During a heated Undergraduate Council meeting last night, President Carey W. Gabay '94 moved to bar four of the five questions that were to have appeared on ballots during a student referendum next week.

Former council member Anjalee C. Davis '96 presented a petition signed by 1,128 students calling for a referendum on questions ranging from popular election of the president to distribution of unspent council funds to house committees.

In asking students to sign, Davis had said the council constitution permitted a referendum for any petition with the signatures of one-tenth of the student body--or 663 undergraduates.

But Gabay, offering an alternative interpretation of the constitution (plese see graphic, this page), said each of the five issues on Davis' petition had to have 663 separate signatures.

U.C. CONSTITUTION

from Article IV, Section 5:

"Any question may be committed to a referendum or poll by the Council or by a petition signed by one-tenth of the undergraduates.

"Such a referendum will be advisory unless the provisions of the referendum make its results binding. Such an order can be overturned by three-fourths of the Council."

He said students can vote on the term-bill hikeduring the referendum, but he sent the other fourquestions to the council's executive committee, ofwhich Gabay is a member, for approval.

Gabay made clear during last night's meetingthat he favors cutting four of the questions fromthe referendum ballot. Presenting students with fiveissues at once, he said, "is packing it."

The term-bill hike "will definitely be on thestudent referendum, but the others might not,"said Gabay, adding that the executive board woulddiscuss this Wednesday the constitutionality of avote on the four other measures.

"I think we're being nice enough to allow theterm bill" to go to referendum, he said.

But in an interview after the meeting, Davisaccused the council of "incredible arrogance toignore more than 1,000 of the students' views."

Davis questioned why the council should beallowed to change the petition.

"It's completely illegitimate to change thepetition after it's been signed," Davis said. "Ifthey can change one word after the petition hasbeen turned in, they can change it to anything."

"Now it should be obvious that [councilmembers] will do anything to avoid enforcing theconstitution," Davis said. "Do they think theywere appointed by God?"