The plan to create a standing committee stemmedfrom last year's demands by the Coalition forDiversity for more ethnic studies courses.

Following the Coalition's Junior ParentsWeekend protest last spring and a series ofstudent meetings with top administrators, theEducational Policy committee (EPC) crafted theplan for the standing committee.

But the Faculty Council rejected the planbecause of its lack of clarity and a dearth offaculty to maintain its membership Buell, said.

Faculty Council members felt the plan needed tospecify the target ethnicities the prospectivestanding committee would focus on in courses,Buell said.

The rejection is not necessarily permanent,Buell said. The Faculty Council could vote on arevised plan for a standing committee.

"The position of the Faculty Council is that itwould be premature to put the seal of approval onthis committee," Buell said.

Council members questioned if a standingcommittee is the best way to implement ethnicstudies goals.

"[Is] that best way to fulfill the intellectualand pedagogical goals?" Professor of SociologyTheda Skocpol asked. "Sometimes [a committee] isdisfunctionary."

Students, however, defended the standingcommittee as a necessary first step towardaddressing the ethnic studies problem at anadministrative level.

Without a standing committee, "considering howbureaucracy-conscious Harvard is, anyinstitutionalization of a concentration [isdoubtful]," said Cho.

And both Buell and minority student leadersnoted the inevitably slow pace of change atHarvard.

While Buell defended progress already made bythe Faculty, he acknowledged that without measuresto continue expansion "the development of coursesin ethnic studies will be slowed down."

Cho said he does not retain much hope for quickchange on the matter.

"[The formation of an Ethnic Studiesconcentration] is something that my kids might noteven see," Cho said