It represents all facets of the College. It deals with students, faculty and alumni. It has money and authority at its disposal. Very few students, however, know of its purpose or existence. It is the Arts and Sciences Council.
"We have an Arts and Sciences Council?" first-year College student Erin Elwell asked.
Even students who said they had heard of it didn't know its purpose.
"I really have no clue whatsoever," first-year College student Toni Haber said.
Other students agreed, often confusing the ASC with Student Council.
"I got them confused," second-year College student Andrew D'huyvetter said. After naming Student Council responsibilities as the purpose of the ASC, he concluded that, "I have no idea what the Arts and Sciences Council does."
First-year College student Harry Blodgett said he assumes the ASC deals with College students' issues.
"I really don't know of anything that they have done to affect me personally," Blodgett said.
Most students said they based their knowledge of newly-elected ASC officers strictly on election biographies.
Consequently, the lack of understanding regarding the Arts and Sciences Council may contribute to lack of competition for executive positions within the Arts and Sciences Council in the past election.
This year, all offices -- with the exception of president -- were unopposed.
Both past and new officers, however, said they are dedicated to the ASC and its purpose.
"The fundamental goal of the Arts and Sciences Council is to foster a sense of unity within the College of Arts and Sciences ... The Council is dedicated to focusing on the academic and social needs of the College student body," the ASC Web site said.
According to their constitution, the ASC aims to create student academic advising, improve student relationships with faculty, increase identity within the College and strengthen relations with College alumni.
With such and seemingly visible aims, it may seem surprising to many students that they are not more aware of the ASC's activities.
Third-year College student and outgoing ASC President Elizabeth Huff said this year's biggest event is yet to come. The event, "College Week," takes place the first week in April and celebrates life in the College.
College Week is supposed "to show student identity in the College and bring all areas of the College together," Huff said.
Other events sponsored by the ASC include majors fairs, professor appreciation projects and a special debit card that allows students to take their professors to lunch.
"I think the ASC plays an important role in conveying to the faculty the interests of the undergraduates in the College," said Dean Gordon Stewart, the ASC's faculty advisor. "They also provide services to College students in terms of academic advising, programs, and in prompting their generous program of students being able to invite their instructors to lunch."
As the faculty advisor, Stewart said he serves on an advisory board consisting of faculty and administrators in addition to being directly available to the student officers. He also oversees the distribution of funds.
The ASC student officers "have made very responsible decisions over the years in this regard," Stewart said.
In addition to this responsibility, Huff said one of her goals has been to have student representatives from every department on the Arts and Sciences Council.
Although most departments currently are represented, it was difficult to find representatives from smaller groups such as students in interdisciplinary majors, Huff said.
Third-year College student and incoming ASC President Mollie Sledd, said she has learned and become active within the ASC through Huff's recruitment of representatives.
Huff said she does not think that departments lacking representation are a reflection of the somewhat unknown status of the ASC. Additionally, she said she does not think student unawareness of the ASC led to a largely uncontested election this year.
Instead, Huff said she thought the large workload and responsibility assigned to officers deterred many College students.
"It's true that most people don't really know about the Arts and Sciences Council" Huff said. "We've done some outreach but obviously more should be done."
There was a considerable amount of outreach to students at the beginning of the year, specifically the Student Activities Fair, she added.
"I am afraid that many students are still probably unaware of our function" Sledd said. "At the same time, we like to maintain a professional atmosphere -- one that is perhaps easier to preserve with a quieter, less ostentatious profile."Sledd offered this low profile and the officers' large workload as possible reasons there were so many uncontested races.
She said she would like to see more qualified students run for ASC offices in the future. She also would like students to be more aware of the services ASC offers.
"One of the ways we are currently working on increasing our profile is through large-scale events," Sledd said.
Stewart said he was unaware that competition in the election was limited this year.
He also said he wished "that more students knew about the ASC."
The ASC has had a long development that eventually culminated in its current purpose.
The ASC has been dedicated to similar goals for over 100 years despite its transformation in form and name.
In its early years, the ASC was known as "The College Council," the ASC Web site said.
The College Council differed from the ASC in that the president and vice-president of the College Council served as representatives to the Honor Committee.
The Chair of the Honor Committee traditionally was the president of the College Council, the Web site stated.
The College Council eventually was renamed the "College Advisory Board" in 1993. The officers no longer served as Honor Representatives. Additionally, the position of historian was removed and a treasurer was added.
The Board was changed to the present day Arts and Sciences Council in February 2000 to clarify its purpose.
According to an article in a 2000 Cavalier Daily, "confusion among University students about the identity and role of the College Advisory Board" prompted the Board to change its name to the Arts and Sciences Council.
The ASC's purpose was restated as an attempt "to provide an undergraduate Arts and Sciences government to represent the interests, ambitions, and academic needs of College of Arts and Sciences students," the Web site said.
With greater awareness of its purpose, many student organizations could be aided by receiving an additional source of funding from the ASC.
According to Huff, the ASC sets aside a specific amount of money in its budget each year to use in cosponsoring events with other student groups.
Recent recipients of funding included the African American Affairs peer advising program, Shakespeare on the Lawn and speakers related to educational opportunities. Additionally, more money was distributed last year than the budget had planned for, Huff said.
Sledd said she invites all College students to attend the ASC's meetings in Garrett Hall Commons every Wednesday night at 6:30.
Potentially, the ASC could have a profound impact on a variety of organizations throughout the University -- if only students knew it existed.
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