It's Quality, Not Quantity...

The Student Council began last night what it has chosen to call its own "first 100 days" of the Spring Term. The nomen is disturbing not in its lack of originality but in the insistence of the Council President that this period will be marked by all sorts of "massive assaults," international festivals, public forums, new committees, and perhaps even a World's Fair in Cambridge.

If the "hundred days" is taken seriously, the new term will bring not an effective effort by Council members to exert its persuasive powers as a pressure group but nebulous and seldom fulfilled plans for Council-sponsored extra activities. Clearly public seminars, week-long forums on international affairs, and politically involved sub-committees are beyond the realm of an efficient Student Council. The aims of such projects are a legitimate concern of a student pressure group, but the execution of these programs would best be delegated to other undergraduate organizations.

Student Council manpower, which according to Council officers is never as great as it should be, is usually directed toward these peripheral affairs while the Council's essential business is neglected. While Council members are out arranging these "world's fairs," the constituency still waits for a penetrating investigation into HSA, a comprehensive answer to doubts about the University Health Services, and an overdue appraisal of Sophomore standing.

These extra Council gimmicks do get publicity and perhaps even bolster the prestige of its members but--more important--they hinder the proper function of the Council; to devote its efforts to pressuring various parts of the community in the name of College undergraduates.

The following lies ahead for the Student Council, according to the President's prospectus: NSA participation, a "massive assault" on parietal hours, a new publication, a helping hand in finding summer jobs, planning for the 1961 Twentieth Century Week, a forum on drama, a world youth festival, a discussion on the House Un-American Activities Committee, creation of an Administrative Oversight Committee, work on an extra-curricular affairs coordinating council. It should be obvious which of these projects is beyond the realm of a sensibly-concentrated, efficient Student Council. Sorting them out should occupy the first day. In the next 99 days, maybe the Council will come down to earth and draw in the boundary of the periphery.