Each year following the SC Transition ceremony, The Eagle grades outgoing SC executives and departments on their performance over the past year. Unlike many AU professors, The Eagle does not inflate grades, that is: A = excellent, B = above average, C = average, D = below average, F = failing grade. Our expectation is that an average AU student could step into a position and get a C; anything exceeding expectations scores higher than a C, anything below expectations scores worse than a C. Hopefully, this will give all readers additional perspective on these grades.
President Nick Terzulli: C Terzulli worked well with the administrations and presided over several significant achievements. Among them were the implimentation of online course evaluations and working with the Kennedy Political Union and Student Union Board. The Women's Initiative also became an official department during his term.
However, Terzulli also made several missteps. After the mud-fights in the Quad following the hurricane, his quip of "kids will be kids" hurt the movement to have students recognized as full adults. Also, his flouting of the SC Constitution in naming a new vice president showed a disrespect toward the established rules of the SC. His decision to remove the Health and Safety position from his cabinet coincided with a series of communication problems between students and both the Student Health Center and the Department of Public Safety.
We also have issues with Terzulli's taking credit for other people's success, including KPU's procuring Mikhail Gorbachev. However, he has succeeded in making campus interested in being active in the SC. Generally, we found that his successes and failures balanced out, for an overall average term.
Vice President Kyle Taylor: A Taylor started the year in charge of Eagle Nights. After part of Marguerite Meyer's cabinet quit in the fall, Meyer also resigned. Terzulli subverted the rule that a replacement must be picked from within the GA and called an emergency GA session to appoint Taylor to the position, which seems to have been the right move.
Throughout his term, Taylor has showed enthusiasm and willingness in his performance. Even as acting vice president before he was officially appointed, he was ready and willing to do his job. Taylor coordinated events such as the Founder's Day Ball, the Vanilla Ice concert, the Dance Marathon, and the upcoming Artemas Ward Festival. We feel Taylor has done an exemplary job in his role as VP, as well as with his work with Eagle Nights.
Comptroller Scott Rosen: B Last year, chief among Rosen's campaign promises was to cut funding for extraneous things. Rosen has succeeded in getting rid of a lot of the bells and whistles that take away money, and refocusing those funds toward Eagle Nights, KPU and SUB.
Rosen caused a bit of dissention when he recommended the American University Club Council get $20,000 for the spring because he claimed AUCC chair Evan Wagner asked him for money. Wagner denied this, and Rosen later admitted that Wagner never actually asked him for more money. AUCC did not use the $20,000, so it will roll over to next year.
The restricted account is low in funds, which means a bit less money next year. However, the money went toward a barrage of spectacular events like Gorbachev, Tutu and several concerts. For that reason, we feel Rosen did an above-average job in his term.
Secretary Karen Fischer: B Fischer won this position as a write-in candidate, and as a result she faced some resentment from elected GA members. She often clashed with Terzulli, who needlessly stepped on her toes.
However, Fischer succeeded in printing an SC Magazine in the fall for incoming freshmen, which was hailed as very useful. She also put a lot of time and effort into turning the SC debates into a big thing, getting it moved to the Media Production Center and bringing in an audience for a Q&A session. Additionally, she maintained strong communication both in and out of the SC. All told, she was handcuffed a bit by circumstance but still did a good job.
Student Union Board: A In the 2003-2004 academic year, SUB brought the following bands to campus: Dashboard Confessional, Mxpx, Bob Dylan, The Ataris, N.E.R.D., Fountains of Wayne, Andrew WK. Need we say more?
Kennedy Political Union: A Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. New York Governor George Pataki. Former Cape Town Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Middle East policy expert Daniel Pipes. Former Washington Redskins star Darrell Green. Young Lords Party chairman Felipe Luciano. Respected Washington journalist Mark Shields. When you combine all these, how can you expect anything less?
