YCC Reforms

 

I want to go to a Yale where students feel heard and represented by their student government. At its best, YCC’s voice is your voice: we hear your concerns and act on them. But at its worst, YCC can be insular and disconnected from campus. We can’t just talk about the problem--we need to take serious action to change it, and that means changing the way YCC operates. I propose making changes that will refocus YCC’s attention outward, gathering feedback and opinions from the people who matter most: you.

What YCC Can Do:

  • Create a new Executive Board position, the Director of Campus Outreach, who is charged with seeking input from and collaborating with student organizations, and manages the YCC representatives’ outreach to student groups. Every election, candidates debate how they will involve student groups in agenda formulation and policy advocacy, but this role should not just be the domain of the President and Vice President, who also have other responsibilities. Instead, it is so vital to understanding the pulse of the student body that a new position should be formed.

  • Designate a portion of each YCC meeting for open discussion about campus issues. At present, this is a rare occurrence.

  • Create two new freshman representative positions on the Council. Since most freshmen are not eligible to run for Council positions in the fall, it is essential that the two freshmen elected to represent their class are vested with full voting power, a clear channel of communication with the President and Vice President, a project agenda informed by the unique needs and preferences of the freshman class, and a collaborative relationship with the Freshman Class Council.

  • Amend the YCC Constitution so that the UOC Director is elected and the Finance Director is appointed. Because the UOC Director’s decisions directly affect the resources of so many student organizations, students should be able to have a direct say in UOC policy through the YCC election. The Finance Director makes few decisions that affect students and instead is mostly in charge of balancing the books: that’s a position that can be appointed instead.

  • Host evening study breaks in residential college common rooms, in lieu of the current format of poorly-attended office hours during meals, so that students can meet and ask questions of their representatives.

  • Knock on every freshman’s door next year to introduce them to the YCC leadership, student government, and other ways to serve Yale and New Haven. This is exactly what I will do during the campaign, as well, so you can trust I’ll keep this promise.