Harvard welcomes Class of 2024 in a remote Convocation
In the University’s first-ever virtual first-year Convocation, President Lawrence S. Bacow on Tuesday urged the Class of 2024 to “find your way to heal this world.” Bacow made his address from his home study midway through the live-streamed event, a welcome of hope but sober awareness that it comes amid a lingering pandemic and an explosively contentious period in America’s history. With music and speeches, themes of unity and social engagement ran throughout the hour-plus ceremony, greeting the new class of 1,421 students from 55 countries, some of them in residence on campus and others in their own homes. The speakers emphasized that despite the climate of political and social unrest and the necessity of social distancing, Harvard remains one community. Bacow noted the nature of that community, its inclusivity and also its inherent duties. In doing so, he also gave the incoming first-years, at least those eligible, their first assignment: “Register...