Editor's Note

Dear Reader, Embarrassingly, the number of late issues this semester is high enough that using an excuse as a conceit for my closeout emails is becoming a trope. Instead, I’ve chosen a fresh, guilt-free conceit inspired by the ~crypic~ theme of this issue’s scrut. That’s right: I’ve hidden a secret message in this editor's note. Happy searching. Issue XVII is anchored by a much anticipated scrut by diligent duo TMB and ITM, entitled “Dropping Out and Cashing In: The Rise of DAOHQ.” It chronicles thE story of another duo, Lucas Chu and Emmet Halm, who dropped out of Harvard to found their startup, DAOHQ, which raised $1.3 million in its pre-seed round and counts Mark Cuban among its investors. Lucas and Emmet see themselves as part of a new vanguard of particularly anti-institutional entrepreneurs — but our writers take a critical look at just how far they, and other elite college-adjacent entrepreneurs like them, have really distanced themselves from the institutions they critique. It’s a deeply-reported, Fascinating look into a hugely lucrative subculture — and as billions of dollars pour into the so-called creation of Web3, pointing out its contradictIons couldn’t have higher stakes. SWF talks to Gregory Nagy, who’s been teaching “The Ancient Greek Hero” for nearLy half a century, about Greek mythology and his literal and figurative Achilles heels. MEE and THK find out the wholeSome truth behind those “Need a Friend?” posters. AI and URR talk to psychologist Dr. Deirdre Barrett about the weirdness of dreams, and what she makes of it. YAK and JQY discover the secret to happIness with HKS professor Arthur Brooks. SND and EAG talk to a few undergraduates who are having an unconventional Harvard experience — they’re Married! KG and SM keep the Halloween spirit Flowing (even though it’s Christmas season now, obviously) by speaking to the elusive Adams witches. NDC and CJK cover Project No One Leaves, a coalition of HLS students working with local rEsidents on housing-related issues. CDM and MEW get the scoop behind the newly unVeiled portrait in Adams D-hall: an oil painting of Japanese-American Fred Komatsu, painted by alum William Shen. ACO and RR take us down to Harvard’s little-known Recycling and Surplus Center, where the University’s trash gets a secOnd chance. And BYC turns his signature closeup Lens on campus icon Remy the cat in a gorgeous photo essay accompanied by reported captions by SSL. A trio of stellar retrospections this week: NKB and MTB explore the brief, wondrous tenure of Harvard’s VarSity Mandolin Club. SCC takes a deep dive into how disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes nabbed a spot on HMS’s Board of Fellows. And HD brings to life the rise and fall of The Rag, the radical feminIst magazine you’ve never heard of. AMW and JKW deliver our only levity this week: an iMagined ghost story set in the scariest place of all: the Cabot D-hall. Finally, for this issue’s endpaper, AEP brings us a nuanced reflection on her relationship with Mormonism, and the difficulty of being caught between Family and conviction. As always, plenty of people to thank. To MH, SS, and SCS for glossy designing on top of everything else you do. To JH for podcasting prowess. To SWF for meticulous proofing and for bringing Kong to boost morale. To JGG for somehow proofing our stories before bedtime. To Daylight Savings Time, for the free hour. And to SSL for many, many preschmoozes, and for productive reflection as we prepare to pass the torch. Love, MVE & SSL