Harvard’s General Education (Gen Ed) program’s website invites its students to “Explore new ideas. Expand your horizons. Engage with the world.” It instructs faculty that their proposals for course claims should be “geared toward non-specialists” and “not an introduction to a scholarly discipline.” In short, Gen Eds are orthogonal to the main thrust of anyone’s […]
On January 20th, students received an email from the University Health Services (HUHS) indicating that Harvard had acquired shipments of and received approval to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine. Throughout the nation, underdog states like West Virginia are leading in vaccine distribution without priority-based phases, while wealthy states like California lag behind and face issues with […]
What do we gain, and lose, when residential life moves off-campus? Plus, what should off-campus students expect this spring semester? Housing has always been an integral element of Harvard student life. From the distinct personalities of the upperclassmen Houses to intramural sports and Housing Day, Harvard places a high priority on making residential life feel […]
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
These words capture the enigma of the now — our endeavor to position the Independent on a timeline of its past, present, and future.
You’re staring in the mirror. It’s day infinity of being stuck at home, and your split ends aren’t the only thing that’s dull. Life, it seems, is an endless stream of Zoom classes and news articles. But look in the mirror—there’s infinite potential for change! You could cut your hair, dye it, pierce your ears, […]
How do you tell a tenured faculty chemist from a graduate student chemist? Ask her to pronounce “unionized.” On June 30, the Harvard Graduate Student Union, HGSU-UAW, voted 2026-65 to ratify their contract with Harvard. On July 1, it went into effect for one year, providing a raft of benefits ranging from pay raises and […]
Within the first week of arriving at Harvard College, I promptly did a quick search for weekly farmers markets in the area. One of my favorite pastimes is strolling between white tents of local produce stands, fresh bread, hummus, olives, and unique vendors. My first time at the Charles River Farmers Market I groaned at […]
If you’re a Harvard student interested in religion, you’ve likely stumbled upon the Harvard Chaplains’ website at least once. Looking through the list of represented traditions the other day, I had a good (or at least general) idea of the way most traditions worked and what their practitioners believe. But reading further down the list, […]
In line with the many other realities of our COVID-adjusted world, the end of semester move-out from Harvard’s dorms looked quite different this year and presented its unique set of challenges. As planned for the fall semester, the administration required most undergraduate and graduate students living on campus to return home in the week before […]
Between concentration requirements, grades, extracurricular activities, and the general malaise that comes from being a college student during the plague years, it can be easy to develop academic tunnel vision. Even at the best of times, it can be difficult to get involved with anything that falls outside the gravitational pull of your primary field […]