Representatives of the Yard: A Look at Freshmen on the UC
After six months in office, many freshman representatives said that despite cynicism from the student body about the UC’s efficacy, the work of the freshmen on the Council has helped to change students’ perception of the body. From expanded printing to revamped brain break, freshman UC representatives hope small projects will leave a lasting effect on the first year experience.
Last September, 74 members of the Class of 2019 declared candidacy for the 12 freshman seats on the Undergraduate Council with varying platforms. One promised to bring Beyoncé to Yardfest, one made a commitment to “squashing the cockroach problem” in Grays, and two promised to “Make Harvard Great Again.”
Yet freshman candidates repeatedly mentioned one specific proposal during the campaign: improving freshman laundry services.
When the 12 freshmen representatives were elected, they began work on a proposal to install a laundry room in Matthews Hall, according to Elm Yard representative Ashri S. Anurudran ’19. Anurudran said that from the outset, the proposal was a hard selling point.
“A lot of upperclassmen and administrators said ‘that’s not going to happen,’” Ivy Yard representative Catherine L. Zhang ’19 said. According to Elm Yard representative Evan M. Bonsall ’19, several administrators said the project would take several years to complete.
Yet by February, the UC announced that construction on a new laundry room in Matthews Hall would begin this summer, with the new machines ready for the incoming members of the Class of 2020.
“It’s probably the most permanent change that we’ve left behind,” Oak Yard representative Olu Oisaghie ’19 said.
After six months in office, many freshman representatives said that despite cynicism from the student body about the UC’s efficacy, the work of the freshmen on the Council has helped to change students’ perception of the body. From expanded printing to revamped brain break, freshman UC representatives hope small projects will leave a lasting effect on the first year experience.
TAKING THE FLOOR
When the 12 freshmen representatives attended their first UC meeting on Sept. 20, most already had prior student government experience. Five of the 12 had served as their high school’s student body president.
Elm Yard representative Victor C. Agbafe ’19, who served on his high school’s student government, said he began participating in order to work on proposals to improve student life.
“For any place you love, you have to look into how to make it better, you have to critique it,” Agbafe said.
Yet even for many representatives with prior student government experience, the UC proved to be a new experience.
“Student government here is much different than it was for me in high school,” Crimson Yard representative Leah D. Stewart ’19 said. “We make more work on institutional changes.”
Bonsall, who served as his high school’s class president, said the UC has more power to “make a difference,” in contrast to his role in his high school’s student government, which he called a “powerless position.”
Still, other representatives said the UC does not hold as much power as they had anticipated.
“You can never really do as much as you expect,” Oisaghie said.
Some found the Council’s system of parliamentary procedure, which last year’s UC President Ava Nasrollahzadeh ’16 called “tedious in practice,” to be a source of inefficiency. Many freshmen representatives described a steep learning curve for understanding the procedures that dictate virtually every action at the UC’s general meetings.
“At times, I think it does get bogged down by parliamentary procedure,” Oak Yard representative Alex Popovski ’19 said. “There’s a lot of obstacles to making change happen on campus.”
The most recent freshman to join the Council, Oak Yard representative Nicholas D. Boucher ’19, said that after being elected during the mid-term elections in February, he struggled to adjust to the many people, rules, and acronyms that UC representatives are expected to know.
“Just being the new guy is a little bit of a challenge… I’m happy to say that people were very welcoming,” Boucher said.
NEW BUSINESS
Much of the work done by the freshmen representatives on the Council takes place in the Freshman Class Committee, one of the seven committees on the UC. The committee consists of the 12 freshmen representatives plus its sophomore chair Eduardo A. Gonzalez ’18.
Although the committee has worked on a number of freshman-oriented initiatives, some proposals have not made it past the drawing board. Freshmen representatives said they quickly learned that the realistic pace for change at Harvard was slower than they anticipated and that students were not always supportive of their initiatives.
Several freshmen representatives highlighted the installation of printers in all of the freshman dorm buildings as a major accomplishment. Prior to this academic year, more than a third of freshman dorm buildings did not have printers, according to Ivy Yard representative Scott Xiao ’19.
“People had to walk across the yard just to print out a paper, or had to spend money on a printer to put in their dorm,” Bonsall said.
After discussions with Harvard University Information Technology and Harvard Yard Operations, the committee managed to secure seven additional printers for freshman dorms in December.
Over the course of their terms, committee members have also completed initiatives to extend “brain break” hours and offerings, put music stands in all music practice rooms, and install additional game tables in several freshman dorm buildings.
Some freshmen on the UC have also been involved in internal changes within the Council. Crimson Yard representative Nicholas P. Whittaker ’19 is a founding member of both the black caucus and the queer caucus on the UC. Created this year, the informal groups meet to address community-specific issues.
“It’s adding legitimacy to the communities that haven’t been as heard as they could have been,” Whittaker said.
Boucher is a founding member of the UC Digital Commission, a group within the Council tasked with developing technical projects to improve the effectiveness of UC initiatives. The group is currently working on creating a text-message based method for student organizations to submitted completed project forms to the Council’s Finance Committee.
Not all of the committee’s initiatives though have been as successful. Many committee members pushed for a UC referendum to convert Pusey Library into a “freshmen-oriented social space.” The referendum appeared on last November’s presidential election ballot and failed to pass, with 56 percent of voters opposing the measure.
“The way the FCC and the UC communicated the referendum could have been a lot better,” Xiao said. “A lot of people didn’t understand what issues we were trying to address.”
Anurudran also said that several representatives have talked with administrators about a proposal that would allow students to use BoardPlus funds on printing and laundry services. After meeting with administrators, Anurudran said the freshman committee has reached a roadblock.
“Sometimes a lot of us have a lot of big ideas and we want to make a lot of changes… once you get to a certain level, you need Harvard administration to get it passed,” Anurudran said.
The committee members also don’t always agree on policy among themselves. Last week, the committee considered a proposal to allocate $850 in funds for berries for a freshman brain break. A third of the committee opposed the measure, with Crimson Yard representative Jack Kelley ’19 saying that it was “not an efficient spending of our money.”
UNANIMOUS CONSENT
All 12 freshmen representatives overwhelmingly agreed their experience on the Council has been positive. Several, however, noted that many of the students they represent have expressed apathy and cynicism towards the UC.
“People always joke about the UC not having that much power and everything, and I definitely understand where that comes from,” Stewart said.
“I’m not going to lie: we’re not an organization with the most amount of power,” Ivy Yard representative Dennis K. Kim ’19 said. “But I believe that… we can create a lot of small changes that can really improve the quality of student life here.”
Still, multiple representatives said they think the committee’s work this year has improved the public perception of the UC in the eyes of students.
“It’s changed perception among the current freshmen and sophomores about what the UC is and what it can do,” Bonsall said.
“It’s been a delight working with the first-year members of the UC,” Freshman Dean’s Office Department Administrator Brandon Edwards wrote in an email. “They’ve done a tremendous job this year of taking initiative.”
Most representatives said that they intend to run for re-election next fall. However, not all will be able to continue as elected representatives. Two representatives were assigned to Adams House on Housing Day, which will have only one open spot up for re-election in the fall.
In the remaining weeks that the Council is in session, the freshmen representatives said that they plan to work on a variety of projects, including addressing printing and laundry affordability, as well as working with HUIT to make PaperCut, the software that connects student computers to campus printers, easier to use.
The Freshman Class Committee’s latest initiative, the Freshman Health Project, is a week-long program focused on addressing freshman physical fitness, mental health, and sexual health. The project features a variety of events, including yoga, panels, and a petting zoo. The project began Monday.