Howard re-elected as chairperson of UMC

College junior Chaz Howard will serve a second year as head of the United Minorities Council umbrella group. In a unanimous vote last night, College junior Chaz Howard was re-elected chairperson of the United Minorities Council and College sophomore Desiree Nelson was elected the group's vice chairperson. With representatives present from 11 of the 12 members of the political umbrella group for minority organizations, Howard -- along with the candidates for vice chairperson and Programming Committee chairperson -- delivered a brief speech and answered questions posed by representatives at the meeting. In his speech, Howard thanked the outgoing board, saying that they "made me look very, very good." "I think we had a very nice clique this year," said Howard, who ran unopposed. "I think that we made very, very large strides toward our goals." The Baltimore native told the group present that the "UMC has changed my life." "I came into the group very small-minded," said Howard, an Urban Studies major and African American Studies minor. He added that the reason he joined the UMC was to advance the causes of African American students. Since being elected chairperson last year, however, Howard explained that he has realized that "every [person, minority or not] is going through the same thing." "My mind and my ears have been opened so much," he said. Howard, also a member of the Black Student League and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, said he feels the UMC's greatest accomplishment of the past year has been "[getting] the name of the UMC out there" and re-energizing the minority community on campus. He added that this past year also saw improved relations between minority students and the financial aid and admissions offices, resulting in a record number of minority applicants this year. "We're in the door right now," Howard said. Other accomplishments included dialogues with faculty members, expanding the UMC to be more cultural as well as political and adding two new groups to the council -- Check One and the Penn Arab Society. UMC members were effusive in praising of their leader. "Chaz is a very personable person," said College junior Fred Li, president of the Penn Philippine Association. "[He] goes out of his way to make you feel comfortable." Li added that Howard shows his commitment to the group by attending every event sponsored by the UMC. "Chaz is a real goal-oriented person," added UMC Treasurer Nimit Dhir, a College sophomore. "He's really clear about what he wants to accomplish." Howard stressed one of his main goals of this year as working to improve relations between the UMC and the Latino Coalition. The Latino Coalition is the umbrella group for Penn's Latino organizations. Two of its members -- El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan and Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latinos Americanos -- withdrew from the UMC last spring in protest of the UMC's handling of Latino issues. Howard stressed that he feels many of the goals of the UMC are similar to those of the Latino groups and that by working together on issues they can accomplish more. Howard's other goals include closer work with the Undergraduate Assembly and other student organizations and focusing more on off-campus issues. Also at last night's elections, College sophomores Huria Naviwala, Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Archana Jayaram and Anita Patel were elected as tri-chairpersons of programming. The rest of the board positions will be decided after spring break.