The Undergraduate Council last night returned the controversial term bill fee check-off option to its constitution, allowing students to easily withhold most of their annual $20 contributions to the council.

But undergraduates will still have to write letters to Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III if they want the last $3.33 of that $20 refunded.

The council could not muster the 3/4 vote for a resolution that would have done away with those letters. Under the proposal, students could have checked the box and automatically received all of their money back.

Last night's resolutions on the check-off were offered by the two leaders of the Movement to Reform the Undergraduate Council (MRUC), Rudd W. Coffey '97 and David V. Bonfili '96.

The two formed the group this year to urge reform after a series of council setbacks last year, including a botched student referendum over a $10 term bill fee hike that would have increased the annual student contribution to $30.

Last night, some council members opposed making it easier for students to withhold their money when ostensibly all students benefit from the council's work.

"This proposal really stems from cynical people who don't believe the council helps certain people," said Joe Evangelista '95. "If a lot of people don't pay we'll have a problem with 'free riders.'"

Council Vice President Brandon C. Gregoire '95 proposed a "free rider amendment": students who paid their council fees would get free admission or reduced rate access to council functions.

Students who didn't pay their council fees would have been charged higher admission rates for the events they chose to attend.

But because of a constitutional guarantee of confidentiality for students who withhold their council contributions, the amendment was tossed out.

In recent years, about 16 percent of Harvard's undergraduates have withheld their council fees. Council Treasurer Jay L. kim '95 said this year's statistics aren't available yet.

Kim adamantly opposed the elimination of the letters Epps requires from students who want their entire council contributions refunded.

The letters, by making it difficult for students to withhold all funds, are supposed to provide a buffer between the council and complete bankruptcy.

"Assuming that most people don't bother collecting those last few dollars, why should we make ourselves lose money?" Kim asked the council.

Coffey responded that the council shouldn't take any money students wouldn't give voluntarily. "We're here to represent, not to antagonize," he said.

Coffey and his resolution won only 48 of the 64 votes needed for the constitutional change.