‘More Important Than School’: Harvard Affiliates Skip Class and Town To View Solar Eclipse

Harvard students seemed to be everywhere but the classroom on Monday, as undergraduates admired the total solar eclipse.

Some Harvard affiliates gathered along the Charles River and in the Science Center plaza to view the rare celestial event, but others traveled further — to Vermont, Arkansas, and Texas — to enjoy the eclipse from the path of totality.

Eli B.M. McGill ’24 said he drove to Montpelier, Vermont to observe totality.

“Nature kind of freaked out for a moment,” McGill said. “The earthworms started coming out of the ground and the flowers closed up like it was nighttime. The birds started calling, the owl started hooting.”

“It was pretty eerie,” he added.

Students gather on the Science Center's balconies to watch the eclipse. By A. Skye Schmiegelow

Though some students traveled outside of Cambridge to view the eclipse, Harvard’s campus was still abuzz Monday afternoon with some organized viewing parties.

The Dean of Students Office organized a watch party on the John W. Weeks Bridge, where they handed out eclipse glasses to groups of friends.

Many Harvard students said that they appreciated the opportunity to hang out with friends and enjoy the warm weather as much as they liked seeing the eclipse.

“I think the coolest part about this is just how unifying it is,” said Alvira Tyagi ’25, who met up with friends on the bridge to watch the eclipse.

“No one has a pset out,” she added. “I didn’t bring my backpack.”

In the Science Center plaza, hundreds of people gathered for a watch party.

“It’s kind of nice to see the greater Cambridge community come together to watch this,” said Aarna Sitani ’27.

“It’s been a really big deal growing up and I'm just excited to experience it for the first time with all my friends in college,” she added.

Derek Yuan ’25 said he regretted not attending the last solar eclipse and did not intend to make the same mistake this year.

“Today, I’m skipping class,” he said.

Outside the Science Center, the watch party was a “joint endeavor” between many interested groups, according to Allyson Bierlya, an astronomer and manager of the Harvard Astronomy Lab and Clay Telescope.

“It started with the Astronomy Department and the Physics Department, and the undergrad clubs,” Bierlya said. “Everybody’s kind of bringing a different aspect to it.”

Eclipse watchers look through telescopes set up by Student Astronomers at Harvard-Radcliffe on the Science Center Plaza. By Matthew S. Allana

Bierlya, like some Harvard affiliates, went to great lengths to get the best view of the eclipse. She traveled to Arkansas to observe complete totality.

She said she has “become an eclipse chaser” and will likely travel to Spain, Iceland, or Greenland to observe the next big eclipse in 2026.

William J. Gottemoller ’27 traveled all the way to Burnet, Texas to watch the eclipse in totality.

“I booked refundable tickets and hoped that my midterms did not align with when I was gonna be gone,” he said.

“The thing about a total solar eclipse is that you see things in the night sky and you see things just even around the sun that you never would see otherwise,” Gottemoller added.

Though many people said they were in awe of the eclipse, some who stayed on campus felt disappointed at the lack of totality.

“I expect to see a total eclipse. I haven’t,” said Graduate School of Design student Charles Song. “Tell the sun to do better next time.”

But McGill, the student who traveled to Vermont to be in the path of totality, said skipping class was “worth it.”

“There are some things that are a lot more important than school,” he added. “I would say this is one of them.”