The fifth Harvard-Radcliffe Freshman Parents Weekend, highlighted by speeches by President Bok and other key administrators, will begin today.

The Weekend is sponsored by the Harvard College Fund, the principal fundraising arm of the University. F. Skiddy von Stade Jr. '38, dean of freshmen, said yesterday that the Fund conducts the annual weekend because of its expertise in organizing this sort of event. He explained that his office is not adequately staffed to handle this outing.

Parent's Council

A Fund official said that one of the primary functions of this event for his group is to introduce the Parents' Council. Although he stressed the non-monetary aspect of the outing, the spokesman expressed hope that parents, stimulated by the various speakers, would be willing to participate in fund-raising operations under the auspices of the Parents' Committee.

The weekend was initiated five years ago largely because of the success of similar outings at other Ivy colleges. Von Stade originally opposed the Parents Weekend because, he said yesterday, he felt that it had been scheduled too close to the beginning of classes. But von Stade said that his original fears were proven groundless. He estimated that 1300 people would participate in today's activities.

The Freshman Dean's Office plans to utilize the meeting as an opportunity for parents to meet their children's freshman advisers, and hear administrators discuss Harvard.

Today's speakers, selected by Burriss Young, associate dean of freshmen, include representatives of both Harvard and Radcliffe in their respective fields of expertise. The admissions deans, Parents' Council presidents and both a male and female representative from last year's Freshman Council will discuss their functions and plans.