So early, in fact, that many say this year's race for council treasurer between John A. Burton '01 and Sterling P.A. Darling '01--both of whom say they intend to run in December's election--was laced with rivalries likely to be played out in the upcoming months.

A Darling-Burton match-up was about more than who gets to add up the numbers for the council's weekly budget report. Veterans say offices like treasurer, secretary and the executive board give potential presidential candidates much-needed visibility and credibility.

"If you're treasurer, every week you get up and make your little speech, so everyone knows who you are," Stewart says.

"People perceived the secretary and treasurer elections to be an early test for the presidency," explains council member Fentrice D. Driskell '01, a former vice presidential candidate herself who says she is also planning to join the race. "Tensions escalate, and people form alliances very early."

Coining Cliches

The early push for prominence extends beyond the attempt to win friends on the council. Much like the new Democrats or the compassionate conservatives on the national political circuit, several of this year's council candidates are trying to re-make their images to appeal to the widest swath of the campus electorate.

In the four years that council presidents and vice presidents have been elected directly by students in campus-wide popular elections, candidates have been, for the most part, clustered into one of two well-defined groups.

On the one hand are the progressives, who feel that the council should tackle a wide range of social issues both at Harvard and beyond. In almost direct opposition are the more conservative "student-services" representatives, who feel that the council functions best as an instrument to improve undergraduates lives.