. The senior class contains established stars like wide re ceiver Kym Wimberly, who led the team with 453 yards and four touchdowns on 44 catch es, and linebacker Jack Mc Gowan, who recorded 50 tack les and two interceptions in an All-Ivy First Team campaign. In addition to Borguet’s acco lade, junior defensive back Alex Washington was named to the Second Team FCS Preseason All-America. Defensive tackle Thor Griffith, in addition to be ing the only sophomore on the Preseason All-Ivy First Team, was honored by The Athletic on its annual College Football Freaks List. The Crimson will also welcome a strong class of 25 incoming first-years, led by wide receiver Cooper Barkate. 247Sports ranked the six-foot Barkate as the 31st-best Cali fornia recruit in his high school class after a storied career at Mater Dei, where he led the team to a national title in his se niorTheseseason.athletes will have to replace a strong class of se niors who graduated and either transferred to other Division I schools or are attempting to play professionally. One of the most valuable losses among trans ferring students was defensive lineman Jacob Sykes, who led the team with seven sacks en route to an All-Ivy First Team selection and will suit up this season for UCLA. The offense’s most significant departure was running back Aaron Shampk lin, who became the ninth Har vard back to amass 2,000 career rushing yards before signing with the NFL’s Dallas Cow boys as an undrafted free agent. The Crimson also lost its defen sive anchor and 2021 captain, linebacker Jordan Hill, who passed current defensive coor dinator Scott Larkee ’99 in his final game to move into fourth in the school’s all-time tackles list. The two-time All-Ivy First Teamer led the team in tackles in three of his four seasons and is currently in training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles, an NFC East rival of Shampk lin’s“[Hill]Cowboys.was an unbelievable leader, day in and day out, for a couple of years,” said head coach Tim Murphy, who enters his 29th campaign in Cambridge as the winningest coach in Ivy League history. “You don’t just replace the Jordan Hills of the world, but if you look at our de fense altogether, we’re really bullish on our defense.”
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With campus back in full swing, public health experts said Har vard’s Covid-19 policies are rea sonable for the moment, but called on University officials to remain prepared for the possi bility of another surge. Beginning last semester, Harvard relaxed its masking and testing protocols. Masks are encouraged but optional in most indoor settings and while students were required to take an antigen test upon returning to campus, the University will stop sponsoring optional PCR tests later this month. Harvard University Health Services encouraged affiliates to take advantage of the eight free antigen tests available to them through their private insurance. “Heading to school, you’re in a situation where things are generally in a good spot,” said John S. Brownstein, a professor at Harvard Medical School who serves as the chief innovation of ficer at Boston Children’s Hos pital. “But we have to anticipate the fact that it is possible that the school may have to pivot to bring back testing, bring back mask ing, depending on what the sur veillance data is saying.” Thomas N. Denny, Chief Op erating Officer of Duke Univer sity’s Human Vaccine Institute, said that an uptick in positivi ty rates is likely as crowds con vene more indoors as the weath er cools.“The virus will decide when it’s done with us, not when we’re done with it,” he said. “I would not be surprised if we saw some numbers increase over the fall and winter months — it’s just hard to know yet.” Enrolled students are re quired to be up to date on their Covid-19 vaccinations, meaning that they must have received all doses in their primary series and subsequent boosters for which they were eligible as of the start of the calendar year. As of August 31, 74 percent of all Cambridge residents were fullyOnvaccinated.Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized new Covid-19 boost ers targeting more transmissi ble variants. Some experts said that more data is necessary to understand how to disseminate the vaccine to the public. “We really don’t know enough about that booster to know what kind of recommen dations should be made and how strongly those should be made,” said Harvard School of Public Health Adjunct Professor Eric J. Rubin ’80, who added that it is “very likely” that the boost er is safe. “Until we know that, I think it’s really hard to set poli cies.”When Harvard dropped its mask mandate in March, cam pus disability justice advocates voiced their concerns over the danger a mask-optional poli cy would pose to immunocom promised affiliates. While some health experts said those on campus must be mindful of the risk levels of others, they added that most protections will have to come from the practices of the individuals at risk. “While we need to be respect ful, there are also practical lim its to what can be done,” Daniel R. Kuritzkes, the chief of the Di vision of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospi tal, said. “You can’t require that an entire population be masked because a small fraction of that population is potentially vulner able.”Michael T. Osterholm, who served on President Joe Biden’s Transition Covid-19 Adviso ry Board, said that the United States has moved past stringent public health restrictions, mak ing it difficult to reimplement them without serious pretext. “What’s happening is that we’re seeing society’s decid ed, ‘We’re done with these [masks],’” said Olsterhom, who added that Covid-19 transmis sion remains “a real risk” to much of the American public. Though he acknowledged policymaking around the pan demic is difficult, Massachu setts General Hospital infec tious disease specialist Amir M. Mohareb said he’d appreciate more transparency about the “on ramps” that could trigger the return of Covid restrictions. “What I would like to see from the authorities who put this guidance together is what are the benchmarks at which more stringent testing and con tact tracing — that which was previously done — is going to be reinstituted,” Mohareb said. Should new Covid-19 vari ants arise, sound policy at the beginning of the semester may not be feasible in two months, Brownstein said. “The pandemic has taught us that things can change very quickly,” he said. “People need to be flexible.” CARA J.
meimei.xu@thecrimson.com
interview.Thetherapist shared during the interview that she received an email from Kil burn over the summer “asking if I had documentation about what we talked about often,” according to the ODR’s redact ed notes of the interview. Shaffer then asked the ther apist if she was willing to pro vide that documentation, add ing that documents sent by the therapist would be shared with both parties if the inves tigators “think we might rely on “Init.” transmitting via email I need to comply with HIPAA,” the therapist responded, ac cording to the notes. “I can’t write her whole name. I will change the name of the file.” The therapist agreed to send entries from two therapy sessions that occured March 2019. ODR then shared redact ed versions to Kilburn and Co maroff on Oct. 30, 2020. Povich wrote in her af fidavit that ODR only ob tained therapy records from Kilburn’s therapist because Kilburn said her counselor should have notes for ODR and provided her counselor’s information.“Underthe circumstances, I believed that Ms. Kilburn’s therapist could speak to ODR and send ODR the two thera py notes the therapist select ed without violating any ob ligation to Ms. Kilburn,” she wrote.Kilburn did not complain about the notes at the time be cause she did not know Coma roff had also received them, according to her affidavit. In January 2021, Povich met with Kilburn to verbal ly describe the evidence ODR gathered, as part of normal ODR proceedings. Povich read notes of ODR’s interview with Kilburn’s therapist and told her ODR would then re view evidence with Coma roff, according to Povich.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Harvard Yard. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER policy was in “Especiallyplace.given that I take Russian,” Conrardy said. “Really getting everything that’s going on as far as every single word that everyone is saying is super, super helpful.” Peggy Y. Yin ’25 called her first day of classes “pretty hec tic” and “jam-packed,” which she said impacted her decision about whether to wear a mask in lecture. Yin explained that when she entered her statis tics class, she put on her mask “because it was a lot of people packed in close quarters.” “With masks, I think I’m probably going to stick to the side of safety for the large lec tures but probably keep it off for the smaller lectures,” she added.Forsome freshmen, the first day of classes brought fun, un certainty, and minor mishaps. Amber E. van Meines ’26 said she walked into her expository writing classroom while a pre vious class was still in session. “That was a little bit embar rassing, but it wasn’t too bad,” she said. “ I just walked in, and I was like, ‘Oh,’ and then I walked back out.” She added that the lack of a shopping week period left her “a little bit uncertain” about her choice of classes. “I didn’t meet the professor or anything,” said van Meines. “I didn’t know what to ex pect.”But she credits her academ ic advisor, her peer advising fellow, and her upperclassmen friends on the swim team for helping her figure out which classes to try out. Kaia J. Li ’26 said her first courses at the College “went by pretty fast” and were not as stressful as she anticipated. “They were actually kind of beyond my expectations,” she said. “They were a lot more fun than I thought they would be.”
“I concluded that ODR must not have relied on her prog ress notes or interview to draft the report and that they would therefore not be exhibits to the Final Report,” she wrote. Kilburn maintains that she only knew Comaroff had also received her therapy notes when she read Comaroff’s re sponse to the draft report, which questioned her memo ry due to her PTSD diagnosis. By the time Kilburn read Comaroff’s response in Sep tember 2021, ODR had already released the final report and the deadline for appealing the report had lapsed. Har vard’s Office of Gender Equi ty denied her request to send more information to the ap pealsBecausepanel. Kilburn claims she never gave written autho rization for the release of her medical records and did not intend for Harvard to share them with Comaroff, she ar gues Harvard violated her right to privacy. In light of her confusion about what information from her therapist would be shared with ODR and subsequent ly Comaroff, Kilburn argues Harvard failed to obtain neces sary consent from her to utilize and distribute her medical re cords, which the plaintiffs say is writtenSamuelauthorization.Perkins’70,an at torney based in Boston, wrote in an email that the current fil ings do not demonstrate that the therapist had authoriza tion to release Kilburn’s med ical“ODRrecords.itself should have obtained a written confirma tion from Ms. Kilburn that she had authorized the therapist to release the therapy notes,” he wrote. “The Kilburn state ments Harvard cites at best imply that she may authorize the therapist to release infor mation, but these fall far short of the required explicit per mission.”Harvard spokesperson Ra chael Dane declined to com ment.Ellen J. Messing ’72, an em ployment lawyer with expe rience handling sexual ha rassment cases, said written consent for the release of med ical records ensures both par ties are on the same page. “People have different un derstandings of oral commu nication,” she said. “So the value of written consent is that it’s down there and it’s in black and white, nobody can say there’s some incoherence about the scope of what the patient is agreeing to.” But Djuna Perkins, the co-founder of the Association of Sexual Misconduct and Dis crimination Investigators of New England, said the onus is upon the therapist, not Har vard, to obtain authorization from the patient for the re lease of medical records. In addition, she said she be lieved Harvard arguably had a “good faith belief” they had consent from Kilburn for ob taining her records. “What’s the point of telling me that the therapist might have specific memories un less you’re also authorizing me to get those memories — whether or not it’s verbal or a written authorization?” she said.All three experts agreed there seems to be a factual dis pute between the plaintiffs and Harvard and that they ex pect the judge will likely deny Harvard’s motion for partial summary judgment in favor of entering discovery.
Po vich wrote in her affidavit that Kilburn did not object to ODR sharing information from witnesses with Comaroff. Kilburn, however, wrote in her own affidavit that she “felt very upset” upon discovering that ODR and the therapist had discussed the contents of her therapy sessions. “I had not anticipated that ODR would interview my therapist about the contents of what I shared with her during our sessions,” she wrote. “I was extremely overwhelmed, and did not know how to com municate to ODR that I was not comfortable with the ex tent to which they had inter viewed my therapist.” Kilburn wrote she had not seen the unredacted contents of the March therapy notes her therapist sent to ODR. In May 2021, ODR emailed Kilburn a draft report con taining its findings, noting, “The documents referenced in the draft Report were al ready provided by you or to you during the investigation, and will be attached as exhib its to the Final Report.” Though the draft report listed that the two therapy notes from March 2019 had been obtained from a witness in the investigation, Kilburn wrote in her affidavit that the draft report “contained no dis cussion of the content of [her therapist’s] interview or the progress notes.”
Harvard,
Covid-19 Policies Sound, Experts Say NEWS 17APRIL 1, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON FIRST DAY BY
No Masks, Testing as Classes Begin ryan.nguyen@thecrimson.com Grad Students Spar in Court Over Use of Therapy Notes
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AJB: The premise that you either believe in evolution or you be lieve in God. What I want people to be comfortable with is that these are not formally incompat ible worldviews. What they are are different worldviews which don’t really overlap. Science is about observation, experiment. Religion is accessed through faith. You’ve got two different ways of viewing the world. They’re both equally valid.
ANDREW BERRY ON FRUIT FLIES, LS1B, AND HARVARD-YALE
Berry: All sorts of fac tors — it was sort of a conspiracy, actually. My father was this aca demic scientist. My mother was a medic. So there was biology at home. In the typical, if ghastly, British bourgeois fashion, I was taken out of my natal home and plunked into a boarding school at the age of 13. The school, curious ly enough, was Charles Darwin’s high school, so I took science in the Darwin buildings. I had a tru ly inspirational biology teacher back then. He had made it his business to become an expert in Darwinian thinking. You might say [it was] weirdly over-deter mined; I had to become an evolu tionary biologist of some kind.
Fifteen Minutes: So, what brought you into evolutionary Andrewgenetics?J.
As a postdoc, I met lots of interesting people and had lots of great conversations. But I was never that excited about being in a molec ular biology lab. The question was [whether] there was a way I could be involved with science without spending all day pipetting. And it’s pretty addictive, teaching, espe cially teaching at Harvard, because you get to walk into a room with a lot of smart people who are forced to listen to you. It’s an opportunity to try and convince other people that what you think is important is important.
AJB: It’s my job to stay on top of what’s happening in science. I can’t just recycle lectures from 20 years ago, so what gets me out of bed is the opportunity to figure out what I should be adding in the next iter ation of course X, Y, or Z. That, and the prospect of breakfast.
AJB: It would be a four-hour roast just talking about my.har vard, which is the single worst piece of IT infrastructure in existence. It’s extraordinary that a major academic institution should be brought to its knees at the beginning of every semester because my.harvard doesn’t work. But the sad news is, we can make jokes about Harvard and roast it, but it’s never going to be as easy as roasting Yale, which is woefully inadequate on so many fronts.
FM BY SAIMA S. IQBAL CRIMSON MAGAZINE ASSOCIATE EDITOR
FM: You arrived at Harvard as a researcher, but nowadays, you dedicate your time to teaching. Why did you make this transi AJB:tion?
FM: How would you say your ap proach to teaching has evolved over time? AJB: I’ve become more sensitive to the fact that I have one great virtue as a teacher, which is I’m pretty dumb. No, seriously, I’m not only at your level, I am probably slightly below it. So if it’s a complicated idea, I might struggle to understand it. But because I’m struggling to understand it, that means I have to unpack it and lay it out in a way that a complete moron — I’m looking at you, Andrew Berry — can under stand it, which turns out to be pretty good for introductory courses.
FM: You like to integrate the his tory of science into your classes. What value do you think comes from learning about the people and the stories behind the sci AJB:ence? I believe humans are wired to tell and hear stories. The trouble with a lot of science instruction is there’s no story there. There are all sorts of ways [storytelling] can work in class. If there’s a whole set of experiments that build on each other, that’s a great story arc.The other way is to incorpo rate personal stories. We can just dive in and talk about Mendelian genetics, but it’s much more engaging if you can think about Friar Mendel. He tried to take this exam which would qualify him to be a teacher and failed it twice, which is already a won derful, teachable moment, right? Some of the greatest scientific breakthroughs have been done by people that are on the side, or serendipitously.
FM: You have a particularly strong interest in the natu ralist Alfred Russel Wallace, whose writings you compiled into an anthology. Tell me more about him. Why do you find him so compelling?
FM: You help teach one of the largest classes on campus Life Sciences 1b. What are the partic ular rewards and challenges that come with teaching at that scale?
AJB: One challenge is it’s sort of depressingly impersonal. The sec ond thing is it’s not my course. [The class] is a prerequisite for basically all the life sciences, so there’s a com mittee which essentially decides what the content is, and my job is to execute that. That’s not super sexy. The big positive, however, [is that] first-years are qualitatively different from upperclassmen. First-years have not had the enthusiasm kicked out of them. They are just brilliantly engaged and excited and fun to talk to.
AJB: The evolutionary process is the most beguiling, interest ing, and important feature of all biology because it touches ev erything. You might be a cancer biologist interested in why the cell cycle has been corrupted by particular mutations. But where did that cell cycle that’s been corrupted come from? It evolved. And what do cancers do? They evolve as you try to hit them with drugs. [Studying evolution] is, in a sense, an excuse to study every thing.
A large proportion of the changes are random; they don’t matter. You can’t formally distinguish them between random and adaptive evo lution, except in situations where you’ve got a lack of recombination in that region of DNA. Say I’ve got this new beneficial mutation on it. It’s not just the beneficial mutation which will go to 100 percent [in the population]; it’s the entire chunk of chromosome. In fruit flies, chromo some four very seldom undergoes recombination, so it was a good candidate to look for evidence of this “selective sweep.”And lo and behold, we looked at a particular gene and [found] there were no mutational differences in this huge chunk of DNA across the entire species of Drosophila melanogaster That tells you that there must have been a selective sweep for an adap tive mutation somewhere on that chromosome. Now [these tools for detecting selective sweeps] are very standard in human genetics.
FM: Your early research fo cused on adaptive evolution within a particular chro mosome of the Drosophila genome — what did this work AJB:find?We were interested in how we [could] identify the action of positive Darwinian natural selec tion in DNA. Most natural selec tion is negative: a new mutation arises, it breaks something that works, [selection] just eliminates it. But what about innovation? That’s positive natural selection, where a new mutation arises and it actually makes the bird fly faster or the whale swim faster. How do we identify those events?
Andrew J. Berry received an under graduate degree in zoology from Ox ford University and a PhD in evolutionary genetics from Princeton before arriving at Harvard as a Junior Fellow. He is now a lecturer on Organismic & Evolutionary Biology and the As sistant Head Tutor of Integrative Biology.Thisinterview has been edit ed for clarity.
AJB: Wallace is somebody who’s sort of famous for not being famous. The reason Darwin pub lished “The Origin of Species” was that he got this letter from this nobody 14 years younger than him who was out collecting specimens in the rainforests of Southeast Asia: Wallace. Wallace sent Darwin a letter in which he basically described Darwin’s theory. Darwin panics, and he and his senior colleagues save face by having the two scientists co-publish a paper in 1858. Then Darwin immediately pumps out “The Origin of Species,” partly to establish his precedent — he’s been working on this idea for a long time. When you Google “evolution,” what do you see? It’s that luxurious, big forehead of Darwin. What happened to Wallace? You might think he was a one-hit wonder. No, he did all sorts of incredibly important science. He was an amazingly progressive thinker. FM: What common miscon ception about evolution do you most wish you could dispel?
Atavisms, which are traits that are not present in a con temporary organism but were present way back up that organ ism’s family tree. Here’s a famous example: A whale off Vancouver in the Northern Pacific had two symmetrical appendages stick ing out from its rear sides — legs. What’s happened? There was this famous moment about 375 million years ago when [our an cestors] got out of the water, and we got tetrapods and eventually, amphibians and reptiles and mammals. Then, you got a bunch of lineages that decided to go back to the water. The atavism is something that might be a muta tion, might be a developmental anomaly, [in which] the signal that suppresses the production of the hind limbs has failed.
FM: You deliver the annual Bulldog Roast for Har vard-Yale, but if you could roast Harvard instead, what would you say?
FM: What’s the most fascinat ing evolutionary innovation you’ve either studied or en AJB:countered?
Q&A: THE EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST and historian of science sat down with Fifteen Minutes to discuss his scientific inspirations and his approach to pedagogy. “I have one great virtue as a teacher, which is I’m pretty dumb,” he says.
Fifteen Minutes is the magazine of The Harvard Crimson. To read the full interview and other longform pieces, visit MAGAZINETHECRIMSON.COM/
FM: Why do evolutionary questions matter to you?
FIFTEEN QUESTIONS 19SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 THE HARVARD CRIMSON
JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
FM: What sorts of questions get you out of bed in the morning these days?
