Technical Difficulties, Crowded Rooms Mark Semester’s Start

Despite some technical difficulties, students began their search for spring semester courses on Monday, sloshing through melting snow and swarming into packed classrooms for the first time in 2016.

The my.harvard course selection tool— launched last semester to create a centralized information system for students across Harvard— went offline for a time on Sunday while students attempted to plan their shopping week schedules. Jason Shaffner, managing director for student information systems, said that his office was investigating the “root cause” of the problem.

By Jessica M. Wang

“We take these things very seriously,” Shaffner said, adding that the system was back up within two hours. “I’m very optimistic, and we’ll be watching.”

The course tool’s loss of functionality did not prevent students from heading off to their classes of choice, many of them, as usual, filling the classrooms of Harvard’s most popular courses to capacity.

Philosophy 8: “Introduction to Modern Philosophy” attracted more than 100 students, according to Philosophy professor Alison J. Simmons, some of whom were her students from the “framework” course Humanities 10a: “A Humanities Colloquium: From Homer to Descartes.”

“It’s exciting,” Simmons said of the large turnout. “I was expecting maybe 70 or 80 [students] to show up and fewer to take it...The worry now is finding teaching fellows.”

Students who attended the lecture described an auditorium that was standing room only. Still, course administrators chose not to cap the size of the class, a move that some students said reflected the welcoming nature of the course.

“It’s not a lottery class. Even though it’s a large number [of students] she’s not keen on turning people away,” Anisa J. Kureishi ’19 said of Simmons. “That’s the kind of atmosphere she fosters.”

Other courses like Societies of the World 49: “The Worlds of Business in Modern China” offered a case study-based teaching method, rare in the College. The course was also packed full of students, several who initially could not get through the doorway.

“As soon as I walked into the class, the first thing I see is a line of people packed outside the door,” Michael K. Bervell ’19 said. “It was like a tidal wave of people trying to get in...It was an amazing experience just to be there.”

Unlike Philosophy 8, the Societies of the World course is capped at 60 students. William C. Kirby, a professor of Chinese history who teaches the course, described the advantages of the case method and attributed some of the course’s popularity to its unique approach.

“Since it’s in the case method, students have to do three things that Harvard College students don’t always do,” Kirby said. “First they actually have to come to class; second they have to do the reading since we’ll have an open discussion and people will be cold called; third, no laptops or electronics. It’s simply a different type of class that you don’t normally see.”

—Crimson staff writer Jonathan Adler can be reached at jonathanadler@college.harvard.edu.