The Union United

The Harvard Union is not a delightful place. To a Freshman who has waited half an hour for a meal, it is considerably less than delightful. He will finish his dessert in a hurry, and leave, no matter whether there is a meeting of the debating club at the Union or the speech of a prominent European. To him the Union is the place where he has to eat, but it is not a social center. So the Freshman doesn't have a social center; he waits anxiously--to move into a House, and until then he is often completely lost. Besides, he never gets the Class loyalty that is so valuable to him later, for sentimental reasons, and to the University for financial ones.

When the Class system showed signs of disintegration, the Houses were built, and have done very well for upperclassmen ever since. The Freshmen were bequeathed the Union, once a club for "unclubbed" men; but now, with the prewar social traditions broken, the Union is a sorry edition of its former self. In spite of its present position, the Union can still become the unifying center for Freshmen, once given the impetus to activity.

A complete rearrangement of Freshman affairs is needed, with the Union as the dominant factor. Begun fairly unsuccessfully last winter, this rearrangement includes forums, dances, weekly movie nights, as well as pleasant surroundings. But last year the handicap of having two thousand Freshmen seemed too much for the officials and students. The new secretary of the Union is a young and vital man, and he is using this year's class as guinca pigs for the experiment of restoring the club-like atmosphere as well as the activities to the Union. But at the present there is not enough impoius toward unity in the Freshman Class: a year that should be the social and academic foundation of all the others spent in College, is often wasted in the morass that the college can be to the Freshman who knows or cares little about the activities for Yardlings. Perhaps a more detailed version of the PBH University Handbook is needed to give information, but in the long run the Freshman himself will have to decide whether he wants what the Union has to offer.

A transition between school and life in an upperclass House, the first year should not be the time when the student lies fallow. It should be a time for indoctrination into the varied Harvard life, for the basis of friendships, and for the nucleus of a feeling of Class unity that will last after graduation. The almost discarded idea of classes is still a good one, providing the basis for many points of contact, often on a more common feeling than the Houses provide. The way to this integration is plenty of publicity aimed at the arriving men, a vigorous program by the Union officials, and a far-sighted attitude on the part of the men themselves.