Dear Wellesley,
We had our second to last Senate of the Fall Semester this past Monday, November 28th. It was a really great meeting, where we talked about some of the issues students face on campus, including Division of the Day as it relates to student athletes especially, dining hall hours and the Multicultural Requirement. The Multicultural Requirement has been a topic of much discussion in the last few years. This year, we would like to bring that discussion to the forefront and really work to define what we think the requirement should be, what Multicultural Competency is, and how we can best encourage a truly multicultural education at Wellesley that gives students the vocabulary to engage in multicultural world, and to flourish in a multicultural world.
At our meeting Monday we also developed some plans of action for moving forward with some of the recommendations that you made on the “What Can Senate Do For You?” posters earlier this month. These posters had some really fantastic recommendations. There were issues brought up that we hadn’t yet broached, as well as some that have been topics of discussion in Senate meetings over the course of the semester. One of the ways we will work on improving communication about issues that are already be worked on is by really utilizing our blog to push information sharing (https://blogs.wellesley.edu/collegegovernment/). We will start posting minutes there, as well as put paper copies up on the CG Bulletin Board in the Campus Center.
Additionally, Senate also voted to write a letter of solidarity to the students of UC-Davis in response to the UC-Davis Pepper-Spray incident. We believe that it is essential for students to speak out against police brutality against peaceful student protesters. We believe that students have the right to peacefully protest on their own campuses. We believe that it is important for students across the country to stand together in moments like these and denounce a policy that calls for an excessive use of force against nonviolent protestors. It’s increasingly important for students to realize that we do have agency, we do have rights, and we do have power. We can exercise our power in many ways, but one of the most poignant gestures we can make is to stand together with our siblings and show our support.
Our last meeting of the year will be a Town Hall Senate in Tishman, on Monday 12/5/11. We would love to see you there!
Good luck with this last full week of class. I know that we’re all going to do well on our final exams and papers. As long as we stay sane, stay hydrated and get some shuteye. Trust me.
Sincerely,
Kirstin