Bring Raven Symone to Harvard: The Movement

Pfister offers Raven an umbrella By Betty Anne Richardson

In the long list of venerated visitors that come almost daily to this campus, one is noticeably missing: Raven Symone. Fortunately, there’s a movement in the works to bring this issue to light: the “Bring Raven Symone to Harvard University” Facebook page, which currently boasts over 3,000 likes. The actress, most known for her role in the hit Disney television show “That’s So Raven” or her performances in the films Cheetah Girls and Cheetah Girls 2 (and a voice as Monique in the animated series Kim Possible), has never come to Harvard on an official visit. Her last album, provocatively titled Raven-Symone, was released in 2008, though she’s best known for singles like “That’s What Little Girls are Made Of” (which charted number 68 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1993) or “Cheetah Sisters.” She has long since been an American icon, yet has never been invited officially as a guest to our school. 

As the “About” section on the Facebook page explains, “This page was created for the sole purpose of bringing Raven Symone to Harvard University . . . we just want Raven to come to Harvard now, so she can instill an ounce of Cheetah-liciousness within us and apologize for Corey in the House.” The page also features photoshopped images of Raven at different places on Harvard’s campus, including standing in front of Widener Library and posing in the Yard. With the announcements about Hasty Pudding’s Woman of the Year and the subsequent visit of Amy Poehler to our campus last week, the page lamented, “Once again, the Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 chose not to name Raven-Symone as its Woman of the Year . . . we promise to remain diligent in our fight to bring Raven-Symone to this campus.”

So what do you think? Do you support the movement to bring Raven back?