Watch on the Rhino

It is told that the mad Emperor Caligula once appointed a horse to administer an imperial province. The people of Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo (population over 3,000,000) have easily matched Caligula's choice of public servant; they have elected a female rhinoceros as mayor.

Such mass whimsy, of course, might augur poorly for the future of the shaky democracy in Brazil. The victory of the rhinoceros "represents a phenomenon of the greatest sociological importance," one Brazilian sociologist said. "We are on the threshold of revolt." One hopes that if revolt does come, it will continue in as good humored a fashion.

Harvard voters undoubtedly have some sympathy for the rhino romp that marked the Sao Paulo contest. Elections on campus are often conducted in the same sort of spirit, and yield only slightly more fruitful results. Lamont DuPont had thinner skin and a less prominent nose than Carareco, the rhinoceros, but he, too, easily defeated a field of less illustrious candidates. Pogo once roused vigorous support in a local campaign, too vigorous for many. It is good, but a little sad, to commemorate the election of the rhinoceros in another country; for it recalls a day when students here fought for spirited animals with animal spirits.