From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all of you. I don't know what I would have done without all your support. You all have been so incredibly amazing and I just want to thank you for going out and voting this year.
To my wonderful campaign team: Thank you for all you have done this past week - for cheering me on, putting a smile on my face, doing some crazy-ass chalking all over campus, putting up table tents and posters, wearing my pins, wearing my shirts, and for your constant love and support.
It was a "Win for Kim" and I look forward to bring your College Government President next year. More importantly, I look forward to serving you and working hard for you all - the student body at Wellesley.
Yours,
Clare
Friday, April 11, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
VOTING DAY!
...is TOMORROW.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading my responses on the Q&A conferences and for reading my blog.
This has been an incredible experience and I have enjoyed answering all your questions from the conference, the debates, and through personal encounters.
Voting takes place in the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center tomorrow from 8am-10pm and there will be an Elections Party in Pendleton Atrium afterwards so please come out and hear the results of next year's Cabinet!
21+ Please bring ID.
Thank you all again.
Yours truly,
Clare
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading my responses on the Q&A conferences and for reading my blog.
This has been an incredible experience and I have enjoyed answering all your questions from the conference, the debates, and through personal encounters.
Voting takes place in the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center tomorrow from 8am-10pm and there will be an Elections Party in Pendleton Atrium afterwards so please come out and hear the results of next year's Cabinet!
21+ Please bring ID.
Thank you all again.
Yours truly,
Clare
The Admin? Who's That?
Anybody understands that fine line between stepping on someone's toes to get what you want and when you've gone too far. I think this past year, I have had a working relationship with the administration so I have gained their respect. A lot of the times however, I have pushed for the students and have received very little support from the administration. A specific example is the new Health Services initiative. I have been in meetings where I have voiced my concerns and have felt that they weren't heard, so I set up individual meetings with Dean Lepore and Kris Niendorf to discuss how I felt and what they were going to do to respond to recent student concerns. They have told me just as they have told the rest of the student body that they are planning on going ahead with this plan even though the majority of the student body opposes it. I have challenged the Interim Deans, but plan on continuing this discussion with Debra DeMeis when she arrives to Wellesley, to ensure that this is a student-led initiative and not just another example of the admin making decisions FOR us.
I have continuously pushed for the students and I will always do my best to make sure that that trust is never compromised, with both the admin and the student body. Secondly, as Sec/Treas this past year, I have received emails from certain administrators asking me to reword publications, either on my spam or my minutes, to make it much more "acceptable for the student body." After receiving these unwarranted requests, I thought to myself, "How can they tell us what is acceptable for the student body and what isn't?" This was just another attempt to sugar-coat everything and to make sure that nothing would offend anybody or cause a stir among the student body. But what's wrong with telling students like it is? Absolutely nothing. That is our duty as CG, as representatives or liaisons to the student body. We need to be straight-forward and honest with everyone we communicate with, so I chose to ignore their requests and to type my minutes verbatim and not to accommodate their "special wording."
I think that I have chosen my battles wisely and hopefully, as your next College Government President, I will individually base that decision upon personal and student concerns, all through consultation with Unity and Cabinet members and other student leaders on campus.
I have continuously pushed for the students and I will always do my best to make sure that that trust is never compromised, with both the admin and the student body. Secondly, as Sec/Treas this past year, I have received emails from certain administrators asking me to reword publications, either on my spam or my minutes, to make it much more "acceptable for the student body." After receiving these unwarranted requests, I thought to myself, "How can they tell us what is acceptable for the student body and what isn't?" This was just another attempt to sugar-coat everything and to make sure that nothing would offend anybody or cause a stir among the student body. But what's wrong with telling students like it is? Absolutely nothing. That is our duty as CG, as representatives or liaisons to the student body. We need to be straight-forward and honest with everyone we communicate with, so I chose to ignore their requests and to type my minutes verbatim and not to accommodate their "special wording."
I think that I have chosen my battles wisely and hopefully, as your next College Government President, I will individually base that decision upon personal and student concerns, all through consultation with Unity and Cabinet members and other student leaders on campus.
What I would never change about Wellesley
Growing up in a traditional Korean-American household, I was told that men were to be given more respect than the women in my family, simply due to gender roles. However, my lonesome father happened to be the only male in my immediate household of 4 other women and my amazing mother quickly developed into the patriarch of my family, acting more as "the man of the house" than the "woman." From my mother, my grandmother, and my sisters' examples, I have learned that gender roles do not and should not exist and that was one of my main reasons for coming to Wellesley.
I quickly discovered that Wellesley is a place that cultivates a comfortable learning environment where students who come to Wellesley College will leave this institution feeling that they can do almost anything, that we don't ever have to compare ourselves to men, or to feel stigmatized by gender constraints. And that is something I treasure about Wellesley and would NEVER want to change this sentiment, my own or anyone else's, about Wellesley.
I quickly discovered that Wellesley is a place that cultivates a comfortable learning environment where students who come to Wellesley College will leave this institution feeling that they can do almost anything, that we don't ever have to compare ourselves to men, or to feel stigmatized by gender constraints. And that is something I treasure about Wellesley and would NEVER want to change this sentiment, my own or anyone else's, about Wellesley.
Moving Forward...
I think the most important issues this past year was resolving the ethnic and racial conflict that occurred on campus at the end of last year. As a result, Cabinet and College Government knew we had to address those issues by instituting Culture Shock, a week-long program of talkbacks that covered an array of topics such as socio-economic status, why there isn't a cultural organization for everyone, and many more. In addition, this past year, Unity, a group of student leaders on campus including all the House Presidents and the members of Cabinet, have been working on issuing a Code of Ethics for the entire faculty. This Code of Ethics is incredibly important because it addresses the fact that there are some instances when faculty members will make students feel uncomfortable about their dispositions inside and outside the classroom. What it comes down to is that it really is a matter of respect and this should be and WILL be institutionalized at Wellesley.
The second issue this past year was the lack of communication between the student body and the administration. You may be asking, what does that mean really? It means that there have been pitfalls of the administration's behalf in communicating to Wellesley's student body and telling us exactly what they discuss. Enough of this "political correctness" and "carefully phrasing it so that it's receptive to the student body." They need to tell it to us straight out so that an occurrence like the new Health Services proposal doesn't develop like the way it has or how the administration and the staff respond to recent occurrences, because it ultimately affects the student body.
This will be a huge undertaking on my part and I will ensure that CG will step up on the communication part, because this has been an issue EVERY single year that I've been here at Wellesley and this will continue to be an issue next year. But, so long as we can work on it, things CAN improve and they WILL. Next year is going to be crucial because we have a new Dean of Students arriving at Wellesley to work with us. I have been here this past year working with the interim and new administration, so I know how important it is for CG to communicate the student body's issues to incoming members. I have been in contact with President Bottomly and I will make sure that the new Dean of Students is well-acquainted with Wellesley's specific student culture.
The second issue this past year was the lack of communication between the student body and the administration. You may be asking, what does that mean really? It means that there have been pitfalls of the administration's behalf in communicating to Wellesley's student body and telling us exactly what they discuss. Enough of this "political correctness" and "carefully phrasing it so that it's receptive to the student body." They need to tell it to us straight out so that an occurrence like the new Health Services proposal doesn't develop like the way it has or how the administration and the staff respond to recent occurrences, because it ultimately affects the student body.
This will be a huge undertaking on my part and I will ensure that CG will step up on the communication part, because this has been an issue EVERY single year that I've been here at Wellesley and this will continue to be an issue next year. But, so long as we can work on it, things CAN improve and they WILL. Next year is going to be crucial because we have a new Dean of Students arriving at Wellesley to work with us. I have been here this past year working with the interim and new administration, so I know how important it is for CG to communicate the student body's issues to incoming members. I have been in contact with President Bottomly and I will make sure that the new Dean of Students is well-acquainted with Wellesley's specific student culture.
EAST-SIDE!
I have lived in the East Side (McAfee and Freeman) for two years and have loved living there. I currently live in Tower and have noticed a huge discrepancy in terms of community and student concerns. On the East Side, we would have to worry about walking 15 minutes across campus to check our mail or to go to an event but Tower's concerns were more that we were living in such an enormous building where we wouldn't really be able to get to know all the residents in the hall.
This past year, most of Cabinet resided in Tower, making it much easier for us to run up and down the stairs to hand something to each other or to discuss a recent occurrence. I think it is important for Cabinet to be all-representative and wide-reaching so I do understand your concern in having members of Cabinet spread throughout campus so it encompasses all student voices. Because of my experience on the "West Side" for a year, I am contemplating returning back to the East Side but I will decide this once all the members of Cabinet are elected so we know where we all would like to live.
This past year, most of Cabinet resided in Tower, making it much easier for us to run up and down the stairs to hand something to each other or to discuss a recent occurrence. I think it is important for Cabinet to be all-representative and wide-reaching so I do understand your concern in having members of Cabinet spread throughout campus so it encompasses all student voices. Because of my experience on the "West Side" for a year, I am contemplating returning back to the East Side but I will decide this once all the members of Cabinet are elected so we know where we all would like to live.
A Drastic Change? I Think Not.
There has been a growing sense on campus that, because House Council are more accessible than Senate , House Council should happen before Senate. What do you think about this idea?
I have been a HUGE supporter of this idea as this idea has been on my platform. I have seen the success of Stone's House Council changing to Sunday nights before Senate on Monday nights and would work with the HPC/CG Liaison, next year's House Presidents, the Resident Directors and the Deans to implement this change.
I would like to hold senators more accountable in their roles in effectively creating open dialogue, and so by switching House Councils to Monday nights instead of Tuesday nights, the senators would get the agendas ahead of time, discuss it in their House Councils with students who normally aren't involved with CG, bring the discussion and important points back to Senate the following night, where we would discuss the issue in an open forum. It makes more sense to have Senate and House Council structured this way so that people can be involved in dialogue and change on this campus.
I have been a HUGE supporter of this idea as this idea has been on my platform. I have seen the success of Stone's House Council changing to Sunday nights before Senate on Monday nights and would work with the HPC/CG Liaison, next year's House Presidents, the Resident Directors and the Deans to implement this change.
I would like to hold senators more accountable in their roles in effectively creating open dialogue, and so by switching House Councils to Monday nights instead of Tuesday nights, the senators would get the agendas ahead of time, discuss it in their House Councils with students who normally aren't involved with CG, bring the discussion and important points back to Senate the following night, where we would discuss the issue in an open forum. It makes more sense to have Senate and House Council structured this way so that people can be involved in dialogue and change on this campus.
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