A Letter to the Student Council

To the Members of the Student Council:

As a result of my experience as Chairman of the Class Day Committee, I have come to feel that the present method of electing the Committee is not consistent with the work that they are called upon to do. A number of men are nominated, either by the Student Council or by petition, and seven are elected. No one has much of an idea in regard to what they are to do, and cares less. Two months later, however, the chairman begins to realize that there is something to do and looks around to see what members of his committee will be able to help him. Usually the majority are occupied with athletics, and the chairman is lucky if he has two men who are free from other responsibilities.

The whole thing depends upon what sort of a committee the chairman has to help him. Under the present system, all the responsibility rests with him, and his assistants are often inclined to be lax and indifferent. Often it is almost as much trouble to see that they are doing their work properly as it would be for him to do it himself. Of course this varies with the various committees, but the average Senior has no idea of what he is electing these seven men for, and so they usually choose men who are tied up with athletics during the spring. Thus the majority of the work falls upon the shoulders of one man, who as a result gets very litle pleasure out of that period which should be the best of his college career.

It seems to me that the work of the committee could be done more easily, more efficiently, and with more responsibility on the other members if the following method of election was employed: Let the marshals and other class officers confer with the nominating committee of the Student Council, and appoint four men who are reasonably business-like and efficient, and who also are not busy with any extensive outside activities during the spring. These men would be the Chairman, the Treasurer, the Spread Manager, and the Yard Man. Of course there are many other ways of appointing or electing these men, but they should be the type of man that I have mentioned above. If it is desired to honor men who are more popular or more prominent in athletics, this could easily be done by enlarging the Class Committee from two to seven.

If these men are given to understand that they are responsible for the carrying out of the work coming under their departments, the desired distribution of responsibility will be obtained The chairman will be relieved of a great deal of work and worry, and things will run much more smoothly. In my report which I am handing on to the next chairman, I have given in detail just what work would come under each department. Of course the chairman will have final say in everything, and the other members should consult him in regard to their more important moves.

I think this would be a much more satisfactory way of running Class Day, and sincerely hope that the Student Council will consider this matter carefully. If there is any way in which I can assist or explain things to you, do not hesitate to call upon me. C. A. CLARK JR. '19.   October 7, 1919.

This letter, written over a year ago, has never been presented to the Student Council for recommendation and was only recently found among some papers at the Crimson Building.