Council Needs to Stop Silly Infighting

The Undergraduate Council has too many problems for it to spend precious political capital on personal infighting. The recent dispute between council President Robert M. Hyman '98 and his campus-happy archrival Rudd W. Coffey '97 was an unnecessary and immature display of contention. Hyman has charged Coffey with a $1,000 loss connected with a band signing: In an attempt to sign the ska band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Coffey retained the services of an agent whom he foolishly agreed to pay $1,000 whether or not the band agreed to play. Coffey reacted to the charge by blaming the council screw-up--unfairly, it seems--on an Institute of Politics staffer. Coffey shouldn't have been so presumptive as to make deals on behalf of the council by himself, but leadership shouldn't be so petty as to dispute the matter in public.

The subsequent debate over what percentage of the council's budget to allocate as grants for student groups has, in turn, taken a personal tone. Hyman, who has rightly supported increasing such grants for established organizations with a following, has borne the brunt of Coffey's personalized criticism. This, too, is unnecessary. The council has more important matters to attend to.

The first initiative which the council should now undertake is to reduce the number of council representatives so as to prevent the humiliating turnout (or lack thereof) for council seats next election. The second front the council must push forward on is the metamorphosis of the Core from a defined curriculum to distribution requirements. Finally, the council must secure student access to privacy for computer accounts and to free HIV tests--two issues which are now being debated in committee. Stop the nonsense and get on with student business.