A Note on the Crimson's Operation

UNTIL last year, each pre-registration issue of the CRIMSON included a fairly long and detailed article on the history of the CRIMSON from its founding in 1873 as the Magenta to the present ("a large business with a gross of almost $200,000 a year").

Students are presumably not so interested in that sort of thing any more (if they ever were), but there is some information about the CRIMSON you might like to know.

So here goes. The CRIMSON is an independent, non-profit newspaper which publishes daily during the school year. Editorial and managerial decisions are in the hands of undergraduates at Harvard and Radcliffe.

Although the CRIMSON is officially an undergraduate organization, it receives no funds from and cannot be censored by the University. The cost of publishing is borne entirely by advertisements and subscriptions.

The CRIMSON building at 14 Plympton St. is owned by the Crimson Trust, which is composed of graduate editors.

Major expenses such as refurbishing the building or purchasing heavy equipment are paid for by a permanent improvement fund. At the end of each fiscal year a slice of any profit goes to that fund, which is controlled by the Graduate Board-elected alumni editors who otherwise have no control over the CRIMSON's actions.

During the school year, the CRIMSON is normally an eight-page paper. The front page is devoted to news and news features. Page two, the "ed page," has reviews, opinion pieces, and, very infrequently, editorials. Page, seven is the sports page. The other pages are filled with features, news, notices, ads, and so on.

CRIMSON membership is divided into four boards-business, editorial, news, and photography. Three times a year, in October, December, and March, the paper has "comp meetings" for undergraduates who would like to join one of the four boards.

Each "competition" lasts about eight weeks, and can be a lot of work. (Freshmen are advised not to comp in the fall.) Any number of candidates can be elected, so there is no competition between candidates for a set number of positions.

With election, candidates become editors. Every member of the CRIMSON is called an editor. It used to be a rule that candidates were not allowed to go upstairs to the "Sanctum," a dilapidated lounge for editors and their friends. Not any more.

We hope there will be things you like about the CRIMSON. We are sure there will be something you don't. In either case, if it matters enough to you, we hope to see you at a comp meeting sometime.