1943 GOES TO PRESS

Today, like a squeaking chick just breaking its shell, or perhaps more like a strong man bursting his chains, the Harvard Yardling emerges into the snowy light of day. The youngest of Harvard's six-odd publications, it deserves a genuine welcome from its elder brothers, a welcome which the Crimson herewith heartily extends. The future of the Yardling looks especially bright, because the paper is founded on a real need.

The Freshmen cannot help being segregated from the rest of the University to some degree, for they live together in the Yard, eat together in the Union, and have their own athletic and extra-curricular activities. Above all, they are possessed of the common denominator of newness, a factor which adds tremendously to the cohesive power of the class. Such a unit naturally generates considerable centripetal force, and the only surprising thing is that there has been no such Freshman paper before, or at least within recent memory.

It would be unfortunate, however, if this temporary, one-year "inbreeding" of the Freshman class should constrain its members from going into any of the larger activities of the College. After all, the Freshman year is in a sense only a prelude to the following three, and some participation in general College affairs is necessary for a clear perspective and adequate preparation for upperclass years. And moreover, Freshman institutions, under the annual impact of new incumbents, can never hope to attain the solidity and continuity of some of the wider College organizations.

But at all events, the Yardling is off to a fine start. Its makeup and its writing are excellent for a first attempt, and with a little more activity on the part of its Photographic Editor, is should soon present an extremely attractive appearance. The stories coyer a wide range of topics, from the area fields of concentration to Muggsy Spanier's Ragtime Band. The paper's editorial policy, while in this first issue deliberately cautions and non-committal, at least shows an awareness of important issues that may well develop into leadership. The Yardling can be an important outlet of Freshman opinion, and can in turn do a lot to crystallize that opinion.