RUS Elects New Officials, Faces Uncertain Future Without Radcliffe

The Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) elected new co-chairs last night in a sparsely attended meeting in the Quincy House lobby.

Kathryn B. Clancy '01, who has headed RUS for the last year, and Bernadine H. Han '01 won the uncontested slots for co-chair.

Besides Clancy and Han, four delegates from the Seneca, a female social organization, and the organizer of April's Take Back the Night event turned out to elect the new leaders of RUS--for a total of five voters.

The executive positions of co-treasurer and publicity chair went unfilled.

RUS's future remains uncertain as the group looks to secure funding so it can continue to advocate for women's issues on campus and fund student groups with an interest in gender. The group is no longer backed by the $5 fee that was charged to all undergraduate women in past years.

As a grant-giving organization, RUS has been superceded by the new Ann Radcliffe Trust, which will begin to dole out nearly $20,000 to student groups next year.

Once the student government of Radcliffe College, RUS has suffered from poor attendance in recent years. The group is struggling to find its place after Radcliffe College's merger with Harvard.

Sandra B. Seru '01, a representative of the Seneca, asked the women at last night's meeting, "What can you do to get more people involved? This makes me so sad. There is no reason not to have 50 or 60 women here."

After a vote earlier this year, all undergraduates, male and female, can become voting members of RUS after attending two meetings.