Dear Wellesley Community,
I hope you are keeping warm in this crisp and chilly fall weather. October is an incredibly busy month in the fall semester; ’tis the season where I view my schedule on Google Calendar and cringe in fear. But let’s remember to slow down somehow and just enjoy autumn sights – Wellesley’s great for leaf peeping!
The autumn leaves changing color have taught me much about how change really does take time. For this week’s column, I wish to share some of my own thoughts about some changes within College Government (CG) that also do take time. For those who have been following along with CG happenings, you may have noticed how there is a more intentioned focus on structural change. The Students Appointments and Organizations Committee (SOAC) has called for feedback on the student appointments process, the Senate Policy and Ethics Committee (SPEC) is hosting a Town Hall on Thursday on our email spam policies and I am hoping for amendments to our very unwieldy CG Constitution to be discussed consistently in Senate. This is also not an exhaustive list. There’s so much more that I wish I could share, but the details need to be sorted out before they go public.
What is clear is that enacting these structural changes will take time. And frankly, while I am incredibly optimistic about what these changes will accomplish, I am also prepared to accept that some of our proposed changes may be less than spectacular – again, it takes time for us to readjust and respond in those situations. And behind the institution of CG are students. As my wise friend kindly reminded me a few days ago, not all students have the same amount of time to give, nor the same priorities. So do bear with CG if you feel our speed of progress leaves much to be desired – as individuals and as an institution, we are doing what we can while juggling all our other priorities.
But time limitations do not give CG a free pass that absolves us of all responsibility. I know I do not want to be a lame duck president! I would like for CG as an institution to move beyond talking about change to actually making change. With these structural changes, I hope CG has begun to model a work culture of openness to scrutiny, and a solutions-oriented way of tackling on-campus issues.
I hope you will be willing to partner with CG to really make things better – if you have time, of course! Come to Senate (6-7 PM in the Academic Council Room, fourth floor of Green Hall), fill out Google feedback forms sent out by both SOAC and SPEC, or just drop me an email.
With warm regards,
Kimberly Chia Yan Min
College Government President ‘18-’19
