Columns
Thinking Right
A world without religion, rotary clubs, wealth-equalizing measures, and norms of decency might be a better one for me, Joshua Lipson.
Bye Bye Bloomy
Critical as I still am, there have been times I have been proud to call Michael Bloomberg my mayor.
The Politics of Divestment
Right now, by supporting fossil fuels, the endowment is advancing right-wing goals. Divestment activists want it aligned with the progressive values of Harvard University and its students.
Female Empowerment or Exploitation?
In her recent open letter to Miley Cyrus, Sinead O’Connor warns of the consequences of letting the music industry “pimp” singers. She claims: “It is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent.”
My Old Kentucky Home
Congressional Republicans are spinning—with remarkably straight faces—an alternate narrative where the shutdown is the consequence of Democratic intransigence and unwillingness to compromise.
The Internet, Savior of Television
Now, Marvel can create “S.H.I.E.L.D.,” rife with “easter eggs” to the comic book series and oblique references to the movie, and not worry about a core audience—the core audience, they know, will come. And if someone else clicks “if you watch this other show, you may like…”? Well, Marvel’s even happier. Now, internet… what are we going to do about “Firefly”?
Snap Crackle Pop
Interstate thirty-five doing eighty in an Audi A6, alright? You’re zipping north from San Antonio with a Dr. Pepper, tater tots, and instructions to keep the car immaculate. Sister is driving and you fidget shotgun. Together you giggle at a billboard prophesying the 2027 Apocalypse but for the most part it’s a dull dead shot to downtown Dallas. A periodic highway sign reads, “2214 Deaths on Texas Roads This Year.” You think: since January, how often is that? Do most of them occur on weekends?
You Can Punch If You Wanna
Belonging is as fundamental a human desire as food and shelter. We find belonging in a host of places: In our blocking groups, our relationships, our sports teams, our newspapers and literary magazines and theater troupes and service groups and fraternities and sororities and, you guessed it, final clubs.
The Lighthouse of Economics
Very few economists enjoyed decades of anonymity followed by decades of recognition. Ronald Coase is one of them.
Biking for the Better
“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
Harvard University Library
But I am worried. Harvard’s collection did not spring from nothing, like Athena from the pained skull of Zeus, but from 300 odd volumes from the Reverend John Harvard and the accumulated profit of 375 plus years of diligence, resourcefulness, and prioritizing.
Rank and Defile
At the end of the day, the rankings really amount to a pseudo-objective reflection of subjective reputation.
You are Better than Punch
By choosing to punch, you are reinforcing and legitimizing this system of shame, where people are made to feel inadequate and ashamed solely by dint of being poor, of color, queer, or a whole host of other things that don’t fit with the socially reinforced norm of being a wealthy white straight man
Viva Viva
Harvard Square, meet Viva Viva, a Boston rock band through and through. Though you hear fewer and fewer musicians these days professing their allegiance to the seemingly outdated genre, the members of Viva Viva proudly wear a rock’n’roll ethos on their sleeves. There’s no pretense about it: Viva Viva revels in stomping grooves, gritty guitars, sweaty bars and basement shows.
Mindy for Mindy's Sake
This past Saturday, Mindy Kaling of “The Office” fame was featured on the cover of Parade Magazine. Wait for it, I haven’t gotten to the exciting part. Yes, she is one of the few female leads on television—as the creator and star of Fox’s “The Mindy Project”—and one of even fewer non-white leads. And yes, the magazine industry is notoriously reluctant to use non-white cover subjects. Even the gorgeous Halle Berry’s turn as a Cosmopolitan cover girl was described as an “improbable feat” by David Carr in the New York Times.
Imperfect Heroism
Benson is not perfect, but she is almost always noble and just. If she does ever die on the show, it will be as crushing a blow to the fictional fight for human good as the death of Albus Dumbledore in “Harry Potter” or Ned Stark in “Game of Thrones.” She is a reminder that real heroes can exist—people who constantly try to help others and yet at the end of the day, are human and susceptible to mistakes.
Surprise! Harvard Football Dominant Once Again
It’s easy to forget today, but for a moment in the third quarter Saturday, Brown breathed life. The Bears had just marched 80 yards in less than four minutes. Brown running back John Spooney finished the drive with a 34-yard touchdown scamper that brought the visitors within 11, 31-20. There was plenty of time left.
Our Periphery People
Our periphery people keep our web stable and grounded. They are our source of comfort in scary social situations.
The Confessions of a Guilty Catholic
In 2013, it’s certainly not easy to be a Catholic. Perhaps it has always been this way; after all, the great apostle Peter could not even muster up the courage to say he knew Jesus. And it would be foolish to believe that religion is supposed to be easy; if that were the case, everyone would do it—in the form of Pascal’s Wager at the very least. Yet, it probably isn’t supposed to be this difficult either.
Siren Yogurt
We’ve all been to yogurtland. The neon-and-antiseptic walls, the nave-like proportions; the blessed infinity of choices. The soulless negative of a charming, family-owned ice cream shop, but less likely to stop your heart. Self-serve frozen yogurt is the undisputed “in” dessert of the global bourgeoisie—but nary a good enough yogurt joint for the job in Harvard Square, the fermented dairy delight’s ideal market.
Queerness Considered
Daniel Solomon ’16 is a Crimson editorial writer in Pforzheimer House. His column appears on alternate Thursdays. Follow him on Twitter @danieljsolomon.
The Sexual Politics of Harvard
Final clubs have been lambasted by some activists and journalists for their reputation as sites of sexual assault
The Love Song of An Awkward Prefrosh
Do I dare to eat these gummy peach rings? What about this Code Red Mountain Dew, these powdered donuts, this Big League Chew? Here are cakes and teas and ices, beef jerky and candy bars and Dos Equis. I stalk their stock, ruffle their wares, leave not a rack behind. Shaq smiles mirthfully from the pastel can of a new line of cream sodas by the Brooklyn-based Arizona Beverages Company. It feels vaguely oppressive. What kind of vittles are these?