To the Editor of The Crimson:

In a press memorandum dated July 5, 1973, prepared by the office of Mr. Walker Leonard, special assistant to the President, Mr. Leonard states that among the points of Harvard's Affirmative Action Plan which "were incorrectly taken by HEW or were ironed out in oral discussions with HEW representatives" was the issue of "how many special interest groups, both minority and women, were consulted during the formulation." As co-president of the Graduate Women's Organization, I question this statement with regard to women's groups. Neither GWO nor any of the other legitimate Harvard women's groups which I have contacted, including the Medical Area Women's Group, the Law Women's Association, and Women Employed at Harvard, was ever "consulted" during the formulation of Harvard's Affirmative Action Plan. Nor has any of us been asked to consult with Mr. Leonard or anyone else since the rejection of the plan. How then has this problem been "ironed out?"

Delegations from Graduate Women's Organization did meet with Mr. Leonard in November, 1972 and February, 1973, but these meetings, both initiated by the GWO, were hardly consultation sessions. We were never allowed to see any of the plans for the Affirmative Action Program until May 1, 1973, when we saw the final Plan -- after it had been submitted to HEW. We did make suggestions to Mr. Leonard during our discussion; indeed, HEW's objections to the Harvard Plan comprised many of the very points (e.g. failure to break down availability figures and goals by academic discipline and department or to set hiring goals which would offset underutilization of women and minorities) raised by the GWO at these meetings. That none of our suggestions was adopted is ample proof that the University did not consider these meetings serious consultation sessions.

The GWO also initiated meetings with former Dean of the Faculty John Dunlop and his assistant, Winifred Barad, Equal Employment Officer of the University, and also with President Bok, to discuss Affirmative Action. These meetings were even less satisfactory and approximated "consultation" even less than our discussions with Mr. Leonard.

In a recent telephone conversation with Corey Patterson, temporary co-ordinator of Women Employed at Harvard, Mr. Leonard confused that group (WEH) with the GWO. Such identification problems would not have occurred had either group been on a consultation basis with the University. As far as its relations with the various Harvard women's groups, the University has a lot more wrinkles to iron out. Joan M. Todd   Co-President   Graduate Women's Organization