U.C. Sets Election Rules

The Undergraduate Council took the last step forward in the implementation of popular elections by unanimously approving campaign spending limits and creating a semi-independent Election Commission to supervise the voting.

The resolution also outlined campaign procedures and the conditions under which the president and vice president serve their terms.

The newly-created Election Commission will be composed of three council members and three nonmembers.

The commission will publicize, collect candidacy forms and supervise the spending of each candidate.

Last night's resolution also capped campaign spending at $100 per candidate, in order to make a campaign accessible for all students. The commission also agreed to provide nonpartisan publicity for the candidates.

Parts of the election package required amendments to the council's constitution, a process that requires approval from three-fourths of the council's membership.

The constitutional amendments, coupled with bylaws amendments approved last night, resolve the longstanding questions of precisely when the terms of the popularly-elected president and vice president begin: this April, and every subsequent December.

The amendments would also allow the president and vice president to remain council members after their terms are completed.

The council will employ phone voting to see if the constitutional measures pass, but approval seemed likely as of early this morning.

During the meeting, the council also learned that last Friday's Freshman Formal was a financial success. Preliminary figures showed that the council made a profit of $2,500 on the event, according to chief organizer Catherine D. Rucker '99.

In other business, the council agreed to administer a telephone survey asking students how to allocate the $15,000 the council recently received from PepsiCo. The survey will be submitted to students this week and the results will be reported back to the council at the next meeting.

The council also passed a resolution, 42-8, calling on the University to change all references of "freshman" to "first-year."

"I think [the term] is part of a big package of inequality. We eat in dining halls with pictures and statues of white men and are taught mainly by male professors," said Lamelle D. Rawlins '99, council secretary and sponsor of the bill. "This will be an impetus for change that is long overdue."

But the bill did not pass without some debate, as other members questioned whether such changes were necessary.

"As a female, I am not offended by the use of 'he.' I think we could be spending our time on other issues," Michele A. Manahan '98 said.

This resolution will be one of the first that is submitted to Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 under the Grimmelman-Nelson Act approved last week by the council. Lewis must either sign the bill, veto the bill or return it to the council with his suggested amendments.

The council also voted on a resolution calling for a boycott on companies that invest in Burma by both the council and the University.

Addressing the issue of whether such moral issues were in the domain of the council, Noah R. Freeman '98 said, "We may or may not want to [be involved in this issue]. But as consumers we are involved, the only question is whether we are going to be smart, informed consumers."

Changes that would loosen requirements for the formation of student groups were also approved by the council.

The resolution would allow groups not recognized by the University to poster on kiosks and use meeting rooms. If the University move to prevent groups from postering, it would have to give a reason for the ban. Another resolution would strike the requirement that recognized student groups have two faculty advisers.

"It encourages students to organize on their own because it reduces bureaucratic obstacles," said council member E. Michelle Drake '97-'96, the bill's sponsor

The council also passed a resolution, 42-8, calling on the University to change all references of "freshman" to "first-year."

"I think [the term] is part of a big package of inequality. We eat in dining halls with pictures and statues of white men and are taught mainly by male professors," said Lamelle D. Rawlins '99, council secretary and sponsor of the bill. "This will be an impetus for change that is long overdue."

But the bill did not pass without some debate, as other members questioned whether such changes were necessary.

"As a female, I am not offended by the use of 'he.' I think we could be spending our time on other issues," Michele A. Manahan '98 said.

This resolution will be one of the first that is submitted to Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 under the Grimmelman-Nelson Act approved last week by the council. Lewis must either sign the bill, veto the bill or return it to the council with his suggested amendments.

The council also voted on a resolution calling for a boycott on companies that invest in Burma by both the council and the University.

Addressing the issue of whether such moral issues were in the domain of the council, Noah R. Freeman '98 said, "We may or may not want to [be involved in this issue]. But as consumers we are involved, the only question is whether we are going to be smart, informed consumers."

Changes that would loosen requirements for the formation of student groups were also approved by the council.

The resolution would allow groups not recognized by the University to poster on kiosks and use meeting rooms. If the University move to prevent groups from postering, it would have to give a reason for the ban. Another resolution would strike the requirement that recognized student groups have two faculty advisers.

"It encourages students to organize on their own because it reduces bureaucratic obstacles," said council member E. Michelle Drake '97-'96, the bill's sponsor