Twolf

Members of the Senate,
Vice-president,
Fellow Students,
Administrators, Faculty, and Staff....

Welcome to the start of the second Semester of the Eighteenth Senate!

I. PREFACE
Before I begin discussing the present State of the Association, I would like to comment on a couple of interesting items from the past.

"Today marks a new beginning, a new dedication with our Government, and a new spirit among us all. A spirit of beginning, a new phase of student government with leadership and a vision toward the future."

"The State of the Association is a healthy one. However, as an optimist, I believe there is always room for improvement. This year's Students' government has been responsible for several achievements that enhanced the optimism and enthusiasm on the USC campus. To this date, ASG still has not obtained the credibility of its constituency. However, we have made considerable strides in attaining the almost invincible goal, a favorable image and integrity for this Association."

These quotes are the beginnings of two State of the Association addresses. The first was from Stephen Sielesky, ASG President 1979, and the second was written by Nathan R. Nusbaum, ASG President 1980.

As I was contemplating my own address, I had many thoughts very similar to these! But reading the thoughts of my predecessors quickly brought me to the realization that I was traveling on the same path to obscurity, in ASG, that they were. Like me, they had many goals, great expectations, and tremendous optimism for the future. But here we are, years later, and the only record of their service to ASG is some names on the wall. Other records of their terms led me to believe that they accomplished a great deal back then- but what about now? ASG still does not have respect from the campus, our elections could always have a better turnout, and negative attitudes from within are still present. All of their efforts mean very little today. This is very sad, because I have already grown an appreciation for the work needed to accomplish things for the campus community. I guess the best explanation for all of this stems from the lack of continuity from year to year. I supposed that if either of these men were in office for three or four years, they could have established a healthy and stable ASG, but of course that would never happen. New people came with new ideas. Unfortunately, I think they lost sight of the essence of ASG. They forgot why we are all gathered here, they neglected our strong involvement with student activities, and I can only find two State of the Association addresses from the years since.

Look at ASG's reputation in the past few years. Have you heard many good things about ASG lately? No. I will admit that a lot of this reputation stems from public ignorance of the situations within. But let's face it, an overly large part of ASG's time and efforts in past years were spent on useless political battles, and immature political games. What was gained? Remember what we are here for ?? To serve the students, communicate with and for the students, provide motivation for students, communicate student views to the administration, and other more specific purposes. How do we fulfill these purposes and still make our contributions to the future? How do we want next year's Senate to view our actions? They can either laugh at our immaturity and lack of foresight, or they can appreciate our actions and be impressed with our long term goals- goals that they will hopefully be benefiting from.

I am not a glory seeker, I think that most of you are aware of my sincerity and intentions for ASG and the University, as a whole. However, I do want to be remembered here; not necessarily by name, but at least my trend changing ideas- ones that I feel will make ASG a better organization. This is all very important, especially when we realize that USC overall is in such a vital stage of its own history.

It is up to us to try something innovative. The most important factors in achieving success this year will be our attitudes toward the University, ASG, and especially each other. Each of you should decide what you want, and what is best; then proceed with nothing else in mind. We must function as a group, and act responsibly and with common sense. The time for political games and foolishness must end! Let us keep these things in mind.

On a more personal level, my view of you as a Senate is important. I realize your roles in ASG and I understand your operations. I am also aware of the necessary boundaries between the Executive and Legislative Branches. With these things in mind, all I will ask of you as a Senate will be your trust, your integrity, and a sincere desire to serve ASG, and the students of USC. "Trust" sticks out to me as the most important of these- not only between us as student politicians, and representatives, but between us as fellow students and friends. When things get rough let us not forget who we are outside these Chambers. No issue should be worth our interpersonal relationships.

ASG can be a valuable and productive experience for those in and around it. It can be one of those things that makes you glad you came to college in the first place. We all realize that it can be tough and frustrating at times, but even that is not bad if you remember the old adage- "live and learn"- this, of course, is why we are in college to begin with.

I know this has become long and somewhat abstract, but it has been an attempt to promote, in you, a sense of retrospect and introspect before you take on the challenge of ASG. This letter may appear "negative"- but please think of it as "cautious". We, like every other ASG have some excellent ideas, but our difference will be in the "follow through" of these ideas and avoidance of past mistakes. I am tempted to read this again in April to see if we accomplished our goals and remained steadfast. Those that promoted the mistakes and acted in certain ways contrary to the good of ASG, will stick out like a sore thumb; those that helped lead us to greatness will glow in the like of an appreciative student body and a better future for ASG.

II. STATE OF THE ASSOCIATION
I am extremely enthusiastic about the opportunities that are present for the coming semester. We have been very busy this fall and Christmas break working to better serve the campus. We have two new computers, a fax machine, and a new copier in the ASG office, with two more computers replacing the two old ones in the Executive's office. We have proposed changes to the ASG Constitution, and the By-Laws are in process of being looked at for possible changes. These changes will make our documents clearer and help us to work better together as a unit. We have discussed ways to get more students to vote in the elections, and may change the election code - to allow mail-in ballots, to allow phone voting - only the future will see which of these, or none of these we choose - and whether they work!

As we make our collective and individual ways to the end of the semester, I challenge ALL of us to leave the Nineteenth Senate a legacy of working together and student involvement in ASG.