All in the Name: Hahvahd Tours

Two enterprising Harvard College undergrads, Jordan C. Jones ’07 and Daniel A. Schofield-Bodt ’07, started their own tour of the centuries-old institution. The tours began when the students learned that the official Harvard tour of the university's campus would be on hiatus for most of the month of June. They launch the hour-plus long tour from the Harvard Square information kiosk and guide interested tourists through campus and ask for tips as payment at the end of the tour. The tour is reported to portray a positive message about Harvard University – but may give you a couple of tidbits you might not find on the traditional guided tour (e.g. rubbing John Harvard's toe might be good luck, but upperclassmen pee on it regularly.)

The Harvard Crimson reports that there's been a bit of a scuffle over the tour between the guides and the University administration. Student businesses must pass muster with an established bureaucracy before they're sanctioned by the University, otherwise they're not allowed to be in business. Looking to maintain the non-profit status of the institution concerns were expressed with the "appearance" of the tours presence. Specific mention was made of their website HarvardTour.com – the phrases Harvard and dot com together, when not in relation to the independent Harvard Bookstore, are troubling to the University. Jones and Schofield-Bodt didn't think they'd violated any policy. In fact they'd found a little loophole in the policy which allowed them to operate. They've come to an agreement with the administration that allows them to operate their thrice-daily tours of campus, they'll just make sure to always refer to it as the "Unofficial Hahvahd Tour" from now on. Come fall when classes resume they may be forced to go through the approval process if they are to continue running the tour.