RUS Elects Officers

The Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) announced its new officers during its weekly meeting last Thursday.

The approximately 25 members present elected Stacy M. Abder '99 and Mia Bagneris '99 co-presidents: Jennifer B. Landry '99 secretary; Sonu Gupta '00 treasurer, and Larissa T. Jester '99 and Katie R. Mannheimer '01 publicity chairs.

"I am so excited about next year's board," said current Co-President Jenny P. Stevens '98. "They have a lot of great ideas and a strong sense of vision."

Next year's board will have two publicity chairs because the candidates who were vying for position tied twice. "We decided to expand the office," Abder said. "It is a really big job, reaching out to half of the student body, and there are so many ways to do it."

Many people on the new board said they were excited about the upcoming year and the opportunity they will have to work with a diverse group of women to expand RUS' impact on campus.

"I ran on a platform of needing to increase RUS' membership and to reach out to more and more of a representative body of the female population on campus," Abder said.

One of the ways the new board hopes to achieve this goal is by increasing the publicity for both RUS' own events and those of other women's groups on campus, according to Jester.

A number of RUS officers stressed that the diversity of the new board is an important advantage that will allow them to attract more women.

"Pooled together, we're a nice cross-section, and we'll do a fantastic job at getting more women involved," Abder said.

Jester has worked in the Undergraduate Council Women's Caucus and has been involved in discussing women's issues with the administration.

Mannheimer, though a first-year, has been active in a number of RUS events including Women's Expo.

"[The new board] will really help draw a fuller picture of RUS on campus," said outgoing Co-President Kavita Kacholia '98.

Abder said she will act to strengthen the Women's Coalition, a forum for all women's groups on campus, and she will work to expand the Women's Expo to include suggestions from other women's groups on campus as well.

Welcoming more women to RUS is a top priority, according to Abder.

"We are trying to demystify Radcliffe and show that RUS is ready to welcome all women on campus," Abder said.