Word: comps
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...once I got here, I found that the comp was the best part of Harvard life. The socalled "comp" etition was virtually nonexistent. If you want to join some organization and put in a little bit of time, then you almost always get into them (unless you try for some twisted, elitist, social clubs like the often unfunny Lampoon). You get to bum around doing whatever you like with minimal responsibility. No ruthless cuts. Harsh, extracurricular competition is one of the bigger myths at this place (beating out such whoppers as sex at Widener Library and oppressive political correctness...
...never know what you might gain from a comp--or one of the inevitable, pointless introductory meetings which precede each comp. These meetings are, on the surface, little more than a chance to put your name down on another list. But Masters of Introductory Meetings, who often become Kings of the Comp, find ways to get something out of these gatherings...
...have disagreed with the theory that the comp is the ultimate vehicle for making the most of opportunities in Harvard life. "It's the classes that are really stimulating," one said. "I meet so many people at parties!" said another. But these misguided souls graduated several years...
...about friends and roommates and even a few classes which I might have liked, But that's not what I'll re member. I'll look back at my first year at Harvard as a time when I bounced around, dodged commitment and avoided responsibility --becoming King of the Comp in the process...
...though, and I would have ended up as the Perpetual Other if I hadn't made a conscious effort not to. I lived in off-campus overflow housing for a few months and couldn't move into the dorm system until the beginning of junior year. I roamed from comp to comp before winding up as design editor at The Crimson. Even now, most of the people I know at Harvard are Crimson editors, gov jocks, ec nerds, Russophiles or transfers...