The Next Chapter

Anyone who knows the two of us knows the Harvard Independent. They know where we are every Monday night, how we start our Thursday mornings, and what we are texting, calling, and brainstorming about at all hours of the day. 

To say that the Indy is woven into the fabric of our college experiences would be an understatement. The foundation of our friendship and our identities at this school are tied intricately to each other and this wonderful, wonderful publication.  

We joined the Indy in just our second week at Harvard, before we truly knew each other or the school. Since those first few days on 12 Arrow St., we have written articles together; traded title-pun ideas about Cynthia Erivo; brainstormed wild pitches for the Sex Issue over dinner in the Lowell House dining hall; and collected Indy Issues, lighters, and merch for our common room. 

While we each connected with the organization in very different ways, we have also remained entirely united. 

If you had told freshman year us, bright-eyed (and terrified) to approach Noah Tavares ’24 and Marbella Marlo ’24—Editor-in-Chief and President of the Independent in 2023—at the Club Fair, that we would be the next President and Editor-In-Chief, we probably would have laughed, thought for a moment, and then yelled at you for jinxing it. 

To be granted this honor and responsibility has been our joint dream from the moment we first saw our names in print all those years ago, and we are beyond grateful to step into the very big shoes left before us—by former Independent Editor-in-Chiefs and Presidents Katie Merriam ’26, Layla Chaaroui ’26, Eliza Kimball ’25, Andrew Spielmann ’25, and countless others.

From, Rania—I knew about the Independent within an hour of being accepted to Harvard; former business staff member Alex Carlin ’26 forwarded me the link to the publication and invited me to a party being thrown over Harvard’s admitted students weekend. Over “Visitas,” in the basement of Tasty Burger with the Weed Issue in hand, I truly knew that the Indy would become my home. 

Since then, I have written over 35 articles; edited across all four editorial boards; interviewed professors, alumni, and students; designed merch, illustrations, and comp posters; and shown up for this organization no matter the task or time.

I believe in the Independent—in the work we do and what we stand to represent. And this belief for me goes beyond a mere appreciation for journalism. It embodies a deep-seated conviction in the power of expression and truth. To me, the Indy serves as a reminder that writing changes people, and writing what everyone else is afraid to changes a culture. 

This paper has given me more than I could have ever anticipated: my two best friends and roommates, mentors, challenges, successes, and a space to call home on this campus. 

Whether I am writing a personal essay about fortune, luck, and a nutty tarot card reader, reporting on breaking news, interviewing Harvard alumni, students, and creatives, or defending the humanities in an op-ed, I remain in this space for two reasons—I love to write, and the Indy’s mission is why I love to write. 

In our current political and cultural climate, I know that leading this publication will require resilience and flexibility, perhaps more than ever. Bravery and courage have become prerequisites for writing what we think and how we feel. But I am here to have the hard conversations and to make the difficult decisions. This is what a newsroom requires to succeed—meeting a moment with grace, sorting the chaos, and delivering without hesitation. 

As Editor-in-Chief, above all, I promise to preserve and embolden our commitment to disruptive, daring journalism. The Independent has always been and will continue to be an arena for fearless, provocative writing at this school and beyond. 

From, Mia—My journey with the Independent has been unconventional, to say the least. I wrote my first ever article before attending a single introductory meeting, all because I had refused to stop hounding my brother (then-President of the Indy) about covering what I believed was the most important news on campus—an imposter freshman. Realizing that no one else had the passion (or time) to tackle this likely flop of a story, he placed me in a group chat where I was told that my draft would be due in three days.

I had an Indy piece due before I had a chance to complete a single Harvard assignment, which felt entirely right. Yet even before my work was published, I had fallen in love with the thrill of journalism. Soon after, I fell in love with the Indy and its people, who were there to celebrate with me when the supposed ‘flop’ article ended up going viral in both the Harvard and non-Harvard communities. 

Now three years in, I have worked across three of the four boards on the Indy, which is entirely unusual. My first semester was spent learning the ropes of the Editorial board, writing articles, and agonizing over both the Associated Press and Independent style guides. Then, during my year-long tenure as Video Director, I worked to legitimize the Indy as a source of both print and digital journalism, with our media eventually amassing over four million views. Thanks to this entertainment success, the Indy was able to establish our Multi-Media Board. 

During this past year, as Business Director, I helped distribute over 50,000 print copies of our issues, run journalism programs for high schoolers, and spearheaded the launch of the Indy Shop amongst other avenues to involve the Indy in campus life. 

During my time with the Indy, we have developed immensely in size and in scope. As an organization, we have been tasked with representing the authentic Harvard student voice and experience across all of our outputs, whether through our paper, podcasts, programs, events, or even scattered posters. I have devoted my past 2.5 years at the Indy to becoming intimately familiar with every aspect of the organization in order to understand how each piece best fits, thrives, and grows together.

Still, no matter my role or contributions, I have continued to write. The Indy is first and foremost a publication. As President, I feel it is my duty to ensure that we leverage every possible opportunity and resource available to us to succeed in that mission. Whether it is the physical printing of weekly issues, shipping subscriptions worldwide, selling merch and ads, or filming video series with College Deans, our business endeavours exist to maintain the Indy as a preeminent beacon of culture at Harvard. As such, I intend to advance and enhance the Harvard Independent’s entire legacy in every way that I can.

Together, as we take this extraordinary organization under our wing and guide it through this next year, we are reminded of our transience in its institutional tradition—the Indy’s distinctive edge, its mosaic of student voices and perspectives, and its fundamental commitment to art, writing, and ideas that belong to the counterculture in which this paper was conceived. Over the next year at the Independent, we hope our leadership is characterized by the audacity to try, spectacularly fail, and ultimately succeed, over and over again.  

Rania Jones ’27 (rjones@college.harvard.edu) and Mia Tavares ’27 (miatavares@college.harvard.edu) could not be more excited to get started.