Op Eds
POSTCARD: Saving an Afterlife
Students and academics seem to spend so much time criticizing leaders historically held in high esteem that it is refreshing for once to help set the record straight by repairing a reputation.
POSTCARD: Where Have All the Riots Gone?
The average Greek speaks of the government with as much disdain as she would if it were revealed that the government had indeed taken the people’s money, built a pool with the funds, and then swam in the bills that remained.
POSTCARD: Shanghai Nights
Like Beijing during the Olympics, Shanghai hastily tried to hide “less desirable” aspects of the city from the swarms of tourists and international media for the World Expo—but at what cost?
POSTCARD: The Social Network
As a norteamericana, I sometimes find it difficult to comprehend how much value Chilean place on building community and strong social ties—the right social ties, that is.
POSTCARD: China, #1 in Clean Energy
In a surprising development for a young economy, China is on its way to becoming a global environmental leader.
POSTCARD: Overcoming the Intern Rat Race
While some regard summer internships as an extended interview, to treat them purely as an opportunity for networking forgoes the otherwise valuable opportunity they provide to gain insight into a company’s inner workings and culture.
POSTCARD: Beijing, Off the Hook
Welcome to the imperial city of Beijing—I’m 9,727 miles away from home but it feels like I’ve never left.
POSTCARD: Sustainability’s Dirty Work
Mumbai is simultaneously one of the greenest and least green cities in the world.
POSTCARD: Hi, I'm Ursula
Nothing rides on these interactions. They are friendships of convenience, maybe necessity.
POSTCARD: Do the Damascus Limbo
Ultimately, the only people who suffer are the individual tourists denied at its airport and borders—and we heard there were many others.
POSTCARD: The New Harvard: Wall Street
No wonder Harvard likes Wall Street so much when Harvard is so much like Wall Street.
POSTCARD: Bombay Dreams
In a fortuitous paradox, it just might be that the very backwardness of the country provides the perfect backdrop for India’s entrepreneurship, demographics, and free market to come together and bring prosperity to a billion people.
POSTCARD: Old News?
And therein lies what is perhaps the most unsettling aspect of this entire affair, no matter how small or local an issue it may seem—the prolonged insistence to interpret art solely through the lens of the national context in which it was born.
POSTCARD: City Fears
The constant paranoia would be comical, except that unlike the fears that drive my day-to-day actions during the rest of the year, many of my present fears could never be perceived as trivial.
POSTCARD: The Chinese Worker, On the Rise
If workers are not empowered through fair wages and representation, discontent with the government and social instability may ensue—posing a major threat to economic growth.
POSTCARD: A Crossroad from Cairo
The protection of Egypt’s antiquities at Saqqara may be improving on the macro level, but no one has bothered to tell the guards.
Change We Can Believe In?
Some people ask whether terrorists should have rights. But there is no way to tell who is a terrorist and who isn’t without some sort of fair process.
Graduating into the First Decade
If there is a consistent theme to the past 10 years, it is that we have consistently underestimated the likelihood and impact of negative, high-consequence events.
Why Honesty Matters to Us
Honesty allows us to present our actual selves to the world, and without it we cease to have an actual identity.
Reading Like Your Life Depends On It
Study literature. Study it like your life depends upon it—because, in this wordy young century, it does.
Harvard Rules
I would like to say that I regret nothing of the past four years. Actually, I do regret one thing: not having donated one of my eggs to those people who advertise in The Crimson, because, hey, that’s serious money.
Reforming the SEC
America needs an SEC that is independent and not politically motivated, with a staff that is well-educated and knowledgeable about the Securities Laws.
Democratizing Harvard
If Harvard is to remain a national and world leader, we must continue to seek new ways to find talent in all its forms.
A Message from the President to the Class of 2010
Keep asking the big, irrelevant questions; keep thinking beyond the present. Then live what you have learned.