Lewis Should Heed Students

By any measure, Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 has had a trying semester: public service, alcohol policy and randomization have hung as albatrosses around his neck.

As Lewis's second semester begins, he would do well to keep in mind the wishes of his primary constituency--his students--more than he has this past semester, although not to the detriment of decisions he believes crucial to the sound future of the College. And he should soften the edges of his terse communiques, termed brusque and blunt by many who have had frequent contact with him.

Who is Harry Lewis? As computer science professor, he is revered by many students who appreciate his thoughtful feedback. But as dean, many students, especially those in the Undergraduate Council and the Phillips Brooks House Association, Inc. (PBHA), have found him unaccommodating. He is a man of concise words who seems more comfortable communicating by computer than on the phone or in person.

He is a hard worker who often sends e-mail at small hours of the morning to students, faculty and administrators. He has attended Harvard sporting events since his undergraduate days here. In short, he has seemed to be the model Harvard "faculty-citizen" and has been a key player in the governance of the College for many years.

Yet this fall, it proved more difficult than perhaps even Lewis thought to balance the needs of the College with the desires of the students, since the two were often opposed. In many ways, however, he has brought his troubles upon himself.

In the areas of public service and randomization, he jumped into the fray long before he became dean, with his Report on the Structure of Harvard College released a year and a half ago.

That report suggested a restructuring of public service at Harvard with which most students and many staff members of PBHA vehemently disagreed. To add insult to injury, in the students' eyes, Lewis did not appoint any faculty PBHA recommended to the search committee for a new assistant dean of public service and then chose PBHA leaders' fourth choice of four in November for the new deanship.

The report also encouraged the randomization of the housing lottery, an unpopular decision which former Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 made last spring-one which Lewis has supported and will continue to support this semester if complaints arise.

Unrelated to the report but near the top of Lewis's list was his crackdown on underage drinking at Harvard. Students and University Health Services (UHS) officials have been angered by reports that friends who take drunken friends to UHS have been disciplined unfairly.

We understand how Dean Lewis may have arrived at some of his decisons. The restructuring, although it will bring the sad loss of three talented public service staff members, might well save the University money without compromising programs. Lewis' appointment of Judith H. Kidd rather than Greg Johnson to the new deanship could be a sign of the unfortunate but real necessity of Harvard's hiring more and more administrators who are primarily fund-raisers. Randomization, although an abhorrent prospect, could conceivably make four years at Harvard a more diverse experience for many students. And a harsher alcohol policy is a good idea in theory in order to stop students from hurting themselves and others.

But the manner in which Lewis has made his decisions leaves no room for excuses. A dean of the College should be someone with whom students feel comfortable speaking and whom students believe will really listen to them. A dean of the College should be approachable. A dean of the College should not make statements that needlessly incense hundreds of people, such as his e-mailed question after the PBH rally: "Isn't [the turnout] at most fifth a of the number expected, and about half the number of students (1700) that are claimed as members of PBHA?"

Students who have worked with Lewis, such as former PBHA president Vincent Pan '95-'96, have said they felt as if they were heard but not heeded. While a dean's job is not necessarily to follow the desires of the students, it is to make the students feel as if they have a real and active voice in policy changes. Lewis must do that if he hopes to establish better relations between himself and his students