{"id":276074,"date":"2010-02-04T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2010-02-04T15:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/?p=35792"},"modified":"2010-02-04T10:00:11","modified_gmt":"2010-02-04T15:00:11","slug":"the-crimson%e2%80%99s-grand-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/276074","title":{"rendered":"The Crimson\u2019s Grand Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

During Grand Elections, the annual ritual for incoming members of the Harvard Crimson<\/a>\u2019s editorial board, merry participants sang, danced, and paraded around Harvard Yard. The Crimson Executive Board paid impromptu visits to the dorm rooms of the newly elected, who were barraged with requests ranging from the practical to the ridiculous: \u201cWhat\u2019s the Crimson\u2019s phone number? How are you going to call in a story if you don\u2019t know \u2014 yell it out!\u201d To this challenge, most students responded with their new mantra, \u201c5-7-6-6-5-6-5!\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside Holyoke Center, the initiates then were asked to tell their high school GPA\u2019s to passersby. As a show of humility, the new members were asked to give impromptu performances of pop songs, including \u201cHit Me Baby, One More Time\u201d by Britney Spears, and \u201cLove Story\u201d by Taylor Swift. The rites embody a physical and mental flexibility that encourages laughter and teamwork \u2014 two virtues that go a long way in any field.<\/p>\n

“The spirit of Grand Elections is Crimson community building,\u201d said Charles Wells \u201910, an executive board member. \u201cBy singling out our new writers as Crimson editors, we’re instilling in them the idea that they are part of a very special community of talented and dedicated writers.”<\/p>\n

“When I was walking to class past the Holyoke Center this morning, I\u00a0never imagined I would be dancing like a fool in front of it tonight,\u201d said Alice Underwood \u201911. \u00a0\u201cI mean, what other newspaper asks you to dance and sing as\u00a0part of the process of becoming a writer?”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Putting<\/p>\n
\n

Putting on their party hats<\/p>\n

New writers for The Harvard Crimson, while donning hats made of newspaper, are initiated outside Wadsworth House.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"'Write'<\/p>\n
\n

‘Write’ of passage<\/p>\n

New Crimson writer Julia Ryan ’13 can’t hide from onlookers as she stands in front of the Holyoke Center.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"From<\/p>\n
\n

From Conga lines to bylines<\/p>\n

During the initiation, the new writers groove their way down Massachusetts Avenue.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"So<\/p>\n
\n

So you think you can dance?<\/p>\n

New writers Gautam Kumar ’13 and Alice Underwood ’11 dance off while the rest of the Crimson neophytes circle around and watch.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Crossing<\/p>\n
\n

Crossing over to ‘The Crimson’ side<\/p>\n

Nathan Strauss ’09 (left, wearing tie) and Charles Joseph Wells ’10 engage their new members in the initiation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"More<\/p>\n
\n

More after the jump<\/p>\n

Freshman writers Tara Merrigan (left) and Stephanie Garlock leap from one chess table to another during the initiation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Photo slideshow:<\/span> Crimson Ritual<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Kris Snibbe\/Harvard Staff Photographer<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During Grand Elections, the annual ritual for incoming members of the Harvard Crimson\u2019s editorial board, merry participants sang, danced, and paraded around Harvard Yard. The Crimson Executive Board paid impromptu visits to the dorm rooms of the newly elected, who were barraged with requests ranging from the practical to the ridiculous: \u201cWhat\u2019s the Crimson\u2019s phone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-276074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276074\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}