Council Considers Decreasing Size and Changing Name

Maybe they were riding high on the success of Springfest. Whatever the reason, an unusually giddy Undergraduate Council considered re-inventing itself with two constitutional amendments proposed at last night's meeting.

Legislation proposing dropping the "Radcliffe" from the council's official name and another intended to cut the council's size was debated. Council members will not finish voting on the amendments until next week, but both appear to be well on their way to passing.

Council President Noah Z. Seton '00 sponsored the downsizing proposal, saying fewer council seats would increase the competitiveness of elections and lead to a more effective council.

"We want to represent the students and we want to do that in the best way we can," he said.

Some argued that a smaller council would be less effective in accomplishing what students want.

"I believe that doing better things requires more people, not less," said Todd E. Plants '01.

The downsizing proposal was favored by a majority of those present, but the entire council has the opportunity to vote over the next week via e-mail. The legislation will pass only if three-fourths of the votes are in favor.

Discussion on the name-change amendment, which will be voted on in the same manner, evolved into a 40-minute debate considering more radical name alterations.

The discussion began with a proposal introduced by Fentrice D. Drizzle '01 to change the council's name to the "Harvard Student Government."

"The name Undergraduate Council seems formal to me," she said. "We're looking to change our face...We're looking to be more legitimate".

Other names proposed and discarded included the Harvard College Student Council and the acronym-friendly Harvard University Government of Students.

Afterwards, a bill was introduced calling for increased support of lesbians on campus that was intended to mock a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) bill passed last month that asked for more support of ROTC cadets.

The ROTC bill was opposed by students who saw the bill as a tacit endorsement of the military's discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward homosexuals.

The bill, called the "Sapphic Safe Sex Task Force Authorization Act," asked that ROTC cadets bring back dental dams from MIT, where they are freely distributed. Anna M. Baldwin '00, who co-authored the bill,said it was "a parody of the ROTC bill" and shewas not surprised when the council did not vote toconsider it. But she said she hoped to send amessage just by introducing it. "Since theyhaven't been really willing to discuss or debatethe issue or address our concerns, this is justanother way to get the point across," Baldwinsaid