Women Just Wanna Have Fun

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Your article titled "Seniors Unfazed by News" (Feb. 25) struck me and several of my friends as unbelievably skewed. The Radcliffe Senior Soiree has nothing to do with the war. Senior women and their dates should not be presented as thoughtless socialites enjoying themselves on the eve of international disaster because they attended a social event that had been organized long before even the January 15 U.N. deadline. You completely missed the point of the soiree, and misrepresented the evening, as it was enjoyed by most everybody there.

FYI--I called the Radcliffe Alumni Association and did a little fact-checking for you. The senior soiree is a tradition that began in 1978, when Radcliffe threw a party to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the College. It was such a hit that they decided to continue it every year. It's a chance for women to break out of their culturally restricted social roles and ask a man out on a date. And in case anyone is interested, we had a blast at the soiree. It was a chance to see old friends and acquaintances in a non-academic, non extracurricular social setting. Talk was light, feet danced all night and we got to drink champagne with Dean Bovet.

And yes, we knew the war was going on: I listened to NPR as I donned black stockings and red lipstick in preparation for the event. At a post-soiree party, several women and our dates listened to radio broadcasts updating us on ground war events. In fact, Norma Jean Johnson was with me, and she was obviously concerned and intent on learning about what had happened. She did not seem as "far away" as The Crimson would have people believe she was with their cleverly edited quote.

I care about what's happening in the Gulf, but at the soiree, it was not at the forefront of conversation. Harvard students have enough trouble leading socially stunted lives in this place where a chilling intellectual ice threatens to destroy every party and bar scene in Cambridge. So when some senior women finally get to invite dates to a dance and have some fun, let them do just that. Leslie R. Crutchfield '90-91