FUSA President Hutchinson Williams ’08 is synonymous with red wigs, face paint and Fairfield Fridays. But has the man behind the costume achieved what he told the student body that elected him he would?
When Williams, who is approaching the midpoint of his second term, first ran for president in 2006, he claimed six broad campaign platform points: school unity, diversity, academics, improving student and town relations, FUSA unity and creating traditions.
While his campaign platforms were not necessarily concrete plans, Williams believes he has fulfilled his part of the election bargain.
“Looking back to spring 2006, I think we have made great strides to all of those six points,” he said.
Specifically noting new programs such as Midnight Madness, the late-night basketball practice and rally, and older events, such as the annual Bring in the New Year Bash, Williams said he has worked diligently to increase school unity.
Williams also argues he has contributed more to the Fairfield community than just school spirit.
“Everyone says I’m about school spirit, but I prefer to call it school pride. It’s all encompassing; it isn’t just about basketball games. It’s about pride in your academics, your major, your dorm,” he said.
In that aspect, Williams looks to the advancement in peer advising and the event, major decisions, organized with the Alumni Association to have alumni return to campus to discuss their post-graduate lives, as evidence of his dedication to academics.
Some students, however, believe Williams’s efforts are lacking.
“I have not personally felt the impact of his policies on my academic life,” said Patrick Scanlan ’08.
According to Williams, FUSA has continually tried to integrate various cultures into student life, primarily through events such as the Black Violins, a black hip hop and classical music group. Williams has also worked to increase the FUSA budget in order to fund groups such as SALSA and the Asian Student Association.
Some students also fail to see significant results of Williams’s work on diversity.
Luke Strong ’08 recognizes the efforts, but he has his doubts about the impact.
“I know he really tries with diversity, I just think it doesn’t resonate in this school,” he said.
Though Williams has focused much of his attention on the greater school community, he has also tried to integrate the FUSA community by increasing communication among the executive board and the Senate and beginning a FUSA-sponsored Web site.
Senate Chairman Tim Rich ’08 believes Williams has enhanced the FUSA situation, but also sees room for improvement.
“I would say the tone of relations between the Senate and the president of FUSA and his executive cabinet have significantly improved since my election to the position of chair of Senate,” he said.
However, that does not mean the relations are perfect.
“Occasionally the FUSA President and the cabinet secretaries omit information they have when sharing information on issues deemed sensitive,” said Rich, noting that some FUSA officials withheld information regarding the failed garden apartments plan.
But it is his promise of working on traditions that has arguably been Williams’s greatest setback. It was under his administration that Spam Jam was canceled, a source of anger for many members of the student body. Williams, however, is not deterred, stating that forming new traditions, including soccer bonfires, is a way of making up for lost ones.
“We fought hard for the students,” he said, “and I think it is important to fight for the past, but it is also important to look to the future.”
However, some students wish he would place more emphasis on the traditions that have been a staple throughout University history, not just the years of Williams’s presidency.
“I think he is better at creating new traditions than preserving old ones,” Jenny Kazee ’08 said. “But I wish he would work on bringing back old ones, like Clam Jam.”
But while Williams may not have fully achieved all that he promised while campaigning, politics professor John Orman notes that campaign promises are often geared toward an idealistic world.
“Running for president is different than governing. Every time you make a promise you’re essentially saying, ‘If everyone is on my side, this is what I will do.’ But that’s never the case,” he said.
And Williams is trying to create that ideal environment for the years to come.
“I’ve been blessed to be in this position for two years, and I have tried to build a solid foundation that those who follow me can build off of and continue,” he said.
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