News
Sex (Mis)Education
The state of sex ed in the United States.
The majority (57%) of students in the United States have sex before graduating from high school, according to the Guttmacher Institute. At a time when teenagers are having sex earlier and with more partners than ever before, providing access to medically accurate and nondiscriminatory sex education is crucial to ensuring that adolescents can engage in […]
Quest for Knowledge: The Senior Thesis
Narratives of intellectual exploration and discovery.
In the heart of many undergraduate academic journeys lies a pinnacle moment, representing years of learning, exploration, and dedication: the senior thesis. Crafting a senior thesis allows students to get involved in a rewarding process of exploring new challenges that leave a lasting impact on their lives. The senior thesis is a research project, typically […]
Mouse-Capades
Horror stories behind Harvard’s mice infestation.
The Harvard mice are more like you than you may want to admit; you both are in search of good food, comfy nesting quarters, and nighttime action. My roommate was the first to arrive on campus in early August, brimming with excitement to move into our dorm. As she climbed the stairs of Canaday’s concrete […]
A Professor’s Break
Harvard University educators discuss their opinions on the current structure of Spring Break.
Spring Break has come to an end. As we resume our final stretch of classes, we often disregard how much changes within the one-week University-wide break. As the campus quiets down and lecture halls empty, students attempt to immediately disconnect from the academic stresses of college and “forget about” their professors and classes. But Harvard’s […]
Beyond Stereotypes: Finding Home with PBHA
Unveiling Harvard’s commitment to social responsibility through PBHA.
Within Harvard, the stereotype often prevails: it is “a place where people prioritize making money over changing the world,” Alexandra Arguello ’27, a student in the Harvard Undergraduate Legal Committee (HULC), acknowledges. This perception stems from the College’s prestigious reputation and the predominant notion that its students are solely focused on personal achievement. Beneath this […]
Let’s Taco-bout it.
A review of Achilito’s Taqueria.
Every Harvard student’s good night out ends at one of the Square’s renowned late-night Mexican-style eateries. With this comes a fun debate on the walk home from a party over whether Jefe’s or Felipe’s will ultimately satisfy that 2 a.m. craving. The die-hard fans of each of these establishments will happily engage you with their […]
Forum
In Defense of Bed Rotting
Harvard students often feel pressure to always be at work. What if we took a break?
At Harvard, it often seems like every second must be accounted for. The Google Calendar squares often touch from morning to night, encompassing everything from social events to classes to networking. If you are not filling out a spreadsheet, attending a networking event, or going out, you may feel like you are doing something wrong. […]
A Love Letter to the Thaw
The unexpected awe of winter’s metamorphosis to spring.
As a Chicago native and temporary Bostonian, I am well acquainted with cold, windy winters where my hands turn white, my cheeks turn red, and my nighttime tea becomes ritual. I often remark that you never get fully used to the cold, but you learn to accept it. Still, I love living in cold weather […]
Broken Crimson Hearts
Exploring the unspoken rules of dating and the pursuit of romance on campus.
While many self-help books and advice columns claim to have “expert knowledge” on dating, none seem to include vignettes from the lives of Harvard’s hopeless and hopeful romantics. Since personal stories resonate more than advice alone, we’ve collected stories from our friends with invaluable lessons (and given each of them pseudonyms). Sometimes it feels like […]
Wanna Compare Vaginas?
Looking at my friends’ vulvas was the solution to my genital shame.
The first time I looked at my vagina, I was repulsed. Legs spread in a frog-like fashion, right hand equipped with a handheld mirror patterned with Disney Princess stickers and fingers poking at my labia in the most unsexual manner possible, I had never felt more concentrated in my 12 years of life. And, simultaneously, […]
Letter from the Editors
Dear Reader, The staff of the Harvard Independent is proud to present the 2024 Sex Issue. This issue is a tradition which has been cherished and highly-anticipated annually for over 25 years. Each year’s Sex Issue explores the joys and the complexities of sex and sexuality, and aims to promote sex-positivity in many forms on […]
Benefits Beneath the Sheets
The medical advantages of a healthy sex life.
Imagine walking into your therapist’s office and leaving with instructions to go have sex. While it may seem odd, the science behind this prescription exists. Within the medical community, it is becoming increasingly clearer that having sex regularly (more than once a week) has long-term health benefits. Along with the physical pleasure of sexual encounters, […]
Arts
Those Darn Kids
The First-Year Musical has another successful year with 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝑨𝒍𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.
Each spring, the Agassiz Theater is graced with a musical entirely created and performed by Harvard first-years. The first-year musical, affectionately known as the “froshical,” offers newcomers an exciting and unique introduction to the Harvard theater community. This year’s production, The Kids Are All Right, ran from April 11 to 14 and was an outstanding […]
The Dreaming
If I dismember the sky, will the rainbow chunks bleed prismatic liquid? Will I become death, destroyer of hallucinated worlds? Of amorphous blobs of color that shapeshift and ooze. Of pink elephants and sea monsters deep above. Psychedelia, teach me dissociation. How to lose oneself in liminal spaces. The whiteness of radio static and eerie […]
Harvard Square’s Treasure Trove of Cinema
A profile of the Brattle Theatre.
If you turn down Brattle Street, walk a few minutes past Felipe’s, and look below Alden and Harlow, you’ll find one of Harvard Square’s hidden gems. The Brattle Theatre is the only movie theater in Harvard Square, showing a variety of classic, independent, and foreign films every day. Walking up the stairs from its unassuming […]
Paella, Tofu, and Improv
The IGP hosts Player of the Year featuring Jason Mantzoukas.
On April 5, the Immediate Gratification Players (IGP) presented their Player of the Year comedy improvisation event with Jason Mantzoukas. Each year, the IGP honors a famous comedian by inviting him or her to perform with the cast and receive a classic IGP striped tie. This tradition dates back to 2010 and has honored such […]
Can’t Separate the Art from the Artist
Reclaiming identity at Harvard’s Black Art Collective.
Art can take a million different forms. It can be a spoken word poem, a urinal turned sideways, or a guitar riff. Despite access to the illustrious Harvard art history professors, one would be hard-pressed to get a definitive answer on not just what constitutes “good” art, but what constitutes “art” at all. The personal […]
How to Have Sex in a Harvard Dorm
“How big is it?” she whispered. “80 inches long and 38 inches wide.”
“How big is it?” she whispered. “80 inches long and 38 inches wide.” “It,” of course, is a twin XL bed, of which one or more resides in every Harvard dorm room. Uncomfortable, narrow, and really, really low to the ground, the beds here at Harvard are tough enough for one person to get settled […]
Sports
Sports Spotlight: Nina Janmyr
Flipping between NCAA and international success.
Nina Janmyr ’26’s love of diving developed in improbable circumstances. After a week of diving camp in the cold and pouring rain, she discovered the sport that would become a major part of her life for the foreseeable future. Janymer’s mom could not believe that, after executing no more than 14 dives that week, she […]
Indy Sportsbook: Premier League Bets
The best bets amidst the Internationjal Break and Champions League confusion.
This upcoming Premier League gameweek has been thrown into chaos with the recent International Break and recently scheduled Champions League matches—however, the increasing chaos makes the betting twice as exciting. The International Break is a period in which professional soccer players are called by their home nations to compete in international tournaments or friendlies. This […]
Indy Sportsbook: March Madness
A preview of the magic and eroticism to come in this year’s dance.
As March rolls in, so does the biggest NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament of the year. March Madness is a once-a-year extravaganza that brings people together in celebration of the game we love. Win or lose, savor every moment of the tournament experience. Cheer for the buzzer-beaters, marvel at the upsets, and relish in the joy […]
Harvard Women’s Tennis: No Strangers to Winners
The team remains hot on a nine-game win streak.
The women’s tennis team is off to their best start in program history. Their three most recent wins on the road have put them at a 13-2 record this season, with nine straight wins including five 4-0 shutouts. After their last 4-1 win at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, the team surpassed last year’s 12-10 […]
Battles Beyond The Field
While progress has been made, challenges remain for Harvard student-athletes who identify as LGBTQ+.
Long hours, daily practice, and pushing towards victory—that’s the life of the student-athletes at Harvard, who have to balance sports with their academic workload. Yet, some athletes on campus face an additional challenge—their identity. Historically, athletics in the U.S. have had a reputation for lagging behind other extracurriculars in terms of LGBTQ+ acceptance. It was […]
Indy Sportsbook: The Oscars
Top picks for select categories in this Sunday’s awards ceremony.
Puerto Rico, Spain, Portugal, and the Caribbean. Be prepared to swipe past a sunset photo from each of these destinations on Instagram every day this week. But if you are sitting at home this Sunday night and need a good distraction from the constant reminders of your friends’ sunny vacations, look no further than the […]