Dean Hammonds:

Amidst all of the fuss about Harvard’s finances, we are in danger of letting Ad Board reform slip away. The composition and policies of the board, a group of administrators and faculty that evaluates students who violate a major school rule, has been a pressing student concern for many years. With the near-completion of the Ad Board Review Committee’s report, we are closer than ever to seeing meaningful progress. However, in order for reform to go through, the faculty must approve many of the changes the report proposes. And, unless the report comes out soon, it will not be ready in time for the upcoming meeting of the Faculty Council’s Docket Committee, effectively blocking it from being addressed this year. Therefore, we call on Harvard College Dean Evelyn M. Hammonds to work to expedite the release of the report so it can be placed on the agenda for one of the two May faculty meetings.

The Review Committee’s report promises to address critical issues that require faculty approval, such as guidelines for sanctions and the composition of the committee. Currently, the Ad Board seems to have a limited menu of punishment options. Offenses as varied as plagiarism and drug abuse are often met with the same response—mandatory time off from the school. This generalized punishment does not reflect the nuances of academic, personal, and other types of problems. Additionally, the size and makeup of the Ad Board is of concern.

If we are to see these problems addressed, then the Review Committee’s report needs to make it to the Faculty Council’s Docket Committee within the next several weeks so this body can consider putting it on the agenda for the upcoming faculty meeting. The problem is that the report is stalled in consultations and has not been publicly released yet. Until it is released, the faculty cannot vote on its recommendations.

At the moment, the administration seems completely preoccupied with the College’s financial troubles. We understand and sympathize with this focus. But, while Ad Board reform will not save a dollar, let alone the $200 million needed to cover this year’s FAS deficit, this is one issue on which a marginal increase in attention from the administration and Faculty would result in considerable goodwill from students. After a year of budget cuts and somber news, this small investment of time and energy would remind students that one of the College’s end commitments is to a solid undergraduate experience, both in 10 years and tomorrow.

Therefore, we hope that Dean Hammonds can lead the effort to have the report released and sent to the Docket Committee. Dean Hammonds is the one person who could unite the disparate groups that must push this report forward together: her office, the Review Committee, FAS Dean Michael D. Smith’s office, and the Docket Committee. Next year, two members of the Review Committee will have left Harvard; former UC President Matthew L. Sundquist ’09 is graduating, and Professor Stephen A. Mitchell is already on leave. The Review Committee is the public face of this change, and, as they move on to other places and projects, the momentum for reform will be lost. This is the best possible time to confront possible Ad Board change, and we hope Dean Hammonds will push the issue forward. We have faith in her ability to represent undergraduate concern well and to end the College’s year on a student-centered note.