The Long Ballot

Dissatisfaction was manifest among large numbers of the Class of '48 yesterday. The sentiment expressed itself in a number of different objections to the methods for nominating and electing the permanent class committee. A few clear facts have been sifted through the network of accusations and rebuttals: that nominations have, in several respects, been made without proper consideration of the qualifications necessary for class committee members; that an invalidation of the entire slate, and a fresh approach without prejudice to any individuals on the current list, would climinate all unrest, but would be impractical; and that a revision in the present plan for tabulating ballots would help to establish a competent permanent committee for the Class of '48.

The class' nominating committees unveiled an outsized slate of thirty-six nominees on Monday, two of whom have since been found ineligible. Add to the remaining thirty-four the approximate number of men who will be nominated by petition, and you will have a total slate in the forties. This ballot is too large, and for no good reason. It includes twelve of the fifteen men who were elected to a temporary class committee in their freshman year. Of the eight men who were selected to serve on the nominating committee, eight were nominated. The fact of membership on these various committees is not in itself a standard for judgment. A man should be elected to the permanent class committee on the basis of the interest in his class and the College, and the quality of his service to them, that he has displayed during his years at Harvard. Beyond any question, a number of highly qualified men are on the ballot. Other men, however, of indisputably equal merit, have been ignored, despite the immensity of the ballot.

A total cancellation of the current slate would enable the nominating committee to assemble a new list by methods in line with the spirit of an existing extensive undergraduate report concerned solely with class committees, and how to get good ones. This report is yet to be published, but has been available to the nominating committee. If the committee had considered the report more carefully, a smaller and more uniformly first-rate slate would have been presented.

According to the man in charge of the election, a cancellation is impracticable. Therefore, the entire huge slate will go before the Class of '48. If the ballots are tabulated-as planned by the Student Council and as opposed by the report on class committees-on the preferential system, a first marshal may be elected by less than a hundred votes. The vote should rather be for a certain number of men, not in any special order, with the man who receives the most votes becoming first marshal, and so on down the line. This method will select the best possible committee from the ballot. The importance of such a selection cannot be over-emphasized, as the permanent class committee is the focal point of all future unity within the class and ties between the class and the University.