Inventing Real Tradition

In a world depressingly filled by the President's difficulties, crumbling economies and vicious acts of terrorism on the other side of the world, we all sometimes need a moment of respite and refreshment. The residents of Lowell House got just that earlier this week.

You would have thought that last Sunday was commencement day by the way the sun was shining over Harvard. In Lowell House, the celebratory atmosphere was tangible, with the rows of chairs set up in the courtyard, the undergraduates dressed in better-than-normal attire and the tutors and administration sporting their academic robes. But while some of the seniors might have hoped that C-Day had come early, the occasion for ceremony was instead the installation of the new masters of Lowell, Diana L. Eck and Dorothy A. Austin.

The day seemed a perfect one for the celebration of a Harvard tradition, but the installation event was the first one of its kind in the history of Lowell, if not in the history of the College. Senior Tutor Gene C. McAfee shrewdly commented in his remarks to the audience, "At 4:30, this is a Lowell House invention. By 6, it will be a Lowell House tradition."

The students and guests assembled for the ceremony would probably have been surprised to learn that the installation of House masters has not always been honored as a public ritual at Harvard. Nevertheless, tradition was the watchword of the afternoon. Harvard is a place that reeks of tradition--of ivy-covered walls and long black robes, of Latin orations and Oxbridge-style Houses. Sometimes those customs can seem pretentious or excessive--how many undergrads have lamented the presence of an overflowing high table on a Monday night, and how many of us have just wanted to play frisbee on the grass in Tercentenary Theater instead of preserving the Yard for the perfect graduation day?

The thing about tradition, though, is that, at its best, it fosters community and bridges the gap between the past and the future. What made Sunday's installation of Masters Eck and Austin so successful (besides the glorious weather and the tasty food) was that as a new ritual, it mixed history and promise, memory and hope. It was, for a few moments in the sun on Sunday, a mind-expanding experience, as we heard stories of some good times past and anticipated similar ones in the future.

The ad-hoc ceremony assembled members of the Harvard administration and of the Lowell Senior Common Room, many of whom gave toasts to Eck and Austin. One tangible symbol of tradition was the presentation by the Lowell House Committee of the official "Lowell salt," a silver, Stanley-Cup-shaped salt shaker whose presence is required at high table.

But salt aside, the toasters overtly acknowledged tradition only in passing. Mellon Professor of the Humanities Emeritus and former Master of Lowell Zeph Stewart was one of those raising their glasses to the self-named "Lady Masters of Lowell House." Noting a link between past and present leadership, he offered a blessing in Sanskrit, a language both he and Eck love. Other speakers invoked the names of past Lowell leaders, including first senior tutor Pope Professor of Latin Emeritus Mason Hammond and first master Julian Lowell Coolidge. Plummer Professor of Morals Peter J. Gomes spoke eloquently of the importance of teamwork in the Masters' residence and used the Greek word "diarchy" (dual rule) to define the leadership of the new masters.

Eck and Austin themselves each shared their enthusiasm for the occasion; Austin reflected the jovial atmosphere by recounting a phone conversation with an elderly woman who called her when the appointment was announced. After expressing some shock at how far Harvard had come to be able to appoint "Lady Masters," the woman on the phone concluded with, "You go, girl!"

As students, we know only our House history as we have most recently lived it. Lowell juniors and seniors last year lived under the much-loved previous masters, William and Mary Lee Bossert and now are experiencing the transition to a new pair of masters. The installation ceremony served to make that transition official, to take a step back from the business of our every-day lives and appreciate the evolution of Lowell's history.

Tradition brings us together, occasionally even teaches us something we should know. And instant tradition, instead of just sounding like a ready-made dessert, combines the history of an institution with the hope for its future.

Last Sunday's shining afternoon, featuring both a salt shaker and a performance by the Din and Tonics, was a new tradition but one worth continuing and expanding. It was a moment for togetherness and appreciation. Until Tuesday's car accident involving a Lowell House resident, we perhaps didn't realize just how important these especially rare moments can be. Our thoughts are with Patrick Noble and his family and friends.

Susannah B. Tobin '00 is a classics concentrator in Lowell House. Her column appears on alternate Thursdays.