Council Listings Welcome

Debate erupted in last week’s Undergraduate Council meeting as members debated whether to endorse one student’s new video rental business. The council’s mission is to reach out to students, and notifying them of new businesses that might be of interest to Harvard undergraduates is perfectly in line with that vision.

The subject of the controversy, Jared S. Morgenstern ’03, is currently in the process of starting a new for-profit business that will deliver movie rentals, pizza and other items to Quad residents. He asked the council to append a small endorsement of his new venture to the end of their official e-mails.

By notifying students of new services, for-profit or not, the council is helping to fulfill its aim of improving students’ quality of life. Small startups and especially student entrepreneurs do not always have enough money to advertise on a large scale, yet students should still be able to find out about their often-essential services.

Some council members argued that this endorsement is the equivalent of free advertising and that, as the council is funded by the College, it should not be helping private businesses. This move, some contended, would set a negative precedent for advertisers to use the official council mailing list to flood student inboxes and gain an unfair advantage.

We do not want the council’s mailing list to become merely a yellow pages of Harvard businesses. But one announcement when a business starts up would be useful, as long as the council gives any business—student-run or otherwise—equal opportunity to announce their opening.

Notifying students of new services should be the next step in the council’s ongoing effort to keep students up-to-date with events happening on and around campus. The council sends out a useful events calendar through its e-mail list every week. This newsletter varies in size and breadth; it ought to be expanded significantly into a more comprehensive and substantial list. It is currently impossible to find out about Harvard’s myriad events without subscribing to a large number of e-mail lists; an extensive council calendar would greatly improve this situation.

Before students can take advantage of all of Harvard’s opportunities—from House dances to late-night movie delivery—they need to know about them.

Dissent:

The Undergraduate Council is an elected group of undergraduates devoted to improving student services and student life at the College. It is neither a publication nor a telephone directory; its job is not to provide free advertising to private businesses, student-run or otherwise.

Harvard undergraduates already know about the services and businesses available to them in the Square; they surely do not need a council “endorsement” to inform them. The council ought to have more serious priorities.

—David M. DeBartolo ’03