Allison P. Farrell
Latest Articles
The Salient Is Back and It’s Better Than Ever
The new Salient’s more careful and thoughtful ethos is not a self-weakening concession to the left. Rather, it conveys a more potent and more impactful conservatism that merits — and requires — the consideration and engagement of its opponents.
Grades Should Measure Mastery, Not Distinction
If Harvard’s aim is to provide a truly top-tier education, there is no reason why it cannot expect more than 20 percent of students to produce work worthy of commendation.
Harvard Should Be a “Public” University
Harvard must be “public” in another sense of the word. To be public is not merely to be state-run, but to act as a steward of a shared social good: Harvard must insulate the university from political pressure because it can do what higher education in a free country requires.
Speak on Principle, Not for What It Gets You
There is no venue for speech nor any set of policies that can make words come out of our mouths.
A Lament for the Intellectual Conservative
Once defined by deep philosophical engagement, conservative thought on campus today often centers on spectacle and confrontation — a shift that mirrors the changes in conservative political culture in recent years.
AI Defeats the Purpose of a Humanities Education
While Harvard apparently worries that its educational programming is losing rigor to grade inflation and lax attendance norms, it can start making a difference by curtailing a problem in part of its own making: ban AI use, and the quality of humanities education at Harvard will improve.
Stop Recognizing Student Organizations
Bureaucracy might be great fun when used appropriately. Requiring administrative approval to use spaces that are, in a real sense, ours, runs counter to what our community should be about.
What Good Is a University Without Students?
Even if Harvard is too invested to stop building new facilities now, it must take a hard look at its priorities and ensure that its educational mission remains intact. Harvard’s future is built on the minds it nurtures — buildings are great, but they need people to fill them.
Free Speech Is Alive and Well at Harvard. Why Aren’t Media Covering It?
If the media under-reports controversial conservative speech, it risks letting some ideas spread under-the-radar, preventing the full and robust dialogue that occurs only when the conversation is open to all.
Harvard Must Defy Trump
Harvard’s leaders must begin to consider, behind closed doors, how far Harvard is willing to go in enabling the Trump administration’s attacks on fundamental rights.
Latest Media
Harvard Proposes Cap on A’s, 13 Affiliates React
Last October, a now-infamous report sparked intense debate over Harvard’s grading system. A new faculty report proposing a cap on A grades has reignited that discussion. Are grades for mastery or distinction, and will the proposal restore rigor or damage pedagogy? 13 affiliates weigh in. — Heidi S. Enger ’27 and Zakiriya H. Gladney ’27, Editorial Chairs