Ban the Banner Ban

"I want you to take it down. Now." The woman was standing outside my door on the stairwell of Holworthy Central. At first I thought I was being propositioned, but after a moment I realized that she was talking about the banner my entry mates and I had made and hung outside out windows.

She must have noticed my hesitation, because she repeated herself slowly and deliberately, then added that she was the superintendent.

"But why?" I asked.

I had only been at Harvard for a week, but I had heard and read in The Crimson before coming here that it was a longstanding tradition for groups to give free tickets to their events to Holworthy residents in return for having advertisements on banners hung out their windows. The banner my entry had made the previous night didn't advertise anything except ourselves, and I thought that perhaps that was the reason she wanted it down.

I was wrong.

Her explanation was that they had just renovated Holworthy Hall over the summer and that Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III had decreed that no banners were to hang out the windows ever again.

Our banner came down, and our resentment rose. We had labored for hours on the colorful bed sheet, and in the process we had bonded as an entry. Now as a group we felt we had been wronged. It seemed ridiculous that a bed sheet flapping in the wind could in any way hurt the brick and wood.

We toyed with the idea of appealing to President Neil L. Rudenstine on behalf of tradition--or defiantly hanging another banner taunting the superintendent with "If you hang it, she will come." But in the end, we accepted the irrational decree with the hanging heads of first-years.

We should not have buckled so easily.

But where we caved, the Civil Liberties Union of Harvard (CLUH) pushed on. CLUH recently wrote a letter to Dean Epps appealing for a reversal of the banner ban on the grounds that prohibiting Holworthy banners interferes with students' free expression. While the University has the right to regulate its buildings, CLUH maintains that the traditional Holworthy banner provides a uniquely effective means of communication which is not currently replaceable by the alternatives Dean Epps has suggested, such as electronic bulletin boards.

"In an academic community like Harvard," says Eric D. Miller '96, current co-chair of CLUH, "speech should not only be free from censorship but should be actively promoted. The University should set up forums to that end. Traditionally, Holworthy banners have been such a forum."

CLUH is correct, and should be supported in its efforts. And while CLUH has hit upon the most crucial issue at stake, several other factors should also be considered.

Holworthy stands at the north end of the Yard, a barren and faceless brick slab. Its exterior lacks the subtle intricacies of the detailed buildings around it. What it does boast is a prime location, next to the main thoroughfare to the Science Center and Memorial Hall.

Banners are an excellent way to at once liven up the Hall's aesthetically drab exterior while at the same time benefit the groups who wish to advertise their events (and, of course, the Holworthy residents, who, like all college students, are more than willing to accept free tickets).

This "everybody wins" practice, popular for years, has turned the box-like Holworthy into something similar to the walls of an art gallery. At a University which finds itself constantly changing. Holworthy's banners up until now have remained one of the most visible and charming student traditions in Harvard Yard.

To destroy a tradition is sometimes necessary, but in this case completely unwarranted. To claim that twine and cotton tied through the windows of the Hall would damage the structure seems ludicrous: if the building is that fragile, how can is possibly be safe to live in? These bricks have stood the test of time, as is proved by the initials scratched in them from the last century.

CLUH should be commended for its opposition to the banner ban. Aesthetic and social benefits aside, the problem here is with the administration's reasoning: the banners do no harm.

Dean Epps should reconsider his decision. The banner ban should be lifted.

Charles C. Savage '98 is pondering resorting to the Black Market for his Opportunes tickets.