Videocassette Recorders Invade Johnny Harvard's Suite

It used to be that students could get the items needed for college comfort fairly easily. A stereo was, of course, the appliance of primary importance, and then maybe a fridge or a toaster oven for late-night munchies. A couch could be picked up at the Salvation Army and if one was really lucky, the parents might toss in a second-hand TV.

Things have changed since then.

Now the latest in dorm room decor includes waterbeds, microwaves, compact disc players, and the old favorite, that black and white TV perfect for MASH reruns, has been supplanted by the VCR. The high life has gone high tech.

VCRs are no longer for grown-ups only. It's like the home computer. Pretty soon the question will be `Who doesn't have one?" says Bill H. Berkman '87 who does.

Berkman stole his Panasonic VHS from his older brother--"he stole one from my father, who bought himself a new one." The Quincy House resident says, "It's for those times when you want to sit at home with a whole bunch of people and just hang out. I mean, you can't pass beers around in a movie theater. And you can always stop the movie when you have to go to the bathroom."

Laurie E. Gutschmit '87, who received a VCR for Christmas from her parents, says, "They've become a good new way of entertaining. Everyone got sick of TV, so more people are buying VCRs."

Owner of both a Sony Betamax and a Scott VHS, Marcus Henzer '89 agrees that watching films on tape has taken the place of going to the movies. "It's much more of a social activity--you can stop, rewind, fast forward. Unlike in a theater, you always feel free to talk," he says.

But while some feel that VCRs are necessary for leisure time diversion, other students think that what was once a play thing of the rich is still nonessential for college students, even aspiring yuppies.

"A VCR is good if you have a lot of work to do and you don't want to miss a TV show, but basically it's a toy. A c.d. player, on the other hand--well, music is more of a necessity than movies," Henzer says.

Lawrence D. Belfer '88, who owns a Hitachi VCR but uses it only once a month, says, "It's quite literally a luxury."

For Beth L. Shair '89, her videocassette recorder is not a luxury but an educational necessity. A student in a VES film class, she says, "I need it for writing papers on films. This way I don't have to trek up to the Carpenter Center, I can just sit in my room and watch them."

Other students find their VCRs useful for less worthy intentions--cheap dates, for example. One senior, who asked not to be identified, says, "If it's a romantic mood you're after, the best thing to do is rent '9 1/2 Weeks' and get the girl real horny and then jump her."

VCRs also are frequently used as excuses not to study. Gutshmit says she wanted one "to procrastinate," and several people say that the time they now spend watching movies they once spent studying.

A tutor in Leverett House Bob Davis says, "I'm a grad student in the history of religion so I have lots of free time to watch movies on my VCR." Davis, who says he rents movies at least every other day and went to 50 first-releases last year, admits, "I really don't like to study."

Before [getting a VCR] we definitely spent more time in the library," says Kevin G. Little '87. His suite has an embarrassment of riches, for each of the three seniors owns a VCR.

Little and his roommates rent movies about three times a week, though "only on a very slow weekend would we stay in and watch." Friends come over and munch popcorn while watching favorites such as "Beverly Hills Cop," "Ghostbusters," and "Trading Places." But, Little says, two of the three machines are usually on loan to friends: "Not many of my friends own VCRs; they're all borrowing mine."

Most students rent movies from Videosmith on Mass. Ave. and Video Biz in the Garage, the two video stores closest to Harvard. Styles of choosing range from "taking whatever looks good" to picking up "the latest releases" to "getting those classics I missed."

Sal V. Perisano, executive vice-president of Videosmith, says that movies popular with students lately have been "The Gods Must Be Crazy," The Beatles' "Help!," "F/X" and "Diva."

"A lot of alternative cinema type things rent very well with the college-age crowd. They tend to go for foreign films," he says.

At Video Plus, store manager Barry Lavoi, who estimates that the clientele is half students, half area residents, says that students are "going for pretty much everything. Their tastes are more eclectic than our regular customers."

"We basically rent everything," says Chris W. Marx '89. Someone in their room watches a movie nearly every night, he says. "Rebel without a Cause" and "East of Eden" are favorites.

Henzer says that he and his roommates go for `comedy and adventures, tending more to active, funny stuff. We do on occasion rent a cheap B-movie just for kicks."

Although students are not sure whether more people are actually buying VCRs, most seem to agree that renting movies is quickly becoming a sure cure for campus boredom. "It's great because when you have nothing to do, you can watch a movie," Marx says.

"A lot of friends off the hall come in and watch. Someone picks up the movie and someone else gets the popcorn--it's a blast," says Berkman.

Perisano sees VCRs as the wave of the future. "They're becoming the norm rather than an exception as an appliance in American households."