When Rukmini Sichitiu '95 took over as Student Assembly President in January, she unveiled a self-described "liberal" agenda that focused on minority and women's issues.
However, when she took office, Sichitiu had a much larger task facing her, one which she did not formally list in her agenda: restoring order and direction to an often combative and ill-respected Assembly.
Sichitiu, who was initially elected the Assembly vice president, took office after Danielle Moore '95 resigned as Assembly president in November. Moore said she resigned because she was tired of fighting with an Assembly that did not respect her as a woman or her goals.
Now, many Assembly members say Sichitiu has managed to steer the Assembly out of its troubled waters.
"With the upcoming Spring term, I feel we are right on track with our proposals," said Assembly Vice President John Honovich '97, who frequently clashed with Moore and Sichitiu in the Fall term.
Sichitiu has addressed many of the issues she originally presented both within the Assembly and as an activist in the College community. And while the Assembly has not always agreed with Sichitiu, some of her issues are currently being discussed.
"Overall, I feel the goals that I put forward for myself are realistic," Sichitiu said in a recent interview. "The SA has forced me to set priorities."
But some Assembly members remain critical of Sichitiu, saying she has ignored issues that effect the entire student body.
Compliments and complaints
Although the first weeks of Winter term were tumultuous for the Assembly, problems have subsided since then, according to Assembly Communications Committee co-Chair Alex Morgan '95.
Morgan said she thinks a lot of the Assembly's problems have been solved because many members have resolved their personal differences.
Sichitiu "is getting a lot of long-term things done," Morgan said. Brandon Del Pozo '96, the other communications co-chair, said he feels Sichitiu's agenda is quite ambitious. But he said the Assembly is clearly willing to support her if she presents the Assembly with reasonable policies that are "clearly necessary" and if Sichitiu is willing to compromise.
Yet some Assembly members remain critical of Sichitiu's agenda, saying it does not represent the views of the entire Assembly.
Class of 1998 Vice-President Tom Franks, an Assembly representative, said he thinks Sichitiu should have concentrated her agenda on campus matters that are "more pressing."
He said issues like a new Office of Residential Life housing plan and the proposals made by the Committee on the First-Year Experience merited more attention than Sichitiu allocated.
He also said he was disappointed that Sichitiu introduced her agenda without discussing it with other Assembly members beforehand. But Franks still said he is hopeful the Assembly can continue the road of cooperation that Sichitiu has helped to forge.
Webster Hall
Sichitiu started her presidency by spearheading an effort to find alternate programming space for Webster Hall, which will soon be converted to a Special Collections library.
The Webster Hall issue was considered a nonpolitical attempt to move the Assembly beyond the petty infighting that had plagued it during the Fall term.
Although the campaign had a few difficulties, including a misguided rally to "Save Webster Hall," Sichitiu and other Assembly members called the effort a success.
"The SA attacked the Webster Hall issue from a number of fronts, which demonstrated the need for Webster Hall as an important student programming area," Sichitiu said.
Morgan said she feels the Webster Hall campaign went extremely well.
Sichitiu said although the Webster Hall issue has been mostly resolved, guaranteeing that the replacement is comparable to the size and quality of Webster is still important.
Several members of the biology department have approached Sichitiu suggesting an alliance for a new auditorium that would serve both the needs of their biology classes and for student programming.
'Liberal' Issues
When Sichitiu announced her agenda in the beginning of Winter term, she said some of her more liberal goals were her own and may not necessarily be supported by the general Assembly.
Last term, the Assembly voted down a proposal to call for the College to hire an administrator to support gay, lesbian and bisexual students. But the College is still looking to create such an administrative position.
Some of the other issues that Sichitiu promised to bring to the forefront of campus debate include the relocation of the Women's Resource Center and the establishment of a crisis center.
While Sichitiu has made little public progress on these issues, she said she has been working behind the scenes and meeting with administrators to accomplish these goals.
Sichitiu said several proposals have been made, including establishing a women's issues dormitory and sectioning off part of an existing dormitory to create space for a crisis center.
"The Women's Resource Center could be housed in this academic dormitory, which would provide more resources to women," she said.
Sichitiu said she is also working with a number of departments at the College, including the Women Studies Program and the Dean of the Faculty, to discuss the implementation of her plan.
Sichitiu said many of her other agenda items, such as expanding orientation and establishing women and minority peer counselors, are "in the works," and that she has established committees to address them separately.
