Within dysfunction there is opportunity for transformation. While I believe that Dartmouth’s climate is teeming with issues, I also believe that those issues can be solved. Still, having served as the chief of staff of Dartmouth’s Student Assembly, I am keenly aware that in its current form, Student Assembly is unequipped to tackle the problems plaguing our campus today. But I also believe that my candidacy offers the most reliable and authentic opportunity to revive our student government — to fix a broken model and transform it into an institution that can effect real change.
A year after the launch of the “Moving Dartmouth Forward” policy initiative, student life has been tested by administrative policies that seek to define our experiences for us. The administration is more focused on implementing a 30-year Moving Dartmouth Forward plan than fostering a prosperous community now. Parkhurst has traded in the Dartmouth of today for the Dartmouth of tomorrow. Our vision of Dartmouth has been strained by policies that change where we live, how we work and how we enjoy time with our friends. Some of these policies have had a positive impact on our community and will ensure a better future for the College — but some have left the student body feeling cynical, confused and voiceless.
In addition to the harmful effects of administrative policy changes, we as Dartmouth students have sometimes allowed our differences to divide rather than unite us. Our student body is less a community and more a collection of peer groups. This system of factions only encourages isolation and a habit of “othering” those who do not walk the same path as we do. We have allowed a poor understanding of each other’s experiences to dictate our interactions with one another. And we have avoided having the important, candid discussions that ultimately improve our understanding of each other.
There are also campus issues that affect students on a more individual level. More work needs to be done to support and expand sexual assault awareness, training and prevention. This campus is just beginning to acknowledge and confront its stigmas around mental health. Students have also failed to take agency over the potential for more inclusive and accessible social spaces. The new residential system offers a chance for students to influence the design of new spaces, yet we’ve allowed uncertainty about the housing communities to develop into complacency.
As chief of staff, I’ve engaged with each of these issues afflicting Dartmouth. I joined Student Assembly because I wanted to devote my undergraduate experience to bettering this community. I’ve dedicated myself to this campus and devoted my time to using Student Assembly as a vehicle for progress. Student Assembly has made some progress — drafting a Bill of Rights, making course evaluations visible to students and expanding the school’s first-ever mental health campaign — but this is far from enough.
I have come to realize during my time as chief of staff that the institution of Student Assembly as it is today will never succeed. Under the current constitution, only two members of our student government are actually elected: the president and the vice president. From there, the two leaders have limitless authority to “appoint” as few — or as many — members as they see fit. I believe that this is a fundamentally flawed model for our student government. Such a government does not require real representation and is far from democratic. Instead, it breeds exclusivity and prevents a diversity of ideas and solutions from ever entering the conversation. Student Assembly cannot solve the most pressing issues on campus if we do not first repair the organization itself.
These problems that pervade Dartmouth, however, are not inextricably anchored to the institution of Student Assembly. Rather, I am running for president because I believe that we have the opportunity to re-equip our student government with the infrastructure and tools necessary to address the most critical issues on campus. Next Monday morning, a new president will take office. Dartmouth cannot afford to waste time bringing an inexperienced leader up to speed — there is simply too much to do. With over a year of experience as Student Assembly chief of staff, I am confident that I am best suited to serve this community. I am hyperaware of all that needs to be accomplished, and I will be able to hit the ground running. I know better than any other candidate what needs to be done to increase transparency, productivity and inclusivity, and I have proven my dedication to the organization by putting in hundreds of hours over the past year to better this community. We cannot afford to waste time on introductions or familiarization.
The platform that my running mate, Sally Portman ’17, and I have put together is the most substantive, realistic and detailed of any candidate. Our platform is broken into three parts, each of which address the problems with Dartmouth that I have laid out — first, increasing student input in administrative decisions; second, bridging the gap between student groups; and third, improving the overall quality of student life.
On April 17, we must elect a student body president who will effectively guide us through this crucial period, and I believe I am that president. I would not have announced my candidacy unless I was convinced that my experience, drive and vision make me the leader that Student Assembly needs, including the drive necessary to seek out the difficult and uncomfortable conversations necessary for progress. I am devoted to transparency and want to bring Dartmouth together. If elected, I will ensure that Dartmouth’s problems serve as a catalyst not for resignation and division, but rather, for reevaluation and change.
