Semester Round-Up

Some of the most interesting comments I've received in recent weeks relate to the relentless commercialization of The Crimson, Harvard, and the world in general. Of course, I'm referring to The Crimson's alliance with Mountain Dew. Many Crimson readers were annoyed and disturbed by the advertisement that read, "The Harvard Crimson presents The Primal Scream," featuring Mountain Dew's slogan, "Do the scream, do the dew." One reader correctly pointed out that The Primal Scream will happen (and has always happened) without the input or sponsorship of The Crimson or of soft drink manufacturers.

I don't think that the sponsorship of this event had any effect on The Crimson's coverage, and I hate to complain about free stuff. However, this is part of a larger issue of commercialism on college campuses, newspapers and society that I suspect we haven't heard the last of.

Stay tuned.

Because it's the new year, and spring (well, spring semester anyway) is just around the corner, I've decided that it's time for the end-of-semester ritual cleaning out of my e-mail inbox. I've received lots of comments over the past few months that were perceptive and on-target about The Crimson's coverage, and for some reason or another, they never made it into the newspaper. Now's the time.

First of all, I continue to get lots of e-mail about circulation difficulties. It seems that The Crimson, despite being free, still isn't getting to certain isolated areas of the campus (the Quad, for example). High among the list of The Crimson's New Year's Resolutions should be to further minimize missed deliveries. I've personally noticed that The Crimson's delivery has much improved over last year, when it was spotty at best. That doesn't mean, however, that there's no room for improvement. The Crimson should make a special effort to address the concerns of readers who have consistently experienced difficulties in receiving newspapers.

One of the most interesting e-mails I received had to do with the Sports section. One reader was puzzled by The Crimson's repeated use of the rather archaic term "cagers" in headlines about the basketball team. Why not "Hoops," he suggested, or "B-Ball?" (A few other readers I queried on the topic said that they had never heard the term "Cagers" used in any other place, but had come to expect that The Crimson was referring to basketball.)

After corresponding with the sports editors on the topic, I've noticed that the usage has generally changed to reflect the modern era. In other sports topics, the coverage of non-traditional teams (i.e. other than football, basketball, soccer, hockey, etc.) continues to be an issue. The Crimson should continue its efforts to cover the full diversity of sports at Harvard.

A word usage issue came up a while ago when The Crimson used the word "normalcy" in a headline. One reader questioned the usage, asking whether the word "normalcy" is a proper one. It is. According to William Safire's "New Political Dictionary," the word first came into general use in the presidential campaign of Warren Harding in 1920 (the word itself dates back to at least 1857), and is generally accepted in newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. Since The Crimson's usage is backed up by an authority such as Safire (whose language, as his politics, is not on the liberal side), I have to rule for The Crimson on this one. But thanks to the astute reader who pointed that out.

A final note to all Crimson readers who (I hope) will be receiving the Crimson every day next semester--remember to contact me with any comments or concerns you have about The Crimson's coverage.

Noelle Eckley '00 is The Crimson's reader representative. She can be reached at eckley@fas.