Revised Constitution Up for Vote by College This Week

Thursday and Friday, students will at last get a chance to vote on the Student Council's revised constitution, passed by them last week after a term's research and work. An affirmative vote of at least 2500 ballots is needed to put the bill into effect.

Late last spring a committee was formed to investigate a proposal to elect Sophomores to the Council. The work was continued during the summer with representatives from the Houses working under Raymond Considine 48, until Levin H. Campbell appointed a new group to study the constitution as a whole in the fall.

It is the report of this group that the Council approved last month, and that is now up before the student body. There are two main purposes to the bill, according to Edric A. Weld '46, head of the constitutional revision committee, to assure the election of good men, elected from each House after open nominations, and to establish a closer contact with the student body as a whole.

In the future, candidates for the Council will be elected after a meeting for nominations by members of his House. After election, each representative will hold "office hours" and when his House "constituents" may see him, to air their views, complaints and suggestions.

Further articles of the new constitution provide for changes in amendment procedure, membership, qualifications and duties of members. Another clause gives the Council power to cooperate with other organizations both within and outside the College. This means that Harvard could take part in joint ventures with student organizations, such as December's student conference at Chicago, without going to the College for election or representatives.

Condensations of the proposed constitution will be distributed with the ballots. The final form of the bill itself "represents" according to Weld, "a compromise between schools of thought among the committee members themselves. Some wanted the Council to be entirely an executive board for student affairs, others wanted it to perform purely legislative functions. The form now before the College represents a balance between these schools of thought."