Former BSL V.P. Onyx Finney elected as new UMC chairperson

The changing of the guard of the United Minorities Council began last night with the election of College junior Onyx Finney and College sophomore Susie Lee as chairperson and vice chairperson of the group. They replace College senior Liz Melendez and Wharton senior Jenny Ho, who will complete their terms at the end of the semester. The elections were almost postponed due to the absence of a representative from the Native American group Six Directions. Only after the group was put on probation for several recent absences from UMC meetings was the body allowed to hold elections under its constitution. Finney, the outgoing vice president of the Black Student League and an African Studies major, defeated College sophomore and outgoing UMC Admissions Board member Steve Kwon and Engineering sophomore and former UMC Treasurer Nelson Ramos to win her seat. In her campaign speech, Finney stressed the need for UMC members, as well as University officials, to take the UMC seriously. Her campaign platform called for the establishment of official departments of South Asian Studies and African Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as creating a non-Western civilization component in the College's general requirement. "It's so easy to graduate from here without learning anything outside of your own culture," she said. "We've been too long excluded from this administration, especially curriculum." Ramos' platform emphasized re-establishing a racial harassment policy and relocating the Greenfield Intercultural Center, the home to the UMC, to the center of campus. And Kwon said he supported an investigation into the 21st Century Undergraduate Education Initiative, which he finds ambiguous in its dealings with the minority community. He also recommended that the UMC endorse candidates in Undergraduate Assembly elections. Melendez said each candidate was qualified, and that the UMC's election process allowed voters to make educated choices. "I'm actually really excited," Melendez said. "I think that all three candidates were really qualified and the elections process, the question- answer period [and] their speeches were just really great. "It is the best way to come to a conclusion on who the best candidate was," she added. "It came out clear that Onyx was." Finney said she is very anxious take on her new duties. "I'm committed to UMC and its goals," she said. "I look forward to the challenges that will face me in the coming year as chair." Melendez said Six Directions will remain on probation "until they can mount a case on why they can remain [a member of UMC]." She added that she hopes the group comes off probation because "it is a group that needs to be represented and its needs need to be addressed within the UMC." Six Directions President and College senior Desiree Martinez was not available for comment.