The Student Council Elections

(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions at the request of the writer will names be withheld.)

To the Editor of the CRIMSON:

There seem to be three main criticisms of the recent Student Council elections which call for some defense or at least clarification. They are first that the ballots contained no place for signatures, second, that the Junior ballots did not contain the names of the present members of the Student Council, and finally, that the lists in general were not representative of every type or group.

The first criticism is, for the most part, just, and was an unfortunate oversight. However, so little interest is taken in elections in general at Harvard that I believe that very few would even try to "stuff the ballot boxes", and a good many signed their ballots regardless.

In regard to the second matter, it was a grave mistake on the part of the Crimson Printing Company and not on the part of the Council Nominating Committee. However, only about three of the five members usually find themselves on the Council for the next year, and since there are three vacancies yet to be filled, I sincerely believe that the final makeup of the Council will be practically the same, though I will admit that the method looks a bit round about and is unusual.

The final criticism is inexcusable. Such remarks on returned ballots as, "Who is the people's candidate?" "Where is the Democrat?" etc. need not have been made if such persons had taken advantage of the opportunity to nominate by petition. Such opportunity was open for almost a week and not one petition was received. The nominating committee must necessarily choose from among the class leaders, and its efforts must be towards representing such things as athletics, managerial staffs, publications, and other activities, from among such leaders. If someone of ability whose name is not quite so well known is not to be overlooked his name must be added by petition. It is a shame that more names were not added in this way, since it shows lack of interest, and at the same time a desire to grumble. Let us hope for smoother elections in the future with more "people's candidates" added by petition and less criticism levied upon those in charge, in this last respect at least. W.R. Harper,   Pres of Student Council.

(Ed. Note: The Crimson Printing Company referred to in this letter and also in the editorial is in no way connected with the Harvard CRIMSON.)