Tour of the Yard

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Every Thursday afternoon I give Crimson Key tours of Harvard Yard to incoming or prospective freshmen. This past week was pre-freshmen week, so all those on the tour knew they were "in," and only had to make that pseudo-decision between Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

Walking into the Yard, I knew right away from the gazes towards University Hall that no one was interested in hearing about how Harvard Hall burned down in 1674 nor how Mass Hall housed the office of Derek Bok. I certainly wasn't! So I decided to explain the struggle that was presently going on between the Harvard Community and the members of the Harvard Corporation.

I told them of the struggle--how over 3000 members of the Harvard Community had signed petitions for Harvard to get out of South Africa, how several thousand students had rallied the previous weeks supporting withdrawal, and how despite all of these efforts the Harvard Corporation had decided to ignore the demands of their students.

One incoming freshman asked me, "If the majority of the Harvard Community wants Harvard out of South Africa, how can the Corporation rightly go against their will?" All that I could answer was, "I can't believe it either." I told him about the Harvard "tradition" and then discussed previous instances where the Harvard administration refused to comply with the desires of the students.

I was honest with these members of the Class of '82. I told them that if they come here, they're going to have to expect a lot of frustration and disappointment. I told them that Harvard sometimes gets this absurd notion that it need not worry about how its students judge Harvard. After all, who can turn down Harvard?

Upon ending the tour, I felt that I might have been a little too dogmatic in my talk of the anti-apartheid struggle. I saw apprehension in the faces of some of these pre-freshmen and their parents. I concluded my tour by telling them the following: I hope that what I told you of the student struggle has not completely distorted your ideas about whether Harvard is the right place for you. Most students with whom I have contact are very happy that they are at Harvard. I am too. But there are a number of aspects of Harvard that must be changed. I believe that you will feel frustration during the four years you are here, but you should realize that Harvard students are not sitting around and being stepped all over. The demonstrations, rallies and hearings of the past months have revealed that there is no such thing as apathy among the students here, that students truly care about their education and their life, and that they will not stand for anyone telling them what they should or should not do. Students will no longer accept the apathetic response that "Harvard tradition will not change." Everything must change, even grand ole Harvard. Mark B. Wenneker '80