Conversations
Research at the Intersections of COVID-19 Crisis Response
The AAPI COVID-19 Project, housed at Harvard’s Department of Sociology, comprises a team of eight researchers from multiple universities. Under Shaw’s leadership, they seek to investigate how COVID-19 — as both a virus and a social construction — is impacting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) individuals and communities.
Empathy in Pandemic Fashion
Bodhi Parts is a progressive-branded fashion start-up founded by Kelsey Chen '22 that is working to stop stereotypes about Asian-Americans amid the Coronavirus pandemic and instead encourage people to empathize with others.
Professor Elizabeth Bartholet's Call for a Presumptive Ban on Homeschooling
Elizabeth Bartholet, a Harvard Law School professor, recently published a letter calling for stricter regulations on homeschooling, sparking a debate about issues ranging from government intervention in schooling to Harvard elitism.
Thrifting with They.Them.Their Closet
Only a few hours after Celine Cuadra ’22 and James N. Garavito ’22 launched their Instagram-based thrifting business venture @they.them.their.closet, they were darting across campus to meet new customers in dining halls, study spaces, and even their suite in Mather House. By the end of the night, they’d sold more than $100 of thrifted clothing.
Locked and Loaded Against COVID-19
“I think a lot of this has to do with a fear of the indeterminacy and the effect this pandemic will have on civil society,” says Caroline Light, a Harvard senior lecturer on studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality whose research focuses largely on Americans’ relationship to lethal self-defense. Spikes in civil gun purchases often accompany moments of uncertainty or instability, such as periods of economic distress or widespread layoffs, Light explains. “As we see the social capacities of the government eroding, we see more and more people asking this question of, ‘How am I going to survive?’”
The Stuck at Home Edition
Before California’s statewide lockdown, Kader’s day job was as a children’s motivational speaker, traveling to elementary schools across California to speak about the importance of self-esteem and an active lifestyle. Following the ongoing shutdown of most California schools since March 18, Kader’s in-person assemblies are no longer possible.
Alex B. Spiro and the Court of Public Opinion
Alex B. Spiro, Harvard Law School alumnus has defended many high-profile clients including 21 Savage, Jay-Z, and Naomi Osaka.
A Harvard Epidemiologist's Reminder of Our Common Humanity
Nancy Krieger is a professor of social epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Krieger is known for her theory of ecosocial disease distribution, which examines how different historical, societal, and ecological conditions are made manifest in the health outcomes of different social groups — in other words, how factors like economic inequality affect public health. Fifteen Minutes spoke with her about how the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the social determinants of health inequality and what we can do to alleviate those inequities. This interview has been edited for clarity and concision.
A Global Comorbidity
When you zoom out, the interaction between the coronavirus pandemic and climate change is complicated and often reveals a dismal picture. New evidence suggests long-term exposure to air pollution may have made the disease more lethal, potentially exacerbating existing inequalities, while fossil fuel companies have attempted to leverage this moment to their advantage.
Seeking Asylum in a Pandemic
For 30 years, the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, a program administered by the Law School, has represented asylum-seekers and those at risk of deportation. Fifteen Minutes spoke with the clinic’s director, Sabrineh Ardalan, to discuss the impact of the recent changes on their clients.
A Harvard Handwashing Expert Weighs in on Corporate Responsibility Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Myriam Sidibe has a Ph.D. in handwashing. Well, almost. “If you look at it very literally, I don’t have a Ph.D. in handwashing: I have a doctorate in public health that is focused on handwashing with soap, and I spent the last 20 years thinking about handwashing with soap. That is the reality,” Sidibe clarifies.
A Harvard Scientist's Search for a Coronavirus Vaccine
Levy predicts that there will be a spectrum of reactions to the pandemic once it is over, ranging from demands for stricter border controls to calls for increased global cooperation. He hopes that the public doesn’t forget the crisis, but instead strengthens its dedication to public health, research, and vaccine development to prepare for future pandemics. He warns, “The next one is just around the corner.”
Following the Cairns to a More Inclusive Outdoors
From her first trip into the backcountry, Dubyk knows just how important having a guide can be: “If someone doesn't explain to you what that stack of rocks means, you could get lost out there.”
How Co-Teachers and COVID Transformed Ec 10
For Laibson, teaching Ec 10 is not merely an academically enriching experience but a morally significant one as well. “I see a profound moral obligation to help the next generation of leaders understand the most basic economic principles that they will deploy in all the realms of leadership that they will find themselves in,” Laibson explains. “Whether it’s running an NGO, or whether it’s serving in Congress, or whether it’s serving as the superintendent of a school district, or whether it’s being the president of the United States, many of whom came from Harvard.”
LaShyra Nolen
LaShyra Nolen is a first-year student at Harvard Medical School. She is passionate about the concerns of underserved and marginalized communities.
Medical School
LaShyra T. Nolen is the first black woman president of the Harvard Medical School Student Council
Scratching Beneath the Surface with LaShyra Nolen
After a year and a half at the Medical School, LaShyra Nolen feels at home. “Even though I don’t necessarily see people that look like me all the time, I still feel like my HMS community and my class are some of the most beautiful, most supportive, most amazing people ever,” she says.
Joshua Y. Chiang
Joshua Y. Chiang ’22 is a sophomore in Eliot House. Since he started posting on TikTok, he has garnered more than 86 thousand followers.
A Reluctant Queen
“Growing up, there just wasn’t a lot of Chinese American representation in pageantry,” Yang says. She imagines an America where Miss Chinatown U.S.A. will not be confusing to anybody.
"Dear Sarah," Love Changie
"Dear Sarah," Yuri’s self-published collection of “poetry/prose,” bares it all, exploring their “feelings and experiences of mental health, queerness, being Korean American, trans, female, human, nonhuman."
Mother and Son
Serena B. Lese and William M. Lese ’20 are both enrolled in IGA 285: "Foreign Policy and the Utility of Military Force."
Changie Yuri 1
Changie Yuri ’20 is the author of a "Dear Sarah," a newly published poetry/prose collection.
Changie Yuri 2
Changie Yuri '20 explains the main themes of their collection during an interview last Thursday.
Lauren H. Yang
Lauren H. Yang ’23 was crowned Queen of the Miss Chinatown U.S.A. court in February.
John Della Volpe hks
John Della Volpe is the Director of Polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics whose research has focused on the public opinion of American youth since 2000.