STUDENT COUNCIL ACTIVITIES

To the Student Council of Harvard College:

I have the honor to submit the following report of the activities of your Executive Committee from May 29, 1913, to the present date, March 3, 1914.

The Committee has held 10 meetings on the following dates: May 29, October 29, November 13, December 3, December 11, in 1913, and January 9, February 10, February 17, and February 24, in 1914.

At the final meeting last spring, on May 29, the principal business was the discussion of the best men for the Nominating Committee for the ensuing year. As a result of this meeting, President Lowrey, in accordance with Article D, II of the Constitution, appointed the following Nominating Committee to carry on the work of the Executive Committee until the organization of the Student Council in the fall and to make nominations for membership in the Council to be voted on at the Class elections: L. H. Mills '14, of Portland, Ore., chairman; G. F. Plimpton '14, of Buffalo, N. Y., secretary-treasurer; W. T. Gardiner '14, of Gardiner. Me; H. R. Hitchcock, Jr., of Pukoo, Molokai, Hawaii; Q. Reynolds '14, of Montclair, N. J.; J. C. Talbot '15, of Milton; and W. H. Trumbull, Jr., of Salem.

Election of Officers.

On October 7, the Nominating Committee met and made nominations for members of the Council at large from the three upper classes. At the class elections on October 14, nine men from the Senior class, seven from the Junior class, and five from the Sophomore class were elected, which made the total membership of the Council, including the members ex-officiis, thirty-seven men. The Council for 1913-14 was organized on October 23, and the following officers were elected: L. H. Mills '14, of Portland, Ore., president; S. P. Clark '14, of Chestnut Hill, Pa., vice-president; G. F. Plimpton '14, of Buffalo, N. Y., secretary-treasurer; and four additional members of the Executive Committee, two Seniors and two Juniors according to the Constitution, W. A. Barron, Jr., '14, of Newburyport; L. Saltonstall '14, of Chestnut Hill; J. C. Talbot '15, of Milton; and W. H. Trumbull, Jr., '15, of Salem.

Important Questions Considered.

The most important matters of business left over from last year's Council were (a) improvement in administration of oral examinations, (b) more frequent hour examinations looking to the decrease in importance of the two long examinations, (c) a better arrangement of Class Day Week (d) some plan for limiting a man's outside work, similar to the point system in effect at Technology. The Committee discussed these questions at several meetings with the following results: A conference with President Lowell and also with Professor Ford, chairman of the Modern Language Department, brought about the following changes to be made in the oral examinations; first, to have a different passage for each candidate, to be selected at ran- dom from several books chosen for the examinations, and second, to allow each candidate to have two or three passages if one does not give him sufficient opportunity to show his knowledge. This plan, it is hoped, will eliminate all grounds for criticism about the unfairness of the examinations. In regard to the second matter, the Committee was opposed to increasing the number of examinations in courses on the ground that it would defeat the purpose of the Harvard policy of education, namely to put the student, especially the upperclassman, on his own responsibility in regard to doing his academic work. No better plan for the arrangement of Class Day Week could be devised, with the possible exception of having Class Day on Monday and the Senior Spread and Phi Beta Kappa Day on Tuesday, but this plan was considered of doubtful advantage, except to the Senior members of the baseball team who now have to play in New Haven on Class Day. No plan has been devised for limiting a man's outside work, and the Committee felt that any such plan could not be put into effect at Harvard, but rather that a man should regulate for himself his outside activities by limiting the number of competitions he enters and by refusing nominations for elective offices when he is not able adequately to carry out the duties of such an office.

Constitutional Amendments.

The following amendments to the Constitution have been made by vote of the whole Council; after three weeks' notice:

1. Art. AI, has been amended to include in the members ex-officiis the captain of the hockey team, and the president of the Debating Council.

2. Art. DII, has been changed to include in the Nominating Committee, appointed at the end of the year, the president of the Freshman class in place of one of the Junior members. This keeps the number the same, making the Committee now consist of the two Junior members of the Executive Committee, two, instead of three, Juniors and two Sophomores chosen from the Council at large, and the Freshman president. The change was found necessary because none of the Committee this year knew the best Sophomores to nominate for the class elections to the Council.

New Committees Appointed.

The next most important matter is the appointment of the Sub-Committees, and the making three additional regular sub-committees to carry on other branches of the Student Council work. These additional ones are (1) Committee on Reception of Visiting Teams, (2) Committee on Religious Activities, (3) Committee on Freshman Class Affairs. On November 14, the following committee chairmen were appointed with power to pick their own committees, subject to the approval of the President of the Council: Dramatics--J. K. Hodges '14; athletics--S. P. Clark '14; scholarship--P. B. Potter '14; publications--W. C. Brown, Jr. '14. R. H. Kettell '14, was appointed chairman of the Committee on Organizations last year. On November 28, Q. Reynolds '14, was appointed chairman of the Committee on Reception to Visiting Teams; on January 9, W. A. Willetts '14 was appointed chairman of the Committee on Religious Activities; the purpose of this committee being to consult with President Lowell and make out a more satisfactory list of preachers for Chapel; taking suggestions from various undergraduates interested in Chapel; on February 17, S. P. Clark '14, was appointed chairman of the Committee on Freshman Class Affairs, which shall consist of two Sophomores chosen by him, and which shall have general charge of the Freshman class activities before the class elections, including at least two smokers, the organization of mass-meetings, appointment of temporary cheer-leaders, and the appointment of a temporary chairman of the Red Book, if deemed advisable to commence this book early. After the election of officers, this committee shall act in an advisory capacity with the officers.

List of Committees.

The final make-up of the committees is as follows:

Committee on Dramatics: J. K. Hodges '14, of New York, chairman; C. H. Cromble '14, of Roxbury; V. Freedley '14, of Philadelphia, Pa; J. R. O. Perkins '14, of West Newton.

Committee on Scholarship: P. B. Potter '14, of Long Branch, N. J., chairman; W. C. Brown, Jr., '14, of Hartford, Conn.; O. G. Saxon '14, of Garden City, L. I., N. Y.; W. G. Simon '14, of Cincinnati, O.; R. L. West '14, of Millis.

Committee on Publications: W. C. Brown, Jr., '14, of Hartford, Conn., chairman; C. H. Crombie '14, of West Roxbury; S. F. Damon '14, of Newton; W. O. Fenn '14, of Cambridge; P. W. Thayer '14, of Springfield; C. H. Weston 1L., of Haverford, Pa.

Committee on Organizations: R. H. Kettell '14, of Lexington, chairman; W. O. Fenn '14; of Cambridge; G. G. Geraghty '14, of Chicago, Ill.; W. E. Quinby '14, of Pittsburg, Pa.; J. J. Storrow, Jr., '15, of Lincoln; H. A. Vogel '15, of Milwaukee, Wiss.

Committee on Athletics: S. P. Clark '14, of Chestnut Hill, Pa., chairman; W. H. Claflin, Jr., '15, of Boston; J. C. Devereux '14, of Utica, N. Y. H. G. Francke '14, of Cambridge; F. B. Harvey '14, of Catonsville, Md.; L. Saltonstall '14, of Chestnut Hill; W. H. Trumbull, Jr., '15, of Salem.

Committee on Reception of Visiting Teams: Q. Reynolds '14, of Montclair, N. J., chairman; R. R. Ayres '15, of Montclair, N. J.; T. J. Coolidge 3d, '15, of Boston; F. B. Harvey '14, of Catonsville, Md.; R. McIntosh '14, of New York, N. Y.; E. Reynolds, Jr., '15, of Readville; E. B. Starbuck '14, of Santa Barbara, Cal.; J. D. Winslow '14, of Boston; L. M. Wright '14, of North Cohasset.

Committee on Religious Activities: W. A. Willetts '14, of Skaneateles, N. Y.; chairman; G. F. Plimpton '14, of Buffale, N. Y.; Q. Reynolds '14, of Montclair, N. J.; W. H. Trumbull, Jr., '15, of Salem.

Committee on Freshman Class Affairs: S. P. Clark '14, of Chestnut Hill, Pa.; chairman; W. J. Bingham '16, of Methuen; C. F. Farrington '16, of Cambridge.

R. H. Kettell '14, was appointed the Student Council representative on the Press Club.

Register Incorporated.

On October 23 it was voted to incorporate the "Register", and at a second meeting about the same matter, the Student Council was incorporated with the Executive Committee as incorporators, in order to put the "Register" as backed by the Council on a firmer basis. A committee was appointed of H. A. Murray '15, chairman, and W. Blanchard '16, to supervise the publication of the "Register" as a Student Council organization. This committee has worked hard to get rid of the debt owed on last year's edition, and at present has several schemes in progress for disposing of the "trade ads" and selling more copies, only about half of which have been sold to date. There is a good prospect of the "Register" being put on its feet by next year and