BY EMMA RUBIN ’20
Mount Holyoke senate met on Tuesday for first time this academic year. New and returning senators gathered in the Blanchard Great Room for the first week of senator training.
The Student Government Association (SGA) executive board members began the meeting by introducing themselves. The eight-member board expressed excitement about the upcoming year, but also expressed that they hope to make Senate a more productive environment than it has been in the past.
“I think SGA is a powerful tool if utilized right,” Chair of Halls Lauren Fuller ’22 said. “And I think it’s underutilized here.”
A brief mingling activity scrambled senators across the room, where they individually reflected on their goals for the semester. One senator said that, in the current political climate, being involved in government at any level is important. Another commented that Senate’s working groups are the most direct way to make change on campus.
Chair of senate Esha Sridhar ’22 announced that the board will be restructuring its Town Hall format. This year, senate Town Halls will be held once a month. Senators will submit questions ahead of time and speakers will be given more time to prepare.
Sridhar said that the goal of the new model is to increase transparency between administrators and the student body. By allowing speakers to prepare beforehand, Sridhar hopes that Administrators will be able to provide students with more complete and direct answers than they had previously.
Fuller said that hall senators will also be encouraged to hold regular meetings with their constituents this year, rather than just communicating via email.
After the meeting, Megan Michaels FP ’21 said that she originally got involved with Senate to address issues of accessibility in the dining hall for commuter students and Frances Perkins scholars without a dining plan.
Michaels thought that, so far, senate seemed more relaxed than last year, but still focused.
“It seems like [the new senate structure] will be pretty effective for getting work done in a structured way,” she said.
Senate meets every Tuesday from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. in the Blanchard Great Room and is open to all members of the Mount Holyoke community.