Hold That Line

In their search for candidates to apply for Harvard College, alumni have overemphasized the role of athletics in the College. Harvard has much to offer in its curriculum and undergraduate life that has often been sacrificed for sports-talk at Harvard Club luncheons, in interviews, and in the Admissions Office film "Invitation to Harvard."

Some coaches and athletes may be among the College's best representatives but when they alone speak at functions for prospective freshmen, undecided high school students might well think that Harvard is having an identity crisis. Professors and administrators ought to play a more active role speaking around the country.

Almost three-quarters of "Invitation to Harvard" concerns athletics; comparatively little of the 20-minute film shows glimpses of the best lectures, the libraries, extra curricular activity, tutorial, or House life. In addition, the ten-year-old movie has a message from "President Conant" and misses scenes of Loeb, Quincy, Leverett, and other additions of the last decade. The sports emphasis is a left-over from the fifties when the University apparently had to overcome a "pink, bookworm" image.

The film really ought to be junked and, because the cost of a new movie is a prohibitive $50,000-$100,000, a substitute is needed. The Admissions Office has come up with an idea that deserves immediate support--a color film strip showing still pictures of College life. Because it would eliminate much of the schmaltz and background music of the present film's sound-track and because alumni would have a chance to narrate the scenes informally, the film-strip is a welcome substitute for the outmoded "Invitation to Harvard."