Council votes to give UMC representation

After a three-year effort, the United Minorities Council won a seat on University Council. Ending three years of debate, the United Minorities Council finally won its long battle to gain representation on University Council yesterday, as the advisory body voted to give the UMC a 16th undergraduate seat. With 36 Council members in attendance at yesterday's meeting -- the bare minimum necessary to vote on the issue -- the membership voted strongly in favor of adding the UMC's voice to Council discussions. "I am ecstatic and glad the issue is finally resolved," said UMC Chairperson and College senior Tope Koledoye. "This can only be seen as a step towards greater governance." Thirty members voted for the resolution, with two abstaining. The only votes against it came from four Undergraduate Assembly representatives. The UA currently holds the 15 other undergraduate spots on Council. Some UA members said they considered the new UMC seat a sign of the breakdown of student democracy, calling for the UMC to elect members to the UA rather than directly to Council. "I love the democratic system," said UA Chairperson Noah Bilenker, a College junior. "It bothers me that it would fail so much as to have to place another seat on Council." But Communications Professor Larry Gross said the new seat does not reduce Council's effectiveness as a democratic body. Instead, adding a UMC seat would help to pull together "a wide variety and diversity of opinions," he said. UA Vice Chairperson and College junior Samara Barend said she voted against the resolution for a different reason -- concern about the possibility of other student groups requesting Council representation in the future. "I have no problems with the UMC having a seat on Council -- if the Council had set specific procedures for how other groups would be able to get seats," she said. Monday, the Undergraduate Assembly voted against a resolution to support adding a UMC seat to Council. But the vote at Council was split among UA members, with four voting in favor it and four coming out against it. With the approval of another undergraduate seat, other campus groups might begin to petition for a spot on Council -- and many at the meeting said they would be willing to consider further requests. UA member Meredith Hertz, for example, said she would support "any other student group that feels underrepresented." Before spring 1994, the UA unofficially allowed a UMC member to occupy one of its 10 Council seats. But that April, as Council increased the UA representation to 15 students, the body determined that the unofficial seat was a violation of Council bylaws stating that only UA members may fill the UA's seats. Although a vote on a seat for the UMC was on the agenda at last April's meeting, Council failed to meet the quorum necessary for a binding vote. Since then, Council -- which frequently suffers from low attendance -- lowered the minimum amount necessary for quorum from a majority to 40 percent. The amendment has allowed for resolution of several long-standing debates. Heated discussion at yesterday's meeting also focused on ongoing concern about the effect the new Barnes & Noble bookstore will have on independent area booksellers. Council members voted to reject a recommendation by the bookstore committee to require University professors to list their textbooks on-line, which might allow a Barnes & Noble monopoly. Also at the meeting, University President Judith Rodin highlighted progress on the Agenda for Excellence in her annual State of the University address. "We have made a remarkable amount of progress in academics," she said. "Every step we take? supports this academic mission." Referring to slides during her presentation, Rodin praised the accomplishments of this year's freshman class, noting that this year's early decision application pool was the largest in the school's history. Rodin also updated Council members on undergraduate and graduate academic programs and expanding research facilities -- such as the recently unveiled Institute for Advanced Science and Technology building. She also commented on plans to improve student life, ranging from the Perelman Quadrangle project to ResNet wiring. And amidst criticism that administrators did not adequately consult the University community before deciding to outsource facilities management to Trammell Crow Co., Rodin stressed that "we need to wrestle between the right balance of decisiveness and consultation."

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