Joe Vidulich, SG president
Vidulich began his term with a promise to interact with students more than his predecessor, and it is safe to say he did just that. Throughout AU's magnificent NCAA showing, students witnessed a welcomed repeat of the Blue Crew spirit that made Vidulich so popular. He was incredibly accessible and sufficiently communicative, and when it seemed as if the SG's executive branch was on the verge of catastrophe, he pulled it together and finished the year as strongly as any one-man show could. The reforms Vidulich introduced were also impressive. The forthcoming Women's Resource Center holds immense promise for male and female students alike, and the changes to the EagleBuck$ system were long overdue. He sadly lost to the Undergraduate Senate on the smoking bill, but his efforts helped introduce the long awaited Student Bill of Rights, which students have the opportunity to ratify later this week.
That said, Vidulich's term was far from perfect. Despite the multiple executive resignations, Vidulich stopped very short of true election reform. When he replaced the secretary, students still only had a minimal voice. Diversity is still a buzzword most executives and senators fail to take seriously. And as we saw with the vice president special election, even referendums have their unexpected loopholes and dubious procedures. At an ideal time for true structural reform, Vidulich stopped short of real change - a major problem if this year's quirks ever repeat themselves. Grade: A-
Jeff Hanley (fall semester) and Paul Grever (spring semester), SG vice president
Former SG Vice President Jeff Hanley made great promises to students during his campaign. But, excluding his work to organize Founders' Day, most of his campaign statements were, in fact, false promises. This, of course, has a lot to do with his premature departure from the SG. While we do not doubt Hanley could have made a significant impact with university programming, his decision to study abroad was an insult to the students who elected him. Even though he ran unopposed, students deserved to know his real intentions. Grade: D
Paul Grever, Hanley's replacement, was less than desirable. Although some of Grever's programs were fun - that is, assuming you knew when and where they were supposed to take place - he was much less visible, motivated, personable and interactive than his predecessors - including Hanley this fall. Grever introduced nothing new to his position, so we can only hope his successor, Andrew Woods, learns from that big mistake. Grade: C-.
David Teslicko (fall semester) and Amanda Hesse (spring semester), SG comptroller
Every year, we have the same criticism: Comptroller, who? Teslicko entered office this fall with a promise to make SG budgetary processes more transparent, yet it is still difficult - if not practically impossible - to find financial records on the SG's Web site. Hesse, who was presumably as committed to the cause as her precursor, made little headway in that respect. Then again, at least they didn't steal money? Grade: Pass
Cait Douglas, SG secretary
Douglas took on an immense responsibility last fall when she replaced Alex Manzanares as SG secretary. Yet, no matter how courageous her efforts may have been, her tenure seems rather lackluster. The day-of notifications we would receive about SG events - especially those regarding diversity - were utterly unacceptable, and the SG Web site is still a confusing mess. Indeed, it seems as if Douglas never evolved from acting secretary to something more permanent and irreplaceable, perhaps to the chagrin of the student body. Grade: C+
Undergraduate Senate
This is the first year - at least recently - The Eagle has ranked the Undergraduate Senate, and our reasoning is more than justified. In the past eight months, we've witnessed a small group of senators hijack this representative body and drive through reforms that pertain to neither the university nor its students. The "Hey Song" fights, the holiday renaming debacles and the misguided smoking conundrum are all examples of senators fighting in the name of ego and narcissism - not the students they were elected to represent. The most the senate has done in favor of the student body is draft the Student Bill of Rights. However, even that has its flaws. The senate's decision to hold a referendum on the last day of classes is utterly senseless, and the document itself is a vague farce (not to mention an attack on the conventions of grammar).
True, we cannot fault the entire senate; there are some truly great people who serve there. But that is the true problem of this defunct body. When a few egos overshadow the greater good, students stand to lose the most. We can only hope the senate gets its act together next year. Grade: D
Amanda Fulton, Kennedy Political Union director
Fulton helped continue the Kennedy Political Union's long and impressive history on campus by making sure KPU events were politically relevant as well as entertaining. Fulton helped wrangle in speakers like longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas and former CIA agent Valerie Plame to satisfy AU students' political appetites, but also managed to keep things fun, yet pertinent, with the likes of Jerry Springer and Martin Sheen. Grade: A
Shea Mulcahy, SUB director
SUB did a good job this year by keeping students entertained with an array of free concerts in the Tavern and other events on campus. Mulcahy helped start the year strong with the comedic crooning of Stephen Lynch, and it finished even stronger with Jimmy Eat World, Paramore and Everclear just a few days ago.
Still, there were some serious problems with promotion. Often, SUB would not actively promote events until days before they occurred, which sometimes left the performers in awkward situations. At one point, Matt Pond PA, which played for free in the Tavern, was forced to move their start time back an hour because no one was there to watch. Grade: A-
Vanessa Mueller, director of Women's Initiative
The affable Mueller has a reputation for dedication, and it has shown in this year's continued success of the Women's Initiative. As has come to be expected, the Breastival was a huge success on campus, as were this year's "Vagina Monologues."
Particularly impressive was the Women's Initiative's sponsorship of a series of financial literary symposiums that crossed gender barriers and targeted all members of the AU community. While there is still hard work to be done in broadening WI's appeal to men, Mueller has done a commendable job in helping women on campus. Grade: A
