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As Harvard students, it might be obvious to think of dogs when referring to Yalies. Their beloved mascot Handsome Dan is unfortunately quite cute, even if they are on the 19th iteration of him. But did you know that Dan is not the only dog strutting across Yale’s campus?

Here in Cambridge, we all know and love Sasha, Harvard’s community engagement dog. Sasha is practically a member of the class of 2026, first joining the College in August of 2022 and was a missed opportunity for class marshal has been an integral part of all of our college experiences. She joined the Harvard family after graduating from the Puppies Behind Bars program (no, she was never actually behind bars), which trains incarcerated individuals to raise and train dogs for service. Unlike most students who get away with putting service on their resume, Sasha has actually served, logging over 10,000 hours to be exact. The Mignone Center for Career Success would probably be honored to review her resume.

What Harvard probably did not realize when they brought Sasha on campus is that they were bringing in the friend of our greatest enemy: Yalies. Yale also boasts a campus engagement dog, and her name is Heidi, perhaps after model Klum or the young Swiss girl in your childhood reading. Heidi was trained at the same nonprofit that Sasha was, also racking up thousands of service hours and training to bring smiles to students far and wide across campus. She’s actually the one in the infamous famous Dean Khurana kneeling on floor Instagram photo (which we recreated here!).

It seems as though the only leg up that Yale currently has over us is their surplus of furry friends across campus. More tail wags? More cute commands to watch? I hate to give it to them, but having a 100 percent increase in my chances of seeing a dog when I trudge from River East to Northwest Labs twice a week (n=1 to n=2 dogs, #stats #smart) would for sure make me a more pleasurable person to be around. This edge is about to expire, though, as Heidi recently announced her retirement from the University, leaving after five years of service. Five years can feel like a lifetime — just ask any super seniors that you know!

Before Heidi is on her way out, I think that it is important to look at things from a broader perspective. While the feud between Harvard students and Yalies runs strong, Sasha and Heidi can teach us greater lessons that we should carry into the game this weekend.

First, no matter if a student is decked out in Crimson or navy blue (less drippy), their shared mission is to bring smiles to all students that they meet – we should be trying to do the same (even though those smiles are all the more satisfying if they are from your team). Be nice to your Yale comrades this weekend, you never know might come of it: an invitation to a sweaty frat house, housing for the night (please), or even just a heads up with directions on how to get to the Yale Bowl from main campus (why is it SO FAR). And, hey, considering that there is a high possibility that they were waitlisted or rejected from Harvard, it would be nice to show our safety school some kindness! <3

And, second, apart from living on rival campuses, Heidi and Sasha are truly one in the same — they have the same training, same adorable smiles, and even the same Instagram aesthetic (Heidi currently has more followers than Sasha as of now, though. That’s messed up. Harvard can do better). This doesn’t exactly translate onto our campuses, broadly speaking. Our training is far superior (the acceptance rates speak for themselves), our smiles are probably better (Yale never had a FaceMash, did they?), and Harvard’s classy red brick is simply superior to the blend of all of Yale’s beige buildings (they started the minimalist beige baby aesthetic before it was even a thing… impressive I suppose?). This does, however, translate to us as students. We were all anxious overachievers in the same classrooms just a mere few years ago (just some of us better, anxious overachievers than others)! Keep this in mind when you’re heckling the sea of navy across the field.

So, at the end of the day, we should look up to Sasha and Heidi’s companionship. Be kind and gracious — while we may only be in New Haven for the weekend, some people actually have to live here for four years (as someone who has lived adjacent to here for twenty years, I get the pass to say this). Here’s to finding friends within our foes!