HARVARD TODAY

As the members of the Class of 1935 are led hither and yon, meekly following the dictates of their instruction books, hearing the gratuitous advice and stories which will everywhere be given them during the next few days, few can realize what changes have taken place even under the eyes of present upperclassmen. When 1932 was welcomed to Harvard with a parallel series of gatherings and entertainments, there was no House Plan; Freshmen eagerly sought to live in Smith, Standish, Gore, or McKinlock; there was an Appleton Chapel, and Wigglesworth was non-existent. Architecturally, Cambridge could hardly be recognized as its present self. Even officially, first year men received different treatment, with no such organization as now exists under the office of the new Dean of Freshmen.

The Class of 1935 will be the first to see nothing but the latest "new Harvard"; for last year the requisite physical changes were practically completed. It was but a short while ago that one boasted of the wonderful Freshman dormitory system: owing to the limitations of the dining halls, Freshmen could become acquainted with almost every man in his dormitory, without finding himself lost in a crowd. Now, to perfect the House Plan, such an arrangement has been given up, and the present system instituted. The House Plan, in which Freshmen will find themselves a year hence, has by no means attained a final crystallized form. How many undergraduates, when asked during the summer, "What do you think of the House Plan?" have found themselves completely at loss for an answer. To the majority it means only a number of new dormitories with unusually comfortable accommodations, and dining halls. A few will mention tutors, or fields, or geographical distributions without much else. To few men can the House Plan mean the same thing; yet to all it should have some significance.

But it is useless to editorialize at length upon the disputed problems of changing policies. No person, after being in Cambridge but a day or so, can understand its complicated terminology; the most that can be remembered is that Harvard today is not what it was yesterday, nor what it will be tomorrow.