Lewis called the lack of space for student groups his “nightmare” and added,

“I wish I had something happy or encouraging to say on the subject.”

Citing the loss of the Rieman Dance Center, Lewis said the College might need to consider renting space in the Harvard Square area.

The dean also acknowledged similarities between the academic and extracurricular spheres—particularly in artistic endeavors—that the College does not recognize when awarding academic credit.

“It’s just very, very odd that you have courses where you read Shakespeare’s plays, and you have [extracurricular] groups that perform Shakespeare’s plays, and there’s almost no connection between the two,” he said.

“It seems perfectly reasonable that you have faculty oversight or guidance” for some extracurricular groups, he added.

But Lewis dismissed the possibility of allowing students to sit on the Administrative Board, saying that he’d “need to be persuaded that we’re making lots of bad decisions” in order to take that step.

Although the council asked him multiple questions about the University’s sexual harassment policy, Lewis declined to add to his past comments on the issue.

Bills and a Hasty Exit

After Lewis departed, the council considered and passed a resolution recommending that Harvard University Dining Services serve Fair Trade coffee in dining halls daily. According to the resolution, the Fair Trade system “ensures subsistence level prices for Third World farmers” by paying them an above-market rate of $1.26 per pound.

The council also voted on a constitutional amendment that would guarantee each House or first-year district representation on each of the council’s three committees. The amendment would also make it more difficult for council members to switch from one committee to the next.

Although the council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the amendment last night, representatives have one week to change their votes, and the final count will be announced at next Sunday’s meeting.

The council also approved a grant to the Harvard Asian Baptist Student Koinonia (ABSK).

Last week, grants to the Harvard Radcliffe Christian Fellowship and ABSK were tabled because of fears that the groups discriminate on the basis of religion and that supporting the organizations would violate the council’s constitution.

The grant to the Christian Fellowship remains tabled because administrators are currently investigating the group’s practices, according to Finance Committee Chair Jessica P. Lau ’04.