SAC members argue that SAC meetings themselvesare open to the entire IOP membership, but criticssay that SAC does not encourage attendance bynon-members.

"No one ever told me when [SAC] meetings wereor invited me to attend," says Kathryn R. Markham'99-'00, an associate who is helping draft thecurrent proposals for structural reform.

Outgoing SAC Chair Jeffrey P. Yarbro '99 saysthe perception that associates do not have asignificant role in the IOP is untrue.

"I think associates have tremendous opportunityto be involved in every aspect of the Institute ofPolitics. [They are often] in charge of eventsfrom their earliest days at the IOP," Yarbro says.

"I do think it is unfortunate that people thinkyou have to be in the leadership to stay involvedin the organization," he adds.

A third complaint raised by critics is thatmany upperclass non-SAC members drop out becausethey have feel they have little role in theorganization.

According to former IOP associate Aadil T.Ginwala '99, students who are not selected to beon SAC by the end of their sophomore year arediscouraged from applying again.

"It's not the best way to run anorganization--to pick people their freshman yearand have them covertly run things for the rest oftheir time at Harvard," Ginwala says. "Everythingfeels sort of `back-room,' and that drives away alot of people."

McLain, for his part, acknowledged in an e-mailmessage that he did not think associates feltwelcome at SAC meetings, and says he agrees thattoo many associates drop out of the IOP aftertheir sophomore year.

McLain says that among his stated goals are tomake the IOP more open, to reduce the focus on SACmembership as the culmination of one's involvementin the Institute, and to reduce the specialprivileges that SAC members receive.

SAC member Michael J. Passante '99 describesrecent IOP decisions to increase associateinvolvement as a step in the right direction.

"We've established more small policy discussiongroups and monthly brainstorming sessions forassociates," Passante says. "We've also createdseminars for committee chairs, to help betterexplain to them the IOP structure."

Perks and the Old Boys' Network

A long standing complaint about the IOP ingeneral, and SAC in particular, is its lack ofrepresentation of women and minorities.

One striking example was presented by anassociate who did not wish to be named.