Suk says that a major failure of PUCC was that the organization did not succeed in recruiting a lot of women.

Rawlins says that women's roles are a bit confused at this point.

"I am feeling that more and more women are speaking out, but more women are also resigning," says Rawlins. "We need to monitor the situation in the coming semester."

One of PUCC's other major goals was to increase the representation of ethnic minorities on the council.

"It's harder to tell what the next step should be [in improving minority issues]," Kasper says. "We need to be able to address specific concerns, to show that the U.C. can work for them."

Kasper says one area the council could work on is getting more ethnic studies classes into the curriculum.

But he acknowledges that PUCC has not made substantive strides in this area.

All for One and One for All?

Many council members, both members and non-members of PUCC, have criticized the factionalism and infighting they see on the council this year.

The council has lost a sense of community this year, says Gilchrist. Last year, the council had a greater degree of cooperation between its two largest committees, Campus Life and Student Affairs.

"There's a definite lack of community on the council," Gilchrist says. "When it came time to help out with Campus Life, everyone was willing to pitch in. I haven't seen that this year."

Gilchrist also says that the formation of PUCC has led to the escalation of ideological conflicts, divided between PUCC members and the "old guard."

"Last year, you could have conflict with an individual on a one-to-one basis," says Gilchrist. "Now in these conflicts, you feel like you've engaged them all."

Rawlins says that those members who are not affiliated with PUCC are equally at fault for the hostile atmosphere. And she says that only a handful of council members are responsible for the acrimony.

Hyman, however, contends that factionalism has clearly not hurt the council's productivity.