Commencement Program

Would War II heightened the pomp and seriousness of the traditional Commencement ceremonies this morning in the Sever Quadrangle as Harvard's first War Class JH 25 years received their degrees, and prepared to step into their place in the fight for freedom.

The safely, 300-year-old ritual, solemnizing the awards of nearly 2,000 degrees, opened with the colorful formal academic procession when the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth, the Mayors of Boston and Cambridge, and other public officials, officers of the Army and the Navy, dignitaries of the church, and candidates for degrees, alumni, and special guests, in cap and gown or other formal attire solemnly marched into Sever Quadrangle.

At 9:00 o'clock, the Seniors assembled in front of Holworthy Hall, in the oldest part of the Yard, for the march to chapel. Dean Willard L. Sperry, of the Divinity School, conducted the service. Following the service the Commencement Procession formed in the Yard, and, led by the band and the class officers, the men passed before John Harvard's statue, doffing their caps in respect to the Founder.

The morning meeting was opened by the High Sheriff of Middlesex County, Joseph M. McElroy, who rapped on the rostrum three times with his scabbard. Then President Conant was seated in the incident Tudor Chair, and the Commencement Parts, including the Latin Oration, were delivered.

This afternoon, the Alumni will hold their meetings, following a procession from the Yard into Sever Quadrangle. President Charles Warren '89 will announce the result of the election for members of the Board of Overseers, Directors of the Alumni Association, and members of the Harvard Fund Council. Music will be by the University sity Choir.