Sometimes life proves that God has a sense of humor. When Governor Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) appointed Representative Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to replace Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), it triggered a special election to find Scott’s replacement, and the race has received the usual excess of attention that special elections do. The seat is an otherwise safely … Read more
You may have seen the change.org petition circulating around Facebook asking Harvard to cancel Tyga’s appearance at Yardfest. Here are some quick thoughts in response to the torrent of news feed reactions I’ve seen: There seem to be two valid sides to this debate (ignoring all the dumb stuff like, “Can’t Harvard students just have … Read more
Few things are as American as laying down a few bucks on a football game. But, oddly enough, sports gambling is illegal in all but four states—Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon. We already have state lotteries, horse tracks, and casinos. Betting can make sports more popular (when’s the last time you heard of someone going … Read more
For the fifth year running, President Obama filled out a men’s March Madness bracket. A noted sports fan, Obama’s bracket choices in the past have been ridiculed as political pandering—his upset picks have a tendency to come from swing states—but generally do quite well. His Final Four this year: Louisville, Florida, Indiana, and Ohio State. … Read more
Last month, the White House press corps exploded in frustration over its lack of access to President Obama–an incident set off by the president’s private golf outing with Tiger Woods. While choosing this episode to cite may have trivialized reporters’ concerns, their complaint touched on the real problems associated with a “new normal” in the journalist-newsmaker relationship. … Read more
When I was a student at an established, well-resourced public school in an upper-middle class neighborhood, I knew that there were college opportunities out there for me. As the son of two college graduates, I had role models that expected me to push myself past high school graduation and past my local community college. As … Read more
The New York Times has a new “Room for Debate” up that asks whether schools should adjudicate rape cases, or whether they should be left up to courts of law. This comes on the heels of a recent extensive piece in The Crimson on Harvard’s sexual assault policy. Given the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, the Gov … Read more
A new study published by the American Journal of Medical Quality indicates that, for every 93 “Likes” on a hospital’s Facebook page, 30-day mortality rates are 1 percent lower. This is probably because Facebook “Likes” tap into levels of patient satisfaction, as the positive relationship between “Likes” and the patient recommendation variable suggest. In other … Read more
On March 8, Harvard celebrated its fourth annual Feminist Coming Out Day. A day later, Adams House uploaded its housing video for 2013. The two events would seem to bear no relation aside from falling on the same weekend, but the Adams video shows how much progress remains to be done to combat sexism on … Read more
On March 8, Harvard celebrated its fourth annual Feminist Coming Out Day. A day later, Adams House uploaded its housing video for 2013. The two events would seem to bear no relation aside from falling on the same weekend, but the Adams video shows how much progress remains to be done to combat sexism on … Read more