Vander O.B. Ritchie
Latest Articles
A Liberal Arts Education Without the Arts
But Harvard cannot be surprised if some students feel more fulfilled by their extracurricular commitments when those clubs fill crucial gaps in Harvard’s curriculum — in subjects administrators have declared an important part of a liberal arts education.
The American Dream Is in Danger at Harvard
Our University has a duty to protect its international students and stand firm against the strongman tactics of the new president and his Congressional cronies. It has a duty to keep these students safe, not just as an educational institution — but as an American one.
Churches for Me, Basements for Thee: Inequity in Harvard’s Religious Spaces
If Harvard really cares about diversity, as it absolutely should, they must take religious life for all students seriously.
Harvard Students Should Stop Taking Extracurriculars So Seriously
Extracurriculars at Harvard must change. We all deserve a hobby.
I’m Derek Penslar’s Student: He Is the Right Choice for the Task Force
There are many facts I could tell you to support Derek J. Penslar’s appointment as co-chair of Harvard’s antisemitism task force. Instead, I will show you what it’s been like to be one of Penslar’s students.
How Education Is Failing Young Men
I worry about the world that kids around me are being born into. The position of men is not just a men’s issue, just as feminism is not just a women’s issue. And education serves as the foundation upon which change is built. It’s time Harvard invested in it.
The Case for Changing the National Anthem
My love for America is why I want her to continue to change, evolve, and become better. I ask everyone to understand that criticizing America does not mean we hate this country. It means we love it.
A Message for Visitas-ing Students
I know there are prospective Harvard students who will feel the same way I did during Visitas: who will feel alone and scared, who will feel that they do not belong. I urge you, if you are feeling that way, to not let it linger. As you spend more time here, and you find the niches in which you belong, you will find a home.
All the World’s a Stage — Harvard’s Curriculum Included
Creativity is a fundamental part of being, and a crucial tool in understanding art, self, and environment. It’s ridiculous that Harvard almost entirely ignores it. As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage.” It’s about time we treated it like one.
“Harvey,” or the Virtue of Being Oh So Pleasant
The world is amazing, complicated, and messy. And by far the most amazing, most complicated, and messiest part of the world is people. We have spent thousands of years trying to understand what it means to be human. And the only way we can do that is to listen, and to understand what it’s like to be someone other than ourselves.