Yale Corporation

I want to go to a Yale where students have a real voice in Yale’s decision-making. The Yale Corporation makes decisions that affect our lives as students, including selecting the President, making changes to the University’s charter, naming colleges, and conducting general planning for the university. Over the past few years, the Corporation’s disconnection from campus affairs and outright lack of transparency has become frustratingly clear. It wouldn’t make sense for students to be in charge of university governance, but it is appropriate and critical that we have a strong voice in major decisions. Other universities, like Cornell and the University of Massachusetts, have student representatives on their governing boards, and I believe it is time for a student representative to the Yale Corporation.

I don’t want to make any promises that I cannot keep: The Yale Corporation largely writes its own rules, and will make the final decisions about any changes to its structure. YCC’s role is constrained primarily to that of an advocate, and I’ve outlined specific steps I plan to take below. But just because change is frustratingly difficult doesn’t mean we don’t apply persistent and active pressure to those in power. Advocating for student representation on the Corporation now is the only way it will be possible in the future.

Yale should:

• Add an undergraduate student representative, a graduate/professional student representative, and perhaps a faculty representative to the Yale Corporation.
• Facilitate far more discussions--including smaller group meetings and one-on-ones in addition to town halls--between students and members of the Yale Corporation.
• Request that the Yale Corporation publicly provide appropriately detailed justifications for their major decisions, particularly decisions on issues that have inspired significant student activism (i.e. refusal to divest from fossil fuels).
• Announce decisions that affect the entire student body during the academic year, so that students are able to respond and/or mobilize if necessary, instead of at the end of the academic year, when students are too concerned with finals and ready to leave campus to respond to Corporation decisions.
• Allow YCC representatives to meet with the Corporation in the fall semester, when YCC is still compiling its agenda, rather than in April, when the Executive Board is no longer engaged in advocacy.

What YCC can do:

• Advocate for student representation on the Yale Corporation, over the long-term.
• Compile a report that (1) Details student representation on university governing boards at peer institutions, (2) Aggregates student and faculty opinions on student representation on the Yale Corporation, and general attitudes towards student representation in university decision-making, (3) Presents a range of recommendations to the Corporation and administrators for providing students with a legitimate and meaningful voice in university decision-making, including and in addition to student representation on the Corporation.
• Facilitate one-on-one and small group meetings between campus activists and Yale Corporation members when the Corporation is in session on campus.
• Collaborate with the Association of Yale Alumni to ensure that alumni are aware of student concerns before they cast their votes for the Yale Corporation’s elected alumni representatives.