Isabel Staccuneddu
CG President
My name is Isabel Staccuneddu, and I am running to be your next College Government President (CGP). I believe that CGP exists as the administrative extension of student body voices. As CGP, it would, above all, be my job to serve you, and I have focused on building a clear, comprehensive platform.
As a first year, Senate was a great introduction to Wellesley culture and College Government (CG). By being surrounded by passionate, driven peers who were unafraid to ask questions and seek out solutions, I was inspired to make change in my own community. For me, this was serving as one of the two founding student coordinators of the First Generation Network (FGN). Having been heavily involved in FGN for 2.5 years, I am well versed in the administrative side of Wellesley, and have experience relaying student needs to administrators. It was my involvement in FGN and Senate that pushed me to sit on College Government President’s Council (CGPC) this year. I appreciated the opportunity to help plan and execute Ideafest. The intense passion that the participants brought to the room reminded me of my initial awe upon attending my first Senate. As CGP, I would love to facilitate more events like Ideafest – events that bring people together with all experience levels of pursuing solutions through CG. I want all students to feel comfortable bringing issues and/or potential solutions to CG.
My main platform is Building Campus Cohesion. I plan to achieve this through several branches that each address a different component of what it means to build a unified campus. I am focusing on: Mental Health, Socioeconomic Equality, and Institutional Memory. The best part of Wellesley is the people. We need to do a better job of coming together and understanding one another. I will accomplish this in two key ways: responsibly and respectfully pushing existing conversations into the open, and focusing on developing new resources and ameliorating existing resources under the categories of Mental Health, Socioeconomic Equality, and Institutional Memory.
I hope that you are as excited about the coming year as I am, and that you will make your voice heard during Election Week. I aim to elevate all existing dialogues on campus, not just those that occur at the CG level. Please feel free to reach out to me with comments, questions, and concerns: [email protected]. I am here to serve as a student resource, and to listen.
Zainab Younus
CG President
I can distinctly remember the day that I first visited Wellesley’s campus. I got lost trying to find the entrance to Lulu but, despite this small bump in my day, I was thrilled and excited to begin my Wellesley journey. The last three years have been filled with numerous challenges, rewards, learning and growth.
I have been an active member of CG where I witnessed students’ potential to enact change. I am running for President because of this potential I have seen first-hand. I strongly believe that we need a President who is able to help students create their own Wellesley.
During the last three years, I have been an engaged member of the Wellesley community, serving in different roles that have helped me to familiarize myself with the institutional structure of the College and the resources available.
I served as the Chair of the Committee for Political and Legislative Awareness this past year, which was shaped by a conscientious and pragmatic agenda. I have restructured the Committee’s goals into ones that are relevant to the student body’s needs, while maintaining a political environment of mutual respect. Moreover, I served on the Budget Advisory Committee where I gained exposure to the college’s operations and finances while also building relationships with faculty and administration.
As CGP, I would like to continue initiatives, similar to Ideafest, as it gives the student body the opportunity to shape the college’s future. I want to continue to build a community that promotes dialogues rather than debates. This academic year, we have seen strides towards this goal; yet, with the arrival of the Class of 2020, there is still work to be done to make all of our siblings feel supported. To ingrain dialogue in our culture, I intend to organize a series of educational town halls where conversations occur in person. The focus and intention behind these events is to provide a space where students can learn about topics they’ve had limited prior knowledge of. Not everyone comes to the table with the same background. Rather than dismissing our siblings, we ought to engage in conversations that allow us to grow and stand in solidarity.
Now, I no longer get lost around this campus, which has become a second home to me as it has to so many of us. I want to lead Senate in acting on students’ concerns. I am ready to be the next CGP and bring forth tangible, practical and necessary changes. Our time at Wellesley is limited to four, packed years that offer great hopes and promise for the future of this institution. We, the students, build and make Wellesley what it is. Let it continue to be that way.
I ask you to support me in creating a Wellesley we all want to see. I look forward to sharing my platform with you while listening to you. It would be an incredible honor to serve as the next College Government President.
Amelia Tam
CG Vice President
My name is Amelia Tam, and I am running for College Government Vice President. I aim to improve accessibility of information to Wellesley students. By improving accessibility, I will also improve the diversity and representation of different groups of Wellesley students on committees. I will work with different organizations like Al Muslimat, PAC, Ethos, and Mezcla to ensure the administration hears our voices in every committee looking for students. Publicizing information on the internet is important, but the Vice President needs to make personal contact with people to make sure things get done.
If elected, I will work closely with the College Government President to fulfill their campaign promises. Whether they want to improve socio-economic equality on campus or mental health awareness, I will help them reach their goals.
I will also continue building on the “Do Less” initiative of past CGVPs Charlotte Harris and Rene Chan. Collaboration between organizations cuts down on stress and also encourages individuals to work with different people and create programs with a variety of perspectives.
In my two years as senator, I have served my communities in concrete ways and will continue to do so as Vice President, if elected. Through my work with CPLA, CGPC, and SLAP, I know how to enact change through committees and engage Wellesley students in direct action.
I am passionate about diverse representation and hope you will elect me to make sure your voices are heard.
Cece Tsui
CG Vice President
My name is Cece Tsui, and I’m running for College Government Vice President. My platform is Community, Efficiency, Clarity (Transparency), and Experience, or CECE. If elected CGVP, I aspire to continue to bridge the gap between the community and SOAC by making SOAC’s procedures more streamlined. Furthermore I want to increase education about the procedures for appointments and constitution by improving the website and increasing SOAC’s presence. This will raise awareness of the opportunities students have to be involved on campus, and become a resource for constituted and unconstituted organizations. I also hope to continue to improve over programming by building a visual online platform that would allow organizations to collaborate, streamlining the process of communication. As a member of the student body, I recognize the importance of transparency, especially in SOAC. I want to make this a priority by publishing visuals of statistics and procedures. The CGVP’s duties include chairing SOAC and sitting on Senate Cabinet. I served one year as a senator and two years on SOAC, of which I am currently the Organizations Coordinator. This experience has given me the knowledge I need to promote students’ relations to organizations and on-campus committees through directing SOAC. My strong background allows me to implement my ideas and be a resource for students finding their place on campus. My love for the Wellesley community makes me truly excited to engage with the student body and I would love the amazing opportunity to serve as your CGVP.
Rose Whitlock
Student Bursar
Hi sibs! My name is Rose Whitlock and I want to be your next Student Bursar. The Student Bursar chairs SOFC, the CG committee responsible for fairly distributing the Student Activities Fee amongst all our student organizations. The Student Bursar also heads the Bursar’s Office, assisting student organizations with their finances. This past year as a bookkeeper and a member of SOFC, I have gained valuable insight on our funding processes – from policy design and revision, to funding application creation and evaluation, to reimbursements, transfers, and the nitty-gritty details of making your events possible.
If elected Bursar, my goals are Collaboration, Equity, and Conversation. I will:
1) Encourage collaboration between orgs to design, finance, and host events.
2) Level the playing field in the funding application process by improving Treasurers’ Training and simplifying the funding application.
3) Promote transparency and conversation between SOFC and the student body by soliciting your feedback and input, so we can create the best financial policy possible.
Wellesley, let’s work together to make sure our resources are fairly and equitably distributed throughout our community.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to meeting you all soon!
Anthea Fisher
Director of On Campus Affairs (DOOCA)
My name is Anthea Fisher and I am running to be your Director of On Campus Affairs (DOOCA) for the 2016-2017 academic year. The DOOCA chairs the Schneider Board of Governors (SBOG) which I have served on for two years now. SBOG is responsible for planning major on campus events like Lake Day, Remix, Fall Frenzy, LDOC and so much more. I believe I am a strong candidate for DOOCA based on my experience on the board as Off–Campus Liaison and my commitment both to SBOG and to serving the Wellesley student body.
I am running on a platform of communication, collaboration, and transparency. I believe that as an elected board of college government, it is SBOG’s responsibility to act in the interests of the student body it serves. This means listening to students’ ideas, hopes, and concerns regarding the events SBOG is responsible for, as well as working with other organizations to provide funding for and awareness of events that matter to a variety of student groups. SBOG is at our best when we collaborate with one another, and we do our job best when we collaborate with students. I would like to establish an open meeting at the beginning of each academic year where leaders of constituted orgs can meet with the DOOCA and discuss events and plans that could potentially involve SBOG. This would open lines of communication between SBOG and other organizations, as well as foster a greater sense of collaboration on campus. SBOG can better serve Wellesley if we know what the needs and interests of the student body are, and if the student body knows what we do and how we do it. I plan to increase transparency between SBOG and Wellesley students so that the student body feels comfortable and familiar with the board and the work we do. Within these core goals, I also hope to ensure that every SBOG event is fun, exciting, inclusive, and safe.
It would be an honor to serve as the chair of this board and I can’t wait to being my campaign for Wellesley’s DOOCA.
Myra Ahmad
Chief Justice
DIVERSITY: The hearing panel, composed of The Dean of Students and a professor and student on HCC, makes the decision of whether a violation occurred. In many cases the only diversity offered to the panel comes from the student representative. As CJ, I want to 1) create a mandatory training on Diversity to educate all members on the differences in experiences that minority students experience 2) recruit more minority students to the council.
CLARITY: The panel determines the consequent sanctions upon identifying a violation. CWS receives information about all students on probation but no detailed information about the violation. For example, a student charged with plagiarism during their freshman fall is put on the same list as a senior with a charge for plagiarism on their thesis. This could affect their ability to receive CWS funding. I do not believe this is fair, as it eliminates great candidates. With my 2 years of experience, as CJ I would implement a staggered system of Levels 1,2,3 based on the severity of the action; giving the CWS and higher education institutions a way to easily determine austerity of the situation.
MENTAL HEALTH: Many students, including myself, have struggled with mental illness during their time at Wellesley. As panel members, we should be familiar with different illnesses, and we should be understanding of people in these situations. Mental health circumstances should be considered by the panel when deciding what sanctions will be and whether a violation has occurred.
Caitlin McCarey
Chief Justice
My name is Caitlin McCarey and I’m running to be your next Chief Justice. When I was a first year, I thought the Honor Code was one of the best things about Wellesley. I loved the freedom it gave us to schedule our exams and to leave laptops unmonitored in the library. After two years of participating in Honor Code hearings and council meetings, I now believe it is THE best thing about Wellesley.
In my eyes, the Honor Code represents the very best of our community: it represents our unfailing pursuit of honesty and fairness, the high standards of integrity we hold ourselves and our peers to, and our determination to always be our best selves, especially when no one is watching.
I would be honored to serve as your Chief Justice—to be given the opportunity to advance the principles I strive to embody. I’m ready to put my ideas into action. And that’s the theme of my campaign: Big Ideas. Here are some of the big ideas I’m excited about:
– Clarifying and standardizing the Honor Code
– Ensuring fairness and equality during sanctioning
– Hosting more campus-wide events
– Planning an ‘Introduction to the Honor Code’ event for first year students
– Creating more resources for charged students and charging parties
– Recruiting diverse candidates from all years and areas of campus to serve on
Honor Code Council
– Instituting internal changes to Honor Code Council to foster community and
increase synergies
Sydney Stewart
Multicultural Affairs Coordinator (MAC)
Hello! My name is Sydney Stewart and I am running for the position of Multicultural Affairs Coordinator (MAC). I am very passionate about issues surrounding civil rights and racial justice. The position of MAC would provide me a unique opportunity to serve as an intermediary between students on–campus and the administration. The wellbeing of all students, regardless of identity, is one that I am extremely passionate about. Currently, I serve as co–chair of the Ethos Political Action Committee. Within this role, I have organized campus–wide discussions pertaining to the African–American experience and demonstrations aimed at institutional change. If elected to the position of MAC, I hope to:
1. Increase interactions between diverse cultural groups on–campus;
2. Raise awareness of the experiences of minority groups on–campus; and
3. Encourage greater and more timely administrative response to the needs of students of color.
Wellesley is a college with an extremely diverse body of students. In light of recent tragedies on the global sphere and student organizing on–campus, it is extremely important that we come together to support our siblings in their time of need. I hope to foster a greater sense of support through serving as your next MAC. Thank you for taking the time to read my statement.
Zoe Iacovino
Chair of Political and Legislative Awareness (CPLA)
I would like to formally state my intention to run for Committee for Political and Legislative Awareness Chair. CPLA was the first organization I joined as a first-year when I was the Tower House Council representative. I immediately realized that having a space on campus where students talked about politics without focusing on parties or political agendas was extremely important. Too often I see people disillusioned with America’s political system because they only see what President Obama called “partisan rancor.” Having a non-partisan space where students can discuss their beliefs and viewpoints on issues is how we can build a culture of conversation, not monologue. It is all too easy tweet or share an article or post a rant, never having the experience of a back and forth with another person. As CPLA chair I would make it my top priority to increase not just discussions of politics on campus but specifically discussions that feature difference. Where opposing sides are mutually acknowledged and challenged but always treated with mutual respect. Especially during a presidential election year, tensions will be high on campus. I see my role as a mediating presence, because I do not want students at Wellesley to feel unsafe because of their political views. In office I will foster a community of inclusion through regular meetings that will always make time for political discussion and events throughout the year that bring out the diversity of opinion here at Wellesley. And of course, an Election Night party to remember.
Photo by Natalia Marques ’19, Assistant Photo Editor
