In the Red Book

Expecting your Freshman Red Book to appear in your Yardling year has traditionally been like waiting for Lefty. Vociferous and overmanned staffs inevitably start the year in a welter of guarantees that this time the record of the first College year will appear in the same June. But athletics, examinations, and Wellesley inevitably take their tell of a personnel selected largely on the basis of high school record alone. Last Tuesday those Sophomores and Juniors in the Class of '49 were promised by a Student Council committee investigating the financial standings of the 1919 Book that they would undoubtedly receive it before their Senior year. Perhaps Student Council investigation to bring order out of present Red Book chaos will produce a first-rate publication by the end of the year. But even if a fine Red-Book eventually emerges, the Council will merely be putting a band-aid on a chronic rash if it considers the issue closed.

Although a large share for the responsibility for the delay of the '49 Book must fall on the editorial officers, basically the fault lies in the mechanism of Council control. It can be argued with justification that the Council was overburdened this fall with problems of seemingly higher priority, such as the constitution. Even in the field of publications, two Senior Albums and two Red Books presented a challenge to legislative patience. As for the '49 Book, successive meetings saw one partially informed member convince the Council that everything was progressing according to schedule. By successive repetition, this hopeful hypothesis was soon accepted as established fact.

The current need for investigation of the '49 Red Book finances shows clearly how inadequate the tenuous control of the Student Council has proven. The Class of '49 has been advised by the probers that the Red Book will be distributed next June. Such assurance may console subscribers holding three dollar receipts, but anxious advertisers may be less elated. Of far larger import than the fate of this year's book is the long run repercussions any additional defection will have on selling space in future Red Books. Patently some supervisory body other than the Council is indicated to unify successive Freshman efforts. The most logical source of such a directive element would be the trained staff from the previous year. Unfortunately, most ex-Red Book editors generally require the College years of post-officialdom to recover from neurosis. But if the outgoing men could elect one of their number as Red Book overseer for the following year, some practical instructions from above could be added to the current paternal and distant solicitude.