In late February, the eight Ivy League football coaches unanimously chose to eliminate all full contact hitting in practices. The move I considered the most aggressive measure yet to address brain injuries and trauma in football. After being formally affirmed by the Ivy League’s policy committee, athletic directors, and university presidents, this new rule will … Read more
One of the most prominent Argentine businessman today, Eduardo Elsztain is president and largest shareholder of Argentina’s largest real estate company, Inversiones y Representaciones S.A, and he is chairman of Argentina’s leading mortgage bank, Banco Hipotecario. Elsztain’s business acumen allowed him to head an agricultural company called Cresud through the Argentine currency crash of 2001 … Read more
Among myriad fiercely debated issues, three words are obstructing Myanmar’s peace process negotiations: demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration. Myanmar has been fighting a civil war for more than 68 years, and although many of the Ethnic Armed Organizations—a series of armed rebel factions—have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the government, the powerful Kachin Independence Army … Read more
When the local economy of Susanville, California stagnated, the town tried to use a newly constructed prison as a recovery tool. Opened in the late 1990s, High Desert State Prison cost $272 million to build. High Desert, originally intended to be a low- to medium-security prison, became a Level III and IV correctional facility. This … Read more
What Is Gerrymandering? 2014 was a tough year for Democrats. In addition to losing their Senate majority in dramatic fashion, the Democrats also saw the Republican margin of control in the House of Representatives grow from 33 seats to 46. They got clobbered in state elections, too, with the GOP securing of 31 out of … Read more
I walk into the Cambridge office of General Catalyst, located in a 4th floor office building adjacent to the Charles hotel. The space is warm and well-lit, with modern furnishings and polished hardwood floors. Chatter floats from nearby conference rooms as smartly-dressed partners wander in and out of the lobby. It’s business as usual on … Read more
As soon as President Faust announced new restrictions on members of single sex-organizations, virtually every affected group on campus displayed conspicuous outrage. Fraternity members lashed out in conversation and online, sorority sisters unified on Facebook, and final club members—well, as usual, they said little. Members of some single-gender organizations even started to make a legal … Read more
Months ago, thousands of college students in the Greater Boston area—I among them— returned to school on the Sunday after Thanksgiving break. Living only an hour away from Boston, my family was confident that, despite crowded seasonal traffic conditions, our ride on the I-90 wouldn’t be that awful. After all, around Massachusetts the “Pike” is … Read more
It started on Facebook. Alicia Garza drafted a post dubbed “A love note for Black People,” crafted largely out of sympathy for a dead child and disgust for the system that killed him. That post was the impetus for a movement hearkening back to the impassioned protesting of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Lives Matter. … Read more
Spring 2016 Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, Sir Peter Westmacott became British Ambassador to the United States in January 2012. Before that, he served as the British Embassy’s Counsellor for Political and Public Affairs in the mid-1990s. His tour of duty ended in January 2016. During his career, he has also … Read more