Overseers Expect Few Changes

Members of Harvard's Board of Overseers said yesterday that they anticipate few significant modifications this year in the governing body's election procedures, but said the rules may be changed for future elections.

These statements by members of the Executive Committee of the Board come as the six candidates who are running for the overseers on a pro-divestment platform have charged that the University's election procedures are unfairly biased against them.

Although the Board's Executive Committee does not plan to handle the contest differently from last year, a separate subcommittee of the Board formed to study the way overseers are selected is considering what may become far-reaching changes in election procedures.

Members of the recently-assembled subcommittee said long range plans likely will not be discussed until they examine this year's election process.

This year's overseers contest--the second consecutive election to see a pro-divestment slate--is by far the widest in recent years with a field of 12 University-sponsored candidates and six unofficial candidates.

The group sponsoring the pro-divestment slate, Alumni Against Apartheid (AAA), last month filed a preemptive complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General alleging that Harvard is conducting the election unfairly. Among the complaints are what activists called insufficient assurances that the University will not electioneer or change candidate's statements.

Members of the Board said yesterday that no changes had been made in the statements that are included in the ballot packets sent to Harvard's more than 200,000 alumni.

"[Changing the statements] may be a concern of [AAA's] but that has never been done," said a member of the Board's executive committee who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The overseer said that inappropriate statements included obscenities and racial slurs but would not say whether other wording might by objectionable.

No letter

Members of the overseers also repeated previous assurances by university officials and Overseers President Samuel C. Butler '51 that the University would not send a letter in support of the official candidates in voter packets. In last year's election, then President of the Board John T. Bok '51 sent a letter to the alumni saying that "specific issue" candidates, if elected, would change the nature of the overseers.

The overseer who declined to be named said that there was little unusual concern among fellow overseers over the upcoming election.

"I don't think people are worried about the election. I think what the overseers are worried about are people who come in with a single issue and are not interested in other issues."