Voting for the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) elections opened on Monday, April 14 and will continue through Friday, April 18 at 11:59 p.m. Presidential candidate and current WSA Academic Affairs Chair Grant Tanenbaum ’15 and Vice Presidential candidate and current WSA Community Committee Chair Nicole Brenner ’15 are both running unopposed.

Tanenbaum and Brenner spoke via email with The Argus about their experience, their motivations for running, and the major issues they see facing the Wesleyan community.

 

The Argus: Describe your time with the WSA.

Grant Tanenbaum: I’ve been on the WSA since my freshman year in a few positions. I started out on the Student Affairs Committee, then the Organization and External Affairs committee, and this year I chair the Academic Affairs Committee.

Nicole Brenner: I’ve been on the WSA for the past three years—since my first semester at Wes! For the first two years, I was a member of the Student Budget Committee, which I chaired last year. This year has been really different for me because I started the year as Vice Chair of Academic Affairs Committee (AAC), but right before the end of first semester I was elected to chair the Community Committee.

 

A: What have been your biggest accomplishments on the WSA?

GT: Winter Session is a project that I and my committee put a lot of time into. It is a great example of student interest steering the debate and a good reminder of how student government can be useful. AAC demonstrated overwhelming student support and interest for a Winter Session to the faculty, and I like to think that that was a deciding factor in their vote.

NB:I’ve really enjoyed working with student groups and working to make student group registration and funding easier. I worked last year with Alton Wang [’16] to research and implement the OrgSync software that we’re using now. I was also really thrilled to get to work with Grant on the Winter Session Resolution and Withdrawal Deadline Extension

Proposal that we pushed through on Academic Affairs first semester!

 

A: Why did you choose to run?

GT: I’ve been working on the Assembly for a long time, and being the chair of Academic Affairs this year has been great. I’m running because I wanted to do more and I wanted to improve the WSA as a resource for students. We’re here for four years; this place is not just our school but our home. I chose to run because I wanted to be involved in the decisions that shape this place and to shape it as best I can for [fellow] students.

NB: I chose to run for vice president because up until this point, I’ve really enjoyed being involved in the WSA and serving in this position gives me the freedom to pursue projects as they come up, and I hope that I can use the flexibility of the role to come up with some creative solutions to campus issues.

 

A: What issues do you see facing the University community now, and how will you deal with them once elected?

GT: Right now the issue that has been at the forefront of the WSA’s work and campus discussion has been sexual assault. Our last three General Assembly meetings have been almost completely dedicated to it and I hope more of our future ones will be too. I’m really encouraged by the amount of students who have been coming to our meetings and sharing their views. The model we’re using right now of trying to bring as many students into the conversation as possible is one I will make every effort to continue. I think issues like these deserve careful and patient thought, but I also believe this requires a sense of urgency.

NB: Right now, the campus is really focused on sexual assault, and rightly so. But I think it’s also important to keep an eye on the other important issues on campus, such as Academic Advising and other vital resources for students. Most importantly, I want to work to make the WSA a safe space for discussion, because if the last few meetings we have had are any indication, that’s definitely an area we need to improve upon internally.

A: Why do you think you’re the best person for the position [for which] you’re running?

GT: The WSA has the capacity to be a great agent for change and accomplishment on campus. I think my institutional knowledge of getting things done and a priority of listening to and incorporating students can achieve a lot.

NB: I’ve served on a lot of positions in the WSA before, and I’ve spent three years developing an institutional memory that I think qualifies me for the position in a lot of ways. I’m also committed and passionate about solving campus issues and working to make Wes as great a place as possible.

 

The Argus also spoke via email with current WSA President Nicole Updegrove ’14 and current WSA Vice President Andrew Trexler ’14, who offered guidance to future leaders based on their experience on the WSA.

 

The Argus: What advice do you have for future WSA leaders?

Nicole Updegrove: My best advice for future leadership is to prioritize most highly the students that Wesleyan has failed. To do otherwise is to perpetuate the same systems of power and privilege that have always existed at Wesleyan. To do otherwise is to fail your constituents.

Andrew Trexler: Future student leaders need the ability to go beyond their own circles to understand the student body and the community, the ability to seek out and serve the truly under-served, the ability to do the right thing even if it is unpopular, and the ability to work to the bone. Future student leaders need to acknowledge the privilege and power the position affords them and put service above all else.

A former version of this article incorrectly attributed the candidates’ answers to the fourth question. The article was updated on 4/15/14 to correct this error.