But such boards exist at other schools, including Princeton.
Driskell says that while she isn't "outraged" at Harvard's approach, she would have liked to see a stronger student voice in the process. In the era of e-mail, letter-writing--the only method of input open to all students--can be time-consuming.
"Students are very busy," Driskell says. "While it seems simple to ask for a letter, that's a more complicated matter for students."
According to Driskell, the council is considering inviting a member of the corporation to one of their meetings.
"I think they are genuine [in wanting to hear student concerns]. A student advisory board would have been a much better way to do it," she says. "It would have been a more than symbolic gesture."
Smith, the former co-chair of the Campus Life Committee, who co-wrote a letter to the search committee with Driskell, considers the letters a disjointed method of communication.
"It seemed like a disorganized way of doing it, there's a question how much an effect a single letter would have, whereas if you had a student ad board those would be actual human advocates for student concerns," he says.