Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and philanthropist, congratulates the graduating class and wishes them the best of luck for future. Oprah Winfrey was the Commencement Day Speaker this year.

Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and philanthropist, expresses her excitement for being at Harvard. Oprah Winfrey was the Commencement Day Speaker this year.

Stephanie D. Wilson ’88, a NASA astronaut and engineer who flew three missions aboard the space shuttle Discovery, was chosen by her classmates to serve as Harvard’s chief marshal for Commencement 2013.

Carl F. Muller AB '73, MBA '76, JD '76, HAA President, invites Drew Faust to the podium to share the highlights of the year.

Some suggest that the practice of circulating lists of easy classes indicates a growing concern with transcripts and post-college pressures to have good grades.

In the shadow of Occupy Harvard, new strategies of student activism have emerged that are at once informed by Occupy and reactions to the past movement's shortcomings.

Some students say that the dearth of private common rooms in Old Quincy, the first building to undergo renovation under House renewal, does not allow them to socialize on their own terms.

The decision to move SEAS to Allston has some faculty and students worried that physical distance will hinder the school's mission of integrating engineering and applied sciences with the liberal arts.

As students develop communities around extracurriculars and House life, departments must come up with creative ways to establish camaraderie around shared academic interests.

When students leave campus to go home due to mental health reasons, they are faced with a complex and stressful web of procedures and difficult choices which at times are beyond their control.

As Harvard undertakes extensive renovations on its undergraduate Houses, spatial changes intended to improve the quality of physical accommodations have the potential to alter the way students interact with their community.

Though the Undergraduate Council led by Tara Raghuveer '14 and Jen Q. Zhu '14 has vocally pressured the administration on certain student issues, the student body still remains at the whims of administrators when it comes to pushing for policy change.

Building a Community

Harvard's first director of BGLTQ student life, Vanidy "Van" Bailey, has prioritized forging connections across the University.

Over the last few decades, current and former administrators say, the resident dean position has evolved from a role that equally balanced academic and administrative work to one that entails a sometimes overwhelming list of bureaucratic duties.

Students say collaboration in the classroom in the wake of the Government 1310 cheating scandal is more highly regulated.

The decision to move SEAS to Allston has some faculty and students worried that physical distance will hinder the school's mission of integrating engineering and applied sciences with the liberal arts.

The Community Builder

Community members say without hesitation that Bailey’s first year on the job has been a successful one. Still, they say, problems remain for the BGLTQ community at Harvard.

Freshmen describe a drinking culture that centers around hard alcohol and binge drinking, despite the new alcohol policy the College adopted several months ago.

A Divided Duty: The Role of the Resident Dean

The resident deans hold a dual role within the framework of the College, interacting with students both as academic instructors and as House-level advisers. Current and former administrators say that over the past several decades the position has evolved from a role that drew an equal balance between scholarly and administrative work into a job that entails a sometimes overwhelming list of bureaucratic duties.

Learning From Occupy

This year's student activists, many of whom participated in Occupy Harvard in fall 2011, say they have a complicated relationship with the old movement. They have simultaneously exploited the consciousness and connections that emerged on campus as a result of Occupy Harvard while trying to improve on the shortcomings of last year’s activism. In doing so, they have gained what Occupy Harvard never could—the support of students and administrators.

The Entryway Reimagined

Changes to the spatial arrangement of the Houses may also dramatically change the way students use these spaces.

A Freshman Drinking Problem

Limited by the fact that administrators cannot police an illegal activity like underage drinking, many say Harvard has yet to find a solution to the freshman drinking problem.

The UC: Forceful + Weak

Former and current UC representatives say that Council president Tara Raghuveer and vice president Jen Zhu are more assertive than their immediate predecessors, but that they are no more effective in convincing administrators to take action.

Going Home

For a handful of students each year, Harvard’s environment is too much to bear. In search of wellness, these undergraduates leave Harvard, returning home to a world without the worries of college life. But before they go, students must navigate a complex and often stressful web of choices and procedures that at times are beyond their control.