The Santa Slugger

This morning the unfortunate Lampoon candidate who slugged the Lampoon's Santa Claus will be arraigned before the Cambridge Court. There is no question but that the case should be dismissed. Presumably the charge will be disturbing the peace; the Square is so untranquil at best that a silly affair like this was a ripple on the seething surface. Once the Lampoon has reimbursed the poor bystander whose glasses were demolished, the case should be dropped.

A dismissal would have several practical advantages aside from its merits. It would soothe relations between Harvard students and the forces of law and order in Cambridge, which are uncordial at best. These relations have not been eased any by the patrolman's assurances that he would have shot the candidate down if he had had a clear shot. If the city administration attempts, as it may, to equate the Lampoon's prank with the death of the MIT fraternity pledge and tries to make an example of the poor Poonie, hostility between town and gown will reach the level attained after 1952's Pogo riot.

Furthermore, a dismissal would mean that the college administration, which is tradition-bound to deal severely with students convicted of criminal charges, could deal fairly and mildly with the hapless candidate. While he should not be absolved of all responsibility, it should be remembered that he was, in a sense, acting as the Lampoon's agent when he slugged Santa. If the administration and the city feel that they must take some action, they should chastise the Lampoon and suggest that its editors confine their wilder bursts of hilarity to the privacy of 44 Bow Street.