Crimson opinion writer
Isaac R. Mansell
Latest Content
I’m Not an Alien. I’m Just Canadian.
So how can Americans better understand their sparsely-populated northern neighbor? Perhaps Harvard, the People’s University, is the perfect place to start.
Want To Solve Grade Inflation? Focus On Feedback Instead
Especially if grade inflation is here to stay, a renewed focus on feedback could help revive academic rigor.
The American People Spoke. The IOP Can’t Pretend It Didn’t Hear.
If the IOP is to remain true to its mission, it must champion engagement over exclusion and dialogue over isolation.
Institutional Neutrality Has Gone Too Far
Rather than retreating into silence, Harvard should embrace the expertise of its professors, enabling them to engage meaningfully in the world’s most pressing issues.
At HUDS, Vegetarians Are Caught Between Guac and a Lard Place
I empathize deeply with my vegan peers because, for the past year, I’ve eaten almost exclusively vegan food — against my will.
Dissent: The Editorial Board is Scared to Say The Obvious
As we mourn, we continue to believe that maintaining the sanctity of all life — including all Jews and Palestinians — is not just a possibility but a moral duty. We only wish that our peers would too.
Dissent: On General Education, the Editorial Board Can’t Have It Both Ways
If GenEds are to end, let them be abolished outright. And if Gen Eds are to remain, let’s at least commit to taking them seriously — starting with a letter grade.
Hot Take? Cold Call.
A strategically placed cold call could shatter this dreary atmosphere. Singling out the student whose eyes are most glazed over and hurling an unusually tough question their way sends a clear message: Your texting can wait.
Dissent: Intellectual Vitality for Me, but Not for Thee
If Harvard is actually serious about intellectual vitality, it must solve the root of the problem first: the school’s political makeup.
Harvard Is Not Home to America’s Best and Brightest
The myth that Harvard has a monopoly on genius is rooted in two core beliefs: that Harvard College admits the best applicants and that its world-class academics then produce world-class graduates. Neither are true.
A Letter to the Outside World
Since Oct. 7, another story has developed in parallel to the antisemitism on Harvard’s campus — the story of the public’s reaction to it. This piece is about that story.
The Disturbing Denial of Jewish Grief
It has been truly disheartening to see that amidst the heightened tensions on our own campus, some of our peers have neglected to extend to Jewish and Israeli students the compassion, understanding, and humanity that we all deserve.
