Student Assembly powerhouse senior Julia Hildreth's uncanny ability to negotiate between the student body and the administration has led to a bevy of signature Hildreth projects, yet has left some students feeling out of touch with the Assembly.
During the past three years -- as Vice President during Janos Marton '04's first term and as President this year -- Hildreth has initiated and followed through upon numerous student programs, services, publications and policy changes. Some of these projects are still in the works, however, leaving a number of students questioning what exactly the Assembly has done for them. Her rapport with the administration has been particularly helpful in completing difficult projects, yet some Assembly members argue that her willingness to appease the administration has come at the cost of deferring student opinion.
Furthermore, with so many projects in the works, it is difficult to pin down just what the Assembly's priorities are.
Assembly veterans point out that the Assembly -- though not as engaging as perhaps during Marton tenure -- is dedicated to responding to what students want and need. Moreover, Hildreth's long-term projects, including new gym facilities and the placement of course syllabi online, are on their way to fruition, though current students might not see the results anytime soon.
Students have complained about the gym's lack of space and machines for quite some time, and Hildreth has dedicated the past two years to working to secure Trustee approval of a new gym facility, which seems to be looming on the horizon.
Armed with the power of compromise, Hildreth's leadership has resulted in an extensive peer academic advisor program, new BlitzMail terminals and centralization of Alumni Affairs, Election Planning Advisory Committee and Ivy Council.
The peer academic advisor program, which debuted last fall, cost more than $12,000 and served to match then-incoming freshmen with upper-class students on course decisions and general academic counseling. Here Hildreth responded to student input for an improved freshman advising system and made direct impact.
The introduction of some 34 new BlitzMail terminals -- a service that directly benefits students -- was soiled by coverage of the "leak" debacle and the firing of Brian Martin '06 from an Assembly executive posistion. It seems that internal strife took credit away from Hildreth and other Assembly members responsible for the project.
Hildreth's affinity for centralization has led to the incorporation of the Ivy Council, selection of Alumni Council student representatives and a formalized EPAC election structure.
After a long absence from the Assembly, the Diversity Affairs Committee reappeared this year under Hildreth's tenure. The Diversity Affairs Committee has been instrumental in reaching out to different sectors on campus by planning to hold "outreach" meetings in various locations. So far, only one outreach meeting has taken place, yet last term's meeting in Cutter-Shabazz Hall was successful in reaching out to African-American students' needs and input.
While Hildreth seems to have made her projects more visible than herself, she has made herself available through five hours of office hours each week, a feat that recent Assembly presidents have not done. Her office hours were quite busy when the Assembly launched their coffee-voucher campaign for students to their professors to either Dirt Cowboy Cafe or the Dartmouth Bookstore for free, yet other than that, students have not shown much interest in dropping into the Assembly office.
