UC Endorses Delay in Concentration Choice

The Undergraduate Council (UC) voted overwhelmingly at last night’s session to endorse legislation slated to be considered at today’s Faculty meeting that would establish optional secondary fields and would delay concentration choice by a semester.

If the legislation passes at today’s Faculty meeting, these curricular review proposals could go into effect next year.

The UC passed the Concentration Reform Act on a 32-1 vote, urging professors to approve the proposals that the Education Policy Committee (EPC) has submitted to the Faculty.

Although the council’s approval is not required for the changes to be implemented, last night’s vote is the latest signal of strong student support for the EPC reforms. In a Crimson poll of 354 undergraduates last month, 60 percent said they support the plan to push back concentration choice by a semester, while just 32 percent opposed the change.

The UC vote is “an exciting symbol of the voice that undergraduates have had in this process,” said a co-sponsor of the bill, Matthew R. Greenfield ’08, who is the vice-chair of the council’s Student Affairs Committee.

The Student Affairs Committee’s chair, Ryan A. Petersen ’08, said the proposal for secondary fields—which would be akin to minors—“allows students to pursue passions beyond their concentration.”

But Petersen, who is also a co-sponsor of the bill, acknowledged that the reforms will force departments to re-evaluate concentration requirements and year-long tutorials.

“Certainly there are administrative difficulties within departments with these reforms, but the overall student benefit is so great that I think Faculty will end up adopting them,” Petersen said.

The UC also passed a bill supporting universal key-card access for freshman dormitories, which would allow upperclassmen equal access to the buildings.

The bill argues that universal access would improve safety by allowing all students to enter Yard buildings when in danger. It also argues that universal access for undergraduates would reduce the prevalence of “piggy-backing”—that is, holding doors open to allow individuals to enter without swiping.

UC member Randall S. Sarafa ’09 said allowing upperclassmen to enter freshman dorms would also create a closer campus community.

By not allowing older students to enter first-year dorms, Sarafa said, “it seems like there’s an invisible barrier between the freshmen and the upperclassmen at Harvard.”

UC President John S. Haddock ’07 said he believes that universal key-card access in the Yard could make the campus safer and more tightly-knit.

“I think that there’s been very, very solid justification made both in terms of safety and in community,” Haddock said. “I think safety is going to be significantly improved in the Yard with universal key card access.”

Although position papers endorsing universal access in the Yard haven’t persuaded the Freshman Dean’s Office to implement the proposal in the past, Greenfield said that he is optimistic that the new FDO administration will be more receptive. Thomas A. Dingman ’67 became dean of freshmen last summer.

In other UC business, the council’s public relations director, Benjamin W. Milder ’08, announced the creation a UC weekly e-mail newsletter for undergraduates.

—Staff writer Rachel L. Pollack can be reached at rpollack@fas.harvard.edu.