Harvard Lampoon May Admit Women If Alumni and Lampoon Boards Agree

"There has only been one great woman humorist ever-Dorothy Parker," Ibis said last night. "We're hoping to produce the next five."

So the Lampoon, not content with having led John Reed and Bernard Baruch through their Harvard careers, is in the process of opening its doors to women, Maybe.

Martin I. Kaplan '71, president of the Lampoon, said last night that the posters and advertisements for this year's fall competition were deliberately left ambiguous as to whether women could comp.

For the first time, the Lampoon is permitting women to begin the comp. The undergraduate members of the 'Poon and the three-man alumni Board of Trustees must approve a change in the Lampoon's constitution before women can be elected.

Kaplan added that if the Lampoon decides to change its "anachronistic and chauvinistic" men-only rule, it would still face the "Kagan Committee problem."

"If only one or two girls were elected, they might feel a little strange here," Kaplan said. So the Lampoon will try to recruit women if the constitutional change is approved.

Six Radcliffe students showed up for the comp meeting Monday, but at last night's meeting the men were once again alone. A third meeting is scheduled at 7:30 tonight.

The Signet Society is also considering admitting women for the first time. The Signet's trustees have said privately they will agree to the change if a majority of the undergraduate members favor it.