Crimson Open House Tonight, Tomorrow

The Winter Competition for the business, news, editorial, and photography boards of the Harvard CRIMSON begins tonight and tomorrow night with open house at 14 Plympton St., at 7:30 p.m., for those interested in joining the staff or in just looking around.

Now Dean of the College, John U. Monro '34, was a CRIMSON editor durfamous "Harvard Days Battle" of the CRIMSON and the upstart Harvard Journal in the early thirties. He speaks from personal experience in the following reflections:

"For what it may be worth, I favor a stiff, demanding community activity for any undergraduate, or anybody else, man or woman, for that matter. It's a prime basis for social organization in a large and difficult community, a way for a man to find, test, and strengthen himself, to become an effective member of society, to make some close friends. The CRIMSON is good for this. So--I am obliged to say--are the varsity sports, Glee Club, Band, WHRB, any strong dramatic group, any busy committee, or scores of other groups. The point is to get moving with one such and the CRIMSON is especially good in its own ways.

"The CRIMSON teaches the ordinary dub to write quickly and acceptably in a fashion the faculty would adopt if only it could. There is the steady harsh criticism at every stage in the life of every piece you write, from the night editor before it goes down ("Take it back and do it again."), from the rest of the Board next day in the comment books, and from the general public, including roommates; all this from people whose judgements you really care about. And the sweaty sickness of seeing your own poor stuff in print. What time a CRIMSON candidate loses from his studies he more than makes up by a new found skill, speed, and confidence in writing.

"Some candidates and even some editors seem to spend most of their time in the building, and there is loss in that. A big gain from CRIMSON work is the reason and excuse you get to see all kinds of people in the Harvard community and ask them dumb questions. Anybody can go about Harvard asking bright questions, and some people make a career of it. But the CRIMSON, WHRB, the Student Council have the special license is in constant use, and note that is has the effect of keeping innocence alive here, barely alive, it is true, but alive."