But council member Zachary L. Bercu ’04 called the project “an experiment” that “could get freshmen excited” about going out and thereby build social life around the Square.

The council ultimately agreed, by a 17-13 margin, to sell 500 cards for $3 each next fall.

Before the council tackled the dean search and the U-Card, though, a contentious debate over funding for student groups derailed the meeting for an hour.

Council member P.K. Agarwalla ’03, who is treasurer of the Harvard Republican Club, requested an increase to the $400 allotted to the club for its planned “Conservative Guide to Harvard,” one of its publications.

After an hour of debate, during which council veteran Justin A. Barkley ’02 called the grant allottment process “flippant” and “ambiguous” and members of the Finance Committee fiercely defended their procedures, Agarwalla’s motion failed.

The debate—which Lee at one point declared “out of order”—departed in form from the council’s usual proceedings this year, which have largely been free of controversy.

“You could call it the return of debate to the UC,” Smith said.

—Staff writer William M. Rasmussen can be reached at wrasmuss@fas.harvard.edu.