Office of International and Intercultural Life Liaison Candidates

Sabastian Mugazambi ’17

Hello bonjour grüessech makadii aloha shalom sawubona ‘xin chào’,

Don’t worry, even if you cannot pronounce half of those greetings you are still part of Carleton’s international community because everyone has unique experiences that shape his or her own world. Bringing those worlds together to create one bigger, beautiful world for the Carleton community is the most important part, and that’s exactly what I stand for!!

My name is Sabastian Mugazambi and I come from Zimbabwe. I am probably going to declare a double major in Math and Econ with a focus in actuarial science. While interning with the EducationUSA department of the American Embassy in Zimbabwe I gained relevant experience in dealing with students who have very big dreams just like any other Carleton student and I recently joined the Carleton projects committee that is currently working hard to make the projects you voted for last winter a reality. I was head of the entertainment committee and MC of the Carleton 2014 International Festival that was a huge success in bringing diverse cultures and experiences to campus.

You should vote for me because:

  • I am a Carl, and Carls help Carls!!
  • I believe the international community is not only a percentage and statistic at Carleton but is comprised of students who have concerns which I am ready to deliver to the right people.
  • It took me two weeks to finally pronounce ‘Goodhue’ correctly.
  • I still think bon appetite should increase the variety of International dishes they serve.
  • I love Alaska and chicken Quesadillas.
  • I plan to promote intercultural events to cater for the diversity at Carleton; Cultural celebrations should never be looked down upon.
  • I think squirrels are the cutest animals on earth and I am still having a hard time believing that a Narwhal is a ‘unicorn fish’.

Carls should be given the freedom and resources to stretch their imagination and abilities beyond horizons and achieve the impossible and I am ready and willing to join the fight for voices to be heard regardless of the direction they come from.

“The Impossible should be made possible!”

#Watch_the_NAFSA_award_winning_video_I_featured_in.

Melanie Xu ’17

Hello Carls!

My name is Melanie Xu, class of 2017, and I am considering a SOAN major with a Women’s and Gender Studies concentration. I would love to be your new OIIL (Office of International and Intercultural Life) Liaison. As an OIIL Peer Leader next year, an international student from China and an active member in OIIL community, I hope to give underrepresented communities on campus, especially students of color and international students a voice in the CSA Senate.

Experience

  • Board member/ facilitator of Queer Trans People of Color, a student organization that builds a community of students from diverse backgrounds and aims to actively increase the visibility of underrepresented people inside and outside of Carleton.
  • Core member of International Festival Committee, as well as the Speak Up! Committee
  • Student-At-Large at Library Committee for the past academic term 
  • As a future peer leader and an active member in OIIL, I have first-hand knowledge of people’s needs.

Goals I would keep in mind when working as OIIL Liaison   

  • Respect for diversity and forward for multi-cultural unity: OIIL works mainly with students of color and foreign national students. While it is an awesome community, the discussions have a limited audience. I would like to further a dialogue about race, diversity, gender, culture, class, nationality to a larger platform. 
  • Review resolutions and budget recommendations to create more programming space for OIIL events and activities such as international festival and the spring break service trip, and student dinner and discussion with convocation speakers. 
  • Collaboration with other liaisons and committees including TRiO, GSC and CEDI (Community, Equity, and Diversity Initiative).
  • Student voice at Senate: I would also like to work on making the CSA more accessible and penetrable through personal updates, social media, study breaks and other ways. As OIIL liaison, I would be representing a unique part of student body and I would like to acquire input from everyone, whether they are involved in OIIL or not.

Residential Life Liaison Candidates

Russel Peterson ’15

Hi everyone,

My name is Russel Peterson and I am a junior History major running for the position of Residential Life Liaison. As this is a new Senate position, I hope to bring a new voice to the table when discussing the issues that matter to students most.

Being a Resident Assistant for the past year, I have gained insight to the inner workings of the Residential Life office and have formed meaningful connections with the staff, especially the area directors. I also have a unique perspective on the new developments that ResLife undergoes in order to make student living a more valuable experience.

If elected to this position, I will bring more clarity and transparency with the office and facilitate greater communication between the students and the directors of Residential Life. I will accomplish this goal by meeting regularly with Andrea Robinson, the Director of Residential Life, especially during periods of the year when there is substantial student concern, like Room Draw, for instance. I also wish to be a greater asset to students by being receptive to suggestions and feedback involving Residential Life policies.

Along with the administrative experience I have gained as a Resident Assistant, I have proved my ability to be a clear and direct communicator with various leadership positions on campus, including:

  • Program Director of the Proxy Donation Campaign, which is a collaborative effort with multiple student activist organizations and campus offices, including the GSC and CCCE, to raise awareness about the FDA’s lifetime deferral of men who have sex with men from donating blood while simultaneously encouraging eligible donors to donate in their place.
  • Co-Leader of CORAL (Carleton’s Organized Radicals, Activists, and Leftists), a leftist activist group that promotes issues including socioeconomic diversity, climate justice, and alternative political discourse.
  • Co-Facilitator of CIaO (Carleton In and Out), an LGBTQ support group that fosters a culture of acceptance and social bonding.

As you can see, I am very passionate about incorporating the perspectives of students who otherwise would not be heard and I hope to continue this initiative through the CSA.

Thank you for taking the time to read my platform! If you elect me, I will strive to be an active Senator and represent students’ interest in making Carleton a safer and happier place to live!

Jake Powell ’15

I have worked as a Resident Assistant for the past two years, and will be next year as well. In addition to my RA experience, in which I served on the Residential Life Advisory Committee, last summer I worked in the Office of Residential Life. Through these two work experiences I have developed personal working relationships with most professional staff members in the office, and have developed a genuine interest in how housing works here at Carleton. I love talking about housing to friends, and why ResLife works the way it does. As the Residential Life Liaison I would work to help the student body better understand what goes on in the Office of Residential Life, and also make sure that the student experience is being represented in the decision making process. I think that, given my extensive experience with how Residential Life functions on different levels and my continued interest in what the residential aspect of Carleton means, I would be a qualified candidate for the CSA position as ResLife Liaison.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you have any questions I can be reached at powellj@carleton.edu

Thanks!
Jake Powell
Class of 2015
International Relations

Student Activities Office Liaison Candidates

Robert Kaylor ’16

Hi Carleton!

My name is Robert Kaylor and I am running for the CSA Senator Liaison for SAO. I love working with the CSA, and cannot wait to have the opportunity to do so again. My long-term goal is to turn the CSA into a respectable institution, mainly through showing people that it can be useful.

Experience

I was the Class of 2016 Senator for three terms, and discovered that I really love working with the CSA Senate. While a senator I:

  • Put a printer in Goodhue
  • Changed the laundry machine system to have card readers put into Fac Club and Parish, as well as take out a loop hole that gave washing machine profit to Mac Gray
  • Worked along side fellow Senator Hannah Nayowith to finally change the meal plan policy to include a 15 meal plan option next year 
  • Was part of the first Committee on Student Projects, the group that is helping spend down the CSA reserves
  • Worked on the Budget Committee for 2 terms
  • Was on the Committee on Student Employment, the Community Board on Sexual Misconduct, and the Judicial Board

Along with these achievements, I have a couple of things I would love to see changed at Carleton still:

Proposals

  • The Hub website is in a terrible place right now, and badly needs to be updated. CSA has already had a couple of meetings with ITS people about this, but since the administration has changed, it would be good to have some people who were there for those meetings on CSA next year
  • The Writing Portfolio runs on an antiquated system. CD’s are an incredibly unreliable way to have people turn in something required for graduation, and I imagine a terrible thing to sort through. It would be great if we could get the Writing Portfolio group to switch over to online/cloud based turn-ins 
  • The Facilities Master Planning Committee recently unveiled their new plans for the expansion of Carleton’s campus. I feel however that their meeting minutes should be available for students to look at. There are a couple of legal issues surrounding the publications of those minutes, but nothing a login-wall wouldn’t solve.

I really enjoy being on the CSA. I like to get things done, and being on the CSA allows me to have a direct impact on a lot of things at Carleton. Hopefully, I get to serve you guys again.

Thank you for your consideration

Sports Liaison Candidates

Richard Liu ’17

Hey everyone,

My name is Yirui Liu (I go by Richard if it helps), freshman from Beijing, China. I am running for the position of Sports (club sports/ PEAR) Liaison. I am very enthusiastic about being more involved in the Carleton student body and in the student government.

Sport has no boundary. Through club soccer and various IM sports, I met a lot of good friends, and it has helped me become a better-rounded person. Now it is my turn to help more Carls to be more involved in and to enjoy this process.

As your Sports Liaison, I would work to address the following issues that I feel are important to the general student body.

  1. Admission of New Club Sports
    1. This is a task that has been left undone by our last liaison, which I decided to put on top of my priority. I would strive to revise the moratorium on club sports, and grant PE credits to students who are actively participating in sports that are not recognized as “club” sports.
  2. Screening of Major Carleton Sports Game
    1. A round of applause to the Frisbee team for making it to the national! As a great tradition of Carleton College, Frisbee is such a popular and successful club sport at Carlton. However, it is difficult to watch our games, even the nationals, and I felt missed out. I would like to set up means, by cooperating with the PEPs, to provide Carleton students with the opportunity to watch our beloved Frisbee team, and let the players know that the Carls got their back.
  3. Field Day
    1. I found Carleton to be a great place to foster a new interest in sport. Field day would be an opportunity for students of different, even starting level to try out a new club. I never thought I could do aikido and I am enjoying it!

I am a problem solver, so please feel free to contact me at liur2@carleton.edu with any other ideas or suggestions!

Peter Sang ’17

Dear fellow Carls,

I’m a student from Burma and the future RA on 2nd Goodhue. Coming to Carleton has been the most tremendous transition I’ve ever gone through. Throughout my time at Carleton, I’ve had so much fun participating in sport clubs and PE classes – I’m currently in club soccer and Tae-Kwan-Do. And these experiences have helped me not only adjust to my new home at Carleton but also keep myself physically fit, which I think is crucial for Carleton students living in an extremely stress-prone environment.

With that said, I have also encountered many issues that hinder me from having the most optimum experience I can have while participating in sports. Club soccer, for instance, which has not been recognized as an official sports club, is constrained by a financial burden. On top of that, even though the club has more than 25 members who are committed to coming to practices regularly, they do not receive PE credits.

Honestly, since I’m mostly active in club soccer, I’m not aware of issues that other clubs might be facing. However, my own experience with club soccer inspires me to address the concerns that other Carleton students have in regards to club sports or PE classes. Even though I might not be able to solve every problem, I will make sure that I’ll try my best to convey the voice of the students to CSA senate.

To achieve this, I will actively engage in conversations with students and seek their advice and opinions on how to make our athletic life at Carleton better. I’m also easily approachable, open-minded, and willing to help others.

Sincerely,

Peter Sang ‘17

TRiO Services Liaison Candidates

Sofia Shrestha ’15

Hello everyone!!

I’m Sofia Shrestha, a junior Biology major, and I would love to represent TRiO on Senate and help increase TRiO’s visibility on campus!

My relationship with TRiO makes me a very good candidate for this position. TRiO has been a huge support system and in many ways a second home for me at Carleton. Through my experience as a TRiO member, as well as a TRiO peer leader, I have developed a very close relationship with the office and have a very clear understanding of its needs.

In addition to my connection with TRiO, I have the skills necessary for this position. I am a member of the Budget Committee, part of MOSAIC and Tamarind’s board, and a TRiO peer leader, so I have leadership skills, knowledge about CSA Bylaws, and understanding of various cultural organization’s as well as TRiO’s programming. I would love to contribute my knowledge and skills to help facilitate a positive relationship between CSA and TRiO.

Thank you for your consideration!

Yours truly,

Sofia Shrestha