When Undergraduate Student Government President Janyne Althaus and Vice President Bill Novick give up their offices next week, they will leave a mixed legacy for the next executive officers.

The outgoing executives did expand USG's role as a student service organization. Most notably, they established the Department of Safety. In only its first year, the department has offered education programs on safety issues to the Greek community and dorms and sponsored Safety Awareness Week.

But Althaus and Novick leave behind a badly fractured student government and a history of ignoring many student issues.

In her final address to the USG Senate this week, Althaus blamed her poor working relationship with the senate entirely on its members, instead of questioning her own behavior. This lack of tact has characterized her term.

Althaus and Novick promised to work for students by creating a less adversarial relationship with the administration; however, their actions this year often indicated they did not always act in students' best interests.

Clearly they were not working for students when they decided an open budget would not help their constituency. On 84 percent of the ballots that put them in office, students voted in favor of an open budget.

Althaus was not working in students' interests when she obtained senate members' social security numbers.

She was not working for students when she lied to the senate about her process for selecting those students she would nominate to represent undergraduates in the search for the next University president.

Althaus and Novick were obviously not working for their constituency when they failed to demand the addition of a sexual orientation clause to the University's non-discrimination policy, or to speak out strongly against various intolerant acts that occurred on campus during Fall Semester.

The outgoing executives did speak out on a few student issues, such as abortion and safety. They also established longer hours for Pollock Library and Redifer Computer Lab.

But despite these accomplishments, Althaus' and Novick's inability to work with others or to continue the long-term goals started by other administrations has prevented them from addressing many important student issues.

All things considered, their term has set back the undergraduate population they were supposed to represent.