Searching for the Council's Leaders

Name: Steven B. Smith '87

Candidate for: Vice chairman

House Affiliation: Eliot House

Hometown: Waverly, New York

Concentration: Government

1. I have been a member of the Undergraduate Council for the past two years, both of which I have served on the Finance Committee. Currently, I am the vice chair of the Council. This position has made me an ex-officio member of all five committees of the Council, and since I have attended almost all of their meetings, I have come to know the workings of the Council quite well. I am also a member of the Board of Directors of the Student Productions Agency, and I have also built a sound working relationship with the Harvard community, including administrators, faculty and house committees.

2. My top three priorities as vice chair for the upcoming semester include improving the comminications between representatives and constituents, improving the social atmosphere on campus by helping the Social Committee and the Student Productions Association sponsor events such as the Spring Weekend, and working to create a better image of the Undergraduate Council in the student community.

3. The main role of the Undergraduate Council should be to improve the quality of student life. We did this during the fall by tackling issues ranging from the alcohol policy to grants to chocolate milk. Further, if reelected, I will continue to uphold my policy of allowing discussion of any issue which a student brings to the Council floor.

As for how political our representatives should be--they should be political enough to be able to judge the concerns of contituents and to be able to act on them.

4. Some undergraduates do not agree with the University's investment policy, and thus do not feel morally right in donating money directly to Harvard. The Endowment for Divestiture allows those students to give money to Harvard without supporting its investment policy. By allowing E4D to use our office and by having mutual officers, we insure its perpetuation into the new academic years. Therefore, the Council provides a service to its contituents. However, this does not imply institutional preference for the Endowment over the Senior Class gift. That is a decision to be left to each senior.

The leaders of Harvard's student government must only be interested in providing a service to undergraduates; they need not necessarily be strong proponents of the divestiture movement.

5. At times, communication between individual Council members has not been good. This has, at times, created controversies which have bogged us down and have sidetracked us from treating issues which could improve student life. Better communication and more patience could have prevented such disputes as the Endowment for Divestiture affair. If reelected, I hope to improve intra-council dialogue, thus preventing the rise of such controversies and allowing the Council to do what it does best: improve student life.