Council Faces a Full Agenda

Harvard's first real student government heads into its sixth semester with several meaty issues on its agenda, $21,000 for needs campus groups, and one recurring problem--growing pains.

But before it does anything this semester, the council will elect its officers by secret ballot this Sunday. No one has yet declared a challenge to fall term chairman Brian R. Melendez '86, though no previous race for the top spot has gone uncontested. The vice-chairman's slot, treasurer's ledgers, and secretary's notepad are also up for grabs.

SURVEYING: First off for the 88-member body will be next week's campus-wide poll on the freshman housing lottery (see story on this page), which the council is conducting in cooperation with the College. The referendum results should provide a month of fodder for the council's residential specialists, who are expected to propose changes in lottery procedures which would affect the upcoming freshman ritual.

DEFLECTING: If the spring goes like the fall went for the council's grants committee, members may have to establish a special grievance subcommittee. That's because the fall allocation by the council of some $20,000 to undergraduate groups prompted an unusual number of complaints from grant applicants--even those who got money. So before another $21,000 is doled out, members are expected to focus on what they say was one source of difficulty--uneven adherence to criteria for determining awards. To do more than just say "sorry" to those groups which don't 'meet requirements for grants, representatives add, the council will also assemble a guide to sources of funding elsewhere at Harvard.

PLAYING: Remember last year's Grateful Dead-turned sour-turned R.E.M. concert? It was one of the first appearances at Harvard by a big name band, and council members were reported to be working last term to swing the Temptations for a concert this spring. Whether they'll come through is still unclea, but the council's social committee has acted to unsure enlivining student life in at least some fashion this semester. About $4000, half the social slice of the government's $60,000 pie, has been set aside to distribute to House committees for sponsoring campus wide House parties on different week ends throughout the semester.

NETWORKING: A council-initiated program to match upperclassmen with freshman dorms will take shape this term. The idea is that a formal set of student "peer advisers" could supplement the academic and other support which resident proctors are supposed to provide. If this spring's experimental program--involving about a dozen upperclassmen each matched to a proctorial unit in the Yard--is successful, the Freshman Dean's Office may expand the program next year.

TRICKLING DOWN: The ongoing controversy over the elimination this year of "radical" sections for mega-popular Social Analysis 10. "Principles of Economics," likely will be fueled again when council members finish reviewing their recent survey of the thousand-student class. Academic tempers first flared when Baker Professor of Economics Martin S. Feldstein, fresh from two years of speaking his mind in Washington, cut out the radical option as part of a general streamlining effort.

His move was met with petitions from students and section leaders alike, who argued that students should learn the non-mainstream views presented in the disputed classes. Although those protests yielded few concessions on Feldstein's part, council members hope that their survey will lead to a comprehensive report on the matter before long. Though Feldstein may prove intractable, early indications him at heavy student support in the survey for restoring the radical alternative.

GRAB-BAG: Also on the council's agenda this spring are a number of perennial issues, discussion of which may not bring about any major reports or proposals. Among them: the topics of shuttle bus and escort service; a central student center; the educational role of the Houses; sexual harassment; dining services; and the academic calendar.

SORESPOTS: After more than two full years in operation, the council has settled most of its internal procedures, and now seems content with the comprehensive bylaws which guide the body's operation. This semester, council leaders are expected to focus at least somewhat on the organization's dealings with the outside world. That effort may include, representatives say, moving the council's offices from cramped Canaday basement to more spacious and conspicuous quarters; increasing informal, committee free contact between members, college officials and other campus groups; and joining several national level student associations for the purpose of sharing ideas, experiences, and a wealth of computer based data on student issues.