STUDENTS FOUND A pleasant surprise in their registration packets last Wednesday. Enclosed was a letter from Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 announcing that the Administrative Board, Harvard's chief disciplinary body, had implemented much-needed reforms and would now allow students charged with serious infractions to appear in person before the Board.

Previously, the fate of accused students rested exclusively in the hands of their Senior Tutor or Senior Adviser, who alone presented the student's case before the Board. The Senior Tutor served as both prosecution and defense, so the fairness of the procedure--and consequently the outcome of one's hearing--depended largely upon the sympathy and skill of one's Senior Tutor. Only after the Board had already vote to require a student to withdraw could the student appear in person and present his side in an appeal.

Now, however, students facing probation or a requirement to withdraw will have the opportunity to be present for the Ad Board's initial hearings. They will then be able to hear the Senior Tutor's presentation and respond to it. Students will also be able to bring into the proceeding as an adviser any member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The cloud of mystery and secrecy which previously surrounded the workings of the Ad Board should begin to dissipate and give way to more formal and regular, less subjective and arbitrary procedures. The presence of the accused and their opportunity to make a rebuttal should result in a Board less likely to accept, without question, the potentially biased presentation of Senior Tutors.

The surest way to reach a fair decision in any dispute is to hear both sides of the argument. By allowing students to present their side of the story if they are dissatisfied with their Senior Tutor's presentation of their case, the Ad Board can only increase students' confidence in Harvard's disciplinary system.

While allowing students to appear before the Board is a constructive step, it is nonetheless only a first step. The Ad Board's evidence-gathering procedures are still in need of reform. Even with the latest reforms, still only the Board itself--and not the students accused--may call witnesses. And students will continue to remain in the dark about the persons who testified against them, a practice contrary to the spirit of the American Constitution.

Nonetheless, the Administrative Board has taken an important step in making its procedures more fair by allowing accused students to take part in their own disciplinary proceedings. Our hope is that this one instance become a harbinger for additional reforms designed to establish more formal, less subjective disciplinary procedures.