“People have to know about the injustices that are occurring in their name.”
To Serve Better
Inspired by one of Harvard Yard’s famous gates, “To Serve Better” is a yearlong Harvard Gazette project exploring the connections between members of the Harvard community and neighborhoods across the United States and its territories.
The Dexter Gate, built in 1901, welcomes first-year Harvard students to “Enter to Grow in Wisdom” on its north-facing side, and encourages graduating students to “Depart to Serve Better Thy Country and Thy Kind” on its south-facing side.
This project honors the Gate’s message by celebrating Harvard students, alumni, faculty, and staff who are committed to public purpose and to making a positive difference in communities throughout the country. It will roll out in four phases over the course of the 2019-2020 academic year.
“There's so much potential in the young people not only in my hometown, but in little bitty towns and rural communities all over the country.”
“Anytime that you can raise awareness, or address the invisibility of Native American issues in the academy is incredibly impactful.”
“Education is the single highest leverage place you can devote your energy to if you're trying to improve outcomes for the folks who need those improvements the most.”
“I think I can say without hesitation that everyone who works at Save the Bay views it as a privilege — we’re doing something we love.”
“If you do in collaboration — do change with, not to — a community, or profession, or a family, it is a much better product in the end.”
“We are working every day to build a society and economy that enables everyone to reach their full potential.”
“I have never been involved in a topic where I had more hope and more energy and more reason for optimism.”
“Our right of use laws, our zoning, and our land use policies — all of those things were written for a very different war.”
“There isn't American history, and then LGBTQ+ history, and then Black history, and then women's history. It's all American history.”
“What I have found over and over is [that] if you give people an accessible entry point [to the arts], they’ll take to it with great enthusiasm and great excitement.”
“We want to get the kids hooked and convince them that they can solve real problems if only they put some effort into this.”
“Whenever I have the opportunity to cultivate an environment of my own, I try to put community, kindness, and welcoming at the forefront, no matter where, when, or who it is.”
“I could spend a whole lifetime doing science [in Montana] and not even scratch the surface of what there is to learn from the land.”
“Guam is more than just a military base. It is filled with people who are rarely written [about] in the U.S. history textbooks.”
“Give [kids] all the information, let them make up their own minds, and they make the right decisions.”
“What if we can reverse engineer ways to create and empower diverse leaders from our community to become the elected officials, the doctors, the teachers, and the lawyers of our community?”
“When you give any kid rich learning opportunities, they will learn, grow, and reach their full potential.”
“At my core is a desire to leave any place better than I found it, including the organization in which I work or the community in which I live.”
“There’s an incredible hunger for something different, for pragmatic solutions, for folks who can put country before party.”
“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is playing music I want to dance to, and serving food I want to eat.”