Keller: Harvard flunks out

AARP thanks the Massachusetts House for passing H.4706, An Act to Improve Massachusetts Home Care, creating the state’s first Family Caregiver Commission. During National Family Caregivers Month, we urge the Senate to pass this vital bill and give the state’s 1.4 million caregivers the support they deserve. Learn more: aarp.org/ma

At a moment when we’re grappling with the issue of what – if any – standards of academic performance should be required of public-school students, we can’t look to our most famous academic institution for guidance.

By its own account, Harvard University’s grading system has become a sorry farce, with A grades so freely distributed they have become as meaningless as an on-campus anti-Israel protest. The alleged “world’s greatest university” is just another lemming in a decades-long march off the cliff of grade inflation in both higher ed (where grade point averages rose more than 16% between 1990 and 2020) and high schools. It’s an institutional and cultural failure that undercuts the value of ridiculously-expensive college degrees, and endangers both high-performing students stuck with the same grades as lazy peers and hardworking but less-gifted students for whom a B becomes a scarlet letter of failure.

And it’s no joke. But after reading the comments of Harvard students interviewed by the Crimson about runaway grade inflation, you have to laugh.

The latest report from Harvard’s Office of Undergraduate Education found the problem was so bad, it was “damaging the academic culture of the College.” But that’s nothing compared to the way the study triggered one freshman, who told the student newspaper she skipped classes and spent the day “just sobbing in bed because I felt like I try so hard in my classes. It just felt soul-crushing.”

Too bad Harvard doesn’t offer a major in drama.

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Big Pharma has a new scheme that will make them even more money: undermining patients' bargaining power and blaming anyone who gets in their way. If we want to solve the Rx cost crisis, we need to hold Big Pharma accountable. To find out how, go to saveourbenefitsma.org.

9:30 | St. John School, St. Lucy Society and St. Anthony Society will fill a van from NEW Health – a community health center – with non-perishable foods donated in the past month. Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, Councilor At-Large Henry Santana and Rep. Aaron Michlewitz will attend. | St. John School, 9 Moon St., Boston

11:00 | Massachusetts Building Trade Unions gather to recognize the Helmets to Hardhats, H2H, program. H2H offers a way for veterans to connect with union trades for careers after their military service. Veteran apprentices from Iron Workers Local 7, IUOE Local 4 and IBEW 103 will be at the event to share their stories and answer questions about how the program has affected them. | Nurses Hall, State House, Boston

11:30 | Gov. Maura Healey tours the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and thanks staff and volunteers who have been working to help those who had SNAP benefits delayed. She is joined by the executive director Andrew Morehouse and Chicopee Mayor John Vieau. | 25 Carew Street, Chicopee

1:00 | Attorney General Andrea Campbell gives keynote address at Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission’s 20th Anniversary Symposium. | John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Boston

1:00 | The Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion holds an informational hearing to consider the impact of heightened federal immigration enforcement on Massachusetts and what the Legislature can do in response. The committee will only hear from invited witnesses. | Room A-2, State House, Boston | Livestream and More Info

Our Commonwealth’s climate leadership is delivering real benefits: healthier communities, a growing green economy, and more affordable energy. Email your State Representative today and urge them to oppose any efforts to weaken our climate commitments.

HOUSING ON SENATE AGENDA: Senate President Karen Spilka said she’s tapped Cape and Islands Sen. Julian Cyr to come up with policy reforms and look at barriers to new housing. “Nothing is off the table,” she told the lawmaker, who is a top supporter of a real estate transfer tax. – GBH News

RURAL HEALTH: The Healey administration has asked for $1 billion from a federal rural health fund, with the aim of expanding telehealth and home-based care and boosting the rural health care workforce. – WBUR

REMEMBERING THE LADIES: Quincy voters not only knocked out several incumbents with leanings towards Mayor Tom Koch, they also elected a majority of women to the City Council. One of them, Anne Mahoney, who returned to the council after another unsuccessful run for mayor, says she has the votes to become City Council president. – Patriot Ledger

NEW BEDFORD POLICE: New Bedford’s City Council notched a win over Mayor Jon Mitchell after he said he would submit Police Chief Jason Thody for confirmation if councilors withdraw their lawsuit over the matter. – New Bedford Light

KOH HOME: The MassGOP is hitting Dan Koh, who is running for Seth Moulton’s Congressional seat, for owning a home in Washington D.C., purchased for $1.3 million in 2022, when Koh was working for the Biden administration. – Fox News

SOUTH STATION: Lost in the hubbub of South Station’s new arches by the commuter rail trains and the gleaming tower above it is the new bus concourse that serves 10,000 passengers each weekday. – StreetsBlogMass

UNION PLANS VOTE: The Professional Staff Union at UMass is planning an early December no-confidence vote against Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes as they lobby for a new contract. – Greenfield Recorder

PHONE SCAM: Steve Crosby, the former chair of the Gaming Commission and a top aide in the Cellucci-Swift administrations, is sounding the alarm on a sophisticated scam involving utilities like National Grid and Eversource. – Boston Globe

INTERNATIONAL ENROLLMENT: International student enrollment nationwide dropped 17%, mirrored locally by UMass Boston, while more select colleges and Harvard and MIT saw more stability. – GBH News

List of 8 Hispanic trailblazers in Mass. includes state rep, super PAC founder

Chief historian at Mass. Historical Society to step down

State rep rips Healey’s appointment to commission on status of women

Manager for BPS bus operator charged in kickback scheme

Newton home with ‘Karate Kid’ cameo listed for $4.9 million

NHL commissioner named new executive-in-residence at UMass Amherst

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Findings from the multi-decade analysis show how $147 million in investments resulted in 3,225 units of housing, 756 early childcare slots, $6.95M in home equity for a group of homeowners at the brink of foreclosure — LEARN MORE

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Administrative and Operations Associate, Providers’ Council

Communications and Digital Media Manager, Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance

Advocacy Director, Charles River Watershed Association

Organizing Director, City Life/Vida Urbana

Staff Attorney (Temporary) – Family Law, Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee

Account Executive, Elephant Energy

Fire Department Mechanic, Town of Easton

Senior Accountant, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation

Operations Manager – Water Division, Town of Easton

Director of Information Technology, Town of Easton

CEO, Minute Man Arc

Manager of Financial Services, City of Newton

Procurement Support Analyst, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General

Associate Counsel, Massachusetts Association of REALTORS

Commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services

Program Officer – Development & Communications, LISC Massachusetts

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