UC Amends Ghost Protocol, Sponsors School-Wide Dance

Undergraduate Council representatives approved changes to Operation Ghost Protocol and passed a collection of legislation allocating funds to campus-wide events in the group’s general meeting Sunday.

Specifying revisions similar to those he detailed in last week’s meeting, UC President Gus A. Mayopoulos ’15 presented an amendment to the Council’s Ghost Protocol policy, which formerly required Council members to be present every Friday in their House dining hall.

UC representatives will now be required to report to their dining halls to solicit student feedback every other Friday, according to the approved amendment. Additionally, the amendment created the position of Ghost Protocol Director, an office that will be occupied by Kirkland House representative Kate A. Buellesbach ’16.

After a brief discussion about whether the top priority of Ghost Protocol should be to increase the Council’s communication with students or, instead, to analyze data and determine what students want, the Council quickly moved on to several pieces of funding legislation.

The Council unanimously approved allocating $4,680 of the Freshman Class Committee’s available funds for three future initiatives for freshmen, including $900 for a nutella-themed study break.

Afterwards, the UC voted in favor of its weekly grants pack, which will distribute about $13,500 to an array of student organizations and clubs.

Student Initiatives Committee Chair C.C. Gong ’15, an inactive Crimson editor, then presented four pieces of legislation to direct money to future events. All plans passed with unanimous consent.

As part of the grants, the committee’s Vice Chair Kevin H. Xiong ’17 announced a school wide dance that the UC and College Events board will sponsor later this semester. The $1600 the UC agreed to utilize for the event will be matched with a $1500 contribution from the CEB, Xiong said at the meeting.

The UC also endorsed a large masquerade themed party being organized by Amna H. Hashmi ’16, a Crimson News editor, and Michelle M. Lee ’15, co-Presidents of the Harvard Undergraduate Global Health Forum. The event, to be held later this month, will raise funds to combat malaria.

In approving the legislation, the Council agreed to publicize the event and pledged the presence of at least 12 of its members at the party.

Argentine activists who live near a Harvard-owned plantation in Argentina also attended the meeting, delivering statements translated by students in the Responsible Investment at Harvard Coalition.

—Staff writer Noah J. Delwiche can be reached at noah.delwiche@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @ndelwiche.