Growing up in Philadelphia, many snow days were scheduled all throughout elementary and middle school. My day consisted of hot chocolate, snowmen, and sleeping in, giving me some of my fondest childhood memories. The death of the “snow day” is another one of the many long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The once-beloved snow days […]
The purpose of a Harvard education is supposedly the joy of discovery, the thrill of intellectual curiosity, and the personal satisfaction of mastering a challenging concept. However, the prevailing vision of many Harvard students is that college is simply a pathway to a universally desired outcome—a prestigious, high-salary career. This vision is hard to escape. […]
BY JORDAN WASSERBERGER ’27 Hello Indy reader! For those of you who have listened to the Excelsior podcast, it’s nice to see you again—in writing this time—and please enjoy this deep dive into your favorite podcast. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, now’s your chance to rectify that. Let’s […]
Purge. Oust. Eradicate. Dispose. You’ve heard the stress-inducing rhetoric of professed minimalists, arguing that non-essential items are wasteful and should be removed. You’ve heard the crazy stories of libertarian minimalists who own exactly one hundred things and live in remote locations. Minimalism might bring to mind a modest lifestyle, a beige interior, and an empty […]
I’ve barely made it past the entrance of Cabot Library when a friend studies my outfit and asks, “Is someone making you wear those pants for hazing?” “No,” I laugh, bowing my head towards my silver, denim, distressed pants. I get the biggest adrenaline rush when people’s eyes dance around my outfit, they smile, and […]
Sachi: “Hi, I’m a sophomore in Winthrop House concentrating in art history.” Students at Harvard should minimize the number of qualifications (such as double concentrations, secondaries, and citations) they choose to get in favor of diversifying the classes they take in college. Choosing a majority of classes based on requirements limits students intellectually and narrows […]
I grew up in a library. The first floor is the reference section: dozens of encyclopedias, the complete Harvard Classics, and the 20 volumes comprising the Oxford English Dictionary line the walls of my living room; two bookcases with titles ranging from Consider the Fork to The Oxford Companion to Food are housed by the […]
At the end of each school year, a mass influx of sales pervades email chains and social media of items that college students want to get rid of. Basement trash rooms overflow with shelving, carpets, clothes, and other objects students either do not want or do not have the ability to store. Purchasing cheap room […]
Toxic productivity culture defines the way we interact with nearly every component of our lives on Harvard’s campus. Though it can feel insurmountable to tackle the vast and varied tasks that accumulate in light of our inattention to them, we owe it to ourselves to seize a free moment when it does arise. Though the […]
“Harvard is hard.” At one point or another, we’ve all come to the unfortunate realization that the phrase is actually true. But does Harvard have to be so academically rigorous? There’s no need to buy into the Harvard academic overachiever stereotype (I’m looking at you, LS50 and Math 55 first-years) when you can minimize your […]