I Just Learnt What the Word “Interim” Means

I continue to be impressed by people whose first instinct is to help others in a time of need! Nicole Chen, an ISA (International Student Association) leader, reached out to me when my initial petition to stay on campus was denied and helped me re-appeal. I truly thank her from the bottom of my heart. There were other members of ISA, the wider student body, and even the Williams alumni network who all coordinated quickly to assure people were safe and sound. For me, that was a whirlwind of a time where I felt overwhelmed and lost so it was difficult to envision myself on the other side aiding others.

But now that I’m on firm footing, I want to help out. I didn’t really know how, but when Nicole told me that ISA was making an interim (read: temporary) board to deal with struggles that students face, I knew I wanted to join. I got placed on the Communications Committee (with my fav IOL, Maysa <3) and today we had our first online meeting. Now I know more about what my actual role is which is nice, and I’m excited for our next steps. I think the biggest problem right now for students is lack of transparency around all the changes that are being made by the college, with silence for days on end until a sudden email informs us of a drastic action. I get that they’re figuring stuff out too, but it would be nice if we were in the loop a bit more. In addition, people have their own personal concerns which they don’t know who to direct to. So our mission (it makes me feel important when I say that) is to A) Disseminate new information by the college to the student body better and B) Listen to student concerns and make sure their voices are heard by the college. Effectively, I see ourselves as the middleman between students and the college. We’ve already made some progress on carrying out these tasks, and I can’t wait to help more!