Today, a similar dynasty is developing inLeverett House. A lowly fifth place back in 1942,the Leverett Rabbits recently have picked up theCup for three of the last four years.

Harvard sports have changed in other ways aswell. The Crimson no longer regularly has footballplayers named to the All-America list, and tacklefootball has been dropped as an intramural sportat both Harvard and Yale due to lack of interest.Sports rarely make the front page of The Crimsonanymore. They now cover the entire back page, butthe emphasis is somewhat muted.

Still, some changes are for the better.

The end of World War II meant the end ofcompulsory calisthenics and athleticparticipation, and I for one am grateful that theCollege no longer requires students to cross theCharles River for mandatory physical training orpass the dreaded 50-yard swim test.

But while compulsory athletics are largely athing of the past, an increasing number of schoolsand conferences, as well as the NCAA, are adoptingstricter admission and participationqualifications for those who do compete. Suddenly,the phrase "student-athlete" is no longer acontradiction in terms.

Of course, at Harvard athletes have always beenrequired to perform in the classroom as well as onthe field. Even with the strictest of academicstandards, Harvard athletics are extremelycompetitive both in the Ivy League and on thenational level.

Our crew and squash teams are perennial powers,women's lacrosse and men's hockey both won NCAAtitles in the last four years, and tennis andfield hockey are on the verge of being contendersfor a national title.

Professionalism has infected sports at mostschools, but Harvard and the rest of the IvyLeague have done their best to maintain the samelevel of amateurism that existed in 1942--whilesimultaneously continuing to win against teamsthat have gone "big time."

This is a tradition in which we can all takepride