Committee on Race Relations To Seek More Student Input

Ora Fant, minority recruitment and retention coordinator at the Medical School, spoke yesterday before the Committee on Race Relations as part of its ongoing investigation of minority admissions programs and racial relations at Harvard.

After explaining the general admissions policy at the Medical School, Fant said that students help the admissions office recruit minorities in the field.

Jonathan J. Ledecky '79, a committee member, said yesterday that Fant's talk helped the committee "gain perspective on undergraduate admissions."

Back to Basics

"Before we make any recommendations, we wanted to gain an understanding of the basics involved in minority admissions," Jake Liang '80, another committee member, said yesterday.

In further discussion regarding the importance of student input into campus racial relations, a subcommittee was formed to develop a questionnaire for distribution to all undergraduates.

More Core

Donald Barfield, graduate fellow of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, will design the survey-"the central core on which we base our recommendations, the empirical part of our study," Ledecky said yesterday.

As a further attempt to measure student attitudes on racial relations on campus, the Committee decided to hold more open meetings at Currier and Kirkland House, similar to the one at Quincy House which drew about 20 students last month.

"This is a chance for House residents to discuss their individual views on Harvard race relations, and the interaction within the House," Ledecky said. He added that with more House meetings, more people will express their opinions. "By doing so, they will have direct input into what the committee will put in its recommendation report."