Monro States Apathy Won't Harm HCUA

Dean Monro said yesterday that the turnout for last week's HCUA elections was "disappointing" but stated that it would "not impair the Council's effectiveness with the Administration or the Faculty."

He conceded that despite the reorganization of the Council two years ago to make it more representative of the College and especially of the Houses, "there is still a certain amount of disinterest" in the HCUA among students.

Solo candidates for at-large seats on the Council ran unopposed in three Houses last week, end won election automatically. In a fourth House, Quincy, no one bothered to run at all.

Committee to Choose

Other seats on the 21-member Council will be filled by nominations of individual House committees, and by election of three freshmen. The present House system of voting replaced the old system of election by College class when the new constitution was approved in December, 1961.

Monro praised the HCUA as "a means of communication that is of great consequence to the College" and said he and other Administration members meet regularly with Council members and committee to get their advice and ideas.

He ruled out the possibility of an organization for Harvard like the Radcliffe Government Association, which combines students and Administration members in a body that actually makes rules. Monro noted that Radcliffe's small size makes such a set-up feasible, but said that a careful study had convinced him that at Harvard "we shouldn't give rule-making and disciplinary power to students."

The best role for the HCUA, he said, is an advisory one. He likened it to the visiting committees of the Board of Overseers, which study various University problems and make recommendations for improvement to the Faculty and Administration.