Student Rep Resigns Post On ASCR

The undergraduate member to the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility (ASCR) resigned last night because of what she called the committee's "illegitimacy" as a group representing the Harvard community, its "stalling" on the issues and its ineffectiveness.

Julie Fouquet '80, in a statement of resignation, said she will encourage the Undergraduate Committee on Harvard Shareholder Responsibility (UCHSR) not to appoint another student to the ACSR until the committee is restructured. The UCHSR, an elected body of students, will meet tomorrow to select an ACSR member for next year.

Fouquet's statement says the ACSR is "hardly a representative body" of the Harvard community because all but its undergraduate member are selected undemocratically and those who are selected are from the areas of business, government, economics and law.

Experts

Detleve F. Vagts '49, professor of Law and a member of the ACSR, said last night the ACSR is not supposed to be a representative body but "is designed to get expert views from people who have input on investment issues," and to relay its decisions to the Corporation.

Fouquet's statement says the ACSR is "ineffective" because as a "purely advisory body" to the Corporation its "recom- mendations can be ignored or altered."

David Jehnsen, a student at the School of Education and a member of the ACSR, said last night the Corporation must allow space on its agenda for all formal decisions and recommendations of the ACSR.

"I feel confident that all the recommendations are dealt with critically," Jehnsen said.

Fouquet said last night the ACSR has been "stalling" and "stepping backwards" in debating why the South Africa issue should be isolated from other countries with human rights violations. The ACSR is also still debating what type of action Harvard should take with its investments in corporations active in South Africa. Fouquet said she thought the ACSR conclusively decided both these issues last spring.

The ACSR "gets caught up in these funny little things and spends hours deciding nothing," Fouquet said.

The ACSR's review of corporations is "unrealistic" Fouquet said, because "the Harvard questionaire was sent only to companies with large investments in South Africa" and those companies that respond, "fudge" the points of the questionnaire.

Michael A. Spence, professor of Economics and chairman of the ACSR, refused to comment yesterday on Fouquet's resignation.

Lawrence F. Stevens, secretary of the ACSR, could not be reached for comment last night