Women Excluded From New CUE

For the first time since its inception in 1970, the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) will have no women representatives. Elections were held for the CUE last Friday and five men--including representatives from the three major areas of study and the Freshman class--were elected.

The CUE--which was formed to regulate undergraduate education--consists of five student members, five Faculty members and the Deans of Harvard and Radcliffe.

When CUE was founded, at the recommendation of the Fainsod Committee, the election rules required representation of women and freshmen. However, this requirement was removed by a vote of the Faculty in January 1971.

"The whole thing is very confusing," Charles P. Whitlock, acting dean of Harvard College, said yesterday. "In January 1971, the earlier procedure was changed and a more elaborate one substituted for it. The result was that women and freshmen were forgotten. In Friday's election, we ended up with five men."

The five student members of the CUE are selected by 32 student electors, two from each House and four from the freshman Council. Four of the electors are women.

CUE member David S. Korzenik '72, commenting on what action the Committee would take to remedy the situation, said last night, "The reason there was no women elected was that the issue was never brought up'til the end of the meeting. I think that at the next meeting of the Educational Research Group--the group of 30 electors--a woman will be appointed to be a full member. She has to be elected, however, by the CUE. In any case, the Committee has to have a woman representative for legitimacy. It's a pressing problem."

Possible Solution

Whitlock predicted that one possible solution might be for one of the women electors to be appointed to audit this spring, with the understanding that she will be elected in the fall when the one senior member has graduated. Faculty legislation gives the CUE the power to elect successors to outgoing members.

Whitlock also reported that he was planning to review election procedures at the next meeting of the Committee on February 11.