Ethics Charges Mar Business Club Split

A former member of the Harvard Business Club who was asked to resign from the club formed a competing student group this summer and met yesterday with Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III to seek official recognition for the new organization.

The Business Club asked Daniel W. Hart '95, who was expected to become its top officer this year, to step down last spring after he "acted in an unethical way," said former Business Club Director Konstantinos G. Tsakonas '93. Tsakonas would not specify the nature of the allegedly unethical behavior.

And over the summer, Hart used the Business Club's forty-person membership list to recruit members for the new Enterprise Society, Business Club officers said. Hart also contacted the club's faculty advisors and pursued recruiting and publicity campaigns similar to the Business Club's, officers of the Business Club alleged.

Hart said yesterday he did nothing ethically wrong during his time with the Harvard Business Club, but he refused to comment on the allegation that he used the club's membership list for recruiting purposes. Hart said he did call one Business Club faculty advisor over the summer, but he said they discussed non-club matters.

Last spring, representatives of the two organizations met with Epps but failed to come to a resolution.

"My practice is to see if there can't be a rapprochement between the old organization and the splinter group," Epps said. The dean said he heard no accusations about a stolen membership list.

Hart's meeting with Epps yesterday was to discuss official recognition for the club, but Epps said there are concerns about the Enterprise Society duplicating the activities of the Business Club. New organizations are not allowed to mimic existing ones, and "we don't know if it passes that test yet," Epps said.

Hart said he is founding an organization "of a group of students who are interested in having an active business education club on campus." His new Enterprise Society will be "more active" than the Business Club and have a "broader array" of speakers, Hart said.

But Harvard Business Club Treasurer Richard A. Leigh-Pemberton '95 said both organizations are simi- lar in purpose, and he is worried that theEnterprise Society might "unfairly take away ourmembers with our membership list."

Tsakonas said he could not understand why theOffice of the Dean of Students would allow Hart tofound an organization so similar to the HarvardBusiness Club.

The Enterprise Society, which was called theStudent Business Association in this year'sUnofficial Guide to Harvard, describesitself in the guide as "the most active,accessible student-driven business group oncampus."

Leigh-Pemberton of the Business Club calledthis "a generous description at best, consideringthey have never existed before."

But the coordinator of the Business Club'sproject board, Dimitar J. Genov '94, saidrelations between the club and its new rival arebecoming more friendly, and Hart said he looksforward to closer links.

"We are on friendly terms with Dan Hart," Genovsaid, adding that differences between theorganizations may allow them to work together

Tsakonas said he could not understand why theOffice of the Dean of Students would allow Hart tofound an organization so similar to the HarvardBusiness Club.

The Enterprise Society, which was called theStudent Business Association in this year'sUnofficial Guide to Harvard, describesitself in the guide as "the most active,accessible student-driven business group oncampus."

Leigh-Pemberton of the Business Club calledthis "a generous description at best, consideringthey have never existed before."

But the coordinator of the Business Club'sproject board, Dimitar J. Genov '94, saidrelations between the club and its new rival arebecoming more friendly, and Hart said he looksforward to closer links.

"We are on friendly terms with Dan Hart," Genovsaid, adding that differences between theorganizations may allow them to work together