Two Enter Bids for Election to Student co-Chair Post Sullivan Hopes to Improve on Speaker Status; Cooper to Further Proposed Initiatives

Author: Mallika Rao

Erin Sullivan '04, from Lake Forest, Ill., is one of the two hopefuls running for the position of student co-chair of Community Council (SC-COCC).
Sullivan cites her extensive history working in student government as a compelling reason for her election. She served as both a sophomore and a junior senator on the Student Government Association (SGA) and currently acts as the Speaker of the Senate. As speaker, she handles meetings and has presented joint SGA and Community Council recommendations to the school. If approved, the policies were drafted and implemented with her help.
Along with Junior Class Senator Andrew Feinberg '04, Sullivan co-authored a bill proposing a shift in the current citation policy's punitive focus to a more educational one. They suggested a policy in which a student's first citation could be erased with the completion of a half-hour long online workshop detailing the dangers of alcohol consumption. While the bill was passed by the Senate, it was not implemented by the Community Council. Were Sullivan to co-lead the Community Council, she promises success for the bill.
She also hopes to "reevaluate and reform" the current practice of T.I.P.S. training on campus, as she feels it is a significant detractor in campus social life.
With the growth of the commons system and the increasing evidence that it will probably remain a fixture at Middlebury, Sullivan feels relations between commons government and overall student government must improve. As yet, the link between commons senators, commons councils and the Inter-Commons Council are not at a level that facilitates efficient and effective communication. Sullivan hopes to "aid commons senators to do more in representing their commons."
Sullivan asserts that the "increasing solidification of the commons system" creates "temporary inequities in student housing." The problems of insubstantial housing and irritating restrictions on individual student placement reared their ugly heads during this year's room draw.
To counter the housing problems during the commons system's transitional phase, Sullivan plans to redistribute some buildings and dormitories on campus to ensure "greater equal housing options among the commons."
Aside from the social improvements Sullivan promises, she has outlined some changes within Middlebury's academic sphere. She regards the administration's discussion to limit the number of majors and minors allowed to each student warily. Her promise to "preserve the academic freedom of students" extends to the possibility of "portable" financial aid for study abroad programs. She alludes to the sizeable proportion of juniors electing to study abroad through non-Middlebury programs - 64 percent of all juniors studying abroad - as a reason to extend portable financial aid beyond the realm of Middlebury programs.
Sullivan also hopes to tackle environmental issues on campus. Dining Services reports a $6,000 loss in cups and $10,000 loss in plates. The "disturbing rate" of disappearance among dining hall plastic cups specifically has yielded an excessive reliance on paper cups.
Sullivan pledges to work with Dining Services in finding a more environmentally friendly alternative to paper cups.
She also supports the Carbon Reduction Initiative who has been struggling over the past two years to reduce carbon emissions on campus.
The basic and important advantage Sullivan feels she holds over her opponent, Michael Cooper '06, is an extensive knowledge of and experience with campus student government responsibilities. She plans to take a "proactive" attitude toward establishing the improvements she has outlined.
While it may seem to some that Michael Cooper's first-year status puts him at a disadvantage, he asserts that it in fact gives him an edge in the upcoming election for Student Co-Chair of Community Council (SC-COCC). He thinks that he will be accessible to the Class of 2006 and subsequently foster a more interested and participatory base of students for future years.
A resident of New York City, Cooper cites his extensive leadership positions in one of the "worst high schools in the city" as a strong base for his experience with bureaucracy. He held the position of class treasurer during his last two years of high school and was elected to Speaker of Assembly his senior year.
Originally hailing from Trinidad, Michael lived in both Venezuela and Florida before his family moved to New York City. At times Cooper felt he was destined for junior college at best. His admission into and first year at Middlebury inspired him to make minority students a more integrated and mainstream presence in daily campus life. He feels that his wide-ranging identity allows him to interact comfortably with many different groups of people.
Cooper's support for the social house system derives from his and others' perception that the social scene - especially for seniors - is moving off campus. He plans to build on the initiatives already pushed this year by the SGA, for instance the citation policy co-authored by his opponent, Erin Sullivan '04.5. He hopes to see current SGA president Ginny Hunt's plan for an on-campus bar become a reality.
Along with these changes, Cooper belives an extended curfew for school-registered parties, to 3 or 4 a.m., might encourage students to stay on campus. Along with possible designations of alcohol safe spaces around campus and a more flexible citation policy, he feels there is a need for more school-sponsored events like the McCullough dances.
Cooper also supports club sports and feels they must be supported by the student body. He has ideas for a fundraising initiative that would include money for club sports.
He also proposes a sort of digital hub for Middlebury social life. Cooper's plan is more evolved than the current middkid.com and consists of a "student-oriented web community managed by the SGA or another on-campus organization where events (lectures, registered parties, concerts, competitions, etc.) can be announced." He envisions it as a "sort of revamped, more active version of middkid.com," in which each dorm and commons holds their own space for a forum and postings.
Cooper insists upon a more equitable room draw system based on a quota of rooms reserved for commons residents. His other hopes for social changes include better integration of minorities on campus through more extensively publicized events.
While thinking of declaring a political science major, Cooper has noticed a deficiency in the fields of African American, Middle Eastern and South Asian study. He hopes to at least bring attention to this insufficiency and possibly create initiatives for department expansion.
His other academic initiatives include setting up endowments to help students on financial aid study abroad and possibly for those interested in summer study and research opportunities.
Cooper believes his relative newness to the school has lent him a greater awareness of what must be changed.