Former UC Leaders Discuss Campus Social Life with Overseers

Behind Loeb House’s closed doors, two undergraduates met Sunday with Harvard’s Board of Overseers, the University’s second highest governing body, to discuss the College’s social life, among other topics.

Ava Nasrollahzadeh ’16 and Dhruv P. Goyal ’16, the former president and vice president of the Undergraduate Council respectively, spoke on a panel that focused on “undergraduate life outside the classroom,” according to interim Dean of Student Life Thomas A. Dingman ’67. Two House masters, Anne Harrington ’82 of Pforzheimer and Howard Georgi ’68 of Leverett, joined Dingman and the undergraduates at the meeting, according to Dingman.

Dingman said the panel talked about bringing student parties back to College-sponsored venues—a recent focus of top College administrators.

Loeb House, the site of Sunday's meeting between Harvard undergraduates and the University's Board of Overseers. By Courtesy Wikimedia commons

“It was a lot about trying to recenter student life into the Yard and the Houses. We talked about some of the programming initiatives,” Dingman said.

Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana, a vocal critic of the College’s single-gendered social organizations, organized the panel, according to Dingman. Dingman did not comment on many specifics of the meeting. Nasrollahzadeh and Goyal also would not comment on what the panel discussed, saying the meeting was “confidential.” Of the six members of the Board of Overseers contacted, none could be reached for comment.

Goyal said he and Nasrollahzadeh met with Khurana and Associate Dean of Student Life David R. Friedrich last week to prepare for the meeting. Friedrich first invited Nasrollahzadeh and Goyal on Jan. 26, according to Goyal. Both Nasrollahzadeh and Goyal are involved in several student groups, including unrecognized and off-campus social organizations.

“We were excited to be able to share student perspective on important questions concerning the College and we hope that the practice of including student voices continues,” Nasrollahzadeh said.

The meeting comes a week after sitting UC President and Vice President Shaiba Rather ’17 and Daniel V. Banks ’17 said students would meet informally with the Overseers. Rather and Banks campaigned on a platform calling for Harvard to elect an undergraduate to the Board of Overseers, a body historically composed of Harvard alumni.

The meeting also follows recent efforts from administrators who have criticized the College’s unrecognized social groups and pushed to bolster student life in the Houses. Under Khurana’s leadership, Cabot House recently opened a designated party space dubbed “The Aquarium” and streamlined its party registration process.

As College administrators pressure final clubs to admit women, off-campus social life has undergone a series of changes. In the fall, two historically male final clubs accepted women as members for the first time. One of the groups, the Fox Club, cited pressure from Harvard administrators as an impetus to go co-ed. In May 2015, a University task force on sexual assault prevention recommended that each of Harvard’s schools reconsider its policies about social spaces, both on and off campus.

—Staff writer Andrew M. Duehren can be reached at andy.duehren@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @aduehren.

—Staff writer Daphne C. Thompson can be reached at daphne.thompson@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @daphnectho.