Op Eds
Giving Up Federal Funds Would Do Harvard Good
In January last year, increasingly intrusive government investigations led one of us to argue that Harvard should give up federal funding. The government’s latest actions — and the threat to Harvard’s independence — make this measure more urgent than ever.
Harvard Students Are Snowflakes. Is That a Good Thing?
I’m glad that many people in the Harvard community have a different experience of gun violence than me. It's important, however, to recognize that much of the backlash we face is because we are living a life that most Americans could never dream of.
Dear Visitas Kids: Here’s the Truth
But in a sense, this weekend was a relatively accurate preview of one path at Harvard: six hours of sleep, an over-scheduled Google Calendar, and a healthy dose of imposter syndrome.
Harvard’s Breaking With Birzeit Was the Right Move
Harvard should never have discriminated against Jewish students by sponsoring programs at Birzeit — now Trump is using our own failures against us. Harvard might want to “stay strong” against Trump, but that isn’t a reason to keep failing.
Why Harvard’s Lawsuit Matters — For All of Us
This case is about the freedom of a university to think, teach, and govern itself — without fear of political retaliation. It’s about whether federal dollars become a leash to force conformity. And it’s about whether students, faculty, and researchers across this University can continue to do their work in a space shaped by principle, not power.
Harvard Barred Me From Graduating. This Week, They Gave Me Hope.
There is much work still to do for Harvard to stand by its principles. But the University has at least now demonstrated that it still has principles.
Optimize Your Life. Ride a Bluebike.
And let’s be honest – we’re all optimization-obsessed freaks here, even if we resent it. So let’s accept that part of us and embrace the Bluebike. It won’t solve all of your problems — but here’s hoping I’ll see you at a station soon
Could a Major Advertising Push Fix Harvard’s Image Problem?
Harvard has a golden opportunity right now to become an institution people love again and make this assault much more painful for the Trump administration. To take advantage of it, the University needs to think and invest big in getting its story to the American people.
I Worked To Cure ALS. Then Washington Shut Down the Project.
Overnight, and to my surprise, I became the face of research at Harvard. But my daughter’s text was not the only surprise I would encounter that morning. I also learned I was the latest victim of Washington’s science funding cuts, the consequences of which will devastate American innovation for generations.
I’m an International Leading the Student Body. We Cannot Turn On Our Classmates.
Harvard has been given a choice: We can either turn on each other or stand together against a dystopian threat endangering the most vulnerable members of our community. Now, more than ever, we must stand united as a community and protect our international students.
Time for Harvard To Thank the American People
Yet an even more important ally is the American people. The American people have for many decades given us great gifts — decades of generous support for research, as well as young people to educate and financial support for those students.
Harvard Dismantled the Program That Changed My Life
What Harvard — and federal administrations, whether Biden’s or Trump’s — must understand is that abolishing programs like RCPI will not quash the movement for Palestinian liberation. If anything, it will only make our voices louder and our cause more compelling.
From CAFH Leadership: Harvard Must Not Submit to a Hostile Takeover
The government has a legitimate interest in protecting students from harassment and discrimination, but not in micromanaging the internal operation of the University, and certainly not in micromanaging what its members think.
Israel-Palestine Started Harvard’s Mess. Both Sides Must Help End It.
Since the ’60s, universities have played host to protest movements with extreme elements, and those offended by their extremity have criticized those elements. But America has never, in the age of campus protest, been this hostile to universities or led by politicians this reckless, craven, and fascistic.
With the “Hahvahd” Shirt, Gentrification Takes a Victory Lap
That means that Harvard, long complicit in Cambridge’s gentrification, is profiting off of the very people whose displacement it has fomented. As someone who was priced out of Cambridge, that’s a bitter pill to swallow.
