The one negative repercussion of the council's new thoroughness is that the time commitment involved precludes council members from participating equally, Melendez says, "Twenty people are doing about 90 percent of the work."

This trend, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III says, could lead to a "leadership strata," in which the leaders become out of touch with the rest of the body, inactive members neglect meetings, and the whole body loses touch with constituents in the Houses. "A lot of people on the council get into the thinking they are doing the things they are doing for the council, [not for the students]," Melendez acknowledges.

Another mechanism to insure credibility with administrators--but which may turn off students--is the council's complicated procedures, encapsulated in the council's constitution, its system of parliamentary procedure, and its 70-odd pages of by-laws.

Student groups expressed impatience with this bureaucracy in at least one meeting this spring when members of the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) and other groups arrived at the council to urge that the council censure the Pi Eta Club, a men's social group, for an allegedly sexist news-letter, RUS members were frustrated at the council's procedures, which made them wait until the end of the meeting to discuss their proposal, failed to make it on the docketed agenda. Despite the criticism, council members say these procedures are a prerequisite for credibility with administrators. "The procedures are designed to insure that we are thorough", says council Secretary Richard A. Bennett '85.

While members acknowledge that the council has some way to go in gaining credibility with students, they say it is at least a start that student groups are going to the council with their problems. "The fact that students showed an interest in discussing the Pi or the Friends of the Spartacus Youth league before the council is a sign that we are being accepted by students," says Bennett.

Attendance is another problem that Epps feels is plaguing the Council, and he cites its frequent turnover of some seats which members forfeit once they miss three meetings. This, he explains, may be indicative of a lack of interest in the council which could ultimately cause its downfall if there is one willing to run.

Lyss takes a different line on the attendance problem. "Lots of people here try student government and find it's not for them. I'd rather make room for someone who is willing," he says.

Lyss adds that it is unrealistic to expect full participation from the council. "No organization, with maybe the exception of the Phillips Brooks House, has 89 active members--it's enough to get 89 people to go to two meetings a week."