Council Decides Yalegate, Ivy Ties

After a debate over whether to remain in the Ivy Council, the Undergraduate Council voted last night to spend nearly $1,000 to send four Harvard delegates to the Ivy Council's meeting in New York City next weekend.

The Ivy Council exists to broaden links between the student governments of the eight Ivy League schools.

The Undergraduate Council approved the expenditure last night. But a large minority of members said that the Ivy Council does not give enough back to Harvard to merit its expense.

"There are a lack of advantages to our membership, "said C. Thomas Brown '99, who proposed an amendment to withdraw from the Ivy Council. "The U.C. is wasting $1,000 searching for El Dorado."

Although several council members contended that the Ivy Council does little, a Brown University student representing the Ivy Council, who asked to remain anonymous, said that Harvard's student government has never given the Ivy Council as much energy and resources as other schools have.

Undergraduate Council president Lamelle D. Rawlins '99 has appointed an intercollegiate representative, C.E. Ted Wright '01, to communicate with other colleges. Wright, who was elected as a delegate to the Ivy Council, said that he has not received much response from queries he has sent to other schools.

"E-mail is not an effective way of communicating among [schools]," Wright said.

Students flying home for the Thanksgiving holiday will have an option to Cambridge's often elusive taxis: shuttle buses--replete with plush seats and air conditioning--will stop at Johnston Gate and at the Quad to take students from Harvard Square to Logan Airport for $2.

The Undergraduate Council voted last night to hire the shuttle buses to run from 4 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, according to Samuel C. Cohen '00, co-chair of the Campus Life Committee.

The council will lose money on the shuttle venture, despite a doubling of the ticket cost.

"We don't do this to get our money back, we do it as a service for everyone," Cohen said. The council allotted $1,850 for the buses.

The council also approved $1,425 to rent a tent and a power generator for its sound system this year's Yalegate. The Yale gate, open to all Harvard undergraduates, will include a barbecue, with food provided by the Yale Dining Services, and music.

The deadline for purchasing bus tickets for the Yale weekend was also extended. The tickets will be sold in the council's office in the basement of Holworthy Hal between 4 and 6 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday nights. Students can also purchase them by contacting Cohen.

In other business, the council passed a bill to spend about $550 for advertisements in The Crimson to solicit members for its election commission and candidates for president and vice-president The election will take place in December.