Photo courtesy of Daniel Varela.
While most of us have been occupying our period of social distancing with Chloe Ting workouts, TikTok dances, and the latest episode of Netflix’s All-American, executive members of the newly elected Student Government Association have been working diligently to ensure students a safe and successful return to Connecticut College in the fall.
The SGA executive board members campaigned remotely throughout April and were sworn into their positions during a Board of Trustees meeting on May 15th via WebEx. Their initial start, first as potential candidates and now as leaders within the Conn community, has been incredibly restricted to remote governance. However, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, their leadership has simultaneously become all the more vital to the upcoming academic year at Conn. Along with Connecticut College faculty and staff, SGA executive board members have been a part of working groups dedicated to indispensable discussions and research concerning the necessary precautions and viability of a return to Conn.
The Voice reached out to SGA President Daniel Varela ‘22, Chair of Academic Affairs Ben Meyer ‘22, Chair of Residential Life Lucie Englehart ‘23, Chief of Finance Cameron Pekyo ‘21, and Chief of Communications Samirah Jaigirdar ’22 to discuss their recent campaigns, current projects, and their experience as leaders within the Conn community during the pandemic.
Why did you run for your current position?
Englehart: I really enjoyed being on SGA this past year, and I wanted to continue it in a way that directly benefits campus culture and student life. Comfortable, inclusive housing contributes so much to the college experience, so I wanted to understand and help shape the mechanisms that reinforce our residential life.
Meyer: My freshman year, I ran for house senator on a whim and ended up getting placed on the Educational Planning Committee (EPC) as my committee assignment, which I sat on with my predecessor, Sam Simonds. I was really interested in the questions my committee was asking about how to best improve the academic lives of our students, and really impressed by how much the faculty and administrators in that environment solicited student feedback and viewed us as important collaborators in the academic process. I have really enjoyed my academic experience at Conn and I think that the way our school fulfills a liberal arts education and fosters a supportive academic environment is really unique, but at the same time I sometimes feel there’s a disconnect between the perception of students and faculty. I ran because I thought I would make an effective intermediary between the student body and the administrators who decide what our education will look like. I also have plenty of ongoing projects I’m carrying over from last year.
Varela: I was initially drawn to run for the position, SGA President for 2020-2021 after serving in SGA for two years at Connecticut College: first-year as Class President and sophomore year as Chair of Residential Affairs. The roles I held prepared me to reconsider what it means to be an effective student representative that listens, advocates, and improves our undergraduate experience. During my first year at the College, Jamila [Ezbidi ‘19] and her executive board always encouraged students to engage in student governance in order to activate our community values and mission. This year’s executive board, led by Maryum [Quasim ‘20], increased transparency of the mechanisms in place for shared governance, then quickly organized the student body to advise the College while navigating a global pandemic. The conversations and student activism within SGA ultimately inspired me to nominate myself and continue to develop a stronger SGA for the upcoming academic year. To me, this transitional year will require SGA to be resilient, multifaceted, and informed. I hope to offer the leadership it will take to not only reimagine SGA’s role on campus but also empower students regardless of the circumstances of our education.
What platform (objectives, principals, goals) did you run on for the position?
Jaigirdar: I believe I can convey what SGA does effectively over Instagram and Facebook (maybe even TikTok if I can learn to use it). I ran promising increased transparency by publishing bi-monthly newsletters where we detail every issue we’ve been working on. Additionally, I want to do polls on our Instagram page to get quick feedback on different resolutions and issues SGA is debating.
Meyer: I think that transparency is critical on academic issues, especially during the COVID pandemic and amidst uncertainty about how education will continue in the fall. I’ve done my best to disseminate information from my committees and faculty discussions to the student body through my SGA updates and an occasional email- I’ve also recently started an Instagram page, @conncollacademics, which I will (hopefully) but using to keep people updated about the legislative goings on at Conn.
Peyko: Of course anyone who runs for an exec board position wants to represent the desires of the student body. Along with that goal, I want to encourage more students to get involved with the things that happen around our campus. As a first year and sophomore, I was not very involved with clubs, but now I see such great value in joining the groups we have access to. You can learn so much about different areas of study, other people, and yourself by getting involved and sharing your own knowledge with those around you.
How did you campaign for the position?
Jaigirdar: A lot of Instagram stories!
Englehart: I wrote a brief speech detailing my platform and experience, and Daniel offered to make a poster. There was a lot of social media campaigning from everyone this year since we weren’t on campus to do it – not that I have any other comparative experience, since I’m a first-year. This year’s exec board had a lot of candidates (maybe more than ever, If I’m correct), and there were a lot of really qualified people running for positions.
Meyer: My friend Mika made a bomb campaign poster so I put that on my insta story. I DM’d and snapped a lot of people asking them to vote for me and posted other people’s posters on my story and had them post mine on theirs! I also had a nice speech and a well thought out platform, but I think it’s really mostly about getting the word out!
What projects are you working on at this time? What new projects would you like to begin in the coming semester?
Englehart: Right now, one project that is occupying my time is being on the Campus Life Working Group, where we discuss residential life as a pillar of what is to change in the fall semester. We are discussing housing options that might or might not include on-campus distancing, for instance. Dean Rothenberger sits on the committee, and she is someone I’m looking forward to working with in the coming year. The main task at hand is trying to devise residential plans that prepare for repopulating the campus, which depends a lot on Connecticut’s state guidelines for how housing should run.
Meyer: A big thing I’ve been working on is the passage of Study Away GPA reform, which would essentially make it so that your study away grades show up on your transcript, but aren’t calculated into your institutional GPA (so you could take a challenging language class or feel freer to challenge yourself academically without worrying about a GPA hit). I have helped draft the whole legislation, but hit some frustrating bureaucratic roadblocks due to a purported wider scale investigation of GPA policies. Getting that passed is a big priority of mine, as is the reduction of schedule gridlock in certain overcrowded time slots. Furthermore I enjoyed helping plan our first All-College Symposium last year and look forward to trying to improve on that this time around (much more food). Another thing I’m working on is the implementation of these pilot summer online courses, which would hopefully be in classes that frequently have long waitlists or are difficult to get into, providing another option for students to pick up more credits and diversify their learning experience if they want. I also feel that we could benefit from greater unity among the various departmental Student Advisory Board on campus, as more consistent communications between those groups could allow them to be more effective on the whole. While these are my broad goals, I’m sure a number of unanticipated issues might fly my way as we try to get past COVID, and I’m ready to take each of those on as well.
Varela: I am currently serving as SGA President on the Contingency Planning Committee, the Campus Life Continuity Committee, and the Monitoring & Containment Subgroup Committee. Each group is composed of representatives from all aspects of our College community who are also deeply committed leaders. I love being able to continue the conversations we began in March before transitioning the College to remote learning. My main priority this summer is to organize my executive board as we continue to navigate these conversations, and prepare ourselves for a successful 2020-2021 academic year. I am truly fortunate to have an elected body of students who are willing to work over the summer, to maximize our efforts, and to advocate for all of us. Some new projects I look forward to beginning this upcoming semester are identifying the aspects of SGA that need restructuring, creating new lines of communication within SGA (ie. Assembly, Class Councils, committees, etc), and implementing long-term solutions for student concerns as we continue learning in the midst of a pandemic. As the SGA President for 2020-2021, I am determined to continue to foster a united, safe, and inclusive community here at Conn by maintaining transparency and cooperation between all of us. I am also looking forward to supporting efforts for renewable energy on campus and encouraging the students-at-large to participate to fully incorporate the values of our organization.
How has remote leading been? How are SGA meetings conducted with faculty and fellow peers?
Jaigirdar: Communication, when everyone is scattered in different places of the world, is definitely challenging especially as I am in Bangladesh (10 hr time difference). But this just proves how important social media is. It is the only tool we have to ensure students know what’s up.
Peyko: I have yet to do a lot of work in my position. However, the meetings we’ve had as an exec board have gone very successfully. Luckily, I live in New England so I can easily attend our meetings. I am so grateful for the flexibility and dedication of our other exec board members for attending our meetings even when they are in dramatically different time zones. The faculty we work with are also understanding of our availability during the summer and support us as we schedule meetings with them and our peers.
Varela: Remote leading has been very new and exciting. It was extremely challenging assuming my role in the middle of navigating my six finals, helping my cousin who was positive with COVID-19, and being on my laptop screen for the majority of the day. Luckily, I was supported by past, current, and new SGA Executive Board members who helped me every step of the way. I was also fortunate to have faculty and staff who were constantly checking in with me. All of this is possible because of the community we create together. One of the biggest successes for me was streamlining my responsibilities and wellbeing together with my LIFE [and] executive board. SGA meetings were conducted over WebEx throughout the end of the spring semester. Committee meetings between faculty, staff, and students are primarily the groups we have in place for shared governance during these past few weeks. I also imagine this summer being very productive with my executive boards and other newly elected student leaders to ensure that our community is fully prepared for a dynamic year.
What concerns do you have for students at this time? What advice can you give students concerned about the next few months?
Englehart: I am worried about increasing anxiety amongst students based on false information going around (regarding fall semester), so I have tried my hardest to advocate for as much transparency and clear lines of communication between admin and students. I think it’s important to understand how complicated this situation is for higher education, there are so many things that come into play that I didn’t even formerly consider. But since our reopening is based off of state orders, and cases in Connecticut are declining, that’s some positive news.
Peyko: One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to focus on the moment. I know many people may be worried about trying to find jobs or internships for the summer or possibly not going back to school in the fall; speaking from my own experience, I’m terrified I have yet to figure out my internship although I started applying to programs LAST SUMMER. During this time, it is best to take every day as it comes. Keep yourself active — workout, meditate, and set goals for yourself. Keep learning, whether that be through reading news articles, finding online seminars or networking opportunities. And last but definitely not least, stay positive.
Varela: My main concerns for students at this moment are raised when it comes to considering our wellbeing, family, and friends. Throughout our lives, we always have to remember to ground ourselves in these vital relationships. Even now more than ever, I will make sure that we are continuing to build our community up together throughout the global humanitarian crisis. Whether you are working to provide for your family, researching remotely, or learning a new skill at home, I can easily say that finding ways to be productive and proactive with your time can be beneficial for healthy routines. It is also crucial to trust in the work that our College is devoted to. At the end of the day, they are here because they care and want us to learn about the world around us. The trust that we have in our leaders will enable us to transition with flexibility and safety as top priorities for this process. In the next few months, things can drastically change in the blink of an eye. We do not know if we will have another wave of COVID-19 or if a vaccine will be available worldwide, but we do know that we can trust in our Conn community to do what is best for us all.
