3. Students here have vocal opinions and disagree about almost everything—and that’s fabulous. Keep it up.
Anyone who visits a UC meeting is no stranger to the constant raucous debate over issues as weighty as inclusivity and as petty as Robert’s Rules of Order (a style of parliamentary procedure). Throughout our term on the UC we also saw immense discord among the student body over divestment, the honor code, and final clubs.
Discussion over these topics, while sometimes frustrating, is very valuable. It made our job harder because we knew we could never satisfy everyone. But we all grew a lot from the conversations that took place.
4. As alumni, you wield great power at Harvard—stay engaged and use that influence in effective ways. On so many occasions, decisions (concerning Smith Campus Center plans, student group endowments, House storage timelines, and more) depended heavily on catering to the alumni community and their opinions on what they thought was important.
Harvard definitely prioritizes its alumni—which is great, especially now that we’re alumni—because the alumni are such a huge source of money and prestige for our university. We’ll all be joining that wonderful community as we graduate, but just know that with great power comes great responsibility.
So what can you do? Of course you can donate to Harvard via the capital campaign and support terrific, groundbreaking new programs like the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative or House renewal. Generous alumni donors have undeniably transformed the face of Harvard for the better.
However, there are other, equally important methods, too. Not everyone can (or wants to) donate large sums to Harvard, but everyone can stay aware of University issues and effect change in other ways. Read The Crimson. Read the Gazette. Stay an active citizen when it comes to campus issues. Advocate for policy reforms even after graduating. As an alumna or alumnus your voice actually matters—in some circumstances, it can be far more powerful than when you were an undergrad.
TLDR: Harvard is a complicated, at-times-frustrating, but certainly beautiful place. If you care deeply about it, continue critiquing and improving it, now and in the future.
What will you do to make a change?
Sietse K. Goffard ’15 is the First Marshal of the Class of 2015 and the former vice president of the Undergraduate Council.