Contributing opinion writer
Julien Berman
Latest Content
Have Harvard Students Become More Progressive? I Used Data To Find Out.
Students — at least, those who write opinion articles for college papers — have, in fact, become more progressive along almost every possible axis.
Allston Is Gentrifying, but Harvard Isn’t To Blame
Harvard owns 360 acres of land in gentrifying Allston, but is it actually shaking up the economic landscape?
For Harvard, the Name Is the Game
Yes, Harvard already receives hundreds of millions of dollars annually in current use gifts. But we should get more. My strategy: First, sell even more naming rights, and second, let the market set their prices.
Students Make Bad Career Choices. Harvard Should Step In.
Harvard isn’t a government, but it does have a vested interest in the contributions that students make to society once they graduate. As such, Harvard can and should take similar steps to influence students’ choices.
Teach for Prestige
The million dollar question: How can we incentivize more college students — especially ones graduating from Harvard and other elite institutions — to become teachers?
The Conveyor Belt To Corporate Law
So, to all students interested in using law to change the world: Don’t let yourself get swept up in the corporate current. Recognize the structural forces you will need to constantly resist. Otherwise, you’ll probably wake up in 20 years at a large law firm, whether or not that’s what you really wanted.
Taking the Ivory Out of the Ivory Tower
Higher education appears to be locked in a vicious cycle: Students of color have less access to support and mentorship, leading to less faculty diversity, which in turn makes it harder for students from underrepresented communities to envision themselves in faculty positions. Underrepresented students should be supported at every step on the path to professorship.
Unhedge University Funds
An extra percentage or two goes a long way when we’re talking about funds on the order of billions of dollars. That money from the endowment could be used to fund any number of projects that improve educational quality in the present — investments that will pay greater long-term dividends than simply accumulating money in university hedge funds.
Average Annual Investment Return
Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. All values are adjusted for inflation.
