Senior Class Committee Deserves More Credit

To the editors:

I’m dismayed by the tone of the Staff’s May 7 editorial, “Class Committee Disappoints,” in which the staff declares that seniors “deserve” a better send-off than the Senior Class Committee is currently providing.

This year’s committee has gone above and beyond what Harvard Senior Class Committees have done in the past. Not only did the class committee secure Will Ferrell as our Class Day speaker, but the committee will also screen his popular film, “Old School,” on May 20.

The committee negotiated more drink and food deals than ever before for Senior Bar and ran two Senior Stumbles when class committees were previously content running one. (There may even be a third Senior Stumble in Boylston because of the popularity of the first two.) Two hundred seniors will attend a Red Sox-Yankees game; previous class committees obtained fewer tickets for less exciting games. The first chance dance was moved from before Spring Break to after the break to increase turnout among thesis writers. A senior video will be offered to graduates for the first time. And other events (Senior Night at the Hasty Pudding, the Celtics-76ers game, the Champagne Brunch, etc.) have been well-received by the Senior Class.

The Staff ironically chooses to focus on two of the events that the Senior Class Committee worked hardest to ensure were successful. Despite the absence of Radcliffe funding, the class committee ran a fun senior soirée that required more work and featured more alcohol (not less, as implied by the Staff) than ever before. Furthermore, the acquisition of Red Sox-Yankees tickets was only possible because of the foresight of the class committee to purchase those tickets back in January.

Taking a look at what other local universities offer their graduates in the way of senior activities, you’ll find that Harvard students have the most thorough and well-planned senior event opportunities. Most schools have one or two major dances, we have three (four if you count the Kickoff at the Kong).

Most every school that has a Six Flags or Foxwoods trip scheduled will be attending on the weekend, while our class committee scheduled those trips during the week (thereby ensuring smaller crowds, and at Foxwoods, lower table minimums). And no other school will be attending a Red Sox-Yankees game.

So, contrary to what the Crimson Staff implies, a lot of thought was put into the planning of senior events. Other venues were investigated as possibilities for the soirée, but the class committee determined that the popularity of the soirée was precisely due to the fact that it was held so close to campus, and no other space on campus could be reasonably acquired. And the Red Sox ticket distribution system was devised as a more equitable way to distribute tickets than in the past, when distribution occurred entirely through house representatives.

The class committee has been very aware of the limitations of senior events, and we’ll continue to be receptive to ideas and suggestions from the class. But given these financial and logistical constraints, not every senior will be able to attend all events. Every senior, however, will be able to attend many fun senior events.

Senior events, however, are only as fun as seniors make them. So, as the Staff writes, “we only graduate from college once.” Let’s enjoy it!

Brian J. Hayes ’03

May 8, 2003

The writer is the Lowell House representative on the Senior Class Committee.