Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Hello students of Swarthmore College, my name is Rachell Morillo and I am currently a first year student. I am writing in hopes of convincing you to vote for me as Campus Life Representative. At face value, this position may seem a little innocuous seeing as all of student council is meant to be representative of students on campus, yet I find this position to be key to many of the decisions being made on campus. This position gives students the opportunity to have their voices heard in almost every venue for change on campus. It allows one student to become well versed in the concerns of the larger public and make them heard. As someone coming from a high school with ideals very much in line with those of Swarthmore, I have had a lot of experience with community involvement; I can confidently say that I can successfully fill this position.
Community organization and outreach is something that I truly enjoy and am interested in continuing to do. Although my particular experience has been with ensuring (socio-economic and racial) diversity, I think the work that I have done in giving voice to the opinions of those who are underrepresented will translate well into my work as a Campus Life Representative. If elected I would like to explore the already established methods of communications between the larger public and their elected officials. Additionally, I would like to look into issues of transparency and comprehensive reporting between Student Council, the administration and the larger campus community. Furthermore, I would like to work on providing better platforms for students to voice concerns. A communicative, well-informed, and responsive student government is what Swarthmore should be striving for.
This is a very important time for Swarthmore seeing as we are poised for many changes. As we attempt to become a campus of global citizens, it is important that we come together to organize and plan for our future: I, as Campus Life Representative, plan to steer us in that direction. I look forward to working closely with campus groups and individuals to ensure that we are headed towards becoming an active and informed community. One of the main reasons I chose to come to Swarthmore was the caliber of the conversations which I had while visiting during Ride the Tide. Ideally, this position will allow me to have a large amount of these conversations as well as channeling what I learn about into specific campus wide action. Although I am merely in my first year, I look forward to the opportunity of having such a responsibility on campus; I hope the Swarthmore community deems me worthy.