UC Asks for Greater Input

Undergraduate Council members remained in the dark about the effects of University-wide budget cuts on the College as well as the potential ramifications of these cuts for the January term session after yesterday’s town hall meeting led by Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith.

Smith announced six working groups that would be charged with finding areas for cost-reductions throughout FAS. But according to Smith, it remains to be decided whether these committees would include students.

Two committees, one dedicated to “student services” and the other to “academic” issues, will be formed to find cost-cutting savings at the College and will be composed of faculty members and staff. Two yet to be announced students will also “work closely” with these groups, according to the press release.

Already structured programming for the “January Experience” has been a casualty of tightening budget constraints, and students and UC members have lamented that the decision may be shortchanging students.

Student Affairs Committee Chair Tamar Holoshitz ’10 said that she found it “very frustrating” that students may not sit on the committees, especially given their direct relevance to student life.

“I think going forward we need to make our message very clear that student involvement is necessary,” Holoshitz said.

Members of the UC said that they have felt left out of the J-term decision-making process and have passed a “position paper” requesting that the College implement broad requirements for evaluating which students will be permitted to stay on campus during the month-long recess.

Smith fielded questions from UC President Andrea R. Flores ’10 about the level of student involvement in determining where budget cuts are to be made at the College, and from Parliamentarian Eric N. Hysen ’11, who asked for specific details about how the administration would handle the logistics of the J-term.

Citing safety concerns, Smith said that all students will not be allowed to return to campus in January.

“To have people coming back when college isn’t fully open doesn’t make sense to us,” Smith said in response to Hysen’s question.

Both of Smith’s answers, in part, consisted of polite deferrals to Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds, who was in attendance but did not speak.

Hammonds is currently scheduled to attend a UC meeting on May 3, according to Kia J. McLeod ’10, UC vice-president. Smith has also been invited to that meeting.

A contingent of students representing Harvard’s Student Labor Action Movement were also in attendance at the meeting, accompanied by a large sign that read, “Greed is the new Crimson.org. No layoffs,” to which Smith commented, “Nice banner.”

After the event Flores praised Smith for his willingness to answer questions from faculty and staff but said he needs to answer questions from the general student body “whose quality of life will be directly impacted by the budget cuts presented.”

—Staff writer Eric P. Newcomer can be reached at newcomer@fas.harvard.edu.