Charter for the Yard

Like the city of Boston, the freshman Union Committee is having charter trouble. Wednesday night, the Student Council Committee on Freshman Affairs presented a new constitution at a meeting with Dean Leighton, Yard proctors, and Union Committeemen. That document would supplant the old system, under which the dean appoints Union Committee members with provisions for an election early in each fall. But the Council's proposals were received ill-favoredly by the freshmen representatives.

There was no disagreement on the virtues of "democratic representation." The Union group felt, however, that an elected body just wouldn't work in the Yard, maintaining that new freshmen can't get well enough acquainted in two weeks to make an election mean very much. Yet this is an organizational problem, and its solution depends on the proctors, who must design a program of introductory meetings to prepare the incoming class for an election.

Opponents of the constitution felt that the process of an election would take too much time. The Union Committee has pressing business to handle right away, and cannot afford to hang fire waiting for the ballotting to end. The election will take time, admittedly, but the first three weeks of the year are lost even under the present appointive system, as far as constructive action is concerned.

The proposed constitution isn't perfect. It makes provision for far too many Committee members, for one thing. But like all constitutions, it can be adjusted in the light of experience. And it has a number of ambitious goals that are certainly worth aiming at. As the Council group says, the elective system should stimulate interest in Union business, and give future Committees the class support that has hitherto been lacking. The constitution also gives the freshmen two representatives on the Student Council, which is a right they have been denied.

The Union Committee can become a much stronger force in Yard affairs, more than just an executive council. It can take a broader interest in freshman affairs, and make excursions into the area of policy. More than this, however, the new style in the Yard can successfully introduce first-year men to the ways and means of democratic organization when they enter the College. Freshmen can handle their affairs while they are freshmen-and not have to wait a year.