A look into Webber's presidency

After hundreds of meetings with students, administrators or a combination of all of the above, Jonathan Webber can finally look forward to some free time. However, his time in politics is not over as he plans to assist his 24-year-old brother’s Missouri state representative campaign during Spring Quarter.

As part of finishing his tenure, the lame duck Associated Student Government president has been tying up loose ends by re-examining campus publicity guidelines, proposing an ASG budget half of last year’s and looking to change elements of A-status funding.

“I’ve learned a huge amount,” the Weinberg senior said. “I learned a lot about time management. I’ve failed at time management over and over again, but hopefully I’ve gotten a bit close to being better.”

A year ago, when he started thinking about running for this position, he didn’t realize just how much time the role would demand.

He came into the presidency with 10 projects he promised he would finish in less than a month. Even after that month, his plate remains full. His inbox always has e-mails from a variety of students who want to see some aspect of Northwestern changed. He is always scheduled to meet with students, fellow ASG members and administrators to talk about a new initiative or a new proposal. Webber would estimate spending about 20 hours of his week just on fulfilling the standard duties of ASG president. Any time spent on special projects would be in addition to those 20 hours.

For example, during Fall Quarter, Webber brought together student leaders and administrators to create a Student-Community Relations Task Force to discuss solutions for the increasing number of students, especially freshmen, in the hospital for alcohol-related reasons.

“That report was very well-done,” Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis said. “Jon has been very balanced and fair as a student advocate. He has been deliberate in gathering information on issues and doing his research.”

During his first quarter as president, Webber advocated for student theater groups, securing funding from the School of Communication, Norris University Center and ASG for a $20,000 investment in dimmer packs to ensure theater groups wouldn’t have to continue spending money renting them. Because funding is done on a yearly basis, securing funding for such lighting was an obstacle because of the cost.

“These dimmer packs will help for 25 years,” Communication junior Rebecca Stevens said. “He wasn’t advocating for student theater because he liked student theater better or thought we deserved more funding. What he was standing up and talking about was a different way to look at funding.”

But when Webber needs to take a break from his many responsibilities, he goes to the Center for Student Involvement office to chat with ASG Adviser Helen Wood for 20 to 30 hours per week.

“She’s one of my closest friends,” he said. “I rely on her literally every day of the year.”

Wood, who has worked with six NU ASG presidents, said Webber was willing to work behind the scenes for issues that affect students and not to bask in the glory of having his name in the newspaper.

“The job is a lonely one. You’re taking a full-time job without pay,” she said. “It takes a lot of energy, and it takes a lot of time.”

Wood said she acted as a sounding board for Webber where he was able to unload and not have to worry about his agenda.

“I think that’s where our relationship grew – being in a situation where he trusts me,” she said.

Because “universities are notorious for moving very slowly,” the effects of Webber’s work might not come into fruition for a couple more years, Wood said.

“Being patient and understanding – that is the best thing he’s been able to do,” she said. “The future of Northwestern will benefit.”

So far, Webber has built the foundation for future initiatives by researching and starting conversations. Such projects include creating a 24-hour campus and an office for off-campus students.

“I’m confident I will leave ASG better than I found it,” Webber said. “I really think a lot of the projects that I worked on — that they’re going to have an effect on campus two to five years from now.”


—ALICE TRUONG

ASG releases Student-Community Relations Taskforce

Check out The Daily tomorrow for more details about the task force report.

But briefly, the Student-Community Relations Taskforce, composed off faculty members and student leaders, made the following recommendations during Fall Quarter to improve the relationship between Northwestern and Evanston:

1. Creating a "third space": The task force hopes to use Shanley Pavilion, when theater groups have secured a new location, to create a cafe or sports bar atmosphere for both on- and off-campus students to socialize in a healthy manner during late-night weekends.
2. Improving off-campus transportation: This shuttle would transport students to make downtown Chicago more accessible to students who can use this as a healthy alternative to excessive drinking. The task force also wants to work with the shuttle office for specific shuttle routes and with Saferide to decrease wait-times on Friday and Saturday nights.
3. Amending the freshman freeze: The task force wants to shorten the freshman freeze to only the week of Wildcat Welcome. The currently policy prohibits freshmen in Greek houses until the end of the third week of class. In addition to changing the policy, the task force encourages the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association to hold information sessions at the beginning of the academic year about recruitment and interactions with on-campus Greek organizations.
4. Tackling on-campus drinking: By improving new student alcohol education and providing late-night weekend munchies, the task force hopes to see a decrease in on-campus drinking. The new alcohol education would combine what is instated, such as on-campus educational programs, with information tailored specifically for NU students.
5. Creating an off-campus housing office: A new off-campus housing office could provide information sessions for students considering living off campus or students already in off-campus residences. These sessions could tell students a range of information from contract negotiation and signing to how to throw a responsible off-campus party. The task force also hopes to see an off-campus housing review Web site. The office wold continue to work on increasing positive interactions between off-campus NU students and Evanston residents.
6. Changing Wildcat Welcome: The task force wants to shorten Wildcat Welcome to five or six days improve late-night programming, include upperclassmen in Wildcat Welcome's programs and delay the move-in of returning students on campus from Wednesday to Thursday or Friday. Creating a fall quarter student advisory board with Associated Student Government, Panhellenic, Interfraternity Council, Residence Hall Association, Residential College Board presidents to meet several times during Fall Quarter to provide feedback to Wildcat Welcome coordinators.

Some of these recommendations might seem familiar. The Associated Student Government external relations committee has already been working on to create an off-campus residence review Web site and to create a weekend Chicago shuttle.

ASG President Jon Webber said administrators have generally responded well to the recommendations, but that doesn't necessarily mean there will be funding for all of them. The task force's findings are still being presented to administrators who couldn't make the Dec. 5 meeting. The Weinberg senior said three things will happen to the list of recommendations:

• Webber hopes to see some of the recommendations on the Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee's list of recommendations, that is due to come out sometime during February.
• Some funding for student groups might support some of the recommendations.
• University officials either reject or fund the recommendations.

Of the list, Webber identified creating an off-campus housing office as most important for students and on the top of his list, Vice President for Student Affairs Bill Banis said creating a third space was something the university will focus on (“This is something we will weave into our planning for spacing,” he said), and Banis said shortening the freshman freeze or Wildcat Welcome was unlikely.

Wildcat Welcome is unlikely to change because of the individual schools' advising policy, which would be difficult to re-engineer. Wildcat Welcome's length also depends on the way the week falls on the calendar, which can range from seven to 11 days.

The freshman freeze also is unlikely to change because it is an academically drawn policy instated by the General Faculty Committee, which is NU's equivalent to a faculty senate, which spent years to craft.

"It'd require too many people to change (the policy)," Banis said. "Frankly, I don't see that going away."


—ALICE TRUONG