Conversations
Simplify and Scale: Vikram Patel Reimagines Mental Health Care
Over at the Mental Health for All Lab at Harvard Medical School, researchers have devised a digital curriculum that distills meaningful psychological interventions into bite-sized lessons to give lay people the skills to make a difference.
John Martin 2
John Martin, long-time Annenberg mainstay, has now moved to Dunster's dining hall, where his new work schedule will allow him to spend more time with family.
Amplifying Anxieties: Climate Disruption’s Effects on Mental Health
“We really don’t need fancy studies,” she adds. “All we really need is common sense.”
Into the Bronysphere — An Academic Take on Social Media
FM150 aims to explore “the powers, potentials, and peculiarities of online storytelling in relationship to community-building, political engagement, social change, and everyday negotiations of individual and group identity”. Course readings include an Atlantic article about the cottagecore trend and a book titled “Memes in Digital Culture.”
The Cricket Queens of Harvard
After graduation, D’Asaro, Wang, and Meryl N. Breidbart ’13 founded Chirps, a line of cricket protein snacks now sold in retail locations across the country.
Romeo P. Alexander '11 Bachelorette
Rome P. Alexander '11 meets the Bachelorette's newest lead: Michelle Young. Picture taken by Craig Sjodin at ABC.
A 96-Minute, 417-Page Senior Thesis
If you had visited Buckminster’s Cafe in the early mornings this past year, you would have passed super senior Benjamin P. “Benjy” Wenzelberg 21-'22 composing an opera. As a concentrator in English with a secondary in Music, Wenzelberg’s senior thesis is an opera adaptation of James Joyce’s “Ulysses.”
A Mathematician Walks Out of a Limo
Meet Romeo P. Alexander '11, who was on the "Bachelorette," has a Ph.D. in atmosphere-Ocean Science and Mathematics, and loves Reddit.
With Monolog, Journaling Meets Artificial Intelligence
Monolog tries to differentiate itself from other mental health apps by using natural language processing, a technology which allows devices to understand text and spoken words like humans do. According to the app’s sleek, purple website, Monolog is meant to be quicker than traditional pen-on-paper journaling and more accessible than therapy. Its tagline reads: “Understand your Emotions. Understand your Trends. Understand your Story.”
The Artist Who Watches Over Widener
Cunha has served as a janitor for Widener, Lamont, and Pusey libraries for the past 16 years. He moved to America in 2002 and first saw Widener as a tourist when visiting Harvard with his family. When he walked in, he thought to himself, “This is the place I would like to work.” He identifies art and history in every aspect of his job, from the contents of recycling bins to the architectural elements of each library. Leaning forward and clasping his hands, Cunha begins, “My life is an artist’s life” — and, indeed, he is also an avid painter and visual artist.
Can I Scan Your Face?
Privacy and other concerns exist around the new app FaceTag, which enables its users to scan fellow Harvard students’ faces and acquire their name and contact information, responding to the problem of face-name dissociation on campus.
Maya Jasanoff On Finding the ‘Story in History’
Maya R. Jasanoff ’96 explains the connection between historical writing and novel writing, and her work chairing the Booker Prize.
Rachel C. Auslander '22-'23
Rachel C. Auslander ’22-’23 is one of the co-founders of the Undergraduate Disability Justice Club.
From the Military to Classroom
After four years of serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Emann is one of 51 veterans currently enrolled at Harvard College, according to the Harvard Undergraduate Veterans Organization. The veteran population at the College has steadily grown in recent years, jumping from 24 students in 2020 to 51 students in 2021, amid recruiting efforts and increased support from organizations like Service to School and Next Step Inbound, which focus on helping veterans attend college.
A Physician in the Patient's Chair
Susan D. Block, who has taught and researched doctor-patient communication and severe illness for decades, found herself on the other side of that relationship in the fall of 2018, which would transform her work, teaching, and practice.
The Surprising Origins of Emotion
The brain is “making thousands of guesses at the same time,” Barrett tells us, and she argues that emotions are guesses too. When you feel something in your body — a racing heart, sweaty palms — your brain has to predict its cause: Is it love at first sight, or test anxiety?
The Sky's the Limit for Asa Akira
Whether porn reflects existing racial stereotypes or creates a monster of its own is a classic chicken-or-the-egg question. Porn and racism, most likely, engender a mutually reinforcing cycle. But Akira’s individual responsibility within this cycle is, at most, ambiguous.
The Journey to Develop Personalized Cancer Vaccines
A team of researchers developed personalized neoantigen vaccines for cancer patients. This January, they revealed astounding new results that may have far-reaching implications for the future of quick-acting and long-lasting cancer treatment.
“Pfifty” Days of Pfoho
In preparation for Housing Day 2021, Mario E. "Super Mario" León, the Pfoho building manager, committed himself to “50 Days of Pfoho Super Mario,” a challenge in which he posts photos of House community members and himself decked out in his collection of Pfoho gear on his Instagram account.
A Godzilla Crash Course
What do Hello Kitty, Astro Boy, and Pokémon all have in common? Godzilla paved the way for them to cross the sea from Japan and make waves in the United States, says William M. Tsutsui ’85, a visiting professor of Japanese Studies and East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard. For Tsutsui, Godzilla has been a source of inspiration for almost his entire life.
A Lawyer in a Legal Desert
Amanda L. Kool, a former HLS lecturer who practices in rural Kentucky, believes a law career in a rural place should not be automatically dismissed or considered a career in legal aid or small town general practice.