Ask a student what candidates for Undergraduate Council president are promising, and most will mention more student group funding, more student input in policy-making and more social events.
Few will be able to tell you what the council president actually does.
Along with the prestigious title, the winning candidate will receive a score of responsibilities both within and outside of the council.
Looking at the council constitution and bylaws, it appears that the president's only responsibility is to appoint committee chairs. But administrative functions are a large part of the 20 to 25 hours current council President Noah Z. Seton '00 says he spends on council business every week.
The president's main managerial task--running general meetings of the council and the weekly Executive Board meetings--can be less glamorous than it appears.
"Chairing the meeting, that's not the most fun thing," Seton says. "To have to navigate through all the parliamentary procedure."
Being in charge also prevents the council president from speaking out on issues that come up during a council meeting. In order to do so, the president must cede control of the meeting to the vice president for the length of the debate.
Seton says acting as an impartial moderator is one of the more difficult parts of the job.
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