Harvard Gazette: This month in Harvard history

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February 23, 2006

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This month in Harvard history

February 1952 - Outgoing Student Council President Richard M. Sandler '52 sounds a radical note in his final report by "asking that Council members be allowed to sit on Faculty committees, 'ultimately with a vote.' Sandler asserted that under the present 'gentlemen's agreement' between the Council and University Hall, the former 'has not even the minutest independent voice in the construction of policy.' " ("Harvard Alumni Bulletin," 2/23/52)

Noting that the current arrangement tends far too often to produce frustration, Sandler argues that " 'by having a seat, even a vote on Faculty committees, the student body could in no way control Faculty decisions' but that 'the forceful and direct avenue of communications thus afforded could only improve the relationship of the two bodies.' Sandler advances the idea after seeing the faculty reject three important Council proposals. The Council agrees to study his recommendation.

Feb. 4, 1952 - Time runs out for the street clock in front of the Harvard Trust Co. (now Bank of America) after a moving van knocks it down, smashing it beyond repair. The bank promptly announces that in two to three months, it will replace the 40-year-old landmark with another in the same spot.

- From the Harvard Historical Calendar, a database compiled by Marvin Hightower