Short Takes

IOP Group to Stage Mock Elections

A student group at the Institute of Politics (IOP) will hold mock presidential elections for undergraduates one week before the general election, an organizer said Monday.

The IOP Student Advisory Committee (SAC) will conduct the election to focus political awareness on campus as the institute's undergraduate governing body.

"[The election is] beneficial to Harvard students' understanding of their own political beliefs," said Kathryn L. Keogh '89, who is the election organizer.

More than 4500 undergraduates participated in a similar election the SAC held four years ago, she said. That poll was covered by the New York Times and The Boston Globe, Keogh said.

Balloting will take place throughout the houses and at the freshman dining hall on Tuesday. The SAC will announce results by Friday.

The SAC will break dow results according to gender, class year, house affiliation and possibly home state, but organizers cautioned against interpreting its results as an official study.

Weld Soap Dish Falls, Cutting Student's Foot

Lydia S. Hoff `92 had a bad Monday morning this week.

The Weld South freshman was showering when a heavy porcelain soapdish fell suddenly onto her right foot, gashing her fourth toe and pinky.

"I was putting the soap back into the dish on the wall," Hoff said. "I did not touch the dish and it fell out of the wall onto my foot...I thought it had broken two toes--they were black and blue and swollen."

The dish fell without warning and had not been loose, Hoff said.

Though Hoff said she was not planning to sue, she said her father wants to file a complaint.

Yard Superintendent Catherine Bray called the incident "bizarre" and said it was a rare occurrence.

Meanwhile, Hoff calls her condition "a pain. I can't eat without somebody to get all of my food for me." But she added, "My roommates bought me flowers and Wheat Thins."

Hoff's injury was not the first bizarre occurrence reported in Weld Hall. A freshman in the fall of 1985 reported seeing a ghost in her common room there.

Psychology Assoc. Honors William James

For the third year in a row, the William James Society marked the achievements of its namesake in a lecture yesterday.

A group of 20 attended the talk at Swedenborg Chapel, given by Eugene I. Taylor, associate professor of psychology. Taylor called James a "giant of an intellect" who articulated ideas that are still discussed today in a broad range of disciplines.

James, a Harvard professor, was among the preeminent American thinkers of the late 19th Century, and helped found the pragmatist school of thought.

Nancy C. Braverman '89, projects coordinator for the William James Society, said the organization's goal is to help students "get more familiar with professors" in informal discussions, lectures, colloquia, and dinners. She added that the group is planning events that are "not exclusively for people interested in psychology," possibly including a panel on eating disorders, she said.