Choose Coffey for Council President

Tainted. That's how we can describe two of the remaining three candidates for the presidency of the Undergraduate Council. While both Randall A. Fine '96 and Joshua D. Liston '95 make big promises to the College, their troubled pasts make us doubt that either is the right choice to lead the Council. And that leaves the third candidate, Rudd W. Coffey '97. A dedicated and industrious council member, only Coffey presents a hope for a council unfettered by political machinations, scandal and backstabbing.

Coffey has shown competence in every aspect of his council career; even the confusion surrounding his handling of Yale Game tickets eventually showed that Coffey was working for students' interests. While his actions have sometimes suggested a penchant for posing (as homeless in the Square, or as the "Angry Pilgrim"), Coffey has not allowed his own political aspirations to obscure his focus on the wellbeing of students.

Coffey plans to separate the Student Affairs Committee from the council, so that the committee can exist on its own to organize the Freshman Formal, concerts and other social events. This change will leave the council more time to consider campus life and grants for student groups.

Coffey also plans to sponsor meetings between council members and heads of student organizations outside of the grants process, so that the council can become more involved with the community at large. In addition, he pledged to allow council members to choose their own specific projects but to keep a careful eye on efficiency and dedication.

Furthermore, Coffey's status as a sophomore may well be an asset. It distances him from the scandals of the council's past. If Coffey is elected, we hope he will not cave in to the pressures of his position and engage in similar antics.

We were disappointed that a fourth candidate, Brandon C. Gregoire '95, who has received The Crimson's endorsement in the past, dropped out so late in the process. Yet at the candidates' debate last Wednesday, Gregoire spent almost all of his time attacking Fine's ethics and almost none presenting a positive agenda of his own.

Nevertheless, Gregoire made serious allegations concerning Fine's collusion with outgoing president David L. Hanselman '94-'95 to pass constitutional reform. Gregoire also said that Fine had repeatedly bragged about changes he made to the council's by-laws before the full council even voted on them.

Despite his impressive list of proposals for council projects; Fine's ethical record with the council and with campus political organizations decidedly disqualifies him from serious consideration as president.

Fine improperly used the council's name to gain a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency; he was also charged with buying votes in the Harvard Republican Club's elections two years ago. Fine is the consummate Council insider and thrives on the political intrigues that have plagued the Council in years past.

Liston acquitted himself much more convincingly in the debates than Fine, but he was responsible for a spate of misconduct during his terms as vice-president last year. Liston showed incompetence in keeping up with the duties of his job, including the expulsion of truant council members.

At the same time, this year Liston acted properly in rejecting Hanselman's resolution to fund ROTC and--reversing his own position--in helping to repeal the term-bill increase. Liston said he hoped to forget the past, and in his Newtish "Contract With the College" he did offer many well-founded suggestions for council projects: visits by council board members to all undergraduate rooms, council office hours in the Houses and quality-of-life changes such as dormitory lighting. Still, Liston's administrative record makes him a questionable choice for the council's top executive.

We feel that Coffey represents the only alternative to the entrenched, overly politicized leadership of the council. His first three semesters on the council have been characterized by hard work and honesty, and we hope to see more of the same if he is elected president.