Op Eds
Abortion Is Not Like Rape
What violates women is reiterating to survivors that abortion is risky to women’s mental health and can lead to even worse post-trauma problems—a claim that has been thoroughly debunked many times.
The Rhetoric of Equality
Those seeking to redefine marriage to include same-sex unions often make their case by calling for “equality” in our marriage ...
Sound the Horn
The UN reserves the label of “famine” for only the most severe emergencies—at least two deaths per 10,000 people per day, at least 30 percent of children with acute malnutrition, and at least 20 percent of the population unable to reach its food need. When the UN declared famine last July, the region, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti, had faced nearly two successive years of almost no rainfall and over 12 million individuals needed food aid.
An Open Letter to President Faust
President Faust, we are faced with a unique moment in history, in which global economic stagnation and lack of political will are allowing this very crucial challenge to go completely unattended. We urge you to fill this vacuum by seriously revamping our sustainability vision so that it more explicitly leverages the public good that Harvard provides best—innovation and ideas.
Thatcher, Republicans, and Conviction Politics
The polarizing and decisive Thatcher has regained a place in both the popular and political consciousness, most notably in the Republican primary race, where candidates have held up Thatcher as an ideal leader.
Open Invitation to the Next GSC Meeting
We believe the GSC should be as politically active as its voting members desire.
Race for the Consumer?
Massive popular backlash aside, Komen has, in an instant, crippled their own ability to provide cancer screenings to women in need.
What Anti-Semitism?
If American academics hope to contribute to productive discussion about Israel and Palestine on campuses, they must first cooperate and not issue unfounded accusations of racism.
How To Grow STEM
Supporting post-secondary STEM education may very well prove more difficult, resource-intensive, and risky than dazzling third graders with a baking soda volcano, but the rewards of doing so will be equally explosive.
Fat Cats at Widener
With an endowment of 32 billion dollars growing in 2011 at a meager 21.4%, Harvard simply can no longer afford to maintain the best and largest academic library collection in the world.
Appearance and Faith in the Muslim World
I am a Muslim, but when I travel to the “Muslim world,” I certainly do not feel like one.
Religion and Politics
For liberalism demands that believers enter public dialogue stripped-down—or as Stephen Carter of Yale writes, “only after leaving behind that part of themselves that they may consider the most vital.” Non-believers, on the other hand, are not forced to check their principles at the door.
A Top-Heavy Administration?
There are certainly many reasons besides top-heavy administration for the skyrocketing costs of a college education, but I would suggest that the administration’s growth has outrun that of the University.
Girls in the Classroom
When female students are called on, we often fail to articulate our ideas and arguments as confidently as male students do.
Liars and Politicians
Yes, sometimes politicians break promises. Sometimes they shatter them in a memorable, sharded frenzy. But, more often than not, they do their best—or do something, at a minimum—to follow through on those promises.
On Failure at Harvard
We ought to struggle with failure, to think about what it means for our expectations and our goals. It provides an opportunity to learn a lesson about our own limitations and capabilities sooner, rather than later—at a time when opportunities to begin anew are not so difficult to come by.
Subverting Censorship
The internet age has created an unprecedented situation in which government censorship is actually catalyzing creativity.
Understanding the BDS Movement
If you support the BDS movement, you are supporting an organization that is actively working to undermine the Jewish state.
Despicable Attacks
Especially when public discourse seems to demand a new sense of civility after years of hostile rhetoric, such attacks cannot continue into this election cycle.
Diversitas? Take a Closer Look
It can hardly be said that Harvard is socioeconomically homogeneous but it would still be a stretch to call it socioeconomically diverse.
Obama Said No...
Clean energy development and investments in energy efficiency would create hundreds of thousands of jobs and save us billions of dollars.
United Queer Nations?
The UN’s new focus on LGBT rights should be used to offer support to local activists and governments, not to perpetuate economic and social inequalities.
Old School Liberalism
It’s rather unfair that liberals have had to take on the baggage of the far left.
No Layoffs for Harvard Libraries
An announcement about library layoffs is sparking a new wave of worker-led protests on the Harvard campus.
Theory of Occupation
Members of Occupy Harvard and people at other Occupies have had philosophical discussions that center on what some consider a fundamental question of Occupy: Is it a protest or a community?