Hello, all!
Although it may seem like the semester hasn’t even had a chance to get started yet, College Government is working hard toward making sure that Cabinet’s last few months in office are our most productive yet. Here’s what we’re thinking about right now:
-The Trustees were here last week and took the opportunity to have dinner and an open dialogue discussion with students on Feb. 3 to discuss the future of gender at Wellesley. Thanks to the hard work of the students on the President’s Advisory Committee on Gender and Wellesley (PAC), the event proved to be both a massive success and a model for how to structure conversation around divisive issues. CG is thinking about how we can continue to work with the PAC to keep students updated on the latest happenings, most immediately with the PAC’s presentation at our next Senate. We encourage interested students to join us.
-Following the national events of last semester, Cabinet has committed itself to contributing to a fuller dialogue around race on campus. We are in the process of structuring an event/discussion series for early March, featuring a range of programs from activist workshops to faculty panels. We are going into this project with the goal of capturing the same spirit of conversation those of us able to attend the PAC’s dinner and discussion event experienced — one that is thoughtful, engaged and expansive.
-College Government President’s Council (CGPC) is currently researching on-campus employment in order to reach out to campus employers about hiring practices. We want to be sure that students on work-study are consistently receiving the priority hiring they are owed and that first-year students come to campus either a) with a job or b) knowing exactly how to get one. CGPC is also planning a series of programs for mid-March around the imposter syndrome and the myth of perfection, to be hosted in partnership with House President’s Council. Lastly, CGPC is hard at work on wrapping up the Ideafest projects. Students should expect to hear much more about that at the end of February, when results begin to be delivered.
- A committee of Honor Code Council members and Senators will be thinking in the next weeks about student organizations and the Honor Code. How does the Honor Code apply differently to student organizations, if at all? Who should bear responsibility for an Honor Code charge against an organization? How can student organizations actively promote the Honor Code? The committee will present its findings before spring break.
- SOFC has its first meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Spring budgets for student organizations are due next Monday, Feb.16.
- SBOG is hosting the first ever Feel Good February and announced their headlining act — Parks and Recreation’s Retta on Sunday. Retta will be perfoming in Jewett at 7 p.m. on Feb. 26.
- Chief Justice Katherine Tran ’15 was recently appointed to serve as the Wellesley College Government ambassador to the Babson-Olin-Wellesley collaboration. We hope that we are able to leverage this partnership toward increased student-to-student programming and shared campus understanding, and look forward to seeing what they have planned.
- At the beginning of the semester, President Bottomly announced a new commission on race, to be chaired by Professor Michael Jeffries of American Studies. While the structure of the committee has yet to be finalized, CG looks forward to working with administration to ensure strong and diverse student representation. We will reach out with information about appointments as soon as we know.
- Come April, Wellesley will elect its new Cabinet. If you would like to be a part of Elections Committee, the SOAC application is now live. Elections Committee is a key part of making sure that the elections are run fairly and smoothly and having the right team goes a long way toward making sure things go as they should. Additionally, if you know of someone who would make a great Cabinet member, encourage them to reach out to the person currently holding that position. Every Cabinet member would be thrilled to talk about their experience in the position and lend whatever guidance they are able.
Lastly, we are all thinking about our campus community and the process of healing after a great loss. I hope that students take advantage of the resources available to them and that we all make time in the next few weeks to reach out to each other with love and support.
My office hours are cancelled this week as I will be out of town over the long weekend, but — as always — please feel free to reach out via email or in person with any questions or concerns.
Best,
Hana
