Inside: Faith, football, and freshmen.

02.09.12 vol. xlii, no. 37

2 independent1969@gmail.com 02.09.12 • The Harvard Independent

The Indy hearts Haiti.

Cover Design by MIRANDA SHUGARS and SAYANTAN DEBPhoto courtesy ofJERRY TARDIEU

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As Harvard College's weekly undergraduate newsmagazine, the Harvard Independent provides in-depth, critical coverage of issues and events of interest to the Harvard College community. The Independent has no political affiliation, instead offering diverse commentary on news, arts, sports, and student life.

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Picks of the Week

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SPORTS11

Cultural Rhythms TicketsWhen: Today, Noon Sharp. Where: Holyoke Center, Harvard Box OfficeWhat: If you’re not free at noon today, get free. Whether you have to fake a flu to get off work, kill off your grandmother to get out of sec-tion, or just skip lecture, you need to be in line for Cultural Rhythms tickets long before the Box Office opens. Cultural Rhythms tickets sell out every year, and with the incomparable John Legend head-lining this year’s festivities, things are going to get competitive. You might not have to pitch a tent, but a folding chair and your tutorial reading might prove to be good company in line. Prices vary. SEF-eligible.

The Indy 500 When: Friday, 8 p.m.Where: Ticknor Lounge, Boylston HallWhat: The Indy 500 is the Harvard Independent’s annual pre-Valen-tine’s Day speed-dating event. Invites have been sent and all slots are filled, but the lights will be low and the door will be open. Who’s to say you can’t sneak a slice of decadent Finale cheesecake? Just kid-ding. We’ll catch you. Then again, there’s always next year! Free.

Veritably SnazzyWhen: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.Where: Sanders TheatreWhat: The Din and Tonics and the Veritones present a casual-cool night of a cappella just in time for Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re looking to impress that special someone or wile the night away lis-tening to the smooth tones of Harvard’s premier a cappella groups, pick up a ticket at the Harvard Box Office in the Holyoke Center for $8.

Paulicy Makerlesson PlanFinding FaithkeePing Faithoasis

Black tie?Modern classicssilicone, saline, Poison, inject MeF r i e n d s

Manning-Brady

Staff WritersYuqi Hou '15 Cindy Hsu '14 Yuying Luo '12

Zena Mengesha '14 Marina Molarsky-Beck '15 Riva Riley '12 Brad Rose '14 Kalyn Saulsberry '14

Marc Shi '14 Weike Wang '11

Graphics, Photography, and Design Staff Maria Barragan-Santana '14

Travis Hallett '14Nina Kosaric '14

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News and Forum EditorAssociate News Editor

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Christine Wolfe '14 Carlos Schmidt '15Sayantan Deb '14 Curtis Lahaie '15Michael Altman '14Angela Song '14Will Simmons '14Sanyee Yuan '12Celia Zhang '13

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Gary Gerbrandt '14Whitney Lee '14Meghan Brooks '14 Miranda Shugars '14

. . . . . .

independent1969@gmail.com 3The Harvard Independent • 02.09.12

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Point/Counterpoint

Why Ron Paul?Why Ron Paul is the wrong choice in 2012.A commitment to fiscal consistency and the

rise of the American economyBy ANONYMOUS '1776

Let’s pLay a game. Don’t worry, it’s easy! It just takes a bit of common sense to answer these questions.

Do you remember what happened the last time that the “free market” was allowed to run itself? When, you know, trillions of dollars were trading hands in the form of confusing derivatives, some of which were based on confusing mortgages sold to people who couldn’t afford them by the banks who made, profited from, and invested in said derivatives? Oh, that’s right. That was the deepest recession since the Great Depression. A recession that America is still recovering from, one which has destabilized the economies of countries around the world, and one which still threatens the economic prosperity of virtually every person alive. It hardly makes sense to let the actions of major banks go unwatched and to defer completely to the “free market” which knocked the world over less than four years ago. Would you cut funding for special education? How about environmental protection? Would you essentially shut down the thin barrier that prevents coal and oil producers from blowing off the tops of whatever mountains they please and polluting whatever oceans they want? Would you devastate some of the neediest people in the country by completely revoking their rights to affordable housing? Would you let businesses run virtually unaccounted for? Would you prevent the distribution of funding to states on projects that run the gamut from forest protection to environmental cleanup? I seriously doubt that anyone would. Yet there is one man, running in third place for the Republican nomination, who plans to do just that. He also wants to cut taxes on businesses by almost half, cancel regulations on the ways that big banks operate, close down the sole real method of regulating the economy (the Federal Reserve), extend huge tax giveaways to the rich (and make sure their heirs can inherit all of their money, untouched by any governmental body), and slash the jobs of thousands who currently work within the federal government. This man wants to “return…responsibility for security to private property owners”, which ostensibly means that everyone in America should arm themselves immediately. He wants to do away with accounting requirements that ensure that at least some of what businesses do is, well, accountable. He wants to make sure that America walls itself off from the world by eliminating foreign aid — because people who are dying of hunger in the Horn of Africa can obviously sort out their whole famine situation without one of the world’s largest donors — and he wants to substantially cut back on American defense spending. Paul insists that he is the candidate

of personal liberty, a man who would restore America to its great former self. Yet his platform of endless spending cuts, and the elimination of virtually every regulation that has survived the onslaught of business-sponsored conservatism manifest in every Republican executive and legislative branch since Reagan’s heyday will not do that. It will splinter an already-unequal nation into a dystopia with an insanely wealthy minority that has its tax-evading fingers in the halls of Congress (almost like the one which exists today!), and a middle class that will slowly be crushed under the constant maneuvering that businesses take in search of profit.

If Ron Paul were really a libertarian, he wouldn’t be a Republican. He wouldn’t associate himself with a corrupt party that essentially serves as the public relations department for the American corporation. He would stick to his obviously flawed principles, unfettered by the dainty fringe of lobbying money and a commitment to destroying the government that once made America the great country it is. Our game’s almost over. Just a few bonus questions remain: What about a woman’s right to choose? What about the separation of church and state? Someone who focuses on individual freedom and has a powerful commitment to reducing regulation would never touch either of those liberties, right? Well, no. Not if you’re Ron Paul. If you were he, you would support the complete integration of church with state —blatantly ignoring an interpretative statement of Thomas Jefferson that has been repeatedly cited by the Supreme Court as a logical way to understand the First Amendment — and arguing, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, that America was founded as a Christian nation. If you were he, you would plan to pass a law that would undo Roe v. Wade and prevent women from seeking abortions for any reason, while simultaneously defining life as beginning at conception. You would regulate deep into the personal lives of women around the country in a standoffish, paternalistic way, and disregard American constitutional traditions which keep religion out of government and ensure the right to free association. You would pretend to be a libertarian.You would pretend to be the answer to America’s problems, a panacea for the angry white man whose votes you seek. But even then, you would be a horrible, horrible choice. Gary Gerbrandt ’14 (garygerbrandt@college) is arming himself with liberalism before his right to defend himself is taken away.

First, it is important to note that the presidential election is not about race, religion, socioeconomic level

or marital status. It is about what will be best for the United States of America in the years to come. Second, track records matter. Actions speak louder than words, and so the true value of any candidate should be measured first by what he or she has done, and then by what he or she will do. Third, Americans need to learn to prioritize. Instead of hanging their hopes on a fictitious political savior who merely runs a campaign of ‘Change’ and ‘Hope’ rather than taking concrete action, they should be focusing on what really matters: money and national defense (in all of its forms). Everything else needs to take a backseat.

B e f o r e t h e economic crisis began, Congressman Paul was one of the loudest voices that warned the rest of Congress of what was about to take place. As the crash approached, he was heavily criticized by the establishment media and even by many of his fellow Republicans because he would not back down from his warnings about where big government policies w e r e l e a d i n g America. When those predictions came true, however, the President and leaders in Congress used the economic chaos as an excuse to expand government intervention and power on an unprecedented level. Congressman Paul believes that excessive spending, artificial credit, and market manipulation crashed our economy, and no one should be surprised that these same policies continue to prolong the suffering for millions of Americans. His solution to this is manifold. First, he plans to veto any unbalanced budget Congress sends to his desk. Second, he will refuse to raise the debt ceiling so politicians can no longer spend recklessly. Third, he will fully audit (and then end) the Federal Reserve System, which has enabled the more than 95% reduction of what our dollar can buy and continues to create money out of thin air to finance future debt. Congressman Paul claims these policies will allow the worth of the United States Dollar in relation to foreign currency to grow and hopefully return

our currency to its former strength. As for national defense,

Congressman Paul believes that there is nothing more important

than a strong United States of America. The country was strong once, and can be strong once again if steps are taken in the next term. As an Air Force veteran, Ron Paul believes national defense is the single most important responsibility the Constitution entrusts to the federal government. His plans on national defense center mainly around a simple concept: the United States is not the world’s police. Mull that over for a moment. Acting as the world’s policeman and nation-building weakens our country, puts our troops in harm’s way, and sends precious resources to other nations in the midst of an historic economic crisis at home. The way

things stand, t a x p a y e r s are forced to spend billions of dollars each year to protect the borders o f o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , w h i l e Washington r e f u s e s t o deal with our own border security needs. As president, Congressman Paul will make securing our borders the top national s e c u r i t y p r i o r i t y a n d a v o i d unnecessary l o n g a n d e x p e n s i v e land wars that

bankrupt our country. If and when war becomes necessary, unlike some of his predecessors, he will follow the guidelines written in the Constitution, asking Congress to declare war before starting one.

Ron Paul is the right choice for America for a number of reasons, but mainly because, despite the fact that he is a Republican, he does not particularly care for partisan politics, and instead directs his focus towards what will be best for the country that he loves, the country that he risked his life for, and the country that he plans to serve to the best of his capabilities for years to come. A vote for Ron Paul in 2012 declares a love for America and a hope to see our nation reclaim economic stability and confidence on the world’s stage.

Anonymous ‘1776 will remain nameless in order to preserve her familial relationships.

By GARY GERBRANDT

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4 independent1969@gmail.com 02.09.12• The Harvard Independent

News aNd Forum

A Forbidden FruitRetaining religious identity amidst the temptations of college life.

By ANONYMOUS

If you’ve read the title, which you should, I don’t mean it just as an obvious iteration of his

membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I mean it in all the cultural and some of the stereotypical ways the word implies; he fits almost perfectly into the paradigm of Utah-ness. But far from his faith being a potential conflict point around which his advisers should tread gingerly, it could provide a wealth of personal charisma and political support to a candidate who is invariably portrayed as a robot in SNL sketches. As the descendant of Mormon pioneers and church leaders , everything from Romney’s wealth to his sons to his impeccably groomed coiffeur makes him the perfect promo for the LDS life. In a massively wealthy and business-savvy church, Romney is the embodiment of the principle of personal prosperity — and the tithing that goes with it. It’s

the very image that the LDS Church is seeking to, if not counter, then at least expand with its “I’m a Mormon” campaign. The white businessman with a beautiful family who exclaims “Oh my goodness!” when frazzled fits nicely with the green-Jell-O-loving church community historically based in Salt Lake City. And this is where the political advantages may well lie.

Community is an absolutely central tenet of the LDS faith. It is well known that Romney has served as a bishop and a stake president, offering everything from spiritual guidance to logistical help with potlucks. But we rarely hear about this from him. No doubt he has countless anecdotes and experiences from this time when his position meant he was interacting and connecting with people on a personal level. Imagine how well his supporters — and more importantly, potential supporters — might respond if he were to bring those stories and that personality into his campaign. All of the work he has done with the LDS Church only serves to enhance his

image as a community guy, someone who really does care about people in need.

In addition to skirting around his bishopric, Romney has hardly mentioned anything substantive about his time as a missionary. He spent two of the most formative years of his life in France proselytizing and doing service work, and yet this has not been addressed in any meaningful sense. The potential advantages are enormous, including the mine of stories regarding personal connections. LDS missionaries live sparsely, and many minister to the poor and the socially stigmatized (recent immigrants, single parents, etc.). For someone who pays an effective 15% tax rate on millions of dollars in income, pointing out that he has, in fact, interacted with the people whom his critics say he dismisses could help him. It certainly wouldn’t address all of his alienated-from-the-average-American issues, but every little bit counts.

But the greatest advantage his

religion might give him lies in that he is as American as apple pie, complete with all the wholesomeness implied in that phrase. Americans like religion, and Romney’s religion has a very distinct focus on the community and helping others while still promoting individual prosperity. Playing this up could endear him to independents both on a personality level and on a political one in a general election. Romney has used his American wholesomeness before, most recently when mentioning his 42-year marriage when an interviewer brought up Newt Gingrich. But this is the exception, not the rule. In a general election, Romney would do well to incorporate his background instead of walking on eggshells around it. Clare Duncan ‘14 (cduncan@college) also thinks Romney should bring his sons, dressed in Uncle Sam regalia, to every single event and photograph opportunity he has. Use your handsome, Cape Codian, square-jawed assets, Mitt.

ou know, there’s many young men like you that I have seen over the years,

and they all say the same thing: that they are ready to go out on their own. It’s a different world out there, and they come back, having changed.” I looked at my doctor, not sure what to make of his advice.

It was the summer before college, and I was getting my annual check-up. I was not, however, prepared for getting life advice from my doctor. Harvard was only a couple of months away, and I was excited. My doctor’s warning seemed to kill all of that excitement. I left the hospital that day, deep in thought, wondering — as I had done so many times in the last few months — how college life would really be. What I hadn’t expected was how hard it would be to reconcile

religion and social life in college. Flash forward to the first few weeks

of school. All I am hearing about is some kind of “dance” for the freshmen class, Rush Hour. I had made new friends already, and they too were interested in figuring out what all the commotion was about. However, I was apprehensive; I was not the type to go out during the weekends and had no idea what to expect. Flashing lights greeted me inside the dance floor. “Party Rock” was pounding my ears. Bodies were moving, swaying, and molding everywhere. It was surreal. It was intoxicating, exotic, and made my skin tingle. The music pulled me in, and the excitement held onto me. I was hooked, and I knew it. I realized at that moment how difficult it would be to retain my identity as a Muslim in a world without parental oversight

and with so much temptation. Being Muslim means that I do not have many of the privileges of the typical American teenager. As a Muslim, I should pray five times a day and fast during the month of Ramadan. My parents, being very religious, have always been strict with my siblings and me. I can’t be out too late, unlike some of my friends. Drinking is forbidden. Dating is unacceptable. Phone calls from female friends would have my mother questioning my relationship with them. My mother expects me to work hard and study; if I were back at home, I would never be out at 1 a.m. I’m not the only one who faces this dilemma; many other freshmen share my concerns. College is a different world —there are no mothers to tell you to clean your room or fathers to make sure you’re at home in

the night. In this new world, one is no longer a child but an adult. There is more freedom. Temptation is everywhere, and this makes it particularly difficult for freshmen who, coming from strict households, have never had such freedom. But this freedom has also taught me about responsibility. After Rush Hour, I have made it a priority to deal with my religious, educational, and work commitments before anything else. As of now, my doctor has not been completely right about college changing me. Even though I go out a bit more, I’m still very much the same person. I continue to practice my religion and work hard to accomplish my dreams.

Anonymous ’15 can be contacted at independent1969@gmail.com.

Mitt Romney is Running for President

And he's a Mormon! By CLARE DUNCAN

"Y

independent1969@gmail.com 5The Harvard Independent • 02.09.12

indyNews aNd Forum

Education is disappointment, disease, inequality, and infinite possibility. Education is what

the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan ’87, calls “the civil rights issue of our generation.” Education is what Secretary Duncan and the audience members of his February 6 lecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Education have dedicated their lives to revive. Perhaps, however, it is even past reviving — educators must pave the way for an education system that surpasses any we have seen in this country. Somehow, education is both the disease and the cure. Kathleen McCartney, the Dean of the GSE, stressed that now is the time for action, as the focus on education and the responsibility of educators has never been so great. It is at this critical point in time that Secretary Duncan comes to the table, armed with a lifetime’s experience with the mechanisms and potential of the educational system. He grew up attending and volunteering at his mother’s after-school enrichment program in the South Side of Chicago, a predominately Black, low-income neighborhood. He served as the C.E.O. of the Chicago Public School System from 2001 to 2008, an infamous district with severe public education problems. During his time there he instituted many changes, some beneficial, but not all of which he is happy with, and he freely admitted this to the crowd. He knows as well as anyone that education is not a simple field. To begin a long process of healing in a particularly damaged school system, one has to infiltrate all levels of the hierarchy, from district administration to school officials and finally, to teachers and students. It was this grassroots level occupied by teachers in which Secretary Duncan laid his faith. Yes, Duncan is a policy maker, and a good one at that. But he exuded an air of genuine concern in his discussion of the urgent educational problems facing our nation.

Secretary Duncan began his lecture, titled “Fighting the Wrong Education Battles,” with a reprimand of educational advocates who refuse to make concessions. He stressed that a good education system, even if it was not a perfect education system, is better than no system at all. In today’s incredibly politically partisan

environment, it is not surprising that the Secretary’s frustration with advocates “maintaining ideological consistency” rather than stressing constructive debate and discussion was an important part of his lecture. He relayed the urgency of the problems facing teachers, administrators, and students, and called for effective, realistic solutions. His Race to the Top program has seen great success, and his push for states to adopt a national standard amongst students will allow for proper diagnostics and a facilitated search for the root of specific problems that each school faces. Though his policy has returned positive results — particularly in closing achievement gaps in under-served schools — it does not come without controversy.

Secretary Duncan’s refusal to eliminate student test scores from teacher evaluations has infuriated teachers’ unions across the country, as many teachers and principals believe the tests are not accurate representations of the holistic education students are experiencing. While Secretary Duncan conceded to the existence of serious problems with the current system of standardized testing, including the inability of such tests to measure student growth and

critical thinking abilities, he firmly denied the possibility of completely eliminating those numbers from teacher evaluations. However, he does believe that other elements of the educational experience should be included, including student work, student feedback, peer review, and parental feedback. He is also working with a national committee to change the nature of the standardized tests students will take. He again has turned to teachers to look for solutions, as they know what works for their peers and their students best. He seemed to see education policy as a collaborative activity; without everyone’s participation, no policies can be effectively instituted.

His focus on teacher quality was clear: a refurbished teacher evaluation system, a reliance on educator-government communication for policy development, and an intensified education for teachers themselves were clearly priorities of Duncan’s future work. He and others have suggested a medical school model for graduate school in education: rigorous entrance qualifications, a residency program, and a newfound honor in the teaching profession. He states, most correctly, that a transformation in the

image of the profession of teaching is imperative to retaining young, passionate, well-educated entry-level teachers in our public schools. Harvard students familiar with non-traditional teaching opportunities, like Teach for America, know well that a position at TFA or a similar program is usually only temporary and that most graduates of Harvard go on to professions far better paid, or certainly higher up the education hierarchy than teaching elementary and high school.

Secretary Duncan’s lecture consisted primarily of ideals, philosophies, and pleasant statements, like “change is possible.” He insisted that “poverty is not fate,” and that with the power of connections, attention, and resources, an education could shape a successful future for a child from any background. His musings and confident declarations were, of course, correct. Education is the key to national stability and the success of our citizenry (he also praised the DREAM Act for similar reasons). One couldn’t help but notice that platitudes were more frequent than the practical solutions, but his anecdotal evidence and his recitation of recent research couldn’t help but be convincing. The Secretary quoted a study that found that replacing a poor teacher with an average teacher increased the students’ future incomes, prevented teen pregnancy, and increased matriculation. In a realm of so much complexity where education is given so little of the necessary financial and government support that it so desperately deserves, any positive words are acceptable. As the Secretary so pointedly noted, children only have one chance at a good education. Unless the bar is raised for school standards and teachers are provided with the resources they need, the United States cannot hope to truly recover from those ills that plague it. Arne Duncan describes the failures of the American education system as “morally unacceptable and economically unsustainable.” Without education, there is poverty, sickness, instability, inequality, and ignorance. Without education, there is no American Dream. Christine Wolfe ’14 (crwolfe@college) has a new favorite (Leverite!) and Silver Fox.

"Is Our Children Learning?"Arne Duncan on the advancement of the American education system.

By CHRISTINE WOLFE

Photo courtesy of WikiCommons

6 independent1969@gmail.com 02.09.12• The Harvard Independent

News aNd Forum

Last thursday evening, a small crowd of Harvard students and graduates settled into the plush

swivel chairs of CGIS’s Belfer Case Study Room, with Chinese food piled high on plates and cups of fruity Cola Lacaye, a popular Haitian soft drink, in their hands. The Harvard Haitian Alliance had spent the past few weeks organizing an event they had called “Investing in Haiti: The Royal Oasis Hotel Project”, and hoping that things would fall into place. Now that they had, it was time to enjoy their handiwork. In the center of the room, speaker and guest of honor Jerry Tardieu sat to left of Danièle Jean-Pierre, USAID’s Chief Legal Officer in Haiti and a member of Harvard Law School’s Class of 2001. Jean-Pierre opened the event by introducing Tardieu. Before listing his accomplishments — Tardieu is not only a 2000 graduate of the Kennedy School, but is also a successful entrepreneur, the owner of a Haitian morning newspaper, a philanthropist, an author, and the CEO of the Oasis Group — Jean-Pierre distilled his personality in a single sentence: “Jerry,” she said, “is just a very charismatic, personable, passionate person who loves his country.”

Although at first Jean-Pierre’s characterization seemed better suited to a politician than to a businessman, once Tardieu began to discuss his project, showing slide after slide of the hotel’s construction site in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Pétion-Ville, of impressive investment figures, floor plans, and Haitian design elements, and of the grand opening of the Hotel’s lounge and restaurant in September of 2009 juxtaposed against images of its wreckage in the devastating earthquake only four months later, it became clear that her characterization was apt. The five-star Royal Oasis Hotel, its scope now expanded to fill the hospitality void left by the earthquake, might be, as Tardieu put it, “a profitable real estate investment”, but it is clear that it represents much more for him, and much more for a country still rebuilding from the rubble of January 12, 2010.

Les “Nantis”The Royal Oasis Hotel project is

representative of a side of Haiti that outsiders do not see; the side that is air-conditioned conference rooms, poolside dance parties, and high-class

restaurants. It is the side illustrated in a slideshow by Arnaud Robert that Foreign Policy published on the second anniversary of the earthquake that put Haiti at the forefront of global media coverage. The slideshow, a reworking of an article in Le Monde’s M Magazine that had appeared six days earlier, entitled “Les nantis d’Haïti”, or “Haiti’s One Percent,” is a portrait of Haiti’s wealthiest citizens post-earthquake, that three percent who control eighty percent of the country’s economy and who live in countryside estates and in the green hills and fenced compounds that surround Port-au-Prince.

Throughout Haiti ’s troubled

economic history there has been an impassable gulf between the Haitian elite and the rest of the population, most of which lives on about one dollar per day. The question of what the wealthy owe the impoverished was fraught before the earthquake, and is even more so now that the country is in such dire need of real economic stimulation and even basic infrastructure. President Michel Martelly, elected last April, gave a voice to the anger that many Haitians have towards those elites who are “the most repugnant in the world because they neglected social responsibility, privileged their own interests, and abandoned the population.”

Whether merited or not, this harsh depiction of Haitian elites as consciously isolated and basically greedy made its way into Arnaud Robert’s M Magazine article in a

somewhat more subtle manner. Although the French is replete with quotations from interviews conducted with some of Haiti’s wealthiest — Pascale Theard, a pasta heiress, speaks to the solidarity felt across class lines during the earthquake, for example, and Maarten Boute, CEO of the largest cell phone company in Haiti, discusses his pride in Haitian entrepreneurs — and purports to be a neutral portrait of “les riches”, its tone is closer to that hinted at in its English title; it contains all of the implicit negativity that has recently been attached to the phrase the “one percent”, and paints the Haitian elite as privileged and

uninterested in helping their country by neglecting to include evidence to the contrary.

The narrative of an entitled and irresponsible Haitian elite is an easy story to spin, and many of Robert’s sources make this narrative even easier to string together; a member of a wealthy Lebanese-Haitian family essentially thanks the genocidal dictator “Papa Doc” Duvalier for enabling her family’s success, and textile executive Clifford Apaid is quoted in opposition to raising the minimum wage to five dollars. Yet, this depiction of Haiti’s elite is incomplete, if not inaccurate.

Mere days after the original French appeared in M Magazine, the Chamber of Franco-Haitian Commerce and Industry and Pascale Theard, the heiress and businesswoman quoted extensively in Robert’s piece, wrote

scathing Letters to the Editor in Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s major newspaper, denouncing Robert for ignoring a story that the international media has also largely ignored, the story of those Haitian elite who are using their wealth to rebuild their country by investing in its industry and social programs.

Even two years after the earthquake, such stories of hope and internal progress in Haiti are buried by an international media still focusing almost exclusively on disaster-caused misery. As a result, the international humanitarian community is left believing that sending its old t-shirts and yoga mats to the Haitian homeless is still more important than investing in the South Korean textile company building a new factory in the North, or in the electric and water sectors trying to bring basic access to power and potable water to more Haitians. Although both types of aid are certainly important, it is the investment of capital that is going to support Haiti’s long-term growth. “Haiti’s wealthiest’s role is to invest in their country in socially and environmentally responsible projects,” Tardieu said. “ I am a strong advocate of the idea that developments in Haiti will come from Haitians. Especially those with the means to invest.”

With a philosophy such as this, Tardieu’s enthusiasm for the Royal Oasis Hotel project, a project funded largely by Haitian and Haitian-descended investors, becomes easier to understand. The Oasis is ultimately more than a hotel; it is a symbol of the restorative power of Haitian capital and business acumen, and a step in the direction of economic stability.

A “Beacon of Modernity” in HaitiIn his hour-long presentation last

week, Jerry Tardieu’s favorite image, the image he returned to again and again, was that of the thirty-million dollar Royal Oasis Hotel as a “beacon of modernity” in Haiti, and modern the Oasis is. When completed, the now earthquake-resistant complex will include 130 guest suites, facilities for conventions and breakout sessions, four bars, five restaurants, an art gallery, a full-service bank, shopping, a fitness center, and two pools, one at ground level and a rooftop infinity pool. As it will be the only five-star hotel in Haiti, Tardieu expects the Oasis to become a “destination hotel”, a nighttime haven for the native elite,

By MEGHAN BROOKS

The Hidden HaitiHow Haiti’s 1% can rebuild their country, and how Harvard can help.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Tardieu

independent1969@gmail.com 7The Harvard Independent • 02.09.12

indyNews aNd Forum

a resort for members of the Haitian diaspora visiting their homeland, and a business hotel for the heads of NGOs and, hopefully, foreign investors.

While the project’s impact on the surrounding community might seem difficult to identify at first, Tardieu does not hesitate in explaining its benefits. Although the technical limitations of Haitian firms necessitated that the complex’s contractor and management company be foreign, Tardieu estimates that direct job creation from the project numbers between 500 and 700 workers in the current construction phase. Once the hotel is operational, there will be about 225 full-time jobs available, and more temporary jobs in catering and security will become available during special events. Indirectly, in the construction phase, much of the raw material, artwork, and design elements have been sourced within Haiti, while the operational hotel will source the majority of its food from within the country and will help generate tourism revenue in the surrounding area. In this way, the Royal Oasis Hotel project will benefit not only its shareholders but also the government by creating jobs and generating tax revenue. As for the local population, Tardieu added that whether individuals find employment at the hotel or not, their “pride in their town is already enhanced by the architectural and ecological beauty of Royal Oasis, which is already viewed by many as Haiti’s symbol of renewal and modernity.”

Despite his confidence in the success of the venture, Tardieu concedes that the project is somewhat risky, as are all investments in Haiti. While the Oasis project presents the particular problem of Haiti’s under-developed service culture, because “the country lacks the most basic infrastructure…it takes guts, it takes courage for anyone to invest in Haiti.” Looking out into an audience of young, eager Harvard students and graduates, Tardieu said of investment in Haiti, “it is difficult, but it is not impossible. To the contrary, where there is difficulty there is an opportunity to do business right.”

Haiti Is Open for BusinessAlthough Jerry Tardieu is a very

vocal proponent of the crucial role that investment in Haitian development projects and Haitian businesses has to play in the country’s reconstruction and growth, he is certainly not the only Haitian, nor the only businessman, who recognizes its importance. As great a role as the Haitian elite can play in the economic recovery of their country, the greatest investing power lies in foreign capital, and both the public and private sectors have been actively engaging foreign investors to this end. “Haiti is open for business”, the new slogan adopted by President Martelly’s government,

is representative of Haiti’s efforts to attract international investments in Haitian industry. Although Tardieu believes in the power of Haitian entrepreneurs to bring positive change about in their country, he has to agree with the government on the necessity of external aid: “foreign investment is key for Haiti, as we do not have the internal resources to meet the investment demands of the future.”

Tardieu understands the importance of foreign investment well — many of the Oasis Group’s shareholders are Haitian-Americans simply looking to support an element of positive growth in their country of descent, and the Oasis project was the recipient of millions of dollars in financing from the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund after the earthquake. Yet, the Royal Oasis Hotel represents only one development in a sea of investment projects crucial for Haiti’s development. Tardieu sees tourism and industry as the two best investment bets in the country, but he thinks that foreign investments in energy, basic infrastructure, agro-industry, and real estate in both the private and public sector would do a world of good as well. Furthermore, as both Tardieu and Danièle Jean-Pierre emphasized, direct investments in the public and private sectors are necessary to combat the culture of dependence created by NGOs in developing nations; if Haiti wants to survive and prosper in the long run, the country needs to move away from an over-reliance on NGOs and develop a self-sustaining economy. In accordance with Haiti’s long-term needs, Jean-Pierre noted that USAID is slowly transferring more and more economic responsibility to the Haitian government in the hope of eventually leaving a stable Haiti to govern itself.

How Harvard Can Help As Thursday evening’s lecture drew

to a close, one of the last questions Tardieu and Jean-Pierre were asked was about the role that members of the Haitian diaspora, and very particularly, the role that first generation Haitian-American students at Harvard, should play in Haiti’s recovery. (While there are a few students in the Harvard Haitian Alliance directly from Haiti, most members are first generation Haitian-Americans who don’t speak Creole and have never lived in Haiti.) Jean-Pierre, a first generation Haitian-American herself, tackled the question first. “All you need is the desire to

contribute to the country,” she said, and Tardieu agreed: “The first thing you need to do is come and breathe the air,” he said, half-joking but mostly serious, “[the desire to help Haiti] starts there.”

Jean-Pierre stressed that there is a huge gap for the diaspora to fill in the Haitian government as advisors and program directors, and as Harvard-affiliated programs such as University Professor Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health demonstrate, there will always be a need for trained health specialists and other such policy makers in Haiti. Likewise, as President of what he hopes will soon be the Harvard Club of Haiti, Tardieu expressed hope that this organization will serve as “an institutional conduit through which

Haiti’s public and private sectors can access Harvard’s wide range of resources”, as well as a traditional resource and community for Harvard alumni in Haiti. Unfortunately, as of now, the Harvard Club of Haiti still lacks the quorum of ninety members necessary for full espousal by the Harvard Alumni Association.

Lastly, Tardieu and Jean-Pierre agreed, just as they had throughout the evening, that targeted financial investment in Haitian industry is perhaps the most helpful form of aid that Harvard students, soon to be Harvard graduates, can give. “You can do so much good from here,” Tardieu

stressed, “and so much more from here than you can do in Haiti.”

Reflecting on the lecture at a Monday afternoon lunch in Quincy, Louis Leonidas ’14, President of the Harvard Haitian Alliance, had clearly taken Tardieu and Jean-Pierre’s message to heart. A first-generation Haitian-American, Leonidas had been to Haiti only once before this past January, when he and a Harvard friend distributed shoes to needy children in orphanages and tent cities. Although not ready to give up on humanitarian aid in Haiti just yet — Leonidas’s older brother, a graduate of Morehouse College, is starting a non-profit that will bring fresh water and sanitation to rural Haiti — he is thinking about investing

in a hotel in his parents’ hometown in the South. “I definitely do see the need for first-generation students, if they do have the opportunity, if they do have the resources, to invest in Haiti,” Leonidas said. In the immediate future, however, he is planning to join a spring break trip to a Haitian resort. Tardieu had said that tourism could be Haiti’s biggest industry with a little image revision; this trip, Leonidas hopes, will be as good of a start as any.

Meghan Brooks ’14 (meghanbrooks@college) can’t wait to visit her lovely Haitian blockmate’s home next January, and the pool at the Royal Oasis Hotel.

"Where there is difficulty there is an opportunity to do business right."

– Jerry Tardieu

Photo courtesy of Jerry Tardieu

8 independent1969@gmail.com 02.09.12 • The Harvard Independent

A serious one, finally.

By WILL SIMMONS

hat’s really bad, but come on, you go to Harvard. It can be a lot worse.”

I’m sure everyone has heard this maddening sentence. You call your friends from home and complain about your blockmates or your lack of blockmates, your terrible shopping week and your unbearable TFs. You just can’t catch a break. You feel like no one here has time for you, and you spend all day trying to fill the vacuum with people who have to constantly remind you that you’re a drain on their homework time. Friendships are viewed in mathematical terms; only a certain number of hours can be spent not working. At dinner, everyone has their phones on the table, waiting anxiously in case they are needed elsewhere. Sorry, I have to go. I have to go to this or that and meet so and so important person because I need such and such on my résumé. The constant preoccupation with time begins to get to you, and you have to punish yourself for every second spent watching Hulu. People tell you they can’t hang out because they have to answer emails.

The months pass, each one filled with inescapable preparations for the future, lest you fall behind and waste four years of hard work. Summers are nothing but a stepping-stone, a chance to sidestep personal enrichment for the chance to add crucial names to your contact list. Your concerns are always met with, “That’s not too bad. I have 100 pages of reading and a problem set due.” Feelings of inadequacy abound;

your prettiest and smartest friends bemoan their workload or inability to find a significant other. If the most accomplished students on the planet cannot succeed, where does that leave you? Still, you put up with all of this because you have to; no one wants to hear you complain about Harvard. No one wants to think that it’s all not worth it. No one wants to think that the dream of Harvard is a flawed one. You have to believe in Harvard, or else it’s just too difficult a burden to bear. If you don’t like it, people think, just leave, because there are 1000 people who want your spot and would be infinitely more grateful. If you can’t make it work at Harvard, there must be no hope. With all the resources at your disposal, why do you feel like every day is a chore?

One day, you wake up and realize that you’re only coping with the stresses of being a Harvard student in order to get a degree. You understand that you have been forsaking your enjoyment of life in order to receive a prestigious piece of paper. I would go as far as to say that everyone here has this experience. I think it is fair to make that claim, considering the conversations that I have had about this topic with a wide variety of people. Every Harvard student hits that wall, the moment where the cons may outweigh the pros. There is little doubt that doing anything as difficult as being a Harvard student is not worth the effort if one is only bound by a perfunctory climb toward graduation. Nothing should cause you

to place your own wellbeing second to success.

Still, there is some hope, and I believe that the only way forward is to consider the people who fill your day and bring you joy. Only through others can you find your reason to embrace Harvard. Find your reason in the little things. Make up phrases and put hash tags in front of them. Eat unbelievable amounts of food with your friends and complain about the aftermath. Realize together that Harvard is only a name, a smattering of buildings, a historic institution. What really matters is the story, not the setting. Go to the Sackler (shameless tie-in to appease my editors!). Throw parties with outlandish themes every now and then; remind yourself that there are people who love you, and do everything in your power to keep them close. Remember that everyone is just as scared and filled with self-doubt as you are. Don’t be afraid of asking too much; your friends need you just as much as you need them. They might never say so, but it is the truth. Forgive them when you think they don’t love you enough. Ask their forgiveness when you doubt the strength of your friendship. Give your time, even when others will not, because your homework is not as precious as your relationships. Don’t allow yourself to be overwhelmed; request help along the way. Be compassionate to others and yourself, and remain empathetic when others fall short. Believe that, even when

you feel alone, there are people who care deeply and want the best for you.

Look at the positives, but don’t allow them to make you feel inadequate or ungrateful. There are, of course, unlimited resources here at Harvard. You can do whatever you want, go wherever you want, be what you want to be. There are people from all over the world endowed with a passion for learning and collaboration. We are immersed in an environment unlike any other, one that has the potential to offer astounding opportunities for personal growth and enrichment. This, however, does not mean that there should be a constant pressure to live up to these expectations. Though you do have endless resources available to you, no one person can take advantage of all of them. No one expects you to; it is the expectations that we pile on ourselves that are the most damaging. We were not admitted to Harvard to take on the world. On the contrary, we must do our small part using our unique talents, all in an effort to create positive change with the help of our classmates. We are pieces of a united whole. None of us can thrive by ourselves. Perhaps that is the true reward of this place – an opportunity to understand our weaknesses and find those people who make this phase of our lives so special.

Will Simmons ’14 (wsimmons@college) is using this as a wake up call. Listen up Harvard!

"T

independent1969@gmail.com 9The Harvard Independent • 02.09.12

Old/NewThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum re-opens.

By MARINA MOLARSKY-BECK

In the airy modern galleries of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s new wing, twin sets

of dark eyes gaze out at the viewer. One set belongs to the seventeenth century Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn and the other to Tim, a modern-day Gardner museum guard. Despite the centuries that separate Tim and Rembrandt, they have strikingly similar expressions that are at once introspective and provocative. This 1998 photograph, Tim and Rembrandt, Gardner Museum, captured by former Gardner artist-in-resident Aberlardo Morell, expresses in a single image the spirit of the museum’s re-design.

The Gardner Museum tends to conjure up images of old world luxury. Founded in 1903 by the wealthy and eccentric collector Isabella Stewart Gardner, the museum doubles as a historic house. To step into the Gardner is to step back in time. Gardner had the museum built to look like an opulent Italian Renaissance palazzo,

complete with velvet armchairs, stone fireplaces, and tapestries on the walls.

One can contemplate John Singer Sargent’s El Jaleo, a huge canvas depicting a flamenco dancer in a swirl of white skirts, while surrounded by Moorish tiles, as if stumbling upon an impromptu performance in a dark corner of the Alhambra. The combined effect of Gardner’s carefully chosen antiques and masterpieces of the Western tradition is magical, but it can also become overwhelming.

To counterbalance the musty beauty of the old Gardner, the museum’s new wing is thoroughly modern. It is all crisp white walls and huge windows that, the week of the Gardner’s re-opening, offered a clear view of the fresh January snowfall. The new wing features spacious sitting rooms with art book-lined walls and a restaurant, Café G, that serves modern American fare as well as a pairing of donuts and champagne, which, according to legend, Gardner herself once feasted

on with guests.Rather than filling these bright

galleries with incongruous medieval sculptures or Baroque paintings, the Gardner has chosen to hang only contemporary works in the new wing. Currently on view is TAPESTRY (RADIO ON), a show of new work by the Gardner’s latest artist-in-resident, Victoria Morton. Morton rather jarringly pairs colorful abstract canvases with installation pieces: a paint-splattered ladder, a hanging red dress, recordings of mysterious ambient sounds.

While Morton’s work is engaging, it is less successful than Morell’s photograph of Tim and Rembrandt in parsing the complex energies of old and new at the Gardner. Tim and Rembrandt is one of the selections of works by past artists-in-residence displayed in the capsule exhibit Points of View: 20 Years of Artist-in-Residence at the Gardner. Many of the works featured in this exhibit deal explicitly

with the Gardner’s collection, but none do so as effectively as Morell’s single photograph. Rembrandt’s paintings are so uniformly and casually called “masterpieces”— of the “Dutch Golden Age,” no less — that it is difficult to see his work with fresh eyes. Morell helps us do just that.

Admittance to the Isabel la Stewart Gardner Museum is free for Harvard students and for people named “Isabella” with photo ID. Through the month of February, the Gardner recommends purchasing timed tickets online to guarantee admission. The museum is within easy walking distance of the Simmons & Emmanuel Colleges stop on the (free) M2 Cambridge-Harvard Shuttle or the Museum of Fine Arts stop on the E branch of the MBTA Green Line.

Marina Molarsky-Beck ’15 (molarskybeck@college) wishes her name were “Isabella.”

Something about the freshman Formal, held last Friday, February 3rd, was decidedly

informal despite its name and the attire of most people at the event. The pre-party dinner in Annenberg and the event itself, at the Westin Hotel in Boston, were absolutely enjoyable — if you had patience and the right company. Even so, every “formal” aspect of the event made me realize how happy we students are to have a night out, whether that night is truly formal or not.

D i n n e r i n A n n e n b e r g w a s characterized by food similar to what we always have, but with names preceded by more adjectives than usual, and by discussions of the various styles of dresses worn by the girls walking up and down the aisles between the tables. We admired classy

velvet blazers and draped gowns, and I barely noticed anything more formal about Annenberg on Friday than during the “French Bistro” brunch we had enjoyed a few weeks ago. My friends and I mused over the number of times we heard people say that they want to dress up more often, and had an overall pleasant, but not spectacular, dinner of salmon and steak.

Arriving at the Westin a few hours later, we were greeted by a giant mass of students barely arranged into an ordered line, waiting to use the coat check. Within the main room of the party, everyone too impatient for the coat check put their bags and outer layers under the tables lining the walls. On the far sides of the room were tables with chocolate fountains and bowls of marshmallows and

nuts. By the time I saw them, the milk chocolate fountain had stopped flowing, and most of the other food was gone. A giant “2015” ice sculpture stood by itself, but other than that, small bunches of balloons, and some colored lasers on the ceiling above the dance floor, the decorations were sparse and somewhat underwhelming. Even so, everyone kept spirits up, especially on the dance floor.

Given upbeat dance music, college students will dance. Of course, the fact that the lights came up periodically, supposedly because of a fire alarm (which was mysteriously inaudible and didn’t force us to evacuate) elsewhere in the hotel created a few awkward moments. At those times, it all seemed a bit like a Middle School dance during which teachers turn up the lights to make sure everyone

dances tastefully. But despite the disorder and

bright main room, the formal stayed fun throughout the evening. The minor kinks, which could have left us disappointed, instead made the night more memorable. It just goes to show that while it’s fun to look forward to a “formal” event like this, all the planning involved doesn’t necessarily make the party more worth dedicating a night to than any other. But more than anything, the Freshman Formal experience illustrated how collectively happy the freshman class can be when we dress up, temporarily forget about our schoolwork, and celebrate the free time as a whole class.

Sarah Rosenthal ’15 (srosenthal@college) enjoyed the night spent with her classmates thoroughly.

Reflections on a night of dance, desserts, and revelry. By SARAH ROSENTHAL

Informalities at the Freshman Formal

10 independent1969@gmail.com 02.09.12 • The Harvard Independent

beautiful, dirty, rich

Part II: The Fame Monster, the Incubation, and the Vessel.

By TRAVIS HALLETT

Growing up, lady gaga always wanted to be a star. Writing her own songs, performing

for her family, and saving money to buy off-season high fashion pieces, dreams of grander filled her from the very beginning. It took many attempts to get a hit that stuck. But after that, the spotlight was already warmed up. While she achieved her goal by amassing the dedicated fans with whom she could practice her art, she was unprepared for the dark side of the business. She was the sole focus of the paparazzi’s lenses. Everyone knew her name. Her fashion occupied entertainment and even world news almost constantly. She was criticized incessantly, and that’s without mentioning the nasty wheeling and dealing hidden from the public eye. The fame began to eat her, but she took it like the woman she was. As someone once said to her, if you aren’t casting any shadows, you aren’t standing in the light.

The Fame Monster arrived and with it a revamped, fearless Gaga. The bangs were gone, the heels were elevated, and the fashion was high and immodest. She took back the darkness and brought us her famous singles, all carrying monster allusions. “Bad Romance,” “Telephone,” and “Alejandro,” with fan favorites “Monster” and “Dance in the Dark.” Written for her dad who would be undergoing heart surgery, “Speechless” was coincidentally named for anyone who heard her perform it. As hardworking as ever, when it was time to go on tour she performed the Monster Ball over two hundred times, earning herself over $200 million in the process.

Tired of trying to convince the public that she was just a normal girl – not a freak – she turned the tables, locked the freaks outside, and told her story to the little monsters inside the arena.

I went last March, and while some of my fellow attendees didn’t know what they were getting themselves into, for most it could only be described as a religious experience. The fans dressed in their best Gaga-inspired fashion (or lack thereof), Gaga went to great lengths making sure that the fans left worshipping themselves more than they worshipped her. With such a dedicated fan base, Gaga took on the responsibility of empowering the very people who empowered her from the beginning. Many little monsters have been bullied for being different or gay or for just being themselves. Conscious of what she experienced growing up, she created the Monster Ball as a place where there’s nothing but a dynamic flow of love and acceptance. She once said, “I used to walk down the street like I was a f***ing star... I want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be – and then to fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth.”

W i t h L a u r i e a n n Gibson at the helm of choreography, Mugler’s Nicola Formichetti as her stylist, and a m a s s i v e t o u r s e l l i n g o u t every single n i g h t , t h e M o n s t e r era brought famous music videos like “Bad R o m a n c e ” a n d “Telephone.” Some performances were shocking, some of which are talked about today just as much as the

era’s fashion. She used her star power for the greater good – she became politically active, giving a speech in Maine advocating the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. She said that equality is the prime rib of America, but not everyone could have a bite of the best piece. She referenced the dress she wore to the VMAs the week before.

By that point she was fully matured. There were no gimmicks. Each live performance was unique and never lip-synched. She spent her money not on cars and houses but on her artistry. The fans knew what the public didn’t – that she’s just a normal girl. She often has dinner at home with her family, she hangs out with her friends, she’ll slip away from her

security to the convenience store, and she really likes alcohol. Her Monster Ball special on HBO began

with her getting ready for a show at Madison

S q u a r e Garden – in

tears. She was afraid of letting

down her fans. She felt like a

loser. But as the music was cranked

to deafening levels out in the arena and the countdown clock on her

huge cylindrical curtain lurched to zero, she laced

up her boots and was escorted to the stage. Once the spotlight was on, she was reinvigorated and ready to take on the night. It would give her no greater pleasure than to die on stage. She’s embraced who she is and is helping those who give her the

energy to carry on

and do the same.Lady Gaga is fortunate for her

success as an artist. Her fame and wealth now enable her to do whatever she wants whenever she pleases. She writes music for her fans with little regard to what will be a radio smash hit. True to her hardworking nature, she brings everything with her everywhere she goes: her parents, her friends, her wardrobe, dancers, stage, producers, choreographers, and most importantly, her recording studio. While “The Fame Monster” was still going strong, she was readying new music that would strengthen her soul, please the fans, and experiment with new material that she hoped would free ideas that had been percolating for months. At the 2010 VMAs, after sweeping the floor with the competition, during an acceptance speech she had nothing to say but sing, “I’m beautiful in my way / ‘Cause God makes no mistakes / I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way.” And thus began the incubation.

While Gaga still had nine months of the Monster Ball left, including the March 8, 2011 show that I attended, she was busy preparing her new era. After performing the Monster Ball almost constantly for three years, it no longer required all of her energy and attention. Often, she would fly to the night’s performance from another country just hours before. With her spare time, the Born This Way Era was growing, planning, and incubating. Her latest and most important era as an artist began at the 2011 Grammy’s. When the incubation completed, moments after her scheduled performance began, she emerged from the Vessel and it began.

Travis Hallett ’14 (travishallett@college) better get a ticket to the BTWF launch on February 29 at Sanders Theatre. Stay tuned for details!

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independent1969@gmail.com 11The Harvard Independent • 02.09.2012

indySportS

By MICHAEL ALTMAN

A Surprisingly Good Sequel

The Giants beat the Patriots, again.

As a fan of neither the new York Giants nor the New England Patriots, I was partly

expecting to rely on commercials for entertainment during Sunday night’s Super Bowl. Even though the game was predicted to be close and was essentially a rematch of the Super Bowl four years ago (in which the Giants won), a sports game tends to be more enjoyable to watch when you have someone to support — especially in anything that features Boston and New York competing against each other.

Much to my surprise, however, Super Bowl XLVI ended with a series of exciting plays and was decided within the last few seconds. Although the Giants won 21-17, it could just as easily have been a victory for New England.

New York scored first with a safety that occurred after New England

quarterback Tom Brady was flagged for intentional grounding while in the Patriot’s end zone. The Giants scored a touchdown on their next drive, resulting in an early 9-0 lead. Despite the early lead, the Giants were unable to stop the Patriots from scoring by the end of the first half. The Patriots managed to score a field goal and squeezed in a touchdown just before halftime. With the game now almost tied at 10-9, the second half seemed to be like starting from scratch.

The Patriots began the second half with a 79-yard opening drive to score a touchdown, bringing the score to 17-9. The Giants responded with a few long drives but were unable to score any touchdowns for most of the second half. Instead, they settled for two field goals to bring the game to a much closer 17-15. Despite New York’s inability to take the lead, the Giants’ defense managed to hold Brady back.

The critical moments of the game occurred within the last two minutes. The Giants managed to get within 10 yards of the Patriots’ end zone with just over a minute left. All the Giants had to do to win was run out the clock and score a field goal. In a risky move, the Patriots’ defense let the Giants’ running back, Ahmed Bradshaw, run right through the defensive line. Bradshaw attempted to stop himself short of the end zone (and thus allow the Giants to run out the clock), but fell into the end zone, scoring a touchdown. The Giants attempted a two-point conversion but failed. The game now had the Giants in the lead at 21-17, but the Patriots now had just under a minute to score with one timeout left. The Patriots made it to their own 49-yard line with just nine seconds left. The next pass was incomplete and Brady’s last chance was a Hail Mary pass to

the end zone. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the pass was deflected and hit the ground before it reached tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Giants won their fourth Super Bowl 21-17.

The uncertain last few minutes of the game made it one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent years. Not having a team to cheer for made it even more amazing since I could appreciate each good play regardless of which team carried it out. As fun as it is to have a stake in a team winning, sometimes it can be just as fun to choose no side and just watch some good football.

On the other hand, this could just be my own form of Super Bowl loss-aversion that’s developed from being a fan of the Buffalo Bills.

Michael Altman ’14 (maltman@college) isn’t bitter.

Photos courtesy of Maria Barragan-Santana

captured & shotLAUREN SANKARY