Letter from Artemas Ward to Benjamin Stone, 1787 July 18

Artemas Ward wrote this letter to Benjamin Stone on July 18, 1787, expressing his concern about the expense of his son, Henry Dana Ward's, imminent studies at Harvard. Ward complains to Stone about his own debts and the failure of the government to honor their financial obligations to him, and he also expresses hope that the President of Harvard will allow his son to spend part of his time "keeping a school" during his freshman and sophomore years, thus earning an income sufficient to pay for his studies. Ward also suggests that it might be preferable that his son board with a respectable family, rather than live at the College.

Description of a College Chamber (manuscript copy), ca. 1744

This humorous, rhyming poem appears to have been co-authored by Thomas Handcock of Massachusetts and Richard Waterman of Warwick, Rhode Island. The document is also signed by Catharine Waterman. Neither of the authors attended Harvard College, and the circumstances of this poem's creation are not known. The poem suggests that they composed the poem while visiting - uninvited - the room of "honest Bob." The poem describes the contents of this college chamber, including the following items: an oak table with a broken leg; paper, a pen, and sand for writing; books, including "Scotch songs," philosophy, Euclid, a book of prayer, Tillotson, and French romances; pipes and tobacco; mugs; a broken violin; copperplate and mezzotint prints; a cat; clothes; two globes; a pair of bellows; a broom; a chamber pot; a candle in a bottle; tea; cups and saucers; a letter to Chloe, to whom the room's inhabitant apparently owed money; a powder horn; a fishing net; a rusty gun; a battledore; a shuttlecock; a cannister; a pair of shoes; and a coffee mill. The poem references events related to the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748); British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon's siege of Portobello (in present-day Panama) in 1739; the "Rushian War" (perhaps the Russo-Swedish War of 1741-1743); and the War of Jenkins' Ear (the cat in the college chamber, like British Captain Robert Jenkins, has lost an ear).

Settlement of chambers, 1741-1764

The book is comprised of folio-sized pages conserved in a modern soft-cover binding. The volume consists of yearly handwritten lists of dormitory room assignments for the years 1741-1753 and 1761-1764. Students are listed by last name and building names are often abbreviated as "M" for Massachusetts Hall, "S" for Stoughton Hall, and "O" for Old College or Harvard Hall. The organizational pattern varies by list, some are alphabetical, others arranged by building and room number. The lists for 1743, 1748, 1749, 1761-1764 also note students living outside of the College and their locations. The lists for 1761-1764 also include the waiters and monitors for the academic year.

District records, 1795-1855

District reports are reports on the occupants of College rooms, the condition of chambers and of other college property.

Summary of a research report on Financing of college and university student permanent housing,

Mode of access: Internet.

A collection of the most approved pieces of music from various authors: transcribed while member of Harvard University, from July 1789 to July 1793

John Pierce kept this journal while he was a student at Harvard College. It consists of manuscript musical scores with annotations indicating the occasions at which the music was performed. These occasions included commencements, public exhibitions and Dudleian lectures. A note indicates that one anthem was prepared by Samuel Holyoke at Pierce's request, to be performed at Pierce's class commencement exercises, held on July 13, 1793. Several annotations were made in May 1794, the year following Pierce's graduation. There is a table of contents on the last page.

Valedictory poem delivered in the Chapel of Harvard University on the 21 June 1796: in the presence of the President Proffers & Tutors & the four classes of understudents at the request of the class who completed their college studies on that day

Handwritten draft of the Charles P. Sumner’s valedictory poem to the Harvard class of 1796, in a 19th century hardcover binding beginning “The youth by adverse fortune forced to roam…”. The poem mentions John Russell, a member of the Class of 1796 who died in November 1795. The copy includes edits and struck-out words.

A (More) Livable Community: Community, Cooperative Economics, and Resistance At A Student Housing Cooperative In College Park

Radical thinkers and activists have put forth “building community” as a political alternative, but what does “building community” actually entail? This thesis examines how a student cohousing group in College Park builds community in a rapidly changing college town. The group was founded to help house low-income tenants in the face of increasingly unaffordable housing. I ask how the group creates organizational structures and personal relationships that give rise to alternative housing opportunities. I examine how community shapes, and is shaped by, features of cohousing such as democratic decision-making and cooperative economics. I give particular attention to tensions that occur within the cooperative due to faults in democratic decision-making, the ability to perform cooperative duties, and the demographic makeup of the cooperative. Finally, I ask what transformative features, if any, the community possesses in the face of the city’s development.