Crimson opinion writer
Michelle I. Gao
Latest Content
A Year of Uncertainty
In some ways I appreciate the state of not knowing — or rather, of finding out. That was my job this year, to learn more through reporting stories.
Asian Americans, Speak for Yourselves
To use the language of the woke nowadays, reclaim your identity. It is, after all, yours.
Those Rocks Outside the Science Center
For all the disproportionate amount of time I’ve spent thinking and talking about these rocks, why didn’t I look up their origin earlier?
Affirmative Action Outside the Law
As debate inevitably continues on (not least because SFFA so clearly intends to bring the case up to the Supreme Court), we must keep in mind what wasn’t adjudicated as well as what was.
Buying into Harvard
Harvard lives up to its name in many ways, of course. But putting it on a pedestal obscures the imperfections that it, like any other institution, has.
The Entitlement of Harvard Partyers
Something is seriously wrong when students feel entitled enough to demand that the University must indulge them, instead of reasonably curtailing their lifestyle choices.
Sanctions and Sanctimony
If the administration trusted its students, it would not need sanctions. Harvard cannot have it both ways.
Single Gender in the 21st Century
Being single gender isn’t the problem, and one of my main issues with the sanctions rollout is that Harvard has at times strayed dangerously close to insinuating that.
Unsubtle Asian Traits
Leave the subtleties and the individualism for another day. Today, give the people their silly, simple, and unsubtle memes.
The Valuable Parts of ‘Legacy’
Institutions should aim to be so good that alumni want to send their kids to them and remain engaged for their whole lives. But legacy is worth building, not buying.
Young Voters and Excitement, Or Lack Thereof
Voting will not always feel exciting, and because voting is not really that exciting — but that is all the more reason we must do it.
What College Admissions Still Needs to ‘Affirm’
Race is inborn and unchangeable, but socioeconomic status is inborn and changeable. This fundamental difference is why the latter is a more valid concept to affirm.
Not Quite a Home Away from Home
I don’t want college to be more like my home. That place — a sheltered escape from the outside world — is my childhood home. And I should not be a child anymore.
Rehumanizing 'Networking'
It was only in the late 1970s that the act of “networking” began to also apply to humans, in the modern sense of creating a system of contacts.
Transactions and Transformations
As I realize now, I have been “transformed,” but only as much as I let myself. Although that is certainly a start, it is not quite enough.
