With hopes of becoming more efficient and getting more students involved, the Yale College Council has divided into a Student Activities Committee and an issues-centered Council of Representatives.

YCC President Elliott Mogul ’05 said the reorganization was meant to streamline the YCC’s functions. With last year’s decision to bring the Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee under YCC control, the YCC now consists of four bodies — YSAC, Council of Representatives, UOFC and the Yale Station Web site. Representatives for the YSAC will be elected separately from Council of Representatives members in this week’s election, which ends 9 p.m. Tuesday.

“Before we were accused of being too inwardly focused. The restructuring of the YCC has been talked about four years, but nothing ever came to fruition,” Mogul said. “By getting it done at the beginning of the year, we can concentrate on bigger things like Jeopardy and [Darrell] Hammond. We’ll no longer have YCC structure hanging over our heads.”

Headed by YCC treasurer Andrew Cedar ’06, the YSAC will consist of 12 elected members, one from each residential college. YSAC’s sole responsibility, Mogul said, will be “to run an awesome Spring Fling, Fall Concert, and Winter Ball.”

“[YSAC] will have time to be innovative and possibly create another Yale-wide activity, like Iron Chef,” Mogul said.

The Council of Representatives, as the YCC recently dubbed its main issues-centered body, will continue to have 24 representatives. The representatives will concentrate their efforts in five different issue committees — academics, community, dining and health, transportation and security, and environment.

In addition, Cedar said he expects more ad hoc task forces to join the five major committees. Mogul said the academics committee has already begun working with Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead on implementing changes from last year’s Committee on Yale College Education academic review.

“[The restructuring} is a test. This is not a be-all, end-all,” Mogul said. “If necessary, it will be revised.”

Some representatives had concerns with the timing of the restructuring, Mogul said. But he said the benefits of avoiding lengthy debate that characterized some internal issues last year outweighed the problems.

“We’re just separating things. It’s hard for people to juggle — now people can focus on the areas where they excel,” Cedar said. “The UOFC is now under the YCC, so organizations no longer have to wait months and months for the Dean’s Office to send out checks.”

Also new for the 2003-2004 school year is a new version of Yale Station. Coupled with Yale Station’s first staff — 20 and growing — former director Alexander Clark ’04 will leave Yale Station with new features including a Blue Room.

The Blue Room will have forums, matchmaking services, and an updatable facebook, said Clark’s successor, Chaitanya Mehra ’06. The dining guide will also be updated with new restaurant reviews. Also available will be a new service which allows students to send invitations to student groups on campus without any unwanted authority figures knowing about it.

“Authentication only goes out to the student body,” Mehra said, “not the administration or Yale police.”

Updated calendar software, Mehra added, will notify students when they have meetings for activities. For the Class of 2007 only, a freshman portal has also allowed the incoming students to contact one another through AIM and converse in a restricted forum.

Finally, YCC Vice President Nirupam Sinha ’05 said all of the YCC and Freshman Class Council elections as of 8 p.m. Sunday night looked to be very competitive. Voting for YCC, YSAC and FCC representatives will be held today and tomorrow. In addition, Mogul said Darrell Hammond tickets will be on sale beginning Tuesday.