Columns
To Harvard’s Leading Women
Some of the women I spoke to from the Class of 1973 highlighted how their trajectory at the College was immensely shaped not only by women they called their friends and peers, but often by those who advised and taught them. They were women of Harvard, too.
I Admitted Myself to the Psych Ward a Month Ago.
I am immensely grateful that the psychiatric ward was life-saving, in no small part because of incredible Harvard administrators who advocated for me. However, I am also deeply troubled that the College’s ambiguous protocols, rather than my wellness, dictate my journey to stability.
Past and Present: The (In)Visibility of Black Lower Level Faculty
Harvard must strike a balance between hiring extraordinary scholars and professors — those who have broken the glass ceiling in their fields — and hiring lower level Black faculty who are just entering academia, but have so much to offer.
Religion as a Mover of Social Change: The Pronoun Envy Episode
Religion can be more than its repressive associations, as the women of Harvard’s religious history have embodied. We must give religion the possibility to continue to become more.
Only a Brief Detour
The Adolphus Busch courtyard is not just a space but an experience. If you ever find yourself in the vicinity, you really have no excuse not to venture into this gem. And even if you’re a tad bit late to class, do take this seemingly out-of-the-way shortcut.
Why You Should Support The Harvard Undergraduate Workers Union
We cannot isolate the Harvard Undergraduate Workers Union from Harvard or the labor movement within higher education. It is part of a national and global working-class struggle.
Beyond Embedding Ethics: Understanding Technology and Society at Harvard
I’ve spent the last few weeks speaking to College students studying technology about their impressions of the Embedded EthiCS program. I’ve been trying to answer the question: Is Harvard adequately preparing its students for this dangerous and uncertain technical future?
Hidden Voices, Public Consequences
Regardless of whether you agree with the PSC’s statement, the revealing of student identities and the subsequent threats to their safety raise an important question for free speech: Does anonymity subvert free speech or protect it?
Teach for Prestige
The million dollar question: How can we incentivize more college students — especially ones graduating from Harvard and other elite institutions — to become teachers?
Big Oil in the Classroom
Harvard needs top environmental talent in its classrooms as it works to train the next generation of climate leaders. The oil industry cannot be allowed to divert that talent for its own gain, taking energy away from the education that is the school’s central mission.
Beyond Bourdain: Disassembling the Meat-Eater’s Anti-Vegan Bias
Vegan and vegetarian food absolutely can be, should be, and often is incredibly tasty when given the same attention and care as meat dishes. We should all be saying “yes” to more meatless options, more often, and saying no to the built in meat-eater bias that rejects a food just because it’s labeled with a “V.”
The Fight for Ethnic Studies Is a Fight for All Identities, Everywhere
The movement for ethnic studies is larger than a single concentration. It is about leveraging the influence of our institution to defy the unchecked censorship and hate that seeks to erase identity from our earliest educational systems.
Gifted and Talented, or Left Behind: The Educational Inequality of Exam Schools
Rather than telling students what they deserve solely on the basis of deeply flawed standardized tests that only measure prior academic experience, an equitable schooling system would divide students not by privilege, but instead by their individual academic needs.
The Best-Kept SECret
Despite the SEC’s grandeur, mentions of it still seem to evoke images of endless slabs of concrete and problem sets. Why, given its architectural brilliance and natural splendor, does it remain overshadowed by the charm of Harvard’s more traditional spots?
Of Writers and Rowers
McKenna E. McKrell ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Adams House. Her column, “Seven Sisters and the Old Boys’ Club” runs tri-weekly on Wednesdays.
About Those Free Speech Rankings
While we disagree with FIRE in specific instances, their fundamental diagnosis is not too far off. Free speech is under threat at Harvard.
The New AFRO: A Call For Black Political Organization
Effective Black political organizing will see to it that new University leadership catches up to our vision of safety, education, and health for Black students in a truly anti-racist campus.
Religious History at the Margins: A Reconstruction
It is this contrast I’d like to focus on, between Phyllis S. Schlafly and Mary Daly: Two women who touched Harvard’s campus. One who would be encouraged to speak only to women; the other forbidden from teaching only to them.
It’s Time For Queer Affirmative Action
Decades after Bakke, it may be fruitful to ground rationales for queer-conscious admissions in a university’s interest in rectifying societal discrimination.
Truth Versus Fossil Fuels
As long as the fossil fuel industry has its hands in our research, dragging us backward as they’ve been doing to the world since the 1970s, Harvard will not be a leader. It’s time for Harvard to take the next step since divestment. It’s time for fossil free research.
AI Images: Where Seeing Isn’t Believing
Up until now, we've evaluated the trustworthiness of where information comes from, how it’s been generated, and the context in which it’s presented. But the newest generation of imaging tools threatens to change that.
The Conveyor Belt To Corporate Law
So, to all students interested in using law to change the world: Don’t let yourself get swept up in the corporate current. Recognize the structural forces you will need to constantly resist. Otherwise, you’ll probably wake up in 20 years at a large law firm, whether or not that’s what you really wanted.
You Just Can’t Get Lost
In the labyrinth, as in our academic and personal journeys, the winding path itself holds as much significance as the endpoint. Every twist and turn, every moment of introspection, adds depth to our experience. The labyrinth has one path that always leads to the center.
SENIOR SALE: Clearing Closet and Conscience
For the sake of our environment and culture, we should undoubtedly think more about fulfilling our community needs before haphazardly throwing used goods up for sale. But at their best, senior sales hold a glimmer of hope for building a more sustainable culture on our campus.
Wikipedia: A Model for Better Discourse on Campus
When it comes to civil discourse, Wikipedia (ironically) doesn’t have all the answers, but its approach to debate outshines much of what we often see here at Harvard. As we look for ways to foster open dialogue on campus, we should take cues from the Free Encyclopedia.