Crimson Key Official Stresses Accuracy of Guides' Information

The Crimson Key Society recently urged its tour guides to be more careful in distributing information, after a guide gave a female applicant incorrect information about the availability of financial aid to women, Randy Guggenheimer '82, head of the society's Admissions Office tours, said yesterday.

The misinformation caused the applicant not to file for aid before the January 15 deadline, Guggenheimer added.

He said the Admissions Office told him of the guide's error after the applicant's alumni interviewer discovered the mistake and wrote the office.

Guggenheimer then sent letters to the Crimson Key's 115 members, of whom between 50 and 60 are guides, telling them of the incident.

"Obviously, there is equal access to financial aid for women," the March 12 letter says. "Please do not give information that you are not sure of," it adds.

William R. Fitzsimmons '67, director of admissions, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Guggenheimer, who took his post in February, said the incident is the only one he knows of in which Crimson Key guides gave out incorrect information.

Never Again

"We just don't want things like that ever to happen again. If the Admissions Office got too upset, they might've hired their own guides," Guggenheimer said, adding that the office did not pressure him to write the letter. "It was an easy decision to make," he said.

The letter also says, "There is often confusion regarding the relationship between Harvard and Radcliffe" among tour guides and includes a reprint from the Radcliffe Guide outlining the historical and current relationship between the schools.

Guggenheimer said several guides had told him they were uncertain about the relationship, suggesting the need to spread the information.

The guide probably made the mistake last fall, Guggenheimer said, adding, "We're not even totally sure if it was a Crimson Key guide who did it." He said guides hired during the summer by the Information Office also could have been responsible.