Letter to the Editor
Board reports don’t make the grade
Re: “2009-2010 board report cards,” March 30, 2010
To the editor:
I’d just like to take the time to voice my opinions about the Gazette’s 2009-2010 University Students’ Council board report card. It was announced that Emily Rowe, Justin Arcaro and Will Bortolin received grades that are more or less accepted as fail when compared to the grades of Dan Moulton and Sacha Kumar.
I would first like to dissect the term “face of the USC” and rebut it does not adhere solely to the president, but to the board as a whole. What negative implications did Rowe’s “passed on questions” have on the USC? Is it not her role to ensure all questions have an answer? No one ever even considered the fluent team dynamic of the board with respect to her leadership ability.
Justin Arcaro; noted as a micromanager, is much more than that. He is indeed a manager with a portfolio much larger than any other, which is the nature of the vice-president student events position. Therefore his “dealing with issues” grade is one relying on his commissioners who I personally know did all they possibly could regarding the flatbed issue that arose at this year’s Homecoming.
Furthermore, I have walked into Arcaro’s office for a chat on more than one occasion this year, so his “approachability” grade, as well as Bortolin’s is baffling to me. Perhaps it is a reflection of the people that didn’t take the time to get to know them.
People forget to look at both sides of the coin when judging others and I feel that it is both unfair to rate the board members individually, and to say that as a whole they did an “adequate” job given their circumstances. It has been widely known the Gazette and the USC have had a “buddy-buddy” relationship and I surely hope that this article was not an attempt to break free of that at the expense of six human beings.
I challenge each reader to consider these thoughts before quickly accepting the results of the article. I would like to close by thanking each board member for their integrity, their dedication to a better Western and for a phenomenal year.
—Brandon De Krieger
Outgoing Elgin Hall Council President
Science, II
Ed note: Emily Rowe, Will Bortolin and Just Arcaro received B grades overall — not fails — in comparison to Dan Moulton and Sacha Kumar who received A’s overall. The USC board report cards were largely based on consultation with and feedback from commissioners, councillors and current board members, in addition to the informed opinions of Gazette editors.
Giving board members a ‘B’ is hardly a fail. The Gazette gave fair and realistic grades that reflected the impact those individuals had this year. If you give everyone an ‘A’ for doing an adequate job then how do you acknowledge the work of those people that go above and beyond, like Dan Moulton and Sacha Kumar?