SGA Update

First, before you read this column, go/foodsurvey! Quick! You can help us influence the budgeting and sourcing decisions of Dining Services. Plus, 12 lucky respondents will win prizes! You could win a date night to 51 Main, a day at the spa at Studio 7 or even Dolci tickets!

Now that you’ve finished the survey (right?), I want to update you on the Community Education Requirement. The Campus Editorial Board suggested such a requirement three weeks ago. Since then, I have met Associate Vice President for Operations Norm Cushman, Special Assistant to the Assistant Vice President of Operations Linda Ross, Director of Facilities Services Mike Moser and Manager of Employee Relations Laura Carotenuto to discuss the feasibility of a Community Education Requirement.

We face several challenges as we create this credit. For starters, when students spend time working without pay, their labor replaces the work of employees. Additionally, large-spread management of student work is incredibly difficult for facilities to execute, and, historically, has not been successful. Plus, students, in all likelihood, will not have the skills or the training needed to complete tasks efficiently, or even well. As such, the amount of and types of jobs available to us are extremely limited. Ideas such as leaf raking, weeding, or snow shoveling are all seasonal and weather-dependent and therefore imperfect.

Despite these challenges, the aforementioned people were supportive of the Community Education Requirement. They conveyed the complexities and pitfalls of such an offering, but they also appreciated the sentiment behind the recommendation. We brainstormed some more options, such as creating a system concentrated on dish return or litter collection, both of which are currently done by facilities workers in an informal fashion. Additionally, the Recycling Center, which already manages many student workers, may serve as an excellent option. They have the infrastructure to manage students and the volume of work might support the number of hours we want to require. Plus, the Recycling Center offers a particularly educational experience —  sorting through waste would expose the irresponsible disposal habits of students, such as discarding dishes in trash cans, to their peers.

As we’ve considered this idea, several questions have arisen. Is eight hours enough? Is it a meaningful amount of time to contribute to the service of our community? What constitutes our community? Could service off-campus count towards this requirement? It could accomplish similar goals, namely enforcing the expectation that students give back to the community. In order to answer these questions, we all need to discuss what we aim to gain through this requirement. Empathy? Respect? Less vomit in Battell?

Finally, our two hard-working First Year Senators Karina Toy ’17  and Wenhao Yu ’17 have formed this year’s First-Year Committee. The First-Year Committee started last year as a forum for first-year students to voice their opinions about their college experiences and to foster community building by organizing inter-commons events just for first-years. This year, with the help of last year’s First-Year Committee, the Class of 2017 has already had the opportunity to attend a Mix-and-Mingle at 51 Main and an Atwater dinner. This year’s committee is made up of eight members, in addition to Karina and Wenhao. Two Feb students from the Class of 2017.5 will join the committee during the spring semester.

Class of 2017, what would you like the first-year Committee to work on this year? A particular concern you want to share with the administration? A bonfire? A massive J-Term snowball fight?

Email us with ideas and suggestions at sga@middlebury.edu!