When they arrived at Harvard four years ago, they were former high school student politicos. As freshmen they decided to run for Harvard's only legitimate student government--the Undergraduate Council--in its first year of existence.

The graduation today of Douglas A. Winthrop '86, Kamala S. Lakhdhir '85-86, Ethan H. Cohen '86, and Steven A. Nussbaum '86 marks the end of the council's first generation; next year no member will have been on the council since its inception.

"This is the end of an era. The first cycle of the council is complete," says this year's Undergraduate Council Chairman Brian C. Offutt '87.

"There was a lot of anticipation of what it could be," Winthrop says about the aura of excitement that pervaded the council in its first year.

During his four-year tenure, the Quincy House social studies concentrator says he has seen a shift in the direction of the council. "It started off wondering where it should go, how it should proceed," Winthrop says.

In the struggle between activists and bureaucrats that has plagued the council throughout its short stint on the scene, Winthrop has remained a middle-of-the-road moderate, serving each of his four years on the student services committee and the student-administrator Committee on College Life (CCL), which he says gave him "the opportunity to deal with a broader range of problems and get listened to by administrators."

The council should handle matterspragmatically, he says, tackling some issues withan aggressive approach and others by writingreports. Some of the council's most importantaccomplishments, Winthrop says, have been "thingsthat are not earth-shattering, but they make adifference," such as extending library hours. Overthe years the council has learned "to do thingsthoroughly and not just shoot from the hip," hesays.

"The administration's going to close itsdoors," if the council takes an acitivist approachon every issue, he says. But Winthrop, who will beworking in Washington next year, also says, "Wecan go too far and get buried in paper work andbureacracy."

One of the council's most outspoken liberalmembers, Lakhdhir says, "The council should bemore active. We have to speak out and speak outwell." Lakhdhir, a social studies concentrator whois going to China next year to teach English,resigned from the council in the middle of thissemester.

In her freshman year, a year before Winthropand his cohorts arrived, Lakhdhir ran for thenow-defunct Student Assembly. She lost.

In the spring of her sophomore year, a placeopened up on the Adams House delegation to theUndergraduate Council, and Lakhdhir filled it.

"It was a lot more liberal," Lakhdhir says ofthe council in its first year. "There was more ofan activist sense on council." One of thehighlights of Lakhdhir's sophomore spring, shesays, was the establishment of the Endowment forDivestiture (E4D), an alternative to the SeniorClass Gift that holds contributions in escrowuntil Harvard divests of its $416 million in SouthAfrica-related investments. Lakhdhir acted asco-president of E4D this spring.

Lakhdhir, who has served on the academics andsocial committees of the council, has spoken outin protest of sexism and council faux pas.After she had resigned, Lakhdhir attended a weeklycouncil meeting to denounce a council forumadverisment that read, "Come Bitch at Us." Shecalled it sexist and offensive and demanded anapology, which she received.

Earlier in the term, Lakhdhir made a motion tochange the name of the Adams House Raft Race. Thecouncil had decided to take charge of the annualevent, calling it the Harvard Adams House RaftRace. Lakhdhir asserted that the name should bethe Harvard-Radcliffe Adams House Raft Race togive women equal billing.

Lakhdhir remembers a similar incident in thecouncil's first year at its bylaws meeting, whichlasted until 12:30 a.m. "One of the big fights waswhether we'd have to write his andher. There were enough women in the roomthat we won."