Winona and JD are the Campus section editors of the HPR’s 52nd Masthead.
Harvard has brought us joy and it has brought us sorrow. It welcomed us with a hearty letter, and perhaps some money attached too, and maybe some of our parents smiled like never before. It paired us with that roommate who soiled the side of the toilet; it paid us to clean it up. It choked us up when we felt insecure or invisible, and when we laughed too hard, too easily. It told us to keep studying — but then maybe our hearts got broken by some slob, or maybe we got distracted by insert anything here, or maybe we got tired. Maybe it will forget us, but we will not forget our time here. For Harvard students, whether we like it or not, Harvard has become part of who we are.
We think that is important. We are your HPR Campus editors this year, and we took on this role because we care about our peers’ experiences at this institution — experiences which shape our impact beyond its walls. Together, we want to better understand and define the role that our campus plays in our lives.
This year, we write to report, to persuade, and, importantly, to change. In the past, Harvard has changed its tune on issues that students found important, from negotiating fair terms for dining workers, to divesting from apartheid, to instituting the Department of African and African American Studies — issues students wrote about. In the fall, when we debated whether The Crimson should have called ICE for comment about a rally organized by Act on a Dream, student journalism fanned those flames (see here, here, and here). We can be allies through our writing, or writing can be activism itself. To ignore the issues that take place on campus would mean that Harvard and its affiliates are no longer held accountable by the student body. A $40 billion university should not get to run free; we, students, must hold the leash. The power of the pen is one way to make a difference.
To be a stakeholder in your own education, start by asking yourself: What matters to me? Send us your stories; send us your solutions. No one can speak better to the Harvard student experience than all of us. No one can speak better to your story than you. We urge you to consider putting yourself on the record. When written, our words last, and our stories — once at risk of being forgotten — will always be there, ready to greet their reader.
For the rest of your life, people will ask: What was your time at Harvard like? Now is the time to pay attention. Better yet, now is the time to speak up.
Winona Guo and JD Deal can be reached at winona_guo@college.harvard.edu and jadendeal@college.harvard.edu.