Candidates Debate Issues

Candidates vying for the presidency and vice presidency of the Undergraduate Council discussed a spectrum of issues in a debate co-sponsored by the Black Men's Forum (BMF) and the Black Students' Association (BSA) last night.

About 70 students filtered into Emerson 105 to hear the candidates' positions on the election issues.

Mark A. Price '98, council vice president, and BMF president, moderated the debate.

Price said he believes that the debate was a good opportunity for students to hear about the issues before the council-sponsored debate scheduled for tonight.

"I felt there should be more than one debate so that people could be more informed voters," he said.

Each candidate was allowed a three-minute speech to present his or her platform. Price then asked each candidate questions which were prepared in advance by BMF and The Harvard Crimson.

Key issues in the debate included student-oriented topics such as universal key card access, additional support for student groups, student access to cable television and also more politically-charged issues such as faculty diversity and the council's participation in social issues.

Presidential candidates such as David J. Malan '98, Beth A. Stewart '00 and Michael S. Bush '99 said they believe that the council should limit its objective to improving the quality of student life.

"The council should not be a political organization," Malan said.

Some candidates said that it is unrealistic for the council to cover issues that may fall outside the realm of student life.

"We have to focus on achievable results," Stewart said.

Presidential candidates, including Jobe G. Danganan '99, Dorian S. Berger '00 and Benjamin W. Hulse '98 and vice-presidential hopefuls Olivia Verma '99-'00 and Kamil E. Redmond '99 argued that the council should take a stand in issues of race, especially those which deal with faculty diversity.

"I want the U.C. to continue as a vehicle for social advocacy," Danganan said.

Some audience members said they felt that debate helped them make a decision for next week's council election.

"Just by being here tonight, I have a clear choice of who I want to vote for," Andrew Amo '01 said.

BSA Vice-President Dionne A. Fraser '99 expressed concern about candidates who would like to exclude political issues from council activities.

"They say they only want to deal with the quality of student life," she said. "But they don't understand that [political issues are] what matter to students."

Some other candidates agreed.

"They want to turn the U.C. into a glorified dance committee," Berger said.

Stuart D. Shapley '98, a presidential candidate, also attended the debate. Vice-presidential candidates Samuel C. Cohen '00, Lillian J. Epstein '99 and Andrew F. Ruggiero '99 were also present.

The only candidates absent from the event were presidential candidate God-frey L.C. Henderson '00 and vice-presidential candidate Alexander M. Carter '00.