The Student Council staged its welcome to Lloyd Jordan last Thursday night, and almost no one showed up. At the 8 p.m. starting time, some 50 students were sparsely distributed through the New Lecture Hall. Deans Bender and Watson stood nervously near one of the doors, then Bender moved over near a window and talked with Bill Bingham. Student Council President Ed Burke was speaking rapidly to a circle of students and three cheerleaders. He finally rushed out to round up more students. Meanwhile, the new coach smiled calmly and talked with Phil Isenberg, before a photographer asked the to pose in front of a door.

At 8:10, a small coterie of the band arrived noisily with Burke's recruits, boosting the total to about 100. The Student Council President led the official parade to the podium and began the program with a welcome for Jordan and an apology for the "abortive rally." He mentioned hour exams and cold weather. He assured the coach there was "no lack of spirit in the student body or team."

Isenberg was the next speaker. He said he had heard a lot about Harvard's "football problem" but that "our only problem was that we lost eight out of nine games." Bingham then said that unlike many sports writers, he did not feel sorry for Jordan but envied him.

When Jordan's turn to speak finally came, he looked out at his audience and the empty seats and said, "I'll talk Harvard football if I only have one man to talk to." He added as an afterthought, "A little spark will go a long way." He then turned to Ed Burke and said there was no need to apologize, for excuses were not important. "We just have to take what we have and make the best of it." Then he talked about his job.