Council Covers Policy Issues And Reports

Sacrificing deliberation for speed, the Undergraduate Council tackled a jam-packed agenda to push through through a wide range of policy issues at a poorly attended Monday meeting.

With only one more meeting left on the schedule, the council dealt with a number of policy issues and committee reports.

The three-year old student government endorsed a report on peer advising, increased its control over its delegates to student-faculty committees, rejected a proposal to case its access to unallocated grant money and doled-out almost $300 in emergency funds.

The report on advising, which the council passed without dissent, endorses the expansion of a program that lets upperclassmen advise freshman on academics and Harvard life.

After a trial-run in 13 proctoral units this spring, the joint Freshman Dean's Office-Undergraduate Council project will expand to include 70-100 units next fall, said the chairman of the committee which authored the report, Brian Offutt '87.

Roll-Over

After lengthy debate, the council shot down a proposal to case its access to unallocated student activity funds. Its constitution requires the council to place the unused portion of the fund, which is generated annually by a $10 charge on every student's term bill, into the following year's budget.

Supporters of the failed proposal contended that it is unfair when student money is not spent during the year it is given. But opponents said the amendment would give the council an incentive to allocate less money for grants in order in have its one of the end of the year.

In other business, the council tightened its control over its delegates to student-faculty committee. The amendment to the constitution requires the representatives to report back to the council more regularly than currently prescribed.

By subjecting the delegates to a vote of confidence and conduct review it also makes their removal easier, said supporters of the amendment.

The 85-member council operated through part of its agends without a quorum for the third time this semester. Attendance at the meeting, which began at 50 members, was down to 38, when the council allocated almost $300 to the Chicano student group, La Raza.

The constitution requires 50 percent of the council membership to be present for the student government to conduct business. As it did on the two earlier occasions when it lost its quorum, the council ignored its constitution and continued business as usual.

"We should not be voting on this stuff when there are not people here," Vice Chairman Elizabeth M. Touhey '86 said.

Because end-of-term responsibilites always drive down attendence, the council's committees should have brought business before the student government earlier in the spring, said Touhey, who is the officer responsible for council attendance