At yesterday's meeting, however, several members said they felt "the most important loss [would] be that of Dean Epps's services." Epps has informally presided over the clubs' annual punching season, in which they recruit new members.

The committee noted that its action could nullify the voluntary "interclub agreement" of decorum and order during the punching season as well as their in formal agreement with the College to behave responsibly.

But even if these agreements no longer hold, committee members emphasized that as Harvard students, club members remain subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Administrative Board.

Original Heat

Although many of the clubs have maintained subtle ties with the University for decades, they came under fire for the first time last spring, when the Committee on College Life questioned their exclusion of women.

In an unprecedented departure from the College's traditionally neutral stance. Epps last summer and this fall attempted to persuade the clubs to admit women for a variety of economic, social, and moral reasons.

This fall, the committee noted that only officially-recognized student groups--who have pledged non-discrimination--are entitled to special benefits of University affiliation.

Last May, the committee set a deadline of October 1, 1984 for the clubs to agree to admit women or face possible loss of ties with the College. The deadline passed quietly because 1984-5 committee members had not yet been named.

When asked for their position, the club presidents, speaking as a group, asked the committee for a one-month extension. That extension expired last week.

They were not ready to admit women, they said, but wanted time to continue debating the possibility.

Although they never requested official recognition, they asked that the College not never its ties with them, saying that they valued the association with Harvard.

The committee granted the extension, but demanded that the clubs either agree to admit women or demonstrate why they should be exempt from Harvard's anti-discrimination policy