You'd Think Hell Froze Over at Harvard

The rumor mill is working overtime about Harvard's next president. And it doesn't look like the Lampoon is behind the latest rumors, although it would be pretty entertaining if it were.

If the rumors are true, Drew Gilpin Faust, who teaches in the history department and who is dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, will be taking the job.

IvyGateBlog is already having a ball with mock headlines, such as "TRUSTEES CONFUSED BY FEMALE ACADEMICS' CELEBRATION; THOUGHT 'DREW' PERSON WAS MAN." They also posted an image of balloons announcing, "It's a girl!"

The Crimson's front page screams, "IT'S FAUST!" If you don't know who "FAUST" is, or if you aren't familiar with the Harvard presidency drama, or if you aren't familiar with Harvard's tendency to dramatize everything, then you might think that Goethe's famed character – or, more accurately, Mephistopheles - had descended upon campus to wreak havoc.

Of course, in an ideal universe, people wouldn't be making such a huge fuss over the fact that Harvard's next president might not have a penis. There are plenty of qualified people – and plenty of qualified women - who can handle the job. But Larry Summers started it by opening his trap and letting his unfiltered thoughts fly out.

Melodramatic headline screengrabbed from the Crimson's home page.