We Are Radcliffe Crew, Not Harvard Crew

To the Editors of The Crimson:

The rowers at Weld Boathouse thank The Crimson for the March 20 article "Looking Towards Nationals, published as a part of the "Spring Sports Preview" series. However, Radcliffe Crew would like to draw the attention of The Crimson and its readers to the phrase: "Harvard's Women's Crew Team," a misnomer used in the opening of the article. Although we are a women's team, and although we are all undergraduates enrolled at Harvard University, we row for Radcliffe.

A number of years ago, when women's athletics were being formally organized at Harvard-Radcliffe college, each women's tean was asked whether they wished to play under the name and colors of Harvard or Radcliffe. Radcliffe Crew (with the exception of the Radcliffe Rugby Football Club) is the only women's sport which at that time chose the black and white colors, and which today remains organized under the name of Radcliffe. As such, awkward statements like the one in your article--"the women in black--the Harvard women's crew team"--are precluded. We race in black rather than crimson; we row as Radcliffe rather than as Harvard.

Today the question "What is Radcliffe College?" is frequently asked. The team strongly feels that we are a vital part of Radcliffe, and as a fast and successful crew, we hope that we have done something to answer that question. Cecile Ulbrich   Heavyweight Captain   and 28 members of Radcliffe Crew