"It was less about getting a conservative in and more about changing the Council from the progressive agenda in the past," he says.

The distaste for that type of activism was great enough to spur the foundation of a group known to Seton and other council insiders as "the cabal."

The group was created four years ago by council members who were united in support of the candidacies of Eric M. Nelson '99 and Joe Sena '99 for council president and vice president, and tired of spending "endless hours debating legislation that had little or no effect on the student body," Seton says.

The cabal remained intact the following year and rallied behind Stewart and her running-mate Samuel C. Cohen '00, both of whom went on to win the election.

Although the cabal--which Seton says is now more of a group of friends--also assisted Darling in his campaign.

Politics Aside

But without many of those typically liberal issues--such as ethnic studies or faculty diversity--at play in this year's race, it was harder to make a distinction between the candidates.

"This year, the race was very apolitical compared to past years," says John Paul Rollert '00, a four-year council member who, despite being liberal, has supported Stewart and Seton in the past. "Beth Stewart was known as the [council] candidate who worked for Newt Gingrich," he says.