Committee Has Difficulties Finding Replacement for Ali

Members of the Class Day Committee said yesterday they may be unable to find a replacement for Muhammad Ali to speak at Senior Class Day on June 11.

Ali, who informed the committee Monday night that his training schedule for an upcoming heavyweight title fight would prevent him from fulfilling a previous commitment to speak on Class Day, has agreed to reschedule his appearance at Harvard to June 4.

The Class Day Committee has contacted writer Hunter S. Thompson, publisher Katherine Graham and sportscaster Howard Cosell as possible replacements for Ali, but none of the three seem likely to appear at the exercises for this year's graduating seniors, committee member Peter S. Carfagna '75 said yesterday.

Carfagna said Cosell has a set policy of not accepting speaking invitations, but added that the committee is hopeful that Cosell will make an exception in Harvard's case.

The committee plans to invite columnist Art Buchwald, newscaster Walter Cronkite and cartoonist Garry Trudeau to speak at Class Day if none of its first three choices accept, Carfagna said.

Harden H. Wiedemann '75, another member of the Class Day Committee, acknowledged yesterday that "it's getting pretty late" for the committee to find a new guest speaker.

"Ali put us in a tough spot," he said.

Carfagna said he was "not really worried" about not finding a Class Day speaker because John Kenneth Galbraith, retiring Warburg Professor of Economics, will be speaking at the event in any case.

"We may just cut the whole thing by 20 minutes or so," he said, adding. "I don't think anybody would mind that."

Carfagna said in the event that the committee cannot find a Class Day speaker, Galbraith may be asked to extend his speech, now scheduled to last 20 minutes.

Wiedemann said that Ali felt badly-about not being able to appear at Class Day and consequently agreed to speak on a different date.

Ali will give his lecture, entitled "The Intoxication of Life," in either Lowell Lecture Hall or Burden Hall. Graduating seniors will be given two days to buy tickets to the speech before seats go on sale to the rest of the Harvard community.

Ali will not receive a fee or travelling expenses for his June 4 lecture. Wiedemann said.

The $1 admission charge is being levied to defray the costs of security guards and advertising costs for the lecture, he added