Three vie for UA helm in hotly-contested race

The three candidates for Undergraduate Assembly chairperson are probably very weary this morning after a week of schmoozing and lobbying. Indeed, this year's election is a tight three-way race where each vote is critical -- and candidates Kirsten Bartok, Seth Hamlin and Eric Leathers have all been campaigning hard in order to cement their blocks of voter support. No one is quite sure exactly what the outcome of today's election will be, but one thing is certain: each candidate has an individual personality and style that could dictate the direction of the UA over the next year. The personality of the chairperson has traditionally defined the body's public perception and its ultimate effectiveness. Members of the UA -- who elect officers from their own ranks -- said earlier this week that each candidate has strengths and weaknesses. And the consensus among them is that the parity between Bartok, Hamlin and Leathers will make this race a very tight one. · College junior Bartok is running as the candidate with the most UA experience. As this year's vice chairperson and a University Council representative, she definitely has served hard time in a lot of boring committee meetings. Bartok is well-known among top-level administrators and her connections might help the UA in its dealings with the University. As UA member Jonathan Goldstein said yesterday, "She knows enough administrators for it to be useful, but she is not establishment. She is not in the administration's pocket." Goldstein, a College senior, said that if he could vote, he would choose Bartok. One member added, however, that Bartok's connection with the administration could open her up to a conciliatory type of management -- the kind which many new members are lobbying against. "In reality, she is very accommodating," said a UA member, who asked to remain anonymous. "But she might lose control because of it sometimes." But Bartok, in a meeting Wednesday night with the Coalition for Responsive Student Government, said she wants her position with the University to be more adversarial. "You have to use the power behind you," Bartok said. "You have 10,000 students with money and voices. We have to use students to hold rallies and sit-ins." And in her policy paper, Bartok states that one of her objectives is to create "an Undergraduate Assembly that aligns with students and is not afraid of 'pissing off' the administration." · Hamlin's philosophy on dealing with the administration is a bit more reserved. He said he advocates a combination of aggressive activism and well-researched proposals similar to the "White Papers" submitted by the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education. A College and Wharton sophomore, Hamlin entered the race late -- but he seems to have garnered some backing from newly-elected members of the UA. His strongest support could come from the Coalition, whose members might be willing to endorse the dark horse candidate. Hamlin, who unlike Bartok and Leathers did not serve on the UA Steering Commitee this year, might appeal to the Coalition members' stated mission of "change." He does bring a different perspective to the campaign. As chairperson of the UA's Minorities Concerns committee this year, his route of ascendancy would be much different from that of current Chairperson Jeff Lichtman, who rose from the position of treasurer. Hamlin said he has no real agenda and that his role as chairperson would be mostly supervisory. He said he sees wants to be a chairperson who facilitates action of other members, not one who issues directives. "We cannot afford to have our agenda dictated to us by some power hungry despot!" Hamlin declared in his policy paper. One UA member called Hamlin a "wildcard who has lots of good ideas but lacks experience." Goldstein also said he might suffer from a credibility problem. "Seth is the largest unknown in the equation," Goldstein said. "His qualifications are unclear, his track record is unclear, his performance as a potential chair remains unclear." But if Hamlin can somehow get a block of votes from the Coalition, he might force one of the other candidates out on the first ballot. Lichtman, who diplomatically would not endorse a candidate, said he hopes that the Coalition does not pool its votes. "I really hope the Coalition members don't blindly vote as a block. That would do a disservice to the people who elected them," Lichtman said. "They're on the UA as representatives as constituents, not representatives of the Coalition." · Hoping he can weather the storm of two tough candidates, Leathers stands poised to sweep quietly into office. At Wednesday's meeting, he came across as the race's most forceful candidate, declaring the chairperson's role to be "a leader among leaders." Wharton sophomore Leathers has indeed been directing things lately. As current treasurer, he has received broad criticism for pushing through funding for the Social Planning and Events Committee -- an issue which he admitted Wednesday was handled improperly. In meetings, Leathers is concise and direct. Of the three, he appears the one with the most skills to manage the often unruly and tangential UA meetings. But this very attribute could be his greatest weakness. If Leathers cannot control his temper properly, he might make some enemies, as he has done with some of the graduating UA members. "Eric is a highly-qualified individual, but he is somewhat young," Goldstein said. "It's very difficult to incorporate seniors into your programming when you're just a junior. It inevitably leads to problems." "Control is Eric's best area," the anonymous UA member said, "but [at the budget summit] he controlled it a little too much." Leathers stressed that he wants "to change the way the UA does business." He said he wants to get rid of the practice of simply making resolutions to communicate to University Council and the administration. Leathers said resolutions need to be eliminated because he said he thinks they "say very little." He said he also wants to change the way the UA works with The Daily Pennsylvanian. "We need to utilize the media in an adversarial manner against the administration to effect change," Leathers said. Change is surely in the future for the UA. But what kind of alteration, and how the body will evolve, is all contingent upon who is elected this evening. "I think that this meeting is one of the best opportunities to explain where [the candidates] think the UA will be going," Lichtman said. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. today in UTV's Stouffer Triangle basement offices. It is open to the public and will be broadcast live on the station.

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