There's an aura of excitement around 14 Plympton St. Not only on the special occasions that call for a private cocktail party. Not simply because the best college newspaper in the country is put together there. It's because when you're on the CRIMSON you're on your own--doing Harvard the way you want to, not the way they've got it planned for you.

Crimeds talk to the people who fascinate them--politicians, military men, agitators. They write about the things that intrigue them--poverty programs, sexual mores, nuclear physics. They learn about Harvard, they learn about journalism, and they learn about the world.

They go places, too, because the CRIMSON uses the money it's got in the bank. While Berkeley administrators and students sat arguing around a conference table, a CRIMSON reporter who wasn't supposed to be there quietly took notes. When National Student Association leaders emerged from 20 hours of soul-searching in a Washington, D.C. motel, our reporter was waiting for them. And our new printing press and new library prove that we don't stint at home either.

For efficiency's sake, we divide ourselves into four boards. The Photographic Board people take and develop the pictures that daily grace our pages, and, as with all the CRIMSON'S other functions, no experience is necessary. Going out for the Photo Board is like an elementary Vis Stud course.

The News Board writes the CRIMSON'S front page and sports page. From the start, candidates write stories that get printed--and talk to the people worth talking to.

Editorial Board people have to know their stuff. The CRIMSON is read by one of the most knowledgeable audiences around. That also means that any subject which interests a CRIMSON editor is likely to interest a lot of readers, so the editorial page can be an outlet for just about anything you want to write.

Business Board people operate and sustain a growing enterprise--the biggest student business at Harvard. And they start out professional. Making money.

Best of all, we mix boards. Once you're on the CRIMSON you can do pretty much what pleases you.

Does it take time and energy? Sure. But in return you get an education. And not the kind that comes from lectures and sections.