Congratulations on finishing another semester at Midd! The end of the year is a time for reflection. I am proud of the hard work that all the members of the Student Government Association have done this year — their hard work gives me confidence that none of them will get coal in their stockings and/or menorahs and/or secular candelabras this year.
The Senate and Cabinet have been hard at work, tackling numerous initiatives to improve student life at the College. We’ve addressed a wide range of issues: everything from the endowment to our laundry system, from access to athletic trainers to student input in academic departments, from sexual assault resources on campus to affirmative action. We’ve also worked hard to keep the SGA running smoothly, which has included allocating funds to and approving the formation of student organizations, delivering newspapers and running break buses, creating a new SGA website, working with numerous groups and committees to create real campus change and improving communication with the student body to make SGA work better for all of us.
We’ve got more planned for the rest of the year and we’re on track to get it done. We’re working on implementing student advisory committees for each academic department, reforming the cultural distribution requirements, getting more printers on campus, and getting SGA’s finances in order to create a more sustainable future.
We are proud of all the work we’ve done so far, but we want to accomplish more. As we all settle in to drink eggnog with awkward uncles and watch showings of It’s a Wonderful Life, the SGA is looking to think bigger and broader. But we need your help.
During winter term, we will be issuing SGA’s first all-student survey in an effort to better understand the wants and needs of students across campus. This is a comprehensive effort to address a wide range of topics, and is designed to give students a voice on issues that range from residential life, dining, endowment policy, access to healthcare, diversity and everything in between. This will serve both as a tool for the SGA in finding further initiatives to pursue, and will also be useful for administrators and other college stakeholders in gauging student views on a whole host of issues.
This major undertaking will only be useful to the extent that students take a few minutes to complete it. As I wrote in my last column, it is vitally important that we all engage in institutional policy. In this case, clicking a couple of buttons is an easy way to do so. So, take the survey! We will have many cool prizes for you to win, of course, but most importantly, it’s your civic duty.
Best of luck with finals! Happy holidays, and wishing you a happy and healthy 2013.
Written by SGA President CHARLIE ARNOWITZ ’13
