Editors' Choice
A Town Divided
In the last few weeks, two petitions have been circulating through Weymouth: one to take down the high school’s Blue Lives Matter flags, and the other to keep them up.
Harvard Professor’s Paper Claiming ‘Comfort Women’ in Imperial Japan Were Voluntarily Employed Stokes International Controversy
A paper by Harvard Law School Japanese legal studies professor J. Mark Ramseyer that claims sex slaves taken by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II were actually recruited, contracted sex workers generated international controversy, academic criticism, and student petitions at Harvard this week.
15 Seniors of the Class of 2021
When they were first admitted, the members of the Class of 2021 made up one of the most diverse classes in Harvard’s history. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread them across the world — and challenged the notion of a singular “Harvard experience.” Today, without campus as an equalizer, the diversity that defined the Class of 2021 has been cast in a new light. In our final issue of the year, we profile 15 seniors — generated at random — to learn about their circumstances and explore how the pandemic has impacted their lives.
Behind the Bust of W.E.B. Du Bois
The painful contradictions of American history seem to be contained within this bust. What Hancock’s motivations or personal convictions were cannot be known, and perhaps remain the greatest mystery of this story. But it is clear that his role in sculpting both the bust and the monument at Stone Mountain raise a host of vital questions about what it means to commemorate, and how the ways in which we memorialize reflect the values of our society.
Dark Money, Dark Chocolate, and a Dark and Scary Night
Beneath the cartoon aesthetic of Halloween2020.org lurks a spooky spider web of special interests, and no one wants to claim authorship of the recommendations for safe trick-or-treating that it offers.
Into the Elephant's Den
Four years ago, the Harvard Republican Club chose not to endorse Donald Trump, denouncing his “racial slander” as a “threat to the survival of the Republic.” Several weeks ago, the same club released a very different decision, not only endorsing the President but describing his policies as leading to “the most prosperous and safe lives for Black Americans.” So, what changed? Exploring a central group chat described as a “lion’s den,” a previous election characterized by “Harvard snakery to the millionth degree,” and the experience of two women on the club’s board, The Crimson dug into the factors behind the club’s controversial reversal.
The Pandemic-Era Allure of Productivity YouTube
This is how, in the early phases of the pandemic, I stumble upon the productivity side of YouTube. Over the last seven months, I have somehow found myself spending more time watching videos that tell me how to optimize my life — how to take notes, stack habits, sleep better, focus on work — than ever before.
A Creatrix Walks Into an Anticapitalist Pottery Bar(n)
Made by Me — a paint-your-own-pottery studio run by queer women, in the process of selling ownership to its employees — is real, open for business, and located right on Mass. Ave.
A New Fear for Salem
These days, a crowd isn’t just a crowd: It’s a coronavirus outbreak waiting to happen. This is the fear of Salem residents in 2020, especially those who work in the town’s tourism sector.
A Theatre for One (or Fourteen More)
The Brattle Theatre, housed in a 130-year-old red brick building in Harvard Square, has been operating as a movie theatre since 1953. Now, as COVID-19 casts doubt on the future of the cinema industry, the Brattle Theatre is working to re-imagine what a theater can be.
The Case for RepHAIRations Hair Shop
Mangcu, Adams, and Bailey grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of diverse hair care products in Arlington and Cambridge. Enter RepHAIRations, which opened its doors in Arlington on June 19 — Juneteenth.
Four First Steps for a Better Editorial Board
Both our impact — like citations in University decisions and national publications — and our mistakes suggest that our community deserves a board that is receptive to the breadth of perspectives on our campus as well as transparent about who we are.
The Language of “Merit” Divides Immigrants When We Most Need Solidarity
Let us not use our privileges as international students or high-skilled workers to further entrench the immigration hierarchy. Let us rethink our toleration of a punitive immigration system.
Dismissals and Disparity: Racial Inequity in Harvard’s Biostatistics Department
We must identify and dispose of practices that create disadvantages for underrepresented minority students and move towards institutionalizing racial equality in graduate programs. Minority students are counting on it.
Locked and Loaded Against COVID-19
“I think a lot of this has to do with a fear of the indeterminacy and the effect this pandemic will have on civil society,” says Caroline Light, a Harvard senior lecturer on studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality whose research focuses largely on Americans’ relationship to lethal self-defense. Spikes in civil gun purchases often accompany moments of uncertainty or instability, such as periods of economic distress or widespread layoffs, Light explains. “As we see the social capacities of the government eroding, we see more and more people asking this question of, ‘How am I going to survive?’”