A Lot Happened This Summer While You Were Away...

The agreement over the fate of Phillips Brooks House Association wasn't the only news item of significance this summer. Here's a sampling of what you missed while you were away:

Troubled Search

As Dining Services Director Michael P. Berry was exploring a whole new world at Disney, the search for his successor wasn't all hakuna matata.

First, the student members of the search committee charged that administrators were deliberately and unfairly excluding them from the process. They said they were not provided with resumes and references of candidates they interviewed, were informed just one working day before interviews were to start and were humiliated by Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 in front of one of the candidates.

Administrators acknowledged several mistakes, but denied any intentional slights.

The following Tuesday, The Crimson published the committee's short list of finalists for the post, citing a source close to the search. Although Lewis said he had no direct evidence that the source was a student, he nevertheless warned that the incident may jeopardize future student involvement on committees.

Triumph...

Former Harvard rower Lindsay H. Burns '87 and her partner Teresa Z. Bell rowed a "perfect race" to claim a silver medal in women's lightweight double sculls at this summer's Olympic Games.

It was the first time the event had been offered at the Summer Games; Burns had previously claimed a bronze in women's lightweight double sculls at the 1994 world championships.

...and Tragedy

A recent Harvard graduate who played hockey for the Crimson was killed when TWA Flight 800 exploded over New York.

Michel Breistroff '94-'95 had been returning home to his native France after visiting friends in the U.S. He had proposed to his longtime girl friend only one day before his death.

Breistroff was looking forward to a career in professional hockey in France. He had played four years as a defenseman at Harvard, serving on the 1993 Beanpot champion squad.

Grilled

In a blow to one of the Square's most popular bars, a state commission upheld a six-day suspension for underage drinking at the Crimson Sports Grille.

The Alcohol Beverages Control Commission ruled that the Grille knew or should have known that it was serving an underage drinker when the Cambridge Licensing Commission (CLC) conducted a sting last October.

The decision was the second time the bar has been cited for underage drinking. If the Grille is nabbed again, CLC Executive Director Richard V. Scali has said he will recommend that the bar's liquor license be revoked.

Suicide

Just six days after Commencement, Dmitry Valery Podkopaev, a candidate for a Ph.D. in economics, jumped out of a Holyoke Center window and plunged nine stories to his death.

Podkopaev's had been a truly inspring story: the aspiring economist was born and raised in a small Ukrainian village, in a house without electricity, and had been hoping to use academics to save his family.

Podkopaev was known throughout the department for his zest for sports. He loved skiing, in-line skating and ballroom dancing, and used to wake up at 8 a.m. on cold winter mornings to make the trek from Child Hall to the Bright Hockey Center.

In the Outhaus

The Wursthaus, a German restaurant in the Square that had operated continuously since 1917, was shut down on July 31 by creditors.

The restaurant, which used to attract such luminaries as former Harvard president Derek C. Bok and John F. Kennedy '40, had filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in 1993.

Its landlord, Cambridge Savings Bank, has been considering plans to significantly remodel the building housing the Wursthaus, and when asked if the bank's plan had anything to do with the closing, the restaurant's owner said, "Yes and no."

Four more Years...at Harvard?

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton made an unannounced visit to Harvard on August 5 as part of a college-hunting trip for the "first child."

Chelsea, 16, who will be a senior in high school this fall, had lunch in Loker Commons with her mother and about 10 other girls and women, including Harvard Associate Professor of History Ellen Fitzpatrick.

"They're looking at schools this week, doing nothing different than other mothers and fathers do with their children," Neil Lattimore, Hillary Clinton's press secretary, said last month.

Salaries Up, Reputation Down

Despite what their own president termed a "somewhat disappointing" year, officials at the Harvard Management Company (HMC), which oversees Harvard's endowment, once again received astronomical compensation increases, according to documents.

For the first time in four years, the growth of the endowment failed to reach its performance benchmark, an ex post facto measure that incorporates the performance of the market.

Nevertheless, the average salary for the six highest-paid executives was more than $2.5 million in fiscal year 1995, up 57 percent from fiscal year 1994's average of $1.6 million.

The salary growths prompted articles from The Wall Street Journal and The Boston Globe, and a vigorous defense from President Neil L. Rudenstine, who argued that the salary increases were compensation-based and well-deserved.