Council Represents The Student Body

One of the first student organizations the incoming freshman notices is the Student Council, for at Registration the Council has the table nearest the door in Memorial Hall, where it collects the financial pledges from students which support its activities for the year.

Harvard's Student Council was founded in 1908 "to cooperate thoroughly with the Faculty in raising the general intellectual standard, to bring the governing bodies of the University expressions of undergraduate opinion, and to cooperate with the Athletic Committee."

Of these purposes the first was either an example of current idealism or referred to a contemporary condition of laxness, and the second is now a minor duty of that body. Expressing undergraduate opinion to the governing body of the University is now the Council's main function.

Council's Authority

Representing the student body in the College government is its business, and a majority of its seventeen members (six from the Junior and eleven from the Senior class) are elected by their classmates. The rest are appointed by the elected men to ensure that all groups are represented.

The Council has no direct authority over the student body as a whole; self-government of this sort does not exist at Harvard. But it does administer and support financially several functions and activities of classes and organizations.

It runs Senior Class elections and Senior Album elections. Of much more interest to Freshmen is the Council's financial guarantee of all Freshman extra-curricular activities, such as dances and the Freshman Red Book (annual yearbook). Besides these, it contributes to the support of the Freshman Smoker, the class get-together and fun-fest in the spring.

Takes Care of Charities

Phillips Brooks House, the social service center, is supported by a large donation from Student Council funds. About a thousand dollars in scholarship money is given to needy students who are not eligible for aid from the University.

The continual bother of solicitation by many local charities is avoided by the Council's agreement with these organ- isations that they will accept donations from it and forego personal canvassing. It should be remembered that these donations are made possible by students' contributions.

Direct relations between the Freshman class and the Student Council are provided by a member of the Council whose job is to supervise Freshman activities. This year's Adviser on Freshman Affairs is Langdon P. Marvin '41, who was Chairman of the Union Committee, Freshman social committee, two years ago.

Council At Work

Describing the non-political nature of the Student Council, a past Council President said that "the only way to be a big man on the Harvard scene is to be over seven feet tall." It makes no attempt to control undergraduate opinion, he said, because, in trying to do so, "it would be both wasting its time and losing its prestige."

The Council exercises its office of student judge and reporter by means of reports on questions which seem significant from the undergraduate point of view.

For instance, last year it recommended that minor sports competition with outside colleges be abandoned and the sports incorporated in House athletics. Although the proposals of this report were rejected by the Athletic Association, they might be used in the future.

Report Technique

Another report arrived simultaneously with a Faculty Committee at the conclusion that Harvard's curriculum should be broadened and undergraduate specialization decreased. This plan has already received partial approval from the Faculty.

Other Council reports have urged, and succeeded in making, improvements in the troublesome matter of insufficient room for all students in the Houses, investigated the dismissal of popular teachers, exposed tutoring school evils, and so on over all the issues of past years