Rihanna, Our Humanitarian Queen

To no one’s surprise, RiRi was flawless. But we still found ourselves floored by her grace and beauty in the flesh and admittedly almost burst into tears a few times during her recognition ceremony as the 2017 Harvard Humanitarian of the Year. If you weren’t lucky enough to be blessed with her highness Robyn Rihanna Fenty’s presence this afternoon (or had a class conflict which rudely prevented you from a life-changing experience), here are the highlights.

Her Outfit

The fashion icon served an undeniably perfect look. Sporting a professional knee-length grey dress suit, she elegantly looked the part of honoree and matched the erudite tone of the Sanders Theater backdrop. But our favorite “bad girl” still managed to pack a signature punch, steering from the too-tame with a daring leg slit and matching thigh-high grey boots.

Rakesh Stole A Kiss

Even Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana was starstruck, giddily waving his hands and beaming as he greeted and introduced the sensation. He soon slipped back into his comfort zone however, as he still managed to lecture Rihanna on Harvard’s—you guessed it—“transformative” experience as he welcomed her to our “diverse” community. After his speech wrapped up, he went over to shake her hand when suddenly the pair exchanged a heart-racing cheek kiss that got the crowd hollering and on our feet. Needless to say, witnessing that interaction was the single most transformative experience we’ve ever had and ever will have at Harvard.

Puns

The student speakers from the Harvard Foundation (who also were graced with physical Rihanna contact) managed to creatively integrate a few lyrical puns into their speeches, even making RiRi giggle. Yousra Neberai ‘18 praised her humanitarian “work, work, work.” Then Dylan de Wart ‘19 quipped Rihanna is one of the only people who can “tweet a leader that he ‘better have her money,’” referencing when she rallied her Twitter base to call on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to raise $20 million for an education fund. We’re just a little disappointed “Rude Boy” or “S & M” didn’t get mentions, cause that really would have had Rakesh blushing.

“So I made it to Harvard”

Rihanna’s charming opening line warranted another standing ovation from the eager student audience, the majority of whom had their Snapchat cameras poised to capture the moment. Yes we heard the “no recording” announcement, but I’m sorry, how could we not compulsively photograph our childhood and adult hero as she stood mere yards away?!

Adorable Child

As if the empowering talk of intersectional feminism and Rihanna’s plea to “help our neighbors” (YES, we will literally do anything you say) didn’t get us emotional, the ceremony’s conclusion really tugged on our heartstrings. Seemingly out of nowhere, an adorable well-spoken little boy (our very own Chase, son of the Winthrop House faculty deans) hopped on the stage, presenting Rihanna with flowers and praise “on behalf of the children of Cambridge.” As she embraced the child and flashed her brilliant smile, we could hardly keep it together.