Columns
Bloomberg Blowing Smoke
Of course Mayor Gloomberg is trying to repair his image after the local courts struck down his beloved ban on large soda.
A Bizarre Week in Boston
I frankly don’t have the energy or desire to try to draw conclusions from last week’s events in Boston.
Who, What, Where, and War
If the U.S. has the opportunity to try terrorists in its own courts with successful results and without jeopardizing the safety of its citizens, it ought to. Making that choice would demonstrate our government’s faith in the efficacy and integrity of its judiciary.
Keep Your Eyes on Men's Tennis
On a campus with the most varsity sports in the country, it is easy to overlook the achievements of certain teams.
A Tale of Two Cities
In the wake of terrorizing shootings and nightmarish bombings, Boston summoned heroism. In the wake of Newtown and avalanches of gun violence, Washington mustered histrionics.
A Letter to My Professors
I would like to appeal to my professors, peers, and anyone else who mentors women: Please don’t tell us to speak differently. If you truly respect us, let us speak as we like, and just pay attention to the words we say.
100 Years of Jazz Saxophone
I don’t presume to be anything more than a student of the jazz saxophone tradition, but in my few years of study I’ve benefited immensely from drawing my own map of the historical territory. Of course, ignorance and misinformation are par for the course, but it’s been an invaluable exercise to try to orient myself while navigating the unspeakably diverse collection of voices that define the legacy of the jazz saxophone.
Smart Girls at the Party
In the soundbite age, it’s rare to encounter such honesty, particularly from our public figures. When politicians misstep, they issue formulaic apologies. When celebrities give interviews, they offer canned, publicist-penned answers. Reality television is immensely popular, but there’s no sign of “reality” within them.
Of Monsters And Men
Put simply, “Cargo” succeeds because it eschews the urge to read some deeper symbolism into the zombie apocalypse and instead embraces zombies’ meaning on their own as the ultimate negation of what it means to be human. In the face of zombification, we see a man wordlessly struggle to preserve those elements he fears he will lose.
Right, Meet Left
Living among the liberals, I can begin by dispelling one particularly stubborn conservative myth: that liberals hate capitalism, the American way of life, and—most incongruously—freedom of choice.
Weapons of Peace?
Surveillance, after all, is the drone’s biggest asset. Drones can continuously monitor an area for nearly two consecutive days. Unlike soldiers, they do not get distracted and they do not get bored.
What’s Going On
The president was rightly praised for his call for resilience—few have any doubt Boston can and will “run again.”
First, Do No Harm
Instead of asking doctors to bravely accept their fates and patients to blindly forgive a physician who makes a fatal error, a more likely and perhaps equally effective solution would be to reduce the stigma of medical errors and realize that they are, unfortunately, an inherent part of the medical practice.
Heard 'Round the World
It’s easy for bombings in remote parts of the world to become mere statistics, but the Boston tragedy is a visual reminder of the experiences of those whose daily lives are full of terror.
Shadow Play
Their house was filled with books that no one read, a piano that nobody played, and paintings that nobody looked at. There was a dog that no one loved and a white picket fence that kept nobody out and held no one in. It was shadow play—all the right shapes but no substance. This poster picture of the American Dream was like a set, and they were only actors.
Look Out, World: K-pop Acts Worth Watching
While there are numerous sub-genres under the greater umbrella of “popular Korean music” (such as talented ballad singer K. Will, indie-folk group Busker Busker, or rock band CN BLUE), here are a few groups worth watching for a potential breakthrough in the U.S. mainstream market.
The Ideas Deficit
Deficit hawks, bolstered by self-interested billionaires like Pete Peterson, campaign for severe entitlement reforms, including raising the age at which seniors receive Social Security benefits. The fiscally austere mistake the deficit as a result of runaway government spending instead of weak demand caused by the recession, where deficits actually improve overall demand.
In Veritas We Trust?
Our words and actions have permanence in that they are the building blocks of Harvard history for the generations to come. For this reason, the truth in our actions and in our words holds much more importance than it might otherwise.
Fix Affirmative Action
Affirmative action, however, is one of society’s least effective and most costly equalizers. We should instead pursue aggressive social initiatives, like education reform, increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, and improving job training. Every poor American, regardless of skin color, deserves a fairer chance at life.
Lessons from the Iron Lady
In her old age, Lady Thatcher lost her life’s two greatest loves: her husband, Dennis, of 52 years, and her indefatigable capacity for reason. Then, on the morning of April 8, 2013, the world lost one of the greatest champions of freedom. And we are the worse off without her. However, the Iron Lady never belonged to us. She belongs now to the pages of history.
Public Lives
The Founding Fathers wrote privacy into the Constitution for a reason. The United States was formed as a haven for individual liberty in response to an oppressive foreign regime, and the Fourth Amendment safeguards that freedom.
Game of Drones
It’s not that I have some superstitious mistrust of aerial weapons—only mistrust for an opaque military program, governed by either nonexistent or secret law, that trusts anonymous, high-level bureaucrats with the power to kill American citizens without a trial.
EdX, The Great Equalizer
But what does it mean that Harvard has sponsored an education platform to disseminate professors’ lectures across the world? Perhaps we should consider the philosophical foundations that have motivated President Faust and other university leaders to spread Harvard scholarship across the globe.
Gossip Girl: The Musical
If “Smash” wants to be the best version of this particular vision for the show (like, for example, the first season of “Gossip Girl,” its obvious peak), there are a few clear moves it can make.