Editor's Note

Dear FM, Spring has sprung! At least, that’s what they tell us; the seasons don’t change here beneath the fluorescent lights of the FM office. For all you out there, soaking up the sun, baring your ankles, frolicking in the Harvard Yard grass that mysteriously appeared overnight — this one’s for you. Welcome to Issue 8. First up, a whole host of compelling Conversations pieces. From KLS and KIM, a profile on Julie Fiveash, the first person hired as Harvard’s Librarian for American Indigenous Studies. SWF talks to Lindsay Sandwald, a Divinity School student who wears many hats, from leading the HDS Surf Club to offering weekly sermons on her Patreon. JL and DRZ catch up with Swati Goel ‘25, who realized her long-held goal of competing on the CBS show “Survivor” (spoiler alert: she survived). Finally, IYG writes a truly stellar profile of Avi Loeb, the controversial Harvard astrophysicist who fancies himself a modern Galileo, and has started the Galileo Project to investigate signs of extraterrestrial life. AG and HTL teach us about the controversial origins of Holi, the Hindu festival also known as the Festival of Colors. KT introduces us to yet another dating app, one that relies on human matchmakers over algorithms — with Looop (no, the third “o” is not a typo), users can nominate and play matchmaker to their single friends. JKW and FJB take us along to “Out for Blood: Feminine Hygiene to Menstrual Equity,” a new exhibition at the Schlesinger that explores the history of menstrual products and activism. KNF excavates the history of Harvard Yard’s foliage — once studded with elm trees and adorned with ivy, now an Ivy League sans ivy — and makes us nostalgic for the canopy of old. MN takes us back to the ‘90s, when a legal theory called Critical Legal Studies (sound familiar?) caused a schism among Harvard Law School faculty, and prompted impassioned student activism on campus — a precursor to today’s debates over Critical Race Theory. And NBF makes a triumphant return to write this week’s endpaper, a rumination on her Zoom background — a modern-day window into the soul. On a lighter note, a trio of levities to cleanse your palate. SAL investigates the internal pressures of the cutthroat Harvard Yard squirrel community. Just in time for Visitas, JL gives us a handy guide to showing your pre-frosh the real Harvard — and she’s not bitter at all, thank you very much. Finally, SM says what we’ve all been thinking post-mask-mandate-drop: why is everyone so ugly? Many thank-yous for this one: to all our writers and execs, for energy and compassion. To our design and multimedia execs for humor and drive. To MX, for really, really good proofing. To HNL and REJC for hard work and late nights that will not go unrecognized. To JGG for level-headedness despite some tough calls. Of course, to SSL, my partner-in-crime, for patience and sacrifice and for listening to my voice-message rants — we’re almost there. Read the issue! And pick up a copy of last week’s glossy if you haven’t already. Until next time, MVE & SSL