Word: pasts
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Radcliffe has undergone significant changesover the past year...
...best guess is the lyrics were changed because "thy sons" is a remnant of Harvard's exclusively male past. The lyric is not meant to constantly remind Harvard women that they have not always been full and equal members of the University. But it can. Women's reactions to the phrase "thy sons" range from complete acceptance to indifference to outrage. So why is my reaction somewhere between the first two? As a woman, I should embrace the politically correct change. After all, the Harvard that sang only of its sons is one that didn't want...
...today, 188 years later, and I love singing about Harvard's sons. I don't know exactly what it is that enables me to tacitly accept the historical connotations of the first line. I am fond of the song for its archaic language, its connection to Harvard's past; it gives the feeling that you are one in a long and honorable Harvard tradition. But what endears "Fair Harvard" to me most is that when we sing it, we do so in the company and thoughts of people who have truly made our Harvard experiences special. The song is almost...
...matter to me. I certainly wouldn't like a new Harvard song that only referred to one of the sexes. The new words make more sense--they are more inclusive and considerate. And yet, the revision of one little phrase, the attempt to apologize for or whitewash the past is, in my eyes, silly and artificial. What real harm is done by that phrase, that one word? Its greatest crime is not what it actually does, but of what it reminds...
...proud of the fact that Harvard was once all male, or that non-white males weren't always included as sons? No, I am not. There will always be elements of the past we would never want to celebrate, but it is impossible to change the reality of it. However, I am not celebrating historic injustices when I choose the old lyrics over the new ones. I am acknowledging the new Harvard, the one that considers me to be one of its sons, just as I see myself as part of its grand and glorious tradition...