No DABBLERS THEY

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

The CRIMSON prides itself upon watertight argument in its editorial columns. Yet arguments used against the traditional freshman Smoker in February 8th's paper are untenable.

You state that freshmen may wonder why the Smoker exists. Does the Smoker need an excuse to exist? We think not. It is its own excuse. We hardly think that freshmen will wonder why the should buy Smoker tickets any more than they should subscribe to the CRIMSON.

You make the implicit assumption that the Smoker's only excuse for existence is as a "get acquainted" party. We grant that there is really no point in a freshman "get acquainted" party in the spring. But actually the Smoker is really only an opportunity for Yardlings to get together for a good time.

You then assume that Smoker elections have lost their importance. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Perhaps you would have discovered this had your coverage of the election campaigns been somewhat more complete than a more notation that posters were banned from the Union on grounds of obscenity and that bursar's cards were lost after overly boisterous eleventh-hour electioneering in the dining rooms.

Freshmen cherish every chance they get to exercise their democratic rights. To describe the Smoker Committee election (or for that matter any undergraduate election) as a "democratic dabble" is cheap and a slight on our democratic heritage. It is also ridiculous. The members of the Committee are--perhaps contrary to CRIMSON knowledge--hard-working. Two members are at present in New York trying to line up entertainment. The CRIMSON can hardly say that these students are democratic dabblers.

Any criticism that the CRIMSON makes of the Smoker in the future will have to be more carefully written than that in Friday's paper. William Emery Bridges '55   Walter D. Littell '55   William R. MacKaye '55

It was not the editorial's purpose to raise suspicions over the freshmen's use of their democratic rights, but rather to suggest that the Smoker could be more useful if scheduled in the early fall. Because the Yardlings already have one opportunity "to get together for a good time," the Jubilee, and because a "get-acquainted" party is needed, we believe that the present Smoker is somewhat pointless.

However, we regret that a poor choice of words led our readers to mistake our intent.