A (Very) Brief History of Student Representation at Wellesley
Researched and written by Lindy Kaiden ’03, Beebe Senator for SOAC
Student representation at Wellesley grew up alongside of College Government, which began officially on March 6, 1901. College government started off simply, taking the form of a town meeting with an executive board of seven students. In 1918, it expanded to include a Senate and incorporated several cabinet positions. However, the faculty and administration still retained considerable control over non-academic affairs. This stirred a reaction amongst the student body which can be traced in several documents from the first half of the 20th Century. The minutes from one meeting recorded students asking, “Shouldn’t more responsibility be given to the student? Shouldn’t less be dictated?”
The first major change came in 1968, when College Government President Hillary Rodham wrote, “For a long time, I have felt that the college government was obsolete. Suspended between a truly all-college government and a student political structure, we have no provision for a governing body entirely reflective of student needs and completely responsive to student priorities…in a re-evaluation of the college decision-making process, we will have to assess the role and responsibility students have in an age of student power”. In response to such opinions, Academic Council voted in Fall of 1968 to make its deliberations public, and added twenty non-voting student members.
A caption commemorating the 100th Anniversary of College Government in 2001 stated, “College Government at Wellesley continues to reflect the times and needs of Wellesley students and continually evolves as an organization that provides effective and thoughtful student governance.” Likewise, the role of the Student Representative remains flexible, with plenty of room for strengthening the model of the past few years. Student Representatives are a vital part of the student voice on campus, and it is the hope of this year’s College Government that these women will realize the full potential of their position.
-All historical information and quotes taken from the Wellesley College Archives.