'Frosh Flood Yard

Sporting red folders, playing the name game at socials and researching party life, roughly 940 pre-frosh will sample Harvard's fruits this weekend.

Roughly 700 College students volunteered to host them, up from 400 only one week ago.

Pre-frosh Adam P. Bell, of Chattanooga, Tenn., walked onto campus yesterday afternoon, planning to stay until Monday.

"I'm going to try to meet with Coach [Harry] Parker and speak to him about crew," Bell said. "I'd just like to get an idea of their practice schedule and how many people are in the program."

Though accepted to four other colleges, Bell said he will probably come to Harvard, partly because it gave him the best financial aid package.

Pre-frosh Gregg E. Wilson, of London, England, lit a British cigarette and left for home late yesterday afternoon after spending the day, but his short visit was enough to leave a good impression.

"I went to a math class and that 'Sex' class, that Core thing, whatever it was," he said.

He is deciding between Harvard and Stanford, which he visited this week.

"Harvard's academically more impressive, the weather's less impressive, and it's a good thing you don't have as many bicycles," Wilson said.

"When you see lots of kids in the dining hall studying alone, think of it as a commentary on the academic life rather than on the social life," he optimistically advised his fellow pre-frosh.

Admissions Officer and Director of the Visiting Program Wendy Chang '93 has been preparing for Pre-Frosh Weekend since last fall. She said that more than enough hosts have volunteered.

"When the first article [in The Crimson] came out, we didn't have enough, but then in the past week we've had an enormous response from hosts," she said.

Christine M. Hernandez '00 said she hopes to repay the kindness her pre-frosh host showed her.

"I came last year [to Pre-Frosh Weekend], and that really was a big part of my coming [to Harvard]," she said. "I wanted to show somebody else a good time."

Greenough proctor Sara E. Birmingham said of hosting, "I think it's a civic duty. If you want to have an interesting and excellent class coming in and being your colleagues next year, you need to take the initiative and show the pre-frosh that this is really a wonderful school."

She plans to host a study break for her proctees and their guests and said that the entryway's prefects will take the group to brunch Sunday morning.

The trademark red folders given to pre-frosh by the Admissions Office contain lists of other activities. Highlights include the Pre-frosh Ice Cream Bash; an a cappella jam; Faculty panels; a speech by former presidential candidate Michael Dukakis; and a welcome by President Neil L. Rudenstine and Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson.

Because pre-frosh weekend draws so many students, proctors are required to stay on campus all weekend, Birmingham said.

"The mere fact that the dorms almost double in size makes it fertile ground for something weird to happen," she said.

Neither she nor Chang saw pre-frosh cause problems last year.