"As far as UKA...the fact that we were able to convince him to do that is something that I'm overjoyed about," Seton says.
But discussions with the administration more often than not turn into uphill battles.
At one of their first meetings with the Committee on Undergraduate Education, Seton, council Vice President Kamil E. Redmond '00 and committee chair John Paul Rollert '00 argued strongly against abolishing the use of Advanced Placement (AP) test scores to gain exemptions from Core science classes.
"We sat there and pleaded," he recalled. "We were just leaving it all on the table, trying to get them to keep the science AP exemptions."
Seton shrugs: "I guess you win some, and you lose some."
Lewis says dealing with the council president is less about wins and losses than about a meeting of student and administrative minds.
"I think the most important thing is a spirit of collegiality and rationality and cooperation," Lewis says. "With all the presidents I have worked with, I have found the meetings extremely valuable two-way streets."