Present Memories

During the class of 1972’s thirty-fifth reunion in June, about 80 people showed up for a talk and animated discussion spurred by this...



During the class of 1972’s thirty-fifth reunion in June, about 80 people showed up for a talk and animated discussion spurred by this April 1969 photograph of students gathered on the steps of University Hall. Daniel Gensler ’72, one of those pictured, had invited classmates and others in the image to consider getting together to reminisce; he reports: “I asked if there was interest in people identifying themselves or posing for another photo, but that went nowhere after someone joked about ‘a man going around taking names,’ a line from a song from the ’60s that referred to the political paranoia then. [But the original picture] helped to bring back and enliven all those memories, and their relevance.”

Most popular

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Meet Harvard’s 2026 Student Commencement Speakers

Two undergraduates and a Ph.D. candidate will address the graduating class on May 28.

The former economics concentrator brings his talent for crunching numbers to netminding.

Explore More From Current Issue

A chaotic scene in a messy room with people engaging in various activities, some cleaning.

Until the 1950s, professionals cleaned up after students in the dorms.

Singer performing on stage with a guitar, wearing a hat, and surrounded by band instruments.

Singer Elisa Smith’s whiskey-soaked voice and subversive feminism is part of the genre’s urban shift.

Massachusetts Hall at Harvard Red brick building with a large clock on top, surrounded by green trees.

With a grade inflation vote and in the courts, the University argued that it’s taking steps to change.