The Undergraduate Council almost passed legislation last night that would have paved the way for a campus-wide referendum to reduce the council's size.

But instead, three students departed midway through the meeting, depriving the council of its quorum. Only 39 of the 90 total council members remained.

Without the 40 representatives required to pass legislation, the bill was tabled, and the meeting adjourned.

Council representatives have voted to cut the size of the council three times in as many years. Each time, a majority of council representatives have supported the legislation.

But since the council's constitution would need to be amended to reduce its size, three-quarters of the members must approve such a measure. Thus a smaller council has remained a pipe dream of its leaders.

"I wish the council had been downsized. I wish it hadn't failed each time," council president Noah Z. Seton had said in a past interview with the Crimson.

But the legislation put forward by Alexander A. Boni-Saenz '01 would have sent the matter directly to the student body in a campus-wide referendum, and so required only a majority vote.

Faced with a smaller number of available council seats, argued Boni-Saenz, the representative who introduced last night's legislation, would-be council representatives would have to run for their seats instead of just signing up for them.