Council Experiences Rise in Candidates

With an upsurge of students contesting the 88 available seats, the Undergraduate Council appears to have firmly established itself as an actor in campus politics as it hands into its third year of operation.

One hundred, seventy-five students--up a third from last year's 132--will battle for the 88 seats on Harvard's first College-funded student government. The elections will take place in House dining halls this week, and the results will be announced next Monday.

Gregory Lyss '85, outgoing chairman of the council, attributed the leap in interest in the council to better publicity, endorsements of the council by members of the administration, and the organization's "large number of achievements."

Roll-call

Lyss cited the addition of a spring-break meal plan, house sections for Core courses, tickets to bring faculty members to lunch, and a report on freedom of speech as among the achievements that have won the council a reputation for effectiveness.

While this year's figure of 175 compares favorably with last year's 132, it still represents a drop from the 200 who ran for positions in 1982, the council's first year.

That high turnout, however, was unusual, Lyss said, because in the first year. Former Dean of the Faculty Henry Rosovsky paid about $4,000 for holding the elections--a significantly higher sum than the council, which now finances the elections, has since been able to afford.

Last year was the year to "hack" the undergraduate council, Lyss said, but this year its progress is more visible, the main reason he cited for the council's ability to attract contestants.

The council, charge attached to each student's form bill, has an approximately $40,000 budget, much of which it allots to student groups. Members of the council sit on a variety of policymaking student-faculty committees.

The Spread

Candidacies for the council were spread out throughout the 12 residential Houses, Dudley House, and four freshman districts. Each elects five or six candidates, depending on the population of the house.

All houses have six or more candidates running this year. Last year Adams House, Dudley House and Kirkland House had only five candidates and so had "no race," said Vice Chairman Brian Melendez '86.

This year 9 candidates are running from Dudley and Kirkland, and ten from Adams.

Emily Handen '87 said she is running from the North Yard district, because the council "looks like an organization closely involved in the university." Another candidate from the South Yard, Tina Rafinsky, said she hopes to push to make Core requirements more flexible.

Both Lyss and Melendez said they have received numerous phone calls from students thinking of running but getting discouraged by the large number of students running in some areas