Senate Report 3/4

Sofia Diaz | March 6, 2024

HPC Corner

Health and safety inspections are taking place from March 4-15. Please remove prohibited items from your room such as candles and incense. There will also be a visual check of the room for prohibited items, such as alcohol in possession of residents under the age of 21 and illegal drugs. If you would like ResLife to take off their shoes when entering your room, please put up a sign so Res Life knows to do so.

Candidate Senate

Candidates running for 2024-25 College Government Cabinet presented themselves at Senate before College Government Elections.

College Government President

Naomi Weisner ’25 (she/her)
- Opened with a quote from “Vienna” by Billy Joel and addressed that all of the discourse on Sidechat and the internet should not coax people to overlook all of her leadership roles and involvement in College Government that have prepared her for the role.
- Stated that she will use her religion as a moral compass during her time as president and aims to reduce the division on campus that has shown through the discourse on Sidechat and the internet revolving around the election.
Write-In: Mia Cadena ’25 (she/her)
- Wants to make College Government a more collaborative space by creating a non-hierarchical leadership structure, and aims to make themselves more accessible by holding office hours with clubs and orgs on campus.
- Will implement time for College Government to address Academic Council with concerns from the student body.

College Government Vice President

Merete Ogah ’25 (she/her)
- Will focus on enhancing student involvement through revitalizing the Appointed Representatives Committee (ARC) and fostering active participation in decision-making processes.
- Wants to increase transparency by establishing clear communication channels between committees and students, providing regular updates and reports on ongoing initiatives.
- Dedicated to empowering student representatives by creating a supportive environment, acknowledging their efforts, and offering opportunities for professional development and growth through regular check-ins and feedback sessions.
Charlotte Precourt ’26 (she/her)
- Wants to connect students to the power on campus by facilitating conversations between the student body and administration.
- Will have open Appointed Representatives Committee (ARC) Meetings for the College community to make the committee more accessible.

Secretary-Treasurer

Ashley Song ’27 (she/her)
- Wants to implement a highlight section in the weekly digest for students who might not be involved in College Government or campus life. The purpose of this is to provide a concise and informative section of the digest to increase engagement.
- Will draw attention to the resources available to students and what College Government does.
Camila Milan ’27 (she/her)
- Experience as a Student Philanthropy Officer has prepared Milan to handle budgets, fundraising and transparency, all of which Milan intends to apply in serving the student community effectively.
- Will strive to enhance communication channels and seek student feedback to ensure their needs are addressed in decision-making processes.

Student Bursar

Katherine Deane ’25 (she/her)
- Placed a big emphasis on making SOFC more accessible by hosting town halls throughout the year and enhancing communication between student organizations and SOFC.
- Will address misinformation by creating an anonymous Q&A platform for accurate information dissemination, fostering transparency and reliability.

Committee for Political Engagement Chair

Maragret Huai ’26 (she/her)
- To enhance political activism, Huai proposes outreach with peer institutions’ student governments and organizing visits to town halls, legislatures and courthouses. These initiatives aim to demonstrate solidarity and empower students to advocate effectively, aligning with CPE’s mission.
- Will create a weekly digest of political events to promote non-partisan understanding and campus-wide political awareness, drawing on my experience as Secretary-Treasurer to ensure clarity and accessibility.

Director of On-Campus Affairs

Sophie Trammell ’26
- Wants to maximize fun and inclusivity by petitioning for the return of pre-pandemic events like Remix and soliciting community input on LDOC artist genres.
- By collaborating with on-campus organizations, Trammell seeks to create diverse and engaging SBOG events, fostering a platform for community feedback and collaboration.

Community Organizing and Inclusion Liaison

Mikayla Tansil ’25 (she/her)
- Will increase awareness of COIL and SGA through events, social media engagement, and continue previous initiatives with the support of existing relationships within College Government and faculty.
- Aims to bring ASL to Wellesley, a process which Tansil has already started during her time as COIL this year.

Orgs Chair

Write-In: Soo Lee ’25 (she/her)
- Wants to enhance wengage accessibility by collaborating with OSI to simplify event check-ins and create a feature listing all approved orgs on campus for easier navigation. Will also work with OSI to implement an electronic payment method for fundraising events, expediting its adoption to streamline transactions.
- Aims to strengthen orgs training by centralizing resources and common questions for e-board members’ reference.

Emergency Contraception Rec. Grant Vote

A vote was held to request a recreation grant for an emergency contraception vending machine. The request for the grant is being led by Sofia Hernandez Santillan ’24 and Coco Plasencia ’24, students at large. A one-time cost of $2,673 will be requested to fund the vending machine portion of this project. The emergency contraception stock (Plan B One-Step) has been provided by external donors (i.e. Advocates for Youth). There are 300+ packets of emergency contraception and a secure place is needed to store and distribute them. Emergency contraception will be free to students. A stack of nickels (or quarters) will be placed next to the vending machine for use in purchasing the emergency contraception, which will be priced at 5 cents. The vending machine will be stored in the space in front of the Office of Student Wellness. This location was chosen because it is a private space accessible to only Wellesley students by swipe access. The building is open seven days a week from 8-12 a.m.

SOFC Amendment Questions

Head Bookkeeper, Penelope Gordon ‘25, presented the SOFC amendments at Senate. Amendments to the SOFC constitution include a new Conference Fund for orgs to fund trips to conferences, and a clear outline on what the responsibilities of the head bookkeeper, assistant bookkeeper and student bursar. The floor was then open for questions from Senators and students.

Old Business & Open Discussion

Dean of Students, Sheila Horton, encourages everyone to be careful as the flu and COVID-19 are still going around. Administration will meet this week to discuss the updated COVID-19 guidelines released by the CDC. Horton will send an email with an updated COVID-19 policy from the College, but for now, she recommends that if you contract COVID-19, then you must be isolated for five days. Horton then continued to talk about the decision to hold back to vote count on Ballot Initiatives. After attempting to look into the origins of the policy to hold back the decision count on Ballot Initiatives, Horton said it was clear where the decision came from. Horton continued to say that she has made the decision to keep the policy in place because revealing the details of the vote will not help students move on. Horton further backs her decision up by saying that there has been a lot of community pain that has come from Ballot Initiatives, and releasing the numbers would exacerbate that pain. Many students were frustrated by this, expressing that a lack of election transparency dilutes the purpose of College Government. After a multitude of questions to Horton and College Government President Ingrid Bell, a group of students and senators volunteered to write a Ballot Initiative to release the vote count on Ballot Initiatives.