ans to increase mental health awareness and facilitate the completion of long-term projects. CG will also work toward becoming more accessible and fostering a sense of community between Senate and the rest of the student population. The Cabinet’s ultimate goal is to transform CG into a better liaison between students and the administration.
CG’s main long-term project is to promote mental health awareness. The 2013-2014 Cabinet also focused on mental health on campus by comparing Wellesley’s tactics for dealing with mental health to those of other universities.
At the end of the last academic year, CG distributed a survey to gauge students’ understanding of mental health and of the resources available on campus. CG plans to release the results of this survey within the next two weeks.
“It is important that we are listening to students and hearing exactly what they are saying based on their experiences,” CG President Hana Glasser ’15 said.
After releasing the survey results, CG hopes to enlist the help of the administration to deal with this issue.
“CG certainly has a lot of resources that we can put toward helping students, but this is also a case where what we’re looking to do in the end is punch up the institutional resources that are available,” Glasser said.
Glasser also emphasizes the need for a deepened sense of institutional memory so projects started in one year, like mental health initiatives, can continue into the next.
“I’m really thinking about how we can pass down the things we are working on so that other people can pick up the ball and run with it. Long-term goals are so important,” Glasser said.
The Cabinet also plans to modify the role of senators. Although the requirements to be a senator have been static in recent years, Glasser plans to enforce attendance and commitment more than previous CG presidents have.
Cabinet envisions the Senate becoming more project-based. Senators will be required to complete action items or serve on committees. They will also be classified as new senators or executive senators, and the latter will be required to take on more responsibility.
Glasser also hopes to establish an award system that would recognize the hard work of individual senators.
In order to promote accessibility and transparency between Senate and students at large, Cabinet plans to hold an event titled “Hackathon” on Oct. 22. The aim of the event is to allow students to brainstorm ideas for short-term projects that they would like to see addressed by senators’ committees this year.
In addition, the Cabinet wants to promote greater accessibility by hosting regular office hours and by sharing information through their Facebook page.
“We really want to hear from students about how we’re doing and what we’re doing. Come to office hours and come to Senate. Get involved on a CG committee or in a CG project. Send us an email,” Glasser said.
The other members of the CG Cabinet also have position-specific goals.
Student Bursar Eugene Lee ’15 promised in her campaign statement to make sure that the Bursar’s office was more accessible, approachable and accountable.
Her goals for this year include reorganizing the Bursar’s website to make it more user-friendly, finding sustainable methods of fundraising for sports teams and launching a comparative study to see how other universities run organizations like SOFC. She also plans to develop a five year plan for the bursar’s office.
Multicultural Affairs Coordinator Timothy Boatwright ’16 stated in his campaign that he plans to respond to student voices, unify diverse groups and develop a reporting system for hurtful interactions with the faculty on the basis of identity.
His goals this year include increasing connections between cultural organizations and empowering Community Action Network (CAN) representatives in House Councils to initiate CAN discussions within the community.
Beth Feldstein ’15 was re-elected as the Chair of Political and Legislative Awareness (CPLA) and promised to support multi-partisanship and communication between different political groups as well as to expand CPLA to better serve political groups on campus.
As CPLA chair, her goals include promoting CPLA, formalizing roles within the organization and developing goals for what the committee should be doing in election years vs. non-election years.
While running for Director of On Campus Affairs (DOOCA) Alice Yuan ’15 promised to increase the dialogue between students and the Schneider Board of Governors (SBOG) and strive for more transparency as to how SBOG decisions are made.
This year, her goals include changing the SBOG constitution to ensure that it more accurately reflects the current job of the organization, which includes making all students feel welcome at events and increasing feedback.
While campaigning, Secretary-Treasurer Adeline Lee ’16 promised to use CG to enhance the academic and interpersonal lives of students. This year she plans to focus on creating a CG website, maintaining social media sites, working to train senators and increasing CG fundraising.
In her campaign, Vice President Charlotte Harris ’16 promised to minimize over-programming and help students find a place within the Wellesley community. Her goals this year include encouraging organizations to collaborate on events, streamlining the Student Organization and Appointments Committee (SOAC) website and informing Wellesley community members of how they can become involved with committees.
During her campaign, Chief Justice Katherine Tran ’15 emphasized increasing understanding of the Honor Code and encouraging communication among students. Her goals this year include creating polls to gauge reaction to the Honor Code, creating content that explains the Honor Code and adding a cultural section to the code.
Finally, House President Council and CG Liaison Ayana Aaron ’15 aims to keep senators organized as they carry out tasks and ensure that dorms have enough students in other positions so that senators are not carrying business to CG that could be handled by other groups.
Glasser hopes that come next election period, every Cabinet position is contested. To her, this would prove that students regard CG as a body that initiates change and achieves goals.
“I want us to have a community that is inclusive and one that is invested and always working for each other — that is, bigger than just the Senate chamber,” Glasser said. “I want us to continue creating opportunities for people to come together and support each other.”
