Credit Entire Council

Undergraduate Council president Robert M. Hyman '98-'97 does indeed stand at the head of a greatly improved council. Indeed the scandals of the past are gone and the council has vastly increased the scope of its involvement in the College and beyond.

Hyman is not, however, directly responsible for these changes but is perhaps the best representative of a new ethos and renewed enthusiasm that has over the last year become the standard for all council members.

The scandals of the past have virtually been eliminated since former president David M. Hanselman '94-'95 declared the fall of 1994 a "scandal free semester," and subsequently the entire council, not just its leadership, has taken far more seriously its obligation to be relevant to students.

Popular elections, far from being Hyman's brainchild, were actually approved last spring before Hyman's tenure as the result of a massive effort on the part of virtually the whole council to make themselves more open and representative.

Since the creation of the Progressive Undergraduate Council Coalition (PUCC) this year, the council as a whole has retooled its focus, broadening its conception of its mission on campus to encompass everything from the controversy over Phillips Brooks House to divestment from Nigeria. While the long-term effects of this shift in priorities are yet to be determined, the immediate result has been a massive increase in the energy and spirit with which the council debates issues.

Hyman is not the leader of PUCC; he is not even a member of the organization, and it would be wrong to claim he is responsible for PUCC's success in passing legislation.

What Hyman is responsible for is keeping a rapidly changing and increasingly controversial council from falling apart. Hyman has not caused the rebirth of the council but he has exemplified it; his success this year represents the success of all 80 council members. Andrew A. Green '98   Valerie J. MacMillan '98