Retrospection
From the Institute of Geographical Exploration to East Asian Studies: A Retrospective on 2 Divinity Ave.
The map is centered on the Americas, and Asia is cut out almost entirely — curious for a building that houses East Asian Studies. Truthfully, it hints at the building’s complicated past.
A Harvard Professor on Columbus’s Voyage
Morison decided “the only way to solve the problem of this great navigator, really to ‘get at’ him, was to explore, under sail, the coasts and islands he discovered.” Thus, the Harvard Columbus expedition was born.
Yenching History
2 Divinity Ave. has switched hands a few times since it was first erected in 1930, and vestiges of its past still remain on its facade.
‘A Little Cookbook Project’ from Pfoho
In 2005, two Pforzheimer students put out a call for students' creative dining hall recipes. Today, their cookbook sits in Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library.
Huntington Media
The legacy of apartheid is still apparent in South Africa. Part of that legacy traces all the way to Cambridge, Massachusetts — to Samuel Huntington.
The Harvard Professor in Apartheid South Africa’s Corner
The legacy of apartheid is still apparent in South Africa; it’s a legacy that has perpetuated the conditions of racism and poverty. Part of that legacy traces all the way to Cambridge, Massachusetts — to Samuel Huntington.
Bunny Battles: The Crimson’s Decades-Long Feud with Playboy Magazine
Before Playboy's ad was printed, however, a group of Crimson editors voted to reverse that decision — but not unanimously. At first, then-Crimson President Francis J. Connolly ’79 called David Chan on the phone and told him that the ad “was simply too offensive to appear in the pages of The Crimson,” according to the Boston Globe.
Sarah the Cat
Halftone print of a photograph of Sarah the Cat wearing a top hat. Color painted additions include a bow tie and a band around the hat that reads "Harvard." HUG 3273.2.
The Class of 1857 and the Gate They Left
If you’ve ever stepped foot on Harvard’s campus, you’ve seen the Wadsworth gate, though you may not have realized it. Nestled between the urban bustle of Harvard Square and the red brick of the Yard, I walk past it nearly every day, but rarely do I stop to ponder its history. The gate is also called the Class of 1857 Gate after the class that sponsored it — a class whose joyful graduation barely preceded the advent of the Civil War.
Meet Sarah the Cat, Remy's 1930s Predecessor
Remy had a predecessor by the name of Sarah — a single, working cat with a much less stable housing and financial situation for whom life held a lot more danger and uncertainty.
Undermining with Underwear: How Radcliffe Students Retaliated Against Historic Panty Raids
We don’t want your sockies, we just want your Jockies!” 25 Radcliffe students chanted outside of Winthrop House, calling for the men to throw down their underwear.
Spaces within Spaces: The Origins of Harvard’s Final Clubs
As the university became more egalitarian, final clubs became elite spaces within elite spaces.
The Rise and Fall of the Freshman Smoker
Organized by the Freshman Smoker Committee and originally held in the Harvard Union building, the Freshman Smoker originated as an event for freshmen to socialize and, of course, smoke.
Freshman Smoker Cover
Students congregate in Memorial Hall in November, 1955, for the annual Freshman Smoker. HUPSF Student Life (208), olvwork300127.
Final Clubs History
John White Cummin’s 1892 “Diagram of the Relationship of Social Clubs at Harvard.” HUD 3009.15.
‘A Very Fraught Moment’: How Elizabeth Holmes Joined the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows
In the aftermath of the exposé and months of investigations that followed, the Board grappled with an internal debate about whether to keep Holmes “on the board for a while out of fairness and due process” or request her resignation in order to “limit potential institutional reputational damage."
The Radical Feminist Magazine You've Never Heard of
During the three years of its existence, The Rag played a powerful role in campus culture. The collective created a space for women to play with radical ideas and reckon with pressing issues, while the magazine added a distinct voice to the college’s fraught discourse. Despite its short life, The Rag expanded what feminism could be at Harvard.
The Rag 1
The May 1991 cover of The Rag, a short-lived radical feminist magazine run by a collective of Harvard undergraduates.