After intense lobbying by Student Union officials for student representation, Provost Marty Krauss said the Student Union president would be given a seat on a faculty advisory committee formed in February to deal with potentially controversial speakers and events.Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 said it is important that the committee include student representation so that the faculty will take "student sentiment" into account when considering campus events.

The Advisory Committee on Campus Events was formed after the high-profile visits of former President Jimmy Carter and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz last January and the removal of an exhibit of Palestinian art last spring. Both of these events garnered national attention for the University.

Prof. Paul Jankowski (HIST), the committee's chair, said last February that it would try to address free-speech controversies in campus events and exhibits when they arise.

"In a way this is a committee for grievances, but it is also consultative," he said. "It's there to help."

Krauss said that though the committee originally did not include a student, she changed her mind after consulting former Union President Alison Schwartzbaum '08, Jankowski and Jean Eddy, the senior vice president for students and enrollment.

She decided a student voice is needed because "most events on campus do affect students."

Still, Krauss emphasized, "This is not a committee that is designed to serve as a forum for student complaints or concerns." Students can express their concerns through the Departments of Student Life and Student Activities, she added.

Schwartzbaum said it was "appalling" that there were no students on the committee.

The committee has no authority over campus speakers or events but could provide advice as to how the events are organized, Krauss told the Justice last February.