Word: electioneerings
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Many current Harvard students might recognize this scene from 2008. But to students from an earlier era, these images conjure up memories of another campaign—the presidential election of 1960, when John F. Kennedy ’40 ran for president against Richard M. Nixon.
Just six days before the election, Kennedy—who served on the Crimson business board and swam on the varsity swim team during his undergraduate years—spoke via telephone connection from California to an overflowing crowd in Sanders Theater.
“Honestly, I think there was more openness to competition, even though an overwhelming number of the students as well the faculty were for John Kennedy,” Chapman said. “There was geniality about the election and a pretty serious respect for both sides...
Yet for the students who did immerse themselves in politics, the 1960 election provided plenty of drama—and in some cases catalyzed a lifetime of political involvement.
“You put that all together and there was a lot of ferment in this period,” he said. “In any case, I think much of that did center on the 1960 election.”