OutofRudder wrote:

nav lights out (aren't they supposed to be disconnected and labeled inoperative?),

Don't think so, but you can't fly at night without them. Of course, you shouldn't
be up at night at this stage anyway.

primer frozen shut (POH says to use the primer, not pump the throttle),

IMO, this is serious. Many fires occur by pumping the throttle of an updraft
carb.

nosewheel is dry and cracked,

This isn't necessarily a problem. As long as the cracks don't go as deep as the
casing, the tire is fine.

and radio was intermittent and even cut out completely once on my CFI and me.

Unless you're flying out of controlled airports, this is good experience. Radios
are optional.

Not only were none of the previously mentioned squawks resolved,
but run-up revealed a dead vacuum pump and a significant magneto/plug problem
on the right with rough-running engine.

You can't expect the 100 hour to catch a bad vacuum pump - it's not on the list
of items to inspect, but the ignition system is. My plane came out of annual with
a miss-timed mag once, and I never took it back to that shop. Of course, what you
describe could be a fouled plug, as far as I know. Do you know exactly what the
problem was?

Is it reasonable for a student to expect that airplane coming out of a 100-hr
or an annual should have fewer squawks than it did going in?

Not necessarily. The purpose of the inspection is to determine the airworthiness
of the plane, not find everything wrong with it. There is a list of items the A&P
is supposed to check. Radios are not on there. Tires and magneto timing are.

I feel it should have been up to my CFI to speak up about the
maintenance on behalf of ALL the students, not up to one of the students.

Lessee here - when you complained to these guys, they told you where to go. You
seriously expect the CFI to risk his job over your concerns? If the CFI felt that
the plane was dangerous, he might complain about it for his own sake, but don't
expect him to back you up if he's willing to take the risk.

George Patterson
Great discoveries are not announced with "Eureka!". What's usually said is
"Hummmmm... That's interesting...."