'The Student Council and College Administration'

(This is the first of seven reports which the Student Council's "Committee for Self Evaluation" will present to the Council next week. The reports will be used by another committee this term as a guide in revising the Council's constitution.)

The function of Harvard's Student Council in its relation with the administration is to suggest changes in University policy and to criticize and advise upon innovations which the administration is considering. In the first aspect the Council goes to the administration with student grievances or possible improvements; in the second, the administration comes to the Council to discover how students will react to or be affected by proposed changes.

"Gentleman's Agreement"

A "gentleman's agreement" with the Dean's office exists which states "that no major change in educational policy or in rules and regulations of the College will be made without first consulting the Council and, seeking its advice." Actually the Council's activities have been broader than the agreement indicates, for al departments of the University have used the Council as a sounding board of student opinion, and all suggested changes originating with the Council have received the serious consideration of the faculty.

Sample Cases

To illustrate briefly how, in the past, the Council and the administration have worked upon various problems, let us cite a few examples: The Lamont Library Committee asked for advice from the Council on the construction and operation of the library in 1947-48; the scholarship office and the Committee, on Advising asked for and received reports from the Council on their fields of investigation in 1949. The G E Committee, at their request, had several student committees serving as suggesters and advisors. The "Harvard Education, 1948. The Students' View" report on the other hand originated with the Council, as did the suggestion of joint exams with Radcliffe, and the agitation for parking lots.

Recognition of new organizations has been done jointly by the Council and by a faculty committee.

How Effective?

Exactly what the effect of the advice (both requested and spontaneous) has been difficult to assess. A committee on Houses in 1931 was party responsible for the setup of the House System, and a report originating with the Council in 1932 on student finances actually led to a reduction of room rents. The advice of the advising and scholarship committees mentioned above was considered quite useful by the departments to which it was addressed, while the rules of Lamont and recent changes in them are due in large part to the Council's advice. The Education Report published last year was also considered valuable by the faculty advising committee; the suggestion of joint exams was taken, and the University cooperated with the Council in trying to establish a parking lot by the Business School. (This last project failed because of lack of interest in that particular lot by student car owners.)

Decisions on Merit

In general, only in the specific and relatively unimportant suggestions of the Council can direct, clear-cut results be seen. The adjectives "useful" and "valuable" seem like little recompense for the amount of work put into making broader, more ambitious suggestions. Yet little more can be expected. The results of the Council's recommendations must depend solely on their merit. No more can or should be asked for than that the recommendations of the Council receive careful consideration.

The desire to see direct results of one's efforts is great, as is the desire to point to these results with pride. Advising the faculty does not present a great many opportunities to do this. Hence there is apt to be restriction of such activities. Yet the large number of requests for suggestions and criticism by the various departments of the University indicates the importance of such student-faculty communications.

Conclusions

The above observations lead to some definite conclusions affecting the new constitution:

First, there might well be more appointed positions to provide an adequate and competent group to work on requests for criticisms and advice from the administration and to originate suggestions. Also, the elected positions should be maintained to provide a representation of student opinion and to preserve a sense of independence. The Council should continue to feel free to dig into whatever it wants.

Informal Pact

Secondly, there is no need for any more formal agreement with the administration than the "gentleman's agreement" with the Dean's office. Advising the faculty is not a power to be jealously maintained. In both asked-for and unasked-for advice the Council is providing a service--both to the students and to the administration. To say that final authority lies with the administration, but that what the students have to say (through the Council) carries some weight, poorly describes the actual process of making decisions and need not be explicitly stated in any now form in the future constitution.

Finally even though it is often difficult to point out definite results from advice given the administration and faculty, this function of advising is the Council's most important one. Although results from the long range reports and recommendations may not be immediately apparent, the ultimate effect on University policy should be stressed. Whatever also the Council undertake to do, it should not be done at the sacrifice of counseling the administration on the longrun student view.