Even when proctors do know the system, theysometimes are not around to help, some studentssay, noting that proctors who are medical studentsor law students or admissions officers have othercommitments that keep them from being around.

But proctors and other freshman advisers saythat neither time nor knowledge is usually aproblem. They say they do not need to be familiarwith all aspects of Harvard because their role isto guide students to the correct resources. Andmost proctors work out ways to keep in touch withtheir charges, administrators say.

"Being a proctor is not a 24-hour job," saysVirginia Mackay-Smith, senior adviser for thenorth Yard. She adds that proctors do not need togive all their time to the job to give it enoughtime and energy. Furthermore, she says, proctorswho need to be away often post a number at whichthey can be reached and tell other proctors tolook after their flock.

Susie Chao '86, an admissions officer who isalso a proctor, says that when she goes on tripsshe likes to send her students postcards and callto keep in touch.

In addition, the senior advisers always knowwhere to reach a proctor. "If something happenedand we needed to get in touch, we could do it,"Mckay-Smith says.

Too Rules-Oriented

Some critics of the freshman advising systemargue that the essential problem is that studentsare not encouraged sufficiently to come in and askquestions. Beginning with Freshman Week, officialHarvard is presented as as a set of rules to obeyrather than a resource to consult.

During their first week at Harvard, incomingstudents are given an introduction to life hereand told what the University expects of them. Inthe two meetings that take place during FreshmanWeek, proctors are required to explain Harvard'sdisciplinary process and describe the rules onalcohol and drugs, harassment and plagiarism.

First-year proctor Johannes C. M. Zutt saysthis focus forces the proctor to be toorules-oriented, giving freshmen the wrongimpression of what Harvard is like. "One of thethings I think we should do is reform the approachthat proctors take in Freshman Week," says Zutt.He says that Harvard presents itself to freshmen"too much as a policing agent."

Wang, too, says that while most proctors canrattle off the rules and regulations, proctors whotalk about their own experiences provide betteradvice. "I thought proctors were a bit tooofficial," he says.

Those first two meetings also present a problembecause a number of issues are presented in a waythat does not encourage dialogue. For example,students are usually told that they will bepunished if they harass someone because of his orher sexual orientation. But students may notrealize that they can talk to their proctor aboutquestions of sexual identity.

Zutt says one of the things he does toencourage discussion is to keep materials aboutsexual orientation in his room so that studentswill see he is willing to discuss their questions.

The Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) and Harvardadministrators are trying to broaden the issues towhich proctors and students are exposed when theyarrive. Assistant Dean for Minority Affairs HildaHernandez-Gravelle spoke to proctors about racialawareness before the freshmen arrived andcoordinated a Freshman Week panel on the samesubject. Just last week, Assistant Dean forCoeducation Janet A. Viggiani talked to proctorsabout how to approach questions concerning sexualorientation.

Nonetheless, gay, lesbian and bisexual leadersalso say that more efforts need to be made toteach freshmen about tolerance. They say thatsince most gay freshmen are still in the closet,their classmates are not forced to confrontdifferent sexual preferences directly andtherefore have an additional year in which todevelop homophobic attitudes.

"A certain amount of intolerance is allowed toexist, especially freshman year," says Kelly M.Dermody '89, co-chair of the Gay and LesbianStudents Association (GLSA). She says proctors donot encourage students to communicate about sexualorientation. She and other members of the gay,lesbian and bisexual community say they would likea required proctor meeting that would bring in agroup like Contact--a peer group that offerscounseling on issues concerning sexuality. GLSAmembers add that they want the University's policyforbidding discrimination because of sexualorientation read aloud to all freshmen.