The clock has run out on Cody Wells and Kathleen Bordelon.
Today the Student Government president and vice president will close the book on their tenure at the helm of SG.
The signature twang in Wells’ voice has been a familiar component of countless campus events this year. Wells has certainly filled his role as SG figurehead, and it’s obvious his love for the University runs deep.
Wells and Bordelon say they’re proud of their work, and on the surface it seems they have reason to be. They have completed 14 of their 22 campaign initiatives, with five still in progress and only three left incomplete.
But a deeper look into the Wells administration’s accomplishments is less satisfactory.
Wells hasn’t been without his bright spots, but it’s difficult to pinpoint specific reasons to call his term a success. Instead, his transgressions dominate his legacy.
Wells crossed LSU’s LGBT students in November 2011 by refusing to support a resolution recognizing October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month. He didn’t veto it, but he didn’t sign it, either. It was the only time he refused to sign something the Senate passed.
Wells claimed he didn’t sign it because he didn’t want to set a precedent that any group on campus could have its own history month. But it’s protocol for the president to either support or oppose legislation concretely.
Wells’ excuse was spineless, and The Daily Reveille’s assessment is that his long-rumored intolerance of gay students was rearing its ugly head.
Wells gave another important group of students the shaft in August when he eliminated the only Tiger Trails bus stop at East Campus Apartments. He rerouted the Purple Trail to mirror the Gold Trail, which created a second route mostly serving Greek Row. He left ECA residents without a bus to transport them to class.
The change was the result of a student survey, according to Wells, himself a Greek. The kicker? Only Greek students were surveyed.
Student Government’s visibility also took a step back this year.
LSU’s fight against budget cuts was front and center last year as former SG President J Hudson caught the elusive attention of Gov. Bobby Jindal – and the national media – by criticizing the governor for ignoring his state. Hudson eventually secured a personal meeting with Jindal.
Wells criticized Hudson’s showy approach and said he’s been more successful by developing personal relationships with legislators. But we’ve seen few signs of that success beyond Wells’ echoes of the sentiments of University administrators, and his most tangible plan to make a real difference – winning a seat on the LSU Board of Supervisors – proved futile.
Following Wells’ topsy-turvy year, today’s inauguration of Taylor Cox and Carrie Hebert marks a clean slate for SG’s executive branch. We hope this time the missteps won’t outweigh the triumphs.
 
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