Word: treeing
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...editorial "Decking the Dining Halls" (December 13), Ethan M. Tucker '97, chair of the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, asks, "Is a tree the best way to share Christmas with other students...
There should be, however, a few guidelines. First, all religious groups must be encouraged to go public if they so desire. The three house committees mentioned above adopted exactly this policy. Religious discrimination is paying several hundred dollars for a Christmas tree and then pleading bankruptcy when funds are requested for other religious activities. (This actually happened several years ago in Winthrop House.) If a house cannot commit to funding all celebrations, then they should refrain from sponsoring...
Second, public displays should be reflective of the goal of sharing and educating. That means limiting their scope. Though having a tree in the dining hall may be a perfectly appropriate way for Christians to share the beauty of Christmas, there is no need for evergreens to be draped over every banister leading up to the Quincy House dining hall. Anything beyond a humble, tasteful display is simply religious chest beating...
...guidelines in mind, we should fundamentally reevaluate our religious symbols. I doubt that many people actually take the goals of sharing and educating seriously. Since these are truly the only tenable reasons for having public religious displays, we owe it to ourselves to scrutinize our religious showpieces. Is a tree the best way to share Christmas with other students? Speaking as a Jew, I can tell you that the unimpressive candelabra that rests on a white tablecloth in Leverett House would not be my pick. Neither are "Mysterious Maccabees." But a Seder, the traditional Passover meal during which Jews retell...
...Harvard Alumni Association ad hoc committee that wished to honor Harvard's Confederate war dead also deserves something special. Since their proposal was tabled by the Board of Overseers, Santa will build a memorial for them in the Yard. A plaque will be placed on a suitable tree, and a rope will dangle from one of its branches to salute one of the greatest legacies of the Confederacy lynching...