Dominguez, Wu Seek Major Council Reform

If the student body elects Eduardo "Eddy" J. Dominguez '01 Undergraduate Council president, the council will undergo significant structural changes in the coming year, he says.

Dominguez and running mate Angela A. Wu '01 are looking to revamp the council. They plan to use the present council as the foundation for creating a new student government that will unite the campus through the participation of House committee, concentration and student group representatives.

"Harvard has the best students, the best faculty, the best resources and the best student groups. There is no reason why it shouldn't have the best student government," Dominguez says.

Dominguez criticizes the council for its inefficiency, saying it needs to resolve issues more quickly. The key to improving efficiency, he says, would be to increase manpower by opening up the government to all students.

"A lot of candidates want to limit the number of people involved. I want to create more committees with fewer people and have representatives from every student angle--from student groups, House life and academics," Dominguez says. "We need to start at the base and build a new government from the council, making it stronger, more efficient and legitimate."

Dominguez says he has already discussed structural reforms and projects, which include the creation of a student center, with Dean of Students Archie C. Epps. (Epps says he has discussed plans with a number of candidates and is not endorsing a candidate or ticket.)

As a result of the discussion, Dominguez and Wu now propose two representative bodies--one with representation from student groups, House committees and concentrations, and the other at large.

The first, dubbed the "legislative" branch, would be responsible for the areas currently covered by the Campus Life, Student Activities and Finance Committees as well as committees on academics, House life and overall reform.

The "executive" branch would be open for participation to all interested students and would address immediate concerns, such as public relations and communication.

Wu says the advantage of this plan is that students who want to represent the student body without the constraints of a student group, House or concentrationaffiliation can do so.

A council representative for Mass. Hall as afirst-year and a current representative for CabotHouse, DOMINGUEZ served on the Campus LifeCommittee and was elected to a council-wideposition as fund raising chair. "I realized thatthe U.C. has the potential to intersectmeaningfully with every student's life and addressall student concerns, if it becomes a new studentgovernment," Wu says.

"We figured that together, we could encompass amuch larger perspective," Dominguez says. "[Wu's]more of a student group person. Between our twoperspectives, we thought we could really have afoundation for change, diversity andrepresentation. We know each other well and haveexperience working together."

Wu has been involved in the Asian AmericanAssociation, Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra (HRO),the Institute of Politics, the Alliance for SocialJustice, the Taiwanese Cultural Society and theChinese Students Association.

Dominguez and Wu have thus far received apartial vote of support from the ALLIANCE, anumbrella group of progressive organizations oncampus. They have also been endorsed by the CubanAmerican Undergraduate Students Assocation.

Dominguez and Wu would like to improvecommunication between the government and thestudents through polls, referenda, and town-hallmeetings. Dominguez says the council needs tofoster an arena for student discussion of politicsin a format similar to that of the IOP. Accordingto him, the council should sponsor public forumsand invite keynote speakers, visitors from othercampuses, government officials and activists tospeak to students and help them better addresscampus issues.

"The U.C. should move from taking an opinion onpolitical issues to providing objective supportfor students to address the issues themselves,"Dominguez says.

Issues that Dominguez sees as currently needingattention include universal key card access, UHSreform and diversity and randomization.

"These issues won't be relevant next year [if Iam elected]. They will already have been takencare of," Dominguez says.

Instead, he foresees academic reform,particularly the proposal to abolish the QRR andrequire students to take a statistics course, aswell as ethnic studies and Faculty diversity asupcoming topics of discussion in the council.

Dominguez says the council should divide itsefforts equally between promoting activism andproviding student services.

"I think what is key is moderation. The councilis not efficient if it pushes all in one directionor the other; it needs an equal push in bothdirections. If we implement structural changesfirst--increasing manpower and including morestudents and more groups--activism will stemstraight out of the students and the groupsthey're in. I don't think the U.C. should initiateactivism but rather support the activism thatalready exists," Dominguez says

A council representative for Mass. Hall as afirst-year and a current representative for CabotHouse, DOMINGUEZ served on the Campus LifeCommittee and was elected to a council-wideposition as fund raising chair. "I realized thatthe U.C. has the potential to intersectmeaningfully with every student's life and addressall student concerns, if it becomes a new studentgovernment," Wu says.

"We figured that together, we could encompass amuch larger perspective," Dominguez says. "[Wu's]more of a student group person. Between our twoperspectives, we thought we could really have afoundation for change, diversity andrepresentation. We know each other well and haveexperience working together."

Wu has been involved in the Asian AmericanAssociation, Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra (HRO),the Institute of Politics, the Alliance for SocialJustice, the Taiwanese Cultural Society and theChinese Students Association.

Dominguez and Wu have thus far received apartial vote of support from the ALLIANCE, anumbrella group of progressive organizations oncampus. They have also been endorsed by the CubanAmerican Undergraduate Students Assocation.

Dominguez and Wu would like to improvecommunication between the government and thestudents through polls, referenda, and town-hallmeetings. Dominguez says the council needs tofoster an arena for student discussion of politicsin a format similar to that of the IOP. Accordingto him, the council should sponsor public forumsand invite keynote speakers, visitors from othercampuses, government officials and activists tospeak to students and help them better addresscampus issues.

"The U.C. should move from taking an opinion onpolitical issues to providing objective supportfor students to address the issues themselves,"Dominguez says.

Issues that Dominguez sees as currently needingattention include universal key card access, UHSreform and diversity and randomization.

"These issues won't be relevant next year [if Iam elected]. They will already have been takencare of," Dominguez says.

Instead, he foresees academic reform,particularly the proposal to abolish the QRR andrequire students to take a statistics course, aswell as ethnic studies and Faculty diversity asupcoming topics of discussion in the council.

Dominguez says the council should divide itsefforts equally between promoting activism andproviding student services.

"I think what is key is moderation. The councilis not efficient if it pushes all in one directionor the other; it needs an equal push in bothdirections. If we implement structural changesfirst--increasing manpower and including morestudents and more groups--activism will stemstraight out of the students and the groupsthey're in. I don't think the U.C. should initiateactivism but rather support the activism thatalready exists," Dominguez says