HSA 65th Anniversary Book

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FEBRUARY 1, 1977 –
JANUARY 31, 1978
The agency count drops to nine
FEBRUARY 1, 1978 –
JANUARY 31, 1979
HSA prepares for a
move to Harvard Yard
The number of agencies reached an all-time low of nine. A major consolidation of business operations
occurred with the genesis of Direct Sales, which enveloped Refrigerator Rental, Rings, and Leasing. All
clerical services performed by HSA rallied together beneath the banner of the new Student Power agency.
The new “super saver” airfares of major airlines grinched Travel’s Christmas charter-flight program, stealing
that bit of HSA’s business for good.
Agency mania: the new Student Power agency winced under the mighty weight of its name and shrieked SOS
(Student Office Services) for the year. Instructional Services educated students in the delicate intricacies
of disco, the subtle refreshment of jazz, and the swingin’ elegance of ballroom dancing. The privilege of
taking the Harvard Bartending Course exacted $25 and one’s sobriety. The blue Linen van barreled around
Somerville looking for wine after the Wine Appreciation Course unexpectedly ran out partway through.
PRESIDENT
John
Simon Jr.
The lease for HSA’s Holyoke St. sanctuary was to expire in 1978, prompting a search for a new subterranean
home. The serene porcelain gleam belied its role as a vomiter of filth. Although normally quite placid and
tame, the toilets of 4 Holyoke St. could back up and transform without warning into a drooling, putrid
monster capable of dribbling raw sewage from its maw. The beast emerged in 1967 when a Porcellian Club
squash ball clogged its most vital artery, the drainage pipe. They tried to banish the demon in 1973 by
installing a stop valve in the sewerage line. They failed. Periodically awakened by heavy rain, the monstrosity
flared into putrescent action for its most horrific act in August 1977. The capacity of its defective drainpipe
exceeded by the runoff from a heavy storm, the vile abomination disgorged from its craw a sea of sewage so
voluminous that the entire basement floor smothered beneath two inches of squalor. City health officials
ordered an immediate evacuation of the premises until the rank terror might be sanitized.
PRESIDENT
Michael
Cohrs
In considering new locations, HSA briefly contemplated a move to South House — all the way up in the
Quad?! — before reaching an agreement with the university to occupy a large portion of the basement
of Thayer Hall. The initial lease agreement called for payments of $800 per month until the $50,000 in
basement renovations had been paid off, with HSA only responsible afterward for the expenses incurred by
its occupancy of the space. With a new location secure, HSA prepared to leap into the Thayer years.
Let’s Go: Italy joined the posse to make a gang of four. No upstart regional guide challenged the 752-page
blue goliath of Let’s Go: Europe for pack supremacy, however. The Unofficial Guide suffered through creativity
problems in the cover department.
OFFICES
OFFICES
4 Holyoke St.
4 Holyoke St.
8 Holyoke St.
8 Holyoke St.
Let’s Go: France swore allegiance and swelled
Publishing’s ranks. With a back cover devoid
of advertisement for the first time, the noworange
Let’s Go: Europe ordered readers
to “take us along [or suffer through an
unspeakable agony of longing and desire for
the book you left behind].” The expanding
156-page Unofficial Guide posed the opening
question, “Who flew home to Kansas with a
tarantula packed in an animal crackers box?”
before suggesting that the reader “please send
all corrections, suggestions, and complaints to
the Editor. Roses, the definitive disco section,
and poison pen letters will also not be refused.”
LET’S GO TITLES
LET’S GO TITLES
• Europe • Britain & Ireland • France OTHER TITLES
• The Unofficial Guide to Life
at Harvard
• Europe
• Britain & Ireland
• France
• Italy
OTHER TITLES
• The Unofficial Guide to Life
at Harvard
AGENCIES
AGENCIES
• Linen
• Publishing
• Catering
• Travel
• Custodial
• Direct Sales
• Union News Stand
• Instructional Services
• Student Power
• Linen
• Publishing
• Catering
• Travel
• Custodial
• Direct Sales
• Student Office Services
• Union News Stand
• Instructional Services
38 HSA 65th Anniversary History Book 39