Council Nears Full Reform Vote

Although the Undergraduate Council’s (UC) contentious meeting was adjourned before finishing the agenda last night for lack of quorum, members nearly finished passing a reform package which will significantly alter the UC’s structure and procedure.

Many of the reforms the UC passed yesterday provide for more financial oversight. An audit of UC finances will be conducted once a semester by an appointed committee and a financial advisory board must be created.

A bill was also passed raising the threshold required to discuss grants package amendments to a majority of the UC from one-third.

“In my experience on the council, grants packages are usually amended because somebody has a friend on a student group who thinks that they didn’t get what they deserved,” said Financial Committee (FiCom) member Justin R. Chapa ’05.

Extensive proposed changes to FiCom were postponed for the next meeting due to low attendance.

The structure of the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) was also significantly changed as a bill providing for the creation of three vice-chairs passed 24-2-2. Each chair will focus on a certain part of the College mirroring the College administration’s own committees—House life, Education and College life—SAC Chair Aaron D. Chadbourne ’06 said.

Rules tightening the accountability of the Harvard Concert Commission (HCC) to the UC, and decreasing the HCC’s membership by ten members also passed. The legislation calls for two members of the Campus Life Commmittee (CLC) to be members of the HCC and for bank statements to be submitted to the UC regularly.

But legislation to allow allocation of future revenues to large events such as concerts failed. The Constitutional change to lengthen the term of secretary and treasurer from one semester to a full year also passed.

Quorum was checked frequently using a brand-new electronic voting system, which allows each representative to use a remote to enter a vote, which then appears on a large screen with their name.

Glazer chastised absent representatives for the second meeting in a row, as over 40 representatives present for the vice presidential election dwindled to barely 26 by the abrupt end of the three-and-a-half hour meeting.

UC members wandered in and out throughout the meeting, and Glazer had to count himself to meet the 26-member threshold.

Glazer was finally forced to adjourn the meeting before finishing consideration of a non-reform-related bill to create a committee on Native American Studies at Harvard.

At least ten members of the Native Americans at Harvard College (NAHC) appeared at the meeting to support the bill.

“I’d just like to say something to our many guests who almost outnumber the UC reps right now. I apologize to you,” Glazer said to the NAHC members.

Glazer said after the meeting that although it is reading period, UC members have a responsibility to attend meetings.

“They’re not fulfilling their role as representatives,” Glazer said.

—Staff writer Liz C. Goodwin can be reached at goodwin@fas.harvard.edu.