Last June there came from the Department of Athletics the announcement of a rather major change in Harvard athletic policy: Beginning with the current academic year, lacrosse and golf will be dropped from the ranks of "regular team sports."

Specifically, this means that "the College will continue to provide coaching and fields for lacrosse and coaching for golf, and students may still receive insignia in these sports, but initiative in organizing teams and schedules must now come from the students rather than the Athletic Department. The College will not pay for trips or any new equipment."

Lacrossemen Angered

Because this announcement came at a time when most undergraduates had already left Cambridge for the summer, it did not receive the initial attention that might otherwise be expected for a decision of such import. However, angry lacrossemen have had three months to fume about the matter and have returned to college this fall with their sticks raised, ready to do battle for their sport.

The repercussions of this policy-change are only just beginning to be felt. It seems worthwhile, then, to probe more deeply into the situation which made such a step necessary; and to consider ways and means of averting the most regrettable of its effects....

It is only a dozen years or so since Harvard athletics ceased to be self-supporting. Since that time, however, operating costs have risen so sharply (while income remained roughly the same) that the Department of Athletics has had to ask for increasingly large amounts of funds from the University.

Last spring the Administration decided that enough was enough. The Department submitted a projected 1958-59 budget requesting $120,000 more than the total appropriation for last year. The administration, however, decided that only a raise of $20,000 was feasible. The Athletic Department was forced to make economics somewhere; and, as it worked out, the axe fell most heavily on lacrosse and golf.

It should be remarked, however, that economy cuts were made throughout the budget; all sports were affected to a greater or lesser degree.

Why Lacrosse and Golf?

One cannot be completely sure just why lacrosse and golf were singled out for especially harsh treatment.

For some years, there have been reports that local lacrossemen and golfers train on liquor and late dates. Perhaps these reports are totally unfounded. But they may well have reached the ears of the men who decide Harvard athletic policy thus become involved in the recent "economy steps." Such, at least, is the current Dillon Field House scuttlebutt.

However this may be, there is no one who does not regard the new situation as regrettable. Athletic Director Tom Bolles has been the target of some unfair blame in this connection in local "jock" circles. Bolles is as sorry as anyone about things; but he has simply had to find some way of getting along with less money.

Admission Problem

If anything, the issue should be taken up with the Administration, rather than the Athletic Department.

A fairly strong case might be presented. In these days of high-pressure athletics, lacrosse and golf are refreshingly low-pressure. The men who play these sports do purely for fun--there are no rewards here in terms of headlines, scholarships, or popular acclaim.