Harvard University - Red Book Yearbook (Cambridge, MA)

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In this volume UNIVERSITY HOUSES Q CLASS GF I943 Q ACTIVITIES Q CLASS OF I944 ATHLETICS FEATURES When war came to Harvard, President Conant im- mediately declared that all resources of the university would be devoted to the cause of victory. The Album board on its part, endeavoring to clarify and define the nature of activities carried on during the past year by both students and faculty, has wherever possible altered the familiar structure of the volume in order best to depict the state of the college as it performs the duties that such a time has imposed upon it. This year's board has made many changes, all of them de- signed to record more effectively the university as it is today. And we can only hope that, if we have succeeded at all in what we have attempted to do, this 1943 Album will be a worthy contribution to the story of Harvard at war. The board, in carrying out its plan, has faced many problems that arise only in periods of emergency. The lack of sufficient time and the restrictions upon production have created obstacles with which previous boards have never been confronted. As a result, we felt unable to sustain the expense and the unnecessary effort involved in printing the Faculty section as it has been in the past. And when it was impossible for us to obtain new photographs of teams or activities in time for publication, we have been forced to use material from other years. We have had scarcely half the effective working time that has always been available to pre- ceding boards, Yet, despite this, we have, in combining the Classes of 1945 and 1944, put out a larger book than ever before. Although many changes have been made as a result of these difficulties, the board has for the hrst time, seriously considered the creative possibilities of the Album. In the Faculty section and in the history of the two classes, we have attempted to give some special meaning to parts of the book that have heretofore been mere tradition. By including three articles by faculty members and a conscious effort to evaluate the past three years within the framework of a class history, we have tried to compile a volume that will be not only a yearbook, but also a meaningful record of our attitudes and our actions in college during a time of giant events. And if this should be the last Album for many years to come, we hope that we will have succeeded in our effort to express the life and thought of a university at war, and to portray to some ex- tent the meaning that the conflict of today holds for us.

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lgrrsirielrf gfflfltllflf 5 Message To the lass s of I943 and I944 There is no need for me to dwell on the unusual cir- cumstances under which you terminate your Harvard under- graduate careers. The fact that this Album contains the records of two classes and is published in anticipation of a mid-winter exodus of graduating members will stand in Harvard history as a symbol of the changes wrought by a total war. The day after Pearl Harbor we pledged the resources of the University to the prosecution of the warg here as else- where throughout the nation only one thought was upper- most-how could we assist in speeding the day of victory. Every week if not every day the academic scene altered as one change after another was required in the fulfillment of our pledge. Laboratories were turned over to war research, members of the faculty asked for leaves of absence to join the armed forces or to accept civilian posts in Government agencies, in increasing numbers the Army and the Navy oc- cupied dormitories and classrooms for the purposes of special training. The curriculum of Harvard College was altered to allow of the maximum saving of time for those who so desired. As a result many of you will complete your undergraduate program before you leave to enter the Army or the Navy. In spite of the changes to which I have referred, the life of Harvard College has continued for one year of war, at least, without radical transformation. The most dis- turbing element has been the result not of the physical changes incident to the influx of the Army and the Navy schools, nor the acceleration of the schedule, nor the losses from the staff, but the uncertainty in many of your minds as to the role you were called upon to play. It would serve no useful purpose for me to attempt to review the history of the relation of the Army and the Navy to the colleges since war began. That there have been mis- takes on all sides I am sure any impartial observer of the changing scene would readily admit. It was inevitable that a period of confusion and experimentation should follow our entry into the war. Neither the academic community nor the Wat or Navy Departments were ready with plans by which collegiate education might be modified in a country plunged into a desperate conflict. It was only slowly that many in academic institutions began to be aware of the full impact of a total war and the extent to which young men would be called upon for active service. There can be no question but that many important branches of the Army and the Navy, such as aviation, require young men. Recognizing this need, many below the draft age have already volunteered. While no one can quarrel with the policy of the Army and the Navy which has led to the recruiting of these young men, there can be no escape from the conclusion that an unfortunate situation has resulted from the draft age being fixed at twenty, while re- cruiting has been active for those much younger. Men of eighteen and nineteen in college and elsewhere have wondered where indeed their duty lay. The ideal in a total war is surely that the Government should requisition the services of every able-bodied young man and then allocate his talents for the best interests of the war. Now that the draft age has been lowered to eighteen, it seems probable that such a condition will soon prevail. One result will be to remove the element of uncertainty in the minds of undergraduatesg the other will be to bring about a drastic alteration in Harvard College. Except for the relatively few who are below eighteen or are unfit for military service, our students will be confined to those as- signed here for whatever education the Army and the Navy may prescribe. The period of transition through which you have lived will be complete, the call for men of eighteen and nineteen having now become a Federal mandate, Harvard College must make a corresponding readjustment. As a consequence many of its most important functions must lie dormant until the return of peace. In normal times about half the graduates of Harvard College continue their education either in this University or elsewhere. Therefore, I may express the hope that the