ON THE OTHER HAND

(Articles in this department represent the opinions of those editors who differ with the expressed editorial policy of the CRIMSON.)

It now appears moderately clear that the University is going to erect a sponge new Varsity Club, regardless of the number of polls that are circulated between now and the time construction begins, regardless of how great the volume of letters and editorials has become by then. The Corporation spent 15 months debating whether or not it should approve a new Club and there is only a slim chance that it would reverse the decision if given an opportunity. There is no known precedent for the latter.

So, a new Varsity Club will almost certainly be built, even though there is reason to believe that several high University officials as well as a substantial number of undergraduates are opposed to the project. A more carefully worded poll might have produced different proportions, especially among the athletes.

'Moral Obligation'

All sorts of arguments have been advanced against the Club. Some observers feel the building will spoil the esthetic effect of the Lowell House tower, others consider a new Varsity Club detrimental to the spirit of the House plan. But the only reason which the Corporation saw fit to offer for its decision was that it had a "moral obligation" to Allston Burr '89, and it is this which has served as the center of the controversy. Once you decide the "moral obligation" does not exist, then you can spend Burr's donation, which amounts to over one million dollars, on a hockey rink, a theater, scholarships, or whatever. But including "hockey rink" on a poll as a reason for not wanting a Varsity Club creates a false feeling in people's minds that they must choose between a rink and a new Varsity Club.

Indeed, the University does have an obligation to fulfill. Burr had been trying since 1930 to build a new Varsity Club and the Administration stalled him; his last attempt came just after the war, and Burr died shortly after that. He left his money unrestricted because he believed that was the proper procedure, but the fact that a Varsity Club was the only way in which Burr wanted to invest his money cannot be overlooked.

Once it is established that we're going to have the Club--right smack on Mt. Auburn Street--there is a basis on which its construction can be justified. Just after the present Varsity Club was built (by Burr, in 1912), Harvard experienced an upsurge in intercollegiate athletics, and the new Club is being built with this in mind. It will serve to focalize interest in College athletics, as a place where alumni can meet players, where visiting teams collegiate and scholastic--can be entertained. It will increase interest in Harvard sports to a point where further-donations, enough to build a hockey rink, will follow. The present Varsity Club, gloomy, small, and out of the way, is often inadequate, especially on crowded weekends.

The new Club will not detract from the House plan, for no one will sleep there. With the revival of the training table, it will be a place where a varsity football player can eat after the House dining halls close and a place where he can get to know the men he plays with. The Club will be open to a member of any varsity squad; approximately 400 men will benefit.

For Better Teams

As far as keeping up the Club goes, Varsity Club dues and a new associate membership, which will be opened to all alumni--whether or not they have been connected with athletics--will take care of this.

A new Varsity Club will, indirectly, lead to more successful College teams. The University's governing body has said it will be built; all the energy that is now being expended on protesting the Corporation's decision might be better directed at raising funds for whatever the College wants more than a new Varsity Club.