"I think it's ridiculous that the council is being held hostage by one person's ego," said William E. Rehling '86-'96.
In a unusual move, the council closed the meeting to all non-council members so they could discuss the merits of the candidates in private.
In the end, the council supported its original decision to seat commission members Gregory M. Heestand '98, Stephen E. Weinberg '99, Robert B. Wolinsky '97 and alternate Saadi Soudavar '99.
Coffey, Elizabeth A. Haynes '98, Matthew Mayers '97 and Eric D. Albert '98, all of whom had expressed interest in serving on the commission, were not chosen.
Fourteen bills were passed last night as the council attempted to resolve last-minute business before the end of the year.
The most controversial was a resolution to ask the administration to listen to student requests for a multicultural student center.
The resolution passed with 23 yes votes, seven nos and nine abstentions.
Those who voted against it said they feared the center would encourage self-segregation among different racial and ethnic groups.
Others argued that such a center would be unnecessary.
"We already have a multicultural center and it is Harvard College," said John J. Appelbaum '97.
But supporters of the bill said it would encourage people to learn from other groups.
"We don't see this as an exclusionary thing, but as a way to highlight the diversity of the backgrounds on campus," said Coffey, a sponsor of the bill.
The council passed other bills to reform the terms of the Election Commission, to conduct an annual survey of the students, to support rent control in Harvard-owned apartments in Cambridge and to allow the Harvard Computer Society and Digitas to conduct student services projects on the council's computer.
At the end of the meeting, the new president and vice president, Hyman and Lamelle D. Rawlins '99 were formally inaugurated into office.
"I thank you for everything you've been doing and all that you've done," said Hyman. "To those of you who want to come back with a vengeance, there's still a lot to do.