Seniors Attend Baccalaureate Service

About 250 graduating seniors received their token farewells from Presidents Bok and Horner yesterday at a secular Baccalaureate service held yesterday afternoon in Memorial Church.

Interspersed by short readings from the class marshalls, including a responsive reading from the Psalms and several selected essays, the seniors and their parents listened to speeches appraising the value of a Harvard College experience and the changes Harvard has made in undergraduate education.

Horner began by congratulating the Class of '77, saying that she had followed the class with special interest because she had developed close relationships with many of its members and had observed many of their special qualities.

The policies of equal access, sex-blind admissions, and the new agreement between Harvard and Radcliffe which turns the responsibility for undergraduate education over to Harvard were cited by Horner as "increasing commitments to the changing ideals of the future."

"Whatever the future brings, don't be afraid of doing things," Horner said, quoting a passage by A.A. Milne.

Bok said that today's Harvard education is "pre-professional" in one sense because its broad background can provide a base for future human relations in a world where people are specializing their interests and vocations.

"If college graduates have a hard time finding jobs it is not the fault of a liberal arts education," Bok said. "There is more to life than a specialized career, but work is an important part of our lives."

Bok stressed that a liberal arts background is important for playing a creative role in the specialized teamwork which the future graduates would encounter in their careers.

"This is not the time for colleges to specialize studies; rather, this is the time for broader studies to be offered," he said.

After a benediction by the Rev. Peter Gomes, the seniors filed out of the church to the music of George P. Telemann.