First-Years Denied Executive Board Seat; Comedy Concerts Approved

The Undergraduate Council voted last night against a proposal to create a permanent voting position on the council's executive board for a first-year representative.

A majority of council members said the Freshman Caucus, which is comprised of first year council representatives, should continue to be excluded from the executive board.

Although the Freshman Caucus is funded through undergraduates' donations to the council, representatives concluded that its actions are largely independent.

Despite Council Treasurer Jay I. Kim's support of the resolution, councillors decided 33 to 29 against the proposal.

"Everyone says that freshmen are important," Kim told the council before the vote. "This is where we see if your actions equal your words."

But the council's consensus seemed to be that a reform of the caucus itself was instead in order.

"I favor something more comprehensive," said representative Joshua D. Liston '95. "The Freshman Caucus can act independent of the U.C. and is, therefore, not yet part of the U.C."

North House Representative Randall Fine '96 said he feared that by appointing a first year executive, the resulting increase in executives from seven to eight could create voting deadlocks.

Prior to voting on the resolution, Jason Schmitt '98, who ran for the council presidency earlier in the year, proposed an ultimately unsuccessful amendment which would have allowed a non-voting first-year representative on the executive board.

In other news, the council unanimously voted to sponsor a three-hour comedy show on Thursday, November 10 at 9 p.m. in Science Center C. The event is expected to cost the council between $1000 and $1300, with increases if free refreshments are provided.

The U.C. also unanimously voted to endorse the addition of a Lexis/Nexis on-line research service to Harvard's link to the Internet.

Lexis/Nexis is a database which provides access to all major news publications in a matter of seconds. It is available to both Yale and Boston University students.

Miscount

In a reversal of a decision made last week, a resolution to change the Council by-laws on voting passed after a miscount was detected.

The resolution calls for a simple majority vote to replace the two-thirds vote formerly required to consider new topics at the end of council meetings. Vice President Brandon C. Gregoire '95 said last night that he miscounted one vote on the resolution last week. That vote made the difference between defeat and victory for the resolution.

In addition, a reduced Undergraduate Council budget passed by an overwhelming majority. The original budget overestimated the amount of money the council would receive from student fees by approximately $15,000.