Move to Prohibit Officers From Outside Politicking Fails in Student Council

The Student Council last night voted down a resolution to prohibit its President and vice-President from "holding office in, or acting as a spokesman for, any ideological or partisan organization."

Coming after two and a half hours debate in which many non-Council members spoke on both sides, the vote was 17-16 in favor of the motion. It failed by six to achieve the two-thirds plurality needed for passage of a constitutional amendment.

Move Ruled an Amendment

The move had originally been introduced as a by law, but President Howard J. Phillips '62 ruled it to be an amendment, and the Council upheld him, 14-13, in a crucial test of strength.

After the deciding vote on the resolution, debate resumed. Michael Hornblow '62, sponsor of the motion, asked for a recess to regroup his forces. When the meeting re-opened, a quorum was called since much of the large crowd had left. The first count was 19, the minimum needed to do business. Phillips asked for another call, however, and when only 18 members answered he declared the meeting adjourned.

The next move for the sponsors of the resolution will be to attempt to collect a thousand signatures from the student body, which would put the proposal before the College as a referendum. As of last night, the petitioners said they had acquired over 500 signatures in favor of a referendum.

The resolution presented to the Council charged that the "President of the Student Council has allowed the prestige of his office to be used in support of ideological organizations."

It cited the Constitution, which states the Council's purpose as strictly apolitical, and asked for the measure in order "to avoid future public misconceptions" regarding the link between a Council president's "personal ideological associations" and his "official position in the Student Council."

In reply to the charges, Phillips maintained that he had never presumed to represent the views of the student body, and said he regretted that his statements in the past may have been construed as representative. "I don't claim to have a right to represent the student body," he said.

When asked if he knew of cases where such a "misconception" had occurred, Phillips replied "a few." But he pointed out that it is a "statement of fact" that he is both Council President and an officer in several political organizations, and has every right to identify himself.

But his group has collected over 500 signatures, Hornblow said, and is confident that it will get the 1000 needed to present the issue to the College as a referendum.

Hornblow also explained why he had not moved for a simple censure of Phillips, since such a motion would have needed only a majority for approval. "Unlike our suggested resolution, it would have impugned the motives of Mr. Phillips. This we do not wish to do."

He emphasized that "in no sense is the suggested resolution a gag rule, as some have hastily said." We urge not that the President refrain from freely voicing his personal views, but simply that he and the vice-President be restrained in the manner that the resolution suggests, Hornblow said.