Armed with speeches stressing the need for political and procedural reform, candidates for Undergraduate Council chair sought last night to paint themselves as the body's best opportunity for change.

Despite offering widely diverging agendas, the three nominees for the top post all acknowledged a campus wide perception of the council as an ineffectual, even elitist, body with an uneven track record.

Candidate David L. Duncan '93 said that the new chair's performance wouldlikely determine "whether there is a turnaround inthe council's slow inch-by-inch battle forrespectability, or whether we will continue theslide into the shadow of further studentcontempt."

Duncan and candidate Marc D. McKay '94 weredefeated in the race by outgoing Vice ChairMalcolm A. Heinicke '93 (See related story,page 1).

Mood of Change

Despite Heinicke's win, the mood of change wasreflected in the defeat of two insiders--formerTreasurer Michael P. Beys '94 and former FinanceCommittee Chair Rico Reyes '93--for the posts ofvice chair and treasurer, respectively.

Some council members have charged in the pastthat Heinicke, Beys and Reyes form part of an "oldboys' network" that wields undue legislative powerin the council.

But outgoing Chair David A. Aronberg '93, whileacknowledging the desire for reform among many ofthe group's 57 new members, denied that Beys andReyes lost as a result of an anti-insiderbacklash.

"Malcolm's big victory shows that the councilmembers don't want to alter the council radicallybut rather to change it from within," Aronbergsaid. "If you look at the people who won today,they're all insiders."

Aronberg added that calls for reform are heardevery year during council elections.

"There's always been some dissatisfaction withthe U.C. among students, and officer candidatestraditionally like to exploit that," he said."It's a strategy that works."

Still, it was Aronberg himself, in his openingremarks to the group, who helped set the evening'stone by discussing student dissatisfaction withthe blamed the campus media--and The Crimson inparticular--for fostering much of thisdissatisfaction.

"The Crimson will vilify us for the smallestthings," Aronberg said. "The U.C., which used tobe criticized for doing nothing, was criticizedlast year for doing too much."

The anti-media sentiment was echoed by McKay,the dark-horse candidate for chair, who chargedthat The Crimson endorsed Duncan only because hehad friends on its editorial staff.

After the meeting, however, Aronberg softenedhis critique, noting that the media is theperennial whipping post of candidates for publicoffice, at Harvard and elsewhere.

"The media is blamed at every level ofpolitics," the former council chair said. "Ifanything, relations between the U.C. and TheCrimson have gotten better."

Of the three chair candidates, onlyHeinicke--whom Aronberg endorsed lastweek--refrained from attacking the media at all.

Instead, the Eliot House resident used hisspeaking time to present personal, often humorousanecdotes from his childhood and to outline thereasons for his candidacy.

"Sure there are image problems...and thoseimage problems are related to the fact that thereare problems within the U.C.," Heinicke said in aninterview after the elections. "There's definitelya positive energy within the council to makenecessary changes."

Rudolfo J. Fernandez contributed to thereporting of this story.