Tag: harvard

Outrage At Harvard Grade Inflation Report Reveals The Rot In Higher Education

The recent reactions by students of arguably the nation’s most prominent university to a report about grade inflation read like they came from the pages of The Babylon Bee, a satirical website. That they came instead from the Harvard Crimson speaks to the crises plaguing higher education.

The melodramatic wailing by Harvard students regarding the school’s grading policies does more than represent a parody of Ivy League education and woke “snowflakes.” It reinforces that taxpayers are propping up a sclerotic, dysfunctional educational system that has problems extending far beyond rampant antisemitism and radical leftist politics.

Everyone Above Average?

Unfortunately, the Harvard report that drew such harsh student condemnation remains hidden on the university’s intranet, but a Crimson article gives the gist. The study “found that more than 60 percent of grades awarded to Harvard undergraduates are A’s, compared to only a quarter of grades two decades ago. It concluded that Harvard’s current grading system is ‘damaging the academic culture of the College.’”

Cue the outrage from students, as documented in a separate Crimson story. One said the faculty’s desire to ensure consistently high academic standards undermined her struggles, saying:

The whole entire day, I was crying. … I skipped classes on Monday, and I was just sobbing in bed because I felt like I try so hard in my classes, and my grades aren’t even the best. … It just felt soul-crushing.

A glib commenter might point out that skipping an entire day’s worth of classes due to the report’s release appears slightly inconsistent with “try[ing] so hard” academically. 

But from a more substantive and sympathetic viewpoint, these types of comments demonstrate the mental health challenges facing our nation’s youth. Another student made comments in a similar vein: “I killed myself all throughout high school to try and get into this school. I was looking forward to being fulfilled by my studies now, rather than being killed by them.”

Both sets of comments imply students’ belief that effort will necessarily equal results — that everyone who puts in X number of hours will automatically get A’s. But the world does not work that way, and neither should Harvard. That these students truly believe in this type of “bargain,” and react so harshly when someone questions it, speaks to how our culture has coddled many students into expecting that excellence will come easily, leaving them emotionally unprepared for any setbacks that arise.

Students wanting to be “fulfilled by my studies” seem not to understand the purpose of higher education. Most notably, the act of learning itself — of absorbing and applying knowledge — should serve as its own source of fulfillment and enjoyment, notwithstanding society’s bottom-line focus on grades. 

Skewed Priorities

Another student made a similar complaint, telling the Crimson, “What makes a Harvard student a Harvard student is their engagement in extracurriculars. … Now we have to throw all that away and pursue just academics. I believe that attacks the very notion of what Harvard is.”

At the risk of sounding like Ronald Reagan circa 1980, as a federal taxpayer, I am paying for the education of students like this, even if this particular student doesn’t receive federal student aid. And I have zero interest in subsidizing such students to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars per year just to see them spend most of their time playing Quidditch or joining Students for Justice in Palestine.

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‘Alien ship’ releases ‘seven jets’ with ‘glowing halo’ as it nears sun

An alien expert claims that an interstellar object which is seemingly an “alien ship” with a “complex jet structure” and a “glowing halo” is passing by the sun.

The mysterious interstellar object, which has been dubbed 3I/ATLAS, was reportedly at 29 degrees separation from the Sun. Stacked images show a “large glowing halo extending out to half a million kilometres” with at least “7 distinct jets.” According to Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, some of them are anti-tails in the sunward direction.

In an article published by Loeb, he wrote: “This morning, at 4.10 Universal Time (UT) on November 8, 2025, the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS showed a complex jet structure. M. Jäger, G. Rhemann and E. Prosperi observed 3I/ATLAS at 29 degrees separation from the Sun in the sky.”

He added: “The stacked images, constituting 24 exposures in the green filter, each lasting 35 seconds , 2 exposures in a red filter and 2 exposures in a blue filter, show a large glowing halo extending out to half a million kilometers (5 arcminutes).

“The images show at least 7 distinct jets, some of which are anti-tails in the sunward direction.

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Harvard Scientist Accuses NASA of Coverup About Mysterious Comet

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has once again leveled accusations against NASA during an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, this time claiming the agency is deliberately withholding a key image of the mysterious interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.

The alleged photograph, taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), shows the comet when it passed within 30 million kilometers of Mars, which is a rare close encounter for an object originating from outside our solar system, according to Loeb, who chaired the Harvard’s Department of Astronomy from 2011 to 2020.

Loeb also said that he directly contacted the HiRISE principal investigator to request access to the data, but his request fell on deaf ears.

“I wrote to the principal investigator of HiRISE, asking, ‘Can I get the data? I’m a scientist,’” said Loeb, who said he received “no response” from NASA.

The comet, designated 3I/ATLAS, has exhibited several unusual characteristics that have fueled speculation. Unlike typical comets, it displays jet-like emissions directed toward the Sun rather than away from it, a phenomenon that defies standard models of cometary outgassing, the New York Post reports. Additionally, 3I/ATLAS lacks a visible cometary tail and has been observed spouting nickel without accompanying iron that compositions not commonly seen in natural solar system bodies.

Loeb has previously speculated that the Manhattan-sized object could be of alien origin, though he tempers this with caution. In his view, the more probable explanation is “terrestrial stupidity” rather than evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Nonetheless, the comet’s non-gravitational acceleration and its trajectory raise questions. Loeb has suggested these features could indicate reconnaissance activity if the object were artificial, though he emphasizes this as a low-probability scenario.

“If 3I/ATLAS is a massive mothership, it will likely continue along its original gravitational path and ultimately exit the Solar system,” Loeb wrote in a blog post in September. “In that case, the Oberth maneuver might apply to the mini-probes it releases at perihelion towards Solar system planets.”

“Science is guided by evidence and not by expectations,” the Harvard astrophysicist continued. “We can find the answer to the above question by monitoring the sky during November and December 2025, and searching for any unusual activity of 3I/ATLAS or any new objects that came out of it.”

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Manhattan-sized space object 3I/ATLAS has grown a tail — a possible sign of alien ‘maneuver’: Harvard scientist

New images reveal the Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has started to sport a tail, indicating that it could possibly be a “maneuvering” alien craft, one Harvard scientist suggested.

After exhibiting signs of an incredibly strange “anti-tail” since first cropping up in the solar system in July, 3I/ATLAS is now showing evidence of a true cometary tail, images taken by Spain’s Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Island in September revealed.

These new images shows materials being peeled off behind the 33-billion ton object as it travels toward the sun and is hit with up to 33 gigawatts of solar radiation, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb wrote in a recent paper.

However, the succession of an anti-tail and then the presence of a tail could be indicative of “controlled maneuvering” and a high-impact Black Swan event.

3I/ATLAS’s anti-tail was a plume composed of mostly carbon dioxide and water with trace amounts of cyanide and a never-seen-in-nature nickel alloy that has only been used in human manufacturing.

“[I]f the object is an alien spacecraft slowing down,” Loeb wrote, then the anti-tail would be evidence of a “braking thrust” maneuver which would naturally change to a tail as the slowing procedure completed.

The International Asteroid Warning Network added 3I/ATLAS to its list of targets earlier this week, and began monitoring the object for scientific purposes.

The group wrote on its website: “While it poses no threat, comet 3I/ATLAS present a great opportunity for the IAWN community to perform an observing exercise due to its prolonged observability from Earth and its high interest to the scientific community.”

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Harvard Silent as Dean Defends Death Threats Against Trump

A Harvard dean defended death threats against Donald Trump and said “rioting and looting” are legitimate “parts of democracy.” Will the Ivy League institution sanction him? Even though the school is at loggerheads with the Trump administration, it’s looking the other way at this behavior.

The dean, Gregory Davis, is the “main liaison for students needing extra help achieving their academic and wellness goals” at Harvard University’s Dunster House. “Over the past two weeks,” the Free Beacon‘s Aaron Sibarium reports, “Over the past two weeks, conservative students at Harvard have unearthed a series of social media posts they say disqualify Davis for his position.” Chief among them: “I don’t – at all – blame people wishing Trump ill. … [F]uck that guy and [i]f he dies, he dies.”

Harvard has not commented publicly on the posts, and a spokesman for the school, Jonathan Palumbo, said he couldn’t discuss personnel matters. Davis has said the posts do not reflect his “current thinking or beliefs,” though it was kind of recently—June 2024—that he exhorted people to “hate the police.” Palumbo declined to comment regarding whether it was appropriate for a dean to legitimize calls for political violence.

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Harvard Law Professor Placed on Leave After Firing Pellet Rifle Near Boston Synagogue — Told Police He Was There ‘Hunting Rats’

A Harvard Law professor has been placed on administrative leave after being charged with firing a pellet rifle near a Boston synagogue.

Carlos Portugal Gouvea, who is a visiting professor, was taken into custody on Wednesday after allegedly firing two pellets outside Temple Beth Zion synagogue in Brookline.

According to the Harvard Crimson, he is facing charges in Brookline District Court for illegally discharging a pellet gun, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and property damage.

The incident prompted a response from more than a dozen police officers as Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year, was beginning Wednesday evening.

Two private security guards reportedly tried to restrain Gouvea before police arrived, resulting in a “brief physical struggle.”

Gouvea told officers he had been “hunting rats” and later entered a not guilty plea to all charges on Thursday, the outlet said.

He was released on personal recognizance pending a court appearance scheduled for early November..

Jeff Neal, spokesperson for the faculty, confirmed that “has been placed on administrative leave as the school seeks to learn more about this matter.”

However, he has not yet been subject to formal disciplinary action.

In an email sent Sunday morning to Temple Beth Zion members, synagogue president Larry Kraus and executive director Benjamin Maron said the temple’s leadership “have no reason to believe this was an antisemitic event.”

Brookline police informed synagogue leaders that Gouvea “was unaware that he lived next to, and was shooting his BB gun next to, a synagogue or that it was a religious holiday,” the message said.

“It was potentially dangerous to use a BB gun in such a populated spot,” the leaders added, “but it does not appear to have been fueled by antisemitism.”

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Harvard hires drag queen named ‘LaWhore Vagistan’ as visiting professor

Harvard University hired a drag performer as a new professor — who is expected to teach a class on TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in the spring semester, the Ivy League school announced over the summer.

The institution welcomed Kareem Khubchandani in a July message to the college community and revealed that the visiting professor from Tufts University will teach in the Studies of Gender and Sexuality program thanks to the Harvard Gender and Sexuality Caucus. 

Khubchandani is perhaps better known by his stage name, “LaWhore Vagistani” — a persona that the academic has made an integral part of their pedagogy.

The professor will often lecture in the guise of “LaWhore,” which has been a personal project for over a decade, even spawning a music video titled “Sari.”

In an interview with his own drag persona published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2015, Khubchandani spilled the tea on the origin of the off-putting stage name.

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Trump Admin Seeks to Block Harvard From Federal Funding Through HHS

The Trump administration said on Sept. 29 that it was referring Harvard University for proceedings that could end with the university losing federal funding over alleged civil rights violations.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act generally prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. According to the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department, Harvard violated Title VI through “deliberate indifference” to anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment on campus after the Hamas-led terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023, on Israel.

HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Director Paula Stannard said in the press release that “OCR’s referral of Harvard for formal administrative proceedings reflects OCR’s commitment to safeguard both taxpayer investments and the broader public interest.”

“Congress has empowered Federal agencies to pursue Title VI compliance through formal enforcement mechanisms, including the termination of funding or denial of future Federal financial assistance, when voluntary compliance cannot be achieved,” she continued.

The university is expected to undergo a proceeding where an administrative law judge within HHS determines whether Harvard in fact violated Title VI. It’s also being referred for proceedings under a program that could result in suspension or debarment–both of which entail government-wide blocks on participation in federal procurement for periods of time.

HHS’s announcement comes alongside multiple actions that the Trump administration has taken against Harvard and other universities over alleged civil rights violations, including a separate HHS investigation into suspected race-based discrimination in the Harvard Law Review.

Harvard did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment before publishing time.

Harvard sued the Trump administration earlier this year after the administration announced it would freeze billions of dollars in funding for the university. After months of litigation, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that the administration was violating the First Amendment.

“The government-initiated onslaught against Harvard was much more about promoting a governmental orthodoxy in violation of the First Amendment than about anything else, including fighting antisemitism,” U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said.

The administration made several demands that Burroughs said included changes to activities protected by the First Amendment. These protected rights include a school’s ability to manage its academic community and evaluate teaching without government interference.

Burroughs also said that the university was taking steps to combat anti-Semitism. “Harvard is currently, even if belatedly, taking steps it needs to take to combat antisemitism and seems willing to do even more if need be,” she said.

Harvard President Alan Garber similarly said that the university has implemented a series of campus measures designed to fight anti-Semitism.

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Harvard Astrophysicist Fans Alien Speculation After Detecting Odd Energy Signature on Interstellar Object

Astronomers detected the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS on July 1, 2025, using the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System telescope in Chile.

This marks the third confirmed interstellar visitor to our solar system, following ‘Oumuamua in 2017 and Borisov in 2019. NASA has classified it as a comet, estimating its size at 10 to 24 kilometers in diameter.

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has analyzed images showing an unusual glow at the object’s front rather than a trailing tail typical of comets.

He argues this brightness cannot result from reflected sunlight or standard outgassing of volatiles like water or carbon dioxide.

Loeb’s calculations indicate the luminosity reaches gigawatt levels, which he attributes to a possible internal power source.

Loeb has ruled out natural explanations such as a primordial black hole, which would produce negligible energy, or frictional heating from interstellar medium due to insufficient density.

He also dismisses a supernova radioactive fragment as statistically improbable. Instead, he proposes nuclear power as the most feasible compact source for the observed energy output.

In a paper co-authored with Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, Loeb suggests 3I/ATLAS could be an artificial spacecraft, potentially accumulating interstellar dust that emits forward under nuclear propulsion.

The object travels at approximately 210,000 kilometers per hour, the fastest recorded for a solar system visitor.

Spectral data show no cometary gases, and some observations lack a clear tail, though image smearing from motion complicates analysis.

The object’s trajectory originates from the Milky Way’s thick disk, possibly making it up to 7 billion years old, older than our solar system.

It follows a retrograde orbit aligned within 5 degrees of the ecliptic plane, passing close to Venus at 0.65 astronomical units, Mars at 0.19 AU, and Jupiter at 0.36 AU. Loeb calculates the probability of such alignments at 0.005 percent for random arrivals.

Loeb notes the perihelion on October 29, 2025, occurs opposite Earth relative to the Sun, at about 130 million miles away, potentially shielding it from detailed Earth-based observation.

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Commerce Department Threatens to Take Ownership of Harvard Patents

The federal government is looking into Harvard University’s patent rights, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an Aug. 8 letter to Harvard President Alan Garber.

The Department of Commerce is initiating a “march-in” process under the Bayh-Dole Act, a federal patent policy allowing recipients of federal funds to retain patent rights over their inventions made with federal funding.

The Act’s “march-in” rights, however, give the federal government the authority to grant licenses of such patents to third parties under certain conditions where federally funded inventions are not being adequately developed or utilized for the public good.

In the letter, Lutnick said that Harvard has “failed to live up to its obligations to the American taxpayer and is in breach of the statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements tied to Harvard’s federally funded research programs and intellectual property arising therefrom, including patents.”

As a result, the Department of Commerce is initiating a comprehensive review of the institution’s non-compliance, and will initiate the Bayh-Dole Act “march-in” process through which Harvard’s federally-funded patents could be taken over by the government.

Lutnick said that the federal government intends to license Harvard’s patents to third parties.

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