Crimson staff writer

BETH E. BRAITERMAN

Latest Content


Mapping Our Cities: A Conversation with Becky Cooper '10

I realized that those maps, in series, told an interesting story about my life that summer. They told an interesting story of the city. In some ways, it was a more honest story than the one I was building [for my boss] because it was celebrating the subjectivity of the mapmaker. Those two realizations, coupled with my having read Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities” the year before, grew into this: I wanted to give really small, limited maps to as many New Yorkers as possible and have them map their New Yorks. And then, in series, have a New York emerge from there.


You'll Always Have a Story

I met Jacob over a year ago, on Christmas Eve at The Matzo Ball. Held every year, the Jewish singles event is a rite of passage of sorts for Jews in their 20s, or 30s, or (for a select few) 40s. Jacob wasn’t 40, thankfully, but he was around seven or eight years my senior. The idea of the event is that you meet your soul mate by the bar or on the dance floor, and join them for traditional Christmas Day Chinese food the morning after.


NDEA Grants Ignite Debate Over Cold War Loyalty

In November 1959, Harvard withdrew from the NDEA student loan program, joining universities from across the country in protest against the affidavit and the limitations on free speech that it entailed.


FM Learns Its Lines

The subway, the train, the T, the underground, the metro, the tube-whatever you call it, it's how we get around. Boston's happens to be the first, and when one has the world's most ancient subway system, it's easy to dismiss it as old news. But the MBTA has a big birthday this year, and it deserves its rightful centennial celebration. For the week, we played "I Spy." This is what we saw.


FM Learns Its Lines

The subway, the train, the T, the underground, the metro, the tube-whatever you call it, it's how we get around. Boston's happens to be the first, and when one has the world's most ancient subway system, it's easy to dismiss it as old news. But the MBTA has a big birthday this year, and it deserves its rightful centennial celebration. FM's editors took our Saturdays and Sundays and made our way to the far reaches of the lines. Some of us went for a walk. One of us went home. For some, inspiration struck in liquids of varying kinds. Oil and water, you could say. Or ink and gin. For others, it turns out the T is a deeply personal affair, even if it's one that's easily eavesdropped upon. Moral of the story? Go somewhere. If the T stops, don't groan. Find the end of the line. When you're reentering HarvardSquare, if you're going outbound, look out your right window; find the gnome, the abandoned station it marks, For the week, we played "I Spy." This is what we saw.


Quincy House

As part of our Housing Market series, we'll be posting reviews and rankings for each of Harvard's 12 residential Houses over the next few days. Click here to read more about the series. Creative housing video? Check. Stellar House Masters? Check. Convenient location? Double check. Quincy students can say that they fared quite well in the housing lottery. Said one Quincyite, "Everyone loves Quincy...Plus we're being renovated first. The proof is in the pudding."


Valley Girl Twang, Hank the Cat, and Other Topics Worth Discussing

1. Now you see it, now you don't. Ben & Jerry's has removed the fortune cookies from its limited-edition "Taste the Lin-Sanity" frozen yogurt flavor and replaced them with pieces of waffle cones. The chain released a statement, saying, "We offer a heartfelt apology if anyone was offended by our handmade Lin-Sanity flavor." 2. Jeremy Lin isn't the only Harvard grad to grace the NBA court. Joanna M. Zimmerman '10 is a cheerleader for the Washington Wizards. Zimmerman has said that she knew Lin as an undergrad and, on Feb. 8, the two crossed paths again at the Knicks-Wizards game. 3. No more monkey business. After five monkeys died in 19 months, the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigated the Harvard-operated New England Primate Research Center. The report, which was released last Sunday, also cites a case of non-fatal dehydration as well as other injuries incurred by squirrel monkeys.