Matt Margolin '05 began his USG term with most students disillusioned with student government. For several years, students had heard big talk and seen little payoff. Almost immediately, he was dealt a setback on a plan to reduce Pequod prices when unexpected hurdles appeared. To cynics, it looked like it might be another year of the same.
Margolin has proven those cynics wrong. The last year has certainly not been a revolution, but it has been a year marked by steady improvement. Margolin has been effective at getting student input and making gradual improvements to help the student body.
Perhaps his greatest achievement has been to make students aware of how they can effect change. He has encouraged students to write on behalf of professors facing tenure votes. He has organized forums with administrators, giving students opportunities to put their questions directly to the administration, even though very few students have taken those opportunities. He has made it easier to serve on administrative committees.
The new Point site has the potential to become an important source for keeping up to date on what's happening on campus.
Margolin's biggest test came with the push to change the grading policy. Blindsided by process designed to shut students out, Margolin and USG had to quickly formulate a response. The response USG settled on was, in a way, a typical response for his administration: a letter expressing the sentiments of the students. While Margolin has made steady improvement, he has always been attentive to preserving relationships even as he voiced frustration at the administrations' insularity. As the faculty debated the proposal in Nassau Hall, he quietly stood by, letting events play out. He organized no major protest; the letter stand on its own. Perhaps in this moment, Margolin could have stepped forward and more publicly challenged the administration, brought forth students' faces as well as students' words. But this was not the Margolin way — the way of quiet, persistent improvement.
Margolin finishes his presidency with a legacy of hard work, gradual improvement and an emphasis on the importance of open student-administration communication. It is a record that puts him far ahead of his predecessors.
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