Exclusivity in the Comp

The Undergraduate Council recently considered legislation to investigate the comp processes students must complete to join recognized student organizations. Some members of the UC expressed unease with the inequitable, stressful, and exclusionary nature of comp processes. In order to address these concerns, the UC discussed potentially collecting information from students and organizations to better understand membership requirements, along with creating a student evaluation system for comps.

While this is a good idea in principle, the UC is not the best organization to lead this effort, because we are skeptical that it would be able to successfully investigate comp processes. Such an endeavor would require significant time and resources, and the UC is already committed to other projects like expanding social spaces on campus. Given other concerns, such as with the way it disburses funds to student groups, the UC should focus on improving the projects it has already undertaken.

Despite these practical limitations that the UC faces, it is still commendable that it is drawing attention to an important issue that ought to be addressed. In light of recent discussion of exclusivity as manifested in unrecognized single-gender social organizations, it is also important for us to consider the forms of exclusivity that manifest themselves even in the student organizations that are recognized by the College.

For example, many comp processes are long and time-consuming, preventing students who have to work a job on campus from participating. Providing this information to potential compers up front allows them to make a more informed decision when they choose which organizations to join. Many comp processes are also difficult and require some level of prior knowledge or experience, disadvantaging students who never had those opportunities in the past. At a minimum, a centralized resource describing the variety of comps across campus would provide students with more information about these organizations. At its best, it would encourage groups to become more inclusive.

An initiative to compile information about comp processes would be particularly important for students who come to Harvard without any prior knowledge of its student organizations. For those students in particular, a comprehensive and honest guide to the comp processes of each student organization would be invaluable. Exclusivity on this campus is real and harmful, especially to students who come from low-income or first-generation backgrounds. We should do everything we can to lower the barriers that they may face, and make Harvard a more inclusive place.