College Government Candidates

All nine College Government candidates attended Senate to formally introduce themselves. The candidates present were CGP candidates Udita Bajaj ’22 and Giselle Mota ’22, CGVP candidate Francesca Lameiro ’23, Secretary-Treasurer candidate Ingrid Bell ’24, Chief Justice candidate Julianna Kenny-Serrano ’22, Student Bursar candidate Maya Bradbury ’22, CPLA Chair candidates Faith Carbajal ’23 and Michelle Lee ’23 and DOOCA candidate Imogene Johnson ’23. During the meeting, COIL Ify Nwolah ’21 and Orgs Chair Isabel Ortiz ’22 asked people to run as write-in candidates for their positions, as nobody is currently running for them. According to multiple Cabinet members, it has been three years since Wellesley has had a full slate of candidates on election day. Active campaigning began on Mar. 15 and will continue to run until the end of the day on Mar. 22, and students will be able to vote on WEngage on Mar. 23 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m EDT. 

Recreation Grant Initiative 

Senate voted this week on a $25,000 grant initiative that would allow individual students and groups to get funding to put on in-person and virtual events. Student Bursar Alexis Rivett ’21 gave a statement explaining the purpose of this initiative and the process Wellesley students would go through to apply for and receive funding. Once a student has submitted their proposal, the Student Organizations Funding Committee (SOFC) will vote on it at their meeting and, if the request exceeds $1000, it would require approval from Senate. The initiative passed with 49 votes counted, 98% in favor of the measure and 2% abstaining.

ASL Petition

A group of senators presented a proposal to begin offering classes teaching American Sign Language (ASL), wanting Senate support before sending out the proposal to administration. Kylie Hall ’23 explained why ASL is an important language, being the main mode of communication for many deaf and hard-of-hearing people, as well as anyone unable to communicate verbally. Sarah Yang ’24 presented the results of a survey that gauged student reception; out of 258 responses, 99.1 percent believed ASL should be offered at Wellesley, and 88.2 percent were interested in learning it. Emma Wine ’24 explained that the aim of the proposal was to fit their ideas into the college’s goal of having a foreign language requirement. Michaela Olah ’24 presented which peer institutions already offer ASL; Vassar is the only member of the original Seven Sisters colleges that does, and there is no opportunity to learn it at MIT, Brandeis, Olin or Babson. Nwolah concluded by sharing a link to the proposal.