UC Elects Two New Officers

The Undergraduate Council (UC) elected a new treasurer and secretary last night after former Secretary Ashwin Kaja ’07 and Treasurer Matthew R. Greenfield ’08 resigned from their posts.

The meeting also included a question and answer session with UC Vice-President Annie R. Riley ’07 and Campus Life Fellow Justin H. Haan ’05 about their plans to reform social programming at the College.

Riley and UC President John S. Haddock ‘07 plan to begin drafting such legislation in March, according to Haddock.

The Council took care of housekeeping first, accepting nominations for the open offices at the beginning of the meeting.

Greenfield took a light-hearted tone when describing his former position. “Part of the job is really fun...Part of the job is really crappy,” he said. “Don’t mind every now and then a little bit of bitch-work.”

Both Greenfield and Kaja said they resigned in order to devote more time to the Student Affairs Committee (SAC), of which Greenfield is a vice-chair.

Blake M. Kurisu ’07 was elected treasurer and Magdey A. Abdallah ’07 was elected secretary.

In his stump speech, Abdallah made revamping the UC’s website his top priority.

“I want to invest in a website that changes the way the UC interacts with the student body,” he said.

A $15,000 allocation to revamp the website last semester was scrapped after members complained about the sum.

“I’ll keep Haddock in line and make sure that there’s no fishy business going on,” Abdallah said.

THE FUTURE OF FUN

A significant portion of yesterday’s meeting was taken up by a question and answer session on social programming run by Riley and Haan, who had met with representatives from the Crimson Key Society, the Prefect Program, and the First-Year Social Committee earlier in the afternoon.

The meeting, organized by Riley, was the first in a series of meetings with student group leaders about the future of social programming that will be held now through March, Riley said.

In the aftermath of the Wyclef Jean concert cancellation last semester, which cost the UC $30,000, the UC’s role in social planning on campus became the hottest issue of the election.

Haddock and Riley both said during the campaign that the UC should play a more limited role in direct social programming.

Riley and Haan said yesterday that they intend to keep meeting with students to discuss the role that student groups should play in a proposed committee that would plan campus-wide events.

“In general, we are meeting with student leaders and student groups who have contributed to social events and community at Harvard,” Riley said after yesterday’s meeting.

She said she and Haan still plan to meet with groups such as the Pub Night Commission, Harvard Concert Commission, Senior Class Committee, H-Club, and House Committees (HoCo) over the next few weeks.

Riley will solicit general student opinion by hosting open discussions with undergraduates in House dining halls, she said.

As a result of feedback received during yesterday’s question and answer period, Riley said the leadership of student cultural organizations will also be consulted.

“By having a process that is completely inclusive and collaborative, our product will be the most impacting and beneficial for everyone on campus,” Riley said after the meeting.

In other business, the UC passed bills that allocated money to the Spring party fund and movie nights.

The Council also passed the HoCo Funding Allocation bill.

—Staff Writer Brittney L. Moraski can be reached at bmoraski@fas.harvard.edu. —Staff Writer Rachel L. Pollack can be reached at rpollack@fas.harvard.edu.