Radcliffe's Visible Forum

WHEN EMPLOYERS make budgetary cuts, they generally refer to an old line: last hired, first fired. The recent decision of the Radcliffe Board of Trustees' subcommittee on management policy to fire the administrators of the Radcliffe Forum shows how inadequate that system is.

Instituted as part of a re-organization of Radcliffe in 1977, the office provided the last visible link between the College and its students. The termination of this link leaves unanswered the question posed in 1975, when Radcliffe gave Harvard total responsibility for educating its women students: how can Radcliffe help the woman student?

The Forum had begun to answer the question, initiating workshops, panel discussions and lectures on issues of concern to women students. The Forum's recent push to establish a women's clearinghouse, its support of a grass-roots coalition for a women's studies concentration, and its establishment of grants for House activities on women's studies reflects a commitment to women's issues not shown elsewhere on campus.

Without the Forum as a visible separate office functioning under the auspices of Radcliffe, we must ask how the College can fulfill its responsibilities to offer women students activities and programs devoted to their needs. For these reasons we strongly urge the Radcliffe Board of Trustees not to accept the recommendation of the subcommittee.