Moving Council Reform Forward

The Undergraduate Council has taken some significant steps forward in its effort to become a more effective champion of student interests. The most notable of these reforms is the council's decision to establish a system of popular elections for council executives. We applaud the council for taking this important step.

But the Undergraduate Council is still far from perfect. Recently, several student leaders formed a campus activist group with the goal of improving the council as an advocate for student concerns. The organization, named the Progressive Undergraduate Council Coalition (PUCC), seeks to transform the council into a center of campus debate.

We support the new organization and the goals that it holds. As David V. Bonfili '96, a member of PUCC and a former member of the council, explained, "These leaders [in PUCC] see that the U.C. has tremendous, largely squandered potential, to serve as a center of revitalized campus dialogue and to advance the interest of all undergraduates."

Bonfili, who tried to push through various reforms during his time on the council, has given us an accurate assessment of the council as an organization. It possesses an unparalleled ability among campus groups to bring important issues to the attention of the administration.

The council has certainly used this ability in the past. Recently, council members spoke out to advocate particular changes for the new Loker Commons. But room for improvement does remain; the council can do an even better job as an advocate of student interests. If PUCC can help the council in these endeavors, it should be supported.

We do have some concerns about the new group. PUCC does have the potential to turn into a very partisan activist. The group counts among its members leaders of traditionally liberal groups like the Asian American Association (AAA), Perspective and the Bisexual Gay and Lesbian Student Association. The possibility that PUCC will become a new group to advance these organizations' agendas should not be ignored.

We hope that the issues PUCC pursues focus more on improving education and student life at Harvard, rather than advancing particular programs that have generated significant controversy (i.e., ethnic studies). We do not want the council to start taking numerous stances on controversial political issues over which the student body remains deeply divided. Taking such stances would waste a significant amount of council time and would lie well outside the council's mission to represent all students, not just the most liberal and outspoken ones.

Nevertheless, we believe that the formation of PUCC is a good thing. The group will serve as an additional advocate of student interests before the council. Furthermore, PUCC will be able to keep an eye on the council and its activities, making sure that the U.C. does not ignore the concerns of its constituents. Any group that can add an additional level of accountability to the Undergraduate Council deserves support.