CORRECTION APPENDED

The results of this year’s UC district representative elections were announced on Friday, the first election since the Council passed a resolution increasing the number of representatives from two to three people per district.

With 88 reps running for 51 positions, this year’s election was one of the most contested in recent history, according to UC President Andrea R. Flores ’10. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]

“Last year we struggled to fill two seats in every house,” Flores said. “This year, only one house does not have all three seats filled, and there [were] four or five houses that [were] actually competitive.”

The freshman yards were especially competitive, with 43 candidates vying for 12 positions, though it is typical to have a large number of freshman candidates, said UC Election Commission Chair Brad A. Seiler ’10.

Flores said she believes that the UC’s decision last spring to increase the number of representatives per district from two to three encouraged more candidates to run for election. “I think it made people feel like they had a better chance,” she said.

Flores said that she hopes the increase in candidates, coupled with other structural changes such as an increase in committees, will help the UC accomplish more of its goals this year. “We had more projects last year than people to work on them,” she said.

Because of the increase in representatives, the incoming UC representative body is also the ‘newest’ council.

“When you lose a lot of veterans, you lose old rivalries, [which] I feel were a little stagnating,” Flores said. “[New members] bring us a whole lot of energy and important outsider perspective that we always need.”

The elections also saw 13 candidates who had previously been UC representatives running again, as opposed to 12 last year, according to UC parliamentarian Eric N. Hysen ’11. “I’m surprised we were able to have that same return rate, considering how tough of a semester we had last spring,” he said. “I think [the high return rate] says a lot about how important some people think what we are doing is.”

Many representatives said they felt inspired to run for the UC after the it took a more active role as an advocate for student opinions amidst the budget cut announcements last spring.

“[Last year], I admit I was one of those sort of scoffing at the over-eager, over-caffeinated candidates that would come to your door and put you to sleep with their 20-policy platforms,” said Currier representative Chris W. Danello ’12. “But seeing the dramatic events of last year, it really does make you realize, though campus politics may not have all the answers..., student government can be an effective voice.”

“A lot of candidates have promised to bring hot breakfast back, and I’m not sure feasible that is,” said Mather Representative Joseph K. Kim ’12, who served as a North Yard representative last year. “But we’re definitely going to be talking a lot about budget cuts...We want to actually be a part of the discourse...so we can make decisions together.”

—Staff Writer Melody Y. Hu can be reached at melodyhu@fas.harvard.edu.

CORRECTION

The Sept. 21 news article "UC Announces Election Results" incorrectly stated that candidates in the Undergraduate Council election were vying for 51 spots. In fact, they were only competing for 48.