A Summer Place

Welcome to Cambridge. The Harvard of July is a very different place from the Harvard of January, but it is a Harvard of sorts.

The differences between the summer Harvard and the winter Harvard must be mentioned, but they should not be dwelt upon. The Charles River, for example. At all other times of the year it is a delight to the contemplative soul, but in the summer it becomes a poignant object lesson in the evils of locating large factories near bodies of water. The Yard, for another example. In the winter it annually gives birth to a new generation of Harvard Men. In the summer, to the horror of old Harvardians, it quarters hundreds of girls who blithely desecrate the Hallowed Ground. Lamont, for another illustration. In the winter it is the chaste home of studious young men, but in the summer, when the ivy grows unchecked over the windows in the Houses, Lamont discloses its secrets to the curious of both sexes.

On the other hand, despite the heat and its differences, the Summer School does provide a near equality in the number of girls and boys and offers numerous ways for friendships to kindle. That, and the brief taste of a Harvard education should be enough for most people.