Just two weeks after approving the invitation of De La Soul for the May 1 Rock for Shelter concert, the Undergraduate Council is mired in a political conflict that leaves the event in a state of uncertainty.

At a meeting last night, about 20 Undergraduate Council officers resolved to refer the question of whether to continue pursuing a contract with the rap and hip-hop group to the council as a whole this Sunday.

But Treasurer Michael P. Beys '94 said he has obtained a commitment with De La Soul and that the council--after approving the bid 41-12 by an emergency phone vote March 18--is now legally bound to go through with the $10,000 deal.

"We are bound," Beys said. "$10,000 will be lost if we turn down De La Soul. It's over. It's complete. I met everyone's demands. Unless we would like to tell them not to come and write them a check for $10,000."

But former council chair Robert C. Rhew '92 said De La Soul failed to meet a March 20 deadline for submitting a written contract to the council--and a new deadline for yesterday set at an emergency meeting of council officials and concert organizers Monday night. On these grounds, Rhew argues, the deal should be called off.

"We don't have a contract in our hands, so according to the agreement last night, we say no," Rhew said yesterday.

Yesterday morning, Beys called the band's agent, Melanie Masterson of Famous Artists Agency in New York City. Beys said Masterson confirmed that the council's deal with De La Soul was official.

"In principle, it's already a fait ac- compli," Beys said.

A faxed statement from Masterson read, "Themanagement for De La Soul has confirmed youroffer...contract and riders are forthcoming."

But Rhew and several others, all of whom havebeen working since December on the committeeresponsible for the charity event, were notsatisfied, arguing that the council still had nowritten contract in hand.

Former council Secretary Nhan T. Vu '92-93spoke with Masterson yesterday afternoon and saidthat though there appears to be an agreement,"[Masterson] seems just as ready to drop this asgo ahead with this. She just wants an answer."

Further complications arose when, two daysafter what he said was De La Soul's deadline forsigning a contract, Rhew went ahead with thecouncil's original plans for the Rock for Shelterconcert.

On March 22 Rhew secured commitments from threesmall-name bands to play in Memorial Hall on May1. Beys has booked the larger, Bright Hockey Arenafor the De La Soul concert the same night.

"He knows we had another concert set up and thetwo will conflict," Rhew said. "What Beys did isact on his own...He's setting the council up fordisaster."

Beys, who also recently brought the SpinDoctors to Cambridge, charged that no March 20deadline ever existed and that there is an uncleardistinction between written and verbalconfirmation.

"It was never said explicitly that there was adeadline," Beys said. "Assumptions were made. Andwhere does it say a `written confirmation' in the[March 18] resolution?"

Ambiguity over the deadline has surfacedbecause the exact details of the March 18resolution were never written down.

Some members who voted on the originalresolution over the phone said they could notremember a deadline, and that to impose one wouldviolate the resolution.

Others involved in the debate over the originalresolution--including Chair David A. Aronberg '93and Vice Chair Malcolm A. Heinicke '93--said therewas indeed a deadline set for March 20.

But Beys asserted that last night's decision toput the matter to a vote of the full councilvindicates his actions