Manning the Helm of TigerNet discussions

Anyone who has subscribed to a TigerNet discussion group has probably heard of Harold Helm '68. It's natural to wonder why this infamous alumnus constantly bombards inboxes with verbose missives. The mystery ends here.

Helm was exactly what I expected him to be. Between the time I emailed him about the article and the phone interview, I received four enthusiastic emails, including biographical information and a picture. Since the interview, I have received several more.

"I enjoy Tigernet," he said in one email. "The students, professors, administrators, townspeople and alumni have been a source of continuing education, humor and interaction."

Not all of the alumni, however, feel the same about him.

"Harold Helm is, in general, very far left and in many of the alumni email lists, he sends what amounts [to] spam, full of URLs to crazy websites and articles," Marta Richards '73 said in an email about Helm's involvement in the Hurricane Katrina group. "Many, many people restrict their email to exclude his posts."

She was quick to mention that he was very nice and supportive during the Louisiana crisis, however.

"He is very earnest in his beliefs and very concerned as he showed by his interest in Katrina," Richards added.

Reached by phone at his home in Houston, Helm was excited to discuss his political causes and almost anything else, often stopping to make sure I still wanted to listen.

"Am I droning on too much? Us old fogies tend to do that," Helm said repeatedly.

As an undergrad at the University, he concentrated in statistics and psychology, following a program similar to what is now operations research and financial engineering. He also pursued his love for science in the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab.

"Einstein is my all-time favorite person, other than my wife," Helm said.

He remembers friends who started million-dollar companies their freshman year, as well as those who just liked to go to debutante balls. Helm reminisced about days at Cottage and Terrace Clubs, but noted that he went independent at the same time as Bill Bradley '65 amid controversy over exclusivity and social stratification on the Street.

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"The social consciousness was spreading that we needed to be a little more friendly to all classes," Helm explained.

Helm, a member of Princeton's last all-male class, also recalls the days without women on campus. Back then, students had to sneak girlfriends out of their rooms if their date continued past the proctor-enforced midnight curfew.

Helm's social circle is filled with political figures that he met during his days at Princeton, from the heads of the CIA and FBI to the chair of Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign.

"At Princeton, my classmates and roommates were sons of senators and presidents of countries," he said. "You get to know people from being in the Ivy League."

Helm's family is also friends with their neighbors, the Bushes. He recalled congratulating Barbara Bush on her granddaughter's acceptance to the University.

"Barbara told me that I was mistaken. Lauren had decided to go to a real quality school, Notre Dame," Helm said. "My jaw hit the floor, and she said, 'I got you, Harold!' "

His education and University connections allowed Helm to go on to receive degrees in law, medicine, theology, medical ethics and management. He has also worked as a computer expert and IT consultant to IBM, Boeing, the Pentagon and Russia's State Committee on Science and Technology.

Helm strongly identifies with his Cherokee Native American ancestry, but he has explored many other cultures. He has traveled the world as a chaplain, missionary and tourist and speaks several languages, including Hebrew, Celtic, Cherokee and Farsi. Despite his achievements, Helm remains a modest renaissance man.

"My sermons were okay, but what really attracted people was how I butchered the German language," he said. "I learn the languages, and then I forget them."

Helm not only emails University students and alums, he also interviews Houston applicants for the Admission Office.

"My favorite question to ask at an interview is, "What questions should I be asking you?' " he said.

Helm's avid involvement in the University community may be due in part to his place in a long line of Princeton men. One of his more notable relatives was Harold Helm '20, Princeton's first Annual Giving chair and a charter trustee. A service award named in the elder Helm's honor is annually given out on Alumni Day, and the official name of McCosh 50 — Harold Helm Auditorium — also evokes his memory.

"Helms seem to like Princeton a lot," he said.