CG Elections, Active Campaigning Begins on March 15th at 8:00 AM
Udita Bajaj ’22 (she/her), College Government President Candidate
Dear Wellesley,
Close your eyes for a minute. I urge you to transport not only your mind, but also your heart to a year ago, when our world turned upside down. But something special happened as well. Remember getting multiple notifications on Facebook from Wellesley Alumni reaching out with any and every assistance they could offer? Did you see how Wellesley Professors and students opened up their homes to each other? Moments of Wellesley students running across the quad to give a sib cardboard boxes, offering an extra mask and gloves for protection on their flight back home, offering a ride to anyone who needs it, being a shoulder to cry on as tears flooded the campus are etched in my mind, and I’m sure they are too in yours.
“That was when I really thought I was glad to come to this college,” said a friend when I expressed this to them yesterday. Replaying those moments in my heart filled me with such love and gratitude towards our community, that even in the face of adversity, I know as long as we have each other, we will thrive.
We’ve seen what Wellesley can be. And to help make it our every-day reality,
I pledge to make love and compassion the pillars of my service to you.
I dedicate myself to you, your voice, and your needs, to always be available as a resource to you.
I commit to always being patient in action, and fight for your rights, as hard as that fight may be.
I promise to embrace uncomfortable conversations and action, standing for righteousness.
I vow to do my best to represent you to our administration, making every voice feel as powerful as they are.
As your College Government President, I will do this and more.
The pandemic brings the need to cultivate community and connection amongst College Government and Wellesley at large, which I aim to bring from my experience as a Ministrare Fellow this past year. The usual responsibilities of the Ministrare Council were replaced by creating a body of support for Wellesley students to use as a resource to look for volunteer opportunities in their own communities. By working with 2 administrators, 5 other fellows, and my teammates to train volunteers and coordinators, to ensure support was being offered across the globe, and to make sure everyone’s voice was heard, accounted for, and translated to conversation and action, I learnt the meaning of
leadership. Leadership isn’t one person in charge of a body of people. It is the ability to take responsibility for oneself and the other, and channel a multitude of perspectives towards achieving one final goal.
Taking this ideology with me, my goal is to engage College Government with different organizations on campus and make the student body feel further connected to College Government, and by extension, the administration. We must bridge this divide and together, as one, spread love, kindness, and connection.
In the words of Maya Angelou, which I hold very close to my heart – “Your legacy is every life you touch.” So, Wellesley, together, let’s touch lives. Let’s build our legacy.
Giselle Mota ’22 (she/her), College Government President Candidate
It was almost a year ago today that marks, arguably, one of the largest changes in Wellesley College history. Whether this looked like navigating a new workplace as a student essential worker, protesting in a global movement, awaiting the news of a historic presidential election or just trying to figure out how to pay attention in a three hour Zoom class, this past year has been anything but easy. Yet, it is in this spirit of change, perseverance, and strength that I offer you all my candidacy for College Government President.
My first week at Wellesley, I remember walking into the Pomeroy living room excited and optimistic to run for Pom senator. I remember even more vividly the disappointment leaving the room having lost. With that loss, I felt prompted to invest in other parts of campus life. I devoted time to civic engagement by tutoring for two years at Massachusetts Correctional Institutions. I chose to grow my relationships with the Harambee House community by serving two years on the Ethos E-board and joining Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Most recently, I began a fundraising initiative called Sweets to the Streets that has allowed me to bring together my passions for service and baking on Wellesley’s campus. I have even been given the opportunity to live my DJ fantasy and redo my sucky prom only ten times better at Tau Zeta Epsilon’s little brick house. These groups have played the largest role in my ability to truly enjoy Wellesley and knowing their importance, I am hopeful at the opportunity to bring this same sense of community to College Government. That being said, I am here to answer the question, “Giselle, why College Government President?”
Simply put, I have been inspired by my Wellesley peers. Up until this summer, I had never truly known the magnitude of power that students’ minds, voices, and collectivity held not only on our campus, but across the globe. To be honest, I was at peace with my Wellesley experience given its ups and downs. However, our student body sparked an excitement within me that made it clear that my work at Wellesley College is not done. Our student body holds such a rich pool of talents, passions, and perspectives which are fundamental to the future of Wellesley. As College Government President, I will be dedicated to not only admiring these attributes but advocating for them within administrative and student leadership spaces. This role is meant to serve on behalf of the needs and experiences of the student body. It also serves to make sure that these are yes, voiced but more importantly actively heard and understood by our administration. That is exactly what I intend to do.
Over the past three years at Wellesley, I have been amazed by the collective effort of our students to improve our community, but not all Wellesley times are good times and that’s okay! As College Government President, I will assign value to the negatives, because it is only through honesty and real conversations about the obstacles our students face that we will be able to grow. I want all of us to graduate Wellesley whether that’s this Spring or in Spring 2024, at peace knowing that a foundation has been set for our siblings to thrive and where our legacies will remain loud and present, uplifting the students that follow for years to come.I don’t want to just sit in on meetings or send informational emails. I want to reframe our campus community into one that values authenticity, honesty, and respect for all spheres of the campus life: the good and the bad, the stressful and the successful. I want to be there to see our community prosper, and I’m excited to spend the year learning what a successful Wellesley looks like for each of us, both individually and collectively.
Francesca Lameiro ’23 (they/them and she/her), College Government Vice President Candidate
Dear Wellesley,
When I was thinking about whether or not I should run for College Government Vice-President (CGVP), I found myself thinking about community a lot.
I found community at HoCo, when I served as a Claflin Senator my first-year. I have community now, as the Executive Senator in Severance, and my relevant experience for the role of CGVP is measured not in the number of years I have dedicated to College Government –– two, give or take –– but in the moments and people who have shown me how to grow and how to lead: my fellow senators, the current and former CG Cabinets, and the members of my residential community. Understanding the inner workings and purpose of a committee and how to alter it in a way that is actually impactful to student life takes plenty of work, patience, creativity, and the right people to help you along the way. My community has taught me how to listen to and advocate for the needs of a student body that cares a lot and holds Wellesley, as an institution, accountable for how it decides to spend its money and treat its people.
I’ve been a member of the Appointed Representatives Committee (ARC) since its creation after the SOAC (Student Organization and Appointments Committee) split. ARC is a fairly new committee, tasked with ensuring the fair appointment of student representatives to various administrative committees. The much needed split between appointment of student representatives and recognition of orgs means that our committee now has the time and resources to focus on improving the way that we uphold ARC’s responsibilities. As your CGVP I will focus on 1) continuing improvements to the way that ARC appoints students to ensure a more streamlined and equitable process, 2) reducing opportunities for bias in our grading system and 3) supporting committee members by improving training and protocol regarding appointments. Student representatives are a crucial point of contact between admin and the student body. Representatives on these committees can not only raise issues to administration, but work in these roles to make tangible changes to college policy. When the right students are given the opportunity to reach the right people in the right committees, we all win.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions at [email protected].
All my best,
Francesca Lameiro ‘23
Ingrid Bell ’24 (she/her), College Government Secretary-Treasurer Candidate
My name is Ingrid Bell (she/her), I am a proud member of the Red Hot class of 2024, and I want to be your Secretary-Treasurer.
Being on cabinet is a service to others, and I want to serve Wellesley by making College Government more accessible and easy to learn about. It is only possible for CG to do its best if the student body is well informed and able to make their voices heard, so I want to maintain transparency about what’s going on in CG and make it easier for students to find information. First, I plan to update the outdated CG website to reflect our current structure. I will add clear explanations of the different positions and committees as well as how to get involved in each area of College Government. Secondly, I will update the CG social media much more frequently. While mass emails have their place, regular use of social media will make CG more accessible to the student body. Additionally, in order to clarify the structures of CG, I will create visuals, such as charts and infographics, explaining the relationships between the different parts of CG and their respective responsibilities. Communication between the student body and the members of college government should be clear, simple, and accessible, which I will achieve through this multi-faceted approach.
I am a senator for Stone-Davis and am on Academic Council and the Senate Policy and Ethics Committee, giving me the opportunity to gain a solid understanding of all of the complicated structures of College Government. This has built on my leadership experience from high school, where I was head of tech for our theatre department and drum major of our marching band. Both positions gave me experience coordinating large groups of students and facilitating communication between departments. The combination of past leadership roles and current CG positions has thoroughly prepared me to become Sec-Treas. I also genuinely enjoy organizational tasks like taking notes and writing emails. That may sound silly – or maybe not, this is Wellesley after all – but I think it’s important to elect someone who will find joy in doing the work. That someone is me.
It all comes down to this: I love Wellesley. I love College Government. I love my sibs, and I am consistently inspired by the passion, brilliance, and kindness of every member of our community. If elected, I promise to work to keep you in-the-know about CG goings-on. I promise to make it easier to find out what the role of each part of CG is and how they fit together. I promise to always act with the best interests of the student body in mind. And finally, I promise to write clear, concise emails and always type in Times New Roman. This position needs someone obnoxiously passionate about organization and comically excited about College Government. For that, I’m your candidate, and I would be honored to serve you as your Secretary-Treasurer. Please reach out to me with any questions at [email protected]. Thank you for your consideration, and don’t forget to vote!
Julianna Kenny-Serrano ’22 (she/her), Chief Justice Candidate
Hi Wellesley!
My name is Julianna Kenny-Serrano (but Juli for short), my pronouns are she/her, and I’m a member of the class of 2022. I’m so excited to be running for Chief Justice! I’ve served on Council for two years now, first as a general representative and now as the Deputy Chief Justice, and am nothing if not familiar with the challenges the Honor Code faces. I know how difficult it is to understand why this is a benefit to students as a student myself, and I clearly see how much remains to be done. But with that being said, I also see so much potential. What I want to communicate to you is that the Honor Code is truly a resource, and likewise, the Chief Justice is an advocate for you. If elected, I propose four areas which I will dedicate myself to. These are:
Reducing the Honor Code’s Punitive Impact: The Honor Code is based on punitive justice. Campus Police continue to be involved in hearings as charging parties, actively contributing to a tremendous power imbalance with the students that face the charge. If elected, I commit to eliminating Campus Po’s presence in hearings, either in physically or via Zoom, and I will advocate for the removal of all 1⁄3 punitive recommendations from hearing outcomes.
Integrating Student Voices: Currently, there is no system by which students who’ve either filed a charge or been charged can submit feedback about their experience. If elected, I commit to developing anonymous forms that both charged and charging parties could complete after hearings and student advocate meetings, enabling students to consider their options, like filing an appeal, and Council members to address the elements that aren’t meeting student needs.
Representation: Representation matters. Panel composition shapes the outcomes and the experiences students have when interacting with the Honor Code. Meaningful outreach is very important to me, especially given the capacity each student representative has to profoundly impact the Honor Code. If elected, I commit to re-shaping outreach, both for students and faculty, and guaranteeing my attendance at any organization meetings willing to host me to conduct recruitment.
Transparency: The Honor Code is one of the most obscure institutions at Wellesley. If elected, I commit to developing opportunities for students who are not members of the Honor Code to shape its present and future, and creating accessible information detailing procedure and available resources for the student body.
The future of the Honor Code should be shaped by all Wellesley students, so please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions for what it is you want to see in the coming year. Thank you all so much for reading!
Maya Bradbury ’22 (she/her), Student Bursar Candidate
Dear Wellesley,
My name is Maya Bradbury (she/her) Class of 2022, and I am excited to announce my candidacy for Student Bursar.
The Student Organization Funding Committee (SOFC) and the Bursar’s Office have played an integral role in my experience at Wellesley over the last three years. First year, I showed up to the open SOFC meeting not quite understanding the difference between SOFC and SBOG, just knowing I wanted to get involved on campus somehow. I instantly connected with the community and our role supporting student campus life, and I loved our Wednesday night meetings in Lulu 413.
I have been the Media, Publications, & Performance Bookkeeper for two years, learning so much from my fellow Bookkeepers, SOFC members, and Bursars. I absolutely love my role as a Bookkeeper and have so enjoyed getting to know my orgs and Treasurers, particularly through this past year. My meetings and office hours with them have been real bright spots through uncertainty and I look forward to fostering this sense of comradery between the Bursar’s Office and all our wonderful Treasurers. My knowledge of SOFC has grown and my views on funding have evolved in the 2.5 years since that first meeting, and I am as excited as ever about the opportunity to improve the funding process.
I believe that the Bursar’s main job is listening to student voices and allocating funding in a manner that is equitable and accessible, and that promotes all of the incredible things we as students want to do and make out of our community. I plan to do just that.
As Student Bursar, my top priorities will be to:
- Increase availability of funding to individual students and non-organization groups
- Expand Guaranteed Percentage funding to include campus-wide events hosted by non-GPorgs
- Promote open communication between Treasurers and Bookkeepers throughout the funding process for increased dialogue and transparency
- Engage a greater proportion of the campus community in SOFC to ensure funding decisions are made by a diverse and representative body of students
- Work with admin on upcoming Workday transitions that will increase Treasurer control of funds
I am eager to shape SOFC to be more equitable, accessible and representative of the student body.
Thank you for taking the time to read and considering me for your next Student Bursar! Please reach out to me with any questions, suggestions, or even to say hi at [email protected] or through Facebook and Instagram.
Faith Carbajal ’23 (she/her), Chair of the Committee for Political and Legislative Awareness (CPLA) Candidate
Hello, all! My name is Faith Carbajal (she/hers), Class of 2023, and I am running for the position of chair of the Committee for Political and Legislative Awareness (CPLA). I joined CPLA at the start of my first year as the Tower Court HOCO representative. In my second semester, I joined the E-Board as CPLA’s first Discussion Chair. From Spring 2020 to the present, I have served as Treasurer. As an E-board member, I have contributed to CPLA’s recent projects, namely the committee newsletter, The CPLA Update, and the new website. Initially, I joined CPLA because of my passion for political involvement and awareness. In addition to this passion, though, I grew increasingly dedicated to CPLA’s purpose: to ‘raise awareness about politics and government on campus and encourage political engagement.’ Every year CPLA challenges itself to better serve our peers and, as CPLA Chair, I will continue the tradition of improving CPLA for the benefit of the whole Wellesley community. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the past year has presented CPLA with unique challenges, as well as exacerbated some of the committee’s preexisting difficulties. If elected as CPLA Chair, I would address such difficulties by prioritizing the following:
1. Connecting and Communicating Beyond the Committee
Many students do not know what CPLA is or what the organization does. CPLA continues to struggle to reach students of all class years, despite its efforts. It is difficult to tackle numerous methods of communication at once and communicate effectively. In addition to distributing responsibility amongst the E-board and CPLA as a whole, I will further include the whole committee in what is communicated to the Wellesley community. Something as little as an infographic about how-to-vote in, say, in California (made by general members from CA) will make a difference in informing and engaging with students.
2. Continuing to Restructure the E-board for Efficiency and Effectiveness
CPLA has ambitious goals for how it can better serve students, but is often impaired by the amount of work and time it takes to achieve such goals. CPLA needs to distribute the work more evenly across the E-board, and also provide more opportunities for general members to have consistent roles/responsibilities. I will propose creating a new E-board position, the Newsletter Chair, head of the newsletter committee. With this position, CPLA can expand the newsletter (creatively and content-wise) and be able to publish the newsletter more frequently. In addition, I will create a communications committee under the Communications Chair. By dividing the work, CPLA members can pay closer attention to detail and construct more creative/engaging methods of communication. Lastly, I will facilitate the creation of an international politics subcommittee, led by the International Politics Chair.
3. Diversifying Political Content
International politics is a broad subject, requiring the efforts of more than one person. In order for CPLA to reflect the diversity on campus, CPLA needs the input of more students from diverse backgrounds. As a start, CPLA will be able to orchestrate more international politics events and provide more international content in the newsletter. Furthermore, I will introduce ‘seriels’ to discussions, lead by the Discussions Chair, to invite students, members or non, to discuss areas in politics/government which with they may be familiar or are directly impacted by. With this, CPLA can introduce more local/regional politics into meetings, discussions, and events.
Thank you for your consideration! For any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out on IG or email.
Michelle Lee ’23 (she/her), Chair of the Committee for Political and Legislative Awareness (CPLA) Candidate
Dear Wellesley,
My name is Michelle Lee and I am running for Chair of the Committee for Political and Legislative Awareness. Throughout my time at Wellesley, I have been actively involved in CPLA, initially serving as a Dorm Representative in my first year. As the current Communications Chair, I have continuously worked towards upholding CPLA’s nonpartisan mission to facilitate political engagement by updating the website, compiling meeting minutes, and managing our social media. As a result, I believe I possess not only the enthusiasm, but also the understanding for this committee. My previous internships with USAID and the US Congress have helped me better my political knowledge and teamwork skills, preparing me well for the position of Chair. I believe I can bring not only a hard work ethic, but also my individual perspective as a Korean-American student, one that can sometimes be overlooked by current narratives. As CPLA chair, I would showcase voices in the broader Asian communities at Wellesley, especially in light of the rise in hate crimes. If elected, I will use my extensive leadership experience from being on KSA and CPLA eboards to organize and effectively chair the Committee for Political and Legislative Awareness.
As CPLA chair, my goals are to uphold and further its mission by:
- Broadening engagement: CPLA events and committee discussions cater more towards students who are already knowledgeable about politics. I want to create approachable and engaging events, such as our bipartisanship and bubble tea and movie night events, so that CPLA can involve students from all different kinds of political participation.
- Restructuring committee and E-board roles: The previous CPLA chair spearheaded the formation of the newsletter and events subcommittees. These subcommittees are not effective as the chair edits the newsletter while the E-board does the majority of event planning on its own. I want to constitutionalize a newsletter chair position to the E-board in order to effectively divide responsibility. I plan on restructuring the role of dorm representatives, as currently, the position is inoperative. I will work with the dorm representatives chair to revamp the responsibilities of our members and facilitate residential events.
As CPLA Chair, I hope to work with CG, Senate, and the CPLA Committee to better engage, inform, and serve the greater campus community. Thank you for your consideration!
Imogene Johnson ’22 (she/her), Director of On-Campus Affairs (DOOCA) Candidate
Hi Wellesley! My name is Imogene Johnson (she/her) ‘22. I am running for the position of Director of On-Campus Affairs (DOOCA) for the 2021-2022 academic year. The DOOCA serves as the chair of Schneider Board of Governors (SBOG) and as a liaison between the administration, the board, and the greater Wellesley community.
Above all, my goal as DOOCA is to serve you, but I would particularly like to focus on my goals of inclusion and communication. I aim to foster inclusivity within the board itself and its events, in every aspect of the word. Inclusivity and diversity within events starts with who is planning and collaborating on them. I hope to build upon the work SBOG has done over the last few years and continue to strengthen relationships with campus orgs, especially those with creative ideas or those who have been traditionally underfunded by the college. Events like Cabin Fever and CONCERT.COM have been greatly successful and, in my opinion, are just the start of what SBOG’s collaborative and inclusive role on campus could look like. Communication, to me, means meeting the needs and wants of our community and finding a balance between campus traditions and new directions, especially as we look to the year ahead. As DOOCA, I will foster open communication and work to demystify SBOG. One way I would do this would be to create a streamlined process for students to give SBOG and the DOOCA direct feedback. I hope to utilize data from both student experiences and historical event attendance to ensure that SBOG is serving the student body as best it can. I am prepared for the challenge of the coming year, whether it be returning to hosting large-scale in-person events like Remix, or navigating time zones to be inclusive through remote events.
I joined SBOG as a first-year, eager to contribute to fostering community through on-campus events. This Fall, I had the pleasure of being SBOG’s secretary, where I served on the executive board alongside the DOOCA and treasurer. Additionally, I have developed my organizational and leadership skills as a social chair and membership coordinator for the Agora Society, publicity chair for the Legenda Yearbook, and as an orientation mentor. Ultimately, I am driven by a passion for public service and a desire to plan engaging events for the Wellesley community. It would be a privilege to serve as your DOOCA. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, or if you’d just like to chat! Email me at [email protected]!
Voting will take place via WEngage on March 23rd. For more information, check out https://www.tinyurl.com/wellesleycgelections or email any questions to [email protected].
