Like many seniors, I am less than a term away from graduation, and I am reflecting on my lessons learned about student governance over the past four years. I hope to share a few in an effort to encourage you to engage in this year's Student Assembly elections.
To begin, don't over complicate the role of the president: A year ago, with little experience serving on Student Assembly, I was elected president. Within two days, I realized this position encompassed two roles: the president of the Assembly and the president of the student body. While these may not seem like dueling positions, there is a clear difference between managing the internal operations of the Assembly and conquering the multiplicity of issues raised by the Dartmouth community. Unfortunately, I found this inevitable trade-off means the development of this position is still premature even after a full year of serving as Assembly and student body president.
I have been fortunate to work with the Assembly and have discovered the policy potential of the group along with the dedicated, hard working students in the organization. But because the organizations' leaders straddle the Assembly and student body it is easy for members to complain that other students do not care about the Assembly's work and for non-Assembly students to complain that the Assembly is inactive. Both claims may in part be true; however, having a policy-driven Assembly and an active and engaged student body makes for a successful Dartmouth community. Although, this March, the Assembly changed the role of an elected official to make it less complex, this is only the beginning.
Think critically together with your peers: I believe an Assembly president is most successful addressing campus issues when collaborating on tangible student needs. Acting as a facilitator, I have felt most useful sharing my knowledge of the administrative structure with students groups to help them maximize the likelihood they will achieve their policy goals. This year, successes can be seen in issues of accessibility, sexual and physical assault and alcohol policy.
The Assembly should continue its work with the administration to outline student priorities and then work with specific student-oriented communities surrounding the issue to provide them with the tools they need to address these challenges.
Act with a sense of urgency: It feels like campus issues are caught in a cycle of discussions that reoccur on and off for four years. Then, as we welcome each new crop of students, conversations about unsolved issues only continue indefinitely like a hamster on a wheel. With our new administration, we must highlight the importance of a particular issue, present thoughtful research and a comprehensive action plan so the administration will take our needs seriously and actually address our concerns.
Often times, students eventually conclude that a cause is hopeless due to lack of administrative involvement or accountability. This is an excuse and, in fact, if the Assembly is utilized as a policy powerhouse to work with students in addressing campus-wide concerns in a timely manner, we will be able to finally fix campuses problems, once and for all.
Over the past year, the hard work of Assembly members has transpired into the enactment of many initiatives including the implementation of the student-run Organizational Adjudication Committee and the restructuring of the Student Budget Advisory Committee, to name a few.
At this time last year, our student body was preparing to embrace monumental changes with the induction of our new President and the prospect of cutting $100 million from the budget. In the future, the College is facing restructuring challenges in response to these shifts in personnel and monetary policy. It will be extremely important for students to continue to voice their concerns and provide feedback.
Dartmouth's greatest strength lies in the caliber of its active community members. When thinking about whom to select as your next leaders, vote for people who can bring us together, be a facilitator between the administration and students and, most importantly, be an advocate for the entire undergraduate population.
Thank you for providing Cory and me with the opportunity to serve you this year and please keep in mind that your voice matters when voting on Monday.
