FRt A1VFOC 5 - r The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 10, 1995 - 3 "When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself public property:' - Thomas. Jefferson Today's student leaders are America's future Today the campus ... tomorrow the world I eadership crosses all boundaries and divisions. .6! Leaders of any group, regardless of their cause or mission, must have certain common qualities. Leadership crosses the line between college and the world beyond as well. The presidents, chairs and coordinators at the University today may someday sit at the heads of conference tables around the world. The skills and traits of successful leaders are honed here, in the midst of a careful balance of homework, meetings, social lives and ambition. It is a readily available opportunity for all those who reach for it. Integrity, humility, strength and the ability to listen are integral to the success of any leader - campus or world. -Megan Schinpf Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (upper left), Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas (middle left), first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (lower left), retired Gens. Colin Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf (above), President Clinton (upper right), Rev. Jesse Jackson (middle right), and House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia (lower right). CneiinoAmrin! Executive officers have learned much together By Michelle Lee Thompson Daily Staff Reporter Leading campus government is noeasytask-especially when issties like the Code, the presi- dential search, student health care and cuts to federal financial aid plague the day. -Michigan Student Assembly President Flint Wainess knows these issues all too well. After his term as co-editorial page editor ofThe Michigan Daily ended in January 1994, Wainess took the helm of the assembly in March. "I'm living proof that the old ma'xim, 'if you want to get some- thing done, give it to the busiest person you know' is undoubtedly true," Wainess said, adding that hiigrades have improved since hi term began. Wainess is pursuing an Indi- vidual Concentration Program degree and has focused his un- dergraduate studies on health care. Last month, Wainess introduced to the assembly a plan for manda- tory health care for University students. Wainess and Vice President Sam Goodstein have led the Michigan Party and the assem- bly, and they also served as co- editorial page editors together. The two say they have realized many of their goals during their term, including the formation of MSA On-Line, student represen- tation to the Board of Regents and M-Corps, a program for stu- dents to earn tuition waivers by working for the University's De- partment of Public Safety. "I've seen that innovation pays dividends, that ideas can become reality at this institution," Wainess said. "We've both always been re- ally primarily focused on student concerns, especially at MSA," Goodstein said. "We've both grown a lot." Wainess said that his activism has taught him more than he would have learned in classes. "That which is taught in the classroom is only meaningful when it is applied to life; I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity for such application." ..... ...o [.... By Laura Nelson Daily Staff Reporter "There is a need for people to do work to improve the Col- lege (of Engineering) and get students involved," said Stewart Blacklock, president of the School of Engineering Council. Blacklock felt "obligated to fill that niche," he said, by becoming a student leader. A computer engineering senior, he took office Sept. 13. After a year and a half as a treasurer and executive board member of the council, he was elected to fill the vacancy created when the former president unexpectedly resigned. As president, Blacklock said he feels even more of an obligation to improve his organization. "No one else is going to do it," he said, "so ... it's my responsibility." Balancing council commitments with academic work isn't easy. "1 don't think I do a good job," Blacklock said. During his term as treasurer, Blacklock said he only slept four or five hours a night, sometimes in the council's office. He also missed about a third of his classes. When a student leader needs to meet with a dean or a professor about his organization, he said, "You have to rearrange your schedule to fit their's." Blacklock said the combination of serving as trea- surer for council and working as a resident computer systems consultant caused his grades to drop. "What every person who gets involved learns," he said, is that "every minute is important, ... every little 15-minute break, you should be doing some- g council provides a sense of family thing." There are no special perks or privileges associ- ated with being a student leader, Blacklock said, but there are other rewards. Besides the personal satisfaction of improving the school and increasing student involvement, Blacklock said he also benefits from "fellowship with other society leaders" in the council and hav- ing an office on "society row" in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building. "It's really fun," Blacklock said. There is a "sense of community - family- with these people that is special to me. As president, Blacklock runs council meetings and acts as its representative on College of Engi- neering committees, where he sits alongside faculty and staff providing input on school's future. Panhel brings sororities together Anyonecanb Jina group Out Which ofthe Uncome a leader, with a little initative To find best for you, take a trity's more than 600 sc v. Student d Assembly. e P to the offices of the groups is There, staff members will be h y p igan Student all of the registeredstudent g chappylt Provide w iCo names and phone numbers to help make the selecithonay. Tihegn Unseb, oOffices are locatedon the seectioneasy. anhiUrn0, or call 763-n324 . df th 4 By Christopher Wan For the Daily Laura Shoemaker is not just another member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She also chairs the Panhellenic Association, which governs campus sororities. "My three goals from last year when I ran (for president)," she said, "were empowerment of the women within of the system, unifying the sororities within the system and building pride not only for your individual chapter but also for the Greek sys- tem as a whole." As president, Shoemaker coordinates the jobs of the executive board officers who are in charge of various areas including programming and rush. "I work with my executive board on setting goals Hillel leader gains real-world experience J By Megan Schimpf Daily Staff Reporter Leadership goes beyond the books during college and beyond the University after graduation, said Mark Bernstein. "I think the University of Michigan is a microcosm of the environment in which leaders will function upon graduation every possible community that exists beyond the Univer- sity-exists here," said Bernstein, chair of the Hillel student governing board. Bernstein is in the third year of a master's of business administration and law program. "I was committed to making sure one of the things I learned went far beyond the lectures and the books into the fantastic organizations that exist in Ann Arbor and especially the University," he said. As an undergraduate, Bernstein was active in LSA Student Government, the executive board of his fraternity and the governing board of Hillel. He also established UAC's View- point Lecture series and managed the program for four years. "As a leader, you really have a significant impact on campus, directly on the lives of the student body," Bernstein said. "Some of the things you do can both improve and hurt the quality of life of the students." Following graduation, Bernstein spent six months work- ing at MTV, a direct result of his involvement with UAC. "If you learn to be an effective leader in this environment, you'll have the skills necessary and experience required to be an effective leader in the future," he said. TIt was important to me not. only to excel academically, but to find some- thing that, I can believe in -- Laura Shoemaker Panhellenic Association chair and focus areas and then they in turn use their positions to sup- port those goals," she said. The Panhellenic Association coordi- nates the activities of the 17 sororities on campus and serves as the governing body of these groups should there be any policiesmade. Itmost recently conducted the formal rush pe- Greek Week director advocates getting involved By Christopher Wan For the Daily Greta Grass may be trying to break some records by being a very involved person in nonacademic affairs. As co-director of Greek Week, she is one of the top leaders in the Greek system Greek Week, a nine-day March event that promotes fund-raising for charity among the sorority community, she manages, together with her co-director, a 30-person committee where people are in charge of various aspects of Greek Week such as publicity and graphics. She also deals with business relations regard- ing sponsors forthe Greek Week activities, which, range from blood drives to community services. As president of Alpha Phi sorority, Grass spends about 20 hours a week fulfilling her responsibilities by doing general management work, running meetings, filing weekly reports for the international chapter, going to social events and delegating for her sorority. Living in her sorority house means she is involved in the subtleties of her position all the time. Grass, an LSA senior in communication, has ever since high school "been a strong advocate for getting involved in some type of organiza- is .a .:Z, Y-V riod that took place in September. One of the reasons Shoemaker joined the associa- tion was "to able to be involved in activities and take i p