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.
My name is Lanie Schlessinger, and I’m running for Campus Life Representative.
This past year, I served as your StuCo Student Groups Adviser. While learning the out’s and in’s of Student Council, I accomplished the tasks I outlined in my platform, including the creation of an official Student Groups Master List, which can now be used to contact all student groups on campus when necessary. Additionally, while in charge of the chartering committee, we chartered nearly fifty new student groups this year! I also consistently volunteered to participate in projects that were unrelated to chartering, including organizing the sexual misconduct discussion.
I am running for Campus Life Representative because I think it is role in which I can effectively bring necessary or desired changes to StuCo and to the Swarthmore campus. The Small Steps Forward initiative is a brilliant creation, which has enabled us to undertake a variety of issues on campus. From Small Steps Forward Feedback, it appears that there are generally three categories of student complaints: StuCo complaints, fun campus complaints, and serious campus complaints. I intend to address all three categories. Here are some of my ideas:
1. StuCo Changes
– Increase dialogue among StuCo members so that all members know what the others do
– Create a one-day training event for StuCo members, so that new members know how everything works; this will help to eliminate or reduce the learning curve
– Make StuCo “Executive” positions unavailable to first-semester freshmen to give them a chance to adjust and learn about Swarthmore before participating
– Work toward creating a 20-30-person “general council,” which will increase Student Council’s ability to bring about change; assess student interest in this idea as CLR
– With the creation of a general council, work toward making one year of service on the general council a pre-requisite for running, which will allow us to rotate all positions at the same time, since institutional memory will be retained within the general council
2. Fun Campus Changes
– Hold a monthly competition (“StuCo Smash”), which will range according to the month. For example, we could hold a mummy-wrapping competition in October, or have a baby photo competition in which students match baby pictures with professors, or a Pictionary competition. Ideally, this could culminate in a StuCo-run relay in May, which will include academic and athletic events!
– Choose a “game of the week,” which will be publicized via posters around campus
– Make it clearer that we can aid with publicity for other groups
3. Serious Campus Changes
– Hold more discussions about serious issues, such as the Sexual Misconduct Discussion we held; these enable students to voice vital concerns, as well as meet the people in charge of handling the issues they are concerned about
– Make it clear that students can email the co-presidents with items they would like to be discussed with Dean Braun; the co-presidents will then add these items to their agenda
Thanks so much for your time!
Lanie Schlessinger ‘15