02.26.26: The Pop Culture Issue
Pop Culture
Created by Harvard Independent using PuzzleMe’s online crossword maker
Kitchen Sink No. 5
The ward was quieter than it should have been. Not silent—the ward was never silent, there were always pipes rumbling in the walls, footsteps somewhere above and the low moaning of a man three doors down who had not stopped since Tuesday—but the particular stillness of Edward’s bunk sat in the room like a new […]
Datamatch Isn’t About Dating Anymore
“Expectations? No. Hopes? Of course,” said an anonymous senior at the College. Datamatch returned this February, inviting Harvard College singles to test their luck ahead of Valentine’s Day 2026. The platform was founded in 1994 by students in the Harvard Computer Society, originally beginning as a paper-based matchmaking survey. Every year, countless undergraduates sign up […]
Harvard University’s Essential Labor Remains Unseen in Blizzard
Chloe Lee ’29 entered the Holworthy basement with her friends at midnight on Feb. 23, at the tail end of the second blizzard Boston has experienced this year. “As I walked in, there was a common room with a bunch of couches, and along the couches was a HUDS worker asleep,” Lee said to the […]
Bring Back Boy Bands
When my mom was in college, she was obsessed with boy bands. A defining cultural phenomenon of the late 1990s and early 2000s, these groups dominated the pop landscape at the height of their influence, gathering cult-like followings. My mom was among the many young girls lured in by the intoxicating cocktail of heart-aching ballads, […]
Shaken Not Stirred
“The U.K. has been colonised by immigrants,” Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the INEOS chemicals group and minority owner of Manchester United Football Club, said in a recent interview with Sky News on Feb. 12, 2026. Though Ratcliffe has since apologized for these comments, his sentiment reveals a rapidly growing, pervasive […]
When Your Artistic Side Needs a Résumé
It is almost impossible to spend time at Harvard without feeling the gravitational pull toward consulting, banking, or law school. It can feel like ambition has a uniform, calling undergraduates to join the sea of interns wearing the Aritzia ‘Effortless Pant,’ J. Crew quarter-zips, and lunching at Sweetgreen between coffee chats. Some flock to consulting […]
My Love Language is Clementines
On every door hangs the symbol for fortune, “福.” Under every pillow, red envelopes rest. Aromas of oyster and soy sauce fill the air. These are the indicators of the Lunar New Year’s arrival. For me, this holiday is bittersweet, filled with celebration, but also a reminder of loss. I grew up looking forward to […]