After reading a report earlier this month that Harvard administrators were considering moving the Quad dormitories to Allston, Undergraduate Council President Rohit Chopra ’04 dashed off a letter to one of his friends—Cambridge Mayor Michael A. Sullivan.

Chopra warned Sullivan of the economic consequences should the hundreds of Quad residents be relocated from Cambridge. Sullivan said he wanted to talk, and the two are planning to sit down in the next few weeks.

Chopra is not afraid to be combative with those in power, and he will pit his friends in City Hall against his friends in University Hall if he feels it’s in the student interest.

Chopra’s list of contacts is impressive for someone who has only been at Harvard for three years, and administrators are learning that there is little they can do without having to deal with Chopra’s influence around the community.

In the eight months he has served as council president, Chopra has made the often overlooked council a force to be reckoned with in University Hall.

While former council president Paul A. Gusmorino ’02 raised the council’s profile two years ago by building consensus among deans behind the scenes and gently pushing his initiatives, Chopra prefers to see himself as “fighting” for the students he represents.

“There’s no advantage to being a pushover,” Chopra says.

‘Worthy’ Adversaries

Chopra’s most fiery run-in with the administration to date pitted him against Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby over the issue of preregistration last spring.

The council took an adamant stance against preregistration, which, if implemented, would have dramatically altered shopping period.

“I think that there is a general misunderstanding about the needs of students here,” Chopra says. “What we need is more counseling, more support.”

Kirby was presented with a petition signed by 1,200 students opposed to the plan, and the petition organizers voiced their concerns to the Faculty Council during a meeting.

“I think that the Faculty really does care about students but a kind of adversarial relationship is necessary,” Chopra explains.

Last year, Chopra also battled with former Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 over whether House Committees should be able to host their formals and other events in local clubs.

“We yell at each other all the time,” Chopra said last spring about his relationship with Lewis. “He’s a worthy adversary.”