Harvard Housing Day is notoriously loud. As members of each House storm the Yard, first-years’ excitement of finding out where they will live for the next three years bubbles up into a conglomeration of chanting, screaming, and celebrating. After all, there’s seldom a more unique time in your Harvard experience than discovering one’s next point […]
On Friday, March 12th, at approximately 11:15 AM EST, the Harvard College Class of 2024 logged on to Zoom to discover, either to their chagrin or pleasant surprise, what building and community they will live in for the next three years. First-years gathered—whether virtually on FaceTime with their soon-to-be blockmates or illicitly indoors in each […]
Erin McDermott had big shoes to fill when she took the position as the John D. Nichols ’53 Director of Athletics in May 2020. She replaced Robert L. Scalise, who had held the position since 2001. But the Hofstra University basketball star was unfazed. For the nine years before stepping into her Harvard role, McDermott […]
Artists and non-artists alike have spent more free time than normal in their heads and homes this year, with little to occupy the overactive young adult mind. Many have turned to pen and paper, collage, stamps, and even henna to release pent-up emotion or begin a passion they have always wanted to pursue. Without the […]
“Oh, I don’t believe in God anymore.” “That makes sense.” Suddenly, the size of my left wrist became more interesting than our conversation. I gripped it in a chokehold for a few moments. “What?” My eyes didn’t leave my hand. “But, I wish I did.” I drew in a sharp inhale. The words left a […]
For the first months of its existence, the Harvard Graduate Student Union, HGSU-UAW, had a simple goal in mind. “What do we want?” members of the union members chanted, placards raised high around the John Harvard statue. “A contract! When do we want it? Now!” On July 1, 2020, “Now” finally arrived, and the new […]
Today, cameras flood Harvard’s campus. Whether it’s with a passerby’s iPhone, a tourist’s DSLR, or an Indyite’s newfound vintage 35mm camera, we constantly capture moments with the flick of a shutter. In 1969 when one of the founders of the Independent, Jim Vassef ’71, was photographing Harvard and its community, the making and sharing images […]
As a winter storm descended upon the central United States, one state proved itself unfit to handle itself amid the low temperatures: Texas. The Lone Star state’s inability to function in the wake of inclement weather is not a fault of its people; rather, it is a product of self-isolation and deregulation.
Alabama has recently made national headlines as the future home of two CoreCivic mega-prisons. CoreCivic is the leading constructor and owner of private prisons and detention centers in the United States. Each of the top five owners of CoreCivic has links to Harvard University via employed alumni, and two of those five employ high-ranking executives who also serve as Harvard faculty members.
“Why they want to pin a felly on me? I ain’t did nothing.” Bobby Shmurda, Wash The Case Away If you didn’t know Bobby Shmurda by name, you knew him by voice. In his 2014 breakout single, “Hot N**** (Hot Boy),” Shmurda proudly declared he had “been selling crack like since the 5th grade.” Shmurda’s […]