SGA Presidential Candidates' Letters of Intent

Riley O'Rourke '12

My name is Riley O’Rourke and I am a junior from New York City, but I grew up spending a lot of time in Vermont. Because of this Middlebury was the first school I ever looked at and I love it here. I want to use the office of SGA president to make student life as great as possible. Please vote for me to be SGA president again so I can build on my existing accomplishments while working to achieve new ones. The focus of much of my term was establishing a better transportation network as well as getting the Grille and Redfield Proctor open, all of which have happened. In addition, the SGA has negotiated an agreement with Old Chapel that will restore first-year outdoor orientation, and in recent months I have worked out a deal with the school to re-open a small gym in Ross, a convenient alternative to the main facility that will also alleviate crowding at the fitness center. During my term the SGA, which is responsible for allocating your student activities fees to different projects and services based on the needs and wants of the student body, has strived to both pick up services the College discontinued and establish new ones.

One of the key issues I ran on last year was improving transportation to and from Middlebury and I am proud to say I have achieved measurable improvements. With a great deal of help from my transportation secretary, Matt George ’12, I set up cheap shuttles to and from the Burlington airport around major breaks. These are now organized to run at cost in perpetuity and are far cheaper than any other airport shuttle service. Also, under previous administrations, the bus program had been run as a for-profit business. This seemed contrary to the SGA’s mission to serve students, so I wrote and passed a bill which lowered the rates of SGA-sponsored buses to New York City and Boston by as much as $30 and increased the number of available seats, reducing the financial burden on students. I hope to expand this program in the year to come, and I will constantly look for further savings that can be passed on to students. In addition, I will examine extending Midd-rides hours and the possibility of buses to other locations such as Montréal. Finally, the SGA is in negotiations with a ride-share program that is a subsidiary of Google, using Google maps to help match up people looking for rides.

If elected, besides responding to constituent concerns I have several goals I wish to meet in the coming year. Foremost among them is ensuring that the Ross annex gym becomes operational by the fall; I will work over the summer to monitor its progress. The same goes for creating an arts and crafts room where student groups will be able to make posters to advertise for their events. On the policy front, I will continue to work towards the establishment of a pass/fail option for some non-major classes that do not fulfill distribution requirements. I believe this will encourage people to reach outside their comfort zones when they are not worried about a potential GPA hit, and I think that can only help strengthen our liberal arts environment. Although it will be an uphill battle I am also going to work to reopen Atwater dining hall. Complete re-opening seems unlikely, but as it is already open for breakfast every weekday morning, language tables during the day and has dinners sponsored by different college departments multiple times a week, college money is clearly being used in one way or the other to keep it open. I look forward to meeting with the administration about some sort of arrangement that could get it open a few nights a week, at least. I will also work to pass whatever issues the senate or student body brings up

My greatest asset as a candidate will be my experience as a member of student government and my knowledge of how the school works. Besides serving as SGA President this year, I was also the Cook Commons senator this year. I have passed several bills to utilize the financial power of the SGA to our benefit as students. Having been involved in SGA before will make leading it much easier for a seamless transition from this year to next, especially with the establishment of the Ross gym and an advertising work room.

I feel that the SGA's job is to do as much as possible to help any and all groups work to achieve their goals. To this end I am going to have several large meetings of students leaders and interested individuals at the start of the year and weekly meetings in the Grille for anyone to bring concerns forward. I hope to make student life convenient and fun. Please vote for me and allow me to carry out this mission. Thanks for your support and time.

 

Dane Verret '12

Dear Fellow Students,

My name is Dane Verret and I am a rising senior majoring in English and American Literature with a focus in Creative Writing. I'm also a native of New Orleans, LA. While I have not served on SGA I am involved in a number of activities here at Middlebury, such as Distinguished Men of Color and Verbal Onslaught Open Mic.

The extracurricular work I do here at Middlebury and at home focuses on creating solidarity, conversations, and camaraderie. In my time at Middlebury I have helped to restart student organizations; facilitated writing workshops and conversations on diversity and race; and helped coordinate block parties, concerts, and student retreats. I have worked closely with members of Middlebury's community on every level--this includes Students, Administration, Faculty, and Town Residents. Together we met more successes than losses. I have constantly found motivation in helping others realize their goals and my own.

At every turn, these projects I've been involved with were beneficial because I was willing to work side-by-side with people. This is how I want to represent your interests to the SGA.

I believe my experiences demonstrate that I have shown the leadership necessary to represent you in Student Government. As your President, I hope to make your needs and concerns heard as well as answered. I hope to create, with your help, a campus that fully embraces accessibility, innovation and collaboration. Most of all, I want to keep our student body mobilized and motivated to make lasting, beneficial changes that will pay our time at Midd forward.

I hope you choose me to be your Student Government President and I look forward to working with all of you to make the coming year brighter.