For a day, Harvard science shuts down to #Strike4BlackLives
Harvard science shut down for a day of reflection and a kind of reckoning. Faculty, staff, and researchers across the entire FAS Division of Science and the John E. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) closed their labs and put down their reports and results on Wednesday to educate themselves about racial inequities and lay the seeds for long-term action against systemic racism in the scientific community. The work stoppage came in response to a national call from groups of scientists and specialists in diversity and inclusion who came together to organize the day under the hashtags #ShutDownAcademia, #ShutDownSTEM, and #Strike4BlackLives in the wake of the ongoing protests against the police killing of George Floyd. “This is not a ‘Check the box, we did it, exercise,’ but rather, establishing an enduring, consistent, proactive role in the ongoing transformation of Harvard and the nation,” said Dean of Science Christopher W. Stubbs, who...