A soul-searching examination is now going on in Newell Boathouse, one in which the examines are the same as the examiners, and the result of which will only be another examination.

Harvey Love and his eight varsity oarsmen plus coxswain are deciding whether to enter the Olympic try-outs which will be held on Lake Onondaga at Syracuse on June 28--30. The winner of this competition will represent the United States at the summer Olympics, which begin on November 22, at Melbourne, Australia.

During the coming week the oarsmen, under Love's watchful eye, will undergo a series of private tests on the Charles River to determine whether they feel themselves willing and capable of facing the best crews in this country. Next Thursday, when the crews leave for Red Top and begin training for the Yale race on June 16, Love and his charges will have decided.

In any other Olympic year the decision could easily be made. This year's eight has beaten all but three crews in eastern competition so far this season; it has defeated the defending Olympic champions, the Navy Admirals; in time trials last week on the Charles it was clocked a few seconds slower than the all-time river mark; and last Saturday at Princeton it rowed a race which in any other year and against almost any other crew would have made Harvard an obvious selection for the Syracuse competion.

Opposition Unprecedented

This season, however, the quality of the opposition the Crimson must overcome is unprecedented in its excellence. Cornell, which won the Eastern Sprints at Washington, is a strong, smooth outfit. Second to Cornell in the Sprints was Yale, a contingent which Love describes as an "extraordinary good crew." In addition to these two eights Harvard would race Washington and California, both first-rate western crews.

In addition to its record the varsity has other assets which will weigh heavily in the balance of its decision to compete against this competition. A Harvard eight has never before represented the United States in the Olympics, a fact which gives the oarsmen a natural desire to further the name of local oarsmanship.

Boating Changes?

Finally, and most important, coach Love, with the Elis threatening on the Thames, is doing some serious thinking about his current combination. He is in no way dissatisfied with their performance to date, but feels that every effort--even if this includes changes in personnel--should be made to being the oarsmen up to Yale and (he hopes) Olympic standards. These changes as much as anything else during the coming six days will influence the final decision.

If Harvard does enter, it must pay $100. If it competes, expenses (to be paid by the Friends of Harvard Rowing) will reach $2,000 or more. Money, however, will be an insignificant factor in an examination where the stakes are high and the odds for success are staked against the examinees.