The Crimson Got All Lathered Up for the Wrong Reasons

To the editors:

As residents and representatives of Mather, we were shocked to learn from the recent Crimson editorial “Sorely Tested” (Apr. 25) that as a house we are “dirty, dirty, people who refuse to shower and are looking to spread [our] rashes among the Harvard student body.” Clearly, the writers of this editorial decided to Dial® up their rhetoric to Gain® a laugh at our expense. To this attempt at humor, we make no objections—Mather wholeheartedly supports humor in all of its guises and certainly expects it from magazines such as the Lampoon, Swift, and Satire V. We gladly add The Crimson to this list, as we especially Cheer-ed® for the Editorial Board’s admirable facility for rhyming and its sparkling display of Voltairic wit.

However, we must admit, while trying not to Shout® from our soapbox, that the aforementioned editorial and previous Crimson coverage of the Lather have been so misguided in motivation and so lacking in accuracy that they could go unaddressed no longer. To end this Tide® of irresponsible journalism, we’d like to dispel some false rumors spread, intentionally or otherwise, by The Crimson’s coverage of the Lather. With great Joy®, we announce that, contrary to The Crimson’s allegations, no one contracted sexually transmitted diseases at the Lather (although we can’t speak to how partygoers spent the rest of their nights). The eleven cases of skin irritation reported to Harvard University Health Services (the only documented ones out of all 550 guests) were diagnosed as allergies or chafing, not communicable diseases. Moreover, the University Department of Environmental Health and Safety has confirmed, after taking samples, that our foam was Zestfully® clean and free of pathogens.

The inaccuracy of The Crimson’s coverage aside, the degree of malice this editorial displayed is detrimental to campus morale as a whole. In the past, The Crimson has repeatedly lamented the sorry state of campus social life (for example, “Social Life and Harvard Don’t Mix,” Dec. 17, 2004, and “Fashionably Late,” Dec. 16, 2003). Mather answered this call with unsurpassed spirit and numbers at the freshman housing lottery day and events such as the now infamous Mather Lather. This is no small task. In only 48 hours, a dozen Matherites managed to construct a wooden pit large enough to accommodate 600 people, complete with a twenty foot-high Plexiglass-encased DJ booth, the top of which supported two foam machines on oscillating arms dispensing a Cascade® of 250,000 cubic feet of foam. By the next day, the entire apparatus was gone thanks to a tear-down crew that didn’t sleep. And yet, in exchange for these efforts, The Crimson responded with an inflammatory front page article focusing exclusively on a minute portion of partygoers who reacted to the foam (“Lather Suds Rub Partiers Wrong Way,” News, Apr. 19), a malicious (albeit facetious) editorial and an unduly harsh April 21 Fifteen Minutes party report card (apparently also meant in jest). These articles make spiteful accusations in the spirit of parody without ever mentioning what they assume the whole campus already knows: that the vast majority of partygoers, even many of those irritated by the foam, considered this year’s Lather an overwhelming success. The Crimson’s so-called “jokes” are a slap in the face to the dozens of Mather volunteers who devote their time and energy to put on the Lather and other events for the campus. It is completely hypocritical for The Crimson Editorial Board to call for the improvement of student life one day while ridiculing those who work on its behalf the next. That’s just ir-rash-tional!

In short, if The Crimson wishes to maintain its reputation as a serious newspaper of considerable standing, they would do well to “wash their hands” of the careless and misleading practices that have characterized the Lather’s coverage. We ask The Crimson to apologize for their rash editorializing and hope that this can be the Dawn® of a new era, one in which the Dove® of peace flies between The Crimson and our humble concrete abode.

RYAN J. ABRAHAM ’06

JESSICA L. JONES ’06

April 26, 2005

The writers are Co-Chairs of the Mather House Council. This letter was co-authored by Ryan J. Abraham ’06, Kate E. Delaney ’06, Nick G. Jameson ’06, Jessica L. Jones ’06, Sarah J. Murphy ’06, James W. Murrett ’06, Walker C. Stanovsky ’06, and Sarah M. J. Welch ’06, all of whom are members of the Council.