Hi all —
First, I want to give an update on how student appointments to the President’s Advisory Committee on Gender are going. CG made our recommendations to the President’s Office two weeks ago based on the Student Appointments and Organizations Committee (SOAC) application and interview process. President Bottomly will be sending formal appointment notifications to those students after a final review from the administrative end. Right now, they are holding off on sending announcements until they’ve also received nominations from faculty, alums and administrators. Since there is a small chance that we would have to seek alternatives (perhaps due to scheduling), we are holding off on sending notifications to applicants until the President has finalized everything. Two weeks is a long time to wait to hear about an interview, and to all applicants: We appreciate your patience! In other Gender Advisory Committee news, I can confirm that Professor Adele Wolfson in chemistry will serve as the Committee’s chair.
Related to the work of the Advisory Committee, I hope to see everyone at the NYT article talkback hosted by ResLife and the OICE this Wednesday, Oct. 22 during community time in the Multifaith Center. The piece has already prompted a lot of discussion both on and off campus, and everyone has something valuable to contribute to the conversation.
Additionally, I want to take this opportunity to tell you about the College Government Ideafest on next Monday, October 27. This event will take place at 7 p.m. in Tishman Commons and is the first of its kind at Wellesley. Too often student governments are pigeonholed into making requests of administrators or serving as a point of information exchange. While there is certainly a place for that kind of work and it is an important part of what we do, that conception of CG ignores what students can do — right now — for other students. Ideafest is a chance to get involved on your own terms.
Essentially, Ideafest is a fun, high-energy incubator for student-to-student projects. Over dinner, Senators, student leaders and students-at-large will work together to come up with an idea that benefits campus — anything from a dorm-level sustainability initiative to a traveling cooking class. Groups will have an hour to brainstorm, three minutes to pitch, and then everyone in the room will vote. We will keep funding projects by number of votes until the money pool runs out. Working groups of Senators and any other students who would like to be involved will then follow up on the winning projects and make sure they happen before the end of the year. Ideafest is such an awesome opportunity to surround yourself with the best things about Wellesley — the drive, creativity and kindness of our community members. Come join us ready to think big and ready to spark a vibrant tradition.
We will also be starting the event with remarks from Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu. Councilor Wu is the first Asian-American woman elected to the Boston City Council, as well as the youngest current member. She is a fantastic speaker who has a lot of valuable things to say about community engagement and the importance of getting involved on a local level. We’re so lucky to have her join us.
My office hours this week are Friday from 2 to 3 p.m. in the CG/Bursar’s Office. Please feel free to come by with any questions or concerns, or just to say hello. I’d be happy to speak with you about anything that’s on your mind. If you don’t have time to come by, just drop me an email and we’ll set up an appointment.
Hana
