Commentary
In-depth perspectives and critical analysis from faculty, editors, and readers on public affairs, higher education, and Harvard’s evolving mission.
Jack Reardon and Walter Cabot, Remembered
Plus, veteran higher education leader Thomas Ehrlich reflects on university curricula for his 70th reunion
by Primus VI
Nicholas Burns on diplomacy’s role in fostering U.S. standing in the world
On restoring American leadership through diplomacy
Letting Go of the “Ideal” Classroom
“The ‘ideal’ classroom never existed anyway, at least not in a perfectly equitable manner,” writes Julie Chung ’20.
by Julie Chung
Zoom and the zero commute
“The biggest obstacle to our collective learning is the elephant in the room: a global pandemic, taking place amid existing inequalities,” writes Drew Pendergrass ’20.
Letters from our readers
Authoritarianism, labor law, climate change, and more
The View from Mass Hall
President Bacow on encountering—and coming to terms with—COVID-19
On faculties and longer-range planning for Harvard
Faculty governance and long-range intellectual planning for Harvard
The Undergraduate on power and the denial of scholarship
A student scientist contemplates power and the denial of scholarship.
Ways to cope with the federal debt
The politics, policymaking, and public consequences of mounting government debt—and how to cope with it
David Cutler on trimming U.S. healthcare costs
Administrative costs, greed, overutilization—can these drivers of U.S. medical costs be curbed?
by David Cutler
The College Pump
Houseboating in Boston Harbor, Apthorp North, and clothing counts
by Primus VI