"The Fly Club was almost an extension of AdamsHouse back then in a way. There were lots ofdifferent types of people in it from all over theworld. It was a real discussion club," saysCameron, a fellow member of the Fly Club.

The Calm Before the Storm

Although the late 1960's and early 1970'sproduced a wave of radical protests at theCollege, members of the Class of '66 say Harvardwas relatively calm while they were on campus.

The nationwide "counter-culture" that developedin response to the escalation of the Vietnam Waremerged at Harvard soon after the class of '66 hadgraduated. During the mid-sixties, many studentswere becoming increasingly concerned about theuncertainty of their draft status.

"In June '66, we smoked cigarettes and drankbooze, but there was no marijuana, no long hairand no protests," says Adams, who is currently thestate's revenue commissioner. "The campusatmosphere was pretty uniform over the four years.It was the calm before the storm. '62 to '66 waslike '48 to '52 and probably not that differentfrom '35 to '40. The class of '66 was the last ofthe `old days.'"

There were fewer opportunities to bepolitically active or socially rebellious between1962 and 1966 than there were in the late 1960's,former students say.

"Weld did not participate in the`counter-culture,' but he did like rock music alot," Adams says. "However, it wasn't until thespring of the '66...that we first became aware ofpsychedelic drugs. They then slowly began to creepinto our discussion."

But even during calmer times at the College,Adams House had its share of radical activists,former students say.

"A friend of ours in the House was aself-styled Bolshevik--the big beard, the Sovietcap and the bright red scarf. He didn't knowwhether he was Lenin or Trotsky. He even boycottedbathing for six weeks to make a politicalstatement," Brooks recalls. "He walked into ourroom and said...`You two will be condemned by theRevolution...'He then pulled out a gun, aimed itat my head and pulled the trigger...It must havebeen a cap gun or a starter's pistol. Bill justkind of chuckled and shrugged it off."

A Quiet But Exigent Roommate

Weld's roommates and friends say that as anundergraduate the governor was easygoing andfriendly, although he did have his idiosyncrasies.

"He had a difference of opinion over how peoplepronounce things, like he hated when people usedto say car-a-mel instead of carmel," Brooks says.

Weld's next-door neighbor David Marsten '66remembers that the future governor liked to studyin peace and frequently complained about loudmusic coming from Marsten's room.

"Practically every other evening, he wouldpolitely come to my door and ask me to lower thevolume of my [Richard] Wagner and other greatoperas so that he could read his Cicero," Marstensays.

Brooks says that since Weld used to go to bed"fairly early" and wake up "fairly early," Brooksrelied on Weld to wake him up in the morning.