Head(s) of Residence Council

Isabel Plakas ’19, She/Her and Una Giurgea ’20, She/Her

We are running for the Co-Heads of Residence Council because we want to provide the most comfortable and positive residential experiences for all Bryn Mawr students. 95% percent of us will live on campus all four years, and we deserve to have our living spaces reflect the campus community Bryn Mawr advertises: Home.
We are very interested in increasing accessibility on this campus, starting with the dorms. Such as having a more involved relationship with facilities, having approved space heaters, and making sure that students that need specific living requirements have their needs fully met. Without having to compromise as much as they have in the past. (Such as having only a select few specific rooms that could be considered fully accessible, and then confining those students to those limited rooms)
We have both been involved in Dorm Leadership, Una as the dorm president of Erdman, and Isabel as a customs person her Sophomore year, and as a member of the customs committee her Junior year.
So we know how the dorms run. We feel comfortable and confident in our ability to work with both Facilities and Angie Sheets, and with the Dorm Presidents and the whole of SGA. We also are interested in working along with Sofia and the Honor board, about how to address the issues regarding theft and general disrespect that have been occurring with heightened intensity these past years. Along with that, we want to have more coordination regarding on campus parties, and creating a balanced culture regarding what dorms host what events.
We also recognize that Room Draw is a very stressful experience. So on top of mock trial we want to provide more online information about Room Draw. Such as creating a database that holds pictures and descriptions of rooms.
Also, regarding Batten, and the way Bryn Mawr has dealt with “alternative” housing:
We believe that Bryn Mawr must be held accountable and continue to provide students with (at least) the quality of life they have already been guaranteed. We are very interested in examining what and how Bryn Mawr can develop housing, and also working to see if we can reinstate some Bryn Mawr owned off campus apartments just in town (a practice we had several years ago).
We are dedicated and ready to be the next Res-Co heads, and we hope you feel the same.

 

Members of Appointments Committee

Victoria Say ’21

Hi everyone!

My name is Vic Say (she/her) and I am from the class of 2021! I am currently running to be a member of the Appointments Committee. Although my time here on campus is limited to just less than two semesters, I have had meaningful experiences that impacts the way I view Bryn Mawr and they have also fostered my desire to be a part of the continual change and progress here, which I hope to be successful in with this position.

Currently I am part of the Green Ambassadors Committee which focuses on promoting sustainability and we also serve as a resource for the student body. I have participated in promoting the Green Ambassadors’ initiatives and events through outreach. By being part of this committee, I have learned further the importance of collaboration, organization, and communication. I have also observed how the co-heads conduct themselves, our meetings, and how they continue to fulfill their roles. Being in several leadership positions myself, like being the head editor of my high school’s yearbook and captain of the mock trial team, and witnessing leaders in general here, I believe I am able to recognize those who can successfully be the head of a committee.

My vision for this role involves promoting collaboration between committees, since crossing boundaries is incredibly important for creating space for everyone, and also holding each committee accountable for their general plans and goals. I hope to use this position not only as a way to be more involved with the SGA but also to facilitate progress at Bryn Mawr.

Feel free to contact me with any questions! vsay@brynmawr.edu

 

Head of Student Curriculum Committee

Precious Robinson ’19

Hi my name is Precious Robinson and I want to be head of the Student Curriculum Committee because I have experience with creating curriculum. I feel like my past experience working with the administration to put together events and to create spaces like Perry Garden has prepared me to work with faculty to work on the behalf of students. I have a very good relationship with the Provost already which will help me fit into the role relatively easily. I hope you will vote for me.

 

LILAC/CPD Representative

 

SGA Archivist

Cassandra Dixon ’19

My name is Cassandra Dixon (she/her), and I am a rising senior, running for SGA Archivist for the coming year.   I’m interested in running for this position because I think Bryn Mawr desperately needs a more accessible institutional memory.  As a history major, I have and will continue to have extensive archival experience, and as the major representative, I have experience translating history into a social and accessible feature of the campus.  Confronting the differences in experiences with the history that is preserved and publicized at Bryn Mawr is an essential step to defying the systematic inequalities which plague institutions with our troubled history.  Beyond my personal passion, this is a timely issue, and something which demands focus within the Bryn Mawr community, and something I am committed to addressing.  I am hoping to build on the work of passionate students who earlier created exhibits, tours, and other projects to tackle the disparity in the histories which are told at Bryn Mawr, making those projects more mainstream and available.  I hope that the work we do together will make Bryn Mawr an easier and more understandable space for everyone, but especially for marginalized students, staff and faculty.

Beatrice Greeson ’19 (she/her)

With new students coming in every year, having an accessible institutional memory is paramount in holding ourselves and our institution accountable to engaging with our past and present and working towards a more inclusive, progressive, and innovative future. Balancing the hefty tradition and legacy of Bryn Mawr with creating an increasingly beneficial version of the College for all students is a difficult task, but a necessary one. Applying practical experience from past internships in museum education and archives, Beatrice wants to makes the archives as accessible as possible through a process of digitization, transparency, and teaching tools. She hopes that this intentional and visible engagement with our archives will help to help Bryn Mawr community members understand the context of their time here and have greater knowledge of what their work on campus would mean for the future of the school.

Working with AMO groups and student activists to create or highlight special, archive based events (like the Black at Bryn Mawr curated shows) would be important. Furthermore, increasing the SGA Archive committee’s visibility and accessibility as a resource to connect with relevant pieces of the past is something Beatrice hopes to do within this role. When students do work to create change on our campus, they should be able to reach out to the SGA Archivist to find relevant moments of analogous history in Bryn Mawr’s past. For example, if a student was working on a panel about mental health at Bryn Mawr, they could be connected with a zine of testimonials that came out a year ago, a plenary resolution from 3 years ago, an oral history from 10 years ago… Hopefully, archival digitization and educational documents would reach a point eventually of students being able to do this work without the guidance of the archivist if they want.

Those fighting to make change on our campus shouldn’t have to fight to make sure their work is remembered, too. That’s our job. It’s disrespectful and ineffective to not consider and honor the strides those before us have taken to make our campus a better place, in name or in content. We should be thinking seven generations behind us and seven forward.

Digitizing past events and documents and committing contemporary work to accessible archives as soon as possible would be a priority, making sure to capture the present as much as we can while making the history of our school and its students as visible as possible. Working with the Bi-College News, *the college news*, StoryCORE, and other groups working to document or resurface aspects of student life and institutional memory  and commit contemporary work to accessible archives would be key. The archives should be present and accessible for all of our community, both those looking for the archives and those that don’t know of them. Increasing archivist accessibility, internet presence, and on campus visibility (for example, in dorm histories in dorm lobbies or a history of bryn mawr during customs week) would help students looking for these resources see their availability but also help the rest of the Bryn Mawr community engage with a past and present that affects our future every day.

 

Class of 2019 Senior Class President

Genesis Perez-Melara and Mariana Garcia

Hey guys,

We are so excited to run for SENIOR YEAR presidents. We both have a bunch of ideas to start the semester with a BOOM !!!!

We understand how important our last year is, and we want to be able to cater to everyone’s needs, that meaning, doing events on and off campus because we know how important taking a breather from BMC, thesis writing, and job/grad school hunting is to all of us.

We are committed to making this experience as transparent as possible, by having weekly office hours in our dorms or at the Campus Center, where we will be discussing the logistics of future events. This time would be great for hearing about our classmates’ inputs on our performances. We will also send doodle polls and forms for people who want to voice out their concerns electronically.

We really hope you guys grant us this privilege, you won’t regret it because senior year presidents are YOUR presidents for life <3

We promise to make this a year to remember!

Britt van der Poel and Leah Baker
Co-Senior Presidents, Campaign Statement 2018-2019

We, Britt van der Poel and Leah Baker, are excited to announce our campaign for the 2018-2019 Senior Presidents positions.

For the past nine months, we have been extremely grateful to represent the Bryn Mawr community as Traditions Mistresses. From planning events for the entire student body, to managing a six-figure budget, we have gained extensive experience that would prepare us for the responsibilities of Senior Presidents. Reflecting over the past year, we have found a passion for all aspects involved in planning events. We are most passionate about continuing the various traditions that unite Bryn Mawr students, whether that be Lantern Night or Senior Week. If awarded the position, we hope to use our platform to unite our class and to conclude our tenure at Bryn Mawr in celebration of all that we have accomplished.

Looking forward to next year, if awarded this position, we will make student unity, input, and transparency our main priorities. This year has provided us with an intimate perspective of what it takes to manage a large budget for the college, have constant meetings with the Administration, host sales events, bounce large parties, and execute events for hundreds of students. We were able to identify successes and shortcomings, which we have translated into important points of reflection. There are undoubtedly obstacles that we have encountered in our job as Traditions Mistresses, which is why we will choose to highlight transparency and student input as your Senior Presidents.

For more information, please feel free to visit elections.blogs.brynmawr.edu for information about other candidates. Voting begins on (Sunday, April 15th at 9am) and will end on (Tuesday, April 17th at 9pm). Please feel free to e-mail us if you have any further questions: Britt van der Poel at bvanderpoe@brynmawr.edu and Leah Baker at llbaker@brynmawr.edu If you have any further questions regarding SGA elections, contact the Elections Heads at elections@brynmawr.edu

Oona Ryle and Viveka (Veka) Kymal

oryle@bmc, vkymal@bmc

Hi everyone! We are Oona Ryle (she/her) and Viveka Kymal (she/her) and we’re running for Co-Presidents for the Class of 2019. We want to be your presidents because we want to make senior year count. We want to do this by organizing as many fun and stress relieving events as we can over the year, and also by making sure that we as a class can leave behind a strong and defined legacy.

First, a little bit about us: on campus, we have had leadership experience through our positions as tour guides, customs people and future HA. We have both been involved in SGA as a Member-at-Large and through working on various committees, and in SAAC as a representative. We also both have experience with event planning and managing large budgets through Veka’s position as an Alumnae Engagement Intern and Oona’s publicity & events internship over the summer.

The responsibilities of this position are to bring the senior class together as a community while maintaining transparency through consistent communication. Like past class presidents, we would hold regular office hours and make a point to answer emails promptly. Something new that we want to emphasize is a commitment to collaborate with more groups on campus. The 2018 class presidents laid the foundations for this by collaborating with Bryn Mawr Concert Series to bring Aminé to campus. We want to expand on this type of collaboration with other committees and affinity groups. Specifically, we want to support members of our class that are already putting in the work and emotional labor to make this campus a more accessible space. It’s important to represent everyone in our grade and the best way to do this is by reaching out. Extending our resources is an important and necessary responsibility of being class president and we want to make this a priority.

A major part of this position is to plan events like Senior Week and Senior Cocktails. But who said senior week has to be the only time we can have trips off campus? We want to slip in a few fun trips during the year, as well as planning a send-off event for those who might be graduating early in the winter, and a welcome back party at the beginning of 2nd semester.

We hope this statement conveyed our genuine excitement and commitment to working hard for our senior year. If our ideas speak to you, please consider voting for us for Co-Presidents of the Class of 2019!

 

Class of 2020 Junior Class President

Sophie Goldstein and Milan Frederick

Hey everyone,

Our names are Sophie Goldstein (sgoldstei1@bmc) and Milan Fredrick (mfredrick@bmc). We are running for junior class presidents. This past year, we had the privilege of serving as co-heads of elections which gave us a lot of experience working on our organizational and leadership skills. A big motivation for being so involved with SGA is making it an inclusive and approachable organization. To us, and what we hear from a lot of our peers, is that SGA is confusing, intimidating, and misunderstood. We want to work to close this gap between SGA and our community, so we can better include the voices of everyone (!!) on campus as equally and fairly as possible.

Additionally, as class presidents, we would incorporate the skills and experiences we learned last year in everything we do. We work very well together—Sophie deals with the more technical side and Milan deals with the public speaking side, generally. We have a strong sense of organization, routine regarding posting on Facebook and speaking with SGA members and attending meetings, and we work well together. We are effective and we get our stuff done which is extremely important!

Another one of our goals will be to throw events where we write letters to those who are abroad and will need to adjust to everything that has happened while they were away. We will continue this tradition for those who will leave in the spring as well. This is a great tradition because it important that students have a great support system to help them adjust when they come back. That being said, we want to plan going away and welcome back mixers to let our classmates know that we have not forgotten about them and we will stay unified and together. A lot of our close friends are going abroad, and have been abroad, so we this is very close to our hearts and we have also seen how hard it is for our friends to readjust or even how some of our friends are anxious about going away because of the idea of feeling isolated form the community. We will work hard to combat these negative feelings and make sure our peers feel they belong to a close-knit community. Neither of us will be going abroad, in order to hold this position and to work hard to make sure our class feels heard and well-represented.

We will also have a Facebook page for our class group so students can have a space to voice their concerns, especially, given the current political climate we are in and the awful tragedies that are occurring outside our campus. In conjunction, we will also hold office hours for students in order to provide a safe and open space to talk and chat. We will be open to feedback and love to hear for our fellow classmates. Office hours and a Facebook page are very important for us to maintain because we believe in having a strong sense of open communication within our community. Along with communication comes understanding and sympathy of diversity and different experiences that help us grow into the knowledgeable and educated adults we wish to graduate as!

We want to make sure everyone has a great junior year! Vote for us so we can do this!

-Sophie and Milan

Jada Ceasar and Alexis Giron

We want our presidency to represent five ideals: Transparency, clarity, diversity, integrity, and solidarity. In being transparent, we promise to communicate to the class of 2020 exactly what is being communicated to others on their behalf. We will consistently update and communicate all conversations with the administration and other members of the representative council to our class. Transparency also includes communicating to study abroad students, we think it is imperative that they know what is happening on campus while their gone. As a part of using clarity, we plan to continue the idea of transparency through coherent communication focusing on utilizing accessible language and platforms. We promise to make ourselves available to members of the community through many different mediums, whether that be email or in person.

Alexis and Jada are committed to holding office hours weekly and even skype office hours.

As Bryn Mawr is a very diverse campus, we will work to make Bryn Mawr more inclusive and accepting of people from all walks of life. In the current campus climate, we think that it is imperative to have people of color in SGA positions to better represent the needs of marginalized and often silenced voices on campus, as well as create safe spaces for people to continue to bring their voices to SGA. We promise to lead our campaign and presidency with integrity and honesty. In terms of fostering feelings of solidarity, there will be many instances that as class co-presidents we can create spaces for community building with and within the class of 2020. This includes, but is not limited to, pop-outs, hangouts, and other class events.

Alexis has been an active member of the Bryn Mawr community, including being a Customs person, a facilitator for Food for Thought with Dr. Tatum, a treasurer for Mujeres*, and a member of the Bryn Mawr College Night Owls. She has also served students as a supervisor in the dining hall, and acted as a THRIVE mentor to the Freshman class. Jada has also been an active member of the community through her engagement with the Enid Cook Center, Enid Cook Center Committee, Black at Bryn Mawr, The Pensby Center and Representative Council of SGA as a Dorm President. Jada is the current acting Treasurer of AJOYO and has been a member of both BACaSO and Sisterhood* since Freshman year. Jada currently serves on the History Working group and Oral History Group.

Through our experiences in these various spaces on campus, we are confident that we will be the best possible co-presidents for the Class of 2020 if we are elected. We are determined to continue acting as active members of the Bryn Mawr community and are committed to all of the ideologies listed above. We are committed to making Bryn Mawr a better place one step at a time. We have a 20/20 Vision!

 

Class of 2021 Sophomore Class Presidents

Yabundu Conteh and Chloe Liu

Dear Class of 2021,

Yabundu Conteh and I, Chloe Liu, are grateful to be your class presidents for the 2018-2019 academic year. Going into our second year, we want to change the idea of the job of what a class president is. A goal we have is to focus on student activism and use the position to increase inclusivity for all students. This year we hosted de-stresser events for the class of 2021 and are currently a part of organizing National Walkout Day on April 20th. We hope that next year we are able to host more class bonding activities while also focus on promoting activism on campus. We will continue listening, working, and improving so that Bryn Mawr’s community is a reflection of the students’ values.

Best,

Yabundu + Chloe

 

Traditions Mistress/Master/Mistex

Kayleigh Wilson ’19 and Annika Yang vom Hofe ’19

Hello everyone!

We’re Kayleigh Wilson (she/her) and Annika Yang vom Hofe (she/her) and we are running for Traditions Mistresses!  Traditions are a vital part of Bryn Mawr’s community, which is why it’s crucial that they are inclusive for everyone at BMC.  They played a large role in our decisions to come to Bryn Mawr, and an even larger role in why we fell in love with the college and why we feel safe and accepted here.  Because of this, we want traditions to be a positive experience for everyone in this community.

Unfortunately, we know that there are concerns among Bryn Mawr students regarding diversity and accessibility within traditions.  We intend to address issues, such as instances of harmful cisnormative language and racial microaggressions, that have occurred and continue to occur within the space of traditions.  As we are only aware of what we have witnessed ourselves, we feel that the best way to make traditions more inclusive and enjoyable is through open and direct communication with the student body, faculty, and staff.  In order to foster different forms of communication and increase student feedback, we propose adopting anonymous online avenues, in addition to office hours, to make these discussions more accessible and less stressful for students.

As current sophomore traditions representatives for Rhoads North, we are fortunate to have been able to be a part of the behind-the-scenes efforts that go into making traditions possible. We have many ideas for improving traditions, as well as the experience and time necessary to implement these changes. Kayleigh is a sociology major, and is currently the lacrosse team manager where she plays a role in coordinating events for the team.  In high school, Annika, who is now a Biochemistry major and Gender and Sexuality studies minor, founded the Chinese club and played a large role in organizing highly attended events including Chinese New Year celebrations and a Walk-a-thon.  We’ve been best friends since we met at Supafun last year, as well as roommates this year and for the upcoming year.  We have lots of experience working together, from shifts at NDDH to our time as traditions representatives, so we know that we function well as a team and we are excited to bring our passion to the position of traditions mistresses!

If you want to hear more about about what we hope to accomplish as traditions mistresses, feel free to email us at ayangvomho@brynmawr.edu or kawilson@brynmawr.edu

Thank you!

Annika and Kayleigh

Bethany Mathews ’19 and Caroline Horvatis ’19

To the Members of the Bryn Mawr Community:

We, Bethany Mathews and Caroline Horvatits, are excited to run for the 2018-2019 Traditions Mistresses position.  We are passionate about the role of traditions as a part of fostering a supportive, unique community campus wide. Our enthusiasm for the position comes from shared positive experiences with traditions that bring fun to the academic environment, making Bryn Mawr a home for us Mawrtyrs . We are aware that many other students share these feelings, and we are eager to carry on the legacy of exciting, memorable events.

We will strive to facilitate traditions in a way that is inclusive to the entirety of the Bryn Mawr Community.  Our plan to implement office hours before each tradition, in addition to maintaining those after traditions, will allow us to hear your ideas and concerns going into each event. We also intend to share our own ideas through constant communication with the community for complete transparency. Traditions are a shared element of Bryn Mawr life, so each of your voices are incredibly important to us. Additionally, a goal of ours for this coming year is to make community accessibility to all traditions a priority. Thus, we will work closely with various departments on campus to ensure that everyone, from work-study students to student athletes, can participate fully in each event.

Bethany has worked as a Traditions Representative for the past year, and through this has seen and participated in the effort that goes into each tradition. Her experience as a supervisor at New Dorm Dining Hall will benefit her in thinking on her feet and facilitating conversation between students and faculty, as she does with workers and managers. Through these and other on-campus activities, she has had to work with large groups of people and distribute tasks as well as pay attention to events on both a large-scale and detail-oriented basis.  Her partner, Caroline has worked with the athletics department as a student mentor for one semester as well as participated in the Varsity tennis program for the past two years.  She also holds an off-campus job balancing work, athletics, and academia.  Her experiences both on campus and off will benefit her with time management, meeting deadlines, and working under stressful situations.  She has also worked closely with a start-up company this past year in a business atmosphere, giving her the ability to communicate well and build professional relationships with outside personnel and organizations.

We appreciate your time and hope that you will consider us as your 2018-2019 Traditions Mistresses!

 

Class of 2019 Songmistress/master/mistex

Lizzy Sobiesk

My name is Lizzy Sobiesk and I am running for the Class of 2019 Senior Songs Mistress. I use she/her pronouns and I am an English Major with minors in Africana Studies and Creative Writing. Like many, my time at Bryn Mawr has been filled with great joy paired with immense challenges and uncertainties. One place I found myself deeply connecting with the community is through step sings. In many ways, step sings are opportunities in which students can collectively express themselves and have a moment of complete diversion. During my senior year, I would like to be tapped into and help facilitate that festivity in our community. Although it may seem trivial, I think the ability to have fun is one of our most valuable assets and one so often not utilized. I hope, through being the Senior Songs Mistress, to hype up our community and encourage the hoopla that benefits us all.

Toni Ekerdt

I am running for the position of senior songsmistress first and foremost because I have loved being songsmistress to the junior class this past year, and would really enjoy doing it again. Traditions have always been something that lies close to my heart, but step sing especially has been a big part of those traditions for me. Step sing is fun. And important. It is one of the few times that we intentionally come together as a larger community, not to do work together or pass resolutions, but just to enjoy one another’s company.

Which is why I hope to be an active part of them again. I want to make Step sings something everyone can go to and have fun at- and as songsmistress I would be a part of making that happen. Additionally, Senior songsmistress is a more involved role than the position I hold now, and I have had the opportunity to see the current Senior songsmistress do her thing. I have been able to see what the position entails- I have a good idea of what I would be getting myself into.  I know it will be a good time, and I want to make it a good time for everyone there as well.

 

Class of 2019 Honor Board Representative

Rebecca Kaplan

My name is Rebecca Kaplan (’19, she/her) and I am running for Class of 2019 Honor Board Representative. I was initially inspired to run for Honor Board at the end of my first year because Bryn Mawr’s commitment to student self-government, as embodied in the Honor Code, demonstrates a fundamental respect for us as students. Now that I’ve served on the Honor Board for two years, I have seen the ways in which the Honor Code works well for students, as well as some of the areas in which it falls short. My goal is to help make both the Honor Code and the Honor Board more accessible to the entire student body by facilitating meaningful dialogue between the Honor Board and the community. Through these conversations, I hope to increase transparency, and to use my ability to understand and empathize with others to advocate for the student voice and perspective with the Honor Board. Additionally, my experience on the Honor Board has given me a sense of the time commitment that is required, and I am confident that I can balance this work with my academics and extracurricular responsibilities. Being part of the Honor Board has been integral to my time at Bryn Mawr, and I look forward to continuing this work during my senior year. Please feel free to contact me at rbkaplan@brynmawr.edu if you have any questions.

Toni Ekerdt

I am running mainly because someone nominated me- and I thought, why not? Despite being a rising senior, I don’t know all that much about the Honor Code. This position would be a good opportunity to learn! I recognize that the Honor Code, and by extension, the Honor Board, is an integral part of our community and its principles act as its foundation- but I also see a lot of instances where the Honor Code doesn’t work, or where people have lost faith with it. I would like to learn up close what these problems consistently, and see if any work can be done about them- at least to begin talking more directly about them. Hopefully, this will make the Honor Code more transparent so people (like me!) can make more informed judgments about it.

 

Class of 2020 Honor Board Representative

Taylor McClain

Hi, my name is Taylor McClain. Last year I served as the Honor Board rep for the Class of 2020. I really valued that experience. As a member of the Class of 2020 being on the Honor Board helped me to help my friends understand the Honor Code better. One of my goals for the future is to make the Honor Code and the Honor Board less scary. I want people to feel empowered by the Honor Code and to realize how beneficial it is to them. I also really appreciated this time to get to know faculty and other students better. It was interesting for me to see how much differently faculty thought of the Honor Code as opposed to students. I would like to join the Honor Board again this next year.

 

Class of 2021 1-Year Honor Board Representative

Alma Sterling, she/her

I’m running for 1 Year Honor Board Representative because throughout my time in school I’ve been a part of communities based on the ideas of integrity and respect for the overall student body. When I came to Bryn Mawr that was something that continued to appeal to me. When presented with the opportunity to run for Honor Board Representative I thought I would be a good fit for the role because of the way I’ve grown within and been shaped by my previous communities. Being such an important foundation of Bryn Mawr I want to make sure that students know how the Honor Code can work for their benefit and the benefit of the overall community. I especially want to reach out to the Class of 2021, as many of us are still unsure about the content of the Honor Code and the function of the Honor Board. I also want to acknowledge that as the college and the needs of its student body changes, the Honor Code should also be appropriately modified in order to be the best foundation for a community based on respect and growth. I want to do my best to serve the Bryn Mawr community and represent my peers in a way that is fair and just.

 

Class of 2021 2-Year Honor Board Representative