Tuxedo Trauma

"HELLO, Cambridge Formal Wear."

"Hi, how much does it cost to rent a tux with a striped, crimson cummerbund and bow tie, black shoes, studs, cufflinks and a ruffled formal shirt?"

They told me a full outfit suitable for a black-tie gala event runs about $50-60 these days. That's a lot of money--more than the average inhabitant of Bangladesh makes every six months.

I also called a flower shop to find out the price of a corsage, one ostentatious yet subtle enough for a girl to wear at a ball. That was only $12.

Add to the already long bill another $30 for tickets and the $100-$300 women will have to fork over for a formal dress.

Including pre-hottest-event-in-town drinks--which could easily run close to $30, depending on how good a time you want to have that night--the tab for one couple could rise as high as $450.

All for one night under the stars, or rather, under a tent inflated with hot air.

I admit I have my own tuxedo, but--I must confess--I didn't buy it in anticipation of the 350th ball. Unfortunately, the event's planners, whoever they are (I sure didn't get a chance to vote for them), failed to foresee that many Harvard undergrads don't have formal wear just waiting in the closet for a night on the town.

Worse yet, they may not have remembered that two-thirds of the students here receive some form of financial aid, and coughing up the hundreds of dollars required to be socially acceptable at this "very special event" may impose some form of hardship. When it comes to formal wear, it is virtually impossible to look good at Filene's Bargain Basement prices.

People have accused the 350th undergraduate celebration of being "elitist" and "exclusive." Just as important, the main event of the celebration--the event that is supposed to give all students a chance to participate--is prohibitively expensive. Students with wealthy families will be able to afford the tickets and social accessories needed to attend the ball, while less well-off students will either have to decline their invitations or scrimp and save to accept them.

The larger celebration held in early September may have been somewhat pretentious and glitzy, but at least most of the events and symposia were free. The economic exclusivity of the ball, what one student called, "a final club event in the yard," reflects the lack of planning and democratic student input that ought to go into all aspects of undergraduate life.

Not only did the planners not consult the student body, but they also excluded a substantial number of less affluent students who can't afford to go to the ball. For all its faults, at least the 350th in September didn't have a dress code.