Engaging with ‘our problematic world’

A multitude of graduating students designated for the Phi Beta Kappa Society convened in Sanders Theatre on Tuesday morning.

They were welcomed by Karen Thornber, president of the University’s chapter of the esteemed honor society, the Harry Tuchman Levin Professor in Literature, and educator of East Asian languages and civilizations.

Thornber emphasized that students are selected, not solely for their impeccable GPAs, but for their “depth and scope” as scholars.

She established a tone for the two-hour event: praising the over 200 chosen students for this “great honor,” then urging them to “maintain your passion for learning [and] motivate others to do likewise.”

Through prayer, oratory, poetry, and song, the occasion also recognized the fraught moment — particularly the University’s ongoing discord with the Trump administration.

As he blessed the gathering, the Rev. Matthew Ichihashi Potts, Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, called forth “a spirit of courage.” Additionally, in a hymn featuring lyrics derived from Langston Hughes, the Harvard University Choir encouraged graduates “to sit and learn about the world / Beyond our present reality / Our problematic world.”

Seated on the theater floor, the graduating members constituted a diverse assembly: Many adorned their gowns with saris and hijabs, regalia representing racial and cultural groups, as well as sashes denoting their countries from Thailand to Brazil.

Taking the stage were the officers of Harvard’s chapter and the three faculty members awarded the chapter’s annual teaching awards: Remo Airaldi in Theater, Dance & Media, Samantha Matherne in philosophy, and Steven Levitsky in government.

In line with traditions tracing back to John Quincy Adams and Alfred Kazin, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Elizabeth Bishop, this year’s newly appointed members were addressed by both a poet and a speaker.

The poet was Arthur Sze — the child of Chinese immigrants who abandoned calculus for poetry in a lecture hall at MIT over five decades ago. Defying his parents’ wishes, Sze pursued studies at Berkeley, winning a National Book Award for Poetry in 2019, and was recognized as the inaugural poet laureate of his adopted hometown, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In his brief comments, Sze urged the graduates to embrace risks and to pay attention to the interconnectedness — to their neighbors and the environment — that lies at the core of his poetry. Regarding juxtaposition, Sze stated that it “is more than mere artistic technique,” but rather “a vision of how to share our world.”

Reciting his 2021 poem “Farolitos,” Sze aimed to prepare his audience for the challenges and missteps that are certain to characterize their lives post-campus:

in this life, you may attempt, try
to ignite a match, fail,

fail repeatedly; yet, surrendering, you ignite
a tip one more time

when it erupts into flame —

Meanwhile, this year’s address was presented by Rakesh Khurana in one of his final acts as the longest-serving dean of Harvard College.

After 11 years at the helm of the college, Khurana — who holds dual positions in sociology and at the Business School — cautioned that Harvard and other elite institutions must contribute to overcoming a “legitimacy crisis” they currently face.

“[Even] if we promote principles of equity, selective institutions are perceived as gatekeepers of privilege — hoarding opportunities rather than sharing them,” Khurana remarked. Moreover, he added that graduates from exclusive institutions often neglect to utilize their skills “for the greater good of society.”

As he concluded an address once delivered by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Khurana contemplated the profound meanings behind the University’s motto: veritas.

In a time of severe division, where “confidence replaces understanding [and] complexity is simplified by outrage,” Khurana asserted that “truth — veritas — unfolds slowly. It necessitates humility, skepticism, and the readiness to revise one’s perspectives.”

Khurana referenced his own efforts to cultivate “intellectual vitality” at the College as a demonstration of veritas in practice, along with President Alan Garber’s resistance to federal mandates. (Garber, seated onstage, received a standing ovation upon Khurana’s mention.)

As the event drew to a close, students and their families flowed into the transept of Memorial Hall to capture photos and share greetings with peers.

Nicolás Domínguez Carrero, one of the chapter’s four undergraduate marshals, found Khurana’s speech — and Garber’s ovation — “deeply impactful.”

“I feel immensely proud to be a PBK scholar and a Harvard student at this moment,” he stated, accompanied by family from both Texas and Colombia. “I believe Harvard is doing an outstanding job advocating for academic freedom and democracy, broadly. It is a time of crisis, but if any institution can navigate this storm, it’s Harvard.”

Simultaneously, Levitsky, the author of the bestsellers “How Democracies Die” and “Tyranny of the Minority,” felt honored by his teaching award.

Yet, he added, “The most remarkable aspect of the ceremony was sitting on stage, witnessing the expressions of the students. Amid this era of cynicism, I was astonished by how engaged and sincere they were… It truly restored my faith.”