Three Vie For Top Slot

Tomorrow night the newly elected Undergraduate Council will choose its first-ever president, in its first cohesive decision as the College's student governing body.

According to the council's recently revised constitution, the newly elected president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer will comprise four-sevenths of the council's executive board.

The remaining executive positions will be filled by the chairs of three committees: finance, student affairs (a consolidation of the former academic and residential committees) and campus life (a consolidation of the former service and social committees).

As the first president of the council, one of three candidates will be given the chance to define the council and its accomplishments. Vying for this position are outgoing Treasurer Carey W. Gabay '94, Melissa Garza '94 and Mark D. McKay '94.

In his role as treasurer Gabay handled all of the council's monetary legislation--close to 90 percent of the bills on the floor last year--subjecting each article to close scrutiny.

Gabay's experience on the council includes chairing two finance sub-committees, in addition to his assistant treasurer and subsequent treasurer posts.

But Gabay emphasized in an interview yesterday that his contributions to the council range beyond capital concerns. If he is elected president, Gabay's main concern will be to implement a program of Community Public Relations (CPR), which would increase the council's visibility on campus.

CPR's goals would include publishing a monthlynewsletter, distributing monthly surveys tostudents, fostering closer relationships betweenthe council and various house committees androtating council meetings throughout the houses inan attempt to make them accessible to allinterested students.

"We want people to get a sense of what's goingon," Gabay said. "But they're not necessarilygoing to want to trek all the way to Sever just towatch us meet."

Gabay also stressed the internal dynamics ofthe council.

"We want to make leadership more accessible tocouncil members through individual projectcoordination," he said.

"In the past, a third of the members wererunning 40 percent of the projects. And we wanteveryone to be responsible for something thisyear," he said.

Reform Before It Was Popular

During Garza's tenure on the council, she said,she used her position as finance committee chairto "reform, even before reform became popular."

Last fall she succeeded in publishing thecouncil's grants package sooner in the year thanany of her predecessors, sending out individualfinancial information to each of 102 campusorganizations, and rewriting the council's grantsapplication.

"I chaired the committee at a time when 15 ofthe 18 members were first-term," Garza said. "SoI've proven that I can work well with new people."

If Garza wins the election she will be thecouncil's first female leader.

But Garza, who in the past has openly opposedthe council's "old boy network," said that hermotivations remain apart from her gender.

"I think it would be important to the studentbody to see a woman in charge of such a importantand male-dominated student organization," Garzasaid.

Garza said she offers a "new style ofleadership," which will foster open discourse andcontributions from every member in an open forum."Dissent is not divisive," she said.

McKay too emphasized the deviations between hisyears on the council and those of his opponents.As a former social committee chair, McKay said hisperspective entering this election "could not befarther from Melissa Garza and Carey Gabay's."

The experiences of both Garza and Gabay arelimited to the finance committee, a distinctionwhich McKay said implies "that they haven't hadanything to do with 80 percent of what the councildeals with."

"They've been buried in the finance committeeand don't know what's going on out there," hesaid.

McKay elaborated on his plans to publish ahouse evaluation guide similar to the CUE(Committee on Undergraduate Education) Guidepublished by the University.

"I am the only candidate who is not heldhostage by a certain faction of the council,"McKay said in reference to disputes last yearwhich surfaced between Beys and member Hillary K.Anger '93-94, which involved many of theirrespective friends on the council.

"I don't think there's anyone on the councilwho would be unhappy if I were president," McKaymaintained.

"And I wouldn't say that about either Melissaor Carey," he said

CPR's goals would include publishing a monthlynewsletter, distributing monthly surveys tostudents, fostering closer relationships betweenthe council and various house committees androtating council meetings throughout the houses inan attempt to make them accessible to allinterested students.

"We want people to get a sense of what's goingon," Gabay said. "But they're not necessarilygoing to want to trek all the way to Sever just towatch us meet."

Gabay also stressed the internal dynamics ofthe council.

"We want to make leadership more accessible tocouncil members through individual projectcoordination," he said.

"In the past, a third of the members wererunning 40 percent of the projects. And we wanteveryone to be responsible for something thisyear," he said.

Reform Before It Was Popular

During Garza's tenure on the council, she said,she used her position as finance committee chairto "reform, even before reform became popular."

Last fall she succeeded in publishing thecouncil's grants package sooner in the year thanany of her predecessors, sending out individualfinancial information to each of 102 campusorganizations, and rewriting the council's grantsapplication.

"I chaired the committee at a time when 15 ofthe 18 members were first-term," Garza said. "SoI've proven that I can work well with new people."

If Garza wins the election she will be thecouncil's first female leader.

But Garza, who in the past has openly opposedthe council's "old boy network," said that hermotivations remain apart from her gender.

"I think it would be important to the studentbody to see a woman in charge of such a importantand male-dominated student organization," Garzasaid.

Garza said she offers a "new style ofleadership," which will foster open discourse andcontributions from every member in an open forum."Dissent is not divisive," she said.

McKay too emphasized the deviations between hisyears on the council and those of his opponents.As a former social committee chair, McKay said hisperspective entering this election "could not befarther from Melissa Garza and Carey Gabay's."

The experiences of both Garza and Gabay arelimited to the finance committee, a distinctionwhich McKay said implies "that they haven't hadanything to do with 80 percent of what the councildeals with."

"They've been buried in the finance committeeand don't know what's going on out there," hesaid.

McKay elaborated on his plans to publish ahouse evaluation guide similar to the CUE(Committee on Undergraduate Education) Guidepublished by the University.

"I am the only candidate who is not heldhostage by a certain faction of the council,"McKay said in reference to disputes last yearwhich surfaced between Beys and member Hillary K.Anger '93-94, which involved many of theirrespective friends on the council.

"I don't think there's anyone on the councilwho would be unhappy if I were president," McKaymaintained.

"And I wouldn't say that about either Melissaor Carey," he said