Williams:

We hope finals are going well! Take a few minutes to read this e-mail about what your student government has worked on this semester. Don’t worry, we give you permission to procrastinate (that was a Peter joke…).

We want to wish all of the graduating seniors the BEST OF LUCK as they pop the Purple Bubble 🙂 We especially want to thank Francesca Barrett and Nick Fogel for their leadership this past year. We have big shoes to fill.

College Council has been working very hard this past semester, and we hope that you find the work we do relevant and effective. Keep reading to see what we’ve been up to!

T o   i m p r o v e   s t u d e n t   l i f e   a t   W i l l i a m s :

We came up with the idea for Purple Cow Gelato (yum!); we facilitated the a cappella groups’ return to Brooks Rogers and Chapin for their final concerts; we successfully worked with the CUL to extend swipe access hours into Hollander and Schapiro; we worked with Dining Services to increase variety at various venues on campus; we turned the super successful Great Ideas Campaign into a permanent committee that solicits ideas from students and turns their ideas into reality (see below for a list); we funded most of and assisted in the planning for Williams Day.

T o   o p e n   m o r e   l i n e s   o f   c o m m u n i c a t i o n   w i t h   t h e   s t u d e n t   b o d y :

We post all of our meeting minutes and agendas on WSO and on our website, collegecouncil.williams.edu; we are visiting your group meetings, attending events, and being more attentive to the issues you care about; we’ve sought input via [email protected]; and the College Council Communications Team (CCCT) has worked to increase our presence around campus through our first-ever newsletter poster campaign, “You’re In the Know.”

T o   f u l f i l l   o u r   p r o m i s e   o f   r e s p o n s i b l y   b a l a n c i n g   t h e   s t u d e n t   b o d y ’ s   b u d g e t :

We created a new Assistant Treasurer position on College Council to provide a second pair of eyes managing our finances, and to help the CC Treasurer communicate with groups and students that want to request money; we formed a Rollover Task Force that will work over the summer to create proposals to advise next year’s Council on how to manage the $110,000 of rollover funds; we’ve scrutinized every funding request to ensure that it reflects genuine student need and interest; we’ve ensured the longevity of groups like the Sailing Team with high capital expenditures by allocating funds through the Capital Investment Fund (CIF).

T o   e n s u r e   t h a t   s t u d e n t s   f e e l   s a f e   a n d   s u p p o r t e d   a t   W i l l i a m s :

We institutionalized the Mental Health Committee as an official College Council committee; we advocated for better resources for JAs through the Health Center; we worked with the Chaplain’s Office to reinstate Life Raft, a support group for students and community members struggling with grief; we partnered with the Mental Health Committee for an all-campus discussion, “Our Mental Health: Where Do We Go From Here?” (minutes attached).

 

It is a privilege to represent you. Have a wonderful summer!

 

Krista Pickett and Peter Skipper

CC Presidents

[…]

Are you interested in getting involved in a meaningful way at Williams?

Do you want to work with other students, faculty, and administrators to make a difference?

Do you want to influence College policy and get experience working on a wide range of campus issues?

You should apply to be on a student-faculty or administrative committee!

Every year right around this time, CC solicits applications from the student body to serve on an official College committee. Most committees are made up of a combination of administrators, faculty, staff and students, and they play an integral role in setting College policy in both academic and non-academic areas.

All students are encouraged to apply! If there’s a chance you will be unavailable during the normal committee meeting time (usually 4-5:30pm) for part of a semester due to a sport or other activity, you can still apply–meeting times can be adjusted!–just indicate this in your application. In most cases, we appoint students to serve terms that run the entire academic year. You will be notified by the end of this semester and join your committee in the Fall.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the committee application process.

Apply!
Krista Pickett and Peter Skipper
College Council Presidents

[…]

Williams:

We spent last weekend at Connecticut College, attending a conference for NESCAC student governments. While this institution as a whole is far from perfect, we realized how fortunate we are to go to a school that values student input as much as Williams does. As Williams students, we have the ability to effect positive change on this campus and to actually take charge of our own education.

As for College Council: we implemented some of your Great Ideas and we are addressing issues relating to mental health. We are also working to facilitate the types of conversations about our community that distinguish Williams from many of the schools we spoke to.

These are just the highlights! Check out collegecouncil.williams.edu to read through our meeting minutes. As always, e-mail your thoughts, questions, and Great Ideas (big or small) to [email protected]

[…]