Bijeta Lamichhane
Contributing Writer
On Thursday, Feb. 28, representatives from different student organizations at the College will be speaking in front of the Board of Trustees at the Student Development Meeting (SDM). The meeting provides the student body — specifically the students involved in these organizations — with the opportunity to directly present any questions or concerns they have regarding the campus community to the board.
While the intention behind the meeting is straightforward — that is, to establish a collaborative relationship between the board and the student body — the process of presenting different organizations’ stances requires a lot of work. The Student Government Association (SGA) has been tasked to hold planning meetings a month prior to the meeting with the Board to assist the representatives in refining their questions, concerns and opinions.
“Every semester, when the Board of Trustees come to campus, they like to meet with students. SGA is tasked with running such a meeting so that students can talk directly to them,” said Isaac Weiss ’20, treasurer for SGA.
“We put a call out about a month before the meeting to ask student groups who wish to speak to the Trustees to come out and talk to SGA beforehand, so that we can make sure that the conversation is well tuned to what the Trustees can actually work with,” Weiss added. “Then, the President of SGA [Monét Davis ’19] runs the SDM, and the students of the College will have the unique opportunity to talk to the Trustees.”
The planning meetings were held earlier this month, on Monday, Feb. 4 and Thursday, Feb. 7.
The representatives of different organizations present their stances on various issues and even provided updates. Wooster Activities Crew (WAC) plans to update the Board of Trustees regarding their success and provide an outlook for what is to come in the next months. Emily Stoehr ’20, the vice president of finances for WAC, said, “We have no concerns to raise. Instead, we would like to thank them for always assisting us with our endeavors.”
Co-President of Inter-Greek Council Maha Rashid ’19 plans to attend the meeting with a similar agenda. “Our goal is to enlighten the Board about successes that the Greek community has had and ask for their help to propel the momentum even farther,” Rashid said. “We are very grateful for this opportunity and look forward to speaking with the Board.”
Some organizations, however, are shedding light on issues regarding different aspects of the campus community — from working for a cleaner environment to concerns regarding personal safety.
Henry Mai ’20, the co-treasurer of the Sexual Respect Coalition (SRC), said, “At the [SDM], we will be discussing our initiative of having content warnings put onto syllabi, the reestablishment of the working group and the formation of the survivor advocacy house (as a result of the Galpin Call-in).”
Mai continued, “We will also be emphasizing the College’s need for updated posters containing information about reporting a Title IX violation.”
In addition to raising their concerns, the representatives of SRC also plan on providing an update on the recent activities they have conducted. “Finally, we will be giving the Trustees a recap of all the events we have done over the past such as Sex Month, the MLK justice dialogue, Take Back the Night and the speaker we are bringing to campus in collaboration with South Asian Committee,” Mai concluded.
The representatives of Queer Student Union (QSU), Zizia Swan ’21 and Sam Corrigan ’20, will be raising their concerns regarding the students’ lives and safety, specifically those in the LGBTQIA+ community.
“We will be discussing the name change process, as there continues to be many issues with students’ names not being changed across all systems,” Swan, the co-president of QSU, said. “We also plan to request more transparency during bias incident investigations. It is difficult for students to feel safe knowing that these threatening situations are happening on campus, but not having very much information about the ongoing investigation.”
Many of the issues raised in the meeting will concern the well-being of the students — especially minorities. The representatives of Latinas Unidas and Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS) plan to voice their concerns regarding the representation of Latinx members in the campus.
“Our common concern includes the lack of Latinx representation of faculty and staff,” Evelyn Marin ’19, the co-president of OLAS, said. “It can definitely make transition at a PWI [predominantly white institution] easier and more comfortable if Latinx students recognize how a college education can provide so many opportunities for people that identify as they do as well.”
Marin also highlighted the importance of raising this issue. “They can seek out these professors/advisors/employees with more ease because they might share similar experiences and obstacles.”
“Another concern is the lack of attention towards courses that involve Latin-American studies. This could possibly be due to the lack of interest by professors, especially if they do not identify with Latinx culture. If the school can recognize this issue and take initiative in creating more representation of these Latinx identities, I see a future of hardworking Latinx students making a difference not only at this institution, but carrying what they learned here into the real-world,” Marin concluded.
Some of the concerns go beyond the issues regarding campus community. The Wooster Volunteer Network (WVN), for example, is looking forward to requesting assistance in making service trips across the city easier and more accessible.
Elizabeth Testamark ’22, a representative of WVN, said, “We are planning to advocate for the ability to access service trips. Since Wooster promotes civil engagement within Wayne County, we are vouching for those who cannot participate in them due to financial reasons.”
Another organization, WOODS (Wooster’s Outdoors Club), aims to increase accessibility to natural spaces at the College. Woods also desires to take measures in serving their members more efficiently.
“Woods has been growing and diversifying with a stronger on campus presence,” Cambry Baker ’21 said. “To continue this trend, WOODS would like to advocate for more natural space on campus to increase accessibility to experiences in nature for students. To best serve students on our break trips we want to certify a student in top rope climbing and another in whitewater canoeing.”
Finally, the representatives from Greenhouse plan to address the College’s recent response on the new recycling laws and how the organization actively worked on supplying information. They also plan to direct the Board of Trustees to pay attention to the recommendation of Sustainability Committee.
“The Committee is creating a five-year plan to make the College more sustainable and competitive with other Ohio 5 [Five Colleges of Ohio] schools,” Mackenzie Goltz ’20, president of Greenhouse, said. “They have great and important ideas, including the need for a sustainability coordinator. We need these changes to keep Wooster relevant and to do our part in the global community.”