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Map Miscreant
Edward Forbes Smiley III, of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, was caught in June 2005 leaving Yale’s Beinecke Library with five of its rare maps in his briefcase and tweed jacket. A surveillance camera had captured him removing a map (valued at $150,000) …
Issue: September-October 2006
Parks for Tomorrow
In 2009 , Bas Smets walked across an old industrial plaza in Arles, France. Entirely concrete, the space posed a problem. The area was being transformed into a large art complex, but in the intense summer sun, the ground reflected the heat, doubly baking …
Issue: July-August 2024
Cultivating Friendships with Trees
Tributes to trees, in form and metaphor, have appeared in art, music and poetry for millennia. “And this our life, exempt from public haunt,/Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,/Sermons in stones, and good in everything,” wrote …
Issue: September-October 2024
“A Kind of Justice in the World”
The first thriller Ian K. Smith ’91 fell in love with was The Firm, John Grisham’s wildly popular 1991 novel about a young, ambitious lawyer entangled in a Memphis firm that turns out to be a money-laundering operation for organized crime. “My aunt was a …
Issue: September-October 2020
Historical Record v. Trump
In May 1865 , Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederate States of America, snuck out of his tent wrapped in his wife’s shawl—right into the hands of Union soldiers. During the prior month, Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered, and …
Fall Comes into Focus
When students begin arriving in Cambridge, about three weeks hence, they will enter a community temporarily transformed by the coronavirus. The College announced on July 6 that only about 40 percent of the 6,700 undergraduates would be permitted to be in …
Protesters Walk Out of Harvard Commencement
When Harvard announced that 13 students would not be allowed to graduate this spring due to their involvement in the pro-Palestine encampment, activists organized their own graduation. During the conferral of degrees Thursday morning, hundreds of …
Harvard Cambridge Scholars
Four members of the College class of 2023 have won Harvard-Cambridge Scholarships to study at Cambridge University during the 2023-24 academic year. Meredith Johns, of Winthrop House, a comparative study of religion concentrator with a secondary field in …
Issue: July-August 2023
Radcliffe Day: Gender Equity, Melinda French Gates
After the University staged virtual Baccalaureate and graduation celebrations , hosted diverse class days and commissioned its ROTC cohort , conferred degrees on students and honorands , and finally, invited the wisdom of distinguished guest speakers , …
Lydialyle Gibson , Juliet Isselbacher
Harvard Square under Pandemic Pressure
In normal times, Harvard Square looms large in the memory of alumni and serves as a magnet for visitors from around the world. But with the coronavirus pandemic sending students home from campus, curtailing tourist traffic globally, and restricting …
At Home with Harvard: Sounds of Music
This round-up is part of Harvard Magazine’s series “At Home with Harvard,” a guide to what to read, watch, listen to, and do while social distancing. Read the previous selections, featuring articles about climate change, racial justice, movies and …
Freedom from Food
When Juna Gjata ’17 was growing up, everyone she knew seemed to be on a diet. Weight-conscious adults ordered salads with dressings on the side, requested coffee without milk or sugar, and ate unflavored rice cakes. Her high-school friends followed along. …
Issue: September-October 2022
At Home with Harvard: Remarkable Alumni
This round-up is part of Harvard Magazine ’s series “At Home with Harvard,” a guide to what to read, watch, listen to, and do while social distancing. Read the previous selections, featuring articles about climate change, racial justice, movies and …
“Be Unlikely Inseparables”
“Class Day does not traditionally include a moment like this,” said senior program marshal Tarina Ahuja ’24 an hour into this year’s Class Day ceremony. “But we’re also not living in a typical moment.” After earlier speakers referenced the class of 2024’s …
At Home with Harvard: Women in Sports
This round-up is part of Harvard Magazine ’s series “At Home with Harvard,” a guide to what to read, watch, listen to, and do while social distancing. Read the previous selections, featuring articles about climate change, racial justice, movies and …