When asked to describe Student Assembly Vice President John Honovich '97, a popular reply seems to be "Direct."
Several Assembly members used that word to talk about Honovich in recent conversations.
Some members said they believe this quality is what allows Honovich to achieve his goals. Others say it makes him a person with whom it is difficult to even hold a discussion.
Assembly communications committee co-Chair Alex Morgan '95 said Honovich's directness is what allows him to accomplish what he sets out to do.
"I think people think his actions are a little abrasive and at times they can be," Morgan said. "He is often direct, but he gets stuff accomplished."
Morgan said Honovich's actions are motivated by a genuine concern for the College.
"I really put the utmost faith in him," she said. "He isn't really about getting elected in the future. He really seems to care and I think that's great."
But other Assembly members say they feel they cannot relate to Honovich's style.
"It was never as if John was presenting ideas of his own," said one Assembly member who wished to remain anonymous. "Now he's in the position of leadership where he should be proactive, but he doesn't know what to do."
According to Brandon del Pozo '96, the other communications committee co-chair, Honovich's directness may stem from his experiences at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, New York.
Xaverian, an all-male school, encourages straight forwardness as a means of getting one's point across, del Pozo said.
"John went to a high school in Brooklyn that I know particularly well," del Pozo said. "I know that there were a lot of macho students there and it was all guys."
This kind of behavior is similar to the behavior which former Assembly President Danielle Moore '95 criticized when she resigned last fall, del Pozo said.
"Maybe it's just that in Brooklyn at an all-boys school, sometimes you had to raise your voice to get respect," del Pozo said.
Del Pozo said Honovich's problems with the Assembly focused on his belief that many people in the Assembly wanted to interpret the Constitution too loosely.
"John saw that sometimes they were bending the rules in the Constitution," he said. "He's very rules-oriented. He employed confrontational means to stop that from happening."
But Honovich said he did not think his high school experience contributed to any of the problems that occurred last term.
"My high school was completely different than anything that has arisen in the Assembly," he said. "Dartmouth and my high school are so different that it's hardly applicable."
Last term, Honovich often seemed to be at the center of every controversy in the Student Assembly, but since assuming the vice presidency, he seems committed to doing everything in his power to avoid conflict.
Assembly member Meredith Epstein '97 said she has seen a marked change in Honovich's attitude since last term.
"I think he's more positive now than he was before," she said. "I think it was bold of him to ask for his resignation [if people felt he was acting inappropriately]. It showed he meant business."
She said she thought part of the problem surrounding Honovich had to do with their perceiving him as "politicking."
Once people saw Honovich was not after a particular political goal, Assembly members were less apprehensive, Epstein said.
"Whatever message John was originally trying to get across, he got across," she said.
Assembly President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 said she thinks relations among people on the Assembly will be stable if Honovich keeps his promise regarding good behavior.
"If John keeps his promise which he made in his election speech, then everything should be fine," she said.
Honovich describes himself as a economic conservative and a political moderate, but he said his political ideology was not a factor in his troubles with the Moore sand Sichitiu last term.
"It wasn't ideological as much as we had different ways of doing things," Honovich said. "It was tied to ideology, but also about how people went about things."
He said the Assembly could have and should have handled conflicts between Assembly members internally.
"I should have handled things better and not let it be a big thing in the paper," he said.
He said the main role that ideology has played within the Assembly is that people of similar ideologies always seem to vote similarly even on issues that are not ideologically based.
"Ideology is going to come up, but sometimes based on that ideology, we break into camps," Honovich said. "Ideologies are fine. That's the way people are. It's the way people deal with it."
While he said he has not met individually with Sichitiu, Honovich said they have not had conflicts yet.
"We left each other alone which is better than attacking each other," he said. "We need to do more talking things over. That will help."
His concern for the future of the College may lead Honovich take next year off from Assembly to decide in what direction he would like Dartmouth to go.
"You want to be the best you can possibly be at something like this," he said. "I'm not mature enough to be that."
He said the Assembly president needs to have a vision of where he wants the school to go and he needs to look at academics and new programs.
"I have no intention of running for president because I have no vision for what I want Dartmouth to be," he said. "I don't want to just walk in and spout rhetoric."
He said he has made this decision because he thinks it is what is best for the Dartmouth community.
"I want to help improve Dartmouth and if that means not running this spring because I'm not ready, then so be it." Honovich said.
"In the end, the most important thing is if I can contribute something back to the community. Right now I'm probably not ready to do that."
"I will reevaluate that as time goes on," he continued. "But right now, I recognize the fact that there's much more to learn."
He said this goal was worth the potential loss of visibility that could cost him the presidential election the following spring.
"I know it may seem out of character for me to jeopardize visibility, but I'd rather be known for doing something very well for a short period of time than doing a so-so job for a longer period," Honovich said.
He said reelection was not as much a factor in his decision because of the changing nature of the Assembly.
"To be honest" he said, "I don't know if the Student Assembly is going to be there in the same way in two years."
If he is not elected Assembly president his senior year, Honovich said he could be involved with the school in other ways, such as a possible internship in a College office or as part of the Programming Board.
While taking the next year off, Honovich said he will concentrate more on his academic commitments.
