Bil Scott doubted that any college-touring high school student would encounter multiple allusions to Harry Potter. I am much more credulous for the following reasons:
You can confirm the Middlebury allusion easily by searching their website for Quidditch. What is really sad is that there is an Intercollegiate Quidditch Association: http://www.collegequidditch.com/ Doing the Harvard search: hogwarts site:harvard.edu brings up 98 hits including the fact that JK Rowling spoke at their commencement. Doesn't seem like a stretch that Hogwarts might come up in an Admissions pitch. In a search to find evidence of a liberal arts college changing building names inspired by Harry Potter, I found that Oxford University, of all places, had done just such a thing: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/6645309/Oxford-University-changes-common-room-name-to-Harry-Potters-Gryffindor.html It is not difficult to believe any other college following Oxford's lead. I can easily imagine an Admissions counselor mentioning that a famous person such as Emma Watson was considering attending. The Cornell reference in the Quarterly magazine is confirmed here: http://ezramagazine.cornell.edu/Essentials.html and the college website that listed Cornell as being similar to Hogwarts at Applywise.com. Unlike what the author said, it wasn't only because of its location that it was named one of the top 5 most similar to Hogwarts. In addition to its location, it was also due to "physical appearance, residential community, academic rigor, extracurricular opportunities and unique traditions." Also listed was the architecture and long winters. My conclusion is that I have no reason to douhbt this story. Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 rfro...@jbu.edu ________________________________________ --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
