Dear Wellesley Sibs,
Happy Spring Semester! CG is excited to be back and get back to work.
Our first Senate of the academic semester was Feb. 5, and we successfully passed unprecedented changes in CG’s constitution to move up our Elections schedule. I have heard from students outside of the Senate chambers who call this out as an effort for our current Cabinet to step back from their positions early. I hear you, and this is what I offer in response: Elections can be quite possibly the most challenging time any candidate has in their potential tenure on CG. Many of you may remember the tumultuous experience of last year’s CG President’s race. Far more challenging, however, is ensuring a proper turnover process.
In years past, turnover has been a week, if that. This leaves the opportunity for successors to be left in the dark in terms of the reality of their responsibilities. How can we expect our student leaders in CG to be well-equipped for the following year if they have no idea what their jobs will be like until next fall?
By moving up the schedule, our Cabinet is setting a precedent. Each predecessor and their successor will work together so that they may carry on where we will leave off, so that they can lead at least one Senate and so that the current Cabinet may be present for any questions.
This year, the entire elections process will be finished before Spring Break.
More information regarding the specifics of this year’s elections, including dates of the debates, candidate crawl, etc. will be released soon. I have included the graphic of official dates for your reference in this column.
In the last few weeks, CG has appointed and elected representatives to SPEC and EC. On Feb. 5, Senate elected a new SPEC Chair, Hollis Rammer ’20. As of Senate on Feb. 12, we elected and appointed members to Elections Committee for 2017-2018. Along with CG Cabinet (except the Chief Justice), Elections Committee will be comprised of Faiza Aslam ’19, Jailene Lemus ’21, Aniqa Hassan ’20 and Sarah Sansón Hernández ’21. We are grateful for the time and effort that these individuals will dedicate to this process.
During our last Senate, we wanted to carve out time to discuss something important that is routinely discussed on campus: stress culture at Wellesley. The Board of Trustees has been discussing stress culture, and we invite feedback from our student body to voice what we as students want to see change. We hope to provide a clear picture of what student support, as defined by students, is needed. Last Senate yielded a passionate discussion of mental health resources and the grading policy at Wellesley. Also discussed was the policy that Career Education has that bars students from accessing their Handshake accounts if they miss an event that they RSVP to. We have invited Associate Provost Christine Cruzvergara to a future Senate to address the feedback that students have regarding their experiences at Career Education, as well as Provost Andrew Shennan, who can address the concerns that students have, especially about the grading policy.
If you have any thoughts and/or concerns, I welcome them. CG President’s Committee (CGPC) released a Mid-Year Poll via email and social media. Find it in your inboxes or on Facebook to share how you feel CG can better serve you. Or email me at [email protected].
Warmly,
Maryam
