As audience members pose questions to the Leaning committee, Gross does not say a word. But afterwards, he mingles and answers questions from students—who are slowly beginning to recognize his face.

Gross already has some thoughts on implementing the Leaning committee’s recommendations. He says he strongly agrees with the proposal to centralize the resources offered by the College—“There are too many go-to numbers”—and its suggestion to appoint a “single fact finder” to oversee all allegations of sexual assault.

The results of the Leaning committee have also brought to his attention the problems of social space and alcohol at the College.

Harvard students are not engaging in responsible social behavior, Gross says. “We absolutely need to establish an alcohol program—the problem with alcohol here is gigantic,” he says. “It is illegal to drink here in Boston, but we can’t pretend that there won’t be alcohol at parties. When you go to UHS, the disaster has already happened. We need to do education and training.”

The problem is structural, as well, according to Gross.

“There needs to be more communal student space,” he says, adding that students face a “1 a.m. choice”—the decision of what to do when officially sanctioned parties end.

This summer, Gross will meet with current Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 and University Provost Steven E. Hyman to further discuss how the administration should approach this issue.

At the Theater

On a warm, breezy Saturday evening, Gross pauses on the lawn of Radcliffe Yard to chat with students. He and his wife are on their way to attend the Harvard Ballet Company’s “Once Upon a Time: An Evening of Fairy Tales” at the Rieman Dance Center.

Gross has devoted much of this spring to getting a feel for student extracurricular life.

In addition to the ballet, Gross and his wife also caught part of the tennis team’s championship tournament against Brown and watched a student performance of the musical Kiss Me, Kate.

Gross, who during his undergraduate years played viola in the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and in the pit for a few student musicals—says that he considers student activities to be as important as academic pursuits.

“Extracurriculars are an essential part of the Harvard experience and a Harvard education. It’s part of our culture,” Gross says. “It’s what you don’t learn in the classroom. Those kinds of skills are just as important to learn in college as biology or medieval European literature.”

But several of the spaces in which students participate in these extracurricular activities are in danger of disappearing.

“We’ve lost a lot of fabulous student space,” Gross says. “It really affects the way students interact.”