{shortcode-642526b5f9f275ef615b27392af5a01843199334}The Crimson archive is a treasure trove chock full of fascinating articles. Since 1873, this newspaper has been reporting on events and issues that range from tremendously important to slightly bemusing. Let us go back in time and dig up some gems, shall we?

1911: “Hard Practice for 1915”

Just as it is today, Harvard football players were passionate about their sport more than a hundred years ago. This article is a synopsis of a football scrimmage in which “the Freshman football squad was given strenuous work.” Why was a freshman football practice reported on by the Crimson in 1911? Although the reason is wildly unclear, this article does provide some interesting insight into how athletic practices were run back in the day.

1940: “Folies Beauty Will Choose Mr. Harvard of 1940 Today”

This article publicizes some sort of beauty contest for Harvard men: “At the Pi Eta Club Andree Lorraine, alias Miss Paris, will watch undergraduate gentlemen strut about on a raised platform and pirouette slowly for the newsreels. She will measure shoulders, hips, and such with a tape.” Fashion shows and modeling were not reserved solely for women. Then comes the hard-hitting quote from Lorraine: “‘I zeemply adore Harvard men...I am glad to get away from those horrid Yale persons.’” Boom.

1965: “Harvard Applications Rise By 19% in ‘College Panic’”

In 1965, “Some members of the Admission and Scholarship Committee expect the final number of applicants for the class of ‘69 to total 6600--15 per cent higher than the number for the class of ‘68.” The Dean of Admissions and Financial Aids, Fred L. Glimp ‘50, was confident of the committee’s ability to review applications in a comprehensive manner despite the high number of applicants. Compared to this past year’s statistics in which 37,305 people applied to the Harvard College, this ‘College Panic’ seems minor in retrospect, but it’s important to keep in mind the historical context. Glimp also predicted that “the size of the freshman class cannot significantly increase until the tenth house is built, and possibly not even then.” Today, there are 17 freshman dorms and 1,665 students living in them compared to 9 freshman dorms inhabited by 1,201 students in 1964. Oh, how the times have changed.