

The Citizen
The Citizen was the independent, biweekly Harvard Kennedy School student newspaper, providing a forum for the HKS community to read about news, features and perspectives on global issues; stay current on events at HKS and the broader Harvard community; and express opinion about topics of importance to HKS students.
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Can we share what we learned (and didn’t) on Paltrek and iTrek?
06.27.22
The author of The Citizen’s recent op-ed “What they didn’t tell you on Israel trek” didn’t attend iTrek and assumed how participants processed the published itinerary. Neither he nor I can project 282 attendees’ individual experiences. However, I’m compelled to share my perspective as an actual attendee. The status quo has serious justice implications; however, […]
Two truths (and many lies): Witnessing and unlearning in today’s occupied Palestine
06.27.22
It’s an oddly familiar student experience to board a flight alone and be greeted by friendly faces in every row. Settling into a 12-hour journey to Tel Aviv, my seatmates and I recognized our matching Harvard Kennedy School gear. “Are you at HKS too? Which Israel Trek bus are you on?” Several hundred classmates must […]
Know Thyself: Why students at the Kennedy School should take arts classes
06.10.22
A Tuesday afternoon. The semester had just started, and I was already caught in the frenzy of everyday Harvard life. I took a sandwich to my room and opened a TED talk on leadership for my next class. “Make a difference,” “create value,” “change the world”: I had seen many of these talks before, so […]
My Dear Israeli Friends, Your Privilege Blinds You
06.10.22
Ever since The Crimson Editorial Board came out with its endorsement of BDS and the Free Palestine movements, the negative responses to it have been frantic. Accusations are being made of antisemitism and rejection of the right of Israel to exist, and everyone has something to say about this. That is, everyone but the Palestinians. […]
An Open Letter to the Harvard Crimson from the Israeli Students of Harvard
05.21.22
Earlier this month the Harvard Crimson published an editorial endorsing the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement against Israel. We, the Israel societies of Harvard College and the Harvard Kennedy School, would like to respond. It is important to note that we welcome criticism of Israel’s policies and laud anyone, anywhere, who stands up for the […]
Gender Equity at HKS: The Time for Change is Now
05.18.22
In 2019, I arrived at the Harvard Kennedy School after two years working in Indian politics, where I would often have to squint to see another woman around me. I was hopeful that here I would find ways to achieve equal representation. In my first year, however, I had only male professors. Seven of my […]
Why Professor Seglin’s Column Writing Class Goes to Bid Every Year
05.18.22
I am a visiting professor at Dr. B.R Ambedkar University Delhi. I had given up hope that I would find a professor at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) whom I wanted to emulate in my own career. Then I took a class with Professor Jeffrey Seglin. DPI 830B: Column and Op Ed Writing changed my perspective […]
Ask What You Can Do, Harvard Kennedy School
05.2.22
“Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart”. Writing about bureaucracy in 1904, little did German sociologist Max Weber know that his description could extend to the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) in 2022. Next month, hundreds of students will don regalia for their HKS graduations. They will leave Cambridge having been insufficiently prepared by HKS to be […]
Missing the Other Side in Palestine and Israel
05.1.22
Last week, Harvard Law School hosted the event Bearing Witness, during which participants of the Palestine Spring Break Trek (Pal-Trek) reflected on their experiences. The event provided a valuable opportunity to hear from my friends on the trek sharing stories about what they saw and learned. However, it became apparent that Pal-Trek, with its focus […]
Does development have a diversity problem?
05.1.22
To some, this question may seem absurd. The work of development is to improve quality of life and expand economic opportunity across diverse global communities, and graduate programs such as the MPA/ID program at HKS are enormously diverse in national origin, gender, and professional and lived experience. Yet, a 2020 survey of MPA/ID alumni (which […]
Law Banning Marital Rape in India Crucial Amidst Global Instability
04.21.22
India is engaged in a heated debate about whether to make marital rape illegal. Far from criminalizing the act, the section of India’s Penal Code on sexual offenses specifically calls out marital rape as “not rape.” It reads, “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under […]
Making Course Selection Easier at HKS
04.19.22
It was the start of the academic year at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) in August 2021. Nikoli* – a civil servant from Croatia and a mid-career Master in Public Administration (MCMPA) candidate – was already finding it tough to acclimate to a new country amid the pandemic. She had to relocate, fulfill the Health Services’ […]