A Disillusioned Constituent Speaks

Dear Undergraduate Council: I hate to jump on the bandwagon with your ever-growing brigade of disillusioned critics, but you leave me no choice. A full semester ago, you left lollipops on my doorstep, plastered the walls of my entryway with your fluorescent posters and (I'm sure out of the graciousness of your hearts) held the door open for me as I came home in the afternoon. You pleaded with me to vote for you, and I did. Twice.

I typed ucvote at the fas prompt. I read your high school resumes. I tried to find merit in your campaign platforms of better fro-yo and graduated meal plans. And I did my best to ignore the sea of people around me talking about what an ineffective body the council was. You started out tabula rasa in my mind, but you tarnished your image. And you did it fast.

I read your names the morning after you were elected, and, while I couldn't remember your faces, I didn't worry. You had virtually camped in my hallway the past two weeks. I was sure I would see you again. I haven't. To say that I am disappointed is an understatement.

Last week I attended the "$40,000 Question" council meeting, presumably called so that the student body could voice its opinion about what to do with the $40,000 surplus the council found earlier this year. I was one of a whopping 30 students assembled. If you subtract the 20 council members and four Crimson executives present, the net student body turnout was an astounding six. When one such student criticized the council for its shoddy publicity and lack of communication with the general student body, council president Noah Z. Seton '00 responded that it probably would be a good thing if the council publicized as much during the year as it did during election time. What a novel idea.

The criticism is often made that career politicians journey to Washington and lose touch with the interests of their constituents at home. Harvard council representatives take it a step further: they lose touch with their constituents as soon as they are elected. In its official publication (Which, may I mention, the entire student body does not receive), the council fancies itself the student voice. Yet, with only .01 percent of the student body attending a general meeting, I would call the council no more than an inaudible whisper. The council is in the paradoxical position of being, on paper, the most credible vehicle for channeling student concerns to the administration, but, in reality, an organization that is neither fully supported by students or the administration. This must change.

To begin with, I strongly urge the council to place the question of how to allocate the $40,000 before the student body in a referendum vote. Furthermore, as voter turnout in recent computerized council elections has been deplorable I urge the council to conduct the referendum by hand. Send representatives into dining halls. Place them in strategic locations in front of the Science Center and other academic buildings. Make them available to explain and answer questions about the various proposals. And most importantly, leave room for students to express their own ideas as to where the funds should be directed.

At the meeting a council representative mentioned what a brilliant grass roots campaign the council had run when it polled students concerning a band for Springfest. Indeed that was admirable. Yet, with a student body of only 6,400 people, all living within a few mile radius, every council decision that has a large impact on the Harvard community should involve some kind of grass roots campaigning. Let the "$40,000 Question" referendum be a beginning, not another act in isolation.

Second, take measures to increase your presence on campus. Among the spending proposals for the $40,000 were new grants to student groups, new athletic equipment for the MAC and investing in corporate sponsors for Springfest. Yet, while these proposals would provide what one council member persistently called "tangible evidence" of the $40,000 being put to good use, they would fail to muster a new and persistent popular support for the council. The council is already known for providing grants to student groups. Any athletic equipment purchased would certainly be overshadowed by ongoing renovations to the MAC. And Springfest is a once-a-year event that is just as soon forgotten after its passing.

The one proposal I believe could provide a serious image boost to the UC is a $30,000 pledge to the development office to be utilized in the construction of a student center. Logistically it would be unlikely that such a center could be completed before all current students have graduated. Yet the fact that the council would go out a limb to increase the University's awareness of the student desire for such a center and direct the money towards a venture that would benefit all Harvard undergraduates in years to come, has great potential to fortify the council's shaky position. First, it would indicate to the student body that their interests are indeed the council's interests, and second, it would indicate to the administration that the council is genuinly concerned with assisting the student body at large. Further-more, if Seton and council Vice-President Kamil E. Redmond '00 stand by their courageous plan to deliver the pledge by dumping $30,000 worth of pennies in the administrative offices of the University, they just migt incite the kind of student activism that sucessful councils thrive on.

Finally, I urge the council to stop making excuses for its lackluster performance. One need only hear the self-deprecating humor of council members over turnout at general meetings to realize that the council is well aware of its pitfalls. Don't fall prey to the Clinton syndrome and deny allegations you know to be true. Admit to your faults and then, instead of hiding behind the excuse that other people badmouth you, devote your energies to publicizing your good points. Sitting around and waiting for campus publications to give you favorable write-ups is a worthless venture. If you want to gain the support of the student body, then rise to the occasion and give us grounds for that support.

Take this advice not as senseless criticism, but as genuine concern from a constituent who recognizes that the entire student body at Harvard has a vested interest in the success of the council. I'm not the only student whose frustration with the council and its representatives is on the brink of becoming an outright rejection of the organization as a whole. Take advantage of the optimism of a new administration, grab on to the gusto that caused you to run for the council in the first place and--for your own sake and the sake of the school--do something while you still have the chance.

Lauren E. Baer is a first-year living in Lionel Hall.