UMC delays request for seat on University Council

In a last-minute change of plans, the United Minority Council asked Associate University Secretary Constance Goodman yesterday to take its request for a University Council seat off of the agenda for this afternoon's Council meeting. College senior and UMC Chairperson Onyx Finney explained last night that the UMC needs more time to put together its proposal. "We just got back, and we were very involved with Martin Luther King Day," she said. "There wasn't time to prepare an ample statement for tomorrow." She added that the issue will be brought up at the next Council meeting on February 21. Last month, Finney became the third consecutive UMC chairperson to request a permanent UMC seat on Council. The issue was slated to be discussed at today's meeting. Up until the spring semester of 1994, the UA unofficially gave the UMC one of its 10 Council seats -- complete with voting privileges. UA members proposed giving the UMC an official seat when the UA received five additional seats in April 1994. But Council members found that the UA's request was in violation of the membership policy of Council bylaws, which state that only UA members may fill the UA's seats on University Council. Before learning of the UMC's request, the UA called an emergency meeting last night to decide on its recommendation to the Council concerning the UMC bid. At the meeting, the UA voted decisively to table discussion of the issue pending further developments. This decision followed the advice of College sophomore Tal Golomb, who is both a member of the UA and the UC Steering Committee. "The UMC didn't want to bring [the issue] up at the meeting because they have not had time to deal with it," Golomb said. "They have a retreat this weekend where they will discuss it." UA Chairperson and College senior Lance Rogers said he believed the body would have voted against recommending the UMC for a seat. "It would have been voted down by the UA," Rogers said. Rogers said he had assumed that the UMC's decision to remove its request from the agenda signified that the group was no longer interested in a seat. In an interview last night, Rogers said he felt the UMC made a wise choice by not pursuing a seat. "I think they've done the right thing," he said. "I am glad the UMC appears to want to work with us and not around us." Rogers said he believed the UMC's decision was a recognition of the likely failure of their bid. "I think to a certain extent [the UMC] realized that it wasn't going to happen, and as a result [the UA and the UMC] can work together and come to a solution everyone is happy with," Rogers said. Even upon learning that the UMC was still trying to gain a seat on the Council, Rogers was still pessimistic about the group's chances. "I still feel they won't get the seat," he said. "I am sorry they weren't prepared." But Finney disagreed with Rogers' assessment. "If Council didn't feel we had a valid position, they wouldn't consider the issue and put it on the agenda," she said last night. Rogers said he hopes the UMC chooses to be represented in another manner. "Rather than going through the UC to solve their problem, I think the UMC should work with the UA and not circumvent us," he said. He added that he is meeting with Finney this week in hopes that the two can come up with a solution before February's Council meeting. Rogers suggested that one such solution might be to revamp the manner in which Council seats are assigned. "There has been a lot of talk about having seats on the Council elected, and that may be a possibility," Rogers said. "I would support that."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.