Not All First-Years Are Fools

To the Editors of The Crimson:

On the night of April 1, letters from a "Thomas A. Dingnan, Associate Dean" were distributed to first-years, announcing that housing forms had been processed. First-years were instructed to call 5-7890 to find out their housing assignments.

As it turns out, it was all an April Fool's joke. There is no Associate Dean named Thomas Dingnan and 5-7890 is not the phone number to 4 University Hall. It is the number to the Harvard Crimson. Undoubtedly, the Crimson was probably bombarded with calls from desperate first-years anxious to find out their housing assignments for next year.

I am writing to let you know that I was not one of those first-years, even though the letter looked very realistic with its official-looking letterhead. The truth is, I recognized 5-7890 to be the number of The Crimson and figured out that the letter was just another April Fool's joke.

You see, I subscribe to The Boston Globe as well as The Crimson. Sometimes I receive only the Globe. Sometimes I receive only The Crimson. And sometimes, I don't receive either. I've called The Crimson so many times to complain about the delivery service that I now know (not by choice) The Crimson's phone number by heart.

So I wanted to write to thank your circulation department. Had it not been for your inconsistent delivery service, I would have fallen prey to another April Fool's joke. Tony C. Hsieh