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Is “Brat” Green the New Blue?

Harris’ “brat summer” might just be enough to sustain her momentum for another four years of Democratic leadership in America.

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The terms “brat summer,” “Kamalanomenon,” and “coconut tree” haven’t exactly been the easiest election jargon to explain to older family members, colleagues, and friends. Today, young people across the U.S. and around the world have embraced these terms as they’ve been bestowed upon the current U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.  In today’s political landscape, social […]

A Veritas Summer

Rising sophomores embracing campus and avoiding burnout.

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After overcoming the burden of finals in early May, students face the next few months with mixed emotions. At first, we are near-sighted, with a romantic view of the approaching summer.  Updates from LinkedIn about what our ambitious friends are doing shake us out of this honeymoon phase, reminding us to enhance our résumés. The […]

Dear New Harvard Parent: Best, An Indy Mom

Dear New Harvard Parent: Best, An Indy Mom

The mom of a current Independent writer and a former Independent president imparts advice to incoming 2028 parents and explains why she subscribes to the Indy.

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Most of us returning students are experiencing the routine first-week-back jitters, but for incoming first-years, the sensation is unfamiliar. They might be feeling trepidation about the onslaught of new people, new information, and a new bedroom (coupled with new roommates and perhaps not-so-new-ish twin beds) in that new building on this new campus that they’ve […]

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May Matters

The importance of Mental Health Awareness Month on college campuses.

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Brownies or cookies? We’re fifteen, and it’s the biggest argument we’ve ever had, but it resolves itself in a delicious half-brownie-half-chocolate-chip-cookie. We have to mix together two different recipes just to make it work, and they come out looking half burnt, but it’s the best dessert either of us has ever had. She’s my best […]

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Senior Year Bucket List

Eight goals for my last year at Harvard.

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People say that time flies, but you never believe them until it does. Now, at the tail end of my third year, in disbelief that next year will be my last at Harvard, I can confirm that college does indeed fly by. As I wrap up my last week here before heading home, I wanted […]

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An International’s Moral Tax Headache

The ethical implications and logistical nightmares of deliberately opting into the U.S. taxation system.

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There is a certain absolution of shame that comes from watching others share in your sin. Filing taxes an hour before the post office’s closure on the final day of the tax deadline is perhaps the most cardinal sin of all. I found a party of ten Harvard internationals in the USPS building on Mount […]

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Navigating Harvard’s Political Storm

A first-year student’s reflection on being introduced to Harvard during a year of global conflict, protest, and administrative challenges.

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Each time I have left Harvard’s campus and returned home this school year, I have been met with some iteration of the following questions: How is it over there? Is it as crazy as the media makes it out to be? Do you feel safe with all of the turmoil? Whether at a family dinner […]

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More Than a Number

The hidden implications of Harvard regressing back to mandatory standardized testing scores.

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My heart hurts thinking of my sixteen-year-old self who placed her entire worth into a two-digit ACT score. I recall the silence in my household that followed my first test score, which was below my parents’ expectations, and the world of opportunities I was told to believe would only open up when I tested higher. […]

It’s High Time for Change

Examining the stigma around marijuana.

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I smoked my first joint the day after I got into Harvard. My friends had all been massive stoners for nearly two years, but considering my strict parents and highly studious nature, I was afraid that weed would stunt my academic progress. It would hurt my grades, meaning I wouldn’t get into a good college, […]

El - Weed Addiction Article

Stuck Riding the High

The dangers of regular marijuana use, and what schools can do to prevent addiction.

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Think of some addictive drugs. Cocaine may come to mind, along with maybe methamphetamine, alcohol, or nicotine. But if I had to guess, marijuana did not make your cut.  It is easy to understand why marijuana isn’t generally thought of as a particularly dangerous drug. Its recreational usage has been legalized in most states, including […]

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