Names in The News

After a tense and tumultuous year, the Harvard Law Review moved past some of its disruptions earlier this week with the election of a new president, Van L. Nguyen.

Nguyen, a second-year law student, defeated 13 other candidates in a process some called "bloody." But Nguyen told the Crimson he hoped the Review will build "a collegial and harmonious community" through trustful teamwork.

The publication's editorial board made headlines last semester when the previous president, Emily R. Schulman '85, was accused of racial and gender discrimination. Schulman was cleared of the charges after an internal inquiry by Boston attorney Ralph D. Gants '76, a former section editor of the Review.

Nguyen said he will emphasize "leadership, teamwork and greater delegation," in an attempt to further heal the publication. He plans to hold race, gender and sexual orientation sensitivity workshops, and to appoint an ombudsperson to mediate internal conflicts.

Pledging to "tackle big issues head on," Michael P. Beys '94 was elected chair of the Undergraduate Council last Sunday.

Beys assumes control of a council trying to regain its respect after a vote tampering scandal last fall. He is the subject of cautious scrutiny by a number of council members, who say his leaderhip may take either of two distinctive paths. On the one hand, Beys this past semester supported a number of small, service oriented projects.

But Beys is also known for unorthodox tactics such as proposing legislation in full council session rather than in committee. He was also heavily involved in last spring's failed De La Soul concert.

Speaking of a recipe for the coming semester, Beys said the council would not "shy away from decisive campus issues."

He said the council last semester began to add a number of missing ingredients, and "really made a lot of progress."