An Agenda for the Year

A LONG WRANGLE last spring over minority orientation events during freshman week raised substantial questions about the college's policy on minority relations. Once a cosponsor of these activities. Harvard withdrew its support two years ago, calling the events "separatist" and leaving minority student organizers without official publicity or funding for their programs. Although most recent discussion has focused on whether to list the events in the official freshman week calendar further review should turn to the possibility of active College endorsement; minority student groups are hard pressed to bear the burden singlehandedly of organizing these valuable activities. Harvard College, which conducts extensive minority recruitment programs, owes these same students a supportive welcome when they arrive; without this follow-up, earlier recruiting pitches threaten to dissolve into hyprocrisy.

ONE SILVER LINING of the cloud of construction that descended on Harvard this summer was work to make parts of two undergraduate Houses accessible to the disabled. Thanks to the alterations, persons in wheelchairs for the first time will be able to use Leverett dining hall and, potentially, be housed in one suite in Adams House.

The University deserves praise for these efforts to open up House life to disabled students, especially as these modifications go beyond what the law requires. Harvard architecture often defies total accessibility, and such piecemeal improvements are the most feasible way to accomodate the disabled. As the University continues to renovate, we urge officials to incorporate more such modifications as swiftly and thoroughly as possible.