At the start of each Associated Student Government meeting, outgoing President Mike Fong would pace around the Senate floor and tell a random joke or story to get the members ready for business.

Whether it was a brainteaser or a saga about a friend’s trial-filled love life, Fong’s technique of opening the meeting in such an informal, personal manner exemplified the leadership style he carried to other aspects of ASG throughout his presidency.

“It’s nice when the leader of the group can be loose,” said Kawika Pierson, a McCormick senior who served for two years as speaker of the Senate.

Fong, the underdog presidential candidate who won against Medill senior Michael Blake in a run-off election last spring, said he decided to share personal stories as a method of showing senators he was approachable.

This same focus on fostering community was the strongest point of his time in office. Fong, a Weinberg senior majoring in economics, said the main part of his job focused on creating stability and community among senators.

“He is a master delegate,” said David Kim, a Weinberg sophomore who serves as an 1835 Hinman senator. “He knows the role of a president — he trusts his vice presidents and gives them the tools to accomplish things.”

Helen Wood, staff adviser to ASG, said Fong successfully kept the executive board cohesive. He also understood ASG’s role within the Northwestern community, allowing him to become a liaison with the NU administration.

Fong led with a different style than past presidents. He focused on the Senate as a whole instead of attempting to work on side projects, allowing him to center on fostering a close-knit executive board, as well as a more unified, stable membership.

“In my administration I learned the best thing to do is take on zero projects on my own,” he said.

But one of Fong’s obstacles was helping students, ASG’s constituents, understand ASG’s role and what the group accomplished.

“It’s the kind of ‘What have you done for me lately?’ syndrome,” Wood said. “Mike’s leadership in terms of that was his challenge.”

Some of the main points of Fong’s presidential platform became a reality this year — including a system to rank off-campus housing, increased campus safety and the implementation of Norris bar nights.

“We’re gradually getting the people in charge to get around to our way of thinking,” Fong said.

Under Fong’s presidency, ASG’s operating budget was one of the highest in the group’s history. Paying for a new copier, student access to a Web site on legal issues and additions to Fall Quarter’s annual activities fair cost ASG about $10,000, Fong said.

“It’s basically a lot of costs that hit us that were really unavoidable,” he said.

Some senators contested the $6,500 cost of the new copier. But Fong said the Senate attempted to cut the budget in other ways, such as refraining from buying new office furniture and decreasing its publicity/outreach budget.

Fong’s term also included the creation of the Northwestern Community Building Initiative, the redistricting controversy and reactions to Fall Quarter’s hate crimes.

Fong avoided writing bills himself, instead facilitating interaction between senators and adminstrators, Wood said.

Kim said most of Fong’s work was behind the scenes, but that’s what a great president does — give people the advice and assistance to do well.

Part of being a successful president also requires interaction with various people, from administrators to senators, and understanding their viewpoints, Fong said.

“It’s a matter of being a good listener, of seeing where people are coming from, of getting inside their heads,” he said.

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Outgoing ASG President Mike Fong enjoys the view of the lagoon from his office in Norris University Center Thursday.

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Jessica Gdowski/The Daily Northwestern