'85 Assembly Reps Upset After Meeting

Several newly elected freshman representatives to the Student Assembly said yesterday they were disillusioned with the body after attending its first meeting but were eager to see the establishment of the new student council proposed in the Dowling Report.

A survey of 16 of the 21 new members showed many had felt unprepared for the election of Assembly officers that took place at Sunday's meeting, uninformed of the issues confronting the Assembly, and dissatisfied with the organization of the meeting.

"The meeting was really bad for us, Carla M. Rice '85 said yesterday. "We didn't really know who we were voting for. We had to make decisions based on five-minute speeches, 10-minute cross-examinations, looks and appearances. It didn't run smoothly," Rice added.

Daniel P. Collins '85 added. "My first impression of the Student Assembly was extremely negative, to say the least. The whole electoral process was a farce."

Huh?

Freshmen representatives complained that they were unfamiliar with the major issues the Assembly discussed. Michelle A. Viswananathan '85 and Anne K. Reed '85 agreed they were "basically uninformed" and had not expected to vote for officers and discuss major Assembly issues at the first meeting.

"It would have been to the betterment of the Assembly and to freshmen to allow them a few days or weeks to become acquainted with the workings of the Assembly," Jonathan S. Shapiro '85 said. "I believe many freshmen didn't know what to do," he added.

One representative said he was surprised that the meeting was disorganized and operated with "the same trivialities as in high school."

"The meeting was very disorganized but I feel the newly elected officials and the fulfillment of the Dowling proposals will partially solve the problem." Anne Reed '85 said.

"Freshmen want to play a role in the transition to the Student Council," Shapiro added. "Freshmen can have a tremendous effect on the future of Harvard student government. It's a unique opportunity," he said.