But by the time Driskell convinced Plants to withdraw his point, the damage had been done--Student Affairs Committee Chair Michael D. Shumsky '00 and a few other council members had left the building.

So the meeting broke up, with the council having unanimously allocated exactly $10,000 to student groups and passing--virtually unanimously--12 minor changes to the council's bylaws.

Next week's meeting, therefore, will have to deal with more bylaw amendments as well as a more substantive constitutional amendment that offers a way to resolve the question of how to assign members to the three standing committees.

An amendment offered last month by Jeffrey A. Letalien '01 and David B. Orr '01 to address the question of committee assignments in a downsized council failed to muster the necessary three-fourths majority.

According to Campus Life Committee Co-Chair Stephen N. Smith '02, the new amendment--proposed by former council Vice President Samuel C. Cohen '00--will also fail.

Smith said the amendment faced some opposition in the Constitutional Committee, which he said would probably portend its death in the general council.

Driskell and Smith said they were optimistic that the council would be able to produce a quorum for next week's meeting.

But they've employed a classic method of persuasion: In addition to a promise that the meeting won't last for more than an hour, they'll provide an free food for all who show up.