The council has invited several administrators and all members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to attend the ball for free.

President Neil L. Rudenstine has already agreed to attend. Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles said in an interview yesterday that he did not know if he would be able to attend.

CityStep Concerns

The Gala Ball takes place just a few weeks before the annual CityStep Benefit Ball, which has traditionally been the only Harvard-wide formal.

The Gala Ball may hurt ticket sales for the CityStep event, said So Limpa-Amara '97, organizer of this year's CityStep ball.

"[The Gala Ball] doesn't affect the spirit of CityStep at all, [but] it does put us in a little of a tight spot because they are so close together," she said.

Limpa-Amara said that because the CityStep organizers had not been informed of the council's plans to host a Harvard-wide formal until it was announced to the whole campus. "It was kind of a surprise to us all and we're doing the best we can."

"[CityStep] is a tradition, it is a benefit ball, it is for the kids, and it is a big part of community service for Harvard University," she added.

Feeney said the council had no intention of hurting the CityStep event and that, in fact, the council supports any group sponsoring College-wide social events.

"I think the U.C. should have special consideration for groups who do the U.C.'s work for them, providing campus-wide events for us," Feeney said. "We would never want to hurt any organization that does that."

"If [the Gala Ball] hurts CityStep fiscally, I'm all for working out an arrangement where the council works out something better for them in the grants," Feeney said