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Progressive, Except for Palestine

By Asmer A. Safi
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We must organize behind the cause of Palestinian liberation until equal rights are guaranteed for all citizens in Israel and Palestine. It is worth all of us considering how the funding channeled to Israel is being used. It is equally vital to assess to what extent America’s support for Israel’s “right to defend itself” is encroaching on Palestinians’ right to exist.

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Op Eds

Why We Stand With Israel

We maintain that Israel, like all countries, has numerous problems. And, like other democracies, it addresses those problems through its legal system, its commitment to open discussion, and with a populace that has always been willing to seek peace and change for the better. We understand that some well-intentioned BDS supporters are frustrated with the conditions in Gaza and what they see as a lack of progress in implementing a two-state solution. However, BDS is no remedy to these problems.

Op Eds

Boycott Israeli Apartheid: If Not Now, When?

Harvard has a clear choice: It can either stand with Palestinians in their struggle for freedom or it can persist in siding with their oppressors. The physical safety and emotional wellbeing of Palestinian Harvard students, alumni, and their families lie in the balance.

Op Eds

Class of 2021: Withhold Donations Until Harvard Divests

Our time as college student organizers may now be drawing to a close, but the need for fossil fuel divestment is more urgent than ever. For Harvard to serve its country and humankind, it must disentangle itself from fossil fuels and embrace a just and stable future. But it won’t do so without pressure. That’s why we are pledging to withhold any donations to Harvard until the University announces a commitment to fully divest from the fossil fuel industry.

Opinion's Choice

  1. Four First Steps for a Better Editorial Board
  2. The Language of “Merit” Divides Immigrants When We Most Need Solidarity
  3. Dismissals and Disparity: Racial Inequity in Harvard’s Biostatistics Department
  4. 'Just' Visiting?
  5. Harvard Should Tread Cautiously With Kavanaugh

Editorials

By The Crimson Editorial Board

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Harvard’s Hard Reset Is Our Shot at a New Normal

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We are the architects of post-pandemic Harvard; we must use this opportunity wisely, thinking carefully about which structures to tear down and which to build up.

Wartime Harvard

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Wartime Harvard had many fronts to fight on. It largely chose one.

Something To Hope For

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The flashbulb issues that students at Harvard have been rallying around, including immigration and affirmative action, coincide neatly with the tide of opinions growing more popular among young people across the nation. More than 100 days into the Biden presidency — and, insanely, more than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic — there have been double-digit expansions in support for “progressive” ideas among young people (or what the survey labels as such, anyway). And, if you sift through the shift in America’s ideological landscape, a swell of hope jumps out.

Op-Eds

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A Centennial Ode: Inspiration from a Bygone Class of ’21

The Harvard Class of 2021 now prepares to receive its degrees and set forth into a world so startlingly different from 2017, when they arrived in Cambridge. It might therefore be appropriate to pause and give a salute to its centennial forbear — the extraordinary class of 1921 — and reflect upon some startling similarities, as well as differences, between their times and challenges. Both the 1921 and 2021 classes arrived at Harvard as epic events were unfolding that would forever alter the students’ lives, the University, the nation, and the world.

The Freedom That Is Elsewhere

By Seth Towns
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For those who benefit from a repressive system, be brave enough to reckon with a system that imposes violence and perpetual suffering unto others. The questions are clear and ready to be asked (For example, why are Black and third-world peoples suffering? What must be done to liberate them?). We must do everything we can to solve them. Lives are, quite literally, at stake.

Lessons for the Journey Ahead

Tomorrow is a new day to put your passions into motion, and to be an advocate for equity. Congratulations again, Class of 2021 — I am proud of you and look forward to seeing what you do next!

Columns

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Surfing and Suffering: Late Night Conversations about Mental Health

In this column, one thing I have mentioned, but not emphasized enough, is the value of having conversations about mental health. So, when I suddenly remembered that I needed to write the last piece for my column while over at my friend’s house on Sunday evening, I decided to ask the guys I was with a few questions about mental health — feeling like it was an appropriate way to wrap things up. And I learned more than a few things as they answered my questions (perhaps, most notably, how a few drinks could turn them into “surfer-bros”).

Embracing Uncertainty

By Julie Heng
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To increase understanding of science, then, it is necessary to acknowledge and contextualize uncertainty, not hype up or ignore it, both to the public and among scientists. We must embrace uncertainty as we continue along this endless frontier.

Vegans Have a Right to Choose, Too

There are many complicated reasons why each of us consumes the food we do. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, vegan or meatatarian, we can agree that we have the right to maintain our diets of choice. Let’s work together to make sure that everyone has that right by ensuring that the diversity of meal offerings reflects the diverse preferences of Harvard’s student body.

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