On Election Eve, Council Keeps Radcliffe, Burton

On the eve of the Harvard-Radcliffe Undergraduate Council's elections for president and vice president, its members voted to keep the council the way it is.

A constitutional amendment debated last night to remove the "Radcliffe" from the council's name failed to attract the three-quarters majority required for passage.

At the same meeting, council President Noah Z. Seton '00 urged the student body to downsize the council to 60 members in this week's election, and publicly endorsed Sterling P.A. Darling '01 as his successor.

The endorsement comes just in time for elections. Students can vote on referenda and candidates today through Wednesday by typing ucvote as the fas% prompt.

The failure of the name-change amendment, coming nearly eight months after Harvard first announced it would merge with Radcliffe and over two months after the actual merger, irked some council members.

"It may feel good to pretend that we live in an imaginary world where Radcliffe as an undergraduate institution still exists, but it accomplishes nothing to mire the Council in a symbolic anachronism," Lev Polinsky '99-'00, who sponsored the legislation, wrote in an e-mail message.

The final vote, 45 in favor and 23 opposed, means that, at least for now, the Radcliffe in the council's name will remain.

The opposition to the amendment, said Shai M. Sachs '01, who voted against the legislation, protests the neglect of women's rights on campus, and the exclusion of students in the decision to merge with Radcliffe.

"Female students are still at a big disadvantage, the administration hasn't done anything to fight discrimination," he said.

Sachs added he would vote for the name change when the administration commits to building a women's center, creates a women's studies department and fulfills several other demands.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 said he did not anticipate that the protest vote would prompt University action.

"I don't think any naming decision is likely to affect any College policy," he wrote in an e-mail message last night.

An issue that was less hotly debated came with Seton's endorsement of Darling and his running mate, Nehal S. Patel '02.

The widely expected move--Seton has helped out with Darling's campaign--angered at least one council member.

Rachel L. Brown '01 said she found the fact that presidents typically endorse potential successors "disgusting."

"The process smacks of nepotism and, in my mind, detracts from the president's responsibility to support and work with all candidates," she said.

Seton responded that the endorsement, at the last meeting before the election, is traditional.

"I'm sorry [Brown] feels that way, but I'm not that sorry," he said.

In other council news, John A. Burton '01, the vice-presidential candidate who was expelled from the council last Sunday for truancy, was reinstated Friday by the council's executive board.

Seton said the council's constitution forbade him from discussing the re-instatement.

Burton was absent from four council meetings and six meetings of the Finance Committee (FiCom). Members are expelled from the council after missing five council or committee meetings, according to the council's constitution.

Burton said he had a history section at the same time as FiCom meetings, but admitted he agreed on the committee's time and date in October.

"As vice president, I could never [miss so many meetings]," he said. "Even as a U.C. member, it's not the best thing to do, but was appropriate under these circumstances."