[CORRECTION APPENDED]

The Undergraduate Council unanimously approved a resolution last night calling for a Harvard University Employees Credit Union ATM to be installed in the Currier House lobby and moved forward with plans to place students on committees focusing on public service.

Currier UC representative George J. J. Hayward ’11, who co-sponsored the ATM legislation, said that a Quad ATM is “real close” to becoming a reality. He said that the plan is awaiting approval from Harvard administrators who are concerned about safety.

Hayward argued that the ATM would make students safer by allowing them nearby access to money. One safety issue that administrators are examining is where to place the ATM in relation to ID swipe access points.

Hayward said that the Credit Union routinely negotiates with the Harvard University Police Department when it installs new ATMs on campus, adding that the UC does not “want to create a security hazard while fixing a security issue.”

Beyond safety, Hayward said that the choice of the Credit Union has several advantages, including that the company will install the ATM for free. In addition, the Credit Union offers special accounts for official student groups, many of which have offices in the nearby Student Organization Center at Hilles.

The fee for using the ATM has yet to be negotiated.

Hayward said that Bank of America was the initial favorite, but that the bank is not installing new ATMs due to the financial crisis.

UC representatives are also continuing talks about installing another ATM in the SOCH.

Later in the meeting, the UC appointed two students—Daniella T. Gilbert ’09 and UC representative Matthew S. Garcia ’10—to the President’s Public Service Committee, a University-wide committee to improve the information available to students about public service summer jobs, internships, and careers.

The UC also voted to create an ad-hoc committee on public service that will gather student opinion for the two representatives, who will be its co-chairs.

Both resolutions were unanimously approved.

Phillips Brooks House Association Executive Director Gene A. Corbin, who helped select the student representatives for the University-wide committee, wrote in an e-mail that students are increasingly interested in public service.

“The political and economic changes of the last six months have inspired many students to devote themselves to solving the enormous problems facing our world today,” he wrote, adding that research reveals that the current generation of college students is deeply interested in service.

Two UC representatives—John F. Pararas ’08-’09, the chair of the College Events Board, a co-sponsor of the ATM legislation and a Crimson magazine writer, and Charles T. James ’09-’10, a UC presidential candidate—were expelled during the meeting because of absences. James said that he has missed meetings because he is “totally involved in the campaign.” [CORRECTION APPENDED]

Both Pararas and James may be reinstated by a two-thirds vote of the UC’s executive board. The two other representatives who have been expelled this fall were reinstated last week.

­—Staff writer Alex M. McLeese can be reached at amcleese@fas.harvard.edu.

CORRECTION
Due to an error in Undergraduate Council record-keeping, the Dec. 15 article "UC Approves ATM for Currier" incorrectly stated that John F. Pararas '08-'09 had been expelled from the Council due to excessive absences. In fact, Pararas has not been absent quite enough to qualify for expulsion, and UC Vice President Randall Sarafa '09 announced over the UC-General e-mail list Thursday evening that Pararas had not been expelled.