Council treasurer Darling has traditionally fallen into the latter camp.

A three-year member of the council, Darling has consistently taken conservative stands on many issues, ranging from the presence of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) on campus to whether the council should pass a resolution supporting gay marriages.

He served as the campaign manager for Seton and his running-mate Kamil E. Redmond '00 when the conservative-liberal duo successfully ran on a student-services platform last fall. And Darling is widely recognized as one of the dominant conservative voices on the council.

No wonder, then, that several council members were surprised to learn that Darling was enthusiastic about getting the voices of activist groups such as the Progressive Student Labor Movement--a collection of liberal students fighting against sweatshops and for a living wage--more involved in the undergraduate council.

"When we're writing bills about sweatshops, the PSLM should be there," said Darling in an interview with The Crimson, explaining that he believes there is a place for activist organizations in council debates.

"More than anything, the council just needs to make sure that the issues that it deals with aren't solely internally generated," Darling says. "We should concentrate more on addressing the concerns of student groups, be they politically oriented or service oriented."

Plants appears to be taking the same tack as Darling. Although he traditionally has been considered a progressive on the council, Presidential Candidate Plants plans to highlight his work on student services--such as the recent decrease in phone rates--during his campaign.