Harvard’s History Hole
Near the front of Harvard Yard lies a small, fenced-off pit, with a dirt pile that seems to grow every day. Most students walk by, give it a glance, and continue along, but for some, the nearby sign captures their attention enough to warrant a closer look. After all, it is not every day that […]
The Future of Divest Harvard
This year the impossible happened. The Harvard Endowment finally announced in a September email from President Bacow to undergraduates that it would no longer be engaging in partnerships with funds that had substantial holdings in fossil fuel equity. This announcement is the result of grassroots student activism that has been knocking on Harvard’s door for almost a decade.
Made by Marl0: Keith Raffel and the Balancing Test
I’ve been wanting to start this column for many reasons, but meeting Keith Raffel was undoubtedly the deciding factor. After meeting with me over Zoom mid-August to review my course selection, to which he supported each of my class choices (and perhaps with a little too much optimization), we grabbed lunch in the Mather Dining Hall […]
Annenberg, Reviewed
High ceilings, wood paneling, stained glass, and animated chatter. Welcome to Annenberg, Harvard’s designated freshman dining hall. Though it’s primarily known for its beautiful interior, which was inspired by the halls of Oxford and Cambridge, Annenberg’s food and ambience must be appreciated as hallmarks of the Harvard first-year experience. The record-large class of 2025 all […]
Finding a Flow
Harvard has a rap scene, and its members are making moves. Student rappers are travelling across the country to record, throwing live shows, and giving back to their communities. The Independent spoke to Jaeschel Acheampong ’24 (“YoungJae”), Erick Silva ’25 (“E Moreland”), and Braden Ellis ’24 (“shock apollo,” recently changed from “brady williams”). Acheampong has […]
Reborn: The Harvard Men’s Soccer Team
The Harvard men’s soccer team has been reborn. After two years without a win, they started off the 2021 season with a 3-2-1 record, beginning with a 4-0 victory over Central Connecticut State University. What provoked this new beginning? After a year off the field, the team boasts a fresh coaching staff, goal-oriented upperclassmen, and […]
“We stand for the flag, and if you don’t like it, we don’t care.”
Mather House was built to suppress. The blockish and brutish tower still maintains the strict and secure attitude of its 1970 anti-protest design. But from under the mass of concrete has sprung a stem of blatant, star-spangled expression in the form of a Nicki Minaj flag. Red, white, blue, and Barbz (her fanbase’s self-dubbed moniker), […]
Safety School vs. Crimson Sucks
“I think they were winning when I left. They won, right?”
“Exhilarating”: Social Life for Students Who Gapped and Students Who Didn’t
A record-breaking 20% of Harvard College’s Class of 2024 chose to defer their first year— three times higher than the usual amount, according to an August 2020 Forbes article. The class of 2025 became the largest class in Harvard’s history and perhaps also the most diverse in experiences. How are these first-years adjusting to campus […]
First Impressions
And just like that, Zoom high school came to an end. The lucky undergraduate class of 2025 began our first of four years at Harvard with an introduction from Ivy Yard Dean Katie Denzon to the common phenomenon of impostor syndrome. Denzon spoke of the tendency for first-year students to characterize ourselves as “other,” believing […]
River Parties
Harvard may be going through a bit of a social dry spell. But is that really such a bad thing?
Ten Days of Solitude
As a matter of public health, proper isolation periods are necessary to control the spread of COVID-19. But less discussed is the question of mental health. It’s clear that social isolation protects other students from getting sick, but how is it affecting the very students who sequester?