Paulo Freire exiled on Mass Ave
Escaping military dictatorship in the ’70s, Brazilian critical educator and philosopher became a Harvard Visiting Professor.
“Paulo Freire did not study at Harvard. Harvard studies Paulo Freire!” remembered Victor Arruda ’25, who is from Freire’s hometown in the outskirts of Recife, Brazil. “Coming from Pernambuco, I have sort of always known Freire; his name is all over: streets, schools, buildings,” said Arruda. Victor added that he would like American students to know […]
Point/Counterpoint: Should Prostitution Be Legalized?
BY: JONAH KARAFIOL ’26 AND LUKE WAGNER ’26 Jonah Karafiol ’26: Prostitution is a practice built upon exploitation, impossible to guarantee safety for its workers. It is vital that the United States ban prostitution to protect those at risk.Luke Wagner ’26: Of course, the practice has undeniable flaws. But we cannot solve these issues by […]
Daddy Dearest
How parental relationships affect our sex lives.
We have all heard the phrase ‘Daddy Issues.’ Whether used as a derogatory way to describe a woman’s childhood or a mainstream method for people to self diagnose their past trauma, it’s a hot topic in all of our sex lives today. Whether or not most Harvard students are using their Psych 1 knowledge to […]
Harvard Students are Too Busy Studying to Get Laid
Sexual frustration, intimacy, and the decline of sex Harvard and beyond.
For a school focused on academics and post-grad success, sex often is an afterthought at Harvard. Internship interviews, CS 124 problem sets, HUM10 readings, MCAT studying—beyond our school obligations, many Harvard students do not give themselves the time or energy to build sexual relationships. But this is not just a trend at Harvard, as a […]
Artificial Romance
How AI can change our romantic relationships.
Many educators fear how artificial intelligence will dismantle academic integrity, giving students easy ways to answer classroom questions. Yet a more unsettling thought is the magnitude of how technology can disrupt interpersonal relationships. If artificial intelligence can learn to think like a human and create curated responses to our every inquiry, will people form emotional […]
Foreign Affairs
How good (and bad) sex changed the world.
We’d all like to believe that our leaders’ decisions on foreign affairs have nothing to do with their, well, personal affairs. However, often what goes on under the sheets can be as important as what goes on in the Oval Office. Indeed, as we all well know, the Oval Office has long been a place […]
The Third Certainty of Life
Death, taxes, and abortion.
Mark Twain once said there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. However, for most women, there is a third: their period. This natural cycle occurs, usually like clockwork, and while a nuisance and often deeply disruptive, my period has often been the most stable and consistent aspect of my life. And here […]
Dating Outside the Gender Binary
Communication tips when you’re crushing hard but don’t know your crush’s gender.
Note: Sources have been anonymized because of their hesitancy to publicly come out as non-binary/transgender due to safety concerns caused in part by anti-trans legislation that is coming to legislatures across the country. Trans Day of Visibility is on March 31st, and there will be events that are open to students hosted by the BGLTQ+ […]
Indy Sportsbook: No More Vanilla Betting
A guide to pushing the limits with some less than comfortable sports.
The Sex Issue is the Harvard Independent’s biggest theme of the year, but it has proven to be a little tricky for us over here at Indy Sportsbook. While we consider both gambling and sex very worthwhile vices, the overlap between them is few and far between. Gambling is certainly not the “sexiest” subject—good luck […]
I Want to Take a Ride on That Scooter
An original creative writing piece.
Shit. I should’ve sat on the balcony. It’s the first day of my big lecture class in Sanders Theatre and I’m regretting my seating arrangements, seeing all the hot boys sitting up there. I know I should be focused on the presentation in front of me, but I can’t help playing “Smash or Pass” in […]
Shucking: A Short Story
An original creative writing piece.
The last-call bell inside the restaurant rang and the last guests left in succession like seaweed washed away by waves. Their whirl of plaid and pastel gave way to the road which stretched alongside the bay. But one red dress stayed behind. She trotted covetously to the counter side. Her red dress glazed the dirty, […]
SOS: SZA was That Good
A twerking Boston crowd and a concert leaving the audience thrusting for more: SZA’s SOS Tour.
The Boston crowd anxiously awaited SZA’s entrance. After an energetic performance by singer/songwriter Omar Apollo, fans were singing and dancing to the music occupying the sound system while TD Garden was preparing for SZA’s stage arrival. Unlike most big-venue concerts, there was extreme fan-to-fan communication. One man twerked in the corner of the concert hall, […]
The Harvard-Radcliffe Gender Divide
How Quad terminology on housing day perpetuates derogatory gender norms.
I teach Expository Writing to first-years on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, which means that every year I have two sections that meet in the immediate aftermath of River Run and Dorm Storm. In these sections—and in the ones leading up to them—I hear one word on repeat: Quad-ed. In preparation for being placed into upperclassmen houses, […]