Bonfili: Council Intransigent

Long time reformist and Undergraduate Council member David V. Bonfili '96 said this week that he resigned because the council cannot reform itself.

"[My resignation] is not because of a personal conflict with other U.C. members," Bonfili said in an address to the council at Sunday night's meeting.

"But at the beginning of the year I resolved within myself to get change by Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving came and change did not."

Bonfili also said he believes the majority of council members want reform.

"It is a minority on the council who have been successful in maintaining the status quo," he said. "The debate [on reform] must be open and taken to the student body at large with or without the council's support. I owe ultimate allegiance not to the council, but to the concept of representation."

But council President David L. Hanselman '94-'95 said the council has generally been open to reform.

"The council has been open to reform in general," he said. "But perhaps not to Mr. Bonfili's reforms in particular."

"And if Dave Bonfili believes he can achieve what's best for the student body off the council, that's his choice," he added.

While sympathetic to Bonfili's frustration, other delegates questioned Bonfili's decision to resign at this point in time.

"I'm particularly frustrated and appreciate Dave's work, but I didn't put some time limit on myself," said Mather delegate Michael Hrnicek '96. "We need to pledge ourselves to work [toward reform] for the rest of the year."

Though still committed to reform, Bonfili says he will not seek re-election and is unclear what his next step will be.

"I'm going to have to take time to collect myself," he said after the meeting. "Randy Fine says that students don't care about reform because they don't care about the student government. I don't think that's universally true."

"There's a real question as to whether it is a function of the students not caring or whether it is the student government which is flawed. I'll be trying to get a feel for that in the coming week," he said.