Mandery's Abuse of Power

To the Editors of the Crimson:

When I attended my very first Undergraduate Council meeting on Sunday evening, I was appalled at the fraudulent abuse of power exhibited by Council Chair Evan J. Mandery '89. Sunday was the Council's spring grant disbursement meeting, during which the Council set an apparent precedent by voting to provide postage expenses for the Hillel's Committee on Oppressed Jewry (HCOJ); the UC Finance Committee as standard policy has always refused to pay for postage. After a contradictory vote not to pay postage for the South African Solidarity Committee AND the revelation by the Finance Committee of new information about apparent increased funds available to HCOJ, Council member Andreas Beroutsos moved to reopen debate on the HCOJ grant to allow further financial explanations by their representative. Mandery began the ensuing fiasco by first asserting numerous times to questioning Council members that passage of the motion required a two-thirds majority, only to be corrected later that a simple majority was needed.

Following a close voice vote, Mandery announced the motion had failed, sparking Beroutsos to request a hand vote. Then chaos erupted. Mandery reported that by his count the motion had failed by a 20-21 vote; Beroutsos claimed a 22-19 vote (excluding the vote of Mandery and Vice-Chair Jeff Cooper '90 who voted while tabulating the vote, not by raising their hands). Beroutsos demanded a recount by an "impartial" member of the Council; to his credit Mandery did agree to the recount (but not to the "impartial" vote tabulator). When Council members raised their hands again, I counted along--my count gave the resolution a favorable 22-21 vote (43 members voting), assuming that Mandery and Cooper voted against the motion as they had before; Beroutsos had apparently counted the same. But Mandery delivered the same verdict, the motion had failed, 20-21 (41 members voting).

The argument which ensued over the vote's tabulation escalated into a shouting match between Mandery and Beroutsos which required both to leave the chamber and conclude the argument outside of the UC meeting. When both entered the chamber 15 minutes later, Beroutsos presented the motion for reconsideration once again. Cooper kept count as Council members voted in an adapted roll-call vote. The final count: 22 for, 21 against. After the second deliberation of the HCOJ grant, the Council did not reverse its earlier decision, but that's not really the point. I'm not advocating that the Council should have voted differently on the postage issue for either SASC or HCOJ; those issues are for the Council to decide. What I am advocating is that if a majority of Council members wish to discuss an issue, they should have an opportunity to do so, despite the personal feelings and motivations of the Chair.

We really have to wonder why our UC Chair "accidentally miscounted" the same vote TWICE on an obviously close vote and then proceeded to escalate a shouting match between himself and a member of the Council. I've been since told that a personal animosity exists between Beroutsos and Mandery; if so, it shouldn't be allowed to effect the decision-making process of the Council. Granted, Beroutsos was out of line by losing his cool and resorting to vulgarities aimed at other Council members, but someone did need to challenge Mandery's obvious abuse of power. I don't know either Mandery or Beroutsos, nor do I know the true motives behind the incidence, however as a member of the College I know it was we who suffered. I am disgusted and outraged a Mandery's attempts to run roughshod over the Council and question whether he is indeed looking to fairly represent the views of the Harvard student body.

In the big picture, you have to wonder whether "accidental miscounting" is why the UC claims it doesn't have enough money and wants to double the Undergraduate Council fee on our term bills next year. Or maybe Mandery just needs a lesson in mathematics...and effective leadership. Timothy A. Rea '90