Three groups chosen to fill U. Council seats

The wait is finally over. After months of discussion, the Nominations and Elections Committee has selected three student organizations to fill the three open seats on the University Council that the Undergraduate Assembly recently relinquished. The NEC selected the Latino Coalition, the InterFraternity Council and UMOJA, a coalition of 23 student organizations representing students of the African diaspora, to occupy the Council seats. "People are happy, although there's still a lot to be done on campus," UMOJA Political Action and Research Committee Coordinator Kimberly Noble said. "This is just a small step, but we're happy to be taking it," the College sophomore added. The three student groups will each serve a one-year renewable term on Council. In February, the UA decided to reallocate four of its 15 seats on Council after the Latino Coalition requested its own seat on the body, comprised of students, faculty and administrators. Three were slated to go to underrepresented student groups and one seat was given to the NEC itself. "In terms of the decision, we really did base it on what our bylaws state," NEC Chairman Nick Goad said. To be considered for the open Council seats, interested student groups were required to submit a proposal to the NEC and then go through a round of interviews. Eleven organizations applied for the slots. "We're very excited about next year," said Latino Coalition spokesman Randy Quezada, a College senior. "We're looking forward to a very productive year." The Latino Coalition lost representation on Council when it withdrew from the United Minorities Council, which already has seats on the body. In addition to the three groups ultimately selected, the NEC interviewed the Civic House Associates Coalition, Penn Environmental Group, the University Honor Council and the Asian Pacific Students Coalition. "We will be working closely with the other minority coalitions," said APSC chairwoman Olivia Chung, who is also a Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer. "But still, they cannot be expected to completely voice the interests of our constituents." Chung voiced her opposition to the rules imposed on the selected groups. "I honestly believe that student groups who speak to underrepresented issues should not have to be squeezed into three seats on a yearly basis," she added. Also vying for seats, but not interviewed by the NEC, were the Penn Mauritian Society, Penn Students Against Sweatshops, the Engineering Dean's Advisory Board and the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association. Goad said that the selection of the three organizations was "based on their ability to effectively represent a relatively large, underrepresented constituency of the undergraduate population and on their ability to benefit from the decision making process of the University Council." "The three groups that we chose better satisfied those. qualifications," Goad said, explaining why the APSC was not selected. "I was disappointed to see the results," Chung said. "I think we had clearly shown that we had a lot of issues to bring to the table." "Ideally, I feel like there should be more seats," Chung added, criticizing the availability of three seats. "What I find interesting is that Asian-Pacific-American students make up approximately 25 percent of the University," Chung said. "So if they're trying to tell us that our voice doesn't matter by denying us a seat, they are denying 25 percent of the students. input in decision-making." Noble stressed the teamwork in UMOJA's campaign for the seat. "When we put something out like the application, it really is a collective work," Noble said. She stressed that this is an improvement in the University's recognition of the African-American student population. "It is a time we are guaranteed to be in the same room with a lot of the decision makers of this University," she said.

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