Before it quit, the Crimson set up a Graduate Board to keep a watchful eye on its temporary successor, The Harvard Service News. The substitute was a four-column, semi-weekly, semi-literate sheet that was not allowed to express editorial opinion. Although it was circulated free to military personnel, civilians in the University wouldn't take the Service News on a bet.
After the War, the CRIMSON resumed publication, and soon reoccupied its position as a potent force in the Harvard community and one of the country's best college newspapers. Students under the G.I. Bill began to take an interest in the CRIMSON in the late Forties and early Fifties, and the paper went through a period of girlie gags, questionable pictures, and more or less constant warfare with the Deanery.
In the spring of 1958, an article by William W. Bartley III '56 set off what is probably history's most famous Crimson-caused debate. Writing on religion at Harvard, Bartley unearthed the fact that the Rev. George A. Buttrick, Preacher to the University, had enforced (with President Pusey's implicit support) a standing order barring Jewish marriages in Memorial Church. This led to widespread and often heated debate over the nature of Memorial Church and over the question of whether Harvard was a sectarian or secular university.
Finally, the Corporation, while affirming the basic Christian character of the Church, opened it for all "private" services. The Corporation said that the University "does not intend to assert the validity of the tenets of any denomination or creed." Pusey said, "If I were asked whether Harvard were a secular university, I would answer, 'Yes.' But it has within it a tradition of worship; one could wish that this were broad enough to include everyone in the community."
In the fall of 1960, the CRIMSON began including most of its feature articles in a supplement, called the "Weekly Review." In the spring of 1961, the "Crimson Review" was published in a half-size, magazine format.
Last spring, the CRIMSON again upset the University by a timely discovery. One of its reporters found that College diplomas were to be printed in English instead of Latin. This dispute culminated on two large riots in two nights, the second of which had to be stopped with tear gas.
Today, the CRIMSON is well off financially, and probably at its journalistic and technical peak. It is one of the few college dailies to withstand the strain of a six-day week, and looks forward to remaining vigorous.
CRIMSON COMPETITION
Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will get a chance to learn more about the present-day CRIMSON on Monday and Tuesday, when convivial after-dinner meetings will open the 1961 fall competition. All four boards -- News, Editorial, Business, and Photography -- welcome undergraduates who would like to try their hand at newspaper work. The free beer will start flowing at 7:30 both nights in the Crimson building at 14 Plympton St.