Vote Seton, Redmond For Council Leadership

We enthusiastically endorse Noah Z. Seton '00 for Undergraduate Council president and Kamil E. Redmond '00 for vice president. The Seton-Redmond ticket is the only one that has presented a reasoned, viable vision for how the council can improve the undergraduate experience.

Seton, a three-year council member and vice chair of the Student Affairs Committee, heads the council's task force on University Health Services (UHS) and was one of two council members responsible for bringing the campus "fly-by" lunches, which serve more than 700 students daily. Redmond, a Crimson editor, is a two-year council veteran, has been an outspoken proponent of Faculty diversity and ethnic studies and for the council itself.

But what is most attractive about the Seton-Redmond ticket is their well-balanced platform, backed up by the experience and energy to make it work. Seton and Redmond have a vision that incorporates both progressive issues and student services, a vision that takes what the council of Beth A. Stewart '00 has accomplished in specific, small-scale services (fro-yo in Annenberg, cable TV, fly-by lunches) as a foundation for further successes.

Seton and Redmond pledge to take the approach that has worked on these smaller issues--working closely with and consistently pressuring the administration in a non-confrontational manner--to those student issues that, as we have long argued, are simply more important: advising, UHS reform and countering the effects of randomization by supporting student groups and thinking about a new student center. Both candidates also wisely support downsizing the council and are committed to improving Springfest by involving other student groups in its planning and breaking the event's tired mold.

None of the other major candidates matches the Seton-Redmond ticket in offering such a cohesive vision.

While we support Seton and Redmond, we also admire the progressive ideas of John A. Burton '01, the current treasurer, and Scott A. Resnick '01, a Crimson editor. The pair seem to have reasonable ideas about what is wrong with the current council--a lack of attention to issues such as Ad Board reform, ethnic studies and Faculty diversity--yet are less convincing when it comes to solutions. Still, students can take advantage of the council's hare proportional system of voting and rank Burton and Resnick second.

As for the other serious contenders, Trevor S. Blake '00 and Nick J. Stone '00 have waged a spirited campaign and are full of ideas, but many of their ideas are either too small or unrealistic, and their emphasis on communication seems excessive. Students care about action, not talk.

T. Christopher King '01 and Fentrice D. Driskell '01 have put the important if vague issue of community on the agenda. Yet their promise of "values-driven leadership" is vague and worrisome; though King and Driskell say they want to unify the campus, their ties to religious groups have raised concerns among many students.

Admittedly, Seton and Redmond make an odd combination. Redmond ran just one year ago for the vice presidency on a progressive platform, loudly distancing herself from the "apolitical" politics practiced by Stewart and her running mate, Samuel C. Cohen '00. And it is no small feat for this staff to endorse Seton, a former president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Alliance. We still harbor a strong faith in the progressive work attempted by numerous council members just a few years ago.

Yet we are confident that Redmond's support of progressive issues will complement the ticket's service-oriented agenda well. Indeed, Seton and Redmond will make an effective and energetic team at the head of the council. They have unified around a set of concerns more important than frozen yogurt and more reasonable for the council than protesting the practices of foreign regimes. Together, they will continue to restore legitimacy to the council by having a positive impact on students' lives.