Day Four (7/1/11)

We woke up another day in the Doubletree hotel (our last day sadly) and ate Maggie Mee breakfast again. We were looking forward to an information session at Boston College, but Jenna and I really didn’t like it at all. The college was beautiful and medium sized, but there was a big emphasis on the Jesuit education, and it seemed like the college would be very religious. The emphasis made us both uncomfortable, and although the student panel said religion didn’t interfere with their curriculum, we knew the real story from the way they referred to their professors as “Father.”

After the information session, we really didn’t feel as if we would apply to a school like Boston College, and we thought that taking the tour would not be really helpful in influencing us in the opposite direction. Because this was the only school that we really had a negative feeling towards out of all the schools we had been to, the adults eventually agreed that it was okay to skip out on the campus tour. Instead, we drove back down to Boston for something to do.

As we drove out of the Boston College campus and into Boston, we noticed signs for the Harvard campus, and decided to walk around there instead. The campus was very green and pretty, and the buildings on campus were pretty openly spaced, though a little imposing. We wandered in on a walking tour of the campus gathered around a statue of John Harvard and decided to listen in on the guide speaking about the statue. It’s probably important to mention the statue is mounted on a plaque that states “John Harvard, 1638.” Imagine the scene…

A campus tour. CROWD, GUIDE in front. Circled around large statue of a man.

Guide: There are three lies about this statue. Anyone want to guess one of them?

Someone in the crowd: The college wasn’t founded in 1638.

Guide (extremely enthusiastic): GREAT! That’s right, the college was, indeed, actually founded in 1636. (*lists a bunch of other information about founding that I forgot*)

Guide: Now, what is the second lie?

Crowd: …. *crickets chirping*

Guide (undaunted): The college was not founded by John Harvard! It was actually established by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and John Harvard was a man who gave the colony the land to build the oldest original parts of the college.

Members of crowd murmur interestedly among themselves, a few laugh.

Guide (rhetorical question): And what is the third lie?

Guide: THIS MAN IS NOT JOHN HARVARD!

Crowd laughs uproariously.

Guide: John Harvard died at the age of 31! John Harvard was weak and sickly! This man is strong, tall, and good looking! John Harvard lived in a swamp! Do you think you would find someone like this in a swamp? NO! This man is NOT JOHN HARVARD!

Crowd: DUN DUN DUN! (dramatic chant)

So yeah, listening in on that part of the Harvard tour was pretty fun.

 The green facing a building on the Harvard Campus.

 In front of the steps of a main library at Harvard.