Scrutiny
Hands and Key
However, it is not just the privileges afforded by wealth that improve the chances of a legacy student, Chetty finds — it is their legacy status.
Statistical Report of the Statisticians
Hand-drawn graph included in the Statistical Report of the Statisticians that tracks the increase in the “percentage of Jews to total number of students admitted.”
Statistical Report of the Statisticians Chart
A chart included in the Statistical Report of the Statisticians that lists current students who “would have been excluded” under the “New Plan” of admissions. An “x” signifies if a student would have been rejected for being a “line case” or for failing English. Certain students are also marked with a red “J.”
‘The White Man’s College’: How Antisemitism Shaped Harvard’s Legacy Admissions
A Harvard education has the ability to change someone’s life, and, when leveraged properly, to influence the course of the nation. But as legacy admissions favor the children of alumni — who are disproportionately white and wealthy to begin with — many are left questioning the degree to which the University can truly act as an engine of change.
Volume XXXIV, Issue XVII
Dear Reader, We hope you’re staying warm despite the wind, rain, and old drafty dorm rooms. But now you have the perfect excuse to curl up with a cup of tea, forget your early-enrollment period stress, and read our issue! It’s a good (and chunky) one. In this issue’s scrut, SJ and YAK bring us back to the ’20s, when Harvard admissions first became competitive. During his term, President Abbott Lawrence Lowell aimed to limit the number of Jewish students on campus to maintain the Anglo-Saxon character of the school. Some of the measures that Lowell’s admissions committee implemented became part of what is now the Harvard Admissions Office’s holistic review process. Other measures evolved into legacy preference, which has come under scrutiny in light of the Supreme Court decision this summer that overturned race-based affirmative action. This scrutiny traces the antisemitic history of legacy admissions and what it says about the exclusionary history of the College. Who does a Harvard education aim to serve? Can college admissions ever be certifiably inclusive at an elite institution? Also in this issue, SSL goes on a run with Graham Blanks ’25, a record-breaking distance runner at Harvard — or more accurately, she goes on a bike ride to keep up Blanks’s “casual” seven-minute-per-mile pace as he chats about his running insights, training regimen, and shares a glimpse into the lifestyle of a collegiate athlete. CNS and AC interview Kylie Hunts-in-Winter ’25, a martial arts world title holder, a prominent advocate for raising awareness of the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and co-president of the Harvard Jiu Jitsu Club. They talk with her about how her martial arts training intersects with her advocacy for women's empowerment and Indigenous rights. AI, AEP, and TNR interview English professor Stephanie L. Burt, who is teaching a new course titled “Taylor Swift and Her World” in the spring, offering students an opportunity to analyze Swift’s lyrics, music, and influence in the broader context of American art and literature. IBC interviews poet Joseph N. Fasano who is dedicated to democratizing poetry by making it accessible to a broader audience. CJY and AXN write about The Aging Initiative at Harvard, co-founded by Alyson D. Harvey and her colleagues, which aims to generate interest and awareness of aging research and the social and financial implications of aging. MMN writes about the ALiVe Project, which is run by researchers at the GSD, in collaboration with the Wyss Institute and SEAS, who are exploring innovative architectural technologies to make more environmentally efficient buildings. CM and LG talk to Delilah Brown, a student at Harvard Extension School who is managing and improving Harvard’s campus eateries, revitalizing the Queen’s Head Pub as well as the Barker and Lamont Cafes. As for the beloved undergraduate hangout Cabot Café, AS and MD report that the managers have delayed its opening due to new regulatory processes, costly certification requirements for student managers, and budget challenges. VWR also ventures to the Quad and reports on the recent game of Harvard Survivor, where 16 participants faced various challenges, searched for hidden idols, and formed alliances. AEP writes a choose-your-own-levity: how will you, a lone biker, make it to Mather in a sea of scooters? EL makes a comic suggesting various ways to be productive on the endless ride between Central Square and Harvard Square on the T. Lucky reader, you get to enjoy not one, but two 15Qs! BWF talks to historian Jules Gill-Peterson about the history of DIY transitioning, trans girl meme culture, and the trans community’s resilience in the face of political attack on all sides. CJK sits down with historian Naomi Oreskes to talk about climate change denialism, the discordance between climate sustainability and economic growth, and her favorite rock (spoiler: it’s Labradorite). It’s that time of the semester and we get it: you’re drowning. No fear, FM is here to provide you with our recommendations for the top 15 best places to cry. We got your back. In this issue’s endpaper, CJK reflects on the impact of Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” on her understanding of womanhood, lineage, and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. We also bring you a crossword puzzle themed for this week’s scrutiny, constructed by crossword master JGH. Thank you to SS, SET, SCS, MHS, MQ, JH, and JJG for maestroing all year and especially to our design team for bringing us amazing glossies, time after time! Thank you to our execs and writers — we love you. Thank you to BLK and MX for proofing. A huge thank you to KT and HD for filling in our shoes a little prematurely to help us edit during shoot — so proud of and thankful for you two. Thank you to the rest of superboard for making Turkey Shoot deliberations legitimately enjoyable. Good luck to the 151st Guard — you’ll do great! The biggest thank you, as always, goes to my steadfast co-chair. I don’t know what I would do without you by my side (while watching Instagram reels, knitting, and playing online solitaire). Labradorite is cool and all but my favorite rock is and will always be IYG. FM Love, AHL & IYG
Broken Recovery: Eating Disorders at Harvard
From anxieties about eating in Annenberg to busy schedules to specific dietary restrictions, one of the most essential tasks of daily life — nourishing ourselves — became a recurring difficulty for all of us.
Volume XXXIV, Issue XVI
Dear Reader, Happy Halloweekend! We hope you’re taking in the sun (while we still have it). And while the weather makes going out in skimpy animal costumes more enjoyable this Halloween, it’s hard not to feel unsettled by this unseasonal warmth. Even so, it’s a nice reminder to go outside, take a break, go on a walk, and admire the vibrance of the changing leaves. This is peak New England fall — remember to take advantage of it. In this issue’s scrut, JKW writes about the experiences of having an eating disorder at Harvard. She opens up about her own history of disordered eating and shares other Harvard student’s stories. After months of research, interviews, and introspection, she brings us a powerful, beautifully written story about how, at Harvard, student culture can encourage disordered eating and how bureaucratic oversight often makes the process of recovery fall solely on the individual. She also speaks with medical professionals and experts to uncover more broadly where the problem begins. Thank you, JKW, for bringing this important story to light, and thank you MG for your diligent editing and your empathy. RCA and AY report on the library in the SEC (yes, it exists) and its collection, which runs the gamut, spanning from graphic novels to poetry collections to memoirs, many of which discuss the intersection of the development of science and technology with questions of race, gender, and ability. AI and MMN write about the Cambridge Time Trade Circle, where people can make purchases and complete tasks using an alternative economy using time as a currency. This week, we bring you another map: this time, MTS and MEE report on all our favorite haunts (and the ghosts who haunt them). And in this issue’s 15Q, SWF interviews Bruno Carvalho, whose research focuses on cities and culture, talking to him about the current controversy surrounding bike lanes in Cambridge, the first things he notices when he goes to a new city, and Halloween costumes. In our endpaper, EMK writes about her favorite cry-read, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince,” and how it resonates with her continual search for home. Thank you to SS, SET, SCS, MHS, MQ, JH, and JJG for maestro magnificence. Thank you to our execs — the lifeblood of our backend production (and an especially big thanks to those who helped hand deliver the glossy!). Thank you to BLK and MX for proofing in the direst of circumstances (Turkey Shoot, Crimween, Parent’s Weekend). Thank you to our writers, and especially to our readers for sticking with us. To IYG: the funniest person I know. Thank you for being a good sport and for always being there — we’re chugging along, even with midterms and Turkey Shoot, and making (New York Times) connections along the way. I’m so excited to round out the rest of the year with you! FM Love, AHL & IYG
AAAS Cover
What does the campaign to found Black studies have to teach all people discontented with the university, society, and world they find themselves in?
office hours
Wesley E. Profit '69, a member of AFRO, speaks at a meeting between AFRO members and Harvard faculty.
harvard stadium
AFRO members gather at Harvard Stadium. On April 14, a crowd of 10,000 gathered at Harvard Stadium, and voted to extend the three-day student strike another three days.
charles hamilton jr
Charles J. Hamilton Jr. ’69 in 1969. “In many cases,” wrote Hamilton in an October 1967 Crimson Supplement, “blacks are leaving behind their token presence in other undergraduate organizations for the sense of unity and expression found in an all-Black organization.”
‘That Class Shut Harvard Down’: The Founding of African and African American Studies
In the late 1960s, Black students's advocacy led to the creation of what is now Harvard's African and African American Studies Department. What does the campaign to found Black studies have to teach people discontented with the university, society, and world they find themselves in?
Volume XXXIV, Issue XV
Dear Reader, Between midterms and endless meetings these mid-semester weeks are quite brutal. It’s easy to just want to skip ahead to the next break, but even hard weeks have their silver linings. Like this issue! These articles are sure to have you skipping happily to your next midterm. In this issue’s scrut CJK and STB write about how the African and African American Studies Department came to be. Weaving together student writing at the time, countless archival Crimson articles, and retrospective interviews with key players, they meticulously reconstruct the student-led protests and advocacy that eventually pressured the faculty into creating the department. They then explain how, slowly, and, at times, painfully, the department was built up to what it is today. As students today also try to effect change at Harvard, this story is incredibly relevant and important. HWD talks to Jennifer E. Hoffman, a physics professor who is using her sabbatical to run all the way across the country — she’s averaging 60 miles a day, and aiming to break the world record! CEK interviews Aryt Alasti, a security guard at Harvard, about his gardening work around campus and his relationship with Harvard. CES and CNS write about Lawrence B. Millman, a mycologist — a professional mushroom man, that is — and his love for spores galore. Fun fact: his nickname growing up was “dirty little Thoreau.” After the hubbub surrounding the fake freshman this fall, ASA and VWR look into other historical cases of people pretending to be students on campus. LG writes about H Bomb, a now-defunct sex magazine at Harvard in the mid-2000s. Before the Head of the Charles this weekend, AY and CB go to the banks of the Charles to see the maiden voyage of a Harvard’s student pumpkin boat. Yep, you heard that right, a Harvard student hollowed out a giant pumpkin and turned it into a boat. RCG visits the Warren House and writes about its history and, particularly, its bathroom (and the murder mystery that it’s featured in). SSL writes about the app Claim, which allows students to get discounted and free food, and how it works as an advertising platform for businesses around the Square. MMFW talks to Maria Dominguez Gray about her work at Phillips Brooks House Association. In the endpaper for this issue, SEW explains that every square inch of her room is decorated with ephemera, and why she wouldn’t have it any other way. Go read the issue! There are no skips!!! Thank you SS, SET, SCS, MHS, MQ, JH, and JJG for lending your visual talents to our magazine. Particular thanks to SET for such beautiful glossy spreads, helping us handle InDesign, exporting, and printing troubles. Thank you to BLK and MX for thoughtful proofing and comments, and to SEW for good vibes and scrut proofing. Special thanks to our fantastic compers for writing your first articles, and for contributing your wonderful ideas and writing to our magazine. And, of course, thank you AHL. As we’ve remarked multiple times this week, we spend so much time together that we’re basically just a merged being now. Thanks for making this job infinitely more manageable and fun! FM Love, IYG & AHL
‘You’re a Case Number’: The Bureaucratic Gaps Behind Harvard’s Mental Health Leaves of Absence
I set out to uncover the reasons behind these policies, as well as their effects; for some students, whether they take a leave and how they do so could be, and has been, a matter of life or death.
Printer Graphic
Many obstacles are posed for students on leaves of absence for mental health reasons if they wish to return. They must discuss new agreements to engage in treatment or provide “materially relevant” information, or provide evidence of an error in the Ad Board’s decision-making process, within just five calendar days.