PROSPECTIVE PROJECTS AND IDEAS
Senate
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Environment of optimism - comments during senate have historically centered around points of disagreement or harm. While these are important to recognize, such an emphasis often results in cyclical and/or defensive conversations. We need to take a more encouraging approach to discourse that couples that important feedback with potential solutions or alternate phrasings to maximize education for all attendees, whether they hold a leadership title in the SA or not
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Distribute Senate slides in advance (in addition to the agenda) so we can focus on discussion and conversation rather than presentations
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Adding QR codes on each slide linked to anonymous feedback forms in case there isn’t time for everyone to share their thoughts (or prefer not to share their comments out loud)
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Incorporate electronic voting on legislation to be more efficient and prevent groupthink (so people don’t feel pressured to vote a certain way after hearing how the representatives before them did)
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Publish voting records online and in monthly emails
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Find further ways in addition to the ideas listed above that will help all Senate attendees feel comfortable speaking up and making their voices heard (if you have an idea, feel free to add it here)
Outreach
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Maintaining lines of communication between administrators and relevant student groups (for example, EcoReps and other environmentally-focused organizations in pursuing Rice's recently announced sustainability goals) by delegating certain executive meetings to these groups to ensure that student voices are taken into account when making decisions
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Engaging the SA Government Relations Executive Council member in State legislation advocacy, for example in favor of allowing student athletes to accept endorsements and receive some forms of remuneration, described here, the effects of which are described here.
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Emphasize the importance of including all stakeholders in advocacy early on in the process to collectively create solutions, even when they come from disparate perspectives
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Partner with the Diversity Facilitators to provide contextual/educational resources that can be shared alongside relevant polls when gathering feedback from the student body
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Increase the engagement and voice of groups that have been historically underrepresented in the SA (especially LGBTQ+, athletes, transfer students, international students, and FGLI) - one way I will accomplish this is to form relationships with the exec teams of campus groups like the Black Student Association, HACER, Rice PRIDE, International Student Associaton, Student Athlete Academic Council, etc
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Encourage all undergraduate students to join the SA Canvas page, where we currently post the agenda, links for Zoom senate, and the text of legislation for review
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Foster greater connection between the colleges and the SA by having 1 on 1 meetings with the college presidents to ensure I maintain awareness of what is going on at the colleges as SA president
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Publicize a report of the data collected by the Survey of All Students (that you take at the end of each semester to view your grades)
Internal Effectiveness
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Focus on co-creating solutions, not just identifying problems - SA leaders have historically spent half of their terms identifying issues students face and assessing which projects to pursue. While it is important to have a pulse on the unique issues affecting students each year, we can also leverage feedback from previous years, follow up on past projects, and connect with groups that are already working to address those issues, rather than being stuck in cycles of mutually affirming complaining
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Equip SA and Club leaders for important conversations by partnering with the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), SAFE Office, and Office of Access, Equity, and Equal Opportunity (AEEO) among others to provide trainings on topics like intent vs. impact & microaggressions, being an ally to students of color and LGBTQ+, having difficult/crucial conversations, social/restorative justice, being an active by-stander and others!
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Standardize election timelines across the colleges and removing barriers to running for SA election after losing a college election
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Promote the use of the SA Slack for centralized communication, and make membership open to all students across campus
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Ensure that members of the SA (especially the exec team) review and give feedback on legislation prior to its being presented at senate so authors can be better prepared for conversation around their efforts
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Create a “data scientist” position on the Executive Council as an in-house expert on surveys and data analysis
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Reinvigorate the historian role - more than just taking pictures, the historian should be the one that ensures we understand where the SA has been and that institutional knowledge is not lost so we can keep improving
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Ensure there are thorough transition documents for all roles so everyone has the resources to be successful in their position, even if they don’t have prior experience in the Student Association
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Transition responsibility for the SA website from the Director of Technology to the Director of Communications to centralize responsibility for the SA’s marketing and communications efforts
Have a project idea?
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I’m excited to hear all the ways you think we can improve the Rice experience. Feel free to add your idea to this spreadsheet and let us know all about it!
Want to join the Executive Council?
If elected, I will be recruiting people to join my Executive Council! No prior SA experience is required.
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If you might be interested in being on the Student Association Executive Council, fill out this form. (It’s in no way binding - just thought I’d collect a list of names so the future President has somewhere to start because it’s important to get people in place quickly!)
List of Executive Council positions overseen by the President (there are additional positions that are not):
Association of Rice Alumni Liaison
Chief of Staff
Director of Intimate Partner Violence
Director of Equity
Parliamentarian