Students in the yard are accustomed to all type of noise. They grudgingly acknowledge (and sometimes attend) the numerous a Capella performances, impromptu jam sessions, and other raucous events that happen at all hours of the day and night. However, students and tourists alike were surprised to hear the unmistakable sound of bagpipes this afternoon coming from Memorial Church. The reason: a memorial service for Brendan A. Maher, an Emeritus professor of the Psychology of Personality. The result: many of Maher’s friends, colleagues, and family attended a touching memorial service which ended with a spectacular bagpipes display while nearby students locked themselves inside despite the beautiful weather to escape the noise.

"Can you speak a little louder?"

Tourists are a part of the Harvard experience. Freshmen hoping to sleep in on a weekday morning have their plans foiled by tour groups led by guys carrying umbrellas, wearing bright hats, or “Havhahd” shirts. We become accustomed to giving directions to Memorial Church, the Science Center, and Annenberg. And so, in true Noice fashion, we have embarked on a weekly photoblog, Tourist of the Week, to document the tourists’ crazy shenanigans (posing with a fire hydrant or with the latest fliers near Lamont).

This week, we bring you one of the biggest and oldest groups of tourists we’ve seen in a long time. Maybe the tour guide is asking if any of them remember when John Harvard donated books to the college?

So, if you see a tourist do something hilarious, crazy, or just plain stupid, tell us about it. Take a picture and send it in at thehvoicemail@gmail.com. We might just include it in our next installment of Tourist of the Week.