Editor's Note

Dear FM, This week, I am a little ashamed to admit, I entered my gym bro era. If you see me stomping down the Cabot tunnels wearing bulky headphones and a tank top, I’m sorry. To the dismay of many people in my life, I have suddenly found myself wholly devoted to the pursuit of gains. I don’t know when the gains will come — or when I’ll snap out of it. But I do know this: in the meantime, there’s a new issue to read. IYG kicks us off with a top-notch cover story on the uncertain future of diversity and inclusion at Harvard. Amid nationwide controversy over allegations of antisemitism on university campuses, Harvard’s DEI efforts have come under fire from conservative activists. But this attack was brewing long before Oct. 7, and now many within the University are also calling for reform. How will Harvard respond? It is a fascinating and vital story: if you want to understand the ideological battle over Harvard’s values and campus culture, this is a must-read. Editing this piece, I have been in awe of the clarity and nuance of IYG’s writing, the ocean-floor depth of her reporting, and the unbelievable amount of work she has put in over the last month. Next up, JL gets a golf cart tour of the Arnold Arboretum from its director, Professor Ned Friedman, and asks him (almost) 15 Questions about his love of plants, evolution before Darwin, and “botanizing.” SSL visits the Abigail Adams Institute, which is trying to resurrect a more “traditional” vision of the humanities. VWR takes a trek up to Cabot House and talks to the student managers of the recently-reopened Quad Bikes about fixing tires and sustainable transit. And doubling back for this week’s endpaper, SSL reveals her defining personality trait: a penchant for asking to pet strangers’ dogs. Some thanks are in order: to GRW for sticking out a multi-day scroofing process and to IYG for not going over the semicolon budget. Thank you to SET, LPE, and the design execs for putting together a magnificent short-notice glossy, to LLL and BHP for holding down the Multi fort, and to MJH, CY, and EJS for making sure nobody runs into brick walls. Thank you to our lovely FM execs, to our new compers for bringing great pitches to writer’s meeting, to YAK and JL for making EAL meetings so entertaining, and to KT, for weathering storms and always, always helping. FMLove, HD & KT