The MRUC proposed semesterly elections of council members, devoting more council funds to grants, and the modification of council by-laws to allow reinstatement of the termbill check-off option.

Coffey and Bonfili's reform proposals drew criticism from some who believed that time devoted to discussing those proposals could have been better spent.

Council Secretary Jonathan P. Feeney '97 says that while reform is important, "I think discussion of reform kind of monopolized the council's time."

While Coffey maintains that reform is important, he devoted less than two pages of his 16-page position paper to the topic of "Reform Ideas."

At the heart of Coffey's paper is his expressed desire to make the president a "facilitator."

Coffey's proposals include bringing "direct TV" to students, holding council meetings in areas more accessible to students, and creating an Undergraduate Resource Center, or "undergraduate Kinko's."

While Coffey's proposals bear some similarities to those of his opponents, he definitively avoids all outward appearances of the political smoothness attributed to his opponents.

The candidate showed up to a presidential debate Wednesday night in casual khakis and a denim shirt, in stark contrast to Fine, Gregoire and Liston in coats and ties.

Coffey's position paper even ends with a proclamation of his unpolished personna. "I'm not the smoothest talker on the council," he writes, "the best dressed, or the most prolific, but I shoot straight."

Coffey's untainted idealism may be a result of his relative youth--he is the youngest of the three presidential candidates.

As a sophomore, his perceived naivete is one of the chief criticisms leveled against him, despite the fact that both he and Fine share the same number of semesters of council experience.

Bonfili, however, says he doesn't consider Coffey's age a liability.

"I think there's a real question about [Liston's] responsibility and competence and there's a very legitimate question about [Fine's] integrity," Bonfili says.

"The only possible criticism I can think of Rudd is he's a sophomore, and to me that's just not a legitimate criticism."

"It's not just your age or your class--it's your character," Bonfili adds, "and I think on that Rudd comes out way ahead of the other two."