Women Lead Marshal Field

More women than men have entered senior class. Marshal elections for the first time, officials said yesterday, although the total number of candidates represents the smallest field in three years.

Seniors vote in two rounds to elect four Marshals for both Harvard and Radcliffe. Marshals plan Class Day activities, lead the commencement procession, and organize class reunions after graduation.

Preliminary elections end today. Final elections are October 11-13.

Diane Jellis, an official in the Associated Harvard Alumni office, said that the high number of female candidates and the overall drop in the size of the field could not be explained as a drop in student interest, since the statistics were only a minor aberration from recent trends

Several candidates said that "bringing the senior class together" and "keeping in touch with people after graduation" were their major incentives for running.

Many predicted that name recognition would be the decisive lactor in the elections.

"It's very much a popularity contest," said Stephanie A Mollett '84, but Rex Dean '84 had a more cynical opinion.

"I think people just fill in the blanks with candidates who have interesting names." Dean said.