Pudding Scandal
When Suzanne M. Pomey ’02 and Randy J. Gomes ’02 were indicted for grand larceny for allegedly stealing over $90,000 from the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, much of the campus (and many of The Crimson’s editorial columnists) couldn’t help but speculate and gossip about the scandal. Prosecutors charge the pair with using the stolen funds to finance “lavish lifestyles” and Gomes’ expensive drug habit. Rumors about past extravagances and transgressions—like Pomey’s open-bar 21st birthday bash, financed by Gomes, or Pomey’s less than honest behavior as business manager of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals and a leader in women’s social organizations—became breakfast-table reading material and dinnertime conversation fodder for students who hadn’t even known what the pair looked like until the picture of their arraignment appeared on the front page of The Crimson. Gomes and Pomey pled not guilty to the charges and will likely face trial later this year.
Changes in the Square
Good Will Hunting reminded us that the Class of 2002 had arrived after the demise of the Square’s famed hamburger eatery, The Tastee. But soon The Bow and Arrow and even the Baskin Robbins that appeared in the movie disappeared. The past four years also saw the demise of that favorite first-year hangout, the Crimson Sports Grille, yuppie Grafton Street, and the pan-Asian restaurant Ma Soba. In the mean time, the Square has witnessed the arrival of Abercrombie & Fitch, Pacific Sunwear, Daedalus and Peet’s Coffee House. Soon Harvard Square will see the phoenix-like reappearance of Grafton Street, but not, unfortunately, before graduation.
BJ the Infamous Stowaway
In November 1999, B.J. Averell ’02-’03 found himself the unfortunate victim of the nightmare that is Thanksgiving travel. Denied his seat on his Delta flight to Philadelphia in favor of a standby passenger, Averell snuck onto the plane and hid in the bathroom. Unluckily for him, a passenger spotted him and reported him to the flight crew. Arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct, Averell pled not guilty and the charges against him were eventually dropped. The incident attracted national media coverage and made Averell a campus celebrity. Averell would maintain his high-profile, running an unsuccessful and violation-ridden campaign for the Undergraduate Council presidency, performing in the Hasty Pudding Theatricals show, and, with B.J. Novak ’01, bringing Bob Saget to Harvard for the second of their two “B.J. Shows.”