<p>I’ve got a harvard decal on my car and sweatshirts. Why shouldn’t I? Half the parents in the area have decals and sweatshirts. Why should I be embarrassed about Harvard.</p>
<p>I have a sticker on my car which is over ten years old (the car not the sticker!)and a little dented, the other day someone said to me “I guess all your money goes to Harvard!” Thought it was funny- I don’t think its a big deal , I have my alma-mater as well as my husbands on there too and I’ll put a sticker for my sons school when he gets in as well, tack up the car even more!!! I wear my t-shirt to the gym, why not? DocT is right everybody else wears their childrens sweatshirts and have stickers. By not doing it aren’t we implying that we think our kids school is so great and such a point of envy that we don’t want to offend? I say if you are the type to stick a school sticker on your car or wear spirit wear for your school then it should be no different for Harvard. But just my opinion.</p>
<p>As for hanging out in the summer I totally agree, we tend to schedule ourselves to death there is something to be said for hanging out and reading a good book just for fun and hanging out doing nothing. My daughter has already informed me that she has invited people here for the summer . (Although it would be nice if she would earn a little money! then maybe I could afford a new car, ha ha!)</p>
<p>On my rear window I have a Harvard decal, as well as one for my and H’s alma maters. When my other kids go to college, I plan to put their alma maters on it too. It never occurred to me that there might be a different standard for displaying the Harvard decal.</p>
<p>I have a couple Harvard T-shirts my D gave me, but I cannot bring myself to wear them. Not because they say Harvard but because I cannot bring myself to where any college shirt other than my own. It feels like a betrayal, I guess.</p>
<p>Have you all seen the t-shirts being sold by Harvard Democrats (I think thats the name), its a T-shirt with a picture of Bush making a silly face and it says “BLAME YALE”.</p>
<p>Yes EAO1227, as they say, McCain will have lost 2X to Bush, once in the 2000 campaign and once running against his policies/actions as President.</p>
<p>Well thank you, everyone - I have ordered my Harvard decal and plan to put it on my battered old mini van with 180k miles. Let them make of that what they wish!</p>
<p>Oh regarding the Yale - Harvard rivalry: what presidents graduated from Harvard?</p>
<p>Harvard: John Adams (Law), John Q. Adams (Law), George W. Bush (Business), Rutherford B. Hayes (Law), John F. Kennedy(Government), Franklin D. Roosevelt (Economics), Theodore Roosevelt (History)</p>
<p>Yale: Gerge H.W. Bush (Economics), Gerorge W. Bush (History), William J. Clinton (Law),
William H. Taft (Law).</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Soon to be number eight: Barack Obama (Law).</p>
<p>Also, I would point out that John Adams and JQ Adams became lawyers, but they attended Harvard College as undergraduates and earned Bachelors degrees. Harvard Law School didn’t exist then. Becoming a lawyer in those days was largely learned through apprenticeship.</p>
<p>Yea Harvard! Quite an illustrious list.</p>
<p>Coureur- I would point out that I did not specify Law School, only fields of study/work. But thankyou for the history of law school lesson.
And if Obama wants to add himself to the Crimson pres list, he will have to quickly find a way to connect with Joe Six-Pack and Hockey Mom, as his lead in the poll is shrinking, sadly.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>If you include Heads of Government and Heads of State for foreign countries as well, the list of Harvard graduates is even more impressive:</p>
<p>[Wapedia</a> - Wiki: List of Harvard University people](<a href=“http://wapedia.mobi/en/List_of_Harvard_University_people?t=4.#4]Wapedia”>http://wapedia.mobi/en/List_of_Harvard_University_people?t=4.#4).</p>
<p>fauve - Thanks, I knew what you meant. I just added the clarification so that casual readers of the thread wouldn’t come away thinking that J and JQ Adams had graduated from Harvard Law School instead of Harvard College.</p>
<p>I find this really interesting because my quiet kid who sort of surfaced late in the game to be elected to captain of a few academic and sports organizations explained her choice of Harvard to us as being mostly about leadership. If I understood her correctly, she said she didn’t think it would be a coddling environment. She thought it would be a testing environment and one that produces leaders. This really threw us! Didn’t even realize she was thinking about leadership that much.</p>
<p>In addition to the world leaders listed in the link, Harvard has also produced the Masako, the Crown Princess of Japan and Amadala, the Queen of Naboo.</p>
<p>;-)</p>
<p>Just wanted to report that we had the chance to visit our D last weekend for a sports event. It was so much fun! We were able to wrangle free airline tickets because it was a low volume weekend, and we stayed at the Irving House, which is a charming, quirky place. The weather was crisp, the colors were just beginning to turn, and even a little bit of rain didn’t bother us at all. We took D and her roommate to a great sushi resturant in Cambridge (that’s what she was craving.) We are planning to head back again for parents’ weekend.</p>
<p>Everywhere we looked, we saw freshed faced, and happy looking young people. My D commented that she felt that she "belonged " there, and that her friends say the same. We don’t hear that much from her—and I am sure she is having her share of adjustment anxiety, but if she is, she isn’t owning up to it. She is busy, but happily so. She opted not to come home this weekend—she didn’t want to miss anything!</p>
<p>Hope all of you are getting equally good feedback from you progeny.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While I’m a bit hesitant to plug it (because that might make it even more difficult than it already can be to get a reservation there), I’ve stayed at the Irving House several times and love it. The staff couldn’t be nicer. The free Continental breakfasts are quite good (unlike many places). The rooms are spotless. The location is great (on a quiet residential street, real close to campus and also within a short walk of such notable sites as William James’ home, E.E. Cummings’ home, etc.). They have free passes available to many area museums. And it’s very reasonably priced by Cambridge standards (especially if you opt for the “European” style rooms, with a bathroom down the hall).</p>
<p>[Irving</a> House - Home - Bed & Breakfast - Cambridge, MA](<a href=“http://www.cambridgeinns.com/irving/]Irving”>http://www.cambridgeinns.com/irving/)</p>
<p>Can some of you veterans tell me again that the Freshman Parents Weekend is worth the expense and difficulty of leaving younger siblings at home? We are just really disappointed that this isn’t scheduled for October. The Nov. 7-8 date is so close to Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>Our D seems pretty fine. She misses home and we miss her but we are in contact just about daily. And she is doing very well in all her classes. Seems to have made a good set of friends. I don’t really think she needs shoring up. We would enjoy the trip, of course, but it’s expensive and our younger one is very involved in her major EC right now. We’ve talked about just me or DH going but neither of us likes to go without the other. I think we’d just rather tough this through until DD1 flies home on Nov. 22.</p>
<p>In our daughter’s freshman year only I went to FPW for reasons much like yours. But I enjoyed it a lot. IMO the event is much more for you than for your kid. Your kid may be slightly disappointed if they are the only one in their suite or entryway who has no parents to show around, but they are probably resilient enough to get over it. Apart from the sheer entertainment value of the experience (hearing the a capella groups for example), I think the main value to FPW is seeing first hand your kid settled in his/her Harvard environment and assessing how happy and adjusted they are. And walking away with a clearer picture of their life at school. This is something you can’t get at Thanksgiving when they move back into <em>your</em> environment. </p>
<p>I think at least one of you should go if at all possible. You won’t regret it.</p>
<p>mammall, I think that it is very much worth attending Freshman Parents Weekend. I went last year, without my spouse (who was taking care of the younger siblings), and it was wonderful. First, let me say that H does a really nice job of organizing the weekend. There are all kinds of scheduled activities - from jogging, to concerts, to attending lectures, to visiting museums (free entry with your H Parent badge), to a presentation with President Faust. Of my DD’s four roomies, three of their parents attended. The only parents who did not attend were from abroad. All of us got together, including our children, for dinner at Annenberg on Saturday night. And I must say that it was a pleasure meeting the other parents, who were all really down to earth and pleasant. </p>
<p>The weekend allowed me to feel reassured that DD was doing well and to see how she was thriving in her new environment. Additionally, I was able to buy a couple of items that she needed. All-in-all, it was a very worthwhile trip. Remember that there is also a Junior Parents Weekend - but if your child is abroad during that time, you will not attend.</p>
<p>mammall - Although we would have loved to attend Freshman Parents Weekend, we did not, for the same reasons you cite. My D said it was perfectly fine that we were not there, (altho I still wonder if she was just being nice!) The deciding factor (other than the cross-country airline and hotel expense) was my friend who went to Princeton’s equivalent and said it wasn’t worth it - so crowded and she barely got to see her S. It sounds as though parents on this forum had a wonderful time, however, so maybe H does it better! :)</p>
<p>Thanks, guys. How can I not go? A year ago I didn’t dream I’d be put out dithering whether or not to attend this. Craziness!</p>
<p>Called our poor Brookline friends who we impose on far too often and booked my frequent flier flight. I’m going solo. DH, the one who would really appreciate the agenda, will stay home and continue his battle to stay employed and take DD2 to her meet that Saturday. Done.</p>