State-Wide Student Association Founded

Harvard students will join representatives from more than 20 Massachusetts colleges and universities at the first organizational meeting of the Association of Independent College and University Students (AICUS) on Saturday at Wellesley College.

AICUS, a newly-formed statewide student association, is designed to provide a clearing-house for information concerning students, according to Lucy P. Marcus, the Wellesley student who founded AICUS last June. It will also serve as a lobbying group for non-partisan issues such as financial aid, Marcus said.

Focus on College Funding

AICUS members said they hope to increase federal and state funds for scholarships and student loans in the near future.

AICUS could become an important forum for answering students needs, said Marcus. "Students make up a great percentage of voters; we can be very influential. AICUS is a forum through which student voices can be heard," she said.

"AICUS is not a Wellesley organization," said Marcus. She said she hopes that the representatives start chapters of AICUS at their colleges and universities.

Harvard Participates

C.P. Dominick Ayotte '94 and Rebecca A. Dillingham '93, will represent Harvard at the Saturday morning meeting.

Harvard Professor Robert O. Keohane, chair of the Government Department, will serve on the advisory board. AICUS is entirely managed by students.

Keohane said he joined the organization for a number of reasons, including the group's willingness to take on important student issues.

"It looked to me like a very interesting initiative to organize students around issues of financial aid, especially around government aid. It seems like a fine organization," he said.

There is no direct affiliation between AICUS and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUM), according to Roger F. Sullivan, vice president of AICUS. However, AICUM is currently providing basic funding and advice to AICUS, he said.