Editorials
A Call for Honesty
We are pleased to see that Hammonds is vacating her position, and we hope that this move will aid the Harvard community in beginning the process of reestablishing trust among students, faculty, and administrators.
The Drone Wars
We welcome President Obama’s announcement that the operations of the CIA’s morally hazardous drone program will be transferred to the Pentagon and that there will be tougher standards for when drone strikes can be authorized, with targeted killings being scaled back.
Close the Gap
Even when women deserve respect, subtle issues of perception—even in the absence of outright discrimination—mean that they are less likely to get it.
A Small Step Forward
The recent adoption of new examination policies comes as welcome news in the midst of this academic year’s own finals period.
A Promising Campaign
As Harvard determines the priorities for the campaign, administrators should give students and faculty a stake in the planning, prioritizing, and fundraising.
Flippant Ferguson
Ferguson has since apologized for his statements, calling them “stupid and tactless,” an apt summary of his thoughtless and hurtful remarks. Not only was suggesting that Keynes’ promotion of counter-cyclical spending is tantamount to a lack of empathy for future generations an extreme simplification of Keynes’ philosophy, but it is obvious that sexual orientation or childlessness is not indicative of one’s investment in the future.
An Unfortunate Shutdown
Harvard’s ability to participate in a number of scientific endeavors will be crippled by the closure of the NEPRC: An example of this is the federal BRAIN Initiative.
Collins Uncloseted
And last week, when Jason Collins came out as the first openly gay player in the NBA, professional sports have once again shown the potential to have a positive impact on American cultural values.
Divided Dartmouth
Dartmouth’s faculty, staff, and students need to be able to go about their daily lives and be accepting at the same time.
From Hope to Hashtags
We see Clinton’s move to Twitter as a step toward bringing down walls between ordinary people and decision-makers.
A Step in the Right Direction
Earlier this month, President Drew G. Faust announced that the University would enlist Boston lawyer Michael B. Keating to prepare an independent, external review of the administration’s conduct throughout the Gov 1310 cheating scandal. Following several months of embarrassing blunders on the part of various administrators, this was a welcome development.
Drones Done Right
Unmanned aerial vehicles have the potential, in the long run, to save American and foreign lives. But a belief in the importance or inexorability of drone warfare should not stop us from asking how we ought to conduct it.
Sifting Through The Noise
The combination of being bombarded with false information along with our generation’s dependence on social media for information made it particularly difficult for Harvard students to discern false news from the truth, especially given the situation’s emotional intensity. To further complicate matters, the Harvard administration failed to provide reliable, official information throughout the week to the detriment of our confused, scared student body.
A Time to Act
But the situation is Syria is dire, and there is no sign that the danger posed to civilians will ameliorate in the near future.
In This Community We Trust
We believe that the response of Harvard and the Boston community to the bombing and resulting manhunt demonstrate qualities of both the school and wider area that ought to make coming to Cambridge even more attractive than before.
