Council Members Prevented Discussion of Powell

You may have seen the Undergraduate Council's recent advertisement lauding a "New Spirit of Openness." Ironically, the same Executive Board which concocted that advertisement abused its power last week by preventing the council from even considering a letter expressing dissatisfaction with the selection of Colin Powell as a commencement speaker.

This politically motivated obstruction of a resolution which had passed through the proper committee structure is an abuse of the Executive Board's prerogative which is unprecedented in my four years on the council. The Executive Board is given the power to set the docket to ensure that resolutions can be considered in a timely fashion and that meetings are not overly long. In this case, a small faction of the council was improperly attempting to use that pozwer to dictate the council's political agenda.

Fortunately, the letter will be docketed and brought to the floor at the council's meeting this Sunday.

The purpose of the letter is not to censure General Powell, but to request more student input in the selection of future Commencement speakers and to declare the council's opposition to the discriminatory position supported by Powell.

The letter would endorse nondisruptive forms of protest, but explicitly reject disruptive behavior or other discourteous treatment of General Powell.

Please do not believe that the council will easily pass this letter. If you feel strongly about this issue, it is essential that you contact your U.C. representatives and let them know you think they should vote.

If you are able, please attend our meeting on Sunday (in Sever 113, at 7:00 p.m.) and speak out. I, for one, would like to welcome you with a true "spirit of openness." David L. Duncan '93   U.C. Representative, Winthrop House