Five Students Will Vie For Undergraduate Council President

The Undergraduate Council announced the names of candidates running for the group's two highest offices on its Web site yesterday.

The presidential candidates are Sterling P.A. Darling '01, Ben W. Dreyfus '01, Fentrice D. Driskell '01, Frank X. Leonard '01 and Todd E. Plants '01. The vice presidential candidates are John A. Burton '01, Nehal S. Patel '02, Catherine E. Tenney '01 and Ben M. Wikler '03.

Elections will take place from Monday, Dec. 13 to Wednesday, Dec. 15 and will be coupled with a controversial referendum on an increase in the council's term bill fee from $20 to $50.

Council members say they expect the term bill fee to be a hot button issue in this year's campaign. Council President Noah Z. Seton '00 was initially reluctant to package the referendum with the election for fear that it would "politicize" the race, but he switched camps at last week's meeting.

"My initial feeling was that [the referendum] didn't need to get wrapped up in politics of the election," Seton told The Crimson, "but now I recognize that this election is going to be very much about the council in general rather than simply the candidates who are running."

As in previous years, many presidential and vice-presidential candidates have chosen to run in teams, although students will vote for each position separately. Darling is running with Patel, Driskell with Burton, Leonard with Tenney, and Plants with Wikler. Dreyfus is the only candidate running alone and the only candidate who is not currently a council member.

The candidates met with the council's Elections Commission yesterday evening to review the rules governing the election.

"We want this to be a clean and fair election," Elections Commission member David L. Levy '00 said. "We'd much rather deal with questions than complaints."

Rules include a spending limit of $100 on campaigns and require candidates to submit daily reports on costs incurred. To become a candidate, each had to submit a petition with at least 100, but no more than 150, signatures of endorsement from current College students.

Although candidates are not permitted to start campaigning until Wednesday, Dec. 1, some offered general comments on the role of the Undergraduate Council.

Most told The Crimson they would dedicate their terms to keeping the council on task.

"The council can do a lot of good work as long as it stays focused. It should work more on student service issues," Leonard said.

Plants identified a "lack of energy" in the council.

"There's no comprehensive vision. I think the council should be far-reaching rather than limiting," he said.

Wikler, the only first-year on the ballot, cited his fresh perspective on student government.

"The UC is a body with a lot of potential but it needs to move in new directions," he said.

Rachel L. Brown '01 and David Orr '01, both active council members, had submitted petitions to run as a team for the presidency and vice presidency, but dropped out of the race before the names of candidates were announced.

"I was seriously considering making a run for the UC because of the encouragement of a number of people" Brown said. " However, after a lot of thought, I realized that I'd rather prioritize other activities in my life... I feel that I can still work on the initiatives I would have pursued as council president simply as an active council member."

Orr decided that he did not want to run after Brown withdrew her name from the ticket.