by Alastair Pearson ’14
DURING THE 2012-13 SCHOOL YEAR, PRESIDENT ZUPAN WON THE ELECTION ON A CAMPAIGN OF CHANGE. HE SAID HE WOULD TRANSFORM LIFE ON CAMPUS. THE IGNATIUS POLITICAT SERIES WILL CHECK HIS CLAIMS AND POST UPDATES ON HIS TERM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THE SECOND POLITICAT ARTICLE FOCUSES ON ZUPAN’S TRACK RECORD SO FAR: HOMECOMING, FULFILLING PROMISES, PROMOTING SCHOOL SPIRIT, AND KEEPING STUDENT SENATE IN LINE AND ON DEADLINE.
Homecoming
828 couples attended Homecoming, bringing total attendance to a jam-packed 1,656 dancers. Each one of those couples had to pay a pricey $40 bid to gain access to a dance that was generally viewed as a success, despite an occasionally objectionable soundtrack and a perceived lack of enthusiasm for the throwback “Great Catsby” theme.
Although Zupan said that Senate was hampered by a low balance sheet at the end of last year ramping up the cost of attendance represents what could be a willingness to pass costs along to the student body. Seniors like Matt Kobunski were not pleased.
“The bid was grossly overpriced,” Kobunski said. “What are you trying to get out of kids? $40 for a bid – kids at other schools pay $35, $30. I know this is Saint Ignatius and we overprice everything, but come on.”
From a management perspective, Homecoming itself was executed with few significant flaws. Students did give negative feedback about song selection, for which Zupan accepts responsibility.
“Personally, criticism, I forgot to remove the Cha-Cha slide,” Zupan said. He noted that the choice to play the Cupid Shuffle was unacceptable as well as the quality of the gym decor, provided by an outside contractor. If errors were made, he’s facing up to the responsibility – but the fact remains that price jumped. GRADE: B+
School Spirit
Despite promises to promote school spirit, cheering has been down at football games, which Zupan acknowledges. He chalks the lowered enthusiasm up to the increased number of games with out-of-state teams and the revolving door at the quarterback position.
“We took a big hit this year in terms of attendance,” he said. “We just don’t know who we’re playing.”
Although Zupan is not officially connected with the Gold Man Group, the student organization formed to increase attendance at non-mainstream sporting events, he said he understood the group’s struggles to increase attend and realizes how difficult it is for most students to attend competitions.
“It’s impossible for me to even go to those games,” Zupan said. “Nothing against the team. They’re doing really well.”
Student Senate co-moderator, Mr. Popelka, who works with Mr. Kelley as a faculty advisor to Senate, said that he understood Zupan’s difficulties and noted that the school community has historically resisted spirit initiatives. GRADE: C+
Goobye Winter Formal, Hello Carnivale
The first Senate pre-Class Competition planning meeting has been held, and the elimination of the winter dance has been confirmed. Winter formal is to be replaced by an event following the Class Competition, which students can expect to be relatively informal compared to most school events.
“I’ll just give you one word that we’re considered: carnival. From there, imaginations can wonder,” Zupan said.
Mr. Popelka confirmed the elimination of the dance and said that students should not feel that they have to bring dates, although he tried to skirt around using the term “mixer” to describe the event.
Mixers may conjure repressed memories of awkward flirting and arms-length dancing for upperclassmen, but Zupan said that the event he has planned will be worth students’ time. We’ll see. GRADE: A-
Getting the Job Done
When it comes to the basic duties of the job, which include attending Boards of Regents meetings, organizing events like Freshman Spirit Day and Open House, leading Student Senate meetings and tracking Senate initiatives, Zupan seems to be on top of things. His superiors agree.
“We’ve been lucky. We’ve had a lot of good presidents,” Popelka said.[pullquote]
“There’s never a day Mike’s not doing something.” Mr. Popelka
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Popelka said that Zupan clearly loves the school and has displayed a solid work ethic as well as a willingness to delegate when necessary to fellow officers like cabinet member Blake Yoho.
“If he tells Blake to do something, it’s going to get done,” Popelka said. “There’s never a day Mike’s not doing something.”
Zupan said that he appreciated the good reviews from Mr. Popelka, which he said were rare.
“The only positive feedback he ever gives is ‘We did alright,’” Zupan said.
He’s managing the easy things well – but not all presidents are organized, and that means something. GRADE: A+
Overall Grade: A-
Zupan’s got most things under control, even if he jacked up homecoming bids. The challenge will be making sure the long-term vision happens, maintaining spirit, and keeping everything on schedule while he manages his own college application season.
School spirit will probably never be as enthusiastic as presidents want. Students have more things on their mind than cheering and institutional camaraderie. The real test of Zupan’s presidency will be the Class Competition. For an indicator of how he manages big projects, watch for the rollout of the race relations survey at the start of the 2nd semester.
