Despite organizational problems that forced the Undergraduate Council to postpone and then shorten its planned "Days of Dialogue"--as well as the absence of key administrators--council leaders declared its first day successful, pointing to high attendance last night.

In conjunction with a wide range of student groups, the council sponsored and moderated three panel discussions, dealing with campus issues of sexual violence, race and religion.

Council leaders said they were pleased with the turnout, which ranged from about 40 people at the forum on rape and sexual assault to nearly 60 at the religion discussion.

But the evening did not go off entirely as planned.

Council President Fentrice D. Driskell '01 said she had intended to feature a speaker from outside Harvard to kick off the dialogue on Tuesday, but efforts to find such a speaker through the Institute of Politics "fell through."

So Driskell--who had originally hoped to have a "Week of Dialogue" and had shortened the schedule to three days by the time the plan reached a council vote--ended up with a two-day event.

"I don't think it detracts from the week at all," Driskell said of not having an outside speaker.

On the bright side, she said, University President Neil L. Rudenstine will take questions at tonight's planned town hall meeting.