College Government President Statements of Intent

Colleen Sam ’19

Hi Wellesley! My name is Colleen Sam and I am beyond excited to be running for College Government President for the 2018-2019 academic year. As a Spring 2017 transfer student, I came to Wellesley from Boston University, just one Peter ride away. My decision to transfer was a combination of push and pull factors, from what I wanted from a higher education environment to the kind of learning I earnestly desired to explore. At Wellesley, my experiences on-campus and abroad have countlessly proven what Wellesley means for me – as a senior now and confused sophomore then. It’s the community, the people, and the support we lend each other through difficult conversations and challenging times. Wellesley welcomed me with the space to grow, and now I want to invest my time in making Wellesley an inclusive space for everyone, regardless of how they found themselves here.

My platform is based on positive collaboration, engagement, and action. Through collaborating with student orgs and social and academic spaces, I will work to define a voice for Wellesley students as a diverse, collective body. By emphasizing the theme of engagement, I hope to pursue and encourage the pursuit of a reflective campus – one that actively creates acceptance and forgiveness. Lastly, I believe taking action with administration is of utmost importance to the possibilities we can achieve by working together this year. As CGP, I will be an active listener to my peers’ opinions and concerns, and will use my position to boldly challenge systems, people, and myself. Thank you for your consideration!

Kimberly Chia ’19

Hello! My name is Kimberly from the Class of 2019 (she/her/hers). I am running for College Government President (CGP) because this campus needs leadership that allows us to win together.

Why is winning together important? There is wisdom in this proverb: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Winning together means intentionally working with a wide variety of people to get things done – not just people who you love, but people that are sometimes difficult to love. And as people are complicated (myself included), leading in this manner is going to take both hard and heart work. But I believe it really is the only way in which a student coalition like College Government can stand in the gap between divisions that occur on this campus, whether it be within the student body or with faculty, staff, and administrators. I hope that under my leadership, CG will intercede both with and for you, so that we win together by strongly reflecting the diversity present in our student body.

Wait, what is College Government anyway? Good question! We may not realize it, but CG is super important: CG helps facilitate student engagement, administer your Student Activities Fee, promote the Honor Code, appoint students to sit on committees that shape campus policy, oversee your orgs, work on issues of identity and community, plan social events, engage you on issues of a political/legislative nature – and also share with you all that CG does. I hope that you too, will come to see that you are part of CG – it is stated in the CG constitution that all students of Wellesley College are members of the College Government association! Also, the CG President chairs Senate, one of the few student platforms where all students are invited to on a consistent basis. Remember the rollout of the interim protest policy, changes to our bus service provider, and ongoing faculty changes? Senate is the place to express and consolidate student opinion on such issues, and have them be heard directly by members of the administration who attend Senate quite regularly.

Okay cool. But why should you be my CGP? As CG President, I aim to bring CG back to what it is meant to do: seek common ground on campus policies, clearly communicate student concerns to other stakeholders in this college, and in so doing, create a more active and inclusive community. In my view, there’s a lot more CG needs to do to serve you better. And much of that starts from me humbly listening and growing with all of you. Stepping into the position of CGP will be a new role for me, even if I have previously engaged with the trustees as a student representative and also served in SOAC. I hope that we can do this together and make magic happen this year – it would be an honor for me to serve you as your CGP.

Michaela Rhile ’19

Dear Friends,

I am very excited to announce my run for College Government President.

I am aware that this is not a spring election. This is fall election because we currently have no College Government President. Watching two elections unfold in the spring made me wonder if there was anything I could do to help Wellesley students. As someone who is not a member of a marginalized community, I have received ample institutional support from Wellesley. However, I acknowledge that many of my peers’ experiences have been radically different, and I intend to use my campaign and platform to work towards all students having equal access to the resources that I have benefited from.

Wellesley is starting from a place of excellence, but it is clear that Wellesley also has many areas for improvement and fails to meet the needs of all its students, especially those from marginalized communities. Through a lack of accessible spaces, effective advisors, and

administrative access, Wellesley is not consistently living up to the promises it makes to its students.

If elected, I plan to create forums where students could come to the table with administrators to discuss real issues and viable solutions. Direct access to administration is one of the things that is lacking at this school, and hopefully, these forums will result in expedient and impactful change.

Through this campaign and platform, I hope to foster a sense of belonging among all students from different communities with the common goal of an inclusive and supportive culture. I want Wellesley students to know their next-door neighbors, the dining hall workers, and the people who they pass every day going to class. I hope that people will join me because I believe it is time to #SayHelloWellesley.

With Love,

Michaela Rhile

Sabine Adamson ’19

Hello! My name is Sabine Adamson and I am excited to be running to represent you as College Government President.

I am committed to helping all the exceptional voices of our student body be expressed and making campus a more dynamic and less stressful environment. Over my three years at Wellesley I have worked to make our community more inclusive and supportive.

In 2016, I led an initiative to admit undocumented students to Wellesley. As a result of this campaign, the admissions office now officially accepts undocumented applicants.

Wellesley’s grading policy is an issue that I have actively worked to reverse throughout my time on campus and I’m thrilled that it is finally being addressed. Over the coming year, it is crucial that this policy be redesigned in consultation with students.

Over the past few weeks, I have been so proud of this community for pushing back against the protest policy. I believe that it is only Wellesley students who can understand and the full effects of these policies and therefore we need to be fully consulted in their creation.

I also believe that we should have a four-year-guarantee for tuition. Tuition increases every year disproportionately affect certain segments of our population and make it impossible to budget effectively. This is a guarantee that other colleges have already implemented and Wellesley should do the same.

It is policies like these and many others that affect so many communities and must be created with transparency. As your President, I will ensure that these changes do not get quietly passed when we are too busy to notice, but that we have a say in their creation.

As a co-founder of The Every Voice Coalition I have helped to organize thousands of students across Massachusetts to change state legislation for sexual assault on campus and advocate for survivors.

With the skills that I have learned over several years of grassroots organizing, political advocacy and international work, I hope to build stronger connections between College Government and students of all years, and ensure that issues felt by all communities on campus are heard.

I want to be a resource and a friend for each of you. I will hold office hours every week for you to talk about your hopes for Wellesley’s future or any issues you may need addressed. Additionally, I will put out a monthly survey, and more often when issues demand it, in order to efficiently understand grievances when you are otherwise too busy.

A little bit more about me — I have lived in four countries, the most recent being Canada and call Lake House home. I love running around the lake, baking in Slater and I’m always around for a chat over a cup of tea or rants about the patriarchy.

I love Wellesley and am continuously in awe of my sisters/sibs. I hope as your President to make your voices heard. You can always text/call me at 857-277-2551.

Thank you!

Sabine