Admissions and Financial Aid Liaison

Isaac Haseley

Hey there! My name is Isaac Haseley, I’m a first-year from Seattle, WA, and I’m a huge college admissions nerd. In high school, I was the kid who memorized obscure college ranking lists (quality of food, quantity of homework) and random statistics (average class size, % of students living on campus) for schools he wasn’t even applying too. To decide between schools, I made a college spreadsheet with 30 variables, including things like “weighted student descriptors from niche.com” and “frequency of main-stage productions of Shakespeare.” I was passionate about applying to college because with enough research and consideration, there was a way to logically determine which school would best fit each individual. My peers saw my enthusiasm for the process, and soon enough I was functioning as a college counselor for a growing network of high school seniors.

When I first arrived on campus in the fall, I jumped on the opportunity to apply to Admissions and Financial Aid Committee; as an aspiring admissions officer, I had found a responsibility which fit my interests like a glove. The committee’s conversation turned to standardized testing during our third meeting. Several members quickly disagreed with one another regarding the value of applicants’ test scores, but given the lack of information to go around, we reached no conclusion. The topic soon fizzled – after all, who wanted to dump hours into researching the SAT?

Not me. I was thinking days, weeks even. Winter break seemed perfect, and when I arrived back on campus, I had a 20-slide presentation ready to go. I had read every article and study pertaining to standardized testing that I could find, combed through mountains of correlation data, cold-called the world’s leading authority in test-optionality, and practiced speaking to and receiving feedback from anyone willing to listen. As of this writing, AFAC has voted to submit a proposal to Education and Curricular Committee regarding test optionality in Carleton’s admissions process. I couldn’t be more excited for this conversation to reach our students and faculty in the coming weeks.

My hope is that these anecdotes give you a taste of why I’m running for AFAC Liaison, and while I wish that I could explain each of my admissions pursuits to this extent, I’m under the impression that an election platform isn’t the right place. I’ll include my relevant experience below, and with it encourage anyone and everyone to approach me about these topics (and anything AFAC-related) without hesitation:

  • 3 terms on Admissions and Financial Aid Committee Familiarity with the inner workings of Carleton’s admissions process, including reading policies, staff members, and recruitment efforts
  • Similar story regarding financial aid policy: knowledge of socioeconomic guardrails, “need-aware” selection process, prior year FAFSA update
  • Extensive research project and committee work concerning the SAT as a means of evaluating potential Carls
  • Upcoming summer internship working one-on-one with the Dean of Admissions at the University of Washington Collaborated with College Data (collegedata.com) to adjust class size distribution figures of U.S. institutions
  • Co-lead “Writing the College Application Essay,” a summer seminar and workshop for upcoming high school seniors in Seattle
  • Tour guide with Schiller Society

Thanks so much for your consideration,

Isaac Haseley ‘19

Thomas Hiura

‘Sup,

My name is Thomas Hiura, I’m a rising senior from Eugene, Oregon and Hamamatsu, Japan, and I use he/him/his/they/them/theirs pronouns. Feel free to skip to the bullet points at the end if you want.

Very few characteristics or experiences are shared by every single Carleton student. One of the few things uniting every one of us is that we each submitted applications which earned the admissions office’s approval, and since that stressful and competitive application process, most of us haven’t really looked back.

I am running for Admissions and Financial Aid Committee Liaison because expanding college access, improving the admissions process, and bolstering financial aid/affordability continue to be among the most important issues in my life.

As a FAFSA zero-dollar Expected Family Contribution student from a family with a history of bankruptcy, homelessness, and poverty, I am extremely grateful that financial aid and external scholarships allow me to be here. But I also know that my opportunities are denied to an increasingly many others more deserving than myself, and that Carleton’s relatively lukewarm commitment to financial aid can promise more affordability than it actually presents to many students. It is also unacceptable that the size of an applicant’s family’s bank account can be a factor in their admissions decision; Carleton must at least commit to a path towards joining its peer institutions in implementing need-blind admissions.

In general, I believe that educational institutions have a responsibility to facilitate social mobility, and the status quo within the college application and financial aid application process tends to disadvantage those from under-resourced backgrounds (and/or who have little college guidance or test prep or familial knowledge), thereby leading to an American higher education system which disproportionately serves those already at an advantage in society.

So… that sucks.

This summer I will work as a College Guidance Coordinator at the LEDA Scholars program (which helps talented students from low-income backgrounds in their applications to selective colleges), and this Fall I will work as an Admissions Fellow here at Carleton. I hope to use these experiences to advocate for Carleton to recruit a truly diverse student body, and to ensure the success and financial stability of those students post-matriculation. I hope to build on the good work of Abhimanyu Lele (who, as AFAC Liaison for two years, has effectively advocated for financial aid to become a bigger percentage of Carleton’s overall budget instead of being rigidly coupled with inflation costs), and I have a few specific ideas below.

  • Financial aid must become an increasingly larger percentage of Carleton’s overall budget (Carleton lags behind our peer institutions in this realm)
  • Test-optional admissions (because standardized test scores have been shown to correlate more closely to students’ family income than “college readiness” or anything else)
  • Improving the application process and making it more inclusive for undocumented students
  • More flexibility for students taking gap years or time off from Carleton
  • More financial aid applicants waived in their requirement to submit a CSS PROFILE (because FAFSA is largely sufficient, and the PROFILE weirdly charges you money to ask for money)
  • Legacy admissions should be less of a factor in admissions, or removed as a factor completely

If you have any questions about me or my candidacy, please feel free to reach out! I am happy to talk with anyone about what I’ve done, what I hope to do, Pokemon, and how I believe Carleton can improve. Thanks for reading this!

Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) Liaison

Peter Bruno

Hello all!

My name is Peter Bruno, I am a Junior studying International Relations and Political Economy and I would like to ask for your vote to be elected to a second term as CCCE Liaison.

The CCCE, or Center for Community and Civic Engagement, operates as Carleton’s the volunteer and activism hub with a mission to “deepen learning, broaden knowledge, and create reciprocal partnerships by engaging with local, national, and global communities”. This includes scores of student programs ranging from campus environmental projects, local education initiatives, public health fellowships, sustainable food advocacy, and community development programs. I began my involvement in the CCCE as a Northfield Reads and Count tutor in the fall of my freshman year where I work on basic math skills with K-5th grades students at local elementary schools in town.

Since the beginning of my Sophomore year I have worked as the CCCE Fellow for Political Engagement and Activism through which I have worked to foster collaboration between different student activist groups on campus and plan some of my own programming, and disseminate information pertaining to activism opportunities and upcoming local and national elections. As I look towards starting my senior year next fall, it is increasingly apparent to me just how important working in the CCCE has been to my college experience over the past three years.

I was appointed to Governance Committee in the winter of my Sophomore year and was first elected to the position of CCCE Liaison a term later in the spring of 2015. As a member of Governance Committee, I have worked to assist nascent student organizations plan sustainable frameworks for their groups and get chartered by CSA. As the CCCE Liaison to Senate I have worked to fairly and responsibly distribute CSA funds, appoint qualified students to CSA committees that represent a diversity of backgrounds, and amend CSA bylaws into a clearer and more sustainable form.

Currently I am attending an off-campus program and have very grateful of the work of Patrick Wigent, who has been filling the seat of CCCE Liaison since I left this term. I am eager to come back to Carleton in the fall and would be honored to be able to return to the role of CCCE Liaison for my senior year, should the student body see it fit to elect me again.

My main goals if given the opportunity to continue in the role of CCCE Liaison to Senate are as follows:

  • Promote community engagement programs and projects and ensure that Carleton maintains an active and reciprocal relationship with the greater-Northfield community
  • Foster an active and impassioned campus environment that embraces a diverse variety of backgrounds, identities, and ideas
  • Fight for the fair distribution of CSA Spring Allocations and Spring Break Trip
  • Funding to ensure the adequate financing of college departments and impactful student programming
  • Work to make the chartering and Budget-Committee processes more streamlined and navigable to ease the ability for well-organized student organizations to access CSA funds

College Council Liaison

Bennett Herson-Roeser

Hello! I’m Bennett Herson-Roeser, a Political Science / IR major from Green Bay, Wisconsin. On campus, I’m involved in the Singing Knights; I’m a Student Wellness Advocate; I’m on the Sexual Misconduct Board; I’m a CPAD officer; and I’m a tour guide.
As I am running for a position that involves providing transparency for students in what CSA / Carleton is doing for its students, I’ll keep this short and simple.

Important Issues To Me:

  1. Ensuring Administrative Accountability
  2. Fixing the Title IX Process
  3. Successfully Implementing a Bias Incident Response Team
  4. Providing More Funding for Student Health Organizations such as SHAC and SWAs and GSCAs

Cool, but what would this look like? Why is this important?

  1. The administration needs to be responsive to the student body and held accountable when it is not. I propose a system in which there is a weekly or monthly e-mail/e-publication update on what administration has been doing. This format would be two-fold, both describing what administration has done for its students, but also providing a platform in which students can express their concerns to be addressed.
  2. The Title IX process at Carleton is a continual source of frustration, whether it is its funding, its organization, its transparency, or its responsiveness/accountability (among other reasons). I have been involved in the Title IX process in several ways, most notably as a member on the Community Board for Sexual Misconduct, and these frustrations resonate with me personally. If elected, I will work with students to effectively organize for much needed change, including (but not limited to) restructuring our Title IX team so we have a full-time coordinator and providing adequate training to students and staff involved in the sexual misconduct process. While prevention is important, we need appropriate responses when incidents do occur.
  3. The Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) is essential for providing a comfortable space for everyone on campus. If the upcoming BIRT proposal does not pass, I will work with other student leaders to make sure students feel safer on campus and have an effective way to voice their concerns. This team – or something similar – is the right step forward.
  4. Put simply, we need adequate funding for essential student resources on campus. SHAC needs more funding to provide for additional counselors and more accessible hours. SWAs need more funding (and are now finally getting a full-time director) to create effective programs, as opposed to relying on grant funding. GSCAs could also use more funding and a more accessible location (actually on main campus!).

OK, so it might not be that short. But I hope you consider voting for me!

If you have questions / concerns, email me (hersonb)!

Thanks!

Walter Paul

Introduction:

Hello, my name’s Walter Paul. I am a sophomore History major from Omaha, NE. I believe, wholeheartedly, that the fundamental function of a university is to ensure the maintenance of an enriching space for students to grow as accomplished intellectuals and engaged citizens of the world. The fulfillment of this goal is not solely dependant on the provision of an excellent academic curriculum, which Carleton does well, but, also, a non-academic environment that safeguards the optimal health and well-being of all students.

As evidenced by recent events pertaining to sexual misconduct, race, and sexuality around college campuses, universities, including Carleton, struggle with the latter. It’s an ambitious standard that’s ironically been established by the universities themselves.

My goal as a College Council Liaison is to use my leadership skills, connections, hard-work, and formidable tenacity for achievement to assist Carleton in bringing this goal into fruition for its students.

Qualifications:

The College Council Liaison must be able to successfully navigate elite spaces, have effective leadership skills, and understand the different systems, processes, and procedures of the school. I have a vast and diverse range of experiences that qualify me for this position:

Navigating elite spaces

2014 National Speech and Debate Association Student of the Year – The annual award recognizes one student out of more than 150,000 members who best embodies the organization’s Code of Honor: integrity, humility, respect, leadership, and service. I worked with the Board of the organization to implement policies pertaining to the speech and debate industry in the United States.

Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT) – I worked with faculty, staff, and students to compose a draft for Carleton’s Bias Incident Response Team.

Effective leadership skills

  • I was the treasurer for the Black Student Alliance and Men of Carleton, and an OPL.
  • I mentored students, planned and lead meetings, and helped plan campus wide events such as Reform Week, International Festival, and Chili Night.
  • I’m a founder of a non-profit organization (The Speak Organization), which demands a lot of hard work, responsibility, and confidence–essential attributes of a leader.
  • Understand the different systems, processes, and procedures of the school
  • I’ve done extensive research on specific college policies pertaining to sexual misconduct, drug and alcohol, health, and discipline.
  • I am a returning senator.
  • I served the OIIL Liaison last year. Thus, I understand the inner workings of Senate. However, I’d still like to learn more.

Goals ( the goals marked with an * apply more to my role as a senator than a College Council Liaison):

  • Work with my fellow College Council liaison to provide updates to the student body about the discussions of College Council. Students are misinformed about the decisions made by College Council. For example, people connected to the GSC and OIIL office weren’t aware of both offices’ relocations until after the fact. This should not happen.
  • * Ensure fair funding guidelines for clubs and organizations
  • Hold office hours to hear students’ grievances and ideas
  • Investigate the various systems in place to ensure students’ needs are being addressed in the most efficient ways possible
  • Make sure the administration is addressing issues pertaining to international students. For example, Carleton needs a strong system in place to assist international students with their legal work and various other administrative things that are concentrated in the OIIL office. International students are not just the responsibility of the OIIL office, but the entire Carleton administration. Also, Carleton should lobby for more funds to bring students from outside Eurasia, particularly Africa.
  • Use my experience as a Board member for the Black Student Alliance and Men of Carleton, and speak with members of marginalized groups and those who suffer from mental illness to help Carleton extract the most helpful data from the Community Conversations results.
  • Encourage educative diversity initiatives for students and faculty. A major flaw of the Community Conversations was that not everyone enjoyed it. Some people felt silenced, and still do, because they feared saying things that weren’t politically correct or harmed others. Others felt themselves needing to educate other students (and sometimes their moderators) about their experiences, which stagnated their cause. The medium here is the implementation of education initiatives pertaining to diversity for students AND faculty.

Specific Policy Goals ( The goals marked with an * apply more to my role as a senator than a College Council Liaison):

  • Black counselor in SHAC
  • More counselors to SHAC
  • Diversity training for faculty
  • Increase printing quota for social science and humanities students (I’m at $1.62!!!!)
  • * Stapler in Sayles

Peace. Love. Swag.

Walter

Inter-Campus Liaison

Fabio Soares

Hello everyone! I’m Fábio Soares, a member of the class of 2019, and I want to become the new Inter-Campus Liaison. I’m from Brazil, but finished high school in Singapore, at UWCSEA – United World College South East Asia. I’m still undecided about major, but I’m leaning towards a double major in Economics and Mathematics. At Carleton, I’ve been mostly involved with Dance and OIIL activities. During fall and winter term I served as Class Representative at the CSA Senate. In that period, I learned a lot about the Senate’s work and its importance for our community, and today I want to run for the inter-campus liaison position.

As Inter-Campus liaison, I want to work to strengthen our relationship with St. Olaf and promote greater collaboration between campuses. Besides expanding our social environments, inter-campus cooperation could provide new opportunities in a variety of areas. My aim is to develop and expand our current relationship by making it easier for collaboration to happen. I’m interested for this position because I truly believe that inter-campus collaboration can be extremely beneficial for students in both campuses.

Some of my ideas are:

  • Create an ‘events News-Letter’ I would like to create a periodic letter that would advertise events happening in both campuses. This would make it easier for students to interact with their peers across the bridge, broadening our social environment, and promoting inter-campus collaboration.
  • Encourage Inter-campus classes Earlier this term I attended a talk about the experiences of classes directed by professors from both campuses. These classes provided exciting opportunities for the students by diversifying the classroom environment and by bringing together
  • Promote events directed to both student bodies and organize events that will promote inter-campus collaboration, such as intramural like competitions or student performances.

If you have any questions, proposals or ideas, feel free to approach me. I would love to hear you and meet someone new.

Thank you so much for your consideration,

Fábio Soares.

ITS Liaison

Jordikai Watanabe-Inouye

To my fellow Carls, I am re-running for the ITS Liason position. For the past year on Senate, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in an array of projects such as web-redesign and to attend committee meetings such as LIBIT and Co-Chairs of ITS.

As a Liaison Senator I hope to participate in conversations regarding Carleton students and the community. I’ve done my best to make your voices heard and with my current involvement I would like to keep this momentum up, especially with the upcoming changes this summer!

A Couple Projects I Have Addressed as ITS Liaison:

  1. Shift to Gmail, New Dropbox Project As many of you may have heard, we’ve made the decision to move to Gmail next year. I’d like to continue my involvement in these projects over the summer with ITS, by potentially hosting a couple workshops for students. ITS has already begun the process of training the early migrators.
  2. Web Redesign I was involved in a working group that attempted to make CSA’s website more user friendly. I hope to keep this up and start this working group again next term.
  3. Budget Committee Liaison For the past term I’ve been the Senate Liaison on Senate. I feel that this provides me with the opportunity to vouch for student groups who want to host events on campus. A couple weekends ago, BC met and discussed spring allocations. I hope to continue my expanding participation in CSA.
  4. Scholarship Program through SAO I’m also trying to form a system with SAO for scholarships for spring break trips. This in particular is something I’m passionate about.

Experience and Campus Involvement

I think this position is a perfect fit for me. Because not only do I have an advantage by working for ITS for three school years and over breaks but also I have established connections within the department. For instance, I’m familiar with whom to talk to if an issue arises. Additionally I’m always looking for ways to stay informed about Carleton’s technology services. I also have positions besides being a CarlTech within ITS such as a Student Assistant Supervisor (SAS). A few responsibilities I hold as SAS includes responding to & managing helpdesk tickets and mentoring new student workers.

Other campus activities, I am currently involved in Carleton Association of Nature Outdoor Enthusiast (CANOE), Carleton Math Competition Board (CMC), Women’s Club Lacrosse, ITS, Carleton’s Climbing Gym. I’m CANOE’s Web Panda. This position entails keeping CANOE’s web presence on par and up to date.

CMC is an event that a group of friends and I are trying to push forward for next spring. Our intention is to partner with the Math Department to host a math competition for high schools at Carleton. This would be a student-led, volunteer event; however the planning board is a club that coordinates with related groups on campus. I’m CMC’s Master of the Schedule.

If anyone has questions about projects I’ve been involved in or even comments about what I can do if re-elected I am welcome to meeting! Email watanabej@carleton.edu

Much Obliged,

JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye

Education and Curriculum Committee (ECC) Liaison

Phineas Callahan

Hi, I’m Phineas Callahan and I’m running to be your Liason on the Education and Curriculum Committee. You may have seen me wearing a gray hat around campus or zoning out in the Libe. You’re busy and there are a lot of platforms, so I’m going to keep this short.

Qualifications

Prefect of Peters House: In high-school I was one of ten prefects (Think Harry Potter; I went to an all-boys prep school) who formed what was essentially an oligarchal tribunal that was charged with running the school’s student government. Our responsibilities included shaping student disciplinary policy, organizing student events, and conveying the student body’s concerns to the school’s administration. Most of my fellow prefects could be described as pseudo-meninist frat-boys, so I gained a lot of experience working with difference and forming compromises; a skill that that is invaluable in any form of governance.

Club Sports Council Member: This past year I’ve served on the Club Sports Council, which allocates additional funding to Carleton’s Club Sport’s teams and provides advice to the Director of Club Sports. This year our funding has helped the sailing team buy a shipping container to store their boats, which will put an end to the squirrel’s decimation of their equipment, the ballroom dance team buy new costumes and the synchronous swimming team travel to nationals. My time on the council has shown me the power of student institutions to improve and enrich Carleton’s campus.

Goals

  • Stream the Registration Process: In my opinion, searching for courses and choosing a schedule could be a lot more user-friendly. For instance, when browsing Enroll I’d like to be able to filter out courses for which I don’t have the prerequisites, or I’d like recommendations for courses based on my past courses. With my knowledge of web-design and my relationships with DevX members, I have the capability to spearhead this project and make it a reality.
  • Inter-Disciplinary Comps: Many Carleton students are pursuing double majors or concentrations. I’d like to start an institutional conversation about allowing these Carls to pursue a single large comps, which combines material and methods from their different areas of study. For instance, students double majoring in Math/Stats and Econ could potentially pursue research which involves advanced modeling of economic data. Carleton celebrates interdisciplinary research, and our comps process should reflect that.

Patrick Wigent

I am a first year and have been in Senate for one term as the interim Center for Civic and Community Engagement (CCCE) Liaison. As this positions suggests, I am also a Fellow for the CCCE with a focus on Education.

In this position, I coordinate the Northfield High School TORCH tutoring program. I also tutor through the Tutoring Hotline with an eight year old elementary school student, and it is this combination of primary, secondary, and higher education experience that makes me uniquely experienced to be the ECC Liaison.

I will focus on three specific areas as the ECC Liaison:

  1. Transparency: Academics at Carleton College are for the students, plain and simple; that is why we are all here. It is for this reason that students need to know what changes are taking place academically. Information about minors, credits, and changes in the registration process cannot be disseminated through rumors and here-say. There needs to more regular updates, either through the listservs, social media, or blog posts, about both final decisions and progress made by working groups. These working group also need to have a more open process of selection so that more students from different backgrounds and years can be involved in making decisions that affect all of us.
  2. Departmental Agency: There has been a lot of talk about potentially instituting a system of minors on campus, and this is one of the issues that the ECC liaison will be involved with. In regards to this and all other curricular issues, I will take a stance that privileges the decision-making ability and autonomy of the individual departments at Carleton. For example, there are some departments on campus that would be hit much harder by new minors than others (the CS and Studio Art departments are two that are overflowing with registrations and understaffed as it is). They should have a level of self-determinacy in regards to decision like whether or not to adopt a minor for their department.
  3. Cohesion Between Academics and Extracurriculars: Many of my discussions at the CCCE center around education pathways: ways that students can build on their interests through a combination of civic engagement and academic classes. There are many clubs and extracurriculars at Carleton, and we should be having discussions about how to build, academically, on students’ extracurricular interests. This may involve, for example, adding tags for popular clubs to courses on the HUB so that students can filter by their extracurricular interests. Were a student to be in, say Model U.N. they could add a MUN filter to their course search and see classes that closely relate to their club. With measures like this, we can help students forge a more concrete and cohesive education pathway for their four years at Carleton that encompasses both academic and extracurricular passions.

Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) Liaison

Ally Tucker

I am Ally Tucker, a sophomore American Studies major. I would love to be your Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) Senate Liaison for the 2016-2017 academic year because I love and appreciate all facets of the environment – from urban parks to the Midwest plains and prairie, and my academic and past work experiences have prepared me for this role.

Environmental policy has been a huge interest of mine throughout my education and extracurriculars. I have taken Environmental Ethics and Environmental Justice with Professor Kim Smith. These two classes have helped me cement my philosophical and theoretical background to discuss sustainability issues by widening my anthropocentric perspective to consider a greater arena of motives to work for environmental issues and consider other organisms and ecosystems. Simultaneously these classes forced me to apply the theoretical to the tangible by working on case studies researching environmental issues around the country.

I currently serve on the leadership board of Divest Carleton, the movement to divest Carleton’s endowment from the fossil fuel industry. This has given me experience working with the administration, alumnae, faculty, and the Board of Trustees as well as experience researching the implications of this proposal. I support renewable energy sources and came to Carleton two years ago loving the iconic windmills but now realize that Carleton has a lot of work to do to make our institution to minimize the consequences of climate change.

As the EAC Senate Liaison, I will:

  • Increase campus awareness and knowledge about what the Environmental Advisory Committee does so that Carls know what the administration is working on, and open opportunities for more student involvement.
  • Increase cooperation and communication between the Environmental Advisory Committee and the environmental clubs on campus. These student organizations, like Energy Club, Take Back the Tap, S.O.P.E. and Food Truth, could present to the Environmental Advisory Committee or send email updates so that the Committee is aware of the student sustainability projects on campus so that those goals could be more of a reality. The administration and students could find common goals to increase efficiency, making our campus as sustainable as possible, as fast as possible.
  • Research the feasibility of increased wind power for Carleton and for the Northfield community. Carleton’s Second Wind Turbine reduced Carleton’s carbon footprint by approximately 10 percent and produces 25% of the campus electric load. I am excited to research the zoning possibilities of more turbines to expedite Carleton’s carbon neutrality goal – to achieve it more quickly than the current goal of 2050.
  • Support divestment from the endowment’s direct holdings in the fossil fuel industry Continuing to hold fossil fuel stocks is a tacit statement of support for the industry’s extractive practices, political agenda, and egregious misinformation campaigns. It is time for Carleton to align our actions with our values. By joining the 60 educational institutions that have committed to fossil fuel divestment, Carleton can work to uphold its institutional values and become a true leader in the transition towards a sustainable future.
  • Reduce water waste by proposing more efficient laundry machines and investigate grey water usages for our campus. This is a continuation the progress we’ve made with low-flow shower heads and toilets that are in new buildings.

Thank you,

Ally Tucker ‘18

Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) Liaison

Matthew Elfstrand

Dear Carleton Community,

I am running for the Gender and Sexuality Center Senate Liaison position for the academic year 2016-2017 in order to facilitate dialogue between an office which I care very deeply about and the group of students who represent the interests of the student body.

My qualifications for this position are:

  • I have been a senator before for a single term and understand how senate operates and what kinds of projects it has the capacity to manage
  • I am a GSCA and will continue to be a GSCA next year
  • I have been on a few different campus committees as well as a large number of student organizations and am very familiar with various campus projects and movements

My goals for my time as the GSC Senate Liaison

  • I will work to inform senators on the work that the GSC does
  • I will brainstorm and communicate projects that Senate and the GSC could collaborate on in a meaningful way
  • I will bring a critical perspective to all topics, keeping my fellow senators accountable and raising awareness about senate processes and decisions

Best,

Matthew Elfstrand (he/him/his)

Office of International and Intercultural Life (OIIL) Liaison

Apoorva Handigol

Namaskar, Carls!

I’m Apoorva Handigol, a freshman from the San Francisco Bay Area, and I would be humbled to serve as the next Office of Intercultural & International Life (OIIL) Liaison. Coming from a highly-diverse community where I’ve been surrounded by a plethora of immigrant families and people of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds, I’ve experienced what a truly inclusive environment fostering an anti-oppressive atmosphere feels like. Senate has been working tirelessly to achieve such inclusivity and anti-oppressiveness, but has not yet succeeded. As an incoming OIIL Peer Leader with direct access to OIIL as well as to international students and students of color, I will get us closer to the campus climate we need.

Outreach to Student Organizations

Many student organizations are looking to establish connections with or strengthen their current relationships with OIIL. As an At-Large Student on CSA Budget Committee, I understand the various possibilities for student organizations to connect with campus offices in order to increase student participation in campus events and discussions. Through participation in MOSAIC, I have seen both the intersectionality of various identities and the lack of relations among groups with shared goals and aspirations. With a place in Senate, I will reach out to such groups and OIIL to open doors for future partnerships.

Interconnection Among the OIIL Office, Senate, and the Cultural Programming Board

While the majority of current senators are POCs, they can certainly be more involved with the goals of OIIL and the events of cultural groups. I will ensure Senate is aware of ways in which they can be well-connected to OIIL and our cultural groups so they may better serve the students that they are representing. To cultivate interconnection among Senate, OIIL, and these cultural groups, I will work closely with the Cultural Programming Board—a team of leaders from all cultural groups on campus—to develop ways to join efforts in increasing International and POC communities’ representation, influence and involvement, and voice in student government and beyond.

As an At-Large Student on Student Projects Committee and leader of the Executive Pay Task Force, I have collaborated with students, staff, and faculty to meet challenging objectives. This involvement has also given me experience in student governance and exposure to how Senate operates. I will utilize this knowledge to ensure that what Senate does best supports the interests of the underrepresented International community.

Inclusion of All Carls

Because our cultural groups were formed to create spaces for discussion and celebration of various communities on campus, students not in those communities may feel hesitant to attend these groups’ meetings or events. With my engagement in the Faculty and Staff Anti-Oppression Workshops and the Mental Health Awareness Collective, I’ve worked in teams to guarantee that students are heard and accepted. I will work collaborate with the Cultural Programming Board and other members of our cultural groups to ensure that all Carls feel welcome into and included in these spaces—regardless of backgrounds, identities, or experiences.

Listening to International Students and Students of Color

A current Media Technology Assistant at PEPS and incoming CAASHA advocate, I know how to listen to the needs of Carls and serve them appropriately. As an OPL, I will be interacting several times a week with International students and POCs through OIIL events and meetings with my own mentees. Starting right from International Student Orientation, I will be in first-hand contact with these marginalized communities and can be easily reached by them to vocalize to Senate how our environment can be more comfortable, aware, and enriching. An ear on the ground, I will represent our minority groups in everything I do—both inside Senate and out.

Ritvik Kar

Hello All,

My name is Ritvik Kar and I aim on serving the Carleton community as its OIIL Liaison for the year 2016-17. I’m a freshman, prospective Computer Science and Religion major, originally from India but I have lived in various parts of Nigeria from 2005-2011 and am currently a resident of the United Arab Emirates.

Over my freshman year I have tried to play an active role on campus. I’ve worked as a student worker for Dining Services and the Bookstore, and as a graphic designer for Arts@Carleton. Additionally, I am an OIIL Peer Leader for the year 2016-17, a Design Editor for the Carl, a contributor designer for The Carletonian and a member of MOSAIC and the college’s Men’s Rugby Team. By being integrated into Carleton’s various activities, I have had the opportunity to interact with many of you and get a better understanding of the cultural life that Carleton has to offer. There are certain gaps that need to be bridged in this life and I want to be the one to do it.

Why do I want to run as OIIL Liaison?

  • I was introduced to the concept of racial identity very early on in my life. When I was 8, my family shifted from India to Nigeria and I was suddenly aware of the fact that I didn’t belong to the majority cultural group in the country. It didn’t take me too long to embrace this and start to absorb the different cultures I had access to. After 6 years of being away from India, I went back and joined a boarding school. Here again, I was introduced as an outsider and I had to get in touch with my culture and re-evaluate my identity. By the time I graduated from high school, I’d spent enough time understanding myself. When I came to Carleton I knew that my strength lay in how I was different. For the first time in my life, my racial identity became a source of strength to propagate myself as a person.
  • I consider myself privileged to have known people from all around the world. Due to this exposure, I’ve seen that there really isn’t one way to make everyone feel comfortable. Everybody needs a different environment that will help them feel at home and that environment can only be made though a strong connection between student government and this student body. I want to facilitate this connection and help people of color and international students experience what I experienced when I came to Carleton.
  • I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of a closely-knit international community here at Carleton. This community has made me feel at home from day one and has accepted me for who I am. What I’ve seen though, is that international students at Carleton have had a history of being underrepresented in student government and student leaderships and that is drastically changing. I want to be a part of this tide of change by allowing more students to see that we do have a place in deciding how Carleton is run.

What are my qualifications?

  • OIIL Peer Leader (2016-17): I’ve been selected to be an OIIL peer leader for the forthcoming academic year. If the Office of Intercultural and International Life can recognize me as a person who has potential to influence international and domestic students, then I feel more confident about my ability to be able to represent this society.
  • Being a part of cultural groups such as MOSAIC has helped me in seeing the incredible need that cultural societies have for strong representation. Our activities are filled with culturally charged themes and we hope to have more members of the Carleton community be involved in them. I feel this need and therefore understand its urgency.
  • My ability to communicate: I consider myself as someone who stands for what is right. I am an outgoing person who understands how people work. I have the capability to get through to people and this helps me help people look at different perspectives and aids me in achieving what I want.
  • I have the perspective of a student of color who has seen the support system that Carleton has to offer and intends on strengthening it. I’ve experienced first hand the extremely supportive environment that Carleton can have if its resources are used well. I have to passion to help deliver this support to others as well.
  • My participation in various community conversations about the position of international students at Carleton has given me an insight on their needs. I feel what they feel and I have seen how hard things can get in terms of adjusting to Carleton.
  • I recognize that Carleton’s structure is such that it often forgets to be inclusive of people of color and its international students. Carleton isn’t perfect and it’s ignorant to believe it is. We have problems by they are workable and having someone who faces these problems as your representative is what this student body needs.

What do I have in mind if I get elected?

  • Better representation of cultural organizations on campus
  • Make OIIL a more accessible and known resource on campus
  • More powerful forums for cultural discussions and events
  • An increase in intercultural dialogues on campus
  • A stronger and more effective outlook toward the position of people of color and international students on our campus
  • Increase and promote discussions within student government regarding structural pressure on people of color and international students
  • Create a better campus understanding about various cultures and races represented at Carleton

TRIO Liaison

Vanessa Martinez

Hey everyone!

My name is Vanessa Martinez, a member of the class of 2018, and I would love to serve on CSA Senate as the TRIO Liaison.

During this academic year, I have served as the current TRIO Liaison and would like to continue my involvement with senate. I had the opportunity to learn what CSA consists of and the kind of impact it has on the larger community. In particular, I enjoyed getting to represent the TRIO community in senate.

As a TRIO Peer Leader, I was able to establish connections with the directors of TRIO as well as with other TRIO students. These connections allowed me to gain an insight into the goals that the TRIO office has for its upcoming academic year and I would like to be the one to help accomplish these goals. One of the main goals is to increase TRIO’s visibility and involvement within the larger Carleton community. I believe that CSA is a great place to help achieve some of these goals.

With these goals in mind, I have already started talking to the TRIO office about how I can help accomplish its goals. Some ideas I have would be to do an informational presentation of what TRIO is to CSA senators as well as having an open house for people to come meet the directors and tour the TRIO house, which has served as the community space for TRIO students.

I wholeheartedly believe and have experienced TRIO’s ability to foster a supportive community here at Carleton. For these reasons, I am committed to looking out for its best interest.

Thank you for your consideration!

Sincerely,

Vanessa

Reslife Liaison

Suhail Thandi

Hi,

My name is Suhail and I like people, places, and things. For this reason (among others) I want to be your ResLife liaison. I have worked with the Office of Residential Life for the last two years as a Resident Assistant and I will continue to do so in my final year at Carleton as well. Additionally, I also was a part of the RA Recruitment Committee for three terms and understood the processes behind the working of ResLife and factors incorporated in hiring RAs.

If elected ResLife Liaison to CSA, I will:

  • Collaborate with ResLife’s professional staff and help bridge gaps between them and students so that there is greater clarity in ResLife decisions
  • Work to make sure that ResLife continues their clear and effective communication by having a two-way channel between ResLife and students
  • Continue to expand my knowledge of ResLife policies and maintain the relationship between ResLife and CSA

I am hoping that my unique position of knowing both the student population and the employees of ResLife since being a part of Carleton will help facilitate my role as the liaison to ResLife.

Suhail

Sports/PEAR Liaison

Jen Chan

Hey! My name is Jen Chan and I would love to be your Senate Liaison for Club Sports and PEAR. I’m a current freshman from Hong Kong, and have been involved with Women’s Rugby, Sailing, IM football, IM broomball and IM volleyball in my first year here. I’ve really enjoyed Carleton’s more informal Club Sports communities and how they have contributed to my experiences here, but I want to help improve the sometimes convoluted and unaccommodating conditions that I and many of my peers have encountered.

Being involved with different sports on campus I understand their vital contribution to the spirit of Carleton’s community. The success of our sports teams really speaks to our lively and talented student body. And the activeness of the sports scene on campus relays the importance of physical health in an intellectually demanding environment. But it is imperative that participation in sport is available to everyone and accommodates a variety of needs.

I also think that Club Sports should pay more attention to the social aspects of Club Sports, such as the cultural sensitivity of traditions and the inclusive nature of the teams themselves, and I think that this aspect is severely undervalued by both the school and within the teams themselves.I also have been a ‘victim’ of trainer hours numerous times, and experienced the deficiencies of the club sports support system at Carleton. The unaccommodating nature of the health support system for club sports seriously affects club sports students who tend to be taken less seriously.

Relevant Experience

  • As a somewhat frequent victim of concussions
  • As someone who hasn’t been able to participate in certain sports due to financial restrictions
  • Governance Committee
  • Budget Committee
  • As a Person of Colour who has entertained microaggressions and understands the importance of eliminating them in a team setting
  • Student Liaison to Physical Education at Chinese International School (High School)
  • IM and Club Sports participation
  • As an international student and a participant of IDSC 103 ‘Conversations about Community and Diversity’

As Club Sports/PEAR Liaison I would seek to:

  • improve the inclusive nature of Club Sports at Carleton both financially and with regards to diversity
  • diversify the variety of opportunities regarding health and fitness open to students as well as further efforts with the registrar on getting more Club Sports and sports-related student orgs to count for PE credit
  • propel the notions of ethical conduct amongst sport teams, regarding social interactions, cultural sensitivity and inclusivity
  • improve club sport athlete access to medical facilities, in immediacy, organization and availability
  • further transparency between CSA, Club Sports and the student body
  • oblige student concerns with the current state of sports at Carleton and better coordinate between the related offices

Thank you for considering me as your Club Sports/PEAR Liaison!

Joshua Dickerson

Hi y’all,

I’m a junior Biology major, and I would love to be the Club Sports/PEAR liaison. I participate in heartily in several I.M. sports, as well as Club Tennis. I’m also a proud member of Club Soccer, though it has yet to reach official “Club Sport” status.

As Club Sports/PEAR liaison, I hope to accomplish several things. Chief among them would be to effectively convey the needs and desires of club teams to the CSA body. This includes budgets and practice spaces, which I know can be an issue for sports teams.

I also want to serve as a go between for potential club sports and the administration. Lastly, I want to make sure that sports at Carleton are and remain safe, open environments for everyone to participate in.

Please feel free to contact me at any time @dickersonj with any questions, and thank you for your time!

Community, Equity, Diversity, Initiative Liaison

Hey Carls!

Introduction

My name is Chris Lee and I am a current freshman, potential Political Science major. I am originally from Chicago, IL, but I’ve grown up in Florida, Texas, Germany, South Carolina and Hawaii throughout my family’s military travels. On campus I am involved with the Title IX Visioning Team, Exit 69 Acapella, the Carleton Vocal Jazz Combo, Whoa! Hip-Hop Dance Crew, and I will be a Student Wellness Advocate (SWA) starting next fall.

Why do I want to run for CEDI Liaison?

As someone who identifies as a Gay (YASS!)/Asian/Low-income status male, I am extremely passionate about issues regarding campus diversity and equity and thus, am incredibly interested in strengthening the ties between student government and the voices of underrepresented groups at our school. I truly believe that it is the college’s duty to provide a safe atmosphere that welcomes conversations and dialogue from differing perspectives. Moreover, it is my wholehearted belief that it is the students’ job to ensure that this objective is fully implemented in order for productive and progressive change to be made. Though we can all acknowledge that conversations are happening, I know that more can be done. I want to be directly involved with diversity and equity initiatives and invest my time and whole-hearted efforts into creating a more inclusive environment on campus for everyone.

Experience

  • As a member of the Title IX Visioning Team, I have played an active role in discussing issues regarding sexual misconduct and disrespect and campus climate. In this position, I have been able to work directly with administrative offices such as the Dean of Students and GSC Offices in trying to communicate and plan more structurally found and relevant suggestions to Carleton’s current Title IX language.
  • In high school, I officially founded a GSA Club with the help of my counselor in order to provide students that identified with the LGBTQA+ community with an accepting and safe environment. I built up communication and negotiation skills through securing funds allocated by my high school’s student government and had the opportunity to plan multiple social events with neighboring high schools.
  • As a member of the POC community, as well as cultural groups here at Carleton, I’ve been able to attend various “hot button issue” conversations and events. Though I still have much left to learn, these events, such as the Posse-plus Retreat, have helped me understand the importance of building dialogue and intersectional understanding across various identity groups at our school.
  • I have used my position as an acapella and vocal jazz member to add to existing dialogue about issues regarding race, gender, socio-economic status, mental health, etc., through meaningful and “conversation-evoking” songs and am currently involved with student research regarding the inclusivity of extracurricular groups on campus.

Goals

  • Promote and fully support ideas, projects, efforts regarding diversity and equity needs on campus
  • Communicate CEDI efforts addressing diversity and equity issues to CSA and the student body in order to raise farther awareness
  • Advocate for a relatable and all-inclusive environment on campus
  • Create even more opportunities for conversations regarding diversity and equity that students of all backgrounds will feel comfortable in