The Harvard Crimson - Vol. CLII, No. 20

The Harvard Crimson

Meet the College’s New Dean

STARTING THE CLOCK.

The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights gave Harvard a 20-day deadline to turn over documents in an inquiry into whether it considered race in undergrad admissions.

SIX MONTHS LATE. More than half a year after Harvard Management Company typically publishes its annual report on progress toward net-zero emissions, this year’s report is nowhere to be seen.

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s free speech rankings. But FIRE’s methods have proven controversial.

HARVARD-BROWN. Last season, the Crimson snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a fourth-quarter loss to the

Tenure Denial in Harvard’s Gender Studies Program Leaves Faculty Shaken

BY WILLIAM C. MAO AND VERONICA H. PAULUS CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

To many of her Harvard colleagues, Durba Mitra — an associate professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies — looked like a practically perfect candidate for tenure.

Mitra had written two books by the time she applied, with several more projects underway. Her research had been cited to support a ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. She helped lead a major research library at Harvard. And for five years in a row, she received an award for her mentorship of students.

“On every axis, she has gone above and beyond,” said History professor Maya R. Jasanoff ’96. “Her case looks to me like one of the very strongest that I’ve seen in my time.” But in June, Mitra was denied tenure, the lifetime appointment that confers enviable job security and substantial research autonomy on universities’ top scholars. She will be required to leave Harvard within a year. No one thinks it’s easy to get tenure at Harvard. Roughly 30 percent of applicants, already the best of the best, fall short. Still, for many of Mitra’s colleagues, her tenure denial hit like a bucket of cold water: If she didn’t make the cut, who could?

In some faculty circles, the decision reignited long-running criticisms of Harvard’s tenure system — a process that a Faculty of Arts and Sciences committee likened to a “black box” that allows the University to deny promising

candidates tenure without giving a justification. And the move thins the ranks of WGS faculty at Harvard. Mitra is among just five ladder faculty with a full or half appointment in the Committee on Degrees in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. When she was hired, she was the first full-time faculty member in a committee previously staffed through joint appointments. Now, her departure will deprive the already small program of one of its core instructors. The denial also comes at a sensitive time for the WGS program, whose faculty worry whether their own work will eventually be a casualty of the Trump administration’s assault against diversity, equity, and inclusion and reinforcement of conservative beliefs on gender.

Harvard has publicly defended its academic independence, and Mitra’s colleagues said they had not heard that the University would turn its back on WGS. But they saw it as a sign of shifting political winds that Harvard denied one of its most promising young scholars in WGS a tenured position just as President Donald Trump — the man who has held billions of dollars in federal funding as leverage to exact sweeping demands from Harvard — derides what he views as “wokeness” and “left-wing indoctrination” in education.

“To have a record like that which meets or exceeds many other records that have received tenure at Harvard, it’s difficult for me to imagine that her denial was not tied to the broader political situation,” said Sociology professor Jocelyn Viterna, who serves as the WGS chair.

Mitra declined to comment. Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton also declined to comment, citing a policy against discussing personnel matters.

‘We Very Much Look Forward to Working With You’

When Jordan M. Villegas ’20 was a sophomore at Harvard, he took Mitra’s course on feminist theory. Each week, the class would read a canonical feminist text, accompanied by scholarship that built on the foundational works in the field.

For Villegas, the course brought to life how historical ideas develop, scholarship happens, and new knowledge is created. It changed everything for him, putting him on the track to becoming an academic himself.

“Professor Mitra and her mentorship really made that life path open up to me — and made me realize that this was something that was not only possible, but something that I wanted to do,” said Villegas, who is currently a professor of history at Southern Methodist University. “That transformative experience made me who I am today.”

Multiple students and faculty said Mitra is remarkable for her deep commitment to supporting students, often mentoring them even years after they have left Harvard. But Mitra is also a prolific scholar; colleagues have said her work is “field-changing” and of “clear global significance and impact.”

is suspended, and the club will not be able to host outreach events, Cortese wrote. The HRO Outreach Program brings orchestra members around the Boston area to perform at schools and teach younger musicians, according to the HRO’s website. The HRO’s first fall concert is scheduled for Oct. 4 and has been publicized on Harvard’s Office for the Arts website under the club’s name. While blindfolded, new members were asked to tap upperclassmen once to be given water, or twice to be given a shot of vodka, according to three HRO members. The whole club then exchanged notes, with new members sharing their hopes and fears at the start of college and upperclassmen offering advice.

Roshen S. Chatwal ’26, an HRO social committee member, said he did not think the club’s activities amounted to hazing and that the decision to suspend the HRO was “offensive” to people who have experienced hazing.

“What we did with freshmen, I view as one of the more harmless things you could do,” Chatwal said.

BY ABIGAIL S. GERSTEIN AND ELLA F. NIEDERHELMAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard School of Public Health Dean An-

drea A. Baccarelli received at least $150,000 to testify against Tylenol’s manufacturer in 2023 — two years before he published research used by the Trump administration to link the drug to autism, a connection experts say is tenuous at best.

Baccarelli served as an expert witness on behalf of parents and guardians of children suing Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of Tylenol at the time. U.S. District Court Judge Denise L. Cote dismissed the case last year due to a lack of scientific evidence, throwing out Baccarelli’s testimony in the process.

“He cherry-picked and misrepresented

study results and refused to acknowledge the role of genetics in the etiology” of autism spectrum disorder or ADHD, Cote wrote in her decision, which the plaintiffs have since appealed.

Baccarelli, who was a professor at Columbia University’s public health school at the time, declined to comment on his involvement in the case.

The plaintiffs paid Baccareli $700 an hour for his expert testimony, according to a 2023 deposition.

“I work for more than 200 hours, so it’s about $150,000,” Baccarelli said in the deposition.

But Catherine E. Lord — a professor of Psychiatry and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles — said it is not uncommon for medical professionals to be paid for expert testimony.

“People are routinely paid, and they’re

paid generally quite a lot,” Lord said.

“There are people who, for as a job, testify as experts.”

“I think what it does suggest, given that he would testify about this, that he is invested in finding something more than most of us would be,” Lord said.

In a statement to the New York Times, HSPH spokesperson Stephanie Simon wrote that Baccarelli “confirmed that his testimony in the deposition was accurate and that his work on the case culminated in the deposition; he worked just a handful of additional hours following the deposition.” Trump administration officials have trumpeted Baccarelli’s work as evidence that acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — causes autism.

DAVID J. DEMING says he hopes to lead Harvard College with moral authority. His colleagues call him a problem-solver and a

PAVAN V. THAKKAR — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

In Photos: Harvard Crimson vs. Stetson Hatters

BY NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior quarterback Jaden Craig attempts a pass during the first half of the game.

The special teams unit blocked a Stetson field goal attempt in the third quarter.

Harvard’s offense cheers after

Sophomore running back Maddux Reid prepares to sprint with the ball.

Senior captain Ty Bartum forced a fumble during the first quarter against Stetson.

Senior running back Isaiah Bullock charges forward.

Sophomore kicker Dylan Fingersh kicks a 29-yard field goal.

IN THE REAL WORLD

In a major break with the United States, the four countries formally recognized Palestinian statehood on Sunday. France followed suit on Monday at the United Nations in an attempt to garner support for a two-state solution to the conflict. Historically, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom have been the most vocal supporters of Israel. The prime ministers of Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom each made successive announcements of their respective country’s recognition of a Palestinian state. The Israeli government quickly responded on Sunday, stating that the countries recognizing Palestinian statehood are rewarding terror.

ABC REINSTATES JIMMY KIMMEL

After ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel off his late night show last Wednesday, the network announced on Monday that Kimmel’s show would return on Tuesday. Kimmel was suspended after making remarks about the suspect in the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Although ABC has stated that they will be continuing production of Kimmel’s show, Sinclair and Nexstar – TV station groups that collectively own over 20 percent of local ABC affiliates – have said they will not be running the show on their stations. Since Kimmel’s initial suspension there have been nationwide debates over the First Amendment and government suppression of speech.

SHOOTING AT ICE FACILITY KILLS DETAINEE AND INJURES 2 OTHERS

On Wednesday a rifle-wielding shooter opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility from a nearby rooftop in Dallas. The gunman, identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, killed one detainee and injured two others before taking his own life. No law enforcement agents were wounded in the shooting. As of Wednesday there was no knowledge of the motives of Jahn. A photo posted by FBI Director Kash Patel depicted a bullet left behind by the shooter with the phrase “ANTI-ICE” written on it. The two injured detainees were at a hospital in critical condition as of Wednesday.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

SUGGESTS LINK BETWEEN

TYLENOL AND AUTISM

On Monday, top federal health officials espoused unproven claims that there is a link between acetaminophen –the active ingredient in Tylenol – use during pregnancy and autism. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy ’76 also proposed that leucovorin, a B-vitamin-based drug, could be used to treat autism. Kennedy later focused on vaccines as a cause of autism, a claim which has been disproven several times in the past 30 years. President Trump later agreed with Kennedy that there are links between vaccines and autism, stating that children are being injected with too many liquids at such a young age.

What’s Next

Start every week with a preview of what’s on the agenda around Harvard University

Friday 9/26

OIE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

FAIR

Cabot Science Library, 1-4p.m.

Held by the Office of International Education, the fair is open to all students interested in pursuing classes, research, public service, and internships abroad.

Saturday 9/27

HAVARD FOOTBALL V. BROWN

Harvard Stadium, 6p.m.

Watch Harvard’s football team in their Home opener against the Brown University Bears. Student tickets available until 5:00pm on Friday.

Sunday 9/28

BOSTON CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY: BEETHOVEN, MENDELSSOHN, FRANCK

Sanders Theater, 3pm

The Boston Chamber Music Society will be playing selections from Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, and César Franck with featured members Jennifer Frautschi, Alyssa Wang, Cara Pogossian, Marcus Thompson, and Max Levinson.

Monday 9/29

A LOOK AT THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY AT HHS AND THE CDC

Harvard Kennedy School, Nye ABC, 12pm-1pm

Listen to former Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell and former Center for Disease Control director Rochelle Walensky discuss the current state of the HHS and CDC.

Tuesday 9/30

OPENING RECEPTION FOR TOURMA-

LINE: LIVES OF A POLLINATOR

Carpenter Center, 6pm-9pm

Join artist Tourmaline in conversation with Giselle Byrd in anticipation of the opening of her exhibition Tourmaline: Lives of a Pollinator the following day. The program will include an artist talk and reception.

Wednesday 9/31

AI INNOVATIONS AT HARVARD Harvard Business School, Spangler Auditorium, 2pm-6pm The event will include 30-minute talks from researchers, educators, and experts on the current use of AI in teaching, learning, and research followed by a reception. The event is a part of the larger Boston AI week.

Thursday 10/1 AMERICAN POLITICS AND THE

Friday 10/2

COTTON CANDY SKIES

FRANK S. ZHOU — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Ed Dept. Issues Ultimatum for Docs

POLITICS. Harvard has a 20-day deadline to turn over documes for an ongoing investigation.

istration has wielded the Supreme Court’s ruling as a tool to cast suspicion on universities — and to threaten penalties against Harvard.

Ed Department Steps Up Financial Oversight on Harvard

BY CASSIDY M. CHENG AND ELIAS M. VALENCIA CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS BY DHRUV T. PATEL

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on Friday gave Harvard a 20-day deadline to turn over information in an investigation into its consideration of race in undergraduate admissions, accusing the University of ignoring repeated requests for documents.

The OCR wrote in a Friday afternoon press release that Harvard will “face further enforcement action” if it does not submit the requested information by the deadline. The press release did not specify what documents the office had asked for, nor did it indicate whether Harvard had previously made document submissions as part of the investigation.

The Education Department opened its inquiry into Harvard’s admissions in May to determine whether Harvard was complying with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision prohibiting race-conscious admissions and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits race-based discrimination at federally funded institutions.

Spokespeople for Harvard and the Education Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

The denial of access letter sent to Harvard on Friday ratchets up pressure on the University once again. Negotiations toward a settlement have reportedly stalled since a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore billions of dollars in research funding that it had frozen this spring.

Since President Donald Trump took office, his admin-

When the White House struck a deal restoring Columbia University’s federal funding, the agreement required Columbia to submit annual data on the standardized test scores, grade point averages, and race of its applicants and admits. On Aug. 7, Trump issued a presidential memorandum extending the requirement to all universities.

The requirement could open Harvard to legal action if the administration is unsatisfied with the patterns in its admissions data.

The Trump administration has already targeted Harvard’s admissions process directly in a separate investigation by the Department of Justice, which accused the University of defrauding the government under the False Claims Act, the New York Times reported in May.

In a May 6 letter cutting off future grants to Harvard, McMahon accused Harvard of continued racial preferencing and failure to abide by the 2023 Supreme Court ruling. The Trump administration’s demands to Harvard have included adopting “merit-based” admissions policies.

Friday’s press release once again accused Harvard of breaking the law.

“Reports suggest that the university continues to engage in unlawful racial discrimination in its admissions process,” the press release read, without specifying any reports that have made this claim.

Reporting in Bloomberg this week suggested that Black enrollment at Harvard Law School has rebounded after dropping sharply last year.

It is not clear exactly what documents the Education Department is seeking. But the Jus-

tice Department’s inquiry from May included requests for text messages, emails, and other communications between Harvard officials about Trump’s executive orders against diversity, equity, and inclusion, according to the New York Times.

Friday’s denial of access letter is just a warning, but it sets the stage for the White House to punish Harvard. University of New Mexico law professor Vinay Harpalani, who studies race and education law, said the Trump administration could try to strip Harvard’s federal funding under Title VI — potentially a redux of the funding freeze from this spring.

“I imagine in the context of admissions, this could be federal financial aid — suspending any federal financial aid to Harvard students,” Harpalani said.

On Friday, the Education Department also hit Harvard with a notice that it had been placed on heightened cash monitoring status, requiring the University to draw on its own funds before accessing federal financial aid and to post a multimillion dollar letter of credit to prove its financial stability. A press release accompanying the announcement suggested that Harvard could lose federal student aid funding if it did not comply with the OCR’s requests.

Stetson University law professor Peter F. Lake ’81, who studies higher education law, said he thought the notices to Harvard were a sign that the administration was imposing public pressure to push Harvard into a deal.

“It tells me that there’s some hard bargaining going on between Harvard and the Trump administration right now, and the signal that I’m picking up on this is that they’re trying to force the deal with Harvard,” Lake said.

elias.valencia@thecrimson.com

The U.S. Department of Education placed Harvard University on heightened cash monitoring status, citing concerns about the institution’s financial health and a recent $1.2 billion bond issuance that federal officials say may undermine its ability to meet financial obligations.

The designation, announced Thursday, imposes significant new restrictions on Harvard’s access to federal student aid. Under the new HCM regime, the University must now first disburse federal aid to students using its own funds and then seek reimbursement from the Education Department — a reversal of the standard advance payment method used by institutions in good standing.

As an additional safeguard, the Department of Education is requiring Harvard to provide a $36 million irrevocable letter of credit, amounting to approximately 30 percent of the federal aid the University received in the previous fiscal year through Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The financial guarantee is intended to ensure that taxpayer funds are protected in the event of further financial instability.

The Department of Education cited Harvard’s bond sales and recent austerity measures — undertaken to absorb the financial impact of the Trump administration’s own funding cuts and an endowment tax hike — as evidence of the University’s deteriorating financial profile, framing them not as prudent adjustments but as signs of institutional fragility.

Harvard joins more than 500 colleges and universities around the world currently under similar scrutiny by the Department of Education. However, Harvard — the wealthiest university in the world with a more than $53 billion endowment — stands out sharply on a list that predomi-

nantly consists of trade schools, community colleges, and small for-profit institutions.

In a press release, the Education Department announced that the rare move stemmed from three “triggering events” under federal financial responsibility standards: the Department of Health and Human Services’ determination that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, noncompliance with requests from the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, and the University’s issuance of $1.2 billion in bonds to support its operations.

Harvard tapped into the debt markets twice in spring, issuing $450 million in tax-exempt bonds in March and a taxable bond sale of $750 million in April.

The April bond issuance was accompanied by a memorandum — released a day after the White House announced a $2.2 billion federal funding freeze — in which the University warned investors that federal actions targeting Harvard’s financial standing could have a “material adverse effect on the University’s business, reputation, financial profile, and operations.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the press release that the University’s disclosure alongside its April bond sale raised questions about its financial health.

“Today’s actions follow Harvard’s own admission that there are material concerns about its financial health,” McMahon wrote. “As a result, Harvard must now seek reimbursement after distributing federal student aid and post financial protection so that the Department can ensure taxpayer funds are not at risk.”

The move comes after the federal government repeatedly sought to tighten control over Harvard through its own financial levers, including three rounds of funding cuts totaling approximately $2.7 billion. Harvard officials have warned in July that the cumulative impact of re -

cent federal actions could cost the University more than $1 billion annually.

In response, Harvard has laid off workers at the Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health, frozen salaries for nonunion staff, and announced, then later extended, a University-wide hiring pause. University-level guidance has encouraged schools to cut costs and pause non-essential capital projects.

The reclassification on Friday came alongside a separate letter from the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights warning Harvard it could face further enforcement actions if it does not submit additional records concerning its admissions practices within 20 calendar days.

The Education Department’s dual moves on Friday are the latest step in the federal government’s campaign to force Harvard to buckle — and a sign that the White House is not stepping down from its onslaught of investigations and penalties against the University.

Since Trump took office, the White House has frozen billions in funding, threatened Harvard’s ability to host international students, and launched a barrage of civil rights investigations against the University. A federal judge struck down the freeze on Sept. 3 and ruled that the White House’s actions targeting federal funding were unconstitutional.

The White House vowed to appeal quickly after, but it has not yet formally appealed the ruling. In the meantime, it has quietly resumed the flow of grant funding to Harvard, with $46 million released on Friday. Harvard and the White House began talks in June to both restore federal funding and end the government’s myriad investigations with a negotiated settlement carrying a $500 million price tag. But talks have reportedly stalled in recent weeks.

Harvard Stands to Pay Millions Under New Visa Sponsorship Order

BY

Harvard could soon be forced to pay a $100,000 fee for every new worker the University sponsors through the H-1B visa program, part of an executive proclamation signed by President Donald Trump on Friday. Between 2017 and 2024, Harvard sponsored an average of 125 new H-1B visa petitions that were approved each year, according to data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. While Trump’s order only applies to new H-1B visa requests, the fee could place a significant financial burden on Harvard if it continues to sponsor a similar number of new H-1B visa applicants. If Harvard continues to sponsor more than 100 new H-1B visa applicants each year,

the University will annually pay more than $10 million in fees.

A University spokesperson declined to comment on whether Harvard plans to change how many new H-1B visa applications it sponsors as a result of the $100,000 fee. Trump’s order is also expected to face significant legal challenge. H-1B visas, which allow workers in specialty occupations to temporarily stay in the country, are used by companies to hire around 730,000 employees across the country, according to immigration advocacy group fwd.us. At universities, faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers can qualify for H-1B visas. The visas are limited to six years and typically require extension after the initial threeyear period. Harvard sponsors H-1B visa applications for temporary academic appointments like postdoctoral or re -

search fellows, but not for staff positions, according to the HIO’s website.

The Department of Homeland Security clarified on Saturday that the $100,000 cost is a one-time fee for new applicants. The guidance also stated that current H-1B visa hold -

While we await further details about implementation, please be aware that by its terms, the proclamation applies to H-1B holders currently outside the U.S. who seek entry after the effective date.

ers will be able to enter and exit the U.S. according to their prior privileges.

Before the DHS memorandum was released, the Harvard International Office emailed affiliated H-1B visa holders on Saturday to recommend they consult with HIO advisers before traveling abroad.

“While we await further details about implementation, please be aware that by its terms, the proclamation applies to H-1B holders currently outside the U.S. who seek entry after the effective date,” the HIO email read. “The proclamation provides that the government may grant exceptions, but the situation remains fluid as guidance and rulemaking are anticipated in the coming weeks.”

On Sunday, the HIO updated visa holders with guidance from the DHS’ memorandum and wrote that Harvard was “working to understand the full impact of this proclamation.”

Though Harvard officials refrained from making sweeping

recommendations, uncertainty over the order’s scope initially prompted universities across the country, including Yale and Dartmouth, to advise affiliated H-1B visa holders to withhold from international travel before the DHS clarified the order.

In the proclamation, Trump wrote that the “systemic abuse” of the H-1B visa program has threatened “both our economic and national security.” He cited the growing share of workers using H-1B visas in the technology sector, writing that the program currently makes it “even more challenging for college graduates trying to find IT jobs.”

Trump justified the order under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that grants the president authority to suspend the entry of noncitizens when deemed “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” The Supreme Court

affirmed the president’s discretion to limit travel in the 2018 case Trump v. Hawaii, granting Trump’s attempt to block travel from several Muslim-majority countries. Still, the new fee, which went into effect on Sunday, is legally contentious. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick — a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, a non-partisan organization advocating for equitable immigration policy — called the move “absurdly unlawful” in a Monday post on X. “Trump doesn’t have this kind of power over H-1B visas,” he wrote. “The power to suspend entry that was upheld in Trump v. Hawaii simply cannot authorize a President to impose a fee on visa applications. Otherwise, the exception swallows the rule.”

Trump Cites Harvard Dean To Link Tylenol and Autism

BY ABIGAIL S. GERSTEIN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

arvard School of Pub -

Hlic Health Dean Andrea A. Baccarelli met in recent weeks with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’76 and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya to discuss the dean’s study linking acetaminophen to autism, according to a statement by Baccarelli posted on an official White House X account.

Baccarelli, who co-authored a review article that associated acetaminophen use during pregnancy to autism in children, wrote to the White House that he appreciated the interest from Kennedy and Bhattacharya. That statement was then posted on X by White House Press Secretary Karoline C. Leavitt and the administration’s “Rapid Response 47” account. The conversations took place in phone calls between Baccarelli and Kennedy and, separately, Bhattacharya, according to an HSPH spokesperson. The statement, which was not posted to the Harvard Public Health School’s website or shared publicly by Baccarelli, followed a White House press conference on Monday where Donald Trump, accompanied by Kennedy and Bhattacharya, alleged that exposure to acetaminophen causes autism in children. While Trump did not mention Harvard by name, Food and Drug Commissioner

FUNDING FROM PAGE 1

Marty A. Makary cited Harvard studies as evidence for the assertion at the press conference.

“To quote the dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, there is a causal relationship between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder,” Makary said.

Trump also said that the drug, also known as Tylenol, taken during pregnancy may be associated with a “very increased” autism risk.

“Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” he said. “Fight like hell not to take it.”

Baccarelli’s statement, however, argues only that there is a “possibility of a causal relationship,” and calls for further study.

Kennedy announced at the press conference that the FDA will initiate the process to include the autism risk on the

safety labels of products containing acetaminophen. He has long argued, without evidence, that vaccines cause autism. The claim was a staple of his short run for president in 2024, and Kennedy has made finding a cause for autism a core part of his agenda as HHS Secretary.

Released in August, Baccarelli’s review of previously published human studies was funded by a grant from the NIH that was terminated as part of a $2.2 billion federal funding cut for Harvard. The dean wrote the review article alongside researchers from Mount Sinai, University of California Los Angeles, and University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Baccarelli’s grant was reinstated after a U.S. district court judge ruled earlier this month that the Trump administration’s original cut was unconstitutional. Two weeks after the decision, money from the feder -

Harvard Receives $46 Million in Grants, Ending 4-Month Freeze

BY PAVAN V. THAKKAR — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

grant money since the funding freeze took effect in May. Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton confirmed the restoration of funding in a statement to The Crimson.

“We are pleased to see the disbursement of $46 million in research funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which we received just before noon today,” Newton wrote.

“This is an initial step, and we hope to continue to see funding restored across all of the federal agencies,” he added. The roughly 200 grants that have been returned make up a significant but small fraction of the more than 1,500 active NIH grants at Harvard. The agency is the largest federal funder of Harvard’s research ecosystem, giving the University $488 million in fiscal year 2024 — more than 70 percent of its federal funding last year. The disbursements hit Harvard’s accounts two weeks after U.S. District Judge Allison D. Bur-

roughs struck down the Trump administration’s suspension of Harvard’s federal research funding, calling the freeze unconstitutional. Burroughs ordered agencies to reinstate Harvard’s grants and resume the flow of payments that had been halted since the spring.

In the days that followed, Harvard researchers began receiving notices that their awards were being reinstated, but the wait for funding lasted until Friday.

Though the White House vowed to appeal Burroughs’ ruling, the administration has not yet continued the fight in court. More than two weeks later, no appeal has been filed — and a spokesperson for the administration did not immediately answer if it still plans to appeal the ruling.

The disbursements are likely to offer a measure of relief to researchers in Harvard’s Longwood campus, where major research projects have been forced to scale back or shutter and researchers have relied on limited bridge funds. Since April, officials have announced layoffs at HMS and HSPH and warned that the firestorm of federal actions

could cost Harvard upwards of $1 billion annually.

But even the return of frozen funds may not solve Harvard’s long-term financial crunch, especially as the Trump administration threatens to cut agency budgets or redirect funding toward its own political priorities. On Wednesday, HMS Dean George Q. Daley ’82 said the school would slash 20 percent of its research spending in what appeared to be a preparation for longer-term austerity.

“Given the dark clouds hanging over — not only Harvard’s federal grant dollars, but all of NIH — reducing our research spending and focusing on our most critical research is the responsible thing for us and other institutions to do,” Daley said, also citing this summer’s endowment tax hike as a source of strain.

The increase — which will raise the tax on Harvard’s endowment income to 8 percent — is expected to cost the University more than $200 million per year. Harvard has said that will impact the flexible funds the University allocates to research, financial aid, and faculty salaries.

It is unclear if other federal agencies whose grants to Harvard were paused or terminated have also resumed payments.

The restorations after Burrough’s ruling were the first time the NIH has begun awarding grants to Harvard. The agency began issuing some grants in July after an earlier court order, but at that time, drawdowns through a federal payment system were quietly blocked by Department of Government Efficiency officials because Harvard hasn’t struck a settlement with the White House.

dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com

BY

al government began flowing to Harvard on Friday. According to Baccarelli’s study, acetaminophen is used by more than 50 percent of pregnant women across the globe to mitigate fever and pain during pregnancy. It is one of the only options as other pain and fever reducers have seen adverse effects, according to the HHS.

“As the only approved medication for pain and fever reduction during pregnancy, acetaminophen remains an important tool for pregnant patients and their physicians,” Baccarelli wrote in his statement to the Trump administration, noting that high fever can also harm mothers.

A spokesperson for HSPH declined to comment on the White House’s use of the research, referring to Baccarelli’s statement.

“To quote the dean of the Harvard School of Public Health,” Food and Drug Commissioner Marty A. Makary said in a press conference on Monday, “there is a causal relationship between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.”

Though the study the Trump administration latched onto is a more recent paper, published in August, and Baccarelli has studied the subject for years, scientists say his work has demonstrated only a correlation between the drug and autism — and not a causal link, as the Trump administration asserted in the press conference.

Baccarelli’s published statement to the White House only referred to the “possibility of a causal relationship” between acetaminophen and autism. In both his statement and the August paper, Baccarelli called for further study.

His work rocketed into public view after the press conference on Monday, which took place weeks after he met with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’76 and Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health, on phone calls to discuss his recent research.

Baccarelli’s recent survey of 46 human studies, published online in August alongside three coauthors, concluded that prenatal acetaminophen usage was associated with increased incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders — including autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Experts believe that so far, the evidence only shows a correlation.

“The idea that acetaminophen causes autism is, at best, a massive overstatement and might be completely untrue,” Samuel S. Wang, a professor of neuroscience at Princeton University, said.

“The best study to date that I’ve been able to see in the literature shows no additional risk,” he added.

A 2024 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association involved 2.5 million children born in Sweden, and controlled for compounds across these millions of samples. The research determined that there was no causal relationship between acetaminophen consumption and autism.

“There needs to be much more work done and additional studies to be able to identify causal mechanisms,” Dennis P. Wall, professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University, said. “That simply hasn’t been done.”

Lord said that she would not fault Baccarelli or the other authors for the study.

“I just think that to take it the next step and say this is causal, is really irresponsible,” she added.

Wang said that there is a “consensus view of what causes autism” within the scientific community. Genetic inheritance, combinations of genes, environmental causes, stresses in mid to late pregnancy, and other biological factors all contribute to autism. If those variables are associated with acetaminophen use, they could have created the appearance of a relationship that may not exist in studies that failed to properly control for them.

“In the case of acetaminophen, pregnant women take acetaminophen for a reason. They take it because they have a fever, or they have an infection or they are in pain, and these themselves are risk factors — potential risk factors — for autism,” Wang said. “They may be correlated with other causes that we can’t see.”

abigail.gerstein@thecrimson.com ella.niederhelman@thecrimson.com

“It’s just offensive to real victims of hazing who have actually experienced emotional harm and potential physical harm when this was a pretty PG, standard, run-ofthe-mill initiation procedure that didn’t result in any harm or complaints in the moment.”

The orchestra has been a registered student organization through the Dean of Students Office for several years, but students can also participate in the orchestra through a class — called “Music 110R” — for course credit. Not all members of HRO are enrolled in Music 110. Students taking the class, which is taught by Cortese, are ordinarily expected to attend all rehearsals.

The Crimson was not able to determine what prompted the investigation and whether or when a complaint was filed against the

club.

HRO is not the first student organization to undergo a hazing investigation this fall. Earlier in the semester, the College examined allegations of hazing in the Crimson Key Society, a recognized student organization that leads orientation events and campus tours.

Members of the organization were approached by proctors — residential advisers who live in freshman dorms — while wearing costumes and participating in a back-to-school scavenger hunt.

After a meeting with club leaders, College officials determined the situation was not hazing under Harvard guidelines.

The two investigations both began after Harvard updated its policies to comply with the Stop Campus Hazing Act, a federal anti-hazing law passed in December

2024. The law requires universities to formalize their hazing investigation processes, create reports on hazing incidents, and name student organizations investigated for suspected hazing. Harvard will publish the names of student organizations that violated hazing policies, the findings of its investigations, and the date and nature of suspected incidents in a January 2026 report. Hazing incidents will also be reported to the federal government under the Clery Act, which mandates reporting of campus crime data. Harvard required leaders of its more than 500 student organizations to attend an anti-hazing training this fall, where the College unveiled the new policies.

elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com

David Deming Takes on New Challenges as College Dean

BY SAMUEL A.

David J. Deming, the new dean of Harvard College, is up and running at 5:45 a.m. most days.

His usual route follows the Charles River for at least five miles before he catches the sunrise from the John W. Weeks Memorial Bridge. Instead of listening to music, Deming runs in silence. He said the quiet helps clear his head.

Since being tapped to serve as Dean of Harvard College in May, the avid marathoner has tried his best to keep that rhythm, lacing up at dawn before heading to his new office in University Hall.

Students are still waiting to decide what they think of the new dean, who has made a point of talking to freshmen in Annenberg at least twice a week and used his Instagram account to shape himself in his predecessor’s affable image.

But in Deming’s first two months in office, the College has enacted a series of stark changes that have already reshaped campus life for some students but whose longterm effects remain to be seen.

In July, the College closed its offices for women, LGBTQ, and minority students — a change that Deming has yet to explain publicly but has privately described as a concession to new realities under the Trump administration. Administrators have investigated student groups under controversial new hazing policies. And faculty have continued a campaign to tighten attendance requirements and enhance academic rigor in undergraduate courses.

Deming, now in his forties, has been running at Harvard since 2005, when he started his Ph.D. at the Harvard Kennedy School. An expert on labor market trends, he joined the ranks of faculty at the Graduate School of Education in 2011, before securing full tenure and an additional appointment at HKS in 2016. He was also faculty dean of Kirkland House starting in 2020.

When Deming arrived at University Hall in July, he became the first College dean who had not previously held an appointment in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences since the deanship took its modern form in the 1990s. He was a finalist for the HKS deanship a year prior, but was ultimately passed over for Stanford University political scientist Jeremy M. Weinstein.

As an education policy expert turned administrator, Deming convinced his faculty peers and the College dean search committee that he was up for the task.

“If there’s one thing you need to know about David Deming in this role, it’s that he is fundamentally fo-

cused on and committed to the well being of all of our students, especially in their most difficult moments,” said Ian J. Miller, a Harvard History professor and Cabot House faculty dean.

Economist Turned Administrator

When Deming started his Ph.D., Harvard Economics professor Lawrence F. Katz ’91, his main advisor in graduate school, said he initially perceived Deming to be worried about whether he would fit into the department.

“I don’t remember him saying a lot in class,” Katz said. “He was someone who didn’t come with a strong economics background.”

Deming, originally from Nashville, completed his undergraduate education at Ohio State University before receiving his masters in public policy from the University of California Berkeley. He started at Harvard the same year.

But after submitting what Katz called an “excellent paper” on the effects of early childhood education on children’s outcomes, Deming found his footing, according to Katz.

“I think doing that paper and getting feedback was a big confidence builder for him,” Katz said.

Deming later published his own findings on the lasting effects of Head Start, a government program aimed at providing young children from low-income families with basic skills before they enter the school system. He found that while the boost in children’s test scores was temporary, Head Start participants were more likely to graduate high school and less likely to be in poor health later in life.

“I’ve always seen him very empathetic to others trying to make it as students and who may worry that they don’t belong,” Katz added. “I think his experiences will allow him to be very attuned to those issues.”

Alejandro J. Ganimian, a visiting professor at HGSE who studied under Deming while writing his doctoral dissertation in 2o15, said that Deming, to ease students’ stress, would tell them about a test he bombed.

“I also think he was quite human as a mentor,” he said. “It meant a lot that someone that we all admired a great deal had gone through similar struggles.”

Beth Schueler, a Stanford professor who completed a postdoctoral fellowship at HKS, said Deming was an important mentor even though he was not her assigned advisor. Schueler said she would leave memos in Deming’s mailbox with proposals and questions when she was struggling with project ideas.

“He would handwrite little re-

sponses and get right to the heart of, ‘Okay, cool idea. But this is the key challenge that you need to make sure you can address,’” she said.

It was stories like these that eventually caught the eye of former Dean of Freshmen Thomas A. Dingman ’67, who was helping the College vet potential faculty dean candidates to fill vacancies in five Houses in 2020.

“I loved his sparkle, his thoughtful observations about higher education, his commitment to making a difference in the experience,” Dingman said. “I just was left with the sense that he would be really well received by undergraduates.”

Deming and his wife, Janine M. Santimauro, were offered the position as faculty deans during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pair was immediately tasked with keeping the Kirkland House community alive during distance learning and rising operating costs.

Sean D. Kelly, dean of the Arts and Humanities and former Dunster House faculty dean, said Deming’s ability to make tough decisions was evident early on in his tenure.

“We all confronted various pressures — the rising costs of dining services, for instance — which would cut into the other kinds of things that we could do in the House,” Kelly said. “He just had a very clear ability to say, ‘Look, here’s where the problem lies. And we’re all confronting it, and here’s the reason we’re all confronting it.’”

In 2022, when Kirkland won the Straus Cup — an annual prize awarded to the undergraduate house that accumulates the most wins in intramural sports — Deming’s Kirkland pride was on full display.

“More than once, when we were at their house for dinner, they brought it out to parade it in front of us — all in good cheer,” Kelly said.

‘Straight Shooter’

As a long-time HKS faculty member and academic dean, Deming has dealt with his fair share of controversy before leading the College.

In March 2024, HKS professor Tarek Masoud was facing an onslaught of national criticism for hosting controversial speakers on the Israel-Palestine conflict for his Middle East Dialogues series.

“I remember I got a text message from an unfamiliar number asking if I was okay,” Masoud said. “It was only after a couple of back-andforths with this anonymous person who was checking in on me, who I knew was clearly friendly to me, that I realized, ‘Oh, this is David.’”

Masoud said the message from Deming stuck out because it came when some of his closer colleagues had chosen to stay silent. For him, Deming’s willingness to reach out

was proof he was “a very good guy.”

In 2021, Deming was appointed academic dean — a role that entailed overseeing faculty hiring, promotions, and firings. Masoud said that though Deming rejected most of his requests in the role, he emerged from those dealings with the sense that Deming had taken him seriously.

“Seven out of 10 conversations that I had with David Deming as academic dean were him telling me no. But he’s able to explain why he’s not acceding to your request in a manner that makes you feel respected and allows you to understand his point of view,” Masoud said.

“He is a straight shooter, so if he tells you ‘yes,’ you can take it to the bank. If he tells you ‘no,’ you know it’s a no. When he says ‘no,’ it’s not like he’s saying ‘ask me again later’ or ‘lobby me,’” he added.

Many of Deming’s colleagues gave his tenure glowing praise, though a handful were reluctant to comment on how they viewed his leadership at the school.

HKS professor Mathias Risse, also the director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, told The Crimson in 2024 that Deming was “difficult to work with as academic dean” as he was being considered for the HKS deanship.

Risse declined to be interviewed for this piece, and wrote in an email that the “ship has now sailed.”

In March, Deming and Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh emerged as finalists to become the next College dean. After a drawn out search process that lasted around nine months, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra named Deming the next dean in May, to the elation of many students in Kirkland House.

“Anyone that’s had even one conversation with David can tell how brilliant and joyful he is, which I think are two qualities that the dean needs to have,” Kirkland res-

ident Harry J. Cotter ’25-’26 said in May.

‘How Could I Not Do It?’

On September 12, Deming completed a rite of passage for Harvard administrators: delivering morning prayers during a service at Memorial Church. In his short address, he laid out the philosophy governing his approach to the new role.

“It would be easy to do only what is expected of me and no more,” Deming said. “But here’s what I vow instead. I hope to lead with moral, not positional authority.”

In an interview with The Crimson, Deming said that leading with moral authority means getting people on board with decisions by convincing them “it’s the right thing to do for our students, rather than because I’m the dean and I said so.”

“I was raised with a strong sense of right and wrong,” he said. “I really try not to do what I can get away with, but to do what’s right. And I think it’s important to set that example so that other people see it.”

His principled approach to the deanship echoes that of his predecessor, Rakesh Khurana, who was famous for repeating the College’s mission statement at the beginning of every meeting. But unlike Khurana, who kept a low profile during his first year as dean, Deming’s decisions have already sparked controversy.

Less than a month after he assumed office, the College shuttered the Women’s Center, Office for BGLTQ Student Life, and Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations — a decision that caught the centers’ directors and their more than 50 student employees by surprise. In August, Deming told Peer Advising Fellows that the changes were motivated by external pressure outside the University. Students condemned the College for closing the offices and enacting changes that mirrored

demands from the Trump administration at a rally in September.

“Many of the students here today may never have gotten to know a version of Harvard that celebrated its students’ identities,” Olivia F. Data ’26 said at the rally. “That seems to be the University’s intention.”

As Deming looks to gain the favor of the student body, he will become the new face of the office and policy changes under fire. Like Khurana, Deming has taken to social media to connect with students and introduce himself.

His Instagram account, where he posts podcast appearances and answers student-submitted questions, currently has more than 2,000 followers. Deming’s fan favorite posts include a “get ready with me” makeup tutorial and a dining hall taste test.

Miller, the Cabot House faculty dean, said he perceived Deming to be “eager to work through difficult problems, whether they are financial or institutional or social and cultural.”

In a September interview with The Crimson, Deming said that being College dean was not something he had even considered before the search for Khurana’s successor began last year. Instead, he saw applying for the job as a “responsibility.”

“I look at it as a stewardship role,” he said. “Being a tenured professor at Harvard and doing research and teaching for a living is a pretty great job and that’s all I ever wanted.”

“I really believe very deeply in what we do here, and the importance of Harvard in the world, and the importance of Harvard College in particular,” he added. “So if the leadership of the University thinks, in this time, that I am the right person to do that role, how could I not do it?”

CAMPUS CULTURE

Do Harvard’s FIRE Rankings Add Up?

SPEECH, RANKED. Harvard moved 13 places up from last in FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings, maintaining an F grade.

In the eyes of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Harvard went from the worst campus in the country for free speech to 13th-worst in the last year.

The University’s failing grade in FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings has been used to justify funding cuts, federal investigations, and boycotts. But behind the score, social science experts say FIRE’s methodology obscures an arbitrary evaluation system weighted to push better-known universities to the bottom.

The organization scores how well free expression is defended and promoted on college campuses based on surveys, news coverage, and administrative policy analysis. Then, they release a ranking every year of more than 250 American universities. Claremont McKenna College ranked first, with a B- grade, and Barnard College of Columbia University replaced Harvard in last place.

Both in 2023 and 2024, FIRE gave Harvard the lowest rank, alongside a score of 0.00, adding that the University had an “abysmal” speech climate. In the new rankings, released earlier this month, Harvard moved up in score from 0.00 to 49.74 out of 100, earning the University a new rank of 245 out of 257, though still with a F grade. (FIRE cited Harvard’s institutional neutrality statement and resistance to the Trump administration as actions that improved its score.)

“My cynical hypothesis is they do the rankings because it’s clickbait,” said Edward J. “Ned” Hall, a philosophy professor and co-president of the Council on Academic Freedom at Harvard. “There is a human tendency to think, ‘Oh, you assigned a number to all these different institutions. That must be scientific. We should pay attention.’” Yet in an email sent to University officials, six out of the seven CAFH co-presidents, including

Hall, wrote that — despite taking issue with aspects of FIRE’s sampling and survey techniques — the results of the ranking system are “a cause for concern.”

“The numbers suggest that Harvard students do not belong to a community that encourages listening, learning, and engaging with opinions that differ from their preconceptions,” they wrote.

FIRE’s Director of Research Ryne Weiss wrote in an emailed statement that the ranking provides “an important service” not found elsewhere.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on Harvard’s ranking, but wrote in an emailed statement that Harvard officials “have repeatedly restated the University’s commitment to free speech and free expression, including protest and dissent.”

Winning Points

FIRE’s free speech score is a composite of 12 different measured categories, including “Comfort Expressing Ideas,” “Political Tolerance,” and “Administrative Support.” While the rankings are rooted in survey results, points are added and subtracted at FIRE’s discretion.

The organization partners with survey company College Pulse, a survey company which has an existing base of more than 800,0000 undergraduate students across the country. Those student groups, which vary in size for each college, are asked questions every year before the results are weighted based on demographic information for each school reported to the Department of Education. (For Harvard, 411 undergraduate students were surveyed. Claremont McKenna, the highest ranked college, had 125 survey participants.) In the resulting data, FIRE found that 79 percent of Harvard students find shouting down a campus speaker acceptable, compared to the 71 percent of students nationally. Thirty-two percent of Harvard students found it acceptable to use violence in order to block a speech, compared to 34 percent of students nationally, according to FIRE. But the surveys also found that Harvard students have a

higher degree of political tolerance for both left and right-leaning speakers compared to the national sample of students.

In addition to survey data, FIRE gives universities bonus points or docks points after deciding whether campus policies or controversial incidents made speech more or less free on campuses. Universities that vowed not to release official statements on controversial issues earned three extra points, while firing a tenured faculty member cost five points.

According to Sean Stevens, FIRE’s chief research advisor, the organization’s researchers gather news reports of campus speech incidents and then work with legal staff to determine if the incident would be considered a violation of free speech under the First Amendment.

methodology,” Hall said. Weiss wrote in an emailed statement that disruptions to speaker events matter because “they send a message that your speech rights are contingent upon the approval of your classmates.”

He added that campus incidents are opportunities for the school to either get a penalty or a bonus if they are used as “teachable moments.”

Last year, when an animal rights protester dumped glitter on Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, Harvard lost two points for a speaker disruption, though it then gained two points back when Garber resumed his speech — modeling a “constructive response,” according to FIRE. The protester was later charged with three felonies.

Pippa Norris, a comparative

Relatively straightforward codings of ‘objective’ university policies are mixed up with ‘subjective’ perceptual measures, risking counting apples and oranges.

This year, Harvard lost points for 11 incidents, including blocking the unrecognized African and African American Resistance Organization from reserving a room on campus and dismissing the faculty leaders of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

But Harvard’s refusal to yield to the Trump administration’s demands to derecognize pro-Palestine student groups in its legal confrontation with the federal government earned the University bonus points.

Hall said FIRE’s approach carries some “obvious, glaring, embarrassing flaws.”

“Suppose Institution A invites 100 controversial speakers to campus in a given year, and three of the events are disrupted. Institution B invites five controversial speakers to campus in a year, and one of the events is disrupted. Institution A gets a lower score than Institution B, according to FIRE’s

politics lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School who studies academic freedom, wrote that FIRE’s reliance on news reports as a means of collecting data on campus incidents also skews results based on levels of coverage of different schools.

“There are biases by the journalistic coverage of such incidents in the news media, both legacy and social, which over-represents coverage of negative news in the most high profile institutions of higher education, like Harvard,” Norris wrote. Norris also argued FIRE lacks a rationale for how it assigns weights to each component of the score. Colleges can score a maximum of 20 points for “disruptive conduct” and “administrative support” each, but only 10 for “openness,” and 3 for “institutional neutrality.” “Relatively straightforward codings of ‘objective’ university

policies are mixed up with ‘subjective’ perceptual measures, risking counting apples and oranges,” Norris wrote. (Weiss wrote that the rankings create a “holistic evaluation” of speech climates.)

Yet experts also said the FIRE rankings may provide the best polling available on campus speech across time and between universities.

“I don’t imagine any other kind of conscientious poll doing a lot better,” said Donald A. Downs, an emeritus professor of political science at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jeff A. Snyder, a professor at Carleton College and an education historian, added that he found the questions about how often students self-censor particularly compelling.

“A rough cut sense of how pervasive self-censorship is on college campuses is extremely important because it speaks not just to the ability of students to discuss hot button topics and political points of view, but the theory behind a liberal arts education at a place like Harvard,” Snyder said.

Harvard scored 0.17 points above the national average of 12.12 in the self-censorship category.

The State of Academic Freedom

Under intense public scrutiny for its response to antisemitism and protests — in addition to longstanding criticism over its left-leaning faculty — Harvard has launched a flurry of initiatives and centers aimed at improving the climate for speech.

Officials launched both the Intellectual Vitality Initiative at Harvard College and the Harvard Dialogues series to encourage debate and open inquiry. Freshmen are also required to take lessons on civil disagreement in Expository writing classes and complete an online module titled “Perspectives.”

Much to many students’ dismay, in April, Harvard moved to rename its former Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging to the “Community and Campus Life” office — also with a new mission to “give members of our community greater op -

portunities to engage across difference.” Several Harvard offices aimed to support students of color, women, and LGBTQ people have also been closed or rebranded.

All the changes were made prior to FIRE’s 2026 rankings announcement. Stevens, the chief research advisor of FIRE, said that the findings of free speech at Harvard merit a sense of “cautious optimism.”

“I do think Harvard’s handled at least this year and the threats coming from the federal government better than a lot of other similar schools,” Stevens told The Crimson. But the co-presidents of CAFH wrote on Sept. 12 that Harvard maintained a “disturbing state of academic freedom.”

“With due reservations about the numbers (which could be underestimates as readily as they could be overestimates), we believe that they are a cause for soul-searching at Harvard, and an impetus to reform our policies and our culture,” the faculty members wrote of the FIRE survey results. “Taken together, the numbers suggest that Harvard students do not belong to a community that encourages listening, learning, and engaging with opinions that differ from their preconceptions.”

Harvard is also one of 167 schools who received an F grade from FIRE. Amna Khalid, a professor at Carleton College and an academic freedom researcher, said the University’s specific ranking matters less than the broader failings chronicled by the survey.

“Yes, Harvard in these rankings comes particularly low, but most swimmers in this pool are swimming poorly,” she said. Jonathan L. Zimmerman, a professor and historian of education at the University of Pennsylvania, added that the FIRE rankings — regardless of their flaws — draw public attention to questions of free speech in a way that universities listen to. “If somebody wants to question the measure, question the measure. I’m all for that,” Zimmerman said. “But don’t lose the forest for the trees.”

VICTORIA CHEN — CRIMSON DESIGNER

Pippa Norris Harvard Kennedy School comparative politics lecturer

Harvard’s Climate Report Is Nowhere To Be Seen

treaty adopted in 2015. HMC made its commitment in 2020, months after the Trump administration announced intent to withdraw from the accord.

In his second term, President Donald J. Trump withdrew a second time from the Paris Agreement, gutted the Environmental Protection Agency’s research arm, and called climate change “the greatest

Harvard Management Company has not published its annual climate report six months after its expected release, and officials won’t say whether Harvard will continue providing annual updates on its progress in achieving net-zero endowment emissions by 2050.

The report, released every year since 2021, includes updates on the endowment’s climate-related investments, HMC’s carbon-neutral operations, and a holistic net-zero assessment. While HMC has provided an update on its emission reduction progress in either February or March each year, the 2025 report has not come out.

“HMC remains committed to achieving a net zero portfolio by 2050 and we look forward to providing an update on our progress in due course,” HMC spokesperson Patrick S. McKiernan wrote in a statement, declining to comment on the delay.

In April, McKiernan wrote that he was “not sure if there’s a date set yet” in response to a request for comment on the initial delay from The Crimson. Harvard’s endowment was the first in the U.S. to commit to carbon neutrality, and its pledge reflected the timeline determined by the Paris Agreement, the landmark climate

con job ever perpetuated” in a speech to the United Nations on Tuesday.

Trump is also pursuing an extending campaign to punish Harvard financially for its response to antisemitism on campus. In addition to a new 8 percent endowment tax, Harvard and the White House are currently engaged in a legal battle over international student enrollment and billions in federal funding.

Climate advocates opposed to HMC’s inaction around the climate report claimed that it fits a larger trend of the University making several quiet concessions to the White House, even as it continues to battle the administration on legal and financial grounds.

Jasmine N. Wynn ’27, the co-founder of Harvard’s Sunrise Movement — formerly known as Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard—called HMC’s inac -

tion “shameful” but unsurprising in a statement.

“HMC not releasing their climate report is disappointing, but I can’t say I’m surprised given larger rollbacks on policies deemed to be more progressive across Harvard’s schools,” Wynn, a member of The Crimson’s Editorial Board, wrote.

“Transparency is a bare minimum for any institution and it is shameful that Harvard is obscuring their decisions for likely political reasons,” she added.

But James K. Hammitt ’78, an environmental economics professor at Harvard’s School of Public Health, said the report had become less important in the face of other financial pressures.

“Given everything else going on at Harvard and in the world,

even the climate world, the lack of a report this year does not seem too important,” Hammitt wrote.

When Harvard first pledged to enact a carbon-neutral investment portfolio, then-Uni -

It is shameful that Harvard is obscuring their decision for likely political reasons.

versity President Lawrence S. Bacow described climate change as “a defining issue of our time.”

Citing a commitment to “prepare for and accelerate the necessary transition to a fossil fuel-free economy,” in its announcement, HMC promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions “across the value chain.”

Over the next four years, HMC reported incremental progress toward its 2050 net-zero goal in its annual reports. Its 2024 Climate Report — covering the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023—outlined a continued decline in legacy fossil-fuel holdings to below two percent of the endowment and a modest increase in “climate transition” investments to just over one percent.

HMC linked partnerships with CDP, an international nonprofit that pushes companies to disclose climate data; Ceres,

LGBTQ Student Groups Host Funeral To Mourn QuOffice

ed resources for LGBTQ students, a title that was removed for the 2025-26 academic year.

Two LGBTQ student groups, the Harvard Undergraduate Queer Advocates and the Queer Students Association, gathered in Cambridge Common this Friday to mourn the recently closed Office of BGLTQ Student Life.

Harvard College shuttered the “QuOffice,” which had served as a resource center and community space in Thayer Hall’s basement for LGBTQ Harvard students since 2012, in July as part of a wave of diversity office closures amid the Trump administration’s campaign to brand diversity, equity, and inclusion programs illegal. The College incorporated the QuOffice’s staff into a new center within the Office of Culture and Community, alongside staff from the former Women’s Center and the Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations. But students said the loss of the QuOffice’s rooms, which are now available for student groups to book for events, and resources dedicated to LGBTQ students was disappointing.

“The death of the QuOffice is so much more than the loss of a physical space to be in community together,” said Amber M. Simons ’26, co-director of HUQAD, in a speech at the Cambridge Common event. “It represents the silencing and erasure of queer voices.” More than 75 students gathered in the park to listen to speeches from former undergraduate QuOffice interns and resident tutors who used to serve as dedicat-

“It meant a lot to me and to many people in our community to have physical recognition for our space,” Hannah L. Niederriter ’26, HUQAD’s co-director, said in a speech. “I met some of my dearest friends through the QuOffice, and I was so fortunate to have found a place that encouraged me to embrace my queer identity loudly.”

Kevin B. Holden ’05 — a former BGLTQ tutor who advises an entryway in Kirkland House — called the QuOffice’s closing “disgraceful,” but in its absence, he encouraged LGBTQ students to build their own “families” on campus. “Be together, find community,” he said. “Solidarity is now more important than ever, and it’s definitely possible for us to find that on our own.”

Katie B. Kohn, a resident tutor at Quincy House, said in a speech that she would continue to use Harvard’s resources to support LGBTQ students — even if Harvard would no longer attach the word to its materials.

“Under the umbrella of Culture and Community, we are going to keep creating spaces for queer joy, for folks to be together, and we’re going to keep spending Culture and Community money on gay shit,” Kohn said. After this article’s publication, Kohn objected to the inclusion of her remarks, writing that her comments were “included without her knowledge or consent” and misconstrued her stance on the breadth of OCC programming. Dressed in all black and wearing what she described as a

“Southern widow hat,” Caroline Light — the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Women, Gender, and Sexuality — ended the funeral with a “eulogy” for the QuOffice.

“Our QuOffice, as we’ve heard, was far from perfect, but it was beloved by many,” Light said. “It stood for something powerful: the radical idea that LGBTQ+ students deserve not just to survive at Harvard, but to find community — to find care and joy.”

“Now, as we lower the rainbow flag at half-mast, we breathe a gaping hole in our campus community,” she added. “While the QuOffice may be gone, queer students remain as loud, fabulous, and stubbornly visible as ever. May the memory of the QuOffice be a blessing and an inspiration to us, and may its ghost continue to haunt those who would mistake cowardice for neutrality.”

Student organizers then invited attendees to write notes on rainbow-colored paper cranes and drop them into a coffin with the words “RIP” inscribed onto its lid.

“It is said that if you get a thousand paper cranes together, you can make a wish,” Niederriter said. “So we hope that the queer community will continue to thrive here with the wishes of all of you today.”

According to Ellis W. Schroeder ’29, a board member of HUQAD, the group plans to display the paper cranes as a public art installation on campus.

“It’s a way for people to reconcile with the loss, and then also create a sense of hope,” Schroeder said in an interview at the funeral. “You can create so many, and

it can really be a symbol of a community amalgamating and coming together.”

Some funeral attendees had never been to the QuOffice before.

“The fact that it’s not here now and we’re entering as first-years — that’s the normal,” Mark C. Snekvik ’29 said in an interview at the event. “So it doesn’t really feel like a loss, but it’s interesting hearing how for so many students, this was their safe space.”

Celina E. Varchausky ’28 said the QuOffice was a lifeline.

“My first semester, I spent nearly every single day in the QuOffice,” she said. “I was looking forward to it, and when I found out the news that that wouldn’t be possible, it was just really devastating.”

Some students said the loss of the QuOffice was a symbolic blow, but that the office itself had its limitations.

“We ran out of snacks too quickly. We got burnout trying to drive institutional change, and oftentimes we felt sad that we were confined to a basement that didn’t have much sunlight,” Niederriter said.

Steven T. Hall-Nunez ’28 said after the funeral that he was “sad about the QuOffice,” but its closure was not his most pressing concern.

“I’m much more scared of the fact that I’m trans, and if I lose my passport, I can’t get another one with my gender marker right,” he said. “That is way more terrifying than not having a space with some free coffee and printing in the basement.”

a coalition advocating for sustainable business practices; and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, which develops industry-specific sustainability reporting standards. HMC also aligned with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and Climate Action 100+, a global investor network pressing the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters to take action on climate change. All of HMC’s publicly listed partners and collaborators on past reports declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment on whether HMC had contacted them regarding the 2025 report.

Jasmine N. Wynn ’27 Harvard Sunrise Movement Co-Founder

What Happened to HBS $25 Million Racial Equity Plan?

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. The plan was apparently shuttered.

BY EVAN H.C. EPSTEIN AND GRAHAM W. LEE

Harvard Business School won’t say what happened to its $25 million Racial Equity Action Plan after the plan was apparently shuttered as Harvard backs away from the language of race and diversity.

The plan was established in 2020 following years of complaints about a lack of diversity at the Business School, where Black students were underrepresented in classrooms and featured in only 5 percent of the case studies used in HBS classes.

But five years later, as the Trump administration targets diversity programming and Harvard removes mentions of race from its offices and public materials, HBS has indicated that the Racial Equity Action Plan was discontinued and taken down the plan’s website.

In an interview published in August by the Business School’s press office, HBS Chief Community and Culture Officer Terrill L. Drake gave few specifics when asked about the plan’s future.

“We will continue to incorporate the intention behind the plan in our efforts. But our aspiration has always been bigger,”

Drake said.

“Any initiative that’s designed only for one group inevitably leads others to ask about how the School can recognize and support them,” he added.

“We want to maintain the true spirit of the Racial Equity Action Plan, but also broaden it so that everyone across the community sees how the OCC supports who they are and what they bring to the School.”

The action plan’s website now redirects to the homepage of the Office of Community and Culture, which itself was renamed from the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion in August.

Harvard Business School spokesperson Mark Cautela declined to comment on a detailed list of questions from The Crimson, including whether HBS would continue to pursue the commitments made under the Racial Equity Action Plan, how funding previously dedicated to the plan would be used, the name and goals of the broader initiative mentioned by Drake, and who would lead the initiative. When the Racial Equity Action Plan was launched in September 2020, the Business School touted it as a point of pride and a necessary reckoning. Its dean at the time, Nitin Nohria, said in a press release that it “reflects our highest aspirations for the School and the role it can play in business and society.”

The plan began with a commitment from Nohria to spend $25 million in HBS money over 10 years and “seek additional support from donors to sustain the plan over time,” according to the press release.

Cautela declined to comment on how much of the $25 million had been spent before the plan’s apparent closure and where any remaining funds would be allocated. He also declined to answer questions on whether the plan had received donor funding and where unspent contributions would now be directed.

Under the plan, HBS committed to an ambitious series of goals — including recruiting Black and other underrepresented minority faculty, diversifying the characters in its curriculum, and better informing its students on how to promote racial equity both on campus and in the business world at large.

Between 2020 and 2025, the percentage of Black faculty at HBS hovered between three and five percent, according to an archived page on the Racial Equity Action Plan website. The percentage of Black staff has hovered between four and five percent between that same period of time.

It is not clear whether HBS increased its hiring of minority faculty in the years since the plan was adopted. The percentage of new reported Black and Asian hires did not systematically increase, and the number of total hires fluctuated year-to-

year, with the race of some hires reported as “unknown.”

Under the plan, HBS also created and funded visiting faculty positions for scholars who study race, diversity, inequality, and climate change, hosting 13 scholars over the course of three years through their BiGS Fellowship. The school also established a fellowship program called RISE that gave two-year, $20,000 grants to admitted students for their service to “marginalized communities of color.”

Cautela, the HBS spokesperson, did not comment on whether the two programs would continue. Both the BiGS and RISE websites are still active, though RISE is now targeted toward students based on their service to “under-resourced communities.”

The plan also committed HBS to “supporting the development and dissemination of research and course material that advances racial equity in business.” In the school’s catalogue of case studies, the percent of Black protagonists increased from 5 to 8 percent between 2020 and 2023, but dropped to 2 percent in 2024.

HBS also committed to collaborations with several third-party organizations as part of the action plan. In 2021, the school announced a partnership with the OneTen Initiative, which was founded by a coalition of companies that planned to collectively hire or promote one million Black workers over

the course of 10 years. The initiative has changed its mission as DEI fell into disfavor and now describes itself as a “coalition of 60+ companies creating economic mobility for skilled talent without four-year degrees.”

The HBS and OneTen collaboration was intended to aid the Business School in its research, bolster its publicly available educational tools such as HBS Online and Harvard Business Publishing, and create case studies to use in the school’s curriculum, according to an HBS press release from 2021. Cautela declined to comment on whether the collaboration was ongoing, and a spokesperson from OneTen did not respond to comment. HBS also announced in 2020 it would step up support for and faculty engagement with The PhD Project, a nonprofit that tried to develop pipelines for minority students into business school. Several universities cut ties with the group this spring after it became a focal point in Republicans’ anti-DEI campaign. Cautela declined to comment on the status of the collaboration, and representatives of the PhD Project did not respond to requests for comment.

Over the plan’s lifespan, it accumulated a 25-member task force and 44 additional members. Of the members who could be reached for comment, all declined to comment or did not respond to The Crimson’s inquiries.

Under the plan, HBS promised to take steps to ensure “meaningful, measurable progress” toward its goals, outlining plans for an internal dashboard as well as establishing a Board of Advisors to track the school’s progress towards racial equity. The advisory board included two members of the University’s highest governing board, the Harvard Corporation: Kenneth I. Chenault, a former chair and CEO of American Express, and former Merck

evan.epstein@thecrimson.com graham.lee@thecrimson.com

Surprise WGS Tenure Denial Leaves Some Faculty Shaken

Mitra is a historian by training with expertise in feminist political thought, intellectual history, and sexuality studies. Her first book, “Indian Sex Life: Sexuality and the Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought,” demonstrated how British officials and Indian intellectuals produced ideas about “deviant female sexuality” that shaped Indian society — and how these ideas were foundational to modern political theory.

“She is like a real archive rat,” said History professor Kirsten A. Weld, a scholar of Latin America.

“The depth of the research and the fidelity to the sources and the way that she’s able to pull insights out of reading her archival materials, both along and against the grain — it’s really extraordinary.”

Mitra also has a book deal with Princeton University Press to publish a second major work: “The Future That Was: A History of Third World Feminism Against Authoritarianism.”

When Mitra was promoted from assistant to associate professor in April 2022, Robert Reid-Pharr, the WGS chair at the time, heaped praise on her teaching and research.

“To be absolutely blunt, it is much easier to speak about your strengths than your weaknesses. Your history of research, writing, and publication is exemplary,” Reid-Pharr wrote in Mitra’s promotion letter. “We very much look forward to working with you in both WGS and the larger Harvard community for years to come.”

‘At Such a Total Loss’

Mitra’s work, alongside her administrative experience leading the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, made faculty who knew her confident that she would face

little difficulty securing tenure when she applied in late May 2024. And she seemed to easily clear early hurdles in the process. The tenure process for appointments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences begins at the departmental level, where faculty members in a candidate’s department evaluate the candidate and vote on whether to advance them to the next round. Mitra passed the departmental vote.

Next, her case was sent to the Committee on Appointments and Promotions, an FAS-wide committee chaired by FAS Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra that evaluates tenure applications. Reviews of her scholarship from external faculty were overwhelmingly positive, according to two people, and the committee greenlit Mitra for tenure in October 2024.

CAP specifically recommended Mitra receive tenure without an ad hoc review, a process that allows Harvard’s president to convene another committee of scholars to reevaluate cases approved by CAP, according to two people familiar with the situation.

But that recommendation was not followed. In March 2025, Mitra’s case was sent to an ad hoc committee, chaired by Harvard Provost John F. Manning ’82. It is unclear who exactly convened the ad hoc committee, and why. Manning held ad hoc reviews last year to become familiar with the process because he was new to the role of provost, according to the person. Then, roughly three months later in June, the University informed Mitra that her application for tenure had been denied. The notification came one week after Harvard’s Commencement ceremonies, and more than a year after Mitra submitted her application for tenure.

“In twenty-three years at Harvard and fifteen as a tenured professor, I have seen a lot of tenure cases. While there have been other denials I was sorry to hear about, I have never been at such a total loss to explain Harvard’s decision,” said History professor Mary D. Lewis wrote in an emailed statement.

Jasanoff put it bluntly: “I was absolutely flabbergasted.”

Harvard’s tenure system, especially the ad hoc process, has long drawn criticism from faculty as unnecessarily opaque and overly centralized around the University’s president. In recent years, several high-profile tenure denials have stirred up controversy about the system. Last year, Saul Noam Zaritt, then Harvard’s only tenure-track Yiddish professor, accused the University of procedural mistakes in his tenure review process after his tenure was denied. And in 2019, the denial of tenure to Lorgia García Peña, a Romance Languages and Literatures professor and ethnic studies scholar, sparked fierce backlash from faculty and students. (García Peña is now a full professor at Princeton University.)

Mitra’s case, which multiple faculty said they believed was among the most egregious tenure denials they had ever seen, has already added to growing concerns about the fairness and accuracy of Harvard’s tenure system.

“I, for example, no longer feel confident in the robustness of our tenure-track system,” Jasanoff said. “I just think it throws the future into doubt for our tenure-track faculty and their prospects of getting tenure.”

Weld, the History professor who studies Latin America, said that Mitra had been offered tenure at other top universities, but that Weld and other colleagues had advised her to stay on Harvard’s ten-

ure track given her strong academic record. In the aftermath of Mitra’s tenure denial, Weld said, she would make a different suggestion if approached by another junior faculty member with job offers elsewhere.

“I will never again give that advice to a tenure track faculty member. If a tenure track faculty member gets an outside offer, I will tell them to take it,” Weld said. “I have been put in a position where I cannot accurately and with integrity mentor junior faculty about what they need to do in order to have a viable tenure case.”

An Uncertain Future for WGS Mitra has been a prolific instructor for the WGS program.

Last semester, she taught two core courses for the committee: its junior tutorial on research methods and WOMGEN 1426: “The Sexual Life of Colonialism.” She was set to teach another course, on feminist theory, this fall.

But that course, WOMGEN 1210FT: “Feminist Theories of Difference,” was canceled over the summer. And her departure will force the WGS committee to turn to other faculty to teach key courses students need to receive a degree from the committee.

Mitra’s tenure denial is at least the second time that the University has blocked WGS from keeping or onboarding faculty. In March 2025, the WGS committee attempted to hire Columbia University professor C. Riley Snorton — a prominent cultural theorist with expertise in racial, sexual, and transgender history who was then tenured at the University of Chicago — to join the program with a tenured appointment.

But the hiring process was shut down by Harvard administrators. It remains unclear why Snorton was denied a spot at Harvard. Both Snorton and Newton, the Harvard

spokesperson, declined to comment on the matter. Both cases occurred at a moment when the field of women, gender, and sexuality studies has come under intensifying scrutiny from conservative critics, who claim the field lacks intellectual rigor. Mitra’s spring course, WOMGEN 1426, was the subject of a January article in the conservative media website Campus Reform, which draws attention — and often harassment — to the academics it accuses of “leftist bias and abuse.” Some universities’ boards of trustees have voted to shutter decades-old gender studies programs. Brown University, meanwhile, recently adopted the Trump administration’s preferred definition of gender as binary, a classification many gender studies scholars view as inaccurate. Harvard administrators have not criticised the WGS program and have said emphatically that they will defend the University’s

freedom to make its own academic and hiring decisions. But on campus, there has been a significant shift away from administrative programming on race and gender as the University closes down diversity offices and scrubs references to DEI from public facing websites. The changes at Harvard and beyond have caused many WGS affiliates to worry about the future of their program. And the denial of Mitra’s tenure application has only heightened that sense of alarm.

“In this context of closing the women’s office, the LGBTQ office, and in the context of Brown capitulating on understandings of gender, it’s hard not to imagine that a tenure decision about a star scholar in the WGS program would not have also been influenced by this political moment,” said Viterna, the WGS chair.

veronica.paulus@thecrimson.com

SARAH G. ERICKSON

Harvard Hires New Jewish Studies Faculty

RELIGION. The University will add three tenured professors to Jewish Studies to fill faculty vacancies.

Harvard is on track to add three tenured professors to its ranks in Jewish Studies to address a series of retirements and faculty vacancies that threatened the program’s future. Of the University’s 10 endowed professorships in Jewish Studies, three remain vacant and two are being filled by assistant professors. The rest will likely become vacant over the next decade, according to Derek Penslar, director of Harvard’s Center for Jewish Studies.

“The consequences are potentially quite grim,” Penslar said. “I’d say five years from now, it could be that if we don’t hire and replace faculty who are retiring, have retired, or who have left for other reasons, that really we would have lost all of our central faculty in Jewish studies.” According to Penslar, the University has extended an offer for the Jacob E. Safra Professor of Jewish History and Sephardic Civilization position to a current visiting professor. Searches for two other endowed professorships are ongoing.

The professorship searches began after a Harvard task force on antisemitism recommended that the University fill vacancies in tenured faculty positions

The

affiliated with the Center for Jewish Studies. The open tenured positions are funded through endowed chairs, which allows the University to fill them even with an active hiring freeze. The task force, co-chaired by Penslar, also recommended that the University expand its academic offerings in the study of Jewish civilization and antisemitism. In an update released earlier this month, Harvard officials offered several steps they had taken to follow the recommenda-

tions, including adding new Harvard Divinity School and Faculty of Arts and Sciences courses on Jewish and Israeli history and antisemitism.

Beyond the tenured ranks for Jewish Studies, Harvard hired Ido Ben Harush, a new college fellow in Modern Jewish Thought, and Shaul Magid, a professor of Modern Jewish Studies in residence. The decision to hire Magid immediately came under fire in June due to his public stance as a “counter-Zionist.”

Harvard Librarian Fighting to Make E-Books More Accessible

BY SOPHIE GAO AND ALEXANDRA M. KLUZAK CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

For the past five years, Kyle K. Courtney, who directs copyright and information policy for Harvard’s libraries, has fought to make e-books more accessible to public libraries across the United States.

Most e-books have digital rights management software that means, like print books, they can only be checked out by one person at a time. But unlike print books, which can sit on library shelves for decades, e-books are often sold on time-limited contracts — meaning public libraries must buy them again after several years or, in some cases, several months. The costs can add up quickly.

We can’t check out our books. We can’t preserve them. We can’t keep them. We can’t check them out without having to pay.

Courtney, a lawyer by trade, believes that the strict contract terms are “undermining every library’s mission across the United States.”

“We can’t own our books. We can’t preserve them. We can’t keep them. We can’t check them out without having to pay for the same book over and over and over,” Courtney said. “And that’s problematic for collection development, for access, for budget, for all sorts of things.”

Courtney leads a nonprofit called the eBook Study Group that lobbies state governments to adapt e-book contract regulations to reflect existing consumer and contract law. Since its 2020 inception, it has successfully lobbied the Connecticut state legislature to prohibit libraries from buying e-books whose contracts limit both time and number of checkouts. The goal is to drive down demand for shortterm e-book contracts and force

publishers to offer e-books to libraries on better terms.

The Connecticut law won’t take effect until at least one other state passes a similar law. Related bills are now under consideration in Massachusetts, Illinois, and New Jersey legislatures.

Courtney’s efforts have gained some traction in several other states as well — and drawn coverage in both the Boston Globe and the New York Times. But changing the law may not be easy. Some publishers and authors say that if it’s too easy to check out e-books from libraries, individual consumers will stop buying e-books for themselves. That could cut into publishers’ bottom lines and authors’ pay, according to industry groups.

Many librarians, though, think e-book contracts have become exploitative.

The “Big Five” publishers — a group whose titles account for around 60 percent of book sales in the United States — frequently sell their books to libraries on two-year leases that must be rebought at the end of the term. The leases, according to Courtney, can cost up to $100 per term, while the same book might cost a consumer only $10 to own in perpetuity.

Moreover, wait times for popular e-books can last up to two to six months. This means that under the current lease model, only a few patrons can access the book before the library must renew the lease, according to Michael L. Blackwell, who directs St. Mary’s County Library in Maryland and heads the ReadersFirst working group, another e-book advocacy group that collaborates with the eBook Study Group.

Blackwell said the costs can make his library system reluctant to take chances on e-books by newer authors and independent publishers, even though those publishers typically sell e-books under more generous contracts.

“Unlike in print, where we can have a really broad and a very diverse collection, in e-books, it’s kind of remaining more a boutique collection of just primarily well-known and best-selling titles,” Blackwell said.

David Leonard, the president of the Boston Public Library, said

regulation of e-book contracts is necessary because publishers currently hold a “monopoly” on distribution rights, making it difficult for libraries to secure fair deals.

“In many cases, they hold many of the cards, and I think with the backing of consumer protection legislation — after all, libraries are consumers — we do buy and we will continue to buy from publishers,” he said. “But equally, we are protecting our patrons, who are the ultimate consumers of these works.”

Ellen Paul — the executive director of the Connecticut Public Library Consortium, which helped adapt the language of the eBook Study Group’s proposed bill to Connecticut’s legal system — said she hopes taking the libraries’ cause to the legislature will succeed where informal efforts have foundered.

“We were forced to because libraries have been buying e-books for over 20 years, and the terms, the conditions, the pricing, got worse every year, and these vendors, these publishers, wouldn’t come to the negotiating table,” she said.

Courtney said his group is not seeking to take money away from

Libraries have been buying e-books for over 20 years, and the terms, the conditions, the pricing, got worse every year,

Ellen

Paul CPLC executive director

publishers.

“If a library has $500,000 to spend on e-books, they will spend $500,000 on e-books,” he said. “It’s just the difference — instead of just getting fifty books, maybe we could get a thousand books for the same.”

“So that’s the hope, that the publishers will stop resisting this,” Courtney added. “Their mission is different than that of libraries. They care about the next fiscal quarter. Libraries care about the next 100 years.”

Magid said in an interview that he was not hired for his political beliefs.

“My politics were never mentioned,” he said.

In response to the blowback over the summer, more than 20 Israeli scholars in Jewish Studies signed a letter in support of Magid.

“While some of us may not share Professor Magid’s political vision, we firmly reject the notion that his views disqualify him from a university position,” they

wrote. “In fact, many of his critiques are not dissimilar from positions expressed within Israeli academia itself.”

A University spokesperson declined to comment beyond directing a reporter for The Crimson to the professors’ letter and to an official announcement of Magid’s appointment posted to the HDS website in June.

The University also remains under heightened scrutiny from the Trump administration, which regularly cites antisem-

itism as a justification for a series of federal investigations into Harvard under Title VI. There is no official Jewish Studies department at the University. Instead, the Center for Jewish Studies coordinates Harvard’s many academic offerings in Jewish Studies, including sponsoring visiting professors and offering fellowships and scholarships for students. The Center for Jewish Studies does not sponsor full professorships — all positions in the field are held within specific departments, primarily in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations department. As Harvard rebuilds the Jewish Studies field, Penslar said the broader field of study has shifted from a primary focus on theology to incorporating many different disciplines, including history and the social sciences. He added that Harvard has historically been “slow to catch up” with the rate of change within the field.

Even after the hiring of Ben Harush and Magid, Penslar said Harvard will need to continue searches to keep core tenured positions filled, as several tenured professors in the field near retirement within the decade.

“Nothing can really substitute for a tenured appointment,” Penslar said. “Someone who will be at Harvard for a very long time, someone hopes, and who can contribute to the University substantively and systematically over a long period of time.”

sebastian.connolly@thecrimson.com

julia.karabolli@thecrimson.com

MethaneSAT Went Dark. What’s Next for Its Harvard

BY DANIELLE J. IM AND NEERAJA S. KUMAR CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

In March 2024, a state-of-theart methane-detecting satellite — the product of nearly a decade of work in Harvard labs — soared into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But a year later, MethaneSAT lost power in space, and its stream of data on emissions of the potent greenhouse gas went dark. For scientists who worked on MethaneSAT, the moment was devastating.

“I was very saddened,” said Kelly Chance, a Harvard physicist who helped develop MethaneSAT’s spectroscopy tools. “We hoped for a long lifetime.”

But even with their satellite out of commission, the MethaneSAT team has work ahead. Scientists involved in the project said it will take them until next year to process the information collected by the satellite. And even though they hoped to walk away with more than 14 months of data, their research may continue to pave the way for new discoveries.

The MethaneSAT project was born in 2015 out of a collaboration between scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Environmental Defense Fund, the New Zealand Space Agency, and the Wofsy Lab at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period in the atmosphere, and scientists estimate that it has contributed to around 30 percent of global warming.

Because methane has a shorter lifespan in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, driving down methane emissions is an appealing target for climate policymakers. But there’s a catch: methane is often emitted from small point sources, like farms and leaky oil or gas wells, which can be hard for scientists to detect.

Detecting emissions sources — and replacing outdated data — is where MethaneSAT came in.

“In the early 2000s and 2010 timeframe, there was a lot of discussion about how much methane was emitted from the oil and gas value chain, and these

Scientists?

numbers were based on obsolete measurements and obsolete measurement methods,” said Steven C. Wofsy, a professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Science and head of the Wofsy Greenhouse Gases and Biosphere-Atmosphere Exchange Group.

“Methane emissions to the atmosphere never provide useful economic return, and they’re always essentially wasting a resource,” Wofsy added. “So that made an attractive target.”

Wofsy began work on the project when the Environmental Defense Fund reached out to his lab to learn more about how methane could be measured from space. He pulled together colleagues from the Center for Astrophysics, who had been developing the CFA’s TEMPO satellite to analyze global air quality. The TEMPO work had been paused, meaning CFA scientists were eager to take on MethaneSAT, too.

“It was like the best possible luck you can imagine,” Wofsy said. “Here’s a whole science team that’s all skilled, all trained. They know exactly what to do.”

When MethaneSAT began monitoring emissions from space, scientists got a historic new look at methane pollution. For the first time, they could observe methane emissions across dispersed sources and at a global scale. And they could tell that major oil and gas basins, from Utah to Appalachia, were leaking methane at levels many times higher than limits the industry had agreed to.

“It operated for 14 months,” Wofsy said. “And we have an incredible amount of beautiful data over that 14 months — a small fraction of what we should have had or hoped to have, but still an amazing amount.”

Still, without MethaneSAT, researchers will no longer be able to continuously monitor methane emissions — dealing a blow to a program that emphasized the value of regular detection.

Without their own satellite, some of the scientists behind MethaneSAT are planning to use the algorithms they developed to help analyze data from other satellite missions, according to CFA researcher Xiong Liu. And the MethaneSAT team

is still gathering new data using older equipment. Before MethaneSAT launched, the project also used a similar technology, mounted on airplanes and called MethaneAIR, that zoomed in on emissions from specific regions. The instrument served as proof of concept for MethaneSAT and continues to provide valuable data in its own right.

“MethaneAIR was the precursor, and now I guess it’s also the post-cursor,” Jacob B.H. Bushey, a PhD student at Wofsy’s lab, said. “It continues to collect data even after MethaneSAT is no longer doing so.”

MethaneAIR first flew on a chartered Learjet in 2023, and more scans are underway.

“We conducted some test flights from the Colorado-Utah region just last week,” said Liu on Thursday. “Now we’re doing the science flights in Texas, covering the Delaware Basin.” Though MethaneAIR can collect data from the same area multiple times a day at a high spatial resolution — unlike MethaneSAT, which collected data for many days on end but only once a day at a specific time — its scope is limited to Canada, the U.S., and possibly Mexico.

“MethaneAIR can only go where we can fly an airplane,” Wofsy said. “We’re very interested in the emissions in Uzbekistan and Russia and places like that. We haven’t been able to secure invitations to bring our airplane to those places, and we will not.” Researchers still hope to send another satellite into space, but the costs to build and launch it present a major obstacle. For now, they hope the data from MethaneSAT’s 14-month run will help them prove the project is worth it.

“MethaneSAT 2, that’d be terrific,” said Chance, who is now retired. But the future of the project may not be at Harvard. Wofsy said that after his retirement in several years, MethaneSAT “will potentially migrate from Harvard to somewhere else.”

“But that would just be changing from one university to another,” he said.

Harvard Exists for One Reason and One Reason Only

BY BENJAMIN ISAAC

Harvard means a lot of things to a lot of people.

To some, it represents a school outside of a city on a hill: a shining beacon representing the pinnacle of American excellence. To others, it’s more like build-a-brahmin: a gateway to the American elite. And let us not forget Harvard’s status as the Kremlin on the Charles — a hotbed of radical lunatics radicalizing lunatics to-be.

But Harvard’s beauty is not in the eye of its beholder. It’s a school. And as we navigate the seemingly endless controversies on campus, it would do us good to treat it as such — particularly as we struggle over who gets to attend it. Harvard, as an institution of higher education, exists for one reason: To promote academic excellence — that is, the pursuit of truth.

How Harvard engages in this mission of perfecting academic excellence therefore ought to be the central metric we use to evaluate campus controversies. If this sounds like common sense, it’s because it is — and yet, it remains durably controversial.

The manner in which Harvard ought to select its student body, for example, has been a matter of contentious dispute for at least the past century. First came the expansion of the meritocratic franchise: The University warmed up to admitting Jews, African Americans, and women. More recently, admissions discourse shifted from focusing on equality in process to equality in outcomes exemplified in roiling debates over race or class-based affirmative action, or even admissions boosts for conservatives or men.

Most recently, Harvard ended its undergraduate minority recruitment program, likely in response to pressure from the Trump administration, who have employed a maximalist interpretation of the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action.

It’s easy for these debates to get lost in differing conceptions of our raison d’être.

For example, some arguments justify affirmative action to rectify historic discrimination against minorities in this country: We ought to give underprivileged minorities a leg up in college admissions because for so long we did the opposite. Another common view is that, especially among the Ivy League, affirmative action is necessary to produce a diverse American elite so that we can achieve diversity among politicians and Fortune 500 CEOs.

COLUMN THE HARVARD CRIMSON

On the other hand, take the argument against

gender integration in the most recent edition of the Salient. The piece argues that integration violates philosophical and theological conceptions of wellbeing, “melding together two fundamentally different natures and modes of flourishing.”

These modes of flourishing, “fraternitas—or, more properly for the women, sororitas,” are “impossible in a coeducational setting.” Because the university is “charged with the formation of the whole person—integrum hominem,” we must “respect and cultivate these distinct potentials.”

Although argumentation via italicized Latin is alluring, each of these perspectives mistake the fundamental reason Harvard exists. Admission to the University is a rather odd tool for reparations, and it’s neither a vehicle for social engineering nor a mechanism to promote narrow theological conceptions of the good life.

Harvard’s purpose is educational excellence. The case for affirmative action should thus center around this mission. In my view, diverse classrooms, labs, and departments are ones better

equipped to discover the truth, because they draw from the full range of human talent. Reasonable people can debate this claim, without straying from an interpretation of the College’s goals as being fundamentally truth-seeking. Similarly, the case for gender integration rather than a separate-but-equal system (beyond the fact that a segregated system has never achieved equality) is that women make Harvard better at its core mission. A Harvard in which men and women do not compare notes on H. pylori, bicker over immigration law, or work to comprehend a passage of Kant would be one that is worse at achieving academic excellence — its sine qua non.

Grounding our arguments around the core principle of academic excellence doesn’t solve them a priori, but it does transform them from intractable normative questions to useful empirical ones. It would be surprising if one could talk Robin DiAngelo out of the need for affirmative action to address systemic racism, or Chris Rufo out of

Can Harvard Cure Science’s Mistrust Epidemic?

BY AMBIKA GROVER

Recent cases of scientific misconduct have raised alarms across the Harvard community. Yet the real issue at stake runs deeper than isolated breaches of integrity.

In 2021, a group of scientist-bloggers published a series of findings that would propel the discussion of scientific misconduct mainstream at Harvard. The researchers, alongside anonymous colleagues, alerted the University that the then-Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino had co-authored several research papers in which the data appeared to have been suspiciously entered and manipulated.

What has followed is a stubborn fight amid

mounting evidence against the researcher. In 2023, Gino was placed on administrative leave and barred from campus. In 2025, her tenure was revoked, and her employment formally terminated.

This past August, Harvard sued the former professor for defamation, citing her previous defense, which referenced evidence Harvard said was conjured “out of thin air.”

The Gino case, alongside the allegations of scientific misconduct against HMS neuroscientist Khaled Shah, should operate as a reminder that misconduct can persist at all levels of power in the absence of scrutiny. But we ought not view these situations through the lens of individual motive.

Blatant cases of deliberate fraud are, in fact, rare; they exist as bad apples rather than part of an inherently flawed system of academics with poor

incentives. Instead, it is much more important to consider the case in light of what came before: the rise of the metascientific process that made the misconduct visible in the first place.

Metascience, at its core, is the systematic study of how science is done. It aims to answer a variety of questions on how scientists should interpret and treat both evidence and the quest for scientific truth. For example, in the context of preclinical cancer biology, many drug targets appeared effective in early cell or mouse studies but failed to replicate when other labs tried to repeat the experiments. Metascience steps in to ask why. Were the original studies based on too few samples, were only the exciting positive results published, or do we need stronger practices — like sharing raw data or preregistering experiments — to better judge

the opposite conviction. But it’s possible we may achieve some degree of mutual understanding in a discussion about how to balance meritocratic considerations with the benefits of diversity to measurable outputs like research and writing. And, despite best efforts at incorporating Latin into the column, it’s probably futile to try to talk the editors of The Salient out of their conceptions of human flourishing. But we may close some ground in an empirical debate about what institutional design would be most conducive to veritas. Although it’s impossible to predict the future, it’s a fair bet that Harvard will remain top of mind in our political debates. As myriad actors seek to impose their political projects onto our campus, it will serve us well to remember our core purpose. Harvard is a school — that much isn’t up for debate.w

–Benjamin Isaac ’27, a Crimson Editorial Editor, is a Government and Economics concentrator in Quincy House.

what findings are truly reliable?

Metascience has been around for decades. Organizations like the Center for Open Science have advocated for increased transparency in the research process, while other institutions like the Research on Research Institute apply the scientific method to study how research itself is conducted, funded, and managed.

Data Colada, the blog led by the team of researchers that was responsible for first drawing scrutiny to Gino’s findings, advocates for an analytical approach to published research, using quantitative analysis to examine the methods of particular papers and attempt to replicate their results. At Harvard, scholars across disciplines continue to contribute to University and national research initiatives on this topic, although primarily on an individual faculty or lab level.

It is this rise of metascience that remains the most important takeaway. A recent report found that more than 70 percent of researchers have tried and failed to reproduce another scientist’s experiments, and over half have been unable to reproduce their own results. Given that published papers — of which Harvard is a leading producer — are the backbone for future scientific advancement, metascience is invaluable in guiding the work of future scientists, who could eventually impact the rest of society. So why aren’t we talking more about it?

While Harvard has established measures in place for the specific purpose of identifying research misconduct — including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism — it has done relatively little as an institution to contribute to the discussion on metascience. But adding more red tape, for example, by making it more difficult for researchers to publish, is not the solution. The insurmountable pressure researchers face to publish their work is already burdensome and is appropriately framed as the “publish or perish” mentality. Instead, several alternative measures are worth considering. On the one hand, it is worthwhile to evaluate how we can integrate metascientific inquiry — relevant across the social sciences and the hard sciences — into the classroom. Harvard could embed metascience into General Education Courses, ensuring that they reach as many students as possible. Meanwhile, labs could embed this philosophical thinking into their training, ensuring all members of a particular lab understand metascientific philosophy.

Harvard leads the world in science and in philosophizing on

FRANK S.

EDITORIAL 12

A Lament for the Intellectual Conservative

BY ALLISON P. FARRELL

With the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, conservative college students lost a figurehead in their movement. He was, in many ways, the paradigm of the modern-day campus conservative figure. Kirk engaged in fiery, provocative debate under a banner that read, “Prove me wrong.” He was also a symbol of how far conservatism has strayed from the of conservative thinkers who once represented the movement’s intellectual foundations.

Once defined by deep philosophical engagement, conservative thought on campus today often centers on spectacle and confrontation — a shift that mirrors the changes in conservative political culture in recent years, with growing hostility towards learning itself. At Harvard, this tension plays out in organizations — openly political and otherwise — that imitate or embody conservatism’s ideals.

Although not purely a provocateur, Kirk’s videos — with titles like “Charlie Kirk VS the Washington State Woke Mob” or “Charlie Kirk Hands Out Huge L’s at University of California San Diego” — showed that the primary aim was to score points in a competitive debate, not serious, informed discussion. Kirk was by no means alone in this approach; right-wing speakers like Ben Shapiro have adopted a similar style — fast-paced, combative, and designed more for spectacle than serious discourse. The instinctive appeal of this style is evident — these debates hold similar entertainment value to a sporting match. However, there is something shallow about it; scoring viral points might be fun, but, by its nature, it prioritizes entertainment over intellectual depth and mutual discussion.

Yet, at its best, conservatism, particularly in the academy, offers something crucial to academic debate. It reminds us that not everything in our past need be thrown out. While it is true that some ideas may become outmoded or shown to be inaccurate, conservatism can serve as a vital backstop when we are tempted to throw the baby out with the bathwater. When we think of this intellectual conservatism, figures like Leo Strauss and Roger Scruton come to mind; but, these figures were different from the campus speakers of today. Rather than focusing on handing out “huge L’s” to their opponents, they focused on serious academic study, wrote books on classical philosophy, and brought a unique perspective to academic discourse.

In an era when the American conservative movement has become a hotbed of suspicion and hatred for universities and education, it is no wonder that this older brand of conservative intellectualism has receded from campus life. When the president and

COLUMN

de facto leader of the American conservative movement unleashes attack after attack on our universities, the message is clear. As JD Vance underscored in a speech titled “The Universities are the Enemy,” the right’s stance toward academia has grown increasingly antagonistic.

The problem with this mode of engagement is that it reorients the position of the conservative from one of an intellectual foil to a perpetual antagonist to deeper learning. High shock value debate and material attacks on education position the conservative movement as something outside and opposed to the academy.

At Harvard, there are signs that some students long for this older intellectual conservatism. The Salient — which describes itself as “The Harvard Undergraduate Journal of Conservative Thought,” draws heavily from that tradition. It clearly aims to evoke the heritage of intellectual conservatism, drawing on canonical writers, referencing classical Greek philosophy in high regard, and incorporating religious — particularly Christian — thought. With its use of pseudonyms from great thinkers of yore, it adopts the trappings of old-school conservatism.

But, for good reason, the Salient is met with ire when it arrives in dorm room mailboxes each

month; as much as it wants to be conservatism at its best, it frequently embodies the worst of the contemporary conservative movement: An article in September’s edition derided the “female mode of learning” as the “lowest common denominator” in coeducation. Another drew, verbatim, on the rhetoric of Nazi ideology claiming that the “fraternity” of nations is “rooted” in “blood” and “soil.”

Even the way it presents itself — a clandestine, nocturnal delivery, shrouded in pseudonyms — resembles more the shock-value-oriented, highpaced debating style of famed conservative speakers than the institutionalist, academic-oriented intellectual conservatism of days past. These qualities overshadow its traditionalist surface.

This, however, should not be surprising. In a national political climate where conservatism has defined itself in opposition to the academy and higher education, it is unclear what role a conservative academic has in the conservative movement.

Critics are quick to blame the state of campus discourse on the lack of ideological diversity among faculty, but the reality of the modern day conservative movement suggests that this is not merely a result of ideological bias: conservatism, by and large, seems to have moved on from the academy.

In today’s political world, is there still room for the intellectual conservatism of days long gone? At Harvard, the Abigail Adams Institute stands as an interesting counterpoint to the death of conservative intellectualism. While not explicitly conservative, the Institute is home to much of what is good about this tradition: It hosts seminars (this semester, on Plato’s “Symposium”) and weekly discussions “on the Big Questions of

The Truth Behind Harvard’s Ideological Imbalance

BY HENRY F. HAIDAR

OOut of all the faculty The Crimson recently surveyed, only one percent described their political beliefs as very conservative. Think about that: someone is three times more likely to get into Harvard than to encounter a conservative faculty member here. The figure is so arrestingly low that it has caught the attention of conservative news outlets, with many lamenting the lack of right-leaning perspectives in the nation’s most prominent University.

Much can be — and has been — said in favor of viewpoint diversity in higher education. Yet those decrying the relative lack of conservative faculty overlooks a basic point: The structure of universities themselves lends itself to a professoriate whose politics do not perfectly map on to that of the public writ large. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Instead of thinking critically about why there might be such an imbalance, critics myopically focus on the raw number of conservative versus liberal faculty. From this, they surmise that rampant ideological conformity grips our corner of Cambridge. While it is entirely fair to point to the lack of conservative faculty at Harvard, it does not necessarily follow that the University consistently takes a conscious stance in favor of liberal ideology or that liberal excess pools in classrooms.

I have never had a professor attempt to foist their political views onto their students. In fact, the opposite has been the case: Faculty tend to be very skilled at fostering deep, nuanced discussions about contentious issues in class without betraying their political beliefs. Harvard is a sprawling bureaucratic institution, with some 70 departments and centers in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences alone. These divisions get pretty specialized and include the Center for Nanoscale Systems, the Center for Hellenic Studies, and fields of study for Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights, Medieval Studies, and Folklore and Mythology, just to name a few. It’s safe to say that students have access to many niche — and, in my view, oddly specific — learning experiences that can satisfy practically any intellectual interest.

That’s undoubtedly a good thing; students should be able to explore whatever topic that they want to study. It is by virtue of this specialization, however, that the faculty has such a political slant. Setting aside STEM fields — in which advancements in understanding are more removed from hot-button political issues — two of the main divisions of the FAS, Social Sciences and Arts & Humanities, attract scholars with more progressive

views simply because of the nature of their subjects. For example, areas like English literature, sociology, anthropology, and linguistics frequently analyze topics such as immigration, colonialism, and inequality through a very specific, esoteric lens that can lead to beliefs at odds with those outside progressive politics.

Sociology, for example, emphasizes the impact of someone’s environment on the trajectory of their life and often structuralizes issues that many see as personal faults, such as crime or violence, as issues of society. The lack of emphasis on human agency or ethics is not a very conservative framework.

Other specialized humanities fields are quite

segmented; courses on histories and literatures are frequently divided by culture and tradition, with scholars further dividing fields by gender, sexuality, or class. This sectioning is reminiscent of identity-based politics found in progressive circles, particularly in the identity politics Americans appear to mostly oppose.

Faculty members in these fields, who were so interested in their fields’ analytical frameworks to devote their lives to its study, will likely have progressive tendencies because that is the ideology that most closely aligns with their interests and worldview.

Yet if Harvard were to dispense itself of these types of professors, students would lose a tremendous amount of intellectual opportunities, ulti-

mately limiting viewpoint diversity. Harvard’s overwhelmingly liberal faculty reflects, at least in part, the diverse and extremely hyperfocused specializations the University offers. If Harvard aims to increase its faculty’s viewpoint diversity and hire more conservatives, it must not do so simply for its own sake — that, ironically, could be vulnerable to the same criticisms that conservatives used to pillory so-called unmeritocratic systems like affirmative action. Instead, any potential new faculty members must add to Harvard’s intellectual offerings, regardless of their political beliefs.

–Henry F. Haidar ’28, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Lowell House.

E. MATTEO DIAZ— CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

PAVAN V. THAKKAR— CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Brothel Trial for Paul Toner Mired in Evidence Dispute

BY MATAN H. JOSEPHY AND LAUREL M. SHUGART CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Cambridge City Councilor Paul F. Toner, who faces charges for patronizing a high-end brothel ring, is the only defendant of 34 men who will go to trial. But before Toner’s trial can begin, the case has stalled in front of the court for months as his lawyer demands documents from the federal government investigation.

Toner pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual conduct for a fee, a misdemeanor, at a May 17 hearing. The charges stem from a federal investigation in November 2023, which resulted in the arrest of three ringleaders and the discovery of a “brothel phone” that traced back to 2,800 clients in parts of Cambridge and Washington D.C. suburbs — including Toner.

His lawyer, Timothy R. Flaherty, asked a Cambridge District Court judge to compel the U.S. Attorney’s Office to share the search warrants that led to the discovery of the phone and the apartments Toner is alleged to have visited. Flaherty argued that the search warrant could support the claim that Toner was unfairly singled out in the case, giving him grounds to seek dismissal for selective prosecution. Toner declined to comment.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the three “ringleaders” of the brothel on federal charges earlier this year, chose not to pursue federal charges for the individual clients. Instead, the office referred the cases to local law enforcement.

Out of 2,800 total clients found on the phone, only 34 in Cambridge were named and charged, and Toner was the highest profile individual. The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the pro-

ceedings. David E. Frank, the district court judge overseeing the case, directed the U.S. Attorney’s Office to share the search warrants under a protective order. This limits access to the documents to Toner and Flaherty and prevents dissemination of the documents after the case concludes. The remaining 33 men all agreed to a form of pre-trial probation, which allows them to avoid conviction on charges connected to the brothel but

Experts Skeptical of MGB-CVS Clinics

HEALTH CARE PARTNERSHIP. Mass General Brigham and CVS are proposing adding primary care centers in CVS MinuteClinics, though questions about staffing remain.

BY STEPHANIE DRAGOI AND THAMINI VIJEYASINGAM CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

On a weekday morning before work, a pharma executive, a busy student, and a small business owner all walk into a CVS — not for toothpaste or prescriptions, but for a primary care appointment. With a proposed partnership between Mass General Brigham and CVS that will transform CVS’s retail walk-in clinic MinuteClinics into primary care centers, the scene is not far-fetched. Proponents of the project say it will increase access to low-cost medical services throughout Massachusetts. But some experts are skeptical of the claim, citing the lack of detail in the plan’s logistics.

“If MGB is committed to better primary care access around the state and rural areas, not sure that partnering with CVS is the way to accomplish that,” said Paul Hattis, a senior fellow at the healthcare think tank The Lown Institute.

“It’s nice to have more primary care. But what price are we paying, including additional health care spending?” he added.

The preliminary plans for the MGB and CVS partnerships were filed with the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission in June, against the backdrop of a continuing primary health care crisis in Massachusetts. Amid an ongoing shortage of primary care doctors across the state, MGB announced in November of 2023 that it would not be accepting any new primary care patients. In April, the HPC established a task force aiming to “stabilize and strengthen” primary care.

An MGB spokesperson wrote that the partnership will expand access to primary care providers “across the Commonwealth,” especially to regions with provider shortages and overwhelmed emergency departments.

“Each clinic will increase capacity and access to low-cost care for adult patients statewide,” MGB wrote. The 37 urgent care centers currently operated by CVS would be transformed into MinuteClinic Primary Care centers, and join MGB’s Ac -

countable Care Organization.

But the primary care affiliation will not include the hiring of additional staff, and MGB will also not be investing funds into the partnership. Since the 37 Massachusetts MinuteClinics are currently staffed largely by nurse practitioners and physician assistants, critics are concerned that there would be insufficient staffing and training to support the scope of providing primary care services.

State Senator Cindy F. Friedman, co-chair of the Health Care Financing Committee, said that primary care is more time-consuming, complex, and requires more investment from practitioners than urgent care.

“It’s early in the CMIR process and we cannot speculate about the future and if the MinuteClinic primary care model would change,” CVS wrote in a statement to the Crimson.

Friedman added that providers will have to place more referrals because “you don’t have any team system around you to look at things that aren’t straightforward urgent care.”

“The goal of this partnership is to keep care local to the patient,” MGB wrote in a statement to the Crimson, noting that referrals would align with local hospitals and healthcare systems, which need not be MGB affiliates.

“MinuteClinic affiliations with select health systems helps patients access hospitals, specialists and diagnostic facilities, when needed,” CVS wrote of the partnership.

Michael Barnett, a primary care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said that he believes the partnership doesn’t actually address any of the core issues around primary care in the state.

MGB wrote that the part-

nership is “intended for MinuteClinic sites in areas that lack traditional primary care access,” particularly across Western Massachusetts. According to CVS, an electronic health system will give patients access to “MGB’s extensive resources and coordinated care.”

In May, MGB also announced a $400 million investment into primary care, which will include adding support staff, piloting AI tools for primary care physicians, and appointing a chief of primary care, but does not explicitly mention addressing the supply of primary care doctors in the state.

Other experts are skeptical about the viability of the MGBCVS primary care clinics given the failures of similar structures in the past including the Village MD clinics at Walgreens and Walmart Health.

“Patients generally have not wanted to go there for primary care,” said Ateev Mehrotra, a professor at Brown University who researches retail clinics. “They generally have preferred to go to primary care clinics for primary care, and to go to these retail clinics for the simple stuff.”

CVS wrote that they have seen “strong” results and patient enrollment since launching MinuteClinic primary care in November of last year. The service is currently offered at MinuteClinic locations across 11 states and Washington, DC.

Mehrotra said that MinuteClinics would likely need to change the nurse practitioner model to achieve sustainable success with primary care services.

“People want to see the same clinician,” he said. “They’re going to have to do follow-up appointments and scheduling, so that’s just going to be a bit different.”

matan.josephy@thecrimson.com

laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com

Harvard Students Mobilize in Local Elections

BY ANN E. GOMBINER AND DIONISE GUERRA-CARRILLO CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Harvard students discouraged about national politics are finding hope at the local level, throwing themselves into Cambridge politics during the most competitive municipal elections in a generation.

and students, some of my colleagues, not being able to even stay in school.” Early encouraged other students who are discouraged about national politics to get involved.

“You can directly influence things that tie back to your community and your neighborhood, and then from there, they can sprout and grow,” he said.

tion that students in public schools receive.”

“There are many things right now happening in Cambridge that are not producing the best outcomes for those students,” she added. “I just really felt it necessary to invest my time in a project like this.”

Alexander H.Y. Lee ’27, who works as an event planner for the Rivkin campaign, said the turmoil at the federal level only heightens the importance of local involvement.

I’m worried it’s a way for MGB to optically appear to be investing in primary care while actually doing very little.

Michael Barnett Brigham and Women’s physician “

“I’m worried it’s a way for MGB to optically appear to be investing in primary care while actually doing very little,” Barnett said. “This does nothing to really address the fundamental workforce challenges that we have, especially in eastern Massachusetts.”

“What we need is more capacity and a more robust private care system,” he added.

But he conceded that the retail clinic model could look different this time, as the MGB brand adds credibility to CVS MinuteClinics.

“I think that will be attractive to people being like, ‘oh, maybe this is a place I could go,’” he said.

The proposal is currently under review after the HPC voted in a meeting last Thursday to conduct a full cost and market impact analysis.

David Seltz, the HPC executive director, said the vetting process will ensure that the proposal meets the goal of delivering high quality and affordable primary care to Massachusetts residents.

stephanie.dragoi@thecrimson.com thamini.vijeyasingam@thecrimson.com

Nearly 40 candidates are running to help lead Cambridge, with 18 people running for six School Committee seats and 20 for nine City Council seats. As they gear up for the Nov. 4 election day, many Harvard-affiliated candidates are looking to Harvard students as a source of manpower.

Stanislav Rivkin and Lilly Havstad are two such candidates. Rivkin — a City Council challenger — is the Associate Director of Admissions at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Havstad — a School Committee challenger — is a visiting scholar at the Center for African Studies.

Stephen Early, an architectural student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design who works on graphic design and social media for Rivkin’s campaign, said he decided to get involved after feeling “existential anxiety” about federal politics.

“Politics is no longer able to feel as removed as it had,” he said.

“Harvard being a target really amplified that feeling for a lot of students,” Early added. “We could see direct connections between programs being cut off or changed,

“It’s all national politics everywhere, and that’s kind of all we hear about,” Lee said. “It’s especially important to focus on local politics so that we can do work that affects smaller groups of people, but in meaningful ways.”

“We’re all in that Harvard bubble,” Lee added. “It’s hard to see outside of that wall, but if you do, then there’s a lot more than meets the eye.”

Lucille R. Nomaguchi-Long ’29 decided to work as Havstad’s director of research and policy after Havstad spoke at the First-Year Urban Program.

“She gave a speech, or a talk, on helping communities and determining whether you’re an outsider or an insider and being able to help provide help,” Nomaguchi-Long said.

Liv Birnstad ’27, who also works for Havstad, said she is “really passionate about the quality of educa-

But individual students are not the only ones who are getting involved. Student organizations, like the Harvard College Democrats and the Harvard Undergraduate Urban Sustainability Lab, have also taken an interest in local politics. The Harvard Dems will release endorsements in the coming week and plan to host their Cambridge City Council candidate forum in early October.

“There’s a lot happening in the world right now, especially with Trump and all his crackdowns and ICE, and the candidates that we’re endorsing are obviously against that,” Mandy Zhang ’27, a former Crimson News editor, said. “We’re working to leverage youth power across all of our members.”

HUUSL, which has encouraged students to get involved in Cambridge even before election season, will also be hosting a candidate forum on October 21. Ira Sharma ’28, the co-leader of HUUSL’s Cambridge Civic Task Force, said that Harvard students have a responsibility to get involved with municipal elections.

annie.gombiner@thecrimson.com dionise.guerracarrillo@thecrimson.com

The Massachusetts General Hospital, part of the Mass General Brigham system, is located in Boston.

Paul F. Toner exits court this spring after pleading not guilty to charges of sexual conduct for a fee. SALLY E. EDWARDS — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Students vote in a 2024 election at a polling place inside Gund Hall, a Harvard Graduate School of Design building. IKE J. PARK — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

New H-1B Visa Fee Could Hit Cambridge’s Economy

increasing the fee for companies from $1,000 per applicant to $100,000.

BY STEPHANIE DRAGOI

Twelve thousand international workers uphold Massachusetts’s booming technology and biotech industries — including more than 1,000 workers in Cambridge. But new fees on H-1B visas could soon cripple everything from start-ups to big pharma companies in Kendall Square.

The H-1B visa is a temporary, non-immigrant visa which allows U.S. companies to employ skilled foreign workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification. On Friday, the Trump administration announced it is

Experts across universities and industries said that the change directly threatens Cambridge’s economy, which houses 78 percent of the state’s biotech companies.

“Cambridge’s strength as a global life sciences hub depends on its ability to attract top talent from around the world, especially for the startups we support at LabCentral,” Maggie O’Toole, Chief Executive Officer at LabCentral, wrote in a statement.

Currently, the largest H-1B visa employers in Cambridge constitute a mix of big technology and biotech companies, as well as academic institutions like Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“A policy that makes it harder to bring people in is just going to, in the long run, I think, dec-

imate R&D activity in the United States,” said Harvard lecturer Anne Le Brun, an immigration and labor economist. “In the short run, I don’t really know how this is going to play out.”

The new fee will not just affect workers hoping to come to the U.S. for work, experts said. The loss of highly skilled workers eliminates their expertise, innovation, but also impacts the productivity that emerges from the highly collaborative biotech ecosystem.

“The effect of H-1B workers on innovation is very large, and it’s been very well-documented, and it is a crucial thing for any observer or policy makers to understand that it goes way beyond immigrants’ inventiveness,” Michael A. Clemens, a professor of

Wave of New Businesses to End Spell of Central Square Vacancies

BY DIEGO GARCÍA MORENO

A wave of at least 10 new businesses is set to arrive in Central Square over the coming year, ending a prolonged period of vacancies that have dotted many prominent storefronts in Cambridge’s main downtown area since the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the process, the new businesses’ arrivals may help dispel anxieties that the empty storefronts provoked in some residents, who worried that landlords may have been sitting on the properties to profit from recent zoning reforms. The vacancy problem first arose during the pandemic. From November 2019 to May 2021, the number of vacant storefronts in Central Square doubled from seven to 14, according to city data, which relies on voluntary reports from landlords. Even as pandemic lockdown measures — and the ensuing economic contraction — have subsided over the last few years, the vacancy rate in Central remains even higher than before, at 19 properties.

The issue of Central Square vacancies even reached the Cambridge City Council in recent months. In June, the city issued a new rule that requires the owners of storefront properties that have been vacant for at least 180 days to either post contact information or to post a “coming soon” sign if the space is now under construction.

In an interview last week, Pardis Saffari, Cambridge’s director of economic opportunity and development, predicted a reduction in the number of vacancies in the square this year, mostly of restaurant and entertainment spaces.

Saffari said she was “optimistic” that the number of vacancies would be reduced in the next city-issued report.

“We’ll see some new businesses open, which I think is going to be great for the square, and then, of course, for the city,” Safari said.

economics at George Mason University studying international migration, said.

“Patenting and innovation, more broadly, are things that emerge from collaborative organizations of people specializing in different stuff,” he added, noting that the presence of additional workers generates demand for other services, which he called the “multiplier effect of the innovation that immigrants are catalyzing.”

Clemens said he believes the higher fee will “obliterate use of the visa,” a system that some experts say is itself not perfect.

Le Brun said that the current program has a not-so-secret “loophole” that allows American companies to hire international entry-level workers at a low-

er cost than domestic workers, especially in IT. But even so, she said the new fee will not solve the problem.

“If we’re not enforcing the rules that are in place, maybe we should start by trying to enforce the rules that are in place,” Le Brun said. “Close the loophole with the outsourcing companies before charging an exorbitant fee.”

Hanson said the new fee only provides more opportunity for unfair administrative practices.

“The $100,000 fee is a very crude way of doing this,” Hanson said. “If our experience with import tariffs is any indication, then what the administration may do is grant reprieves here and there, use political favoritism to make sure that the fee is damag-

ing to certain preferred corporate counterparts.”

The new fee is not the only update to the H-1B program. Just yesterday, the administration filed a proposal to initiate the overhaul of the visa lottery to prioritize the most highly skilled and highly paid workers. But even so, experts still warn that the new policies will slow hiring and impede critical innovation.

“This slows hiring, delays critical research, and limits the diverse perspectives that fuel our innovation ecosystem,” O’Toole wrote. “More importantly, it threatens the advancement of groundbreaking discoveries.”

stephanie.dragoi@thecrimson.com

Until recently, however, persistently high vacancy numbers had led some to believe landlords were deliberately leaving properties empty in order to redevelop them once the ongoing rezoning of the square had finished.

The rezoning process, which has been mired in disagreements within the Council, may raise the allowed height from the current limit of 80 feet — meaning smaller properties may see their value vastly increase if the zoning reform is passed.

“I’m not going to sign a fiveor 10- or 20-year lease with anybody if need, there’s a chance that I might basically just be knocking the whole thing down and putting up something of 15 stories or more,” Council candidate Robert Winters said, echoing the worry of others about the square’s vacancies.

But a range of experts who spoke to The Crimson for this story, including leasing agents and the president of the Central Square Business Improvement District, told a different story.

“That’s definitely not happening here,” said Michael Monestime, president of the Central Square BID. “We have a lot of legacy landowners, not big REIT organizations,” he added, referring to Real Estate Investment Trusts, or large real estate companies with various investors.

“We have mom and pop property owners who, you know, they have to collect rent to pay their mortgages,” he added.

Sources instead pointed to the difficulty of finding long-term tenants, the area’s uniquely large units, and changes in consumer behavior post-Covid-19 as primary reasons for the prolonged spell of vacancies.

During and after the Covid-19 pandemic, decreases in foot traffic led many businesses to close their storefronts and either close entirely or shift online.

Following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the number of vacancies continued to

Mnestime said that several new restaurants, cafes, gyms, and entertainment spaces had signed a lease or were very close to opening, whether or not they had been announced yet. New cafes and restaurants include Fallow Kin, Jersey Mike’s, Shateau De Blanc, and More Fun Cafe. Other new spaces include a hot yoga studio, a comedy club, and a pottery studio.

shift as businesses digitized or failed to adjust to the new market landscape.

“A lot of people struggled to catch up on that,” Monestime said.

Of the 19 vacancies reported in November 2024, nine had been vacant for more than two years prior.

Thomas M. Cifrino, who manages the building at 600 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square, also said the possibility of redeveloping the building after rezoning did not factor into the first-floor storefront’s seven-year vacancy.

Instead, he attributed the vacancy’s length to difficulties finding the right tenant, who he could trust to stay for at least five years and endure economic shocks.

“We wanted somebody that would be able to sustain a situation like Covid,” he said, referencing his desire to avoid paying excessive brokers’ commissions, which are fees that landlords pay to brokers in exchange for connecting them with tenants.

“You don’t want to have to do that every five years,” he added.

David Downing, managing director of leasing at the real estate firm GraffitoSP, said the cost of preparing their property for new businesses to move in can be prohibitive for smaller landlords, forcing them to keep their property empty for longer.

Businesses often look for places that are ready to move in, meaning landlords must invest significant capital in the space — and without which, their storefronts may be empty for longer.

Monestime pointed out that Central Square’s storefronts are unusually large, which can make it harder for local businesses to fill them.

“Walgreens closed this year, earlier in March,” Monestime said. “You need a Walgreens-size store to fill that, you know.”

“It’s not as easy as a mom and pop or a local sort of filling in that space, it’s probably a national big box company that’s going to lease that, and there’s just less of those out there,” he added.

Cambridge’s Holistic Emergency Alternative Response Team — a nonprofit, nonviolent police alternative — almost closed its doors two months ago after its funding dwindled. But more than $150,000 in private donations and grants have kept the group afloat as it searches for long-term stability.

HEART has struggled since its founding in 2021 to find footing as a genuine alternative to local police in Cambridge.

A low volume of calls and competition from city-run services has caused HEART’s growth to stagnate. The group announced in July that its funds were “nearing the bottom” after the loss of a major donor — forcing half of its full-time responders out of their jobs as the group tried to garner local support.

HEART has since received more than $170,000 in donations and grants from other organizations, co-direc -

tor Corinne Espinoza wrote in a Thursday statement. The now-downsized team of responders has continued to operate a call line two days a week while searching for more permanent funding. HEART also received $150,000 from the city’s Community Safety Department last year, which allowed the team to launch the call line despite stalled negotiations with the city and the closure of their meeting space. Espinoza wrote in an email that the team hopes to establish “diversified funding sources,” including private donations, grants, contracts with private businesses and hospitals, and funding from the city. The Cambridge Police Department also launched a co-response team in 2024, which has pairs an officer with a mental health clinician when responding to some 911 calls.

Three years after HEART’s launch, Espinoza wrote that the team faces a “reflection point.” HEART originally planned to launch a mobile response, al -

lowing residents to call their hotline and receive emergency support instead of calling the police — a vision that has yet to come to fruition.

Meanwhile, Cambridge’s Community Assistance Response and Engagement team — the city’s own alternative response program, housed under the Community Safety Department — began dispatching social workers to certain emergency calls in July 2024. Though CARE and the police’s co-response team have often found themselves at odds, both bring Cambridge’s financial muscle to compete with the smaller, nonprofit HEART. HEART plans to gather resident feedback in the coming weeks to evaluate Cambridge’ unmet needs, Espinoza said. “That reflection and the guidance from the community may impact

INDUSTRY. Experts say Cambridge’s biotech industry is put at risk by the new $100,000 visa fee.

The view toward Boston along Mass. Ave. from Cambridge’s Central Square. PAVAN V. THAKKAR — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

BY MATAN H. JOSEPHY AND LAUREL M. SHUGART CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

BY RIA S. CUÉLLAR-KOH

When watching someone fall from a great height onstage, that brief moment while their body plummets lasts an eternity. Even when the brain chimes in, rationally, that the actors rehearsed this successfully a thousand times, it can’t quell the terror that seeps in nonetheless. Fear, excitement, anticipation thrum excitedly, until just as quickly, the moment’s over. Relief kicks in. All that’s left is the thought, “How on earth did they do that?” At its best, “Passengers” at the American Repertory Theater provides that exhilarating feeling again and again. Unfortunately, the story connecting these moments into a 90 minute stage production fails to match those heights. Produced by Canadian physical-theater troupe The 7 Fingers and written, directed and choreographed by their co-founder Shana Carroll, “Passengers” aims to capture transit and travel as a metaphor for a journey through life itself. Carroll’s production sometimes swings and misses, but still makes an impression. The best parts of “Passengers” are its cheekiest. A clever number spotlighting performer Santiago Rivera follows a restless train rider whose juggling corresponds to a canon of coughs, jolts, and page turns. Once Rivera takes off, juggling an increasing number of balls, the cast transforms into fascinated spectators. Simultaneously, the lighting by Éric Champoux washes the stage in purple and syncs to an energetic hip-hop track. Still more spectacular is the hand-to-trap number, a discipline created by Carroll that combines trapeze work with partnered acrobatics. Performers Eduardo De Azevedo Grillo and Marie-Christine Fournier mimic the uncomfortable jostling between two passengers in close quarters while sitting together on the trapeze. Their jostling turns into increasingly stunning feats as Grillo and Fournier balance atop one another and perform incredible throws. Impressive and clever all at once, the sequence provides a new perspective on a relatable experience — offering up what good can come out of an unlikely and even uncomfortable first encounter. Seriousness, however, does

‘Passengers’ Review: Reaching New Heights

‘The Roses’ Review: Every Rose Has Its Thorn

BY LEAH M. MAATHEY CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

“The Roses,” released Aug 29 and directed by Jay Roach, follows the story of Ivy (Olivia Coleman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) through

their marriage and its messy and chaotic deterioration. The film’s star-studded cast also includes Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon as Barry and Amy, a married couple who are close friends of Ivy and Theo. “The Roses” is based on the 1989 film “The War of the Roses,” which

was an imagining of a book of the same name. “The Roses” proposes a modern and satirical reimagining of a married couple’s messy separation. Ivy and Theo have a chance meeting in the restaurant where Ivy works as a chef, while Theo is there with colleagues

celebrating the end of what he considers an uninspired and unsatisfactory architectural project. They are immediately infatuated with each other, and Theo impulsively agrees to move to America with Ivy. They end up as parents to a pair of twins, with Ivy remaining at home to care for the children and Theo undertaking a massive architectural project to design a naval history museum. In a moment almost “Freaky Friday”-esque in nature, the career trajectories of the two parents abruptly switch, leaving the couple to figure out how to navigate their new roles and dynamics. The film then becomes a fairly funny saga detailing the next three years of their marriage, as Ivy reaches new heights of success and her husband experiences an unfortunate occupational plateau.

Unfortunately, “The Roses” couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a lighthearted comedy or comedic satire. It touches upon complex feelings and dynamics: the difficulty of child-rearing and misaligned parenting techniques, the desire to be present for your family while also achieving career success, and navigating marital expectations during times of change. It pokes fun at upper-class millennial couples and the toxic masculinity and hypocrisy of the “progressive man.” The film contains many moments where it tries to seriously comment on those ideas and themes, but too quickly reverts back to the ban -

not play as well. During the contemplative numbers, Carroll’s choreography, while elegant, falls short of commentating on the thought-provoking themes of “Passengers” and just evokes them. Some of the choreographed movements even over-express to the point of humor. At multiple points the cast perform an exaggerated running-in-place pantomime, a motion so on the nose it elicits a pained chuckle. These dramatic sequences climax with impressive tricks all the same as the comedic ones, but lack a decisive bite or perspective. These less obvious scenes could have been made clearer with a stronger musical and technical hand. Composer Colin Gagné’s underscoring leans towards melodrama. Soapy string sections swell but never fully soar. Simultaneously, the projections by Johnny Ranger often distract from the actors’ staging with cluttered imagery that similarly lacks narrative edge.

Amanda Orozco’s aerial silk performance suffers from this issue in particular. Projected bridges behind her make the silks difficult to see and interfere with Champoux’s lighting, obscuring her movements. Similarly, while the truss bridge and the aerial silk have visual similarities, the greater connection between the two is left too open-ended and the nondescript music doesn’t help. These problems are only magnified by the few songs that don’t have any choreography or cirque sequences. Two songs, performed by Isabella Diaz, bring the show to a screeching halt. The first, a Jason Mraz-esque ukulele number, gets by with lyrics full of platitudes and a forgettable melody. The second, a mournful ballad about forced migration, similarly trudges along with lyrics full of stock phrases. During the song, other cast members shine handheld lights on Diaz which do not illuminate her particularly well, rendering the stage as dim and featureless as the ballad itself. Nevertheless, even when the script and music fail to evoke serious emotion, the cast’s incredible skills still entertain. As they perform trick after death-defying trick, their smiles remind the audience that what’s happening on the stage is only possible at the peak of human athleticism and they do it with ease. It’s only a shame that the thematic infrastructure can’t catch up.

“Passengers” runs at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge through Sep. 26.

ter and levity that end up defining the film. It comes across ultimately as more of a pantomime than a meaningful commentary.

“The Roses” has many redeeming qualities, but also contains many pitfalls that distract from its societal critiques. The romantic dynamic between the two is arguably unconvincing, but it’s only one of many times the film asks one to suspend disbelief. Their careers and trajectories are wholly unrealistic, which would be acceptable considering the general absurdity of the film’s events, but ultimately ends up being slightly distracting. The couple’s initial introduction feels rushed, and their early courtship is skipped entirely — a choice which leaves doubts about their romantic and marital compatibility. If more runtime had been devoted to the exposition and establishment of their careers, wealth, and relationship, it would have better served the film.

To a similar effect, the story’s final act is overly long and poorly paced in comparison to the rest of the film. It is unconvincing in its extremity when compared to earlier points in the film and doesn’t feel like a natural progression for either character. The couple’s previously established dynamic, though not convincingly romantic, is lost almost entirely.

Despite the film’s inability to establish itself well as a dark comedy, it is successful in many

other ways. McKinnon makes excellent use of physical comedy, often diffuses tension, and acts as a great supplement to the main couple’s conflict and banter. Furthermore, the banter between Coleman and Cumberbatch is one of the most redeeming qualities of the film. It’s an interesting part for both actors, who often occupy far more somber roles. The score is lighthearted and suited to the film’s lightheartedness, but nothing of particular interest. The framing and cinematography serve the film well, and the acting leaves no complaints. It’s clear that the director makes some strong and intentional choices about framing in order to illustrate parallels or reflect progressions in the character relationships. Overall, the majority of “The Roses,” excluding the ending, is well-paced and highly entertaining.

“The Roses” is a good-time film, and is funny and engaging with many laugh-out-loud moments, starring a strong and well-known cast. In the end, however, it is sadly just not a movie with a convincing or well-rounded perspective on the marital topics it introduces.

SOCCER MOMMY CONCERT REVIEW

BY HUGO C. CHIASSON CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

hen Soccer Mommy took the stage at Paradise Rock Club in Boston, a palpable energy shot through the crowd. As an artist who captures the specificity of love with a remarkable eye for its universality, her performance hit across the spread of human emotion and only rarely missed a beat.

Sophie Allison’s indie rock project drew a wide ranging audience — faces young and old, new listeners and die-hard fans — but it took less than half of her opening song “circle the drain” for the crowd to collectively give way to the music.

Though the singer-songwriter’s sound is generally best described in terms that approximate warmth and fuzziness, it was the moments of sheer sonic catharsis that exemplified the power and emotional resonance of her lyricism and storytelling, providing real

highlights in an already overwhelmingly strong set.

The latter half of Allison’s set featured some of her more straightforwardly sharp tracks, with “crawling in my skin” and “Your Dog” capping off the night before an encore of “Scorpio Rising,” a song which maintains a distinct story about relinquishing love and knowing it’s your fault.

The live performance gave a punch to the intermediate beats as the drummer punctuated what could be heartbeats in the second verse. The song was heightened by a mix that let the live drums hit over wonderfully subtle synths. The final, resounding guitar solo was completely heartbreaking, a

magical conclusion to the night as the house lights went up.

However, despite the final songs in the set providing some of the most energized moments for the crowd, it was in the moments of calm, silent solitude that Allison created a feeling that reverberated beyond the walls of the venue.

Soccer Mommy’s discography stretches back over just under 10 years and there’s a wealth of quiet reflective tracks from which to draw, but the back to back performances of “Lost” from her latest album “Evergreen” and “Still Clean” from her 2018 LP “Clean” were transcendent.

The mix of the synth from Allison’s bandmate left the tone just hidden enough to be haunting, hammering home the themes of grappling with the loss of a loved one so immediately present in the lyrics of the former song.

The following solo perfor -

mance of “Still Clean” made it feel as if the stage existed only for Allison. The lights shone around her like a halo — as she stood there, a lone figure in a sea of darkness — singing about the realization that she was only what her lover wanted “for a little while.”

Allison’s guitar-centered ballad was an intensely emotional moment in the course of the performance, a turning point in the evening towards emotional resolution and away from unrequited longing.

Earlier in the evening, Allison drew from her first fulllength LP, “for young hearts” to play “henry,” a song about loving a man who is not emotionally available. The track holds a nostalgic essence. As the first arpeggiated chords began to play, it felt like the audience was transported back to an older time where love could be naïve and flawed and still remain alright.

Not every track felt quite so resonant, though. “Shotgun” off of 2022’s “Sometimes, Forever” seemed to peter out in its final moments despite an excellent start, leaving the emo -

tional arc of the song sonically unresolved.

The undercurrent of angst ran throughout the performance. Even in songs like “Abigail,” which revolves around the eponymous romanceable non-player character in the videogame Stardew Valley, Allison maintained yearning as a central emotional theme for the night.

Soccer Mommy balances the spectrum of love and loss immaculately in her music, and her performance was no different, tugging at the heart strings of the audience while simultaneously providing substantial emotional release. Maybe it’s just like she said in her encore — it was “just because I love Boston so much.” In reality, it’s the talent of an experienced songwriter and performer that allowed Allison to carry the audience through this emotional journey.

hugo.chiasson@thecrimson.com

‘Good and Evil and Other Stories’ Review: Living and Losing

BY AUDREY H. LIMB CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Samanta Schweblin knows how to spook. The Argentine author’s newest short story collection, “Good and Evil and Other Stories,” translated by Megan McDowell, is impressive. In just six stories, Schweblin demonstrates a mastery of evocative narration and chilling insinuation. The tales are not clearly connected yet inhabit the same dark, surrealist territory that is human imagination. What the stories leave unsaid proves to be the most disturbing of all, inflicting an unnerving freedom on readers’ minds and emotions. The title of “Good and Evil and Other Stories” severely understates the range showcased by the book. Although the title suggests that clear, simple binaries will guide the narratives, there are no such delineations. Death stars in all six stories, as do family and matriarchal relationships. One mother tries to drown herself in the lake behind her family’s home. Another seeks her deceased son in the form of a horse. A poisoned cat haunts its former owner. A father-mother-son trio is shattered after an incident renders the son mute. A young girl becomes an only child. And finally, a bizarre confrontation convinces a mother to let go of her long-lost daughter. Together, these six stories highlight Schweblin’s wield of tension as a potent narrative tool. McDowell’s translation skillfully maintains this grip. For example, in “Welcome to the Club,” a mother cannot ignore the call of the lake in which she tried drowning herself. To keep herself alive, she clings to the guilt she would feel were she to abandon her daughters. The end of the story implies this guilt may not be enough, marking the first of many ominous final words. Similarly, in “A Fabulous

Animal,” the author wastes no time in establishing “the accident” as a critical breaking point in one woman’s life, motherhood, and friendships. The nature of this accident is withheld until the end of the story, gripping the reader in suspense as they piece events together from the fragmented narration. The fourth story in the collection, “An Eye in the Throat,” is a particular standout. After a young boy receives a tracheostomy, his inability to speak severs his bond with his father. Soon, the father starts receiving nightly phone calls in which nobody speaks. He becomes obsessed with reaching the mysterious caller, casting aside his family, work, and responsibilities. In this cruel juxtaposition of silent calls and a silenced son, the father’s desperation for someone to pick up the phone is symbolic of his desperation for communication with his son. Schweblin’s writing is subtle and deft; the author does not force this realization on readers but rather lets them discover the sheer tragedy of the symbolism for themselves. Lighting the way are unsettling questions from the young boy, who thinks, “Sleeping is dangerous. If I choke, I wake up. But what is it, really, that chokes me?”

While tension dominates much of the book, Schweblin successfully balances it with release. The pacing of “Good and Evil and Other Stories” is just right. Each story begins in media res and avoids extraneous description that would eat up precious pages. The author also provides enough world-building and ambiguity for the stories to live on, far beyond what is written and read. Of course, a short-form story collection may offer greater flexibility for organization than a full-fledged novel. However, the challenge of deciding the relative lengths and ordering of each story is not to be underestimated. Stories of varying lengths

comprise a diverse yet cohesive collection. The six works feature different points of view and narration styles, from scatterbrained first-person to cool and meticulous third-person, which effectively bring unique characters to life. These changes in perspective ensure that the book does not rely upon a single voice. At the same time, common themes of mortality, fear, and desire weave throughout the sextet, guiding the reader from one world to the next seamlessly.

In addition to varying length, Schweblin varies the relationship dynamics between characters. Not all of the characters are equally convincing; the “chief” in “A Visit From the Chief,” for instance, is somewhat one-dimensional. Likewise, some of the stories are less striking than others.

“William in the Window” is a humorous ghost story but does not feel as fresh as its siblings. Nonetheless, the collection in its entirety stands strong and offers substance for every audience.

Alongside Schweblin’s previous award-winning works, such as “Fever Dream” (2014) and “Seven Empty Houses” (2015), “Good and Evil and Other Stories” sets the bar high. The collection is a compelling exhibition of tension and contrast as narrative elements. Much is left to the imagination, which magnifies the emotional pummeling of the book by its own accord. As they await Schweblin’s next publication, readers may carry on these stories’ mission to probe the disturbing, the sinister, and most of all, the human.

HUGO C. CHIASSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

FIFTEEN MINUTES 17

The Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature sat down with Fifteen Minutes to discuss the art of translation, returning to Harvard, and HUM 10.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

FM: You attended Harvard as an undergrad, where you concentrated in Hist & Lit. Now, you’ve returned as a professor of Comparative Literature. What initially drew you to Harvard, and what brought you back?

SLL: I grew up in a very small town in the Midwest, in Michigan. The name of the town is Paw Paw. It’s a town of about 3,000 people, and I actually applied to a very small number of colleges, partly because I grew up in a place that didn’t have pressure cooker high schools and college counseling was very different for us. I thought, kind of on a lark, why don’t I apply to Harvard and Yale too, and see what happens?

When I got in, that was very shortly after Harvard had undergone its first massive expansion of financial aid.

I’m a first-generation college student, and my parents were thrilled, but also a little bit worried. And then when we realized how much financial aid was, even at that point in time — the financial aid program has expanded since — the total tuition that we ended up paying was actually significantly less than it would have been to go to even a small community college in the area where I grew up. So I will always be very grateful for the phenomenal financial aid here.

It wasn’t necessarily what drew me back so much as probably everyone in academia dreams of when they’re doing a Ph.D. — getting hired for a job at a place that generates as much fascinating research as Harvard, that has students who are as generally excited about learning and bring lots of energy and curiosity to the classroom on a regular basis.

And when you actually get offered your dream job, how could you possibly say no?

FM: Going back to your student days, what was the most memorable class that you took at Harvard?

SLL: I was a student in Humanities 10 in maybe the second or third year that it was offered.

At that point, Louis Menand and Stephen Greenblatt were teaching, just the two of them, so there were only three sections total.

We finished off our last section and we got a cake, which we iced with a quotation from Ulysses, and walked Stephen Greenblatt to the garden behind Lamont Library and had class outdoors. It was really magical.

The other class that had a huge impact on me, and I remember very fondly — Helen Vendler in the English department, who recently passed away, year before last, taught a seminar on Keats that I took as a junior, and it was technically a grad seminar, but there were still some seats left, and she said that any seats that were left could go to undergrads. Taking this class was like learning how to read all over again.

We would move through these Keats poems almost one word at a time. It completely changed the way that I thought about language and reading and poetry. It also spurred me to memorize all of the Keats odes that year. Those poems have stayed in my memory ever since.

FM: What, if anything, is lost in translation?

SLL: A lot of people think that something always necessarily goes missing in translation or gets lost, as you put it. This is an abbreviated version of a Robert Frost observation: “Poetry is what gets lost in translation.” And a lot of people who are practicing translators actually kind of chafe at this.

I think that translation involves things getting lost in the same way that looking at something through a telescope involves certain things getting lost. Because translators are a kind of interpreter, the trans-

Q&A:

SPENCER LEE-LENFIELD ON TRANSLATION, KEATS’S ODES, AND HUDS DUMPLINGS

HUM 10 AND TRANSLATION. Lee-Lenfield, the assistant professor of Comparative Literature, talked about his experience returning to Harvard after his time as an undergraduate student.

BY ELANE M. KIM

traditions?

SLL: Being at universities in the United States or most of Europe, there is a tendency to place at the center of literary studies as the normal model literature, literature from the European tradition.

It’s always illuminating to read the literature of someplace that is traditionally the center as though it is the literature of the periphery, and vice versa.

I think that in comparative literature departments, that’s part of what we’re constantly trying to do, thinking across multiple traditions.

Trading off your frames of thinking always helps open up new research questions and new critical perspectives on literature and the arts more broadly.

lation necessarily focuses on some aspect of the thing that they’re translating more than others.

You can’t capture it all at once, but when you read it, you are able to see what that particular person is focusing on in the same way as when you look through a telescope, you’re looking through a very narrow tube, and you’re cutting out some of your field of vision so that you can see this other thing in this narrower field of focus, even more precisely.

FM: What texts have most shaped your view of what literature can or should do?

SLL: My favorite novel, after all of these years, is originally “Mrs. Dalloway.” I read it for the first time when I was 14. I wrote my college admissions essay to Harvard about “Mrs. Dalloway.” One of the most exciting things that happened to me recently is that this is the 100th anniversary of “Mrs. Dalloway” this year, and I get to have a first research article about

“Mrs. Dalloway” published in time for that anniversary. So I’m very excited about that.

I did Classics for several years, after technically starting with ancient Greek when I was an undergrad at Harvard, and then continued as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford in the three years after that. I think that left a really deep impression on me in terms of how to read things from the ancient past and what you might find in them and why they’re interesting, and some of the things that made the biggest impression on me from that point in time were Sappho, Greek drama — loved Sophocles, loved Euripides, loved Latin poetry. A lot of Ovid, a lot of Horace, a lot of Virgil. Out of East Asian literature, I absolutely love the poetry of Han Yong-un, the Buddhist poet.

People are constantly doing ever more exciting things with Korean as a language. I’m a huge fan of the novelist Park Sang Young, whose work I en-

joy tremendously. I love his translator, Anton Hur, who did an event with us here. And I also really admire the writing of Han Kang, who, of course, recently won the Nobel Prize. There’s a student of hers named Yun Haeseo, whose work I really admire a lot.

When I was a kid, I read the books of Linda Sue Park.

She won the Newbery Medal at one point in time, and those books, in terms of thinking about Korean heritage and Korean culture, were so illuminating and important for me, and even though I couldn’t see it then, they really planted a seed of knowledge about the basics of Korean history that was very important later in my adult life, many years later.

FM: While your current focus is Korean and Asian American literature, you have scholarly training in ancient Greek, Latin, English and French. How has this background influenced the way you approach writing in other

FM: As a junior at Harvard, you started studying ancient Greek “for fun.” What else do you like to do for fun?

SLL: I play the piano a lot. I really like cooking and baking. We make a lot of Italian food and Korean food at home.

When I have time, I like a lot of art hobbies. I like drawing. I like calligraphy, both Western and Eastern. I’m constantly trying to learn to sew a little bit better.

But the other side of this is, like a lot of other professors, I actually really love what I do, and so when I’m not reading or writing or translating for work, a lot of what I find fun and exciting to do in my free time is actually reading books for fun that I can’t justify for work, or writing something for fun that’s not a work thing, or translating stuff for fun. That’s part of the joy of getting to have a job that I really, really like.

FM: When you’re translating texts, what are the main features you hope to preserve in your translation?

SLL: I would reframe that question slightly by saying that it depends who you are translating for and with what purpose or artistic vision you have in mind.

One of the lessons that you come to through reading a lot of translation theory and translation criticism — or at least that I personally believe — is that there’s not any such thing as one right way to translate.

All that said, when I am translating something for a general reader to enjoy and discover something new about a different language or culture, I always want them to come away excited by how intelligent, passionate, and thoughtful other people are, by the sounds and forms that are possible in other languages and other cultures, and I want them to come away at least a little bit thinking that they too would like to learn the language that that text was written in — not because the translation is missing something, but because they like the translation so much that they feel invited into the world of that language.

FM: What is one project you’re working on right now, scholarly or otherwise?

SLL: The really big thing is that at this life stage in the academic career cycle as someone who is very recently out of grad school like me is turning their dissertation into a research book, and so that’s what I’m in the middle of doing right now.

elane.kim@thecrimson.com.

Fifteen Minutes is

To read

and

Harvard Rugby Defeats Army In Away Game

BY RHIANNON STEWART CRIMSON

In

Ava

gnone successfully weaved the last 25 yards of the field to put Harvard ahead for the first time in the game. Despite the relentlessness of the Crimson defense, the Black Knights got a glimpse of hope after a player slipped through one of the Harvard tackles and charged down the middle of the field to the try line. With the conversion made, Army again led the

— with neither team holding meaningful possessions. The Black Knights only broke the deadlock through electing to kick from a penalty 30 yards out and securing three points to pull the team ahead 7-17.

Harvard responded with senior fullback Skylar Jordan finding gaps in the Army defense and swerving through players to secure five points, narrowing the gap in the game to 12-17.

The Crimson struggled to find a way back into the game as the half was closing out and the Black Knights again kicked the ball from a penalty, giving themselves a lead into halftime at 12-20.

Harvard came out in the second half knowing the team had work to do to get back in the game, and immediately took ground from Jordan’s kickoff. The high pressure from the Crimson paid off with Ference opening the scoring in the second half for the team within four minutes, bringing Harvard within touching distance of Army, 20-17.

The 46th minute marked a tunring point in the game, when, after a few attempted individual drives from the Crimson, sophomore Josephine Mi -

Women’s Volleyball Builds Momentum

(11-1, 0-0 ACC) and Bryant University (7-7, 0-0 AE). But the

stepped it

in its

non-conference matchup and defeated Stonehill College (1-13, 0-0 NEC) in three sets. With a 1-7 record against a challenging non-conference slate, the Crimson spent the weekend getting in more practice and implementing adjustments from the earlier losses.

Senior outside hitter Brynne Faltinsky said that this weekend, the volleyball team prioritized enjoying the game, which she said largely contributed to the group’s success.

“I think something consistent theme that we focused on was really trusting our training,” Faltinsky said. “We can really enjoy competition and just have fun out there, because I think we realize we play the best when we’re having fun and enjoying ourselves.”

The Crimson showed no fear in the first set against BC despite entering the match winless and facing a team that had no losses. Harvard established dominance early, taking a 4-0 lead to start the first set.

Faltinsky continued her momentum from the last game during the first set, landing five kills. Freshman outside Sophia Rossi also had a strong first set and bounced back from a quiet previous game to return to the form that earned her all-tournament honors in her first weekend of games.

A mixed attack by the Crimson combined with opportunistic play off of Eagles errors helped Harvard control and put together arguably its best set of the young season to take the lead 25-22. Riding high off the first set victory, the Crimson continued to take advantage of Boston College’s mis-

takes. Harvard once again jumped out to a lead, but this time, the Eagles were fast to erase. A 10-6 lead for Harvard quickly became a 12-10 lead for Boston College. The Crimson responded to reclaim a two point lead, but the Eagles flexed their muscles over the remainder of the set to win 25-17. Boston College continued to show why the team is undefeated in the third set. Carrying over momentum from the previous set, the Eagles seized an early lead that would never waver. The Eagles’ junior outside Audrey Ross did a large part of the damage in this set. Ross scored six of her game high 20 kills in the third set. Boston College’s lead only grew as the team claimed the set 25-15. Harvard junior outside Ali Farquhar started off strong in the fourth set. Farquhar, who took home all-tournament honors at last week’s Harvard Invitational, contributed three kills out of Harvard’s first four points. Even with Farquhar’s burst,

Harvard could only just keep up. The Eagles took a small lead early on that they would never relinquish. The Crimson was able to tie the set at 9-9 and 12-12, but Boston College created more separation late. The Eagles ultimately won the set 25-16 to claim the match.

Looking to continue the improvements made during the Boston College match, Harvard returned to Chestnut Hill the next day to take on the Bryant Bulldogs. After a sluggish start to the set, Faltinsky logged five of her six kills on the set and commanded the service line to power a Crimson run to take a 14-12 lead. Harvard seemed poised to control the set from here, but Crimson errors helped fuel a Bryant rebuttal to tie the set at 20.

Harvard jumped ahead in the race to five, but the score quickly tied again. The Bulldogs won the race to 25 but only by one point, forcing deuce. The Crimson had a chance to clinch the set at 29-28 after battling off four match points.

However, it would be Bryant that had the last laugh, scoring three straight and claiming the set 31-29.

After a good first set by the Harvard middles kept the Bulldog offense off-balance, including four blocks, The Crimson was unable to slow down the Bryant outsides in the second set. The Bulldogs consistently found holes in Harvard’s defense and rained kills down on the hardwood.

The only bright spot for the Crimson was two service aces as Bryant ultimately won the second set 25-14.

Desperate to extend the match, the Crimson showed fight early in the set. The two squads exchanged points early before the strong serves of freshman setter Sophia Wei helped Harvard open a 14-9 lead.

The Crimson maintained this healthy lead for most of the set before a late Bulldog charge closed the gap to two. Harvard stayed calm and secured the final two points of the set to win 25-21 and extend the match another set.

The foes exchanged points and the lead throughout the set and created a 21-21 deadlock. Unfortunately for the Crimson, the Bulldogs struck first and went on a three point run. Facing set and match point, a service error gifted Harvard a shot at life, but it would not be enough. One last kill by Bryant claimed the set and match 25-22. Despite the loss, Farquhar complemented the team’s improved blocking ability this week — something she said they exhibited in all three of the weekend’s contests.

“I think we put up a strong block against all teams this weekend, we shut down their big outsides,” Farquhar said. “That was really important to make our back row’s job a little bit easier.”

Harvard took its first victory of the season this Saturday, sweeping Stonehill 0-3 in a strong performance from numerous Harvard stars.

The Crimson’s final game of the weekend began with back and forth scoring opportunities until Stone-

hill took advantage of a couple of poor attacks from Harvard and gained a 4-9 lead on the Crimson. Their lead didn’t last long. Harvard responded with four points of its own — and a stellar block — that rebounded the team to Stonehill’s level, one which the Crimson was rearing to surpass. After a brief back and forth, the Crimson delivered a nine-point run including a kill from Faltinsky, who topped the team for kills in the game with a 0.529 hitting percentage. Once in the lead, the Crimson let very few points from the Skyhawks through, closing out the set 25-18. Set two was decided off the bat

The women’s volleyball team celebrates during its first homestand. CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER -- CLAIRE A. MICHAL

Harvard women’s rugby fights against Dartmouth last season CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Harvard Hunts for Revenge Against Brown

Last year, a failed Crimson field goal in the final quarter gave the Bears — the definitive underdogs of the game — the opportunity to clinch a surprising victory against Harvard for the first time since 2010.

Now, Harvard has the opportunity to avenge its loss. But Brown, in the biggest game of its season, won’t be an easy opponent.

After dominating Stetson last Saturday in a 59-7 blowout, the Crimson (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) opens conference play against the Bears (1-0, 0-0) in what will be Harvard’s first Saturday night home game in 10 years.

The matchup will also be the first conference game that has implications for the FCS playoffs, as this is the first year that the Ivy League will participate in the tournament. The conference champion will receive an automatic bid, with the first round taking place the week of Thanksgiving.

The game — which kicks off at 6 p.m. at Harvard Stadium — will be an opportunity for Harvard to avenge last year’s heartbreaking 28-31 loss to the Bears, where a late comeback from Brown ended up costing Harvard sole possession of the Ivy title.

Last year, the loss to Brown marked a turning point for Harvard head coach Andrew Aurich, as he settled on a bold and often risky coaching style going forward, refusing to “play not to lose.”

“It was one of those games where we had too many mistakes that were within our control,” Aurich said.

“We don’t have to have that type of game happen for us to understand the only way you can guarantee the ultimate result in this season is to win ev -

ery single Ivy League game,” he added.

This weekend, Harvard will look to make amends for the past mistake and prove the validity of Aurich’s new approach.

The game will also be an opportunity for the Crimson to honor its past as they unveil the brand new Tim Murphy field at their home stadium.

Murphy, who won 10 Ivy League titles between 1994 and 2023 as Harvard’s head coach and is the winningest coach alltime in the conference, will be honored at the game after retiring from coaching in January of last year.

“It’s been great to follow Coach Murphy because there was a standard that was set here for a long time,” Aurich

said. “I considered it a really big blessing to be able to take over for him.”

Looking to spoil the ceremony are the Bears, who toppled the Georgetown Hoyas in their first game of the season via a 40-plus point victory — Brown’s first since 2013.

The Bears are now looking to maintain one of the top offenses in the Ivy League while orchestrating a new defense under first-year defensive coordinator Dan Mulrooney. In last week’s game, their defense allowed just 183 yards, their lowest since 2012.

Brown returns many key pieces from last season, including junior quarterback James Murphy, who sat behind the

conference’s second leading passer, and senior linebacker John Perdue, who finished on the All-Ivy second team.

After a disappointing season in which the team went 3-7 (2-5 Ivy), sixth-year head coach James Perry hopes the Bears — a team he led to a conference championship in 1999 as quarterback — can build on their strengths and become a real Ivy contender for the first time in his tenure.

In last week’s contest, Harvard jumped out to a 28-0 lead after one quarter, ending the half up 45-0. With its starters resting the second half, the Crimson ended up pulling away to a final score of 59-7.

Harvard’s squad had multiple stellar performances from

returning stars and newcomers alike in a game where more than sixty players played at least one snap.

In just one half of play, senior quarterback Jaden Craig threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns, orchestrating a much different group of skill players from last season as the offense continues to mold its identity. On the defensive side, with new faces in the linebacker and defensive line room, safety captain Ty Bartrum forced a fumble, and junior defensive back Damien Henderson had a fumble recovery and an interception. Overall, the defense had three turnovers to go along with two stops on fourth down, allowing just 205 yards to the

Stetson offense.

Even with the uncertainties in the group, the leaders don’t seem phased by the newcomers. “If we’ve got 11 hungry guys on defense, 11 hungry guys on offense, I think the turnovers will come to us,” said Bartrum. “I think just dissecting as much as we can, trusting in what we see, trust in our coaching, and then going out there and letting it loose.” While this is a rare Saturday night game for the Crimson, for the players, it is just one step on their way to a third straight Ivy League title.

connor.castaneda@thecrimson.com elyse.goncalves@thecrimson.com akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com

Field Hockey Has Best Season Start in Decades

The No. 4 Harvard field hockey team (6-0, 1-0 Ivy League) made history this past weekend, tallying back-to-back shutouts against both Dartmouth and Northeastern to remain undefeated. On Friday afternoon, the Crimson dominated the Big Green (2-3, 0-1 Ivy League) with a final score of 7-0 during its Ivy League opener at Berylson Field. Two days later, Harvard made the trip across Boston to take on Northeastern (4-3). The Crimson blanked the Huskies 2-0, successfully tying the record for the best start to a season in program history at 6-0, a feat not accomplished since 1976. Despite a scoreless opening quarter, Harvard controlled the entirety of the game against the Big Green. The Crimson fired off eight shots in the first fifteen minutes, testing Dartmouth’s defensive line early in the contest. The Big Green goalkeeper, Ava Carlson, stood tall in the quarter, preventing Harvard from capitalizing on any of its scoring opportunities. That being said, the Dartmouth defense could only withstand the Crimson for so long. After a drive towards the net spurred by captain Fiene Oerlemans, Harvard drew a penalty stroke. Sophomore forward Tilly Butterworth continued her strong offensive performance this season by converting on the penalty stroke and giving her team the lead. Merely a minute later, Oerlemans again spurred offensive momentum. The Los Angeles, Calif., native sent the ball

across the zone and towards junior midfielder Lara Beekhuis. Beekhuis proceeded to bury her shot, notching her 50th career point and extending the lead 2-0 in favor of Harvard. Following the lead of their captain, the Crimson’s underclassmen continued the offensive surge. Freshman Rosa Kooijmans pounced on a rebound to record her first collegiate goal. Butterworth then tallied her second goal of the contest off a penalty corner, sending the home team into the halftime break with a dominant 4-0 lead. At this point in the game, Harvard had already outshot the Big Green 20-0. Additionally, the Crimson dominated possession, preventing Dartmouth from

mounting any sort of threat in Harvard’s defensive end.

After the break, the Crimson proceeded to add to its advantage. Sophomore Martha le Huray nabbed Harvard’s fifth goal of the game, assisted by Oerlemans, halfway through the third quarter. Lucy Barker, a freshman from Malton, England, then struck for the first time in her collegiate career off of another pass from Oerlemans. Junior forward Sage Piekarski wrapped up the scoring for the Harvard team in the final few minutes of the game, tallying her second of the season. At the final whistle, the Crimson had notched an incredible 30 shots, of which 22 made it on target. Notably, the

team allowed only 1 Dartmouth shot, which did not even make it on net. Therefore, freshman Linde Burger secured her second shutout of the season, largely thanks to a defense anchored by Bronte-May Brough, Marie Schaefers, Charlotte Casiraghi, Smilla Klas, and Brooke Chandler. After its dominant defeat of Dartmouth, the Harvard team ventured across the Charles to take on the Huskies. Much like its game against the Big Green, the Crimson dominated possession in the opening quarter, producing five solid shots and three penalty corner opportunities. However, unlike Dartmouth, the defensive line held stoutly against Harvard’s onslaught, keeping the game

close.

In the second quarter, sparked by an offensive push, Northeastern seemed to rally some momentum. Luckily for the Harvard fans who lined the sideline, Burger made the critical stop to preserve the shutout.

With just a minute before the halftime whistle, the Crimson finally struck. Stellar passing up the field and a mess of players in front of the net set Beekhuis up for her second goal of the weekend and fourth goal of the 2025 campaign.

Harvard, spurred by the lead, got back in its groove of quickly paced play. In the third quarter, the visiting team was able to block the Huskies from shooting again.

Late in the quarter, Barker drove into the circle and drew a penalty corner opportunity. Set up by Kooijmans and senior Kate Oliver, Brough slammed home her first goal of the season and sealed the victory for Harvard.

In the final quarter, the Crimson continued to outshoot the Huskies, holding them to just two in comparison to Harvard’s five. Burger finished the match with four critical saves, extending her scoreless streak to a full 217 minutes with her three consecutive shutouts.

With the win, the Crimson team has now tied the program’s best start to the season with a perfect 6-0 record. A Harvard field hockey team has not had a 6-0 start to the year since 1976.

The Crimson will now prepare to face off against its toughest opponent yet, as it travels to Princeton this Friday for a showdown against

the No. 8 Tigers (4-2, 1-0 Ivy League). The match will be pivotal for both programs, which clash each year as the biggest contenders for the Ivy League Championship.

Last season, Princeton devastated Harvard in Cambridge by scoring the golden goal in overtime during the regular season. The Crimson responded by beating the Tigers in the finals of the Ivy League Tournament to secure a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. This year, Harvard will undoubtedly vie for