Tommy Smithburg, newly elected vice president of Associated Student Government and former president of Delta Upsilon, is attempting to teach himself about ancient Roman civilization. Don’t worry – the new ASG cabinet is not planning gladiator death-matches for NU – he’s just studying for a midterm. The busy student took a break from the Romans and the search for NU Day at Wrigley tickets to talk about building a government, how he reacted after winning the election and whether he plans on running for president – of the U.S., that is.
What it’s like to be elected VP?
The first thing we did was scream and dance. I think I tackled Mike. We ate Friday and Saturday nights, and I threw a barbecue. Everyone on the campaign was invited. There were burgers and hot dogs for everyone.
What does the VP do, compared to the president?
The president does a lot of strategic thinking, sets the general direction of where the boat’s going. The VP fills in the gaps when it comes to finding resources for people, keeping people accountable and making sure that no matter what, at the end of the day, all of the directors are producing something for the students. The last thing is elevating projects.
Do you have any political aspirations beyond NU?
People ask me that, they are like ‘You’re becoming a politician.’ When I joined ASG, the last thing I wanted to be was a politician. I hate that word. The only thing I wanted to do was make NU life a little better. During the campaign, I was thinking: How could anyone do this for two years? It is so draining to be up for between 16-20 hours a day, and working straight on a campaign. That’s like, working straight on something for 16 hours per day. I definitely don’t envy anyone who does that.
Why did you step down as president of DU?
It was a tough decision. It was definitely a very interesting year – a lot of meetings with Mary Desler, who we’re on good terms with now, by the way. I was young; I was a sophomore president. We needed someone older who was more experienced as a president. I was doing a lot of things that were definitely intuitive, but as I would learn later on were not the right way to do things. The person who learned the most from that experience was myself.
Your favorite thing about Northwestern?
The opportunity. If you want to do something, you can do it. It’s that simple. I came in to ASG and in three weeks we had a ride share Web site up, I didn’t do it by myself. We came together and we got it done. We had something up and running before winter break, and we were able to save students money.
How has your free time changed since getting into office?
The hardest part was the campaign. One of my classes I didn’t go to for three weeks. I’m actually in the middle of learning the rise and fall of Roman Civilization. It’s definitely a lot more balanced now. I can go to class; I can still hang out with my family. I live in Chicago, so I can go home. I usually don’t sit in the office. A lot of the work is done sporadically. If I’m bored in class, I’ll start shooting e-mails for ASG.
Have there been any surprises so far in your term?
I was surprised to see how a lot of people were willing to just move on from the elections and say ‘Let’s get to work.’ During the heated parts of the election, some people were worried people were going to leave. But, the passion people have in ASG no matter who is leading was surprising, and I was definitely happy to see it.
