Election News

Fellow Ephs,

Happy Dead Week! We hope that you all had a wonderful and restful January and are ready to begin the Spring Semester. With the new semester comes everyone’s favorite time of year… IT’S TIME FOR SPRING COLLEGE COUNCIL ELECTIONS!! (So many exclamation points! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!)

College Council, the student government of Williams College, is charged with allocating the student activities tax, working with administrators to shape policy, launching campus improvement projects, discussing campus issues, and serving as the voice of the student body.

Elections will open at 8 pm on Tuesday February 14th and close at 8 pm on Thursday February 16th. Additionally, there will be TWO debates this year instead of one. The first College Council Debate will occur on Thursday February 9th and will include speeches from all candidates running for year-long positions as well as a Record-moderated Presidential Debate. THEN, we will have a second Question/Answer session on Sunday February 12 in which students will be able to ask candidates or positions specific questions. Look out for more information on these two sessions as we progress along election season!

All current students are eligible and encouraged to run for CC.

Each of the elected 18 positions on the council is open. They are as follows:

Year Long Representatives:
– Co-presidents / President and Vice President
– Secretary
– Treasurer
– Class Representatives (1 each for class of 2015, 2014, 2013)
– All Campus Representative with a special focus on Community and Diversity

Semester Long Positions:
– At Large Neighborhood Representatives (1 per cluster)
– First year House Representatives (1 per house)

Committee Positions:
– Class of 2014 Member of the Honorary Degrees Committee (2)

More information, as well as descriptions for each of the open positions, is below. If you have any questions regarding any of the above positions, or the election procedures, please do not hesitate to contact us. On behalf of College Council, we wish you all the best in the upcoming elections!

Sincerely,

Good luck,

Francesca and Nick
CC Co-Presidents

Self-nominations are due to [email protected] by Midnight on February 4th (consider it Friday night at 11:59 PM/Saturday morning at 12:00 AM). Campaigning can begin immediately.

Each self-nom should include:
1. your name
2. class year
3. the position for which you are running

Please send your self-nom in the following way:
1. As the subject line put your name, position you are running for
2. Email the self-nom as an attachment rather than as body text

Visit http://wso.williams.edu/wiki/index.php/Self-nom for tips on writing an effective self-nomination. Good self-noms generally but not necessarily discuss projects you are interested in pursuing, why you are interested in CC and why you think you would be an effective member of council.

College Council meets every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. If you are elected you are expected to attend every meeting. Please keep this in mind when deciding whether or not to run. College Council at Williams is serious and requires real commitment to this work, oftentimes outside of Council meetings.

The elections will be held online from 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 15 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 17. All students will receive an email with a link to our voting system.

College Council and student-faculty committees are a great way to get involved in student affairs, influence school policy, and improve the college. If there is something you want done, run for one of these positions and make it happen.

CO-PRESIDENTS / PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT

The Co-Presidents / President & VP are the leaders of College Council and have significant opportunities to influence school policy and student life. In addition to facilitating the weekly College Council meetings, they frequently meet with administrators, including the Dean of the College, the President, the Director of Security, the VP for Student Life, and the Director of Campus Life. They also have a number of other responsibilities that are associated with being campus
leaders.

Note: Candidates for Co-President / President and VP must run as a ticket, and only members of the classes of 2013 and 2014 are eligible. The decision of whether to run as Co-Presidents or as a President and Vice President is left up to the candidates.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words.

SECRETARY

The Secretary is responsible for recording the proceedings of all Council meetings, and making these records (i.e. the College Council “Minutes”) available to the student body. As one of the four College Council Officers, the Secretary also has a more general leadership role. Along with the Co-Presidents / President & VP and Treasurer, the Secretary sets the agenda for Council meetings and frequently meets with the College administration, the faculty, and other leaders of the College community. In this way, the Secretary has a significant opportunity to influence school policy and student life.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words.

TREASURER

The Treasurer is responsible for managing the allocation of the Student Activities Tax. Specifically, the Treasurer chairs the Finance Committee, which makes recommendations to College Council on how to allocate this $400,000 among the over 100 student clubs and organizations on campus. The Treasurer also chairs the Finance committee and handles the finances of College Council.

As one of the four College Council Officers, the Treasurer also has a more general leadership role. Along with the Co-Presidents / President & VP and Secretary, the Treasurer sets the agenda for Council meetings and frequently meets with the College administration, the faculty, and other leaders of the College community. In this way, the Treasurer has a significant opportunity to influence school policy and student life.

Note: Candidates for the position of Treasurer must be, or have been, members of the Finance Committee unless they ask the Current year-long College Council representatives to vote in favor of making an exception to this rule.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words.

CLASS REPRESENTATIVE

Class representatives are responsible for representing the interests of their class, and keeping their classmates aware of Council proceedings. As year-long positions, Class Reps are also asked to take on other leadership roles, such as communicating with student faculty committees and helping set the agenda for Council meetings. They are also responsible for initiating their own projects to improve student life.

For members of the Class of 2013, 2014 and 2015: while it is strongly encouraged that candidates for the class rep position plan on serving out their entire term, candidates who plan on/are currently studying abroad may run with another candidate. The names would appear on the ballot as: “John Smith (spring semester)/Jane White (fall semester)”

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words.

ALL-CAMPUS REPRESENTATIVE WITH A SPECIAL FOUCS ON COMMUNITY AND
DIVERSITY

This representative is charged with maintaining ties with and representing the interests of the student minority organizations along with considering issues raised at council with a special focus on community and diversity. This representative will also serve on the Board of the Minority Coalition, the Finance Committee, and the Committee for Diversity and Community. In addition to their other responsibilities, this rep serves as the primary liaison between the Minority Coalition and College Council, updating the Minority Coalition of College Council business, and vice versa. In order to fulfill this role, they are required to attend Minority Coalition Board meetings, in addition to College Council meetings. This
is a year long position. You do not have to identify as a minority in order to run for this position.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words.

NEIGHBORHOOD AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE (elected position)

Like the House Representatives, Neighborhood At-Large Representatives are required to attend weekly College Council meetings, serve on subcommittees of Council, and initiate their own projects to improve student life. However, at the weekly Council meetings, these representatives advocate on behalf of their neighborhood. They also help make important decisions on student life and college policy, approve the distribution of the $400,000 student activities tax,
and update Council on the projects they are personally initiating. Additionally the Neighborhood Representative may be asked by his/her respective Neighborhood Governance Board to bring issues to Council and vice versa.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words, and must include your name and the Neighborhood for which you are running. You must be a non-freshmen member of your neighborhood to run for this position.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words.

FIRST-YEAR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES

First-year Representatives are required to attend weekly College Council meetings, serve on subcommittees of Council and initiate their own projects to improve student life. At the weekly Council meetings, they advocate on behalf of their dorm and their class, help make important decisions on student life and college policy, approve the distribution of the $400,000 student activities tax, and update Council on the projects they are personally initiating.

The six dorms for the freshmen class are: Dennett, Mills, Pratt, Armstrong, Sage and Williams. (Armstrong-Pratt 1 and Mills-Dennett 1 entries run according to their dorm)

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words.

CLASS OF 2014 MEMBERS OF THE HONORARY DEGREES COMMITTEE

Each year the Honorary Degrees Committee seeks the names of suitable candidates for honorary degrees (including for the roles of Commencement and Baccalaureate speakers) and works through consensus toward a group of recipients from a variety of fields (e.g., people in the arts and sciences, in the business and philanthropic worlds, in the public and private spheres, etc.). The committee is composed of several trustees, one of whom serves as chair; the president; the college marshal; one faculty member from each division; and four students (two juniors and two seniors).

Note: This is a two-year term. And because the committee meets infrequently, it’s strongly encouraged that candidates plan on staying on campus throughout their term.

Those elected will also be expected to attend a committee meeting on campus this April 13.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words.