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September-October 2020

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Letters

Readers’ views on immigration, the pandemic, the Electoral College, and more

President Bacow on Harvard’s challenge to federal efforts banning international students

Time to rethink the campus-development agenda?

The College Pump

Photograph of Café Pamplona, now out of business

Photograph courtesy of Café Pamplona

Prognostications on disease defense, China, deficits, and sweat

Treasure

A drawing of students rebelling in a dining hall.

Click on arrow at right to view addtional images
(1 of 3) Battle in Commons Hall drawing,1819, by William Henry Furness. HUD 2818.75.45A, Harvard University Archives

The Class of 1823 goes rogue and gets booted.

In this Issue

Illustration of a professor striving to keep up with a fast-walking elderly Hadza woman

Illustration by Serge Bloch

A biological anthropologist explains why and how exercise works to combat senescence.

Photograph of Professor Noah Feldman at House impeachment hearings, December 4, 2019

Professor Noah Feldman arrives to testify during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the constitutional grounds for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, December 4, 2019.

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman’s constitutionalism is a branch of the humanities.

Black journalist Claudia Jones on the phone in the offices of the “West Indian Gazette” in London

Jones at work in the offices of the West Indian Gazette in Brixton, South London, in 1962

Photograph by FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Brief life of an intersectional activist: 1915-1964

Illustration imagining the evolution of computer science at Harvard in a playful way

Illustration by Mark Steele

The “yeasty” times” when computer research grew at Harvard

Letters

Readers’ views on immigration, the pandemic, the Electoral College, and more

President Bacow on Harvard’s challenge to federal efforts banning international students

Time to rethink the campus-development agenda?

Right Now

A cartoon illustration showing a situation room with businessmen, farmers, and other food system constituents moving the parts of the food system around on a game board.

Illustration by Tom Jellet

A holistic approach to food safety and food law

Illustration of a man looking at constellations with ants traversing the shortest distance between the stars in the constellation.

Illustration by Blair Kelly

In his freshman seminar, Cumrun Vafa uses puzzles to help students understand complex physics.

A woman seated on a stool wearing traditional Mongolian garb milks a yak.

Click on arrow at right to view additional images
(1 of 3) Yak milking continues in Mongolia today.

Photograph courtesy of Christina Warinner

Ancient dental plaque points to the historical significance of dairy culture on the Eurasian Steppe.

Harvard Squared

Aerial view of Essex Bay, part of the coastline north of Boston.

Click on arrow at right to view additional images
(1 of 4) Essex Bay reflects New England’s history and reliance on the natural world.

Photograph courtesy of Essex River Cruises Inc.

Exploring the coastal wonders of Essex, Massachusetts

Bike trail scene of Classic Cape Cod sand, water, and sky

Classic Cape Cod sand, water, and sky 

Photograph TrailLink user mybikeymio2, courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Swim, walk, and picnic along cycling routes    

People perusing books outside at the Boston Book Festival

The Book Festival attracts book lovers from across Greater Boston 

Photograph by Gaia DeSimoni/Courtesy of the Boston Book Festival

A literary festival for children and adults

View of the Royall House and the slave quarters.

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(1 of 4) The Georgian mansion and adjacent slave quarters were once part of a 500-acre farm just north of Boston.

Photograph by Theresa Kelliher/Courtesy of the Royall House and Slave Quarters museum

Preserving black history as “an act of liberation”

A stone statue of the Buddha appears against a background of colorful autumn leaves.

   

Suggestions for boosting emotional, mental, and physical wellness this fall

John Harvard's Journal

Photograph of John Harvard statue, Harvard Yard, with cartoon balloon question mark, about uncertainties surrounding the fall semester

Photograph by Jim Harrison

Campus constraints amid the coronavirus pandemic

Portrait photo of Venkatesh Murthy in his laboratory

Venkatesh Murthy

Photograph by Anna Olivella

A brief look at what animals’ sense of smell reveals about the brain

Cartoon of a submerged submarine with a cut-out view of the interior, where crew members are taking a Harvard course via video recording.

Illustration by Mark Steele

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Honored professors, new House heads, and more

A gift policy, and peer institutions’ new climate schools

Portrait photograph of Sherri Ann Charleston.

Sherri Ann Charleston

Photograph by Sam Crowfoot

New diversity and inclusion officer, new University Professor, and more

Photograph of David Evans

David Evans

Photograph by Jon Chase/HPAC

David L. Evans made a difference for 50 years.

Colorful composite drawing of the author, dressed in cap and gown, at home in Cambridge, with scenes of blossoming trees and a yellow moving truck visible through the window.

Illustration by Martin Haake

The Undergraduate reassesses the rhythms of the natural world.

Photographs of the new student writing fellows Che Applewhaite and Mean Venkataramanan

Photographs courtesy of Che Applewhaite and Meena Venkataramanan

The 2020-2021 Ledecky Undergraduate Fellows

Andrew Berry stands at a podium.

The Browns’ ninth general manager since 2000, Berry looks to return the franchise to a level of success not seen for decades.

Photograph by Aaron M. Sprecher/Associated Press

Football-tested and data-centric, Andrew Berry takes the helm in Cleveland.

Montage

Adriana Colón, a casually dressed, smiling young woman with curly brown hair, sits in a doorway.

Adriana Colón
Photograph courtesy of Adriana Colón

Adriana Colón forges aural connections.

Photograph of students in caps and gowns graduating from college

Photograph by Rattankun Thongbun/iStock

Derek Bok on curriculum reform

Headshot photograph of Ian K. Smith

Ian K. Smith
Photograph T. Smith

Ian K. Smith’s turn toward detective fiction

A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words

Megha Majumdar

Megha Majumdar
Photograph by Elena Seibert  

Megha Majumdar’s novel of India resonates in the United States.

Illustration about meritocracy: one mother penguin and chick wear college mortarboards, while another mother penguin and her chick don’t.

Illustration by Barbara Dekeyser

Michael Sandel makes the case against meritocracy.

Photograph of Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner’s operas were only a part of his cultural influence.

Photograph in the public domain

Recent books with Harvard connections

Alumni

Photograph of Bharat Ramamurti

Bharat Ramamurti

Photograph by Jason Hornick/Courtesy of Bharat Ramamurti

Bharat Ramamurti ’03 oversees CARES Act spending—and pursues corporate reform.

Photograph of John West

John West

Photograph by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Public Affairs and Communications

HAA president John West promotes interconnections within the University.

The College Pump

Photograph of Café Pamplona, now out of business

Photograph courtesy of Café Pamplona

Prognostications on disease defense, China, deficits, and sweat

Treasure

A drawing of students rebelling in a dining hall.

Click on arrow at right to view addtional images
(1 of 3) Battle in Commons Hall drawing,1819, by William Henry Furness. HUD 2818.75.45A, Harvard University Archives

The Class of 1823 goes rogue and gets booted.