Editorials
Change Course Lotteries
Shopping week is certainly a distinctive feature of the Harvard undergraduate experience. However, the specter of late course lotteries can turn a valuable opportunity into a scheduling nightmare. Course lotteries should, whenever possible, be moved to before the start of school or to the earliest possible point in shopping week.
Enduring Inequality
We hope that increasing the number of women featured in business school case studies will be part of a larger effort toward true equality in the business world.
No Death Penalty for Boston Bombing Suspect
While we understand the visceral emotions surrounding last April’s terror, we remain categorically opposed to the death penalty—a conviction that requires us to adhere to it in even the most trying cases.
Peace for Ukraine
The state has the responsibility to answer to its citizens and take their wishes into account.
Rebuffing the Buffer Zones
Specificities ought to be hashed out by the court, but we urge them to err on the side of the freedom of speech.
Excessively Early Recruiting
Excessively early recruiting puts unnecessary pressure on students at a disturbingly young age, and needs to be stopped.
Students and the Honor Code
We hope that these developments will create a community that better upholds the ideals of honesty and integrity.
Restore Funding to the Catalysts of American Research
Limiting the ability of these organizations to give grants and fund important research affects research institutions across the nation, and Harvard is no exception.
The Sorry State of Our Union
Reducing income inequality should be the president’s foremost priority. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it is also vital for economic growth.
Wintersession's Future
We applaud the work that the College has done in fostering a relaxed and welcoming environment for returning students to ease into the spring semester, but moving forward, we hope to see Wintersession become a more structured and formalized part of J-term.
Dean Khurana
The only downside of Professor Khurana’s appointment is that it means parting with Interim Dean of Harvard College Donald H. Pfister.
Helping Higher Education
Any successful 21st-century approach to higher education must provide multiple routes for obtaining an excellent education, whether through a community college or a four-year university.
Campus Hillels Should Make Their Own Choices
At the least, Hillel International should not castigate chapters such as Swarthmore that choose to be “open.”
Bomb Threats
No bombs went off at Harvard yesterday, nor were any found—the threat was, fortunately, unrealized. But whoever emailed in the threat succeeded in diverting our attention from researching, learning, and teaching. Now is the time to refocus and move ahead.
In Memoriam
Yet although South Africa, and indeed the world, has much progress to make after Mandela’s death, that does not diminish the man’s legacy.
Staying In Line with Title IX
Last week, the College dismissed a student for perpetrating multiple incidents of sexual misconduct.
Late-Night T at Last
We commend Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick ’78 and his administration for prioritizing and implementing a long-awaited shift in MBTA policy—it is a major improvement both for individuals and for the general social and economic life of the Boston area.
Soup Turned Sacred
Mayopoulos also thinks that he can connect with those students more effectively than the UC has in the past, much as he and Clark did throughout their campaign. We agree.
No Longer Protecting People
Although we respect individual objections to emergency contraceptives, we don’t think a non-religious corporation ought to be legally regarded as having religious beliefs that can be compromised.
The A’s Have It
High grades could be an indicator of the rising quality of undergraduate work in the last few decades, due in part to the rising quality of the undergraduates themselves and a greater access to information as the result of the university’s increasing commitment to financial aid, rather than a narrow claim of unwarranted grade inflation.
A Disrespectful Protest
Just over two weeks ago, a group of protesters interrupted a Bank of America recruitment event at the Charles Hotel. The protest ended quickly—Bank of America had wisely placed plainclothes police officers in the back of the event—but not before the protesters succeeded in disrupting the presentation.
Fear and Loathing in Jerusalem
The new détente is a vindication of President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry’s dogged diplomacy and of the newfound moderation of Iran under President Hassan Rouhani.
The UC, Going Forward into Irrelevance
In the end, Clark-Mayopoulos’s success usefully highlighted problems with the UC at little real cost.
In Favor of Fall Break
A fall break would reduce student stress and enrich the Harvard experience.
A Student Center and a Cement Monstrosity
The success of the building will hinge on how responsive the designs are to student suggestions. This new space simply will not work if it feels sterile or separated from the rest of Harvard. If it feels like the SOCH, it will be a failure.