Harvard news stories on Newser

How One Small Bookstore Outwitted Amazon

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:11:00 CDT

The Amazon steamroller is crushing one neighborhood bookstore after another—which is why Phil Johnson felt sympathy for the man who took over the Harvard Book Store. "I respected his mission, even if I didn’t quite believe in its future," Johnson writes in Forbes . But over a coffee, the new...

Bo Xilai Son Racked Up Porsche Tickets at Harvard

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:54:00 CDT

It turns out Bo Xilai's "Harvard princeling" son is a bit of a playboy after all. While Bo Guagua has indignantly shot down media reports that he drives a Ferrari, he has racked up three traffic tickets zipping around Boston in what appears to be a pricey black Porsche. The...

Son of Ousted Chinese Leader: I'm No Playboy

John Johnson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:34:05 CDT

The Chinese political scandal/murder investigation involving ousted official Bo Xilai and his wife has put a lot of attention on the lifestyle of their son Bo Guagua. So much so that the Harvard grad student has written to the Harvard Crimson to rebut the widely held view that he's a...

The College Waitlist: You're Not Getting In

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:56:05 CDT

"Waitlisted" is basically a synonym for "rejected," at least according to the Wall Street Journal , which today takes a look at the likelihood of college applicants actually getting off the waitlist. Among its burst-your-bubble stats: Cornell ended up accepting a grand total of zero of the 2,998 students on...

Obama: I Knew About Jeremy Lin Before You

Kevin Spak — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:02:39 CST

President Obama wants you to know that he had his eye on Jeremy Lin before it was cool. Obama sat down with Bill Simmons for a half-hour of sports talk on today's BS Report (audio here ), and the first question was how he felt about being America's second most...

Activists to Harvard: Give Degrees to Expelled Gays

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:15:09 CST

In 1920, seven students were expelled from Harvard University because they were gay or thought to be gay—and now a group of students and faculty wants the school to award the seven with posthumous degrees. The group also wants Harvard to formally abolish its "secret court," the group of...

Ben & Jerry's Removes Fortune Cookies From Lin Flavor

Tim Karan — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:36:14 CST

Ben & Jerry's might have been, um, Linsane, to think nobody would be offended. The ice cream company recently released a limited-edition flavor in honor of New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin, but promptly removed the bits of fortune cookies mixed in, reports Boston.com. Pints of "Taste the Lin-Sanity,...

Tyra Banks Officially a Harvard Alum

Kate Schwartz — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:30:29 CST

Harvard's alumni ranks have gotten a little more Us Weekly worthy. Supermodel/would-be finder of America's next top model Tyra Banks is now the owner of a diploma from Harvard University’s Executive Education Owner/President Manager Program. It's a mouthful, but it doesn't translate into a master's or doctoral degree. Instead, it...

Students Revolt Against Big Bank Recruiting

Matt Cantor — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:51:05 CST

Half of those surveyed in Harvard's class of 2010 went into finance or consulting; at the University of Pennsylvania, the figure was even higher—and some students are fed up with the "brain drain." Inspired in part by the Occupy movement, students have launched protests against recruiting by big banks,...