From The President’s Desk

In the past few weeks, students have helped the SGA fulfill its mission — to serve students! As we returned from Spring Break, MiddCourses, a course review site created by the SGA, made its debut. The site features over 1,300 courses, and it aims to help students share information and register for classes confidently. The site was built by Teddy Knox and Dana Silver, who serve as SGA Directors of Technology. Since the site went live, students have written almost one thousand reviews. That’s incredible. On top of that, we have received useful feedback from students. Your help is essential as we roll out this new website, so we thank you for taking the time to post reviews and to send us your ideas. We hope that by the end of the year we will have as many as 2,500 reviews on the site. It will take time to build up a base of reviews, but with your help, we can create a tool that aids future generations of students.

This week in Senate, Emma Kitchen ’14.5 spoke about the non-profit she founded, Concussions Speak. Concussions Speak is “a community dedicated to providing empathy for all those affected by concussions,” according to its website www.concussionsspeak.com. Emma came to the SGA to discuss her new initiative to place lights on all bikes on campus. Not only will her work help you avoid a traffic ticket (riding a bike at night without a light violates Vermont law), but she also hopes to prevent accidents and, by extension, concussions.

Also this week, Ben Clark ’16, co-president of EatReal, visited to tell the SGA about the student group’s effort to bring more “real” food to the dining hall menus. “Real” food, as defined by the Real Food Challenge, is food that belongs to two of the four following categories: humane, ecologically sound, local and fair. Ben and his co-president Noah Stone ’16.5 have been meeting with Dining Services and the administration to see how best sustainable, or “real,” food can be brought to campus.

The SGA food survey was a huge help to Ben when he began meeting with Dining Services and discussing the topic with President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz. Furthermore, an internship during J-term, sponsored by the Environmental Council, had students examine the dining budget to find ways in which local or ecologically sound alternatives could be sourced in Addison County. With the support of the SGA, Ben is planning to pass the bill next week to bring the whole initiative home and show President Liebowitz the student body supports EatReal’s goals.

Lastly, the administration recognized a resolution that the Senate passed last week to reform the AAL distribution requirement. The bill—sponsored by students Daniela Barajas, David Ollin Pesqueria, Adriana Ortiz-Brunham, Jiya Pandya, and Amari Simpson—asked that the AAL requirement be removed and that new requirements focus on a larger set of cultures and civilization.

When President Liddell forwarded the resolution to Dean of Faculty Andi Lloyd, the resolution was met with gratitude. Dean Lloyd commented it was a good piece of legislation. While Dean Lloyd’s comments do not determine the future of this bill, she assured the SGA it would be shared with the faculty Education Affairs Committee (EAC). The EAC plans to discuss distribution requirements next academic year and we hope that they will consider the resolution in their discussions.

Thanks for all your help! Don’t forget to vote in the upcoming SGA Presidential election on April 29 and 30.