CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION

The New Student Committee, under the chairmanship of P. E. Wilson '23, was the first to get under way, when in the spring of 1921 letters were sent to those Preparatory and High Schools which furnish the larger part of the entering class. By this means a certain amount of advance information on the Freshmen was obtained. An official list of the class was furnished by the office in the summer, and letters were written to all its members informing them about the Phillips Brooks House and the opportunities it offers for service. Immediately after College opened the New Student Committee of twenty-six Sophomore and Juniors began to call on the new men in the Freshman dormitories; reports on each man were submitted and the information thus obtained was tabulated. The work was done more rapidly than usual, and was entirely completed by Christmas. The committee was severely handicapped, however, by the difficulty of reaching the large number of men residing outside of the Freshman dormitories, and in future especial measures must be taken to cover this important part of the class.

The Harvard delegation at Silver Bay in the summer was the third largest at the conference, consisting as it did of over a score of undergraduates. The men who were present were very enthusiastic over the conference, both because of the opportunities of contact with men of not in religious affairs, and because of the friendships formed or ripened there. Those men on the delegation who returned to College in the fall formed a discussion group which has met twice a month throughout the year to study Rauschenbusch's "Social Principles of Jesus." Corliss Lamont '24, chairman of the Silver Bay Committee, is already at work recruiting the delegation for this summer.

W. C. Bennett '23 has again filled the Chairmanship of the Foreign Student Committee. His first act was the formation of a Committee of Advisors to Foreign Students, consisting of six members of the faculty and six graduate and undergraduate members of the University. Meetings and receptions for the foreigners at Harvard have been held from time to time throughout the year, beginning with one on the opening night of College, when the elective system was explained by Professor Edgell. Many of these men have been entertained by Cambridge and Boston ladies in their homes.

The weekly meetings of the Association have been in charge of P. E. Wilson. An innovation was tried of having all meetings led by outside speakers and none by undergraduates. They have consequently been most successful from the standpoint of content, but the attendance has been rather small.

The first duty of the Church Cooperation Committee is to sort and send to the various churches the denominational lists, as compiled from the registration blanks at the beginning of College. By means of these lists the churches endeavor to keep in touch with the men of their denominations during the year; they aim, if possible, to have every man called upon personally at least once. J. F. Stearns '22, Chairman of the Committee, has taken an active part in this work. All the seven Harvard Square churches have been given such assistance as was possible.

In January of this year a series of discussion groups was inaugurated, each group to begin after midyears and run for six weeks. Ministers whose parishes are in the vicinity of Harvard Square were secured to lead four of the groups, and in addition three were held with student leaders. The total membership of these seven groups was approximately sixty men, and the average attendance was rather below seventy per cent. The success of the groups has been largely due to the efforts of R. H. Sears '24, who has been in charge of organizing them. In addition to these seven groups Professor Moore led a discussion group on missionary work during March, and various other groups have sprung up spontaneously from time to time.

At the end of last year it was decided to create a new post on the Christian Association Cabinet -- that of Service Chairman. The original appointee did not return to college, and his successor, R. B. Smith '22, was appointed too late to do a great deal. However, he has managed to get in personal touch with nearly all the Association members in the two lower classes in an effort to interest them in social service work or Sunday School teaching. At the same time, he has called the attention of the men he has seen to the weekly meetings and the discussion groups, and has tried to interest them in the summer conference at Silver Bay.

The work of the Association has gone on without much outward show, but has been fairly effective for all that, for it has been fortunate in having as the heads of its standing committees men who have taken a deep and active interest in their work. If next year's cabinet proves as strong, real strides should be made in fulfilling the purpose of the Christian Association. JOHN S. BARSS '22, President.