Let’s Get the Party Started: Fall College Council Elections

Fellow Ephs, the time you have been waiting for has arrived. Your chance to improve Williams, oversee $400,000, and shape campus policy is finally here. Fall College Council elections are finally here!In addition, Council will be putting some constitutional amendments on the ballot this year. You can check out our constitution and if there is anything that you would want included as a constitutional amendment please e-mail us.

For those who don’t know, College Council is the student government of Williams College. We are charged with allocating the student activities tax (money!), working with administrators to shape policy, launching campus improvement projects, and reacting to campus issues.

All current students are eligible and encouraged to run for College Council.

Self-nominations are due to [email protected] by midnight on Monday, September 19th, 2011.

Each self-nom should include:

  1. Your name
  2. Class year
  3. The position for which you are running

Please send your self-nom in the following way:

  1. As the subject line put your name, position you are running for
  2. E-mail the self-nom as an attachment rather than as body text

Good self-noms generally but not necessarily discuss projects you are interested in pursuing, why you are interested in CC and why you think you would be an effective member of council.

College Council meets every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. If you are elected you are expected to attend meetings. Please keep this in mind when deciding whether to run.

The ELECTIONS will be held online from midnight Wednesday, September 21st until midnight Friday, September 23rd. All students will receive an email with a link to our voting system.

The following positions are currently open:

  • House Representative (6)
  • At-Large Neighborhood Representative (4)
  • Member of the Honor & Discipline Committee (8)
  • Honor Counselor (1)

HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE (elected position)

House Representatives are required to attend weekly College Council meetings, serve on subcommittees of Council, and initiate their own projects to improve student life. At the weekly Council meetings, they advocate on behalf of their housing group, help make important decisions on student life and college policy, approve the distribution of the $400,000 student activities tax, and update Council on the projects they are personally working on. Representatives must maintain contact with their constituents through house listservs and other means.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words, and must include your name and the Housing group for which you are running.

NEIGHBORHOOD AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE (elected position)

Like the House Representatives, Neighborhood At-Large Representatives are required to attend weekly College Council meetings, serve on subcommittees of Council, and initiate their own projects to improve student life. However, at the weekly Council meetings, these representatives advocate on behalf of their neighborhood. They also help make important decisions on student life and college policy, approve the distribution of the $400,000 student activities tax, and update Council on the projects they are personally initiating.

Additionally the Neighborhood Representative may be asked by his/her respective Neighborhood Governance Board to bring issues to Council and vice versa.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words, and must include your name and the Neighborhood for which you are running.

HONOR AND DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE (elected position)

Students and faculty are to report violations and alleged violations of the honor code. Such reports are to be submitted to the Student Honor Committee, consisting of eight student members (two from each class) of the joint Faculty-Student Honor System-Discipline Committee. This committee is responsible for determining the guilt or innocence of the accused person or persons, and for recommending appropriate punishments to the Dean. A committee of faculty members to be designated by the Faculty will sit with the Student Honor Committee in an advisory capacity.

Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words and should state your class year.

HONOR COUNSELOR (appointed by Honor Committee)

In addition, a new position, Honor Counselor, has been added to the Honor Committee. Honor Counselors will provide vital support to the Honor System. After training, they will be available to students accused of violating the Honor Code for counseling, reference during hearing preparation, and information about the honor process.

Counselors may join a hearing as a student adviser and follow up on cases after hearings. Honor Counselors are expected to be familiar with the Honor Code and available for sporadic consultation, depending on the caseload in a given semester. Self-nominations should be no longer than 500 words and should include your class year. Appointments will be made by the Honor Committee’s Student Chair.

ELECTION PROCEDURES

The following are the house representative positions available; you must be living in the house that you represent. Each house has one representative unless otherwise noted. JAs are not eligible to run for freshman house representative positions.

    • Currier Cluster At-large Representative
    • Dodd Cluster At-large Representative
    • Spencer Cluster At-large Representative
    • Wood Cluster At-large Representative
    • Armstrong Representative
    • Pratt Representative
    • Mills Representative
    • Dennett Representative
    • Williams Hall Representative
    • Sage Hall Representative

Note that only Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors are eligible for the Cluster At-Large Representative positions. Contact the Council Co-Presidents Francesca Barrett (fgb1) or Nick Fogel (njf1) with questions.

Self-nominations are due to [email protected] by midnight, Monday, September 19th, 2011.

Each self-nom should state your name, class year, and the position for which you are running in the subject line of your email.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above positions, or the election procedures, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Again, this is your chance to be heard while representing your peers on this campus. You can be the voice in a CC meeting that plants the seed to an idea that changes Williams forever.

So on behalf of College Council, we wish you all the best in the upcoming ELECTIONS!

Good luck,

Francesca Barrett
CC co-president

Nick Fogel
CC co-president

Jack Noelke
CC Treasurer

Krista Pickett
CC Secretary