DOWN WITH THE NEW

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

With the belated ballotting of Eliot House Friday, the HCUA referendum has ended, ordering the second major change in student government since I came to Harvard. In several Houses, the voters were not recorded as they voted, or even asked if they had voted before. Yet despite this lack of organisation and control, apparently no House over-voted, a testimony to the general lack of interest on the part of most students. The total vote, less than one half on the College enrollment also redects their disinterest.

I personally think that the new arrangement is decidedly worse than the HCUA, because the HUC lacks a broad representative base. All the power rests in the hands of the House Committees, especially their chairmen, men elected previously to serve a role other than in intra-college affairs. The Freshmen seem to have realized this, and continued to vote against the change, despite the sop of additional (unrepresentative) membership. If the organizers of student government at Harvard want an effective body, they must have direct representation so that their actions are backed up by the electors. The situation is similar to that of the original (by State Legislatures) vs. the current (direct election) method of selection of U.S. Senators.

It is true that the House Committee members are willing to accept the extra burden, but there are problems nonetheless. First, there may be a conflict of interest as to benefits for an individual house as against the college as a whole; second, there should in policy be a division of power, so that no small group can control and speak for the whole student body.

The new system does have one possibly saving grace, the Harvard Policy Committee. This organization may offer a valuable forum for discussion of basic policy matters between the students and the administration (although students chosen by the administration are likely to hold administration views ...). As a test of the possible worth of the HPC, I propose that the HSA charter flight affair be turned over to this body to discuss, immediately upon its formation, the question of policy here being the right of the University to allow HSA to make overly large profits, if this is indeed the case. The HPC could look into the matter, decide if further investigation, perhaps of the HSA books, is in fact necessary, and discuss their opinions with the administration representatives. If the HPC could resolve this problem, it would demonstrate its future potentialities. If not, perhaps it would be best to scrap it, as I feel the HUC should be scrapped at the first available opportunity. Eric Delson '65