Student Activities Committee Vice Chair Paul A. Gusmorino '02 said he didn't think council members failed to serve their office hours out of laziness, but rather because they rarely know the answers to students' questions.

"When you do come in [to the office] you feel like a jerk," Gusmorino said. "[Executive] board should be doing office hours. They're the ones who can do them right."

Former council Vice President Samuel C. Cohen '00 said he felt regular council members would serve their office hours if executive board members encouraged them to do so.

"If the vice president gets on their ass, they serve them," Cohen said.

Council members also voted, 38-10, with three abstentions, to change the bylaws in order to reduce the number of absences required before the council vice president warns and then expels council members.

Darling, who sponsored the bill, said that a smaller council simply can not afford absences.

"With only three members [per House], there's no one else to pick up the slack," he said.

Frank X. Leonard '01, the other sponsor of the bill, agreed.