UMC seat on U. Council is still unresolved

The last-minute reconfiguration of last Wednesday's University Council agenda left the United Minorities Council with some unfinished business. In order to dedicate more time to discussing the newly revised judicial charter draft, Council passed a motion proposed by Undergraduate Assembly chairperson and College senior Lance Rogers to postpone the planned discussion of whether the UMC should gain a permanent seat on the advisory body. UMC Chairperson Onyx Finney, a College senior, explained that the group was disappointed -- but not angry -- about the change to the agenda. "It just explains why we need a seat on the Council," Finney said. "We understand the urgency of the other issue, but we wished that we were better informed about the situation." College junior Susie Lee, vice-chairperson of the UMC, said the group wants Council to "really consider how the UMC is affected by the decisions they make." "That could enable us to have a working partnership with the UA," she said. Though UMC members have said the lack of minority representation on Council contributes to situations such as these, others counter that that the agenda was changed only because of time constraints, not because of a representational flaw. Political Science Professor Will Harris, the Council moderator, said the judicial charter was a more pressing issue that needed immediate attention. "The UMC chose not to speak in January when they were given allotted time at a meeting," Harris said. He explained that Council has made every effort to accommodate the minority community, but that there was no way to avoid changing the agenda. College senior Mike Nadel, a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, explained that the situation would not have differed with more minority representation. "There are plenty of minorities on [Council]," Nadel said. "I don't understand how the UMC could think that there is nobody representing them." But Finney argued that it is a minority student who sits on Council does not automatically represent the minority community. "That is a burden that shouldn't be placed on a student of color unless that student wants to take on that burden," Finney said.