Olivia Cyrus
Staff Reporter
olivia.cyrus@yale.edu
Olivia Cyrus covers the Yale College Council at Yale. Originally from Collierville, Tennessee, she is a first year in Morse College majoring in English.
Author Archive
OLIVIA CYRUS & ISOBEL MCCLURE
Slain Yale alumna took on college and career with warmth and drive, friends say

Friends described Wesley Mittman LePatner ’03 — who was killed in a late July shooting in Manhattan — as compassionate and impressive.

August 27, 2025

ISOBEL MCCLURE & OLIVIA CYRUS
Yale alumna, an ‘extraordinary classmate’ and major donor, killed in Manhattan shooting

Wesley LePatner ’03, among the four victims of a Monday shooting, was a Blackstone executive remembered for her contributions to campus life, Yale fundraising and Jewish institutions.

July 29, 2025

OLIVIA CYRUS
Next year, no meal swipes in Commons, more swipes in colleges

Yale Hospitality announced that two popular lunch spots will no longer accept standard meal swipes — though all meal plans will now feature “points” to be spent at dining locations other than the residential colleges.

June 2, 2025

BAALA SHAKYA & OLIVIA CYRUS
Student groups mobilize after McInnis calls for action against tax bill 

Following McInnis’s call to action, student Democrats, members of the Endowment Justice Collective and YCC leaders began immediate advocacy against a federal bill that would sharply increase the tax on Yale’s endowment.

May 24, 2025

BAALA SHAKYA & OLIVIA CYRUS
Yale awards 4,378 degrees in 324th Commencement

The University conferred 4,378 degrees upon graduating students from Yale College and the University’s 13 graduate and professional schools, as well as upon honorary recipients.

May 19, 2025

OLIVIA CYRUS
Class Day student performers highlight campus free speech and activism

Student performances at the Sunday event demonstrated the enduring significance of last year’s pro-Palestinian protests and ongoing campus free speech concerns to the class of 2025.

May 19, 2025

BAALA SHAKYA & OLIVIA CYRUS
Recent student activism focused on endowment, Supreme Court

At Yale, the class of 2025 joined campus protests on reproductive rights, climate change and global conflict.

May 18, 2025

OLIVIA CYRUS
Graduating in the Trump era — again: seniors reflect on political coming-of-age in a time of polarization

Members of the class of 2025 recount how Trump’s presidencies shaped their worldviews and what it means to enter adulthood under his shadow once more.

May 17, 2025

KIVA BANK & OLIVIA CYRUS
Yale Rep loses play grant as Trump slashes arts spending

Leaders of the David Geffen School of Drama reaffirmed their plans to produce Zora Neale Hurston’s “Spunk” despite the funding termination.

May 8, 2025

OLIVIA CYRUS
Yale faculty call for admin hiring freeze, independent audit amid concerns over bureaucratic expansion

Over 100 professors signed a letter urging University leaders to prioritize faculty and academics as administrative spending grows and the University announces new expansion plans.

April 24, 2025

OLIVIA CYRUS
Student governments secure role in trustee discussions through new initiative

The Yale College Council’s proposal — co-authored with graduate student leaders — to add non-voting student voices to trustee deliberations was officially adopted, marking a new era of student inclusion and transparency in university governance.

April 22, 2025