Adele Wolfson begins term as Interim Dean of Students
Nan Walsh Schow ’54 and Howard B. Schow Professor in the Physical and Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry Adele Wolfson has begun her one-year tenure as Interim Dean of Students this fall, replacing outgoing Dean of Students Debra DeMeis. The search for the new Dean of Students is ongoing; the College has hired consulting firm Isaacson Miller – the same firm retained to assist in the search for the next Wellesley President – to assist the Wellesley search committee, which is made up of professors, administrators, two trustees and four students. Dean Wolfson spoke at Senate about her plan for the year, which focuses on keeping the Office of the Dean of Students on track and working on big projects “already in the pipeline.”
College returns student activities fee used for SLS last year
Interim Dean of Students Adele Wolfson announced that the College President will reimburse the student activities fee last year that the student body voted to spend as a student leadership stipend to compensate resident assistants and house presidents. College Government and Senate will decide where to allocate the money. The Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) also presented at Senate to raise awareness and student support for the Student Leadership Stipend as part of an effort to generate visible support for the push to compensate resident assistants and house presidents. While there is already a committee formed for the stipend, SLAP hopes to help give the movement a final push. Savannah Hauge ’16 and Amelia Tam ’18 pointed out that the student activities fee shouldn’t be used to pay resident assistants, which students have voted on funding using the activities fee for the past five years. The presenters said that 50 percent of former student residential life staff couldn’t continue due to financial restrictions. SLAP has asked for students to submit personal stories on their experiences serving as unpaid student leaders at studentleadershipstipend.weebly.com.
College implements updated sexual misconduct policy
Assistant Director of Residential Life Don Leach, Assistant Director of Health Education Claudia Trevor-Wright and a committee of staff and students updated Wellesley’s sexual misconduct policy in accordance with the Wellesley honor code and new federal Title IX legislation. The policy defines sexual misconduct broadly to cover stalking, harassment, abusive relationships and sexual violence. According to Leach, who presented at Senate, the new policy explains how to report sexual misconduct, the definition of misconduct at Wellesley, the policy’s limits and resources for students. The administrators emphasized that all Wellesley college faculty and staff are legally compelled to report sexual misconduct and only health services, religious life and counseling services staff can maintain a student’s confidentiality if asked. The College has developed an online education program called “Not Anymore” for students to learn about sexual misconduct. The program has been used for incoming classes at Wellesley.
