Lee elected next chair of UMC

The College junior had been viceThe College junior had been vicechairperson of the group. She ranThe College junior had been vicechairperson of the group. She ranunopposed in last night's contest. In a meeting that lasted nearly three hours, the United Minorities Council elected College junior Susie Lee as its new chairperson last night. Lee, who ran unopposed, said she is especially looking forward to making further attempts at unifying the various minority groups on campus. Lee, the former UMC vice chairperson, said she plans to keep many of the same events that the body held this year. She also emphasized keeping strong relationships between the UMC and other University groups. "I want to see the constituent groups come together," Lee said. "I really think we can make this happen." She explained that some of the major issues she will be addressing next year include randomized housing, minority permanence and the possibility of obtaining a UMC seat on University Council. College freshman Olivia Troye was elected UMC vice chairperson at the meeting, which took place at the Greenfield Intercultural Center. Troye, who previously served as UMC corresponding secretary, echoed Lee's concerns. "As chairs of the UMC, we have the responsibility of knowing what's going on in the different groups within our organization," Troye said. "Once we strengthen ourselves within this group, we'll be able to push forward and really start to make our voice known." She added that although she will sit on University Council next year as an Undergraduate Assembly representative, she will still advocate a seat for minorities to address specific minority concerns. Former UMC chairperson and College senior Onyx Finney said she is confident that next year's board will remain strong. "As a senior, I've always been afraid of who's going to pick up the baton once we leave," Finney said. "It's great to see freshmen and sophomores caring enough to become aware and involved." College junior Hugh Harmon, president of Caribbean American Students Association, added that it was especially important to see freshman taking the elections seriously. Finney pointed out that College freshmen won many of the positions on the new board, including Vishal Ghiya as treasurer, Randi O'Donnell as corresponding secretary, Katie Zapata as recording secretary and Seung Lee and Karen Chance as Admissions liaisons. College sophomore Tope Koledoye, the new programming chairperson, was the only upperclassman besides Lee to acquire a position on the board. The Celebration of Culture chairpersons will be Engineering freshmen Vinay Bhawnani and Keyuri Patel and College freshman Sonal Mehta. This is the first time three people will split the position.

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