Community BRIEFS

* BOYLSTON HALL *

Flying Bat Forces Evacuation of Language Lab Tuesday

Students working in the Boylston Hall Language lab went a little batty Tuesday night when they discovered a winged mammal in the room, prompting the lab's evacuation.

A student reported seeing the bat at roughly 9:20 p.m., according to Cynthia Rogers '98, who was working in the lab's staff console at the time.

Five minutes later, the animal began to fly around the room.

"When the bat was swooping around, people would duck," Rogers said. "And when he flew in the console area, we would duck, too."

Security guard Stephen G. McCombe said he ordered students to evacuate the lab out of concern for their safety.

A maintenance worker then arrived, "grabbed" the bat and took it outside, McCombe said.

"We removed him unharmed and unscathed, and he flew away," McCombe said.

The incident resolved, the lab shut down 15 minutes before its normal closing time of 10 p.m.

* ARTS FIRST FESTIVAL *

Singer Pete Seeger to Receive Second Annual Arts Medal

Singer and activist Pete Seeger will receive the second annual Harvard Arts Medal at this Spring's Arts First '96 festival, the Board of Overseers announced Wednesday.

This year's celebration will be held from April 25 to 28.

The Harvard Arts Medal honors a Harvard or Radcliffe graduate or faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the arts, according to a statement from the Harvard News Office. Actor Jack Lemmon '47 won the first-ever Arts Medal at last year's festival.

Seeger has made his mark primarily by composing popular folk songs such as "If I had a Hammer," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "Turn, Turn, Turn."

He was a civil rights and anti-war activist in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1955, Seeger was sentenced to jail for refusing to cooperate with the House Committee on Un-American Activities, according to the Harvard News Office statement.

Seeger was an undergraduate at Harvard between 1936 and 1938, but dropped out "mainly because I got interested in extracurricular activities," according to his 25th Anniversary Report.

Arts First is Harvard's annual celebration of the arts. The inaugural festival was held in 1993.

* INTERFAITH FORUM *

Student Groups Meet to Promote Religious Dialogue

About 15 students discussed ways to promote dialogue among different campus religious organizations in a dinner meeting yesterday at Loker Commons.

"It is difficult to discuss religion with people," said Brian P. Betty '97, who compared it to "walking on eggs."

Students said they attended the discussion, sponsored by the Interfaith Forum, in an attempt to learn more about other religions.

"Even though there are a lot of faiths out there that share stuff with Catholicism, I don't know what that stuff is," said Robert M. Haas '98, a member of the Catholic Students Association.

Some of the students attending the Forum expressed frustration with the meager discussion of religion in academia.

"Harvard is a place that suppresses spirituality," said Uzoma M. Kalu '99.

Members of the Interfaith Forum, which was created last semester, plan to continue discussions on a monthly basis among representatives of different religious groups, according to Naomi S. Stern '97, the Forum's chair.

"We are allowing a space to discuss religion and showing people on campus that it is something people want to talk about," Andrew D. Kirk '96 said.

The Interfaith Forum is currently working on a newsletter, which will be available in house dining halls, to inform students of events held by religious organizations.

It is also planning an interfaith text study as well as a day of service on May 9.

Members of the Harvard Radcliffe Christian Fellowship, Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, the Harvard Buddhist Community, the Catholic Students Association and the Harvard Radcliffe Christian Impact attended yesterday's discussion.