It's come to be known as the "chocolate milk" debate, and for the last year it's shadowed the Undergraduate Council's every move.

After seven years of focusing strictly on student services issues--like bringing chocolate milk to undergraduate dining halls--Harvard's only officially recognized student government ventured into the political arena last year. For the first time in recent years, questions about the University's South African related investments, minority faculty hiring and the presence of Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) on campus dominated the council's agenda.

But the political issues brought with them unexpected scrutiny. A slew of controversial debates last spring burned the body, forcing many members to reconsider the council's role as a political institution.

Because many had credited last year's chair, Kenneth E. Lee '89, with setting the council's activist tenor, observers believe the selection of Lee's successor tomorrow night will be the best indicator of the council's direction this year.

Nobody is making concrete predictions before the vote, but it is clear that the fallout from last year's political debates is already driving the council away from the more divisive issues.

In position papers and a debate Wednesday night, three of the four candidates--David A. Battat '91, Lori L. Outzs '90 and Guhan Subramanian '91--have said the council should spend more time on student services and less on political issues. And even Sean C. Griffin '90, who claims to be the most political of the four candidates, says that the council needs to renew attention to service issues.

Michael R. Kelsen '90, who yesterday dropped out of the race, would have been the candidate who placed the least emphasis on political issues.

DAVID A. BATTAT '91

Battat, a junior who lives in Winthrop House, says he is running on his accomplishments as both secretary and ad-hoc campus security committee chair.

Last year, Battat planned the free distribution of whistes for students to blow in case of attack. He also won approval for improved lighting in both Harvard Yard and in the Cambridge Common.

Battat, who hails from Riverside, Connecticut, and transferred to Harvard after a year at the University of Chicago, says he is "the only [candidate] who got anything done" and possesses the personal qualities of leadership and fairness required of a chair.

Like Lee, Battat plans to take positions on the council's issues. But he says he would always be open to new ideas from the council.

Calling himself a moderate, Battat cites endorsements from the presidents of Perspective and The Salient, Harvard's liberal and conservative student publications, respectively, as proof that his ideas appeal to the entire political spectrum.

"They told me that the reason they were both behind me was that they felt I was the most effective candidate," Battat says.

Battat says that, if elected, his first actions in office will be to form ad-hoc committees--a forum which he says served him well--on ROTC and on campus racism. In addition, he cites the need to "be creative" in rebuilding the council's financial base after heavy losses from a poorly attended Suzanne Vega concert.