Assembly Will Poll Students on Parties

The Student Assembly voted last night to hold a College-wide referendum between April 13 and April 18 asking students if they approve of the existence of political parties in the assembly.

Richard A. Bernstein '81-1, a Mather House assembly delegate and sponsor of the referendum proposal, said last night he hopes assembly delegates from North House and South House will end their boycott of the assembly because the body decided to hold the referendum.

Problems

The North and South House committees called for a boycott of the assembly earlier this month, charging that the Coalition for a Democratic University (CDU) controls the assembly and asking for a referendum to allow all undergraduates to vote on the issue of political parties in the assembly.

Susan K. McConnoll '80, chairman of the North House Committee, said last night the assembly's decision to hold the referendum is a "very positive sign, a sign that the assembly realizes there is a problem." The North House Committee "might want to consider lifting the boycott now," she said.

Alexander T. Bok '81, a North House assembly delegate, said last night he thinks the House's delegates will end their boycott "if the CDU takes a proper attitude towards the referendum, which means not blitzing us with posters and ad hominem attacks."

A representative of the North House Committee read a letter to the assembly last night explaining the reasons for the boycott. The letter states that the CDU's "party behavior has no place in our Student Assembly" and that "CDU members artificially have more power in the assembly than the proportion of undergraduates they represent because of superior organization."

Not On Top

Sanjiv Kapur '82, a West Yard assembly delegate and CDU member, said last night CDU members do not dominate the assembly. He said "to say we're well organized is the biggest laugh of the year."

Stephen V.R. Winthrop '80, former chairman of the assembly, said last night he has collected more than 200 petition signatures asking the assembly to hold a binding referendum that could ban students who are members of Harvard political parties from running for election to the assembly. The referendum question passed by the assembly last night is non-binding and would not ban political parties in the assembly. If 640 students--one-tenth of the undergraduate student body--sign Winthrop's petition, the assembly is required by a clause in its constitution to place the binding question on the referendum.