Harvard Students Shell-Shocked Following Police Chase Through the Square

Campus is pretty much at a standstill. People are staying in their dorms, and our visiting weekend for high school seniors, which was scheduled to start this weekend, will probably be at least pretty abbreviated. Right now, people are just watching a ton of local news and not really doing much else. Our dining halls are open, and we all think Harvard staff and security guards are complete saints, without exception.

Last night was kind of surreal: we listened to police scanners all night as 100 squad cars followed the stolen car through down Memorial drive, past our dorms, through Harvard Square, and on to Watertown. A few people heard shots fired, and there were rumors of the police carrying out a controlled detonation of a grenade, although that is definitely unconfirmed.

From what I can tell, the mood on campus is more shell-shocked more than anything else. Harvard’s campus usually feels like a safe haven – a place where young people can learn and grow up together. For us and for the people of Massachusetts generally (I think), “vulnerability” has never enjoyed so literal a definition.