The race for council leadership hosted a large field that included council veterans like Burton and Driskell, as well as novices with no council experience. Noah Z. Seton '00 and Kamil E. Redmond '00 banded together in a surprisng ticket--in past political debates the two had overwhelmingly supported opposite viewpoints. Seton, a former Republican Club president and one of the minds behind fly-by, had been following Stewart's service-oriented lead. Redmond, a self-described "loud progressive," often brought political issues to the council floor.

When Seton and Redmond walked away with the election, many questioned whether they could keep their campaign promises and focus on an "enlarged view" of student services and avoid political conflict.

An Identity Crisis

But as Seton took the presidential podium, it seemed that every council meeting became a tug-of-war between political activism and providing student services--and it was doubtful that the two at the helm had anything to say about it.

A typical week would see bills endorsing the Living Wage Campaign and improved privacy on the Harvard network on one hand, or a proposal to research new designs for the Harvard College Web page and a declaration that students have free speech rights in public arenas on the other.

As a result, debates inevitably turned away from the issues and towards arguments over "the role of the council."

During the debate of the Living Wage Campaign bill, Bradley L. Davis '00 said the issue "does not belong in this body whose purpose is to represent student concerns.... It is not proper for this body to consider questions of justice."

"I think the U.C. sometimes just has to come down to planet Earth," responded Chad A. Wathington '00. "If this is something students care about, this is something we should care about."

The progressivism versus practicality debates not only split the council, but caused some tension between the captain and his lieutenant.

Seton and Redmond's working relationship seemed to be in flux constantly, swinging from a unified front during elections to obvious fractures over political bills--some sponsored by Redmond herself.

"Is the role of the council to deal with fro-yo in Annenberg, or China? With Burma or a student center?" she said at one meeting. "I think the council can do both."

But Seton felt the council could do best by focusing on student services.

"I think we'd serve the students better by...lobbying on specific issues that affect the Harvard life of Harvard students," he wrote in an e-mail message in March.

At the last meeting of the semester, Seton and Redmond both said they had reconciled their differences and their partnership had proved effective.

"It hasn't been the smoothest transition, but I think many of the concerns Noah and I raised and still raise got played out in the forum of the U.C.," Redmond said.

While this past semester's council did not succeed in changing life at Harvard, it hosted several events that will probably set a precedent for future years. In particular, this year's Springfest drew crowds to the Mac Quad for an entire Saturday afternoon while the Violent Femmes jammed, and council members and their constituents bounced down a three-story "Titanic" slide.

It remains to be seen what issues will come to the council floor in September. The student center push, led by Cohen, may again gain momentum and council projects like lowering book prices and investigating advising will likely continue. Political issues will undoubtedly make their way onto the docket as well. Next year's tenor, though, could be swayed by anything from the council membership to world events.