"It's Going To Be Elegant, Dammit," Radcliffe Dance Organizers Promised in 1964
Every week, The Crimson publishes a selection of articles that were printed in our pages in years past.
March 27, 1918: To Sing at Charity Concert in New York
By reversing its decision of several weeks ago the Faculty yesterday afternoon granted permission to the University Musical Clubs to participate in a joint war-charity concert with Yale and Princeton at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, on Saturday evening, April 13. Members of the clubs will leave Cambridge at 1 o'clock on the above date and will disband for the vacation that night, after the concert.
This entertainment will be an innovation, as it will be the first time that the Glee and Instrumental Clubs of Yale, Princeton and the University have played in a joint concert. Furthermore, the performance will take the place of the annual Intercollegiate Glee Club Meet, which was abandoned this year on account of the war.
March 25, 1930: 1200 Votes Cast on First Day of Prohibition Poll
Although over 1200 ballots were cast yesterday on the first day of The Crimson's prohibition poll, it is expected that more than twice as many ballots will be cast today, when polling is extended to cover the Law, Business, Medical, and Engineering Schools.
Final results will not be made public until Thursday morning, when announcement will be made not only of prohibition sentiment at Harvard but also of the results of straw votes now being held at fourteen other colleges throughout the East, South, and Middle West.
March 26, 1940: Summer School 'Contracts' Void if America Enters War
Teaching "contracts" for the coming session of the Summer School are not binding in the event that the United States should become involved in the European conflict, it was revealed yesterday.
According to Kirtley F. Mather, professor of Geology and Director of the Summer School, the contracts "which are merely formal letters" contain an escape clause providing for the "contingency of the United States' participation in the European war."
"The agreements were made out last September at the time of the outbreak of the fighting, and it was realized that if we should enter the war, a complete change of the Summer School program would be necessary. There is now not a chance in the world that this will come about," Mather asserted.
March 24, 1964: Big 'Cliffe Dance Snows the Fans
A good time was had by all at the South House Master's Ball Saturday night, a situation well nigh unprecedented at Radcliffe College.
"It's going to be elegant, dammit," promised the organizers a month ago, and it was nothing if not elegant. All the girls wore floor-length dresses, the floors of Agassiz ballroom were polished up to a high sheen, and even the janitor had on a black tie (with his dark suit).
Estimates of the number of people attending ranged from 100 to 300. They all reportedly enjoyed themselves, "because they knew just what to expect." But every other dance was a Viennese waltz, noted a little Barnard girl, "which is kind of unfortunate if your date doesn't know how to waltz."
March 24, 1977: Disabled Students at Harvard
To most of those in Humanities 9b, "Oral and Popular Literature," it made little difference when the class moved from Burr Hall to larger quarters in Sanders Theatre. For one student in the class, however, the relocation created a serious problem. Stephanie Thomas '80 could maneuver her wheelchair into Burr, but not into Memorial Hall.
The predicament was short-lived, as the Department of Buildings and Grounds installed a temporary ramp onto Memorial Hall. Yet the situation typifies those problems which physically disabled Harvard students face. Many academic, housing, recreational and athletic facilities are inaccessible to those in wheelchairs; blind students have trouble obtaining reading material for courses; and deaf students must use interpreters at lectures.
—Compiled by Amy L. Weiss-Meyer, Rebecca D. Robbins, and Julie M. Zauzmer