Nearing the end of her three-year term and after attempting resignation last spring, Student Trustee Christina Henke said she achieved her goal of gaining respect for her position on the University Board of Trustees.

However, some student leaders say she may not have had the time to be effective in her position and did not speak up as often as she might have.

"She pretty much fits the stereotype most alumni have of students not being very vocal on major issues at the University," said Jeff McCarty, president of the Lesbian and Gay Student Alliance.

While Graduate Student Association President Ken Martin agreed Henke might not have been vocal during meetings, he said she must have worked behind the scenes in order to gain the respect of other trustees.

"I do think most of the board received her fairly well," Martin said. And the board would not have given her that reception if she had not effectively dealt with student issues, he said.

Henke is quiet and reserved -- "a voice of reason" on the University Student Advisory Board -- but not a loud voice to the trustees, said Judy Falce, president of USAB and the Organization for Town Independent Students. The student trustee is already at a disadvantage on the board, Falce said.

"Being a student who doesn't say a whole lot doesn't help matters much," she added.

But Henke said she has achieved her major goals during her term -- including gaining respect for the student trustee.

"I wanted the other trustees to come to respect me as an individual, but also respect the student trustee position," Henke said. "It's . . . less work to maintain that relationship than it was to get it in the first place."

Board President J. Lloyd Huck agreed Henke had earned the respect of other board members.

"She is well respected by the others; I've never heard anyone speak critically of her," Huck said. "She doesn't speak up on every issue at the meetings. She waits until she has something to contribute."

Another goal was to increase student notification of tuition increases, a matter she mentioned to the board at several meetings during her tenure, she said. The board established next year's base 6 percent increase in September. In the past, the board has not announced tuition increases until its July meeting.

As student trustee, Henke also sits on USAB and is responsible for bringing its resolutions to the board. She has done so with such issues as the inclusion of sexual orientation in the University's Act of Intolerance policy.

When she announced she would resign, the state Secretary of Education would not accept her letter of resignation, she said. She planned to resign because her status as a doctoral candidate in molecular cell biology required hours of laboratory work and publication deadlines.

Henke said this year she has had to reschedule in order to fulfill her obligations, but added the work has also been less stressful.

Last year a number of student protests and disagreements among student leaders caused her job to take more time than it does now, Henke said.

"This year I haven't had anything as difficult," she said.

While some student leaders think Henke has worked well with the trustees, others said she could have been more active in communicating with other student leaders.

"I've watched her work with the board and I think she's been very effective," said Undergraduate Student Government President Janyne Althaus. Henke voices student concerns in a diplomatic manner, she said.

However, Martin, vice president of USAB, said she might have been more involved with student organizations and leaders.

"She wasn't as active as I would have liked to see," Martin said.

She did not regularly attend USAB meetings and was not at more than one GSA meeting during her tenure on the board, he said. Last spring, Henke asked proxies to attend USAB meetings in her place.

Despite her lack of interaction with USAB, some student leaders thought she was concerned with their input.

"At no time did I feel she did not listen to student concerns or that she thought them unimportant," Althaus said. But Althaus agreed a closer relationship with USAB would have helped Henke maintain communication with student leaders.

Henke said during her term on the board she has consulted with every USAB organization at some point and also with student groups not represented on USAB.

She also tried to keep in touch with students by living in an undergraduate dorm and by putting a suggestion box at the HUB desk.

Although student leaders understand Henke's time constraints, they would like the next student trustee to establish better communication with them.

Falce acknowledged that Henke was very busy, but said the next student trustee should spend more time consulting students. OTIS has received much more encouragement from other members of USAB than from Henke, she said.

"We haven't gotten a lot of input or support from the student trustee," Falce said. "(The next student trustee) needs to be more in touch with student leaders and with those leaders' constituents."

McCarty said LGSA also received more help from other USAB members than from Henke.

"I don't know of anything she's done consciously for us," he said.

Although she presented the USAB proposal for Acts of Intolerance sexual orientation clause to the trustees, she was not an advocate of it during USAB meetings, McCarty said.

He said he would like to see the next student trustee be more involved with both the trustees and with students.

USAB must choose candidates for the next trustee by March 7, Falce said. Last year, when Henke was expected to resign they received about 30 applicants for the position and expect at least as many this year, she said.

As of Wednesday, USAB had no applicants, Falce said.

"Most students aren't really aware the position is open," she said.

During the next few weeks, USAB will run advertisements for applications. A committee will screen those applicants and nominate two or three for the trustee position, she said.

The governor nominates a student trustee among candidates suggested by the University Student Advisory Board and the student must be confirmed by the Senate.