Scrutiny
The Weight of Lightweight Rowing
It is an open secret that lightweight rowing can promote disordered eating. But the category persists as a collegiate sport, and Harvard is one of the few schools that offers it.
Volume XXXVI, Issue VIII May 1, 2025
Dear Reader, In the last cover story of the semester, ECG, AR, and KJK take us inside the world of lightweight rowing, in which every rower must weigh less than a set weight limit. In theory, the category is the great equalizer in a sport that prioritizes size and strength. In reality, it often leaves its rowers with eating disorders. With rigor and empathy, these reporters examine the impact Harvard’s lightweight program has had on its athletes — and the limits of reform in a sport defined by weight. In this week’s Around Towns, true soldiers JES and SLSY take us to the Battle of Lexington — reenacted at 4:16am on its 250th anniversary. VWR plays pickleball with the Harvard Pickleball Club. JPL, MSA, and NURC party at Queer Prom. JHP sets out in search of a sports bar near Harvard’s campus. AJPL and MSA look at the story behind Allston’s nickname “Rat City.” XSC profiles the married HBS alumni who founded Beli (like Letterboxd, but for food). AJPL and MK speak to Narayan Khandekar, director of the Harvard Art Museums’ Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies. AR writes about HMS researchers affected by the Trump administration’s funding cuts. ASM profiles Ed Childs, an icon of Harvard’s labor movement. JMK and SZ explore the effects of the Trump administration on ESPP concentrators’ job prospects. CGH brings us a write-around profile of Michael Abramowitz, a former CrimEd suing the Trump administration for its dismantling of Voice of America. JES and NURC speak to Logan McCarty, Chem 20 lecturer and opera singer. CJ writes about Brittany Charlton and her fight to save the LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence. For a double-feature 15Q, CL sits down with poet and Economics PhD CJC, and CES talks to chess grandmaster and Economics professor KSR. Our columnists close out the semester. AJBS blurs the boundary between the digital world and “real life.” AS writes about her study-abroad experience in Cuba. CS traces his genealogy of queer ancestors. In a standalone column, MEL quits her phone for a week. This issue brings a quartet of poignant introspections. JES writes about the memories stored on her old laptop. IS writes about her mother’s feelings about weakness. JMK writes an introspection about growth, feeling, and magnolia trees. Capping off her annual series, MG writes a letter to her senior year. At the end of the semester, we could all use a little levity. MHJ and NURC parody the chaos of the Currier mailing list. JK and MK compare corsetry to LS1b. MEL compares the Widener stacks to Harvard fighting back. And, finally, FM’s staff presents Alan Garber with advice on how to recoup billions of dollars in cut funding. FMLove, YAK + MTB
Can Fenway Health Meet the Moment?
For years, Fenway Health has faced down financial insolvency and prolonged union negotiations. Now, it must contend with a new challenge: a federal government hostile to its founding mission as a community-based LGBTQ health center.
To Call Allston Home
On the surface, Allston’s high turnover makes our neighborhood seem like a place where people come and go. But its residents — renters, homeowners, artists, families — refuse to let transience define them. Today, they are fighting for a community where those who want to stay can stay.
Actor Observer Members
The members of Actor Observer. From left to right: Nick J. Grieco, guitar; Jake M. Satow, bassist; Kyle F. Kowalsky, guitar; Greg W. Marquis, vocals; Daniel R. Goterch, drums.
