In one of its biggest accomplishments, Vernon said in an interview with The Dartmouth, the Assembly initiated structural changes to the Student Budget Advisory Council to communicate budget information more effectively among different student groups.
"The knowledge and communication about these issues should be more grassroots and dispersed," she said.
Members of SBAC were previously a group of students who did not necessarily represent a specific constituency, according to former Student Body Vice President Cory Cunningham '10.
SBAC now has representatives from Palaeopitus Senior Society, the Inter-Community Council, Class Council, the Undergraduate Finance Committee and the Assembly, according to Vernon.
Although changes were made to SBAC's structure, Vernon did not accomplish proposed modifications to the UFC funding process.
To address the College's budgetary concerns, Vernon proposed a reserve fund for the UFC as part of her campaign. The fund would have gone toward organizations that lost funding because of budget cuts.
Upon becoming student body president, Vernon who was not a member of the Assembly prior to her election realized that a reserve fund would not serve as the most useful change to the UFC, she said. Rather, Vernon opted for other ways to try to improve its efficiency.
"It's completely a 180 of how much I even thought I knew then and how much I have learned and know now," she said.
Vernon added that conversations are currently taking place to review and streamline the funding application process, in hopes of making the UFC more effective.
Vernon also explained that because she chose to nominate Kathryn Arffa, a member of the Class of 2011, to chair the UFC, incoming Assembly leaders will have an "ally" on hand next year. Because of her prior service, Arffa will be an "expert on what UFC process looks like," she said.
In her campaign, Vernon also pushed for changes to the Committee on Standards, but no such changes took place during her administration.
Although the Assembly has been working with the Judicial Affairs Office to address the issue, Vernon said budget reductions and other time constraints have made communication with the office difficult.
"One thing that really frustrated us a little bit was that budget cuts took up a lot of [Vernon's] and my time," Cunningham said.
The Assembly worked on building relationships with College President Jim Yong Kim's new administration, "trying to get off on the right foot for how students and administrators should work together," Vernon said.
The "working relationships" Vernon has developed with College administrators allowed her to call the appropriate officials when the Organizational Adjudication Committee reforms that had been announced during the Fall were at risk of being tabled in the Winter, she said.
The OAC reforms resulted in a new student-run system to determine punishments for organizations accused of minor misconduct. A committee in the Assembly originally proposed the OAC student board in May 2009. After reviewing the proposal, acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears announced in November that the board would be created by Winter term. The board's implementation was delayed due to a variety of issues, including budget restructuring and the fire at Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, The Dartmouth previously reported.
In a previous interview with The Dartmouth, Vernon said the student board was able to reduce the delay from its original start-up date because of the collaborative effort of the Assembly and student organizers. Students stepped up to help with a backlog of logistical work that had previously prevented the OAC initiative from moving forward.
Improved communication between the Assembly and the rest of campus was pledged by both Vernon and Cunningham as part of their respective campaigns.
Vernon and Cunningham both pledged to improve communication between the Assembly and the rest of campus as part of their campaigns.
While there was increased communication between Assembly leaders and members, according to Cunningham, alternative means of communication between Assembly leaders and the rest of the student body were hard to pursue given the time restraints of their administration.
"You really just don't have the time and resources as much as you hope to push all these methods of communication," Cunningham said.
Over Winter term, the earthquake in Haiti elicited a major response from the student body, and the efforts of Students at Dartmouth for Haiti Relief received national attention. Vernon, along with Maura Cass '10 and Alexandra Schindler '10, spearheaded the effort.
"We as a student body came together in an inexplicable way and really just set a standard across the nation," Vernon said.
She also acknowledged that she could be criticized for taking on a cause that was outside of the Assembly's responsibilities, but Vernon said the quantity and diversity of students present at the volunteer meetings made the effort relevant to the goals of the Assembly's Diversity and Community Affairs Committee.
Another part of Vernon's campaign statement called for the town of Hanover to reform its alcohol policy, citing the high rate of alcohol-related arrests at Dartmouth.
Due to recent changes in Hanover Police policy, police officers will continue to assist emergency personnel responding to ambulance calls but will not necessarily arrest students who are eligible for the Alcohol Diversions Program.
The change in procedure followed the formation of the Student and Presidential Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee a committee led by Kim to reduce unsafe drinking practices although acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears said that the decision to implement the new policy was entirely initiated by Hanover Police.
Vernon did not take charge of any of the committees, she said, but she was involved in its formation and helped select the members of the committee.
Vernon has been a member of SPAHRC and attended the meetings of the SPAHRC student committee, according to William Schpero '10, student co-chair of the committee.
Cunningham is a former member of the The Dartmouth Senior Business Staff. Schpero is a former member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
Staff writer Emily Fletcher contributed reporting to this article.
