Polluted Waters

The College is at its loveliest during Commencement week. The trees have not yet lost their delicate spring green; the grass is fresh and well manicured; an the Houses have just received a new coat of paint. Surveying the College from across the river at sunset, it all looks pretty fine.

Better not look IN the river, though. It will take all the enchantment out of the evening. Whitebellied decaying catfish line the bank, bloated and poisoned by the polluted waters. The waves from a passing motorboat slop over the slimy rocks along the bank into a brown froth. It isn't pleasant.

Two beaches along the river have recently been closed because of the pollution. And the poisoning is increasing. The Charles River will continue ugly until towns upstream legislate away the industrial waste which now pours in daily.