The first time I met Duke Student Government President Elliott Wolf, a junior, I was less than impressed. He was sweaty, muddy and late. A bit of a biking fiasco had caused him to show up to the DSG meeting in this messy state. He would have to accomplish a lot throughout the year to get me to overcome that first impression of him.
And he did.
As many readers have so kindly pointed out, I am a freshman and was not around last year to know what things were like in DSG. But that doesn't mean I haven't done my research. And my highly unscientific polls suggest that Wolf's presidency-and DSG in general-have vastly improved compared to past years.
I think a lot of that had to do with the year's DSG "theme" of sorts: "Getting S- Done." DSG acted as a powerful lobbying body for students this year. And get s- done it did.
From getting our seats back in the front row of Cameron Indoor Stadium, to keeping Cameron "our house" (sorry, Robertsons), to improving safety at the intersection of Broad and Perry streets, to just recently working to extend the fall reading period (formerly known as the weekend), no task has been too small for this year's DSG to take on.
This is not to say DSG was perfect this year. It surely had its faults. Certain goals were not accomplished, some members could still be caught on Facebook during meetings and overall, general body meetings seemed almost pointless at times. Nonetheless, I think the greatest improvement DSG has seen over the past year, while basic, is very significant: increased visibility.
DSG wants The Chronicle to write about its activities; it wants administrators to know what it-and by association, the student body-thinks. It lets people know what it's doing. In fact, DSG has gone out of its way this year to be heard. Higher-ups such as Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services; Tom Wall, director of public services for Duke University Libraries; and Provost Peter Lange, among many others, have all attended DSG meetings throughout the year gathering student input.
Ironically, a common concern I heard when asking students about their opinion of Wolf at the beginning of the year was that they feared he would alienate administrators before being able to accomplish much of anything. Somehow, despite his sometimes intense demeanor and the fact that he stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall, Wolf has not tried to intimidate or alienate. He's just tried to, well, get s- done, and he's done a good job of it.
He doesn't get all the credit for what DSG has accomplished, nor does he deserve it all. Luckily for him, he had a very strong Executive Board, cabinet and senate to back him up. His are just the face and the name everyone knows.
This year's DSG, under Wolf's leadership, has been both proactive and approachable. I think it would be hard to argue that it hasn't been effective this year, although I'm sure many will try.
In my view, it's been a productive year. Few people (outside of DSG itself) give it enough credit; DSG's done a lot.
As Vice President of Academic Affairs Jimmy Soni, a senior, pointed out in his column Friday ("A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing," April 13), President-elect Paul Slattery, a junior, has a tough act to follow.
It's been a pleasure (most of the time) to observe and comment on DSG this year. The bar has been set at a very high level by this year's leadership. I hope the new Executive Board, cabinet and senate don't let us down.
Elliott et al., you've done an exemplary job. Try not to get a big head about it, but thanks
Allie Vergotz is a Trinity freshman. Her column runs every other Monday.
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