Beaming mothers sifted through their children's acceptance packets on April 1, and for the first time in over a decade, the acceptance certificate--the one that's suitable for framing--was not among the papers and forms. This absence marked the end of a much-beloved tradition. This year, no pre-frosh will have to struggle with the eternal question: to frame or not to frame?
Sterling P. A. Darling III '01 shrugged off nay sayers and did more than simply frame his certificate within a month of receiving it. His freshman year he brought it to Harvard and placed it right over his desk. "I just did it. When you get the admissions packet from Harvard, that's a tangible result." Darling doesn't understand why his fellow classmates did not do the same thing. "Most people once they arrive at Harvard lose the excitement," he says. Still, Darling notes that people did not react badly to his decorating technique. "I think one person [commented]. He said, 'Oh. You framed it.'" This year, the sophomore left the document at home, "in a folder with other certificates from high school." Darling laments the admissions office's decision to omit the piece of paper from this year's packets. "I'm surprised to see Harvard leave behind one of its traditions," he mourns.
Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis '70-'73, who says this is the first year she has been at Harvard that they have not sent out the certificate, claims the "emblematic congratulatory sign" was not eliminated this year for any particular reason. "We change things all of the time. It competes for space in that envelope, and it is a heavy piece of paper." So instead of reordering the certificates, like they usually do every three years, the admissions office decided to save their money. Lewis also admits that the office has received some flack for the items in the past. "A lot of people have said, 'This is tacky. You don't need to do it.'" In fact, Lewis believes that students who decide not to enroll at Harvard get more use out of the certificates than anybody. Where does she think most of the framed acceptance announcements are? "Probably the halls of dormitories at Yale."
Yale sophomore Joshua F. Gruenspecht agrees that framing Harvard acceptances is the kind of thing people do in New Haven---he even came close to doing it himself, but eventually decided not to waste the money or the wall space. "The letter I got [from Harvard] said, 'Congratulations, you got into Harvard. La da da da da. Here is a certificate you can put in a scrapbook or frame.' I thought, 'Boy that's arrogant.'"
