Judge rules in favor of Harvard in admissions lawsuit

Federal judge rules Harvard can consider race in its admissions process in pursuit of a diverse class.



From NPR: A judge has ruled in favor of Harvard University in a high-profile court case centered on whether the school's admissions process forces Asian Americans to clear a higher bar to get in.

Federal District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued her decision Tuesday, saying "the Court finds no persuasive documentary evidence of any racial animus or conscious prejudice against Asian Americans."

In the decision, Burroughs said that while Harvard's admissions program is "not perfect," "ensuring diversity at Harvard relies, in part, on race conscious admissions."

More here: Federal Judge Upholds Harvard's Race-Conscious Admissions Process

Why I Support Affirmative Action at Harvard

Guest Post by Jason Fong



This month, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a national affiliation of civil rights organizations focused on serving the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, and several prospective AAPI Harvard students joined a diverse group of black, Latino, and Native American students to support Harvard's race conscious admissions program against attacks that the program intentionally discriminates against Asian American applicants. I am one of those students.

I joined this effort because like the majority of Asian Americans, I support affirmative action, but I also did so because I think our community needs to reflect upon our shared identity as Asian Americans, especially in light of recent lawsuits by a few disappointed Chinese Americans who blame race-conscious admissions programs for their failure to gain admission to their dream schools. With the composition of the United States Supreme Court skewing even more sharply to the right under a Trump administration, the narrow majority that upheld affirmative action in Fisher II could reverse by the time the lawsuit against Harvard reaches the highest court, putting race-conscious admissions policies throughout the country in serious jeopardy.

For me, this fight isn't about my Harvard application. In fact, I know that, like 95% of almost 40,000 applicants, I'm likely to be rejected. But I won't take it personally. I don't depend on Harvard to provide me with self-worth in an admissions letter. Like other institutions, it's looking out for itself -- and trying to build a class that it feels best serves its goals.

This Harvard Business School professor was overcharged $4 for Chinese takeout. Now he's going to make them paaaaaay!

Ben Edelman ordered from an outdated online menu. Now he wants justice.



You've got to be kidding me. A Harvard Business School professor, presumably with nothing better to do, recently got into a ridiculous email exchange with a local family-run restaurant over a $53.35 order of Chinese takeout. His issue? He had apparently been overcharged four bucks. Oh helll no! Fight the power, bro.

Harvard Business School Professor Goes to War Over $4 Worth of Chinese Food

Ben Edelman, an associate professor who teaches bizness n' shit at Harvard Business School, was appalled that he had been charged an extra dollar for each of the dishes he ordered last week from Sichuan Garden's Woburn location. (He had apparently ordered from an outdated online menu.) So he emailed the restaurant for clarification, setting off a chain of increasingly patronizing legalese messages.

Boston.com posted the trail of emails between Professor Edelman and Ran Duan, who manages The Baldwin Bar located inside Sichuan Garden. Behold, as Mr. Edelman demands to be refunded triple damages for the egregious overcharge against him. That's twelve whole bucks, baby.

Harvard death threat emailer just can't stop hitting "send"

Hundreds of Harvard affiliate received yet another email on Monday



Last Friday, hundreds of members of the Harvard University community received racially-charged emails -- disproportionately targeting women of Asian descent -- threatening a mass shooting on campus. Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing and haven't offered any further details on the source of the threats. Meanwhile, hundreds of Harvard affiliates received yet another email Monday morning from the same address.

Investigation Unresolved, Yet Another Email Hits Inboxes

The latest email, sent from the same "hotmail.de" address that issued the original threat, seems to offer another apology of sorts for "the insult." The sender self-identifies as a 15-year-old Vietnamese person living in France... who seems to realize that he or she is now likely in a truckload of trouble.

Harvard students receive death threats targeting Asians

Racially-charged emails threatened mass shooting on campus



Over the weekend, police at Harvard University were on high alert, stepping up security and investigating a racially-charged death threat that was emailed to hundreds of students, staff and affiliates on Friday afternoon.

Hundreds At Harvard Receive Shooting Threats

The threat stated that the author would come to Harvard on Saturday at "11 clock" and "shoot all of you" and "kill you individually." Several students received a second email with the same text. The emails included racist language, referring to their intended recipients as "slit-eyes," and many of the intended recipients were women of Asian descent.

See Mindy Kaling's hilarious Harvard commencement speech

"Most of you will go on to the noblest pursuits, like helping a cable company acquire a telecom company."



On Wednesday at Harvard Law School's commencement ceremony, graduates were given an inspirational address from one of our nation's top legal minds: Mindy Kaling. Okay, so not quite a lawyer. She doesn't even play one on television! But Kaling, writer/producer/star of The Mindy Project, took to the podium anyway. While she was short on wise words ("Celebrities give too much advice...") she made it up with humor and charm.

Mindy Kaling Plugs AMC Antiheroes, Candy Crush and Her Book in Hilarious Harvard Law Speech

As she started her address, Kaling was faced with the disappointing truth she would not be receiving an honorary legal degree ("So apparently, there's a little miscommunication...") but she powered through. Her remarks included shout outs to everyone from Harvard Law alumni Barack Obama and Elle Woods to her own Indian immigrants parents and fellow speaker -- and fellow Desi -- U.S. attorney Preet Bharara.

Check out the video (her speech begins at the three-minute mark):

Harvard student dies after jumping from building

20-year-old Andrew Sun's fall from a downtown building has been ruled a suicide



Tragic news out of Boston, where a Harvard University student was critically injured and died after falling seven stories from a off-campus building early Sunday morning. The death appears to be a suicide.

Pfoho Resident Dies after Jumping from an Off-Campus Building Early Sunday Morning

20-year-old Andrew Sun, a sophomore from New Jersey studying economics, died at the hospital early Monday morning from injuries sustained after falling from a building in downtown Boston.

Harvard student charged in bomb threat hoax

Sophomore Eldo Kim really really really did not want to take his government final



Asian behaving badly... Harvard fake bomb threat edition! COME ON. It had to be an Asian guy. At Harvard University, a student has been arrested for phoning in a fake bomb threat in order to get out of final exams.

Harvard Sophomore Charged in Bomb Threat

20-year-old Eldo Kim, a Harvard sophomore, was charged in connection with an unfounded bomb threat against several campus buildings in an idiotic attempt to avoid a final exam scheduled to be held on Monday.

The final he was apparently trying to bomb scare his way out of? Government 1368: The Politics of American Education, scheduled for 9:00am in Emerson -- one of four buildings named as "targets" in an anonymous email to the Harvard University Police Department, university officials, and the president of the Harvard Crimson.

From the affidavit of an FBI assigned to the case:

This is how Jeremy Lin celebrates March Madness

On Thursday night, 14-seed Harvard stunned the NCAA tournament and busted many a bracket by beating 3-seed University of New Mexico, 68-62. The team's most famous alum, Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin, celebrated with a very spirited evening of Twitter updates, culminating in the photo above. BuzzFeed chronicled the whole thing: Jeremy Lin Lost His Mind Over Harvard's Shocking March Madness Win.

all eyes on jeremy lin

Harvard hoops star Jeremy Lin continues to receive national attention, not only as one of the few Asian American faces in college basketball, but as a solid, pro-level prospect. Here's the latest profile on Jeremy, from TIME: Harvard's Hoops Star Is Asian. Why's That a Problem?

It's another interesting piece on the significance of being one of the few Asian American players in Division 1 basketball, carrying a banner he can't necessarily avoid. There's also that pesky burden of the blatant racism he faces on the court, from people who can't seem to look past his ethnicity.

Pretty much everywhere he plays, Jeremy is the target of cruel racial taunts -- everything from "chink" to "sweet and sour pork" -- you can probably use our imagination. Lin somehow manages to keep a cool head on the court through all the foolishness. You have to admire that.

It's a decent article, but the author's apparent incredulity about Jeremy experiencing racism while playing Ivy League teams ("Even at the Ivy League gyms?") is a little annoying. Hate to break it to you, but racist ignorance doesn't give a crap about academic prestige.

In the end, he seems like a good guy who just wants to play basketball. But whether he likes or not, he's representing a lot of people -- and doing a damn good job -- in spite of all the shit-talking. And thankfully, Jeremy Lin does his talking on the basketball court.

the jeremy lin article everyone sent me

Here's a great ESPN article profiling Harvard basketball star Jeremy Lin, a guy who's been turning a lot of heads in college hoops. His passion for the game was apparently passed down to him from his father: Immigrant dream plays out through son.

Jeremy's father, Gie-Ming Lin, is a "basketball junkie" who immigrated from Taiwan in the 1970s and learned to play the game by watching videotapes of his favorite NBA stars. He vowed -- long before he even had children -- that his own kids would grow up knowing the game from an early age. Looks like it his plan worked.

This season, in a close game against U.Conn, Lin scored a career-high 30 points. And in the Crimson's 74-67 upset at Boston College yesterday, he scored 25 points. So in two games against New England's annual NCAA tournament participants, Lin scored 55 points and shot 64 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.

Last season Lin was the only player in the nation to rank among the top 10 players in his conference in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and 3-point percentage. This year, he continues to demonstrate that he's just a fantastic all-around player (and breaking barriers while he's at it).

jeremy lin drops 30 on uconn

Jeremy Lin does it again! Over the weekend, the Harvard guard dropped an impressive season-high 30 points on #13 Connecticut, but the Huskies were ultimately able to hold off the Crimson, 79-73: Dyson's 24 points, 14 boards help UConn fend off Harvard. Close, but not quite there. More here: Harvard Hangs Tight With No. 13 UConn. And here: UConn survives Harvard scare.

harvard's jeremy lin hits it on the buzzer

They're calling it the best buzzer-beater of the year (so far)... On Saturday night, Harvard guard Jeremy Lin hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in triple overtime, sealing the Crimson's 87-85 win over William & Mary: Harvard defeats William & Mary 87-85 in triple OT.

Watch the video here. It's pretty fuzzy, but it's all there. You see him nail it on the buzzer, and the crowd goes crazy. Pretty damn exciting finish. More here: Harvard guard hits game-winner of the year (so far).

Lin finished with 19 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals for Harvard. Last season, he was the only player in college basketball to rank among the top 10 players in his conference in every statistical category. Top that.

jeremy lin leads harvard to upset victory over boston

Awwwww yeah. A crazy night for college basketball... Harvard junior Jeremy Lin, mentioned here last month, scored 27 points tonight to lead the Crimson to an 82-70 upset over No. 17 Boston College, snapping the Eagles' 10-game winning streak: Lin leads Harvard to 82-70 upset over No. 17 BC. Guess what? They can play some ball in the Ivy League.

Hell yeah. Big, big props to Lin. He played a hell of a game. Harvard's win comes just three days after Boston pulled an upset win over top-ranked North Carolina. It was their first win against over BC in a decade, and the first win in school history over a ranked opponent. More here: Men's Basketball Stuns No. 17 Boston College, 82-70.