Goals as Student Assembly President/Vice-President

Student Assembly 2008

• Right now, candidates for Student Assembly positions are required to submit a petition sheet with either 25, 50 or 75 signatures (depending on the position) and write a platform of 100 or 200 words (depending on the position) to be published in the Spectator.  Of particular importance is the platform length.  A 100 or 200 word platform is not enough space for some candidates to describe themselves and lay out their ideas for the school.  Candidates should not be required to write more than 100/200 words, but neither should they be limited to 100/200 words.  A bigger word limit should be implemented to give candidates the option of writing more should they want to.

• With diversity a hot-topic right now, the time is ripe to push some new pro-diversity goals.  One that is dear to our hearts is the goal to establish a financial incentive for multicultural events.  Right now, most organizations plan events solo.  However, if a financial incentive (say $800) existed for organizations to throw events/parties with organizations of different purposes/cultural background, then most organizations would start looking to work with one another.  Of course there would be limits to what the money could be spent on (no alcohol or other banned substances), but the possibilities abound for other uses (live music, food, etc.).  For example, if the Asian Cultural Society decided to throw a joint party with a fraternity, the organizers would get $800 that they could spend on non-alcoholic/banned substances items.  In the end, the goal is that during the process of throwing the joint party, members of both organizations would have a chance to interact with people of different backgrounds, learn from them, and befriend them.

• Currently the deadline is the second Tuesday after classes start.  Oftentimes, this deadline does not provide students ample time to carefully deliberate before choosing to take a class credit/no credit.  While we recognize and agree with the faculty's belief that the credit/no credit option should be used sparingly, we believe students will not overuse the credit/no credit option as current regulations prevent first semester first-year students from exercising the option, prevent juniors and seniors from exercising the option for a course for a major or minor, prevent students from taking more than four courses credit/no credit at Hamilton, and prevent students from taking more than one course credit/no credit in any given semester.  Given these restrictions, and the fact that according to the College's academic regulations, the College adopted the credit/no credit option "To encourage a greater breadth in course election, we see no reason why the deadline should not be extended.

• Right now freshman class officers are thrown into the Student Assembly and their class delegation with no idea of how the assembly works, who to talk to for certain issues, how to get things done, how to be members of a governing body, and how to solicit ideas from their constituents.  As a result, there is a lot of wasted time as these new members do on-the-job learning for almost the entire year.  It is our plan to develop an orientation booklet for new members that would help address these concerns.

• Last year the Student Assembly Vice-President had to resign.  The ensuing process of finding a replacement exposed many problems in the election codes that could use fixing.

• As you can see, this goal has been completed!  The entire assembly would like to thank Justin Brant for creating the site.  Without him, none of this would have been possible.

• Right now there is a path that runs from the back entrance of commons to just before Carnegie.  The lack of a path between Carnegie and Root Hall causes students to either have to walk in the mud/snow or walk in the road.  Neither of these are particularly safe nor appealing options.  Hopefully when the weather is warm, and the snow is gone, the path can be connected to Carnegie and beyond.

• The lighting down to Bundy has been a constant problem.  More recently (due in part to the construction), the lighting on the road to Babbitt/Milbank has become a problem.  Later this semester we, and many other members of the Student Assembly, will be taking a walk around campus at night with representatives from physical plant to point out these problems and get them addressed.

• Given the recent incidents on campus, the need for an adequate emergency blue light system is higher than ever.  While there are many lights around campus, there are some places that could use one, specifically in front of the Science Center/Library and near Babbitt circle.

• Given the short Add/Drop and Credit/No Credit deadlines, the ability to have access to course syllabi before registration is of extreme importance.  Knowing the layout of each class before registration will help students make more informed choices regarding their courses.  This in turn will help alleviate the stress many students feel during the first week of classes when they are running around trying to reorganize their schedules.

• This has been a dream of dark-siders for a long time, and we are proud to say that under the guidance of our predecessors and the Student Assembly Food Committee, progress is underway.  By any luck, it will be open next academic year.

• Every year the Student Assembly is tasked with awarding one member of the faculty the Sidney J. Wertimer Award.  The process by which the faculty member is selected is flawed and should be changed.

• Many jobs require good oral communication skills.  Whether it is giving speeches or presentations, being able to communicate effectively is an important tool to have in the workplace.  As such, the creation of Oral Intensive classes would help prepare students for this job requirement.  Similar to writing intensive classes, oral intensive classes would require a certain number of oral assignments.  However, unlike writing intensive classes, oral intensive classes would be voluntary.  

• With the new Hill Card system soon to be implemented all across campus, there is a need to have the debit-card feature of the card be accepted at the Little Pub.

• There are many academic regulations that students are unaware of.  Having the regulations sent out via email before course registration each semester will help students make the appropriate course selections.