Transfer Students Protest Change

About a dozen transfer and non-transfer students met yesterday to draft a petition in response to the College’s decision to reduce the number of transfers it plans to admit.

The decision, made to accommodate an increase in the size of the Class of 2010 and future freshman classes, prompted the dinner meeting, which took place in the Quincy House Junior Common Room.

After reading about the change in a March 19 Crimson article, David L. Tannenwald ’08, a transfer from Brown University, organized the meeting with Thomas S. Wooten ’08.

The petition calls on the administration to “engage in a dialogue with all interested parties, perhaps in the form of a meeting...before proceeding further,” and had garnered 17 signature as of 1 a.m. today. The petition also asks University officials to maintain current advising and support services for transfer students so that “transfer students continue to be effectively integrated into the Harvard community.”

The student organizers hope to acquire 500 signatures and submit the petition to Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 this Friday.

In the article, Gross told The Crimson that he and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R. Knowles will decide on a target number of transfer admits in the coming weeks. Some transfer students said they were more confused than angry after learning of the College’s decision.

Pamela C. Chan ’07, a transfer student from the University of Western Ontario, was not present at the meeting but said in a phone interview before the dinner that “it’s important to note that some people are like, ‘oh you’re complaining about nothing.’”

“It’s not [that we’re] trying to pit ourselves against the administration, said Chan, who is now a member of the Undergraduate Council. “We just...need to see why the administration is doing this, the rationale behind the policy change, so that everyone’s clear and on the same page.”

During the open discussion, non-transfer students said that transfer students can offer a unique perspective.

“All transfer students have the advantage of having been at two institutions,” Yinliang He ’08-’09 said. “They can inform us about what is not going on at Harvard. It helps Harvard students to think out of the box.”

He added that “transfer students add as much to diversity as an ethnic group or religious group.”

Wooten said that his personal experience with transfer students caused him to be “pretty disappointed” by the administration’s decision.

“Transfer students have a different sort of creative spirit, willingness to explore than I encounter in most undergraduates,” he said. “I felt like reducing the footprint further wouldn’t be great.”

Tannenwald said last night that he wanted to ensure the College would still be committed to welcoming and supporting new transfer students, even if the number of transfers is reduced.

“The bigger question here is how can we ensure and get an excellent orientation experience, which is a huge attraction,” he said.

In an e-mailed statement yesterday, Gross said that he had received and responded to messages from eight concerned students, but declined to comment further.

—Staff writer Angela A. Sun can be reached at asun@fas.harvard.edu.