Twenty-eight members of the Class of 2016 hoped to become Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) representatives this semester. Freshmen had the opportunity to vote from 12:00 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 10 to 12:00 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012. Of the 28 candidates, nine were elected.

The Argus sat down with the new freshman representatives to discuss their plans for the coming semester.

 

Lily Herman

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Lily Herman: I am very friendly, and I have a constant supply of Sour Patch Kids in my room that I am willing to share with any person.

 

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

LH: I am hoping to work on, specifically, a full calendar of events, which has Wesleying and Facebook event [links]. One gigantic calendar [which would serve as an] organized, centralized point and really work toward better prefrosh communication, especially the summer before frosh year. That is something a lot of the freshman reps are trying to work on as well.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

LH: The biggest thing, like I said earlier, is the prefrosh communication. That sort of thing is something a lot of first years struggled with: the orientation, not just the orientation on campus, but [also] the orientation during the summer. There was a lot to do and a lot of confusion, and I am hoping to really ameliorate that.

 

A: What is an interesting fact about you?

LH: I am a quarter Korean but also a natural blonde.

 

Ted Shabecoff

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Ted Shabecoff: Every freshman should know that I am really interested in working for them. I am very open-minded. I get along with a lot of different types of people. I am really looking forward to working, not only with the people in WSA, but [also] the people in the freshman class.

 

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

TS: I am not completely sure what I have to do. One of the things of being a freshman is that I don’t completely know the nuts and bolts of the school, but I am really interested in activism, so I am hoping to get involved with the student government aspect of that. [I am also interested in] helping if there are any logistical problems with activism on campus. I hope to be there as a resource and really help people. I also just want to be a resource to the student body and do whatever they want me to do.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

TS: There really isn’t any big overarching thing that I think needs to be changed. Obviously in time I may see different things that aren’t perfect, but right now Wesleyan has exceeded all expectations. I am really happy with things so far.

 

A: What is an interesting fact about you?

TS: I have a twin brother.

 

Ellen Paik

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Ellen Paik: Oh boy, I am very friendly, and I like to meet people, and no one should be afraid to say ‘Hi.’

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

EP: I hope to join COCo [Community Outreach Committee] but be involved in student groups and extracurricular stuff and school sprit stuff. A lot of club life.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

EP: Perhaps add structure to advertising. A couple of us were talking about this the other day. Maybe having an online, interactive, non-official calendar where groups can post events, as opposed to having separate advertisements, just have it in one place.

 

A: What is an interesting fact about you?

EP: I climbed Mount Kiliminjaro when I was 15.

 

Bruno Machiavelo Tinoco

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Bruno Machiavelo Tinoco: I think every freshman should know that I am doing the WSA for them, and they are the main reason I want to be involved and help better the Wesleyan community.

 

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

BMT: All the freshmen have been coming up with ideas, and we are thinking about making a website to facilitate freshmen’s entrance to Wesleyan and their enrollment. The Facebook group was generally not that helpful, so we want to create a master website with a calendar of all the events and links to everything you have to do, and a group of students who will tell you the truth and not just make fun of you on the Facebook group, like what happened this year. Being a freshman and having gone through this process we really want to facilitate that entrance. Hopefully, I will get on the committee I want, which is the Student Budget Committee where I will give each group the funding it deserves.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

BMT: Well, as I mentioned before, the pre-registration system and the pre-frosh enrollment and also just general academic things. The pre-registration system for upper classmen as well, stuff like that.

A: What is one interesting fact about you?

BMT: I live in Spain.

 

Chase Knowles

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Chase Knowles: Every freshman should know that I love people and I am from the South and I love chess.

 

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

CK: I am really interested in joining the finance committee and looking over financial aid and dealing with the need-blind issue.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

CK: I love what I’ve seen so far.

 

A: What is one interesting fact about you?

CK: I am one of the few that loves country music.

 

Alton Wang

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Alton Wang: I am really outgoing, friendly, and I love working with other people.

 

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

AW: I really want to work for improving communication with students during the summer for pre-frosh. Hopefully work on a committee that allows me to work with student groups and other students outside WSA.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

AW: Definitely the orientation process and the summer information in general. Orientation was kind of detached. It could have been more focused and interactive for the student.

 

A: What is one interesting fact about you?

AW: I was named after a street in LA and my name means ‘old town’ in English.

 

Martin Malabanan

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Martin Malabanan: I think every freshman should know that I am here to represent them. Whether they are into sports, live in Olin, love the arts, or just party in WestCo I’m here for them, and I stand for them.

 

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

MM: My main interest would be fixing how information is communicated to students and how the WSA gathers information from students as well. I am also interested in helping with academic affairs. That is either the Organizations and External Affairs Committee or the Academic Affairs Committee.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

MM: I would like to change the way the WSA uses social media to communicate with the students. I want to increase the number of minors the school offers right now and add back some of the majors they took away like the Mathematics and Economics major.

 

A: What is one interesting fact about you?

MM: I am from the Philippines, and I can speak fluent Tagalog, but I don’t usually. When I do that it means I am angry. I only speak Tagalog when I am angry.

 

Kate Cullen

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Kate Cullen: Every freshman should know that I love Wesleyan, and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting the other 2016 kids. I wanted to run for the WSA so I could represent them all, and I could make their experience at Wes even better.

 

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

KC: Through talking to all these kids I made a list of things I thought would be great to do and things everyone else seemed to like as well, such as reorganizing pre-registration and working on our e-portfolios to make them more accessible. Also just having more communication and information over the summer about making your transition to Wes even easier. Also, academic advisor matching: figuring out a way to make them more compatible by giving more information. Also, a big thing is need-blind admissions and through talking to kids and my own personal opinions I think need-blind admissions should definitely be kept at Wesleyan. Also talking more about the three-year option that the president has been advertising and wanting to ramp up because economically it sounds great. I mean, tuition is expensive, but in other ways it would really hurt the culture of our school.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

KC: Yeah, there’s a lot! But there are certain things I would like to keep as well. So far everyone just talks about how great the people are and how everyone is so friendly and so inviting, so that is definitely something I would want to work on maintaining and make even better. Yeah, I would love to hear more from the kids in our grade. I feel like everyone has really special and unique opinions to offer

 

A: What is one interesting fact about you?

KC: I spent a month backpacking in Alaska this summer!

 

Wayne Ng

 

The Argus: What is something every freshman should know about you?

Wayne Ng: I am really gregarious, and I like to be on top of all my work. I like to be really prepared for everything.

 

A: What would you like to accomplish during your tenure at the WSA?

WN: I have multiple things I want to accomplish for the WSA. I want to fix the windows in Clark. Also, I like staying up really late at night, so I want to keep Late Night open an hour or two longer because I am always really hungry. I study really late at Olin but it closes at 1:30 a.m., so I want to keep it open a little longer. It would be nice if a specific room were open for 24 hours. That is something I would like to see at Wesleyan.

 

A: Even though you haven’t been at Wesleyan for long, is there anything you would like to change?

WN: [I would like to change] the pre-reg and everything happening over the summer. It was so hectic and confusing; if I didn’t know one thing I didn’t know a bunch of things. If I didn’t see a flyer, I missed out on a whole bunch of information. So I’d like [it] to be a little more organized. I know it might be a little difficult to do that, but I would like to work on doing that.

 

A: What is one interesting fact about you?

WN: I volunteered in Tanzania at a local elementary school for three weeks.