Chocolate Milk Politics or Something More?

It's come to be known as the "chocolate milk" debate, and for the last year it's shadowed the Undergraduate Council's every move.

After seven years of focusing strictly on student services issues--like bringing chocolate milk to undergraduate dining halls--Harvard's only officially recognized student government ventured into the political arena last year. For the first time in recent years, questions about the University's South African related investments, minority faculty hiring and the presence of Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) on campus dominated the council's agenda.

But the political issues brought with them unexpected scrutiny. A slew of controversial debates last spring burned the body, forcing many members to reconsider the council's role as a political institution.

Because many had credited last year's chair, Kenneth E. Lee '89, with setting the council's activist tenor, observers believe the selection of Lee's successor tomorrow night will be the best indicator of the council's direction this year.

Nobody is making concrete predictions before the vote, but it is clear that the fallout from last year's political debates is already driving the council away from the more divisive issues.

In position papers and a debate Wednesday night, three of the four candidates--David A. Battat '91, Lori L. Outzs '90 and Guhan Subramanian '91--have said the council should spend more time on student services and less on political issues. And even Sean C. Griffin '90, who claims to be the most political of the four candidates, says that the council needs to renew attention to service issues.

Michael R. Kelsen '90, who yesterday dropped out of the race, would have been the candidate who placed the least emphasis on political issues.

DAVID A. BATTAT '91

Battat, a junior who lives in Winthrop House, says he is running on his accomplishments as both secretary and ad-hoc campus security committee chair.

Last year, Battat planned the free distribution of whistes for students to blow in case of attack. He also won approval for improved lighting in both Harvard Yard and in the Cambridge Common.

Battat, who hails from Riverside, Connecticut, and transferred to Harvard after a year at the University of Chicago, says he is "the only [candidate] who got anything done" and possesses the personal qualities of leadership and fairness required of a chair.

Like Lee, Battat plans to take positions on the council's issues. But he says he would always be open to new ideas from the council.

Calling himself a moderate, Battat cites endorsements from the presidents of Perspective and The Salient, Harvard's liberal and conservative student publications, respectively, as proof that his ideas appeal to the entire political spectrum.

"They told me that the reason they were both behind me was that they felt I was the most effective candidate," Battat says.

Battat says that, if elected, his first actions in office will be to form ad-hoc committees--a forum which he says served him well--on ROTC and on campus racism. In addition, he cites the need to "be creative" in rebuilding the council's financial base after heavy losses from a poorly attended Suzanne Vega concert.

SEAN C. GRIFFIN '90

Sean C. Griffin, a senior from Quincy House, says that he alone among the candidates has advocated the correct balance between political and student services issues.

"I hold the view that is being avoided by most people," Griffin says. "I see the council addressing both services and political issues," he adds.

Griffin says that his activity in a wide variety of council issues, ranging from campus security (he was vice-chair of the ad-hoc committee on security, under Battat) to minority and women faculty hiring makes him most qualified for the office of chair.

Griffin also says that because he is the only senior running for chair, he has a unique perspective on Harvard, particularly house life.

But while Griffin does not shy away from political issues, he points out the need to resolve the ROTC issue quickly. He says that, in keeping with a council resolution from last year, consideration of ROTC's status will be among the first items on his agenda.

"The council really needs to move beyond ROTC, like America needed to move beyond Watergate in the 1970s," Griffin says.

Griffin says he hopes to re-establish ad-hoc committees on minority and women faculty hiring as well as security early in the year. He said that addressing the proposed plan to randomize housing and beginning publication of a council newsletter would also be high on his agenda.

GUHAN SUBRAMANIAN '91

Subramanian, a sophomore-standing second year student, says that despite his age and relative inexperience on the council--only one year--his work as chair of the council's finance committee makes him qualified to run for chair.

Subramanian, originally from Delaware, says the reforms he devised for the council's distribution of student group grant money were his greatest accomplishments last year.

Like Battat and Outzs, he says that political issues should not be ignored, but urges greater emphasis on student service issues. Subramanian adds, however, that the council should not shy away from strong--if unconventional--action when warranted.

He says that because the student body last year voted down a referendum that would have allowed it to elect the council chair, the chair should not be "presidential." Unlike Lee, Subramanian issued a would not vote or take positions on council issues.

Early in the race for chair, Subramanian issued a 40-page laser-printed and bound position paper, thoroughly footnoted, outlining his philosophy of the council and proposing specific ideas.

Subramanian, like Griffin, advocates a council newspaper. In addition, Subramanian says he wants a Harvard internal mail service, a student center and efforts to provide cleaner water.

LORI L. OUTZS '90

Outzs, a junior from Lowell House, says that some of her main goals as chair will be to restore credibility to the council by encouraging more participation by all its members, many of whom are traditionally apathetic. She says she wants every council member to be involved in a particular project and will be open to their suggestions.

Outzs said at a forum last week that she wants to see "the Undergraduate Council really do something to help students' lives," and stressed the need for the council to "follow through on projects we have started."

But Outzs, in her position paper, denies that a return to student service issues constitutes chocolate milk politics.

She suggests several methods of getting students more involved with council activities, including posting council agendas before the meetings and sending council representatives to every house committee meeting.

Like several of the other candidates, Outzs says she believes it is important for the council to resolve the ROTC issue early in the year, so that it does not dominate the council's agenda.

Outzs, who last year chaired the council's academics committee, said her greatest achievement was the production of a comprehensive report suggesting improvements in Harvard's advising system. She says that report was partly responsible for the recent decision by many houses to add a second tier of non-concentration advising.