Giving a grade to Neal Sales-Griffin’s first quarter in office
Neal Sales-Griffin, SESP senior and ASG president, spent 42 hours straight in Norris last week. NSG’s ASG can be criticized for many things, but lack of effort isn’t one of them. ASG has gone through a dramatic cultural change in the past six months, and most point to Sales-Griffin as the catalyst for that change. But has that cultural shift made ASG better at serving the students needs? After a quarter of being in office, has Sales-Griffin accomplished what he promised to do during his campaign in April 2008? Ultimately, has our president’s administration done what it is supposed to do: serve the student body?
Last spring, Sales-Griffin campaigned on the platform of “waking up Northwestern.” In his letter to North By Northwestern after his election, Sales-Griffin set down his goal of connecting ASG to the student body. “The next step is to build ASG’s capacity so that it can act on your ideas and your concerns.” Even now, Sales-Griffin still acknowledges his campaign promises. “I regularly go back and look at my platform…most of the stuff in it is either in the works or already accomplished.”
This may be true, and Sales-Griffin has followed through on effecting great internal reform. But more importantly, ASG’s real effect on the average student has been minimal at best. But no matter what changes Sales-Griffin institutes, until they noticeably affect every student, they will not be enough. NSG’s ASG still needs to prove itself. The most recent senate meeting accomplished very little—the group spent time discussing whether or not ASG should make t-shirts. This kind of internal discussion is not beneficial for the student body. Rather, it’s a step backward in the fight to look effective to the student body.
Please sir, can we have some more?
This is the biggest problem that ASG faces: a universal perception of ineffectiveness. Weinberg senior and ASG Financial Vice President Seva Rodnyansky explained that “half the time we’re not doing anything but combating that perception. It’s a never-ending game without actual services being provided.”
I asked both ASG members and average students to grade our current government on an A to F scale. Of the 16 people from ASG who replied, they gave themselves grades ranging from As to Cs, 13 of which were As or Bs. Of the 15 people I asked from outside the organization, answers ranged from A to F, with 11 grades either Cs or Ds. While this is a small sample, there is clearly a disconnect between internal and external perceptions of how successful ASG has been.
Therein lies the paradox: ASG is most effective when it has the backing of the student body but the student body will not support ASG until it proves it can be effective in a way that impacts individuals. As Hunter Atkins, Medill sophomore said, “If ASG had accomplished anything in the last year that has impacted my college life, wouldn’t I have noticed it?”
This is emblematic of another major problem — ASG does do a lot for students, but doesn’t do an effective job of letting us know that they are responsible for it. For example, NULink is run by ASG and oNe Northwestern was based out of ASG, as was NU Decides. Without effective marketing though, the ASG name remains disaffiliated from these programs and thus, those who deserve the credit for them don’t receive it, perpetuating student ambivalence and ignorance of ASG’s accomplishments.
Turn and face the strange
The first priority Sales-Griffin set when he came into office was to clean the office. “It seems like a minuscule thing, but honestly one of the biggest things in terms of having people be more collaborative was having a clean working environment,” Sales-Griffin explained. “Collaborative” is a buzz-word in Sales-Griffin’s administration; everything is about team work and the massive cleaning symbolizes that goal.
The cleaning of the office was just the first in a list of ASG’s accomplishments for the first quarter of this administration. Achievements also include the oNe Northwestern campaign, NU Decides and the newly instated Saturday intercampus shuttles. However, when asked about the biggest accomplishment of the past few months, most ASG members pointed to internal organization changes, both formal and informal.
Formally, Sales-Griffin created two new positions on the executive committee, both of which were filled in the past week. In addition, the “Rosenthal Amendment,” which requires senators to hold office hours and open forums to increase accountability was recently passed. ASG committees are now also required to submit proposals before they begin to work on any project or initiative, soliciting senate feedback and approval.
Changes in senate culture and in the mindset of the people involved were some of Sales-Griffin’s most obvious informal changes. The executive board members have felt the full force of that change according to Communication senior and Public Relation director Sasha Shaikh, who explained “every single person on executive board came in with the attitude that [change] was going to happen. We came here in full gear.”
That culture shift started with Sales-Griffin and has moved down the ranks to the senators. Patrick Dawson, Weinberg junior and two-year senator said that in during his first term, the executive board and senate operated independently, but now “it’s a lot more collaborative. The senate and the executive board are aware of what each are doing and work towards similar goals.”
So ASG is now excited, passionate, and willing to put in the effort. Sales-Griffin remarks that the “change has been realized in regards to people’s work ethic, sacrifice, drive and passion. It’s one of the most intangible things you can have in an organization but it’s one of the factors that affect productivity.”
Honey, I ignored the kids
On May 15, 2008, North by Northwestern reported that Sales-Griffin intended to effect “meteoric change” in ASG. He expressed a desire to change the fact that “nobody knows what ASG does, and most people frankly don’t even care.” He also wanted ASG “to be intuitive and welcoming to every student.” While it’s clear that ASG has changed internally, after a quarter of hard work, have students started taking notice, as promised?
Not really. Internal change seems to have come with a price. Jesse Garfinkel, Weinberg junior and previous Speaker of the Senate explained that “it’s so much easier to pass a bill changing the organization than it is to change stuff on campus…the students don’t care how we solve a problem, they just care that it gets solved.”
Former Clerk James D’Angelo, a Communications senior, attended Senate meetings regularly this quarter and was even more critical of Sales-Griffin’s bureaucratic changes. He is adamant that internal change “makes everyone feel better about doing stuff, but when it comes down to it, if ASG code is great or awful, what does that do for actual student life?”
Even executive committee members are unsure of the outward success of these inner changes. Rodnyansky admits that there is “nothing you can point to and say ‘Look! Here’s what happened!’ A lot of the legislative changes don’t necessarily impact the students as much as other things could be.”
On the bright side, the organization has more in the works for Winter Quarter and every executive board member made it clear that the upcoming quarter will be full of activity. We can be on the lookout for a winter activities fair, a Dillo Day-type event, a focus on Evanston elections and most importantly, the launch of the new and improved ASG website.
We want change
Now ASG needs to focus on the students. Enough time this year has been spent on internal struggle, reform and codification. It’s time for Sales-Griffin to do what he really promised, to bring ASG back to its priority of improving the life of the average Northwestern student by lobbying the administration on our behalf. ASG carries a lot of sway with the administration and they should use it to their advantage. With that in mind, if the student body wants something to change, they should go see ASG. One sit-down meeting can yield incredible results if we voice our discontent to the executive board instead of to one another.
ASG can and should be a great organization that brings about significant change on campus. As individuals, they are hard-working, passionate and enthusiastic about their jobs, with much of the enthusiasm originating from the president himself. But if we gauge the current ASG’s success by the amount of faith the student body has in student government and to what extent it can rally students to help accomplish change, then Sales-Griffin and his administration still have a lot of work to do. Sales-Griffin’s mantra for the year is “Expect More.” To him and to ASG, I say this: we do.
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This is a great article that communicates an important issue ASG has faced since its inception. We do get stuff done but not enough people know about it.
Thank you Amanda (and NBN) for keeping us honest and accountable – our team looks forward to delivering on our promises and showing the student body that we are here to build a better Northwestern. We will show this through action, not just by words, and that action has already taken place on many fronts. We will be issuing another quarterly report for the Winter when people return from break and before then we will be issuing a message to students on the state of ASG – what we’ve done, what we are doing, and what more we will be doing to serve the student body.
We are completely revamping NULink, the ASG website (again), and are developing the oNe Northwestern website. The technological resources we provide are going to be at an entirely different level come mid-January.
ASG = advocacy, community, resources, and representation. I’m excited to elaborate on these traits. While this is an impromptu response to this article, we plan on blitzing the campus with an explanation of who we are, what we do, why students should care, what we’ve accomplished so far, and when/how to EXPECT MORE results.
Keep the constructive critiques coming! My only additional request is that you rub-off on your friends at The Daily Northwestern. It’s okay to criticize us and hold us accountable, and it’s nice to see it framed in a way where we can actually ACT on the critiques and improve to better serve our peers.
Thank you again, we appreciate you sending a reporter to our executive board meetings, more of you are welcome if you are ever inclined…
Neal Sales-Griffin
ASG President
Neal Sales-Griffin
November 25, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I would like to second Neal in thanking NBN for giving a much better representation of ASG than “the-newspaper-that-shall-not-be-named.” I agree that we must do a much better job in reaching out to students; not only advertising what projects we are working on, but to hear what issues students want ASG to work on. That is why we are working on creating a “Winter Campaign” that Neal touched on in his response. Students will see us and know about all the projects and initiatives we are working on.
The one thing I would disagree with in this article is that ASG has only been focused on internal reform, code changes, and arguing about t-shirts. The senate meeting you reference in your article was actually quite productive. ASG Senate heard about four major projects my committee (the Academic Committee)is working on: the NU Peer Academic Link, Northwestern Undergraduate Research Database, CTEC Rankings, and the Unofficial Student Guide to NU. ASG is also working on an ASG Classifieds website, ASG Airport Shuttle, a 24-hour cafe/convenience store on North Campus, a photo ordinance and apartment and condo survey for off-campus students. And there’s more! So I would disagree that we are not focused on students.
However, we can do better, so keep us accountable Northwestern.
If you want to know more about our projects in the Academic Committee, check out avpmcgee.com (work in progress) or email me at michaelmcgee@u.northwestern.edu
Michael McGee
November 25, 2008 at 11:42 pm
NBN says ASG should focus on students. Well is the Pope Catholic? They are focusing on students, but it takes some time to get their projects to completion. Don’t worry, Action Jackson will be on ASG’s behind, so they better get some s@#% done!
Also, a PSA to all the people in the article (especially those involved in ASG): What are you doing to improve student life this year? Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining! Put your noses to the grindstone and save the barking for the dogs.
Action Jackson. Out.
Action Jackson
November 26, 2008 at 12:52 am
I don’t want to hear marketing bs about what ASG is doing. NUlink is useless and no one seriously uses it, NUDecides…what was that…I mean serious, what was that?
Start making relevant policies and stop bickering about “oh, the students don’t know what we do, how sad, let’s cry and buy ourselves T-shirts to show off how cool we are.” Grow a pair and do something grand. Maybe make that Winter Quarter activities fair could be a big focus for ASG. If they pull that off, then hell, ASG will look amazing in the students’ eyes for making WQ seems less shitty.
So I ask each and every one of you, what are you doing to help student life? Literally. I don’t want to hear your bs plans, I want to see what’s actually happening. Too much “will X, will do X”, I need more of the “look, the site is sexy and we publicize it through campus-wide e-mails and involvement.”
At NSG, how dare you request for people to change a journalism publication? What is this, some dictatorship? Just shut up and deal with it.
Ginger Brew
November 26, 2008 at 3:56 am
But Seriously, What is the deal with that money for the winter quarter event? I know people are expecting a big name and we’ve heard nothing about it. I know Neal has at least something to do with it.
Diese
November 26, 2008 at 8:50 am
Wow Ginger, are these real comments? Even if they weren’t, I feel compelled to respond.
1. NUlink is not useless, but it does need to redesigned. That is why we are working on a massive overhaul of NUlink to completed by mid-January.
2. What is NUDecides? Really? Have you been under the Rock the whole quarter? NUDecides was a voter registration and voter awareness initiative that started out of ASG in the summer and involved many different students and student groups on campus. They were able to register 1,300+ students for this year’s election, the highest percentage increase in voter registration of any college in the nation!!! That’s #1!!!
3.Stop bickering? Sounds like that’s all you’re doing!!! It is true that the student body doesn’t know about all the projects we are working on, but have you looked at the Spring 08 and Fall 08 ASG quarterly reports we sent out to the student body? Maybe over Thanksgiving you could sit by the fireplace and read the 30+ pages of projects we are working on to improve student life on campus.
4. THE STUDENTS voted Neal Sales-Griffin, Vikram Karandikar, Nate Perkins, and myself to office last spring, so remember YOUR responsibility to keep us accountable. Don’t just wait for an article in NBN or the Daily to voice your concerns. We are in Norris ALL THE TIME! Neal has his office hours on NULink, so if you visit him and voice your complaints.
5.We are working on a lot of projects, and contrary to popular belief, they won’t just get done overnight. But until you start to DO more, I suggest that you will just have to wait until we get our projects done. If you NEED something done, bring it to us! If it is that important to you, you should feel compelled to bring it to the one student organization on campus that has the ability to make it happen.
6. In regards to your last comment, we will not just DEAL with anything. We could have just dealt with the fact that ASG was broken, but have made ASG more productive and efficient by adding the VP and HR roles. We could have just dealt with the fact that ASG Committees were mostly comprised of members who did not care about working on behalf of the student body, but instead we mandated that students must fill out applications and go through an interview process before they get on committees. Now each committee has at least 12 members who are passionate about the projects they are working on.
We could have dealt with the fact ASG didn’t let students know what projects they were working on, but instead we created two comprehensive quarterly reports letting students know WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON!!! We could have dealt with the fact that the previous ASG website sucked, but instead we are working on creating a brand new website, along with creating new websites for NULink and oNe Northwestern too! We could have dealt with the fact Senators were not accountable to their constituents, but instead we put in the ASG code that Senators must send weekly email updates, must put up posters in their dorms letting students know what they are up to, and must hold quarterly open forums to hear what issues their constituents have for ASG to work on.
And if a publication wants to put out lies about this organization, trust me, we won’t just deal with that either.
So Ginger Brew, if you are a real person, please email me at michaelmcgee@u.northwestern.edu if you have any more issues. I’m sure we can work something out.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Michael McGee
November 26, 2008 at 11:31 am
Correction: So visit him and voice your complaints, not so “if you” visit him.
Michael McGee
November 26, 2008 at 11:51 am
Ginger: I use NUlink as my homepage and I love having all the links easily accessible. In fact, I don’t know what I would do without it so you are wrong about no one seriously using it.
E
November 26, 2008 at 6:53 pm
NU Decides was not solely an ASG initiative, it was MOSTLY accomplished by Multicultural Student Affairs (NOT to be confused with Carretta Cooke). NU Decides was originally petitioned by the Asian/Asian American Student Affairs and worked on by people at the Multicultural Center, which would include Hispanic/Latino Student Affairs.
Not ONCE did I personally see Neal Sales-Griffin at the MCC. Kim Castle, Allie Morales, Dulce Acosta-Licea, Michael Lobel slaved away for hours on the second floor of the MCC. They deserve all the recognition, not ASG or Neal. And although Jilian Lopez was the token ASG person for this initiative, she was nowhere near as visible as the other student workers. This is clear in the NbN interview which showcases Ms. Castle and by Northwestern’s own coverage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKzwhZYvJmU). Moreover, NU Decides could not have been as successful if it weren’t for the various student groups that helped with the cause, from greek organizations to multicultural coalitions to political groups.
Since NbN never gives Neal and his “administration”/bffers/cronies a grade, lets give him one: D+. The Daily is right in their treatment of one of the most ineffective student governments during my time at NU. You’re pretty much Failing, Neal and ASG. Constructive criticisms are only valuable if you actually listen and do something about it, and clearly Neal’s administration is doing neither.
Senior
November 28, 2008 at 1:29 am
A D+ huh? Wow, why not give us an F haha! And please give me a list of things the Daily was right about? Please!!! I’m really asking you!!
Bring your complaints to me if you’re that pissed! As always, email michaelmcgee@u.northwestern.edu
Hell, you can even call me right now 815.904.0824. :)
Michael McGee
November 28, 2008 at 3:00 am
I think everyone should give Neal a little bit more credit. True, maybe he has yet to accomplish everything he may have promised during his campaign, but can any candidate really be expected to fulfill everything they promise us? In my meetings with Neal, I have had no less than his undivided attention and have felt that in those areas in which we share a passion for, he is a great source for information and for finding the resources to get our ideas into action. Overall, I think any form of student initiative is a two way process. No one can expect our class president to do everything so if you feel your voice is not being accounted for…do something about it.
I
November 29, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Here’s a real question: Who do I talk to about the horrendous websites on this campus?
I understand that NULink will undergo an overhaul, but it seems the main issue (slowness) won’t be fixed unless it’s being handled by someone that isn’t NUIT. Caesar, Blackboard, NULink, and every other website handled by this university is slow as hell, convoluted, and flat out infuriating.
Interplanet Janet
December 1, 2008 at 2:12 pm
I think this administration has done a pretty darn good job of addressing concerns that have been brought to them by students; the issue is more of actually figuring out what those concerns are. To those of you who expressed concerns, how can ASG help you? And, if you’re having trouble finding a forum for addressing these concerns/don’t know who to contact/don’t feel comfortable calling Mr. McGee’s personal cell, what’s the best way for us to communicate with you? I know that ASG sends out listserv messages to off-campus people, messages that ASG Senators are supposed to pass on, and publicize office hours and other forums on NULink, but how else can we help reach out to you? (And I don’t mean that facetiously; I ask that question literally and with the utmost sincerity.)
As for some of the concerns brought up here that haven’t yet been addressed: that “winter quarter money” has a committee (made up of ASG, IFC, Panhellenic, RCB, RHA, and others) working on how to best use it; from what I understand they hope to have something decided on soon. As for the websites, I know ASG just got new webservers, and an overhaul of ASG, NULink, and other student-controlled sites is planned for the next two months.
Talk to us!
Paul David Shrader
ASG Clerk
Paul David Shrader
December 1, 2008 at 5:44 pm
p.s. I don’t even care if you’re a “real person”; let’s just make this productive and better for the whole school. =)
Paul David Shrader
December 1, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Well, PDS, I actually am friends with an ASG member, and he hasn’t mentioned any clear solutions for the awful backend (not to mention design) of the sites.
New servers aren’t worth anything without the proper administration.
Interplanet Janet
December 1, 2008 at 8:15 pm
> Who do I talk to about the horrendous websites on this campus?
This information is all available on the front page for each of these services. It’s hard to miss…
Caesar – caesar@northwestern.edu
Blackboard – course-management@northwestern.edu
NULink – asg-nulink@northwestern.edu
Northwestern.edu – webmaster@northwestern.edu
> Caesar, Blackboard, NULink, and every other website handled by this university is slow as hell, convoluted, and flat out infuriating.
See the above email addresses. I know that server admins are concerned about performance issues, but this feedback is better expressed as incident reports. Name calling doesn’t lead to progress.
> it seems the main issue (slowness) won’t be fixed unless it’s being handled by someone that isn’t NUIT…
> New servers aren’t worth anything without the proper administration.
Server administration is a joint effort involving NUIT, university divisions, and (in ASG’s case) students. We are grateful for their support. We will continue to appreciate their expertise until students acquire the ability to effectively administer their own servers.
Jon Koenig
December 1, 2008 at 11:44 pm
still no word on the Winter event?
Diese
December 4, 2008 at 11:20 am
Look harder Diese. Look harder.
Devil is in the details
December 4, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I don’t care about a site redesign of NU Link. None of this actually affects my time at Northwestern. How about you people do something about the awful awful shuttle system? O whats that? You added a Saturday shuttle? That really isn’t an accomplishment. How about every shuttle be on time. How about shuttles going up and down Sheridan Road from 8 am – 8 Pm because this campus is freezing. How about you get it so ALL evanston restaraunts accept munch money. Would that be so hard? Why should I be stuck using NU Cuisine just because I live in the residence hall. How about you do something for a change that actually impacts my day. I don’t care about site designs or some activity fair. I care about a convenient shuttle and not being forced to dining in our crappy dining halls just because I go to the school.
useless
December 10, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Evanston has enough good and friendly places to get food that something effective might actually be worth getting done. O wait, that’s right NU makes a killing off charging us $9 to eat a dinner of macaroni, soda and salad, so why shake things up?
The only people who would be affected by something like a site redesign or some fair are those already champing at the bit to “get involved” not those who otherwise still sitting around doing nothing.
Useless is right
December 10, 2008 at 6:23 pm
So have any of you guys that are complaining ever go an talk to Neal? I’m pretty sure ASG has “office hours”, and he has always responded to my e-mails within 24 hours. As for NU Cuisine and Sodexho – ASG can’t do much about that cuz Sodexho has a SIIIIICK monopoly on Food. You know if you hold an event in Norris, and want it to be catered – it HAS to be Sodexho!
I think Neal, and everyone in ASG is doing a fine job. Having been an ASG Senator way back in the day, and knowing how it works – Neal is doing the best he can. And someone mentioned that the Saturday Shuttle is worth anything. ARE YOU KIDDING?!?! Have you seen how many people ACTUALLY USE IT!
Neal, and everyone at ASG – KEEP IT UP!
René Jovel aka SupaKat
December 11, 2008 at 2:15 am
ALSO – I’ve said this plenty of times on other articles.
If you are going to talk shit – then USE YOUR REAL NAME!
René Jovel aka SupaKat
December 11, 2008 at 2:16 am
Mike McGee needs to stop being so defensive. It’s quite unbecoming.
A Tip
December 24, 2008 at 3:11 am
Hahaha! Unbecoming? We just want a little love. :)
Have a Merry Christmas! Christmas Story is on!
Mike McGee
December 24, 2008 at 8:01 pm
How about calling Mary Desler and/or Banis before a committee for public questioning on the Student Affairs disciplinary policy/her temperament in conducting her job? If you were able to get her/them fired, there would be little else you’d have to do for a lot of students to consider your tenure a success. IMO, the draconian drinking policy at this school is far more culpable in recent alcohol poisoning cases than anyone “supplying” to minors.
K
December 26, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Mike wages war on stupidity and ignorance on a regular basis. He is not being defensive, but taking offense on those who are not (and unfortunately sometimes choose not to be) informed.
About Mike
December 29, 2008 at 1:13 am