Speeding Back From Yale

Last Tuesday was but one thing for the average Harvard student: hectic. We were a sad, torn student body. We yearned to savor our final hours of academic freedom until the very end of our intersession break. But the sub-zero temperatures and brutal wind chill factors kept us from enjoying what could have been a delightful New England February day. And how could we really enjoy the last day of our vacation when it meant the inevitable trek back to campus?

This journey back to Harvard Square, of course, was slightly complicated by this week's weather conditions. It didn't matter where we we had traveled to--be it New Hampshire or New Zealand--to forget our final exams and term papers of yester-semester, getting back to the Square was nothing but a supreme hassle. Cars and buses skidded on the slick roads. Panes circled airport terminals. But for some lucky travelers, the House has slipped up and the cards were on their side.

Amtrack was clearly looking out for the late-January travelers with their release of the newer, sleeker and faster Acela train. Apparently it should have taken more than three hours to travel from New Haven, the location of that inferior bulldog-crazed psuedo-university, to Boston's South Station train station. But the ride was barely longer than two hours! The other Harvard students (who had also been sucked into that embarrassment of a college and pathetic excuse of a "town") on the Acela train rejoiced at the speed with which they were whisked away to less hostile territory.

The speedier train between Harvard and Yale might, in fact, accomplish a lot more than decrease travel time; it might stir up our school spirit as well. With faster getaway rates and quicker escapes, the Acela train might just introduce a new era of competition and rivalry between the two schools. Forget channeling our energy into just the Harvard-Yale football game, we'll be out there for the fencing rounds, crew races, ballroom dancing competitions and squash matches as well.

The Acela? It stands for Accelerated Cantab-Eli Locomotion Adversary.

--Jordana R. Lewis