FIFTEEN MINUTES
Volume XXXVII, Issue III
Editor's Note
Dear Reader, Our writers explored the nooks and crannies of campus and Cambridge, journeyed far and wide to talk to friends and strangers, and thought hard about culture and creativity in order to bring you this spectacular issue. TV climbs aboard the HUDS-mobile with Crimson photographer MTW for a tour of the Boston Fish Pier. Together, they work to uncover the answer to an urgent question: Where does HUDS get its fish? VIO gives us an hilarious account of her delirium as she reports on her experiences at a 24-hour improv comedy show, while AA explores a new use for the old Barker Center cafe. AS and AF sit with six life-long academics nearing the ends of their lives to talk about how death and purpose intertwine. Elsewhere, an international student from Syria tells WJM about missing home, as Trump’s travel ban isolates him in Cambridge. On theme with our other writers’ adventuring, AJM shares a thrilling introspection about the close-calls and lessons-learned that came with extensive childhood freedom. Over in Berkshire, SOG and VIO investigate efforts to replace more than 40,000 books lost to mold and book lice. With both humor and reflection, HGL delivers in the first installment of his culinary cultural-criticism column, “Gastrocosm,” where he wonders whether our obsession with cataloging experiences online is really that bad — or really that new. (Perhaps the only piece that makes me want to spend more time online.) Finally, this week’s issue includes not one, but two 15Qs: JBR talks to a professional photographer about the human experience and chance encounters, while SG discusses quantum theory with a philosophical physicist. Our deepest gratitude goes to everyone involved in the production of this issue. To our incredibly dedicated execs, multi-media and design boards, and DTP — we’re so lucky to have you on this team. And to our readers, thank you for joining us on these adventures. MagLove, AJBS + KJK
Turning the Page: Berkshire Librarian Rebuilds Collection With Harvard’s Support
In the process of rebuilding the collection, BCC received donations from a network of libraries and academic institutions across New England — including over 100 books from Harvard.
5000 Miles From Home: Trump’s Travel Ban is Keeping This Harvard Student From Returning
After his native Syria was added to the United States’s full travel ban list in January, Zein A. Zammar ’29 can either return home or attend Harvard University. He cannot do both.
Fifteen Questions: Richard Renaldi on Strangers, Self-Portraits, and Soul Food Restaurants
The professional photographer and current visiting lecturer sat down with Fifteen Minutes to discuss how he approaches photography and interprets art.
An Ode to Beli
Reviews as means to memorialize an experience are older than history.
Fifteen Questions: Jacob Barandes on Quantum Theory, Teaching, and Oppenheimer
The physics senior preceptor sat down with Fifteen Minutes to discuss New York City, interdisciplinarity, and the origins of math.
No Grades, Just ‘Profound Discussion’: The Humanities Reading Group
Formed in response to students’ desire for an intellectually stimulating space to probe texts in the humanities without the pressures of comparative metrics such as grades, the new Humanities Reading Group platforms student-led conversation.
Free Range Kids, Grown Up
The children of Old Seminole Heights were frequently picked up from school together, often spending evenings and late nights together as a neighborhood family of sorts. We spent time eating buttered rice, black beans, or packages of oreos, but mostly playing Kick the Can.
Mortality in Academia
Six Harvard professors in a variety of fields — from medicine and chemistry to economics and history — reflect on their mortality, their academic and personal lives, and the legacies they hope to leave behind.
13 Hours of a 24 Hour Show
Would I be able to withstand 24 hours of pure unbridled comedy? Was I really up for that endeavor?
Turning the Page: Berkshire Librarian Rebuilds Collection With Harvard’s Support
In the process of rebuilding the collection, BCC received donations from a network of libraries and academic institutions across New England — including over 100 books from Harvard.
5000 Miles From Home: Trump’s Travel Ban is Keeping This Harvard Student From Returning
After his native Syria was added to the United States’s full travel ban list in January, Zein A. Zammar ’29 can either return home or attend Harvard University. He cannot do both.
Fifteen Questions: Richard Renaldi on Strangers, Self-Portraits, and Soul Food Restaurants
The professional photographer and current visiting lecturer sat down with Fifteen Minutes to discuss how he approaches photography and interprets art.
An Ode to Beli
Reviews as means to memorialize an experience are older than history.
Fifteen Questions: Jacob Barandes on Quantum Theory, Teaching, and Oppenheimer
The physics senior preceptor sat down with Fifteen Minutes to discuss New York City, interdisciplinarity, and the origins of math.
No Grades, Just ‘Profound Discussion’: The Humanities Reading Group
Formed in response to students’ desire for an intellectually stimulating space to probe texts in the humanities without the pressures of comparative metrics such as grades, the new Humanities Reading Group platforms student-led conversation.
Free Range Kids, Grown Up
The children of Old Seminole Heights were frequently picked up from school together, often spending evenings and late nights together as a neighborhood family of sorts. We spent time eating buttered rice, black beans, or packages of oreos, but mostly playing Kick the Can.
Mortality in Academia
Six Harvard professors in a variety of fields — from medicine and chemistry to economics and history — reflect on their mortality, their academic and personal lives, and the legacies they hope to leave behind.
13 Hours of a 24 Hour Show
Would I be able to withstand 24 hours of pure unbridled comedy? Was I really up for that endeavor?
