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Founded in 1890, the Ad Board’s objective is “the educational and personal growth of undergraduates.” Throughout its history, former Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 writes in his book, Harvard has tried to mentor its students through means of tough love. “Students tend to think of [the Ad Board] as the court where they will be tried and sentenced for serious offenses,” Lewis writes in Excellence Without a Soul. “For most of its history, however...
...Ad Board is composed principally of the Allston Burr resident deans of each House and the resident deans of freshman, and is overseen by the dean and assistant dean of the College, with various faculty members and student advisers that attend meetings irregularly. The Board’s purview includes academic petitions, disputes between students, and, of course, disciplinary cases...
Given the breadth of the Ad Board’s responsibilities, its procedures are extremely intricate, making them difficult to render in even a 58-page pamphlet such as the Administrative Board of Harvard College Guide for Students. Practices vary from case to case—administrative petitions are typically handled by a smaller executive board, many cases are sent to subcommittees, and still others require the attention of the full Board. These multiple processes more than explain why it is so difficult for students to have a firm grasp of the current system. Says Matthew L. Sundquist...
This opacity doesn’t just make the Ad Board a feared institution among undergraduates, it also defeats one of its central aims: to educate students. Lewis writes that the Board rarely provides “any opportunity for education, which is, after all, what the disciplinary system is designed to accomplish...
When a complaint is put before the Ad Board, a student is rarely informed that he is under scrutiny. Unlike in a law enforcement case in which the person under question is brought in for an interview during the fact-gathering stage, the Board usually inquires into the matter quietly, and without the participation of the accused. If the Board decides to act on the findings of its investigation, it promulgates “charges” and begins to assemble a formal case. Only once a full, written charge has been issued is the student brought into the fold...