Class Day--like Baccalaureate and Commencement itself--is a long-established tradition. Held in the Tercentenary Theater, this day before Commencement has traditionally showcased student speakers with the Harvard and Radcliffe speeches and the humorous Ivy Oration. The Ames Award is given to the unsung heroes of the class, and together, the seniors sing the Class Ode--a unique version of "Fair Harvard" written by a senior.

The semester-long road leading up to Class Day and Commencement is also filled with tradition. Events that help the class bond during its last semester have become almost as famous among seniors as the graduation ceremony itself.

The Senior Soiree, the Senior Stumble, the Champagne Brunch, the Last Chance Dance and the Moonlight Cruise are just some events that have become unofficial traditions in their own right.

Few seniors, however, know the history or the people behind the traditions they have come to expect as Commencement approaches. Even for the class marshals, who are in charge of planning class events, tradition takes a back seat to organizing social get-togethers that will promote class unity.

"I think [seniors] appreciate the tradition, but these events are just to have students get together and bond," says Harvard Class Marshal Anupam Mishra '98. "Even as marshals, we don't look at where this started from as much as how much fun we can generate."

Class Day Origins

Class Day has undergone major changes since its inception.

While similar ceremonies have been held for centuries, Class Day became formalized in the 19th century, according to University Marshal Richard M. Hunt.

Hunt describes the early Class Day as a carnival-like celebration which sometimes included circus elephants, clowns and "a good bit of drinking."

"It's more restrained now, but still a lovely forum in the Yard with the speeches and things," he says.

The format of the speeches, which includes those given by members of the class, and the one given by a guest speaker, has not changed in the last 100 years, Hunt says.

But the class's choice has.

"Originally, students chose their 'most beloved' professor to give them some parting advice in what became known as the Class Day speech," says Chandler F. Arnold '98, a Harvard class marshal.

This custom changed in the late '60s as the relationship between students and the University became more antagonistic.

"They apparently cared little about any advice the administration had to give them," Arnold says.

Students in the class of 1968 decided to choose a figure from outside the University and invited civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who accepted the invitation.

Unfortunately, King was tragically assassinated before the ceremony in June.

His widow, Coretta Scott King, spoke in his place as the first non-Harvard Class Day speaker, Arnold says.

Other more archaic Class Day traditions have been discarded along with the circus elephants and clowns in favor of ones more suited to students of the '90s.

"Evidently years, ago, the whole class--then only men--would join hands and run around the trees in the yard in sort of a jog-dance thing," Arnold says.

"Seems pretty strange, but I understand the students got quite a kick out of it."

This Class Day tradition, although no longerpracticed, fortunately was immortalized for futuregenerations in a painting by Winslow Homer called"Harvard Class Day 1858."

Despite the changes in the events held and thespeakers invited, the fundamental purpose behindClass Day remains the same, Hunt says.

"It's still to celebrate the achievements bythe class," he says.

Class Day, Class Semester?

Class Day is no longer the only day tocelebrate class unity; class events now begin atthe start of spring semester and continue untilCommencement. The final week before Commencementis particularly full--with events such as the LastChance Dance, the Moonlight Cruise, the SeniorTalent Show and the Senior Picnic.

Until the 1970s, the duties of the classmarshals were relatively singular: to plan ClassDay. But according to Diane Jellis, associatedirector for classes and reunions at the AlumniAssociation (HAA), Harvard soon felt that moremoney was needed for reunions, and so the classmarshals were charged with expanding the number ofclass events to the dozens that exist now.

Many of the events that originated in the pastfew years were planned for fundraising purposes,Jellis says.

"I thought they could sit down and talk to me,that we could talk about how we could make money,"Jellis says. One of the first fundraisers themarshals sponsored was the Moonlight Cruise.

The long list of senior events planned thisyear is, in large part, the accumulation of theideas of successive class marshals.

"They made $250 [from the first Cruise], andover the years, they've added more events like thetalent show, the Last Chance Dance and theStumble," Jellis says.

According to Jellis, the Champagne Brunch beganeight to 10 years ago as an effort by the HAA toenable seniors to get to know the organizationbetter before they graduated.

"The first year, an invitation was sent out tohave wine and cheese parties at every House,"Jellis says.

Now the Champagne Brunch has evolved into aclass trip to Annenberg Hall, the dining hall forall first-years.

Jellis, who has been at Harvard for over 30years, says she does not consider many of thesenewly-organized events to be traditions.

"They are evolving. They are notinstitutionalized," she says. "The Cruise isdefinitely a tradition and things like thesweatshirt sale are becoming traditions--inexistence for 10 to 12 years--but the Stumble andthe talent show--I wouldn't mind if they weredropped," Jellis says.

Although many of the events like the ChampagneBrunch are essentially the same from year to year,class marshals make modifications to fit thepersonality of their class. This year includedseveral new events.

One event unique to the class of 1998 was the"Kickoff at the Kong,"--a celebration at the HongKong, the popular Chinese restaurant in theSquare, on the 98th day before graduation--whichmarked the beginning of a long chain of events forthis year's seniors.

Other events were held on that day, Feb. 26, tohelp generate class spirit. "We set up a tableoutside of Widener and gave away t-shirts," Mishrasays.

Another event new to this class is "The RealClass of 1998," a play produced by a blockinggroup of seniors in Leverett House. Originally puton their first year, all five performances of theshow--held in the Leverett Old Library--sold outthis year.

For and Against Tradition

But for some seniors, following in the samewobbly footsteps of seniors from years past in theSenior Stumble or other events is not as importantas spending time on their own with close friends.

"There are a lot of other `institutions' atHarvard whose histories are much more meaningfulthan the Booze [Moonlight] Cruise," says David M.Marcus '98.

"It's hard to comprehend leaving [my friends]basically forever in two weeks after four yearstogether, and so I want to maximize my time withthem," Marcus says.

"We've been hanging out more and more thissemester, a trend that reflects our growingwistfulness at our imminent departure," he says.

But others like G. Stuart Mendenhall '98believe traditions help to tie friends togetherand create class spirit.

"I'm in favor of having a multitude of plannedevents to choose from. After all, they are alloptional, and without these, it would be much moredifficult to coordinate activities with friends,"Mendenhall says. "These activities encourageseniors to stay in the area and promotecohesiveness of the group."

Hunt agrees, nothing that in the past, manyseniors chose not to return for their graduationceremonies.

As the number and elaborateness of events hasincreased, "more students realize that it is aonce-in-a-lifetime event," he says.

Most agree that when it comes down to theofficial graduation ceremony, pomp, circumstanceand tradition makes the event much moremeaningful.

Marcus has one source for his interest in thehistory of Commencements--one day in a WesternEuropean History class.

"[Goelet Professor of French History] PatriceHigonnet pointed out the window and said, `GeneralGeorge Marshall announced the plan about 100 feetfrom here in June of 1947,'" Marcus says.

"Since then, Commencement has had aninteresting significance in my mind. Last year'sceremony was especially interesting, being the50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan," he says.

Arnold also believes that tradition and theceremony's history are an inseparable part ofCommencement.

"I think people definitely feel an associationof tradition with Commencement--things like thespeeches, they've been doing for years. TheHarvard Commencement Office calls it `America'soldest ceremony,'" he says.

Whether or not the history behind thesetraditions is known or even appreciated, the longstring of events leading up to that final walkacross the Yard, Mendenhall says, is anopportunity to celebrate after four long years ofstudy.

"They represent our entry into a new phase ofour lives," he says. "In the larger scope, manyHarvard activities center on tradition to honoradmirable individuals that have gone throughbefore us."CrimsonPaul S. GutmanSeniors swarm to the Sleep-Out