If Commencement runs smoothly, it will be a miracle. But Harvard has had a lot of practice.

To keep the approximately 150 Commencement and reunion functions running effectively, organizers must work nearly 24 hours a day, juggling countless behind-the-scene details.

Yet, year after year, the Commencement ceremonies, receptions, and alumni activities have taken place with remarkable grace and misleading ease.

"It will happen," says Alan J. Powers, Commencement coordinator, about this year's celebration. "We've been doing it for so many years that it's pretty organized."

Veterans of the process say that everything comes together in the last moments. "It's a matter of coordination," says Michael N. Lichten, who has organized Commencement for the past three years. "There's a gigantic schedule of what has to happen first."

Before anything could be set up, the campus's one and one half million square feet had to be groomed. Twenty-five full-time grounds workers have been working on that process since February, says Bernard K. Keohan, superintendent of grounds. As soon as the frost was gone, the workers planted flowers and grass, pruned the trees, and re-paved the walkways.

Once the grass was green, the 55 tents arrived. Then came the 6700 rented chairs and 4400 tables, followed by the 20 students who were hired to set them up.

Keeping the grounds in shape during Commencement will require the services of 24 additional student and casual workers, Keohan says.

But that takes care of the outside ceremonies. Before the 3000 alumni and families arrived, their 2500 Yard, River, and Quad "hotel" rooms had to be prepared. The spring cleaning required the services of more than 350 students. The dorm crew workers used hundreds of mop heads, more than 1000 plastic bags, and over 100 gallons of degreaser, says Alan C. Edwards, supervisor of custodial services in the College area.

And then some 8700 sheets, 4400 pillowcases, and 20,000 rented towels had to arrive. In order to make the alumni feel special, the University broke out its crimson "H" insignia blankets, which it uses only once a year.

Although the Commencement celebrations last only 10 days, a full-time staff works on alumni activities throughout the academic year. The major reunions--for the classes which graduated 25, 35 and 50 years ago--take up most of the coordinators' time.

With 410 returning alums from the Class of 1937, this year's 50th reunion is the biggest ever, says Charlie N. Gregg '88-'89, housing coordinator for the major reunions. Finding rooms for this class can be difficult, organizers say, because they try to house the classmates on lower floors, and near the reunion headquarters at Winthrop House.

The Class of 1962 and their families stay in the Yard, where the younger children can be kept safe from harm, Gregg says. Alumni from the Class of '35 live at Dunster and Leverett Houses.

The job of assigning rooms to the alums is occasionally more difficult because some guests place special requests for "a river view in Eliot House," Gregg says. "We do a good job anyway," he says.

But only major reunion-goers are guaranteed on-campus housing. Everyone else is left to fend for himself.