Overseers

The following is an open letter to Joan T. Bok '51, president of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University:

It is unusual for undergraduates to be concerned with the elections for the Board of Overseers. The particular circumstances surrounding this year's elections, however, compel all conscientious members of the Harvard community to take an interest in it.

In the alumni mailing accompanying the ballots for the election, you enclosed two objectionable documents: a letter from you urging alumni to vote against single-issue candidates and a description of Harvard's present investment policy as it relates to companies that do business in South Africa. As you note in the letter, this year's election is unique because a slate of candidates, known as the Alumni Against Apartheid, are actively campaigning on a platform of divestment. The letter, written from your position as president of the Board of Overseers, paid for with Harvard University funds, and enclosed with ballots for the election, can only be viewed as an unjustified and inexcusable interference in the electoral process.

For an election to be valid, each candidate must have equal access, at least in theory, to the electorate. The literature you enclosed with the ballots denied this fundamental right to the Alumni Against Apartheid candidates. In our opinion, having wronged these candidates, you ought to rectify this situation. We ask that you send letters apologizing for your interference in the election to the alumni. Additionally, having in effect campaigned against the Alumni Against Apartheid, we ask that you provide them with equal access to the electorate. By allowing them to explain their qualifications for the board (in response to your charge that their campaign for the board makes them inappropriate candidates) and by including their arguments for divestiture (in response to the statement of the University's current investment policy), you help to restore a sense of fairness in the election.

Taking these steps will not be enough, of course, because the damage has been done; unquestionably, many alumni have already voted. If these steps are not taken immediately, the election for the Board of Overseers would be illegitimate, and should be considered null and void. The Undergraduate Council