Crimson opinion writer
Allison P. Farrell
Latest Content
What Good Is a University Without Students?
Even if Harvard is too invested to stop building new facilities now, it must take a hard look at its priorities and ensure that its educational mission remains intact. Harvard’s future is built on the minds it nurtures — buildings are great, but they need people to fill them.
Free Speech Is Alive and Well at Harvard. Why Aren’t Media Covering It?
If the media under-reports controversial conservative speech, it risks letting some ideas spread under-the-radar, preventing the full and robust dialogue that occurs only when the conversation is open to all.
Harvard Must Defy Trump
Harvard’s leaders must begin to consider, behind closed doors, how far Harvard is willing to go in enabling the Trump administration’s attacks on fundamental rights.
Trump Must Be Beacon Hill’s Wake-up Call
The next four years will be difficult across the country, but if we can have true leadership here at home, we can avoid the worst of it. It is time to demand that this legislature fix the mechanisms that have rendered it ineffective.
Harvard Educated Eight Presidents — Why not a Philosopher King?
We do not need to believe in Platonic philosopher-kings to believe that it is good for our leaders to be equipped with the tools of moral philosophy. Those making decisions that impact the lives of their fellow citizens should understand both the empirical and ethical import of their actions.
Cambridge Has a Good Alternative To Violent Policing. It Must Embrace It.
Cambridge has a policing alternative in its Holistic Emergency Response Team, and it could take some of its citizens out of harm’s way. It’s high time it commits to it.
Universities Must Become More Political — Not Less
We must reckon with the popular mandate of this anti-intellectual movement or we may well see its most dangerous proposals become reality.
Abolishing Legacy Admissions Won’t Make College Accessible
Either education is made affordable and knowledge a tool for all, or it will continue to be reserved for the privileged few.
Abolish the MCAS Graduation Requirement: Vote Yes on Ballot Question Two
It’s time to get rid of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System graduation requirement.
Dissent: Classroom Comments Can’t Be Anonymous
Those who support the Chatham House Rule ignore the reality that the discussion of ideas must happen with the real world in view.
We Need Students on the Ad Board
If we want Harvard to serve as a community in the true sense of the word, then we must all play a part, even with the difficult aspects of living together. Harvard students are ready for the challenge: What we need is for the administration to give it to us.
Protest Is Intellectually Vital
What are Harvard’s “normal operations,” and when does protest become an unwarranted disruption of these operations?
Harvard’s Mental Health System Is Dehumanizing
When Harvard treats students as liabilities, it sends a clear signal to those who need care: There may not be a place for you here.
Interpreting the Harvard Faculty’s Lack of Ideological Diversity
It is an odd feature of our current time that we allude to an ideal of weighing “all viewpoints” against one another. Indeed, we must ask whether the proposition to include “all viewpoints” is reasonable or even possible.
Breadth Over Depth: In Favor of Exploration
While Harvard offers a plethora of introductory courses, there are very few that provide a broad overview of the fields studied across Harvard’s many departments. This can and should change if Harvard wants to foster intellectual growth and exploration
