The Pot Pourri faculty advisor cut the Senior superlative “Most Likely to Appear in Playboy” from this year’s yearbook because of space constraints and concerns about its appropriateness. Although this superlative has been printed in past yearbooks, Jeanette Saraidaridis, Faculty Advisor to Pot Pourri, decided to remove the title earlier this week. Saraidaridis said, “As soon as someone asked to withdraw from the ballots, I said we should take it out. It just wasn’t appropriate.” Pot Pourri staff members cut the superlative last year due to space limitations, but the superlative ran in 2007. Alysha Sayall ’09, Editor in Chief of Pot Pourri, said, “It was not [the Pot Pourri staff’s] decision. Our faculty advisor told us to take it out. We already had too many superlatives, and because it upset people, we decided to remove it.” Saraidaridis said that she was most concerned with the lasting nature of the superlative. “I can see how it’s funny now, but in 20 years your husband looks at it and goes ‘ugh’…I mean these yearbooks are just so permanent,” she said. An anonymous Senior who was nominated for the superlative, said, “I definitely would not want to show my parents this or my kids or worse, my grand-kids.” Eva Simitch-Warke ’09, a female nominee, said, “I definitely wouldn’t be paranoid about this in my future.” William Thompson-Butler ’09, one of the top five male candidates, said, “I would be happy to tell my family.” Thompson-Butler was disappointed that Pot Pourri removed the superlative because he was “shooting for it.” Jill Kozloff ’09 laughed when she found out about her nomination. “The funniest jokes are always at someone else’s expense, and even if it is my expense, I would rather hear people laugh,” she said. Some students are concerned with appealing to prospective colleges, but according to a member of the Harvard Admissions Office, Harvard only “sees the information that the students submit.” Harvard does not research their students using electronic databases. Superlatives are accessible, however, to future employers and graduate schools. Although this category existed for both boys and girls, one student said that there was a double standard because “voting for the guys was more of a joke.” Several other seniors agreed. Kozloff said, “The female stereotype of Playboy made it more serious for the girls.” She continued, “It’s like [what Dr. Benjamin Carson the] MLK Day speaker said, ‘Everything you say, you’ll offend someone,’ and everyone knew that this joke was all in good nature.” A student said, “I feel like our superlatives are funny and reflect our liberal campus. Some are random, and ‘Most Likely to Appear in Playboy’ was funny to everyone except the girls nominated.” Kozloff said she guesses that Seniors vote for “the people they know.” “Often it just comes down to who has greater name recognition or a bigger circle of friends,” Kozloff said. Pot Pourri also chose to remove the superlatives: “Most Likely to Climb Mount Everest,” “Most Likely to Live in Your Basement” and “Most Likely to Appear in a Reality TV Show” due to space limitations.
