The leaders of the Undergraduate Council say this semester they will stick with a formula that worked: short debates and visible student services.

"We have succeeded in depoliticizing the council," says council President Beth A. Stewart '00.

But, she says, the challenges remain in convincing the campus that the council is different--and effective.

"You can't have organizations where people can't have fun," Stewart says. "There should be a culture to being a U.C. member. Ambition alone can't be the reason to stay on the U.C."

Stewart and her vicepresident, Samuel C. Cohen '00, won the third-ever popular elections for the 17-year-old student government's top seats last December. Their platform emphasized student services and tangible results.

"I like issues of controversy. I don't like issues of controversy in the U.C. that don't have anything to do with Harvard. That's what other clubs exist for," Stewart says.

Since last winter council debate has shifted from issues such as faculty diversity and human rights in China to bag lunches and longer hours at the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC).

"We showed last semester that when we focus on these issues, we can get results," Cohen says.

Both Stewart and election commissioner Noah Z. Seton '00 called this a transitional year for the council.

"The character of the council should probably be a little bit toned down from the high-intensity politics of the past couple of years," Seton says.

John Paul Rollert '00, a two-year council veteran who supported Stewart and Cohen in the last election, says he believes the student body is still cynical about the council but hopes the leadership can change that this semester.

"I would like to think that because of some of the success the U.C. has had will contribute to some more optimism this year," Rollert said.

The Agenda

Randomization and universal keycard access top Stewart's agenda for this fall. She says the council will lobby the administration for its promised review of the four-year old randomized House lottery system. The council will form a committee and draft a report.

"That's going to be our goal, to get the whole campus involved, to start a campus debate," Stewart says.