Council Earned Right to Be Heard

The new, popularly elected Undergraduate Council leadership now has the credible backing of the student body to speak to the administration and to the world-at-large about the academic and social issues which affect the College. We support this new student government and hope it will use its mandate to push through some of the elements of their Students' Bill of Rights.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 and other administrators should pay greater heed to student concerns as outlined by newly-elected Undergraduate Council President Robert M. Hyman '98-'97 and the council. We continue to be concerned about the administration's lack of response to student opinions. This concern has only been exacerbated by President Neil L. Rudenstine's comment a week before the elections that he didn't know that the student council's leaders were about to be popularly elected.

Over the past year, Lewis has ignored student input on a number of extremely important decisions such as the appointment of Judith H. Kidd as public service czar and the dearth of campus safety. One excuse Lewis might have offered in years past was that the council didn't truly represent the students. No more is this possible.

Rob Hyman was elected upon a solid platform called the Students' Bill of Rights. The first plank of this electoral contract focuses on student concerns: for a safe campus; for representation on College committees; for teaching fellows and professors who can teach; for a 24-hour library and the extension of hours at Loker Commons; for increased flexibility in our meal plans; for more shuttle buses and better athletic facilities; for a cohesive and competent system of advising; for information privacy in terms of grades, HIV testing and computer use. The Bill of Right's second plank reflects student concern about minority issues, including the appointment of more minority faculty members and house masters; about gender issues, specifically the hiring of more female faculty and a comprehensive report on the status of undergraduate women; about issues of social responsibility like the need-blind financial aid, the selection of contractors and the off-campus non-Harvard funded ROTC program.

The election of Hyman cements his position as true leader of the current student government. In his commitment to student issues and concerns, he exemplifies the better elements of the new council. No more will our student government be a glorified dance committee; the University should no longer treat it as such. Rudenstine, Lewis and the remainder of the administration should work with the council to address the needs of the undergraduate community for which the council's leadership, and Hyman in particular, can now legitimately speak.