Gonzalez and Popovski for UC

The last year at Harvard has certainly been eventful. In light of the ongoing discourse on final clubs and sexual assault and amid work being done to increase the inclusivity of social spaces, a strong leadership of the student body is more paramount than ever. After speaking with each of the four tickets, we believe that three of the four are prepared to lead the Undergraduate Council.

Students would be hard pressed to go wrong by choosing Yasmin Z. Sachee ’18 and Cameron K. Khansarinia ’18 or Scott Ely ’18 and Evan M. Bonsall ’19. Both tickets have extensive experience with the Council and would provide strong leadership. The ticket of Eduardo A. Gonzalez ’18 and Alex Popovski ’19, however, stands above the rest.

Not only do they offer actionable responses to the salient issues facing the community today, but their ticket is also best prepared to lead the student body through Harvard’s current climate of apprehension.

We believe that Gonzalez and Popovski have managed to formulate realistic plans that can immediately benefit the student body. Both of them have extensive experience with the UC and are familiar with its inherent limitations. Accordingly, their ticket neither makes lofty promises nor establishes quixotic goals, but, instead, offers reasonable plans like expediting party-registration, extending dining hall access to Counseling and Mental Health Services clinicians, and creating a textbook exchange system for students. All of these ideas area realistic and have a good chance of being implemented.

This ticket is best poised to support students during a time of uncertainty in many facets of the Harvard experience. While Gonzalez has actively sought to make education at Harvard more inclusive, Popovski has played an active role in planning social events and making health more accessible. With the College’s decision to sanction unrecognized single-gender social organizations, questions of inclusivity and social spaces remain highly salient. With their combined experience Gonzalez and Popovski are prepared to support students in this historic dialogue. Similarly, we commend this ticket for bringing attention to undocumented students and calling for greater administrative support of them.

We also laud all of the candidates for making mental health on campus a priority in their campaigns. In the wake of the presidential election and the challenges of inclusivity and tolerance facing the country, ensuring that Harvard’s mental health services work for all students will be more important than ever. It will be crucial to offer additional support to mental health counseling groups as well as student affinity groups, both of which play a vital role in making the college a more welcoming place. Such promises are made and re-made with each UC presidential campaign. We hope this year is the one in which transformative change finally occurs.

Despite our preference for Gonzalez and Popovski, it bears repeating that three of this year’s tickets clearly have the knowledge and experience necessary to lead the UC. Whichever pair wins, we urge the future President and Vice-President to work with their opponents to ensure that the Council implements a truly inclusive vision for the College.

We must also acknowledge that the influence of the UC continually ebbs and flows, with greater relevance some years than others. We hope the victors come to terms with this history of failed initiatives and accordingly temper their ambitions while doubling down on their most executable recommendations. In light of this qualification, we reaffirm that the Gonzalez-Popovski ticket has the best prospects of providing students with this much-needed leadership.