Passion : Policy : Progress
Pre - Professional Development
We often hear how strengthening and unique a liberal arts education can be for students across all disciplines. To be transparent, in our time at Davidson, we have seen limited opportunities for students who choose not to go into business-oriented careers post graduation. If we as an institution truly want to claim that Davidson prepares its students for any possibility they hope to pursue during or after college, we need to provide options both in the classroom and extracurricularly for students to excel in their respective fields of interest. This includes further focusing and expanding on the creation of interactive and intersectional coursework such as Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector, increasing accessibility for paid internship opportunities through our connections to the alumni network, and subsidizing the cost of preparing and applying for postgraduate education such as MCAT preparation for medical school, law school, and otherwise. Furthermore, this means that the Student Government Association will work closely with the Center for Career Development, the Center for Civic Engagement, the Chaplain’s Office, and our Pre-Professional Societies in order to make our visions translate into a tangible reality.
Summary:
Expanded interactive and applicable coursework
Increase accessibility and feasibility for internship opportunities, during the summer and school year
Assist in the costs and preparation of pursuing post graduate studies.
We often hear how strengthening and unique a liberal arts education can be for students across all disciplines. To be transparent, in our time at Davidson, we have seen limited opportunities for students who choose not to go into business-oriented careers post graduation. If we as an institution truly want to claim that Davidson prepares its students for any possibility they hope to pursue during or after college, we need to provide options both in the classroom and extracurricularly for students to excel in their respective fields of interest. This includes further focusing and expanding on the creation of interactive and intersectional coursework such as Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector, increasing accessibility for paid internship opportunities through our connections to the alumni network, and subsidizing the cost of preparing and applying for postgraduate education such as MCAT preparation for medical school, law school, and otherwise. Furthermore, this means that the Student Government Association will work closely with the Center for Career Development, the Center for Civic Engagement, the Chaplain’s Office, and our Pre-Professional Societies in order to make our visions translate into a tangible reality.
Summary:
Expanded interactive and applicable coursework
Increase accessibility and feasibility for internship opportunities, during the summer and school year
Assist in the costs and preparation of pursuing post graduate studies.
Expand Social Spaces on Campus: Patterson Court Lawn Expansion
Our social scene revolves around the institutions along Patterson Court, but both these houses and the greater student body rarely utilizes the physical “Court” itself. At the moment, Patterson Court Organizations (PCOs) own the land behind their houses until a set distance. Activities on this space are as restricted as activities in the houses themselves. This has precluded the use of this green space not only by PCO’s but also by other student organizations looking to host social functions. A fraternity or eating house must essentially fence off their lawn if they want to host a registered event, and non PCOs have a virtually no land to comfortably host events. The vision for this proposal is as follows: PCOs release the land behind their houses to the school, and it becomes similar to the open space at Armfield. This means social events on lawns would not require extraneous regulations, and the school would be more willing to improve the space in an effort to increase student usage.
Our dream would be a social atmosphere, diversity, and fluidity between events like those that we enjoy at Frolics on a much more frequent basis (though likely not as intense!). The utilization of the entire Patterson Court Lawn, with Live Music, Food Trucks, and the entire student body together in a common space where those up and down the hill can meet. We will work with every eating house and fraternity, Patterson Court Council, and all students to ensure we all have the ability to interact with every group on campus inside and outside of the classroom.
Summary:
Transform Patterson Court Lawn into a more viable location to host social events
Expand the capabilities of both PCOs and Non-Affiliated Students to utilize the space
Continue to develop a dynamic and inviting social environment for all students
Our social scene revolves around the institutions along Patterson Court, but both these houses and the greater student body rarely utilizes the physical “Court” itself. At the moment, Patterson Court Organizations (PCOs) own the land behind their houses until a set distance. Activities on this space are as restricted as activities in the houses themselves. This has precluded the use of this green space not only by PCO’s but also by other student organizations looking to host social functions. A fraternity or eating house must essentially fence off their lawn if they want to host a registered event, and non PCOs have a virtually no land to comfortably host events. The vision for this proposal is as follows: PCOs release the land behind their houses to the school, and it becomes similar to the open space at Armfield. This means social events on lawns would not require extraneous regulations, and the school would be more willing to improve the space in an effort to increase student usage.
Our dream would be a social atmosphere, diversity, and fluidity between events like those that we enjoy at Frolics on a much more frequent basis (though likely not as intense!). The utilization of the entire Patterson Court Lawn, with Live Music, Food Trucks, and the entire student body together in a common space where those up and down the hill can meet. We will work with every eating house and fraternity, Patterson Court Council, and all students to ensure we all have the ability to interact with every group on campus inside and outside of the classroom.
Summary:
Transform Patterson Court Lawn into a more viable location to host social events
Expand the capabilities of both PCOs and Non-Affiliated Students to utilize the space
Continue to develop a dynamic and inviting social environment for all students
Financial Literacy & Expanding on Resources Available
One of the ideas that Davidson sells the most to its students is that 100% of its students graduate debt free by the time they graduate. While we are blessed to have the Davidson Trust as a viable resource that helps so many of our students, there is still a lot of work left to do in order to create a more equitable playing field for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. About 51% of our student population receives need-based financial aid and the average financial aid given to those students per year is over $40,000. The issue, however, that exists with a growing diversity in students of various socioeconomic backgrounds is that many do not have access to resources such as affording all of their textbooks, basic interview skills and clothes, knowing how to properly manage their bank accounts and money in general, among other dilemmas. By working with initiatives like Davidson Shares and partnering with organizations such as the QuestBridge Scholars Network, the Student Government Association can work to not only create a more financially literate campus environment but further mobilize initiatives and resources ranging from a food pantry and textbook loaning library to free tampons and toiletries that would, in reality, uphold Davidson’s value of being committed to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds and further preparing their students for life at and after college.
Summary:
Improve access to resources such as textbooks, interview materials, and meals.
Increase the financial literacy of the entire student body
Create an environment where students from all socioeconomic backgrounds can thrive
One of the ideas that Davidson sells the most to its students is that 100% of its students graduate debt free by the time they graduate. While we are blessed to have the Davidson Trust as a viable resource that helps so many of our students, there is still a lot of work left to do in order to create a more equitable playing field for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. About 51% of our student population receives need-based financial aid and the average financial aid given to those students per year is over $40,000. The issue, however, that exists with a growing diversity in students of various socioeconomic backgrounds is that many do not have access to resources such as affording all of their textbooks, basic interview skills and clothes, knowing how to properly manage their bank accounts and money in general, among other dilemmas. By working with initiatives like Davidson Shares and partnering with organizations such as the QuestBridge Scholars Network, the Student Government Association can work to not only create a more financially literate campus environment but further mobilize initiatives and resources ranging from a food pantry and textbook loaning library to free tampons and toiletries that would, in reality, uphold Davidson’s value of being committed to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds and further preparing their students for life at and after college.
Summary:
Improve access to resources such as textbooks, interview materials, and meals.
Increase the financial literacy of the entire student body
Create an environment where students from all socioeconomic backgrounds can thrive
Expand, Protect, and Improve Our College's Healthcare System
It is easy for us to look at the debates at the federal level and forget how they impact the Davidson Community locally. The current efforts to repeal and alter federal healthcare legislation, no matter their merit, will leave students without access to healthcare by either being ineligible to remain on their parents’ plan or simply lacking any health insurance at all. When this change happens, we need to ensure that students have their voices heard and will be an active part of the conversation in shaping our college health care. One part of this would be working with our college’s health insurance providers to create tiered health insurance premiums students would be able to sign up for. However, this also leaves out so many students who are dependent on the Affordable Care Act for their school insurance to be waived so we will have to work tirelessly with our administration, our student health center, and our counseling center in order to come up with the best solution possible for our students.
We also want to focus on destigmatizing mental health on campus.It is no secret that the academic and extracurricular stress Davidson puts on its students yields the high percentage usage of our counseling center. At a basic level, students who are able to afford the insurance premium of $1,500 for insurance through the college are able to afford seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist in the greater Davidson/Charlotte area for free. However, students without the college’s health insurance have to pay hundreds of dollars in order to afford these same visits - this is but one example of inequity in access to a basic necessity. Our vision is to expand the reach of the counseling center by bringing in mental health professionals such as a resident psychiatrist and psychologist and working with our Student Health Advisors in order to move forward with this initiative in the most viable way possible.
Summary:
Ensure that students have their voices heard and will be an active part of the conversation in shaping our college health care, such as creating viable plans post-federal action
Eliminate inequities in access to Mental Health Care
Bring in professionals to provide services and improve our campus's mental healthcare system
It is easy for us to look at the debates at the federal level and forget how they impact the Davidson Community locally. The current efforts to repeal and alter federal healthcare legislation, no matter their merit, will leave students without access to healthcare by either being ineligible to remain on their parents’ plan or simply lacking any health insurance at all. When this change happens, we need to ensure that students have their voices heard and will be an active part of the conversation in shaping our college health care. One part of this would be working with our college’s health insurance providers to create tiered health insurance premiums students would be able to sign up for. However, this also leaves out so many students who are dependent on the Affordable Care Act for their school insurance to be waived so we will have to work tirelessly with our administration, our student health center, and our counseling center in order to come up with the best solution possible for our students.
We also want to focus on destigmatizing mental health on campus.It is no secret that the academic and extracurricular stress Davidson puts on its students yields the high percentage usage of our counseling center. At a basic level, students who are able to afford the insurance premium of $1,500 for insurance through the college are able to afford seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist in the greater Davidson/Charlotte area for free. However, students without the college’s health insurance have to pay hundreds of dollars in order to afford these same visits - this is but one example of inequity in access to a basic necessity. Our vision is to expand the reach of the counseling center by bringing in mental health professionals such as a resident psychiatrist and psychologist and working with our Student Health Advisors in order to move forward with this initiative in the most viable way possible.
Summary:
Ensure that students have their voices heard and will be an active part of the conversation in shaping our college health care, such as creating viable plans post-federal action
Eliminate inequities in access to Mental Health Care
Bring in professionals to provide services and improve our campus's mental healthcare system
Meal Plan Donation Network
Entering the next academic year, Davidson will require every student to have a meal plan. The particulars of our dining services change from year to year, but a new normal is students forced to sign up for meals they will never use. On the opposite end, Davidson Shares found that 63/1000 students have gone hungry 5 or more times in one semester at Davidson. This presents us with an opportunity to assist those in need and put excess meal swipes to good use. What we propose is for students who find themselves with an abundance of meal swipes to be able to donate them to a pool, which students can draw upon based upon immediate needs.
Through initiatives such as this and Davidson Shares' initiaitve of creating a food pantry for students, we can ensure each student on this campus has access to such a basic necessity. The fact that we have such an eye-widening statistic of students going hungry is extremely disappointing and we will do what we can to ensure that this is not the case in the near future. No one on our campus should be starving. Our school provides us with a wealth of opportunities, but we are a poor people if we cannot afford basic necessities to those most in need.
Summary:
Create a system where excess meal swipes can be put to good use
Provide to students who are in need of additional meal swipes
Ensure that no student goes hungry.
Entering the next academic year, Davidson will require every student to have a meal plan. The particulars of our dining services change from year to year, but a new normal is students forced to sign up for meals they will never use. On the opposite end, Davidson Shares found that 63/1000 students have gone hungry 5 or more times in one semester at Davidson. This presents us with an opportunity to assist those in need and put excess meal swipes to good use. What we propose is for students who find themselves with an abundance of meal swipes to be able to donate them to a pool, which students can draw upon based upon immediate needs.
Through initiatives such as this and Davidson Shares' initiaitve of creating a food pantry for students, we can ensure each student on this campus has access to such a basic necessity. The fact that we have such an eye-widening statistic of students going hungry is extremely disappointing and we will do what we can to ensure that this is not the case in the near future. No one on our campus should be starving. Our school provides us with a wealth of opportunities, but we are a poor people if we cannot afford basic necessities to those most in need.
Summary:
Create a system where excess meal swipes can be put to good use
Provide to students who are in need of additional meal swipes
Ensure that no student goes hungry.
Our Stance on Social Justice Initiatives and Creating a Community of Support
As a Presbyterian affiliated institution, Davidson’s very core values are centered towards cherishing both our similarities and differences and is rooted in the principle of social action as a method of alleviating problems that exist across the various communities our campus body represents. Our efforts in standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, the LGBTQIA rights movement, and with our Muslim, undocumented, and immigrant students, among others, have continuously mobilized a call to action in which we see an outpour of support from our students, our faculty, and our administration and in doing so, we celebrate the breadth of diversity Davidson has to offer.
However, in order to truly benefit from the liberal arts experience and consider the value of diversity as one of the tenets on which our institution prides itself on, we must also allow for the diversity of thought. In a sociopolitical climate that is heavily polarized, there should not be a problem in further mobilizing communication and discourse between students who have differences in opinion and working with students representing different political parties and ideologies. Working with groups like the Davidson College Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Religious and Interfaith organizations, and others will be so key to further mobilizing our campus as a microcosm of what our broader society could and should be able to resemble. Our dialogues and interactions should not be so politically correct that students do not feel comfortable asking questions that they are seeking answers to or are completely alienated or cast off as bigots.
This does not mean that our initiatives for social justice will stop nor will our sole focus be on prioritizing the safety of our students. While there has to be more of a focus on intersectional, interfaith, and interdisciplinary dialogue for members of our college community across all spectrums of life and ideologies, we will not shy away from standing up for our students coming from historically marginalized communities. We will work closely with the administration to consider all steps to ensure that our Muslim, undocumented, immigrant, and international students will be able to stay at our institution and be provided with opportunities such as paid internships and a variety of resources that are available to so many students who come from the inherent privilege of not sharing these identifiers.
Furthermore, we will take it upon ourselves to create a taskforce, in conjunction with the Rape Awareness Committee, to do workshops and go through bystander training with every majority male group on campus, including fraternities. We cannot talk about social justice and the safety of our students without bringing up sexual assault as an area of focus for our campaign and for our campus as a whole moving into the future. Connor and I ask you to believe in us as we continue to lead by example and we promise to work tirelessly to uphold the values this institution is so proud to espouse especially with regards to its commitment on diversity.
Summary:
Further mobilize communication and discourse between students who have differences in opinion
Ensure that historically marginalized communities will be able to stay at our institution and be provided with resources that are available to so many students who come from the inherent privilege of not sharing these identifiers.
Reinstate mandatory bystander training for our students, expand programming focused on educating male students, and create a dedicated physical space for sexual assault survivors
As a Presbyterian affiliated institution, Davidson’s very core values are centered towards cherishing both our similarities and differences and is rooted in the principle of social action as a method of alleviating problems that exist across the various communities our campus body represents. Our efforts in standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, the LGBTQIA rights movement, and with our Muslim, undocumented, and immigrant students, among others, have continuously mobilized a call to action in which we see an outpour of support from our students, our faculty, and our administration and in doing so, we celebrate the breadth of diversity Davidson has to offer.
However, in order to truly benefit from the liberal arts experience and consider the value of diversity as one of the tenets on which our institution prides itself on, we must also allow for the diversity of thought. In a sociopolitical climate that is heavily polarized, there should not be a problem in further mobilizing communication and discourse between students who have differences in opinion and working with students representing different political parties and ideologies. Working with groups like the Davidson College Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Religious and Interfaith organizations, and others will be so key to further mobilizing our campus as a microcosm of what our broader society could and should be able to resemble. Our dialogues and interactions should not be so politically correct that students do not feel comfortable asking questions that they are seeking answers to or are completely alienated or cast off as bigots.
This does not mean that our initiatives for social justice will stop nor will our sole focus be on prioritizing the safety of our students. While there has to be more of a focus on intersectional, interfaith, and interdisciplinary dialogue for members of our college community across all spectrums of life and ideologies, we will not shy away from standing up for our students coming from historically marginalized communities. We will work closely with the administration to consider all steps to ensure that our Muslim, undocumented, immigrant, and international students will be able to stay at our institution and be provided with opportunities such as paid internships and a variety of resources that are available to so many students who come from the inherent privilege of not sharing these identifiers.
Furthermore, we will take it upon ourselves to create a taskforce, in conjunction with the Rape Awareness Committee, to do workshops and go through bystander training with every majority male group on campus, including fraternities. We cannot talk about social justice and the safety of our students without bringing up sexual assault as an area of focus for our campaign and for our campus as a whole moving into the future. Connor and I ask you to believe in us as we continue to lead by example and we promise to work tirelessly to uphold the values this institution is so proud to espouse especially with regards to its commitment on diversity.
Summary:
Further mobilize communication and discourse between students who have differences in opinion
Ensure that historically marginalized communities will be able to stay at our institution and be provided with resources that are available to so many students who come from the inherent privilege of not sharing these identifiers.
Reinstate mandatory bystander training for our students, expand programming focused on educating male students, and create a dedicated physical space for sexual assault survivors