Soccer Star Vujovic Leaves Harvard

Dragan Vujovic '75, a starter on Harvard's NCAA quarter-finalist soccer team this fall, left Harvard yesterday and returned to Yugoslavia, claiming "what I am studying here cannot be applied in my country."

Vujovic, who, as an inside right, was expected to be part of the nucleus for next year's Crimson squad, will begin a five-year law program in Belgrade. The three semesters he has completed at Harvard will not be recognized in Yugoslavia, and Vujovic will have to start his college education over from scratch.

Vujovic until recently had been enrolled in a pre-med program of study, but he changed his major to government this fall, and it was then that the problems leading to his departure first surfaced.

"When I switched to government. I discovered that outside the natural sciences, anything I learn here cannot be applied in Yugoslavia." Vujovic said before leaving yesterday. "And since my degree would not be recognized, I would not be able to go to law school, or practice law at home."

Vujovic decided to leave Harvard after discussing the academic situation with his parents when he was home for Christmas. "They told me a degree in social sciences from an American university would not be acknowledged at home. I had to make a decision: either switch back to natural science, or leave and start again in the social sciences at home. This stuff American government I'm studying here is good experience, but what can I do with it in Yugoslavia?"

In addition to the academic difficulties, Vujovic was very sensitive to the problems of being a foreigner and a soccer player in an American university. He was upset by the "jock image" imposed on Harvard's foreign-born soccer players.

"A lot of foreign soccer players at Harvard wanted to give up soccer this year," he said. People tend to overlook that you have other talents and interests. The players were disgusted that they were treated this way. They're proud -- something like this insults them. In Europe sport is considered an art. Here people just look at you as a soccer player."

Despite the unhappiness with the "jock image," most of the foreign players at Harvard played this fall because soccer is a link with their backgrounds, Vujovic said. "When we got together for a little soccer, it gave us a touch of home," he said.

Vujovic felt the Harvard soccer program and coach Bruce Munro recognized this. "The program has the right attitude for the school. It makes sure that the kids have fun. With the talent we had we could have won the national title, but we just wanted to enjoy ourselves."

Vujovic came to Harvard after a high school career at the International School in Vienna. He was actively recruited by Brown University as a soccer prospect, including an expense free trip to the Brown campus (probably paid for by Brown alumni). But Vujovic didn't want to go to Brown -- "I wanted to go to Harvard because that was the American school to go to," -- and his decision to pick Harvard over Brown caused a mild furor in Providence, where the admissions people felt that Harvard had "stolen" their prospect.

The departure of Vujovic comes less than three months after another standout booter, Bent Hinze, left Harvard for similar academic reasons. In November, Hinze dropped out to return to Norway. He had wanted to major in environmental studies, but he found that at Harvard there was no such pursuit. For Hinze to get credit in Norway for his undergraduate environmental studies work, he would have to major in it. Since he could not major in it at Harvard, he decided to return home to the University of Oslo.

When he came here, Hinze believed that he would be able to major in environmental studies. It is unclear where he got that impression. According to Steve Kidder, a close personal friend of Hinze and goalie on the Crimson soccer team, Hinze had gotten the impression from his correspondence with Harvard before his admission.

Environment

Seamus P. Malin, director of the Financial Aid Office of Harvard College and the man who handled most of Hinze's pre-admission correspondence with Harvard, said yesterday that in no place in Hinze's application had he expressed a desire to major in environmental studies.

"If he had, we certainly would have told him that he could not do it here," Malin said. "The whole thing is just a misunderstanding."

Hinze had wanted to leave early in the first semester, but stayed on because of soccer. "For Bent, soccer was everything," Kitter said yesterday.

"Bent said that if it were his choice, he would stay here," Kitter said. "But since there was a possibility that he could go through four years and not get credit for it in Norway, he felt that he couldn't waste the time here. I don't think he was particularly bitter about it."

With Vujovic and Hinze out of the picture for next season, Munro will have to plug some gaping holes in next year's team. The two sophomores combined for 14 goals and 14 assists last fall. Another autumn may be bleak for soccer fans.Former Crimson booters DRAGAN VUJOVIC and BENT HINZE went home to Europe after academic disillusionments at Harvard.