EDITOR'S NOTE APPENDED

The six Undergraduate Council (UC) presidential hopefuls faced off last night in a mostly civil 90-minute debate, discussing ways to improve diversity on the UC, how to respond to the closing of campus gym facilities, and whether, as one candidate argued, the Council should be abolished altogether.

Appearing in front of a packed Emerson lecture hall in uniform dark suits and white shirts, Tom D. Hadfield ’08,

Ryan A. Petersen ’08, Ali A. Zaidi ’08, and Amadi P. Anene ’08 argued that their visions for the UC would create a more effective and relevant student organization.

But Brian S. Gillis ’07-’08 and Tim R. Hwang ’08 both acknowledged that they are running as outsider candidates and do not expect—nor do they hope—to win. {SEE EDITOR'S NOTE BELOW}

Though many of the candidates agreed on which issues will be major concerns for next year’s council, they clashed over the solutions.

A perceived lack of diversity on the UC arose in several of the evening’s exchanges, with all the candidates proposing ways to improve minority and female representation on the council.

Anene, who advocated for the Vote orDie Campaign and the establishment of the Women’s Center, cited his ticket as the only one that has tangibly addressed this issue.

Hadfield, however, said that as president he would “take personal responsibility for the diversity for the UC.”

The candidates were also asked how they plan to address the closing of the Malkin Atheletic Center this spring.

Zaidi said that the gym’s equipment should be moved to House gyms and freshmen dorms. Hadfield promoted the expansion of the IM program, and Anene suggested a piecemeal approach to the renovation. Petersen said that the Hemenway should be kept open until 2 am.

Hwang added that “we are all screwed because of IHOP.”

In the new question-and-answer portion of the debate, Ellen C. Quigley ’07, a representative from the Women’s Center, asked what sort of relationships the candidates would have with Harvard’s final clubs.

All the presidential hopefuls agreed with Petersen when he said that “The UC shouldn’t be supporting them or promoting their interest or giving them money but we should be making sure they are safe places because the reality is that many students go there on weekends.”

Gillis added that “it will be a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful day when final clubs are not just for men.”

Hadfield’s running-mate Adam Goldenberg ’08 is a member of the Fox Club.

Environmental sustainability and a greener Harvard featured as a topic of debate last night, with all candidates recognizing the importance of the issue.

“Climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity in the 21st century,” said Hadfield.

Zaidi added in order to impress the importance of the issue on the administration, students must “model the behavior we expect them to implement.”

But Anene said that the solution to the problem is not as simple as putting a referendum on the presidential ballot to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“I don’t think the changes we are looking for are going to be able to be passed with a position paper and overnight,” said Anene. “We can integrate environmentalism into the culture of our campus.”

Vivek G. Ramaswamy ’07, who moderated the debate, was pleased with the result.

“It would conceivably be difficult for the students to get to know all six candidates well, but I think ultimately we were successful in being able to do that.”

EDITOR'S NOTE

The Dec. 1 news article "To 'Kill' or To Fix? A Clash Over UC's Future" mischaracterized remarks by Undergraduate Council presidential candidates Brian S. Gillis '07-'08 and Tim R. Hwang '08 at Thursday night's presidential campaign. Neither candidate said that he does not hope to win the presidential race. Hwang has said that he intends to prevail and subsequently to dismantle the UC. While Gillis has said that victory is not his first priority, he adds that winning would give him the "political capital" to implement his proposals for UC structural reform. He has vowed to transfer the presidency to rival candidate Ryan A. Petersen '08 and to transfer UC administrative tasks to rival Tom D. Hadfield '08. The Crimson apologizes to both the Gillis and Hwang campaigns.