Latest news with #Crimson
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Harvard rows through choppy, windy conditions to beat Yale in 158th chapter of ‘The Race'
Advertisement With the victory in 'The Race,' America's oldest collegiate athletic competition in an event that began in 1852, Harvard upped its mark in all-time series against the Bulldogs to 97-60. It was coach Charley Butt's second straight Sexton Cup win after Harvard lost six straight from 2015-2023. (There were no races in 2020-21 due to COVID-19, and no official result in 2016 after Harvard's boat sank due to rough conditions.) In the second varsity eight race (3 miles), the Crimson (15:03.2) enjoyed an even bigger margin of victory over Yale (15:22.9), over 19 seconds, to capture the F. Valentine Chappell Trophy. The Crimson captured the 1-mile third varsity eight race in a time of 9:17.78, an open-water victory over Yale (9:24.89) to grab the New London Cup. Advertisement As a result of winning all three Saturday races, plus Friday's 2-mile fourth varsity race, Harvard took home the Hoyt C. Pease and Robert Chappell Jr. Trophy for winning the overall regatta.
Mint
31-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Why does Trump keep saying Harvard teaches remedial math?
The White House has an expanding list of complaints about Harvard. Among them: a puzzling claim that Harvard kids can't do math. 'Did you see that, where the students can't add two and two and they go to Harvard?" President Trump said on May 23 during an Oval Office briefing. It isn't just Trump. The rumor that Harvard's admission standards have slipped so far they are teaching 'remedial math" has ricocheted across social media to Washington. Two federal agencies, in official correspondence, have echoed it, one even suggesting Harvard is teaching 'middle school math." Something doesn't compute. Harvard's lowest math course is college-level calculus, and their students? Overall, they are something of arithmetic aficionados. Most undergraduates have taken four years of high-school math. The median math SAT score for incoming Harvard students has been 750 or higher over the past decade, in at least the 95th percentile for students nationwide. 'The narrative…it just is so disconnected from what's happening in the classroom," said Brendan Kelly, Harvard's director of introductory math. How did this idea multiply? Tracing this requires a few twists and turns. Last fall, Harvard expanded its entry-level math offerings, with a new version of its introductory calculus course that meets five days a week instead of the usual four. Students are given a skills test to determine whether they need the extended course, Kelly said. The extra time each week is devoted to reviewing algebra skills to make the calculus more accessible, Kelly said. The No. 1 challenge for students in calculus is command of algebra because the knowledge has sometimes faded, he added. 'The extra support will target foundational skills in algebra, geometry, and quantitative reasoning that will help you unlock success," the class description says. The Harvard Crimson student newspaper wrote an article about the new offering in September, saying that it was 'aimed at rectifying a lack of foundational algebra skills," without noting that it is a calculus course. Fast forward to March 18, when Marc Porter Magee, the head of an educational advocacy organization, posted the Crimson article on X, writing: 'Meanwhile, for the first time in its history Harvard has been forced to offer a remedial algebra course to its undergrads." The post racked up 1.1 million views. And thus, a new idea, that Harvard teaches remedial math, entered the equation. (Remedial math is generally thought of as basic instruction necessary before students can take college-level courses.) The idea bounced around the internet and made its way to the Trump administration. The president has voiced it twice from the White House. While signing education-related executive orders on April 23, Trump declared from the Oval Office: 'I hear all about certain great schools and then we read where they're going to teach people basic math, math that we could all do very easily, but they can't do." Why, he asked, are people getting into places such as Harvard without being able to do math, while some students who are at the top of their class can't get into the best schools? Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who was with him, replied that it comes down to meritocracy, and that 'we have to look harder at those universities that aren't enforcing that." McMahon doubled down a few weeks later in a blistering letter sent to Harvard informing the university that it shouldn't apply for any future federal grants because none would be forthcoming. 'This year Harvard was forced to adopt an embarrassing 'remedial math' program for undergraduates," McMahon wrote in the May 5 letter. 'Why is it, we ask, that Harvard has to teach simple and basic mathematics, when it is supposedly so hard to get into this 'acclaimed university'? Who is getting in under such a low standard when others, with fabulous grades and a great understanding of the highest levels of mathematics, are being rejected?" Then, on Tuesday, Josh Gruenbaum, an official with the General Services Administration, circulated a letter to federal agencies telling them to review and potentially cancel any remaining Harvard contracts. The letter mentioned the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court case that banned affirmative action at Harvard and other universities. 'Harvard has shown no indication of reforming their admissions process—to the contrary, Harvard now has to offer a remedial math course, which has been described as 'middle school math,' for incoming freshmen," Gruenbaum wrote. Harvard's Kelly said that while the pandemic led to skills gaps among the university's students—a phenomenon that occurred across the U.S., according to national benchmark tests—they still have high math knowledge. About 20 students enrolled in the five-day-a-week section this semester, Kelly said. The section requires the same exams as the standard introductory calculus. 'It is not remedial math. It is a college-level calculus class," he said. Magee—who wrote the X post—suggested in an interview Friday that he was making a similar point, that the pandemic led to even universities with 3.6% acceptance rates seeing students with less solid math skills than in the past. Students who were freshmen at Harvard last fall would have been finishing eighth grade when the pandemic hit. As for how the Trump administration ran with the 'remedial math" concept he launched, Magee says: 'You don't get to choose what goes viral." Write to Sara Randazzo at
NZ Herald
29-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Jamie Beaton's message for students caught in Trump's war on Harvard; TIN's Greg Shanahan shoots for his own tech export revenue
"Harvard was founded in 1636, has a US$53 billion endowment and will outlive any President" – Crimson founder Jamie Beaton. Crimson founder Jamie Beaton is taking Trump's war on Harvard personally - but it also has potential to affect his business. He answers that threat, and also Crimson adviser Sir John Key's musing about him entering politics. TIN's Greg Shanahan – best known as the ranker of our tech exporters
New Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Harvard has long been the world's top college. Trump's sanction puts its allure at risk
Changes could erase a quarter of the student body With a $53 billion endowment, Harvard can weather federal funding losses that would cripple other institutions. But this new sanction strikes at the heart of its campus. Already, the change is causing disarray, as thousands of students consider whether to transfer or risk being in the country illegally. It could wipe out a quarter of the university's student body, while halving some of its graduate schools and threatening students who work as researchers and teaching assistants. Some sports teams would be left nearly empty. For many, it has been a time of panicked calls home and huddles with fellow international students. For Kat, a data science student from China, the news comes as she prepares to graduate. Foreigners set to receive degrees from Harvard next week can still do so. 'My biggest fear is whether I would get deported immediately" after graduation, Kat said. She spoke on the condition that she be identified only by her first name out of concern about retaliation. "We're not sure about our status.' If the government's action stands, Harvard would be banned from admitting new international students for at least two school years. Even if it regains its place as a global magnet, top students may shy away for fear of future government reprisals, the school said in its lawsuit. The university enrolls almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston. Roughly 30% of those come from India and China. Asked if he was considering restrictions on other universities, President Donald Trump said Friday: 'We're taking a look at a lot of things.' 'Harvard's going to have to change its ways. So are some others,' the president told reporters in the Oval Office. 'We don't want troublemakers here' from other countries. A time to weigh other opportunities In its court filing, Harvard listed some of its most notable alumni who enrolled as foreign students. The list includes Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former president of Liberia; Empress Masako of Japan; and many leaders of major corporations. Many of the world's top students spend years preparing for their college applications, sometimes working with admissions consultants such as Crimson Education, a company named after Harvard's school color. Crimson clients recently admitted to Harvard were shocked by the government's action, said Jamie Beaton, a Harvard alumnus from New Zealand who founded the company. But rather than looking for other options, many students quickly shifted to finding a way forward with Harvard, he said. Still, some current students and those bound for the university in the fall were weighing other opportunities. Two universities in Hong Kong on Friday extended invites to affected students. 'It feels like my world has exploded,' said Fang, a Chinese student who was accepted to Harvard for a master's program. She also spoke on the condition that only her first name be used out of fear that she could be targeted. Her student visa was approved just this week. 'If America becomes a country that doesn't welcome me, I don't want to go there.' The recent developments forced Aleksandra Conevska, a Canadian graduate student researching climate change, to cancel her summer research and briefly look for jobs in Canada. But her thinking has since shifted, and she says she plans to remain at Harvard. 'I've already invested in this country, and I'm not going to give in," she said. The U.S. government's action against Harvard has dominated news in countries around the world, said Mike Henniger, president and CEO of Illume Student Advisory Services, which helps colleges in the U.S., Canada and Europe recruit international students. He is traveling in Japan and awoke to the news Friday with dozens of emails from colleagues. The reactions from the international community, he said, were incredulous: ''Unbelievable!' 'Oh My God!' 'Unreal!'" For incoming freshmen who just got accepted to Harvard — and already committed — the timing could not be worse, but they are such strong students that any top university would want to offer them a spot, he said. 'The bigger story is the students around the country that aren't a Harvard student, the students that scraped by to get into a state university and are thinking: 'Are we next?'' he said. "The Harvard kids are going to be OK. It's more about the damage to the American education brand. The view of the U.S. being a less welcoming place for international students.'
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Harvard University's foreign students may face US exit if…
International students currently enrolled at Harvard will be required to transfer from the school or lose their ability to remain in the United States legally if the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) decision to revoke the university's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification remains in effect. The Harvard Crimson, the university's student-led newspaper, reported that the loss of SEVP certification could be a major loss for those relying on student visas to attend Harvard. Also Read: Trump vs Harvard University: What next for 788 Indians and other foreign students? | Explained They added that the university was likely to challenge the revocation with a temporary restraining order or injunction but the protection would last for a short period and international students would remain in limbo for that time. SEVP certification, which is issued by the DHS, authorizes colleges and universities to enroll international students on F-1 and M-1 visas — the most common type of student visas. Without the certification, institutions cannot issue the Form I-20, which serves as proof of enrollment and is necessary for visitors to maintain student status. Also Read: Barron Trump got rejected by Harvard? Claims surface after university's SEVP revoked Harvard's SEVP certification was revoked on Thursday notice, just weeks after the university announced that they had partially complied with demands from the DHS on providing information on international students involved in protests. 'If students have completed all of their graduation requirements, they should still be able to graduate, so that shouldn't be an issue,' Nicole Hallett, an immigration rights professor at the University of Chicago's law school told the Crimson. University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a response to the revocation, that the DHS's decision was 'unlawful' and that Harvard was 'fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host our international students and scholars." Also Read: Harvard's SEVP revoked: How many international students are at the university If the status is not restored the Harvard may not be able to have international students in it's next batch. Students who transfer to a SEVP-certified university would be able to retain a valid I-20, and thus avoid losing their visas. However, the transfer deadline for many schools falls in March, meaning students' status in the US would be uncertain while they wait for applications to open. The revocation of the SEVP status will not immediately invalidate visas as timelines have not been mentioned by the concerned authorities. Bhuvanyaa Vijay, an immigration attorney at the Law Office of Johanna M. Herrero and graduate of Harvard Law School stated, as quoted by the Crimson, 'They did not say 15 days or 60 days or two days — nothing. When we get such clients, we tell them to 'Hurry up,' and within 15 days at best, try to transfer.' For some visa-holders enrolled in Optional Practical Training, which enables participants to remain in the country for work up to three years after graduation, transfer is not an option, according to former vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association Jeff Joseph. A federal judge in California blocked an order terminating the legal status of international students nationwide, soon after Harvard lost its SEVP status, however, it might not help keep international students at the university since the cases are unrelated to each other.
