Driskell's Concert Plans Attacked

Lingering tensions from last January's impeachment debacle boiled over last night in the Undergraduate Council meeting, as members debated a bill that would form a task force to plan campus-wide concerts.

President Fentrice D. Driskell '01 and Vice-President John A. Burton'01 were verbally assailed during the two-hour debate over Driskell's plans for the Harvard Concert Commission (HCC).

Although it ultimately passed the bill, the council attacked Driskell for improperly docketing the bill and moving ahead without the backing of other members of the council.

The bill created HCC and also allocated $5,000 toward the first concert--a joint Valentine's Day concert by The Roots and The Black-Eyed Peas. The council's money would help cover part of the $36,500 cost of the event. The remaining money would come from graduate student groups at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, along with funds from the University, ticket sales and private donors.

Because Driskell co-sponsored the bill, she ceded the chair to Burton who throughout his tenure has faced opposition from other council members. Last spring, the council held up a meeting by half-an-hour overruling Burton's attendance taking.

Last night's trouble began when council treasurer Justin A. Barkley '02 introduced an amendment that would create HCC and then make it draw up a structure, purpose and organization before the council committed to additional funding.

"It's perfectly within our prerogative to ask for that," Barkley explained.

"To allocate money to a committee that doesn't exist would be irresponsible," member Jeffrey A. Letalien '01 added.

The meeting quickly spun out-of-control as members made motions and counter-motions--voting at one point to suspend all of the parliamentary rules.

At one point, Burton asked if there were any motions to consider. When a flurry of hands shot up, he sighed.

"Actually, I'm going to close my eyes, so I don't see them," he said, before continuing with the meeting.

Driskell joined an overwhelmed Burton in attempting to regain control.

Burton interrupted Sterling P.A. Darling '01 who contended that the bill had been docketed without executive board approval, leading member Todd E. Plants '01 to say, "John, what you just did was mean and vindictive and you should take it back."

Other council members supported Darling's contention that the bill was improperly docketed, interrupting Burton's attempts to regain order.

"I was in the middle of a sentence," Burton complained.

"That hasn't stopped you from interrupting anyone else tonight," Plants shot back.

Driskell quickly took the chair back over, almost yelling at Plants and John P. Marshall '01: "As chair, you will respect John. It doesn't matter whether you like him or not. You will respect him. And he has the purview to interrupt you."

She went on to challenge Marshall's objections that the bill was improperly docketed and that it jeopardized future allocations.

Throughout the debate, Driskell continually said any budget shortfalls would be taken care of by an anonymous student donor--which led other council members to question the safety of that fallback position.

In the closing moments of debate, Darling reasserted his earlier concern that, if the funding falls through, the council will be liable for the shortfalls.

"This is a creatively-disguised $26,000 allocation," Darling said.

After almost two hours of debate, member Sujean S. Lee '03--who co-sponsored the original bill with Driskell--brought the council back from the brink of chaos.

"We've lost sight of the point of this bill," she said. "This is a wonderful opportunity for the council to improve life on campus."

The council applauded Lee's comments before passing the bill with overwhelming support, 28-3, with 3 abstentions.

The entire debate left new council members disenfranchised, said member Eliah Z. Seton '04. Seton abstained from the vote because he said he felt that Driskell and Burton did not adequately answer the First-Year Caucus' questions.

"The leadership of this council is leaving a lot of people behind--first-years and others," he said. "There are a lot of questions going unanswered. A change on the dais is necessary."