Like many '03s who are returning to campus after studying abroad or completing internships, I am reacquainting myself with Dartmouth -- meeting '05s and attempting to reclaim my place within this community. Since freshman year, I've been heavily involved in Student Assembly, first as a cluster representative, then as vice president of administration/faculty relations, and as a student representative on both the committee on instruction and the committee on student life. Before I went abroad, I was immersed in debate about Safety and Security walk-throughs, Greek life and College committees in the continuing effort to improve student life on this campus. However, I have since spent the fall in Rome as the United States faught terrorism, and the winter in New York as the city recovered from a tragic loss.
When I returned to Hanover, I struggled to see how issues like improving the gym compared to everything going on in the world outside of Dartmouth. The D-plan helps us establish a more global perspective, maybe even a connection with the rest of the world, that is all too easily forgotten in our relatively problem-free campus. My two terms away have allowed me to gain perspective and realize that what we make of our time here at Dartmouth is important.
It is at Dartmouth that we will not only receive the academic background necessary to become members of the global community, but also the essential tools to become leaders and make changes in the world. Issues of student voice and student empowerment may be specific to our time in college, but will be significant in our lives post-Dartmouth as well. It's important to me that we graduate with the inclination to identify problems in our respective communities, and the skills to remedy them. While we fight for better gym facilities and increased social options, we must keep an eye open to the bigger picture. What we learn at Dartmouth through those struggles to improve our campus will allow us to tackle bigger issues in the future. It's important because it can open minds, create leaders and instill a sense of responsibility. Because Dartmouth is a small community of educated and hardworking people, it is the ideal environment for initiating discussion, and for empowering its citizenry to pursue positive change.
There is great potential for students to influence and inspire one another with their ideas and their passions. Unfortunately, there are members of our community who feel their voices muted by bureaucracy and a general feeling of powerlessness. If I'm elected, I will make it my first priority to make sure that Assembly takes responsibility for destroying those feelings of powerlessness and ensuring our collective and individual voices are heard. I would like to see our ideas put into action through the increased representation of students in the decision-making process of the administration, the growth of student-faculty relations, and the increase of services such as Dartmouth Dining Services delivery and even the improvement of our gym facilities. Although I encourage everyone to vote, I encourage those who believe in unified student voice, the importance of an experienced candidate and an empowered student body, to vote for me.
