Some students were troubled by the dean's comments, and took them as a hint that students might be booted from future searches.

Are They Valued?

Students who have served on various types of committees say their opinions are generally valued.

"The student members on the committees I have been on have always been treated extremely well," said Bradford E. Miller '97, a member of the dining services search committee and a Crimson editor. "I always felt that I was being treated as an equal in the committees."

But some students said their input is not taken as seriously as that of faculty members.

"Students aren't typically ignored in discussions, but our input is not always given adequate consideration," said Marco B. Simons '97, an Undergraduate Council member who has served on several student-faculty committees, although not the HDS search committee.

Miller, a veteran of several student-faculty committees, said the HDS candidate list leak may cause faculty and administration committee members to be more careful with sensitive information.

"I do think that committees will be more careful overall in how information is distributed and the discussion of confidential information," he said.

Students involved with committees continue to deny that students were responsible for the leak.

"I feel confident that no student leaked the information," Simons said