UC Reps Reach Out During Study Breaks

Adams House’s three Undergraduate Council representatives scooped vanilla ice cream and fielded questions from student constituents last night at the second pilot “UC Study Break” held in Adams dining hall.

According to event organizers, the study break aimed to provide a forum for UC reps to acquaint themselves with students and listen to their concerns and ideas.

Adams representative Sanjay P. Misra ’12 said that while communication typically occurs through e-mails, he wanted Adams residents to approach their UC reps in a “more comfortable” setting.

“We are hoping to meet as many people as we can and have people get to know our faces,” Adams representative Ellen V. Lehman ’11 said, adding that the study breaks function to initiate dialogue between the UC and undergraduates.

Francisco N. Alvarez ’11, a producer for Harvard College TEATRO, appeared to take them up on that offer, saying that the UC “fucking sucks.” According to Alvarez, after he was initially issued a grant by the UC Finance Committee for a play earlier this semester, the committee retroactively canceled the pledged funding.

“I would not have known about [such an experience] if I hadn’t been scooping him a scoop of ice cream,” Adams rep Harry T. Rimalower ’10 said, adding that he felt UC reps are not currently visible enough in their Houses.

In addition to an assortment of other snacks, which included chocolate chip cookies and Whoppers malted milk balls, the UC also provided study break attendees with a one-page UC update that highlighted recent initiatives—including UC Cameras, “UC TKTS,” the UC Rooms Reservation Web site—and general information for student groups on applying for UC grants.

Koning Shen ’10 said the update sheet was a more effective way of disseminating information compared with the “giant PDF file of everything that happened at [UC general] meetings,” which the UC sends out weekly over House and dorm lists.

“No one’s going to read that,” she said, in reference to the usual online format.

The idea for UC study breaks was conceived by freshman West Yard representative Ivet A. Bell ’13. The next UC study break is scheduled for Thursday night in Mather dining hall and will feature food from Boloco. The freshman East Yard and Eliot House will host UC study breaks in the coming weeks, according to Bell.

—Staff writer Janie M. Tankard can be reached at jtankard@fas.harvard.edu.