SA INTERNAL REFORM PLATFORM
Student Association engagement is concerningly low––many students are doubtful that the SA’s actions affect their lives, and many more are disillusioned with the SA as a vehicle for campus advocacy. Senate can pursue all the projects it wants, but it means little if the organization has lost its legitimacy with the student body.
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I have been involved with the SA in different roles across three years––as an NSR, as a College Senator, and currently as a College President. I have participated in strategies that helped increase transparency, observed gaps in the SA’s engagement with students, and authored a fair share of resolutions that unfortunately did not come to fruition. With this extensive experience to guide me as SA president, below are internal reforms I will make to increase SA engagement and redefine how the SA supports student advocacy.
I. Increasing student engagement with the SA through targeted outreach, inclusivity efforts, and accessibility initiatives.
Student engagement with the SA is embarrassingly low. This fact is evidenced by the past few SA elections––24% turnout in 2021, 27% turnout in 2022, and not a single contested candidate in 2023. Student apathy regarding the SA will initiate a destructive cycle if left unaddressed. No single initiative or reform can bolster student engagement on its own. And as has become apparent in the past few years, promoting the mere existence of SA as the undergraduate student government is not a sustainable way of driving genuine student engagement. Below are action items that I will pursue early in my term as SA President to address the root causes of low engagement with the SA.
1. Targeted outreach via issue-specific town halls
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Senate can easily go for longer than an hour, and being an SA commission member is a weekly commitment. You might be deeply passionate about menstrual equity and dining changes but less so about all the other logistical processes of the Senate.
As Student Association President, I will work with the College Senators, SA Commissions, and university administration to organize, well-publicize, and execute issue-specific town halls. These issue-specific town halls will give students an accessible, low-commitment way to have their voices heard on issues they are most passionate about.
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2. Establishing a representative Senate that amplifies minority voices and unequivocally rejects all forms of bias, marginalization, and aggression
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It is hard to get (and stay) involved in an organization where you don’t see yourself represented. As Student Association President, I will encourage students from affinity organizations such as HACER, BSA, RISA, and Pride to take up appointed positions across the SA. I will also invite affinity organizations to come present to the Senate about issues that matter to them, and how the Senate can help amplify their advocacy. Lastly, a representative Senate means little if the Senate environment is not inclusive for all students.
As SA President, I'll leverage my background as a Diversity Facilitator to foster constructive dialogue in Senate while unequivocally denouncing any form of bias, marginalization, or aggression.
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3. Making Senate more accessible for first-timers
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“Question of privilege,” “point of order,” “postpone indefinitely”––Senate operates by Robert’s rules of order, and any given session is riddled with terminology and phrases that may not be familiar to those who do not regularly attend Senate. Even voting members receive an entire binder during our retreat to help us navigate the rules.
As Student Association President, I will make Senate meetings more accessible to all students by having printed, 1-page information sheets on Robert’s rules of order available at every meeting.
II. Redefining and fortifying the role of the Student Association in supporting student advocacy.
There is only so much engagement the Student Association can generate if students do not believe that the SA is an effective vehicle for achieving change. While the past few years of Senate have seen several important accomplishments, it has also yielded many resolutions that died after passage, student ideas that got lost with inadequate support, and projects that could have benefited from increased collaboration. As Student Association President, below are my plans for redefining and fortifying the role of the SA in supporting student advocacy.
1. No more “just write a resolution!” as a solution to every issue: Establishing a thorough, student-centered advocacy process that understands the function of Senate resolutions
Resolutions are not meant to be a one-stop solution to issues on campus––rather, they are a formal expression of the Student Association’s stance on a given issue, meant to supplement the advocacy process. Past SAs have shown that projects that center stakeholder conversations and research are much more effective than ones that center the resolution itself. In addition, telling students passionate about a given issue to “just write a resolution” without additional guidance can be discouraging and misleading. Lastly, hastily resorting to resolutions on every occasion reduces the weight of SA resolutions. Below is the advocacy process that I will ensure every project follows as Student Association President.
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Student approaches a Senate member with a project/advocacy idea
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A Senate member passionate about the given issue collaborates with the student to thoroughly research the issue, and consult all relevant stakeholder groups (both student and administrative)
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With stakeholder groups’ input, all possible non-legislative solutions to the given issue are explored before resorting to a resolution.
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If it seems like the weight of the Senate’s support would help advance the project, a resolution is written. The role of the resolution would not be to achieve specific changes, but rather to demonstrate support for the changes proposed.
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If the resolution passes, the authors of the resolution will follow up with administrative stakeholders, now with the demonstrated support of the Senate. The discussions that take place after the resolution passage will be shared with the student body to the extent that confidentiality allows.
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2. Creating the position of Director of Policy
The Director of Policy will work closely with the SA executive board, parliamentarian, commissions, College Senators, and College Presidents to ensure that all SA resolutions follow the aforementioned course of action, beginning from project ideation to implementation talks with the administration following passage. This new position would help create thoughtful SA resolutions that lead to meaningful policy changes on campus.
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3. Establishing collaborative definitions and standard processes of SA advocacy with university administration
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Even though Student Association resolutions are non-binding, they express the sentiments of the student body as represented by the College Presidents and Senators. As such, resolutions drafted and passed after substantial research and stakeholder input should lead to constructive conversations with relevant administrative departments.
As Student Association President, I will work with the university administration on establishing collaborative definitions and warranted administrative responses to SA resolutions/SA advocacy.
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III. Increasing Student Association collaboration with the residential colleges
The Student Association is most effective when it works closely with the residential colleges as partners rather than as an independent, overseeing entity. As Student Association President, I will leverage my dual perspective from having served as both a College Senator and College President to bring the SA and residential colleges closer together.
1. Utilizing SA resources to directly benefit residential college life
As Brown President, I collaborated with the other North Colleges Presidents and the Student Association to provide SA funding to repair volleyball nets near McMurtry. I have also collaborated with the Presidents’ focus group on food insecurity and the SA treasurer to allocate $2000 from the general project funds to address food insecurity at the colleges.
As Student Association President, I commit to working closely with the College Presidents to identify how SA resources can be used for initiatives that directly benefit the residential colleges.
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