PLAYING WITH THE BOYS

A small crisis has arisen within the walls of the Harvard Club of New York: some of the club's members have objected to the barbershop's subscription to Playboy magazine.

This is one of those issues that has virtually no importance in the world, but one nonetheless on which Dartboard feels compelled to comment. The Harvard Club of New York only began accepting women in 1973, and as a result, the graduates who belong to the club, and by extension those members who get their hair cut in the barbershop, are predominantly male.

Of course, these educated men of Harvard are only interested in Playboy for the stimulating and exciting articles so there should be no cause for alarm, that, for example, women are unwelcome there; nonetheless, we understand why some members would take offense at having the some-what lurid publication in the barbershop. After all, as it says on the magazine itself, it is "Entertainment for Men."

But as women become more integrated into the club, which Jocelyn G. Simpson '88, a vice president of the club, confirms, we find it unacceptable for this tradition to continue any further.

The guiding principle behind the integration of Harvard classrooms and Harvard dormitories over more than 25 years ago applies to the Playboy case as well: women are entitled to the same benefits and opportunities to which men are entitled.

It's high time for the Harvard Club to check its stodgy "old-boy" attitude at the door and send away for a subscription to Playgirl.