"I try to be careful not to extend my reach where I'm not welcome or where it's not really part of my role because one can tend to do damage there," she told a Crimson reporter.

WILSON did not receive a faculty appointment, a situation which further weakens Radcliffe's already tenuous ties to the Harvard faculty. And Radcliffe has already demonstrated that is clearly not in touch with the women's community at Harvard.

In a year when thousands of Harvard women went to Washington, D.C. to march for women's rights, Radcliffe appointed a president afraid of the feminist "label," as Wilson has called it.

In a year when the Harvard Affirmative Action Plan showed a significant gap between tenure and tenure-track women faculty members in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the available pool, and the Verba Report called for a stepped-up effort to recruit women scholars, Radcliffe appointed a president that believes that there is a small pool of qualified women scholars, and that this small pool is "a significant factor" in Harvard's low rate of tenure for women faculty.

In a year when Olwen Hufton, chair of the Committee on Degrees in Women's Studies, indicated a need for greater interaction between the women's studies program and Radcliffe's scholars, Radcliffe appointed a president who hasn't taught in 20 years and doesn't have strong enough credentials to earn a faculty position.

WOMEN undergraduates at Harvard still write their tuition checks to "Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges." Payroll forms still have separate boxes labeled "Harvard" and "Radcliffe" for students to indicate University affiliation. And diplomas women receive at graduation are signed by the presidents of both Harvard and Radcliffe.

But that is the extent of the association most women undergraduates have with Radcliffe--a check, a form, a signature. By appointing Wilson, the Board of Trustees is ensuring that things stay that way.

Maybe its time to stop adding the "and Radcliffe Colleges" to the tuition check. Why should undergraduates give money to something that doesn't exist?