Strawberry Tea Admits First Male Attendees

Radcliffe held its annual Strawberry Tea last Wednesday, with a new category of guests in attendance--men--and the conspicuous absence of a decades-old tradition.

In years past, the awarding of the Captain Jonathan Fay Prize, what had been Radcliffe's highest honor for a graduating woman, formed the focal point of the event.

Mary Maples Dunn, acting dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and Jeremy R. Knowles, dean of the Faculty said they decided not to give the prize this year because they feared there would not be enough time before graduation to ensure that the criteria for the prize complied with Harvard's non-discrimination policy. They also said they wanted to establish a set of criteria for the prize that was in keeping with the mission of the Institute.

Wednesday, Dunn welcomed the crowd, and then in a brief set of remarks, said that "womanliness has a special place at Radcliffe as the years go on, manliness will too as the our future begins to unfold."

Dunn's comments were a good- natured poke at the Paul Revere Frothingham Prize, a Harvard College prize whose criteria includes "manliness." The Frothingham will be given this year at Commencement.

"I think that they should have given the Fay prize this year. With the [Frothingham] if feels like a double standard," said Tea attendee Gisela I. Mohring '00.

Both men and women gathered on the grassy lawn next to Greenleaf, the large Victorian-styled residence on Brattle Street, traditionally the home of Radcliffe's leader.

With more than 500 RSVPs, this year's Strawberry Tea outgrew the Horner Room in Agassiz House, where it had been held in years past.

While the sun set, wait-staff circulated amongst the crowd with platters of hors d'oevres. Heaps of strawberries and cheese blintzes were the featured fare.

"We bought tons of strawberries this year--equivalent to the weight of a half-dozen undergraduates," Dunn joked.

Many of the men in attendance said they were pleased to be invited, one said he felt "privileged."

"I'm honored that I was invited, but it is sad too, because I can see that this was an opportunity for the women of the class to bond and see each other off," Byron J. McLain '00 said.

"I think that we should eat like this every day," said Roanak V. Desai '00. "They're not feeding us dinner any more. That's why I came."