The council's Feb. 25 meeting, during which the council voted not to recommend that the University censure Kenan Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield `53 for comments about black students' link to grade inflation, saw a fiery ideological debate unfold within the council--one that Gusmorino was hard-pressed to mitigate.

A similarly caustic debate arose during the council's May 6 meeting at which the council severed its ties with the much maligned Ivy Council.

Gusmorino's worst moment occurred on April 22, when the council contentiously voted to condemn the Progressive Student Labor Movement for its Mass. Hall sit-in. Gusmorino was left exasperated as some council members attempted to disrupt the council's quorum by walking out of the meeting while others tried to stop them.

Despite these minor setbacks, most council members deem Gusmorino's first term a triumph and predict great things for his next--and he'll have help.

Pillars Of The Presidency

On March 7, members of the Faculty Council voted to increase the term bill fee that funds the council from $20 to $35 dollars per student, increasing the council's budget from about $120,000 to $220,000 a year.

Council members convened a number of ad-hoc meetings to discuss how best to distribute the money across the council's committees.

Gusmorino is also in the process of negotiating with administrators the means by which the council can gain interest on its bank account. University policy mandates that at least $50,000 must be invested in one of its accounts before it can bear interest, and, up until now, the council has not been able to keep that much in at once.

In addition to financial support, Gusmorino's council may come back next year to find an administration more willing to hear its voice.

In his first official act as Harvard's President-elect, Lawrence H. Summers sat down with the full council for an off-the-record discussion of issues concerning undergraduates.

Council members hope that the unprecedented discussion indicates Summers' willingness to listen to the perspectives of undergraduates.

The council was also given a unique opportunity to affect University policy when it selected two student representatives to serve on the Katz Committee to investigate workers' wages at Harvard.

With more money to give back to student groups and a newly empowered and supportive council behind him, Gusmorino seems to have passed the first 100-days test.