Crimson staff writer

Julia F. P. Ostmann

Latest Content


J-Term Journal: The Ring

My grandmother lost her ring on the dog path yesterday, which is why I’m ferreting through bushes, poking with a stick through dog poop and bits of plastic and one empty condom packet. (Public sex among the retired must be on the rise.)


I Met a British Spy

I met a British spy on the train.


J-Term Journal: My Sun-Drenched Frozen Heart

I’m kind of addicted to sadness. Just the other day I was staring at the Pacific Ocean’s dirty-window sheen, discussing the futility of marriage and ambling down a beach strewn with scrappy shrubs and barely-clothed people. (No matter the weather, no matter the Ugg boots, Southern Californians always seem a little bit naked.)


Common App Does Some Soul-Searching

After running aground on technological glitches and dissent this fall, the new flagship Common App hopes to repair damage, reclaim its former glory, and rule the seas of college applications once again.


Weekly News Round-up: Lies, Scandals, Wars, and Batman

We're back! The College Admissions News Weekly News Round-up returns for 2014, and boy, has the news poured in. This week, we've got an excoriating take on the myth of "holistic" college admissions, signs of duplicity in college brochure diversity, and the demise of fuddy-duddy words ("excoriating" and "duplicity," perhaps?) from the SAT vocab section.


Roland Yang

Every other Friday night, Roland Yang ’14 hosts what he calls “a post-dinner, not a pre-game.” He gathers his close friends, serving them wine and freshly-baked cake in a room decorated with flags: Nigerian, French, Chinese, Indian, Kuwaiti, and rainbow.