Reader Question: Student government at Vassar?

"I'm really interested in student government, but at my high school, it's sort of a joke. My class council meets about once each month to plan a party and never really accomplishes anything. What is student government like at Vassar?"


It's the perennial story; a hopeful, energetic high school student runs for their school's government with the hope of making a difference, only to be rebuffed by their principal or their teachers. The student is discouraged, condemned to a political career of party planning and having discussions that never lead to policy changes.

When you come to Vassar, all of this will change.

The Vassar Student Association (VSA)—the College's student government—is a large, effective and powerful conduit for policy making. As editor of our school's newspaper, I am well-acquainted with both the public and behind-the-scenes work of VSA representatives, and can attest first-hand that they hold an important place in policy making at Vassar. Our College works on a system of joint governance. This means that most changes to the curriculum, to student life, or to Vassar in general will be vetted through faculty, staff, students, administrators, and sometimes alumnae/i. These constituencies all have a stake—and a say—in the decisions of the College.

So how does our student government work? Unlike in high school, it's a fairly complicated system. It's not just a president, secretary and treasurer; there are dozens of elected positions with specific responsibilities and constituencies. The central governing body is the VSA Council, comprised of about 25 representatives. Each student at Vassar is represented on that Council by their Class President (for example, the Class of 2010) and their House President (for example, the President of Jewett House). Students are also represented by the six members of the VSA Executive Board, who lead the Council in discussions and policy-making. Each of those six students has a particular area of focus—student life, academics, activities, etc. And then there is the VSA President (basically the student body president) who coordinated the Executive Board and Council. The Executive Board meets regularly with the President and Deans of Vassar, dealing with a host of issues.

Beyond the Council, students are elected at large to sit on joint committees. Students sit right beside faculty and administrators, with equal vote, and make really important policies. One recent example from the Master Planning Committee is their Landscape Master Plan Proposal. A landscape master plan is an plan that unfolds over decades, moving roadways and streamlining and unifying a geographic area. Students worked with the landscaping firm, made suggestions, and voted to adopt the plan. Now how often did your high school student government get the redesign the entire school's campus?

As you can see, our VSA is a dynamic and widespread group. It will not be like your experience in high school, I assure you. At Vassar, students are routinely empowered to make important decisions on behalf of the institution.

To learn more, watch this video about last year's VSA President, Sam Charner '08:

Sustainability and Composting at Vassar

Vassar, Greenway work to improve sustainability.

When it comes to sustainability, composting is not a sexy issue. Futuristic wind turbines, shiny solar panels, and anything proceeded by the word "green" seem to take center stage in the national media. But many environmentalists agree that composting is another crucial activity to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Vassar is working hard to close its carbon footprint, and has an extremely strong composting program. Our student government is working to expand that program to the Retreat (one of the most popular dining facilities on campus). As you can see in the video, a company called Greenway, which currently manages Vassar's composting, did an "audit" there a few weeks ago to study how their system might work in that facility. Students and faculty are optimistic that our composting endeavors will successfully expand within a year.

To learn more about the College's efforts at sustainable food solutions, check out the Campus Dining site. And to learn more about Vassar's academic programs about the world around us, read about our popular Environmental Studies Program.

Reader Question: Double Majoring at Vassar?

Every week, I field many e-mails from prospective students who want to learn more about Vassar. Those questions are always so well thought-out and incisive, that I think other perspective students might benefit from reading them. So, in addition to answering those questions individually, I'll start to post some of them here as well.

Last week, I received an e-mail from a prospective student asking me to explain the process of double majoring at Vassar. "There are two subjects I'm really interested in," he wrote, "Biology and Economics. I know those two are worlds apart, but is it possible to study both (and major in both) at Vassar?"

The short answer: absolutely! Will it be more difficult? Sure. Will you have slightly more work and less free time? Yup. But is it possible? Definitely. In fact, many Vassar students (myself included) are double majors.

On my tour of Vassar as a high school student, I remember vividly something that the student tour guide said: "Vassar is a place where everyone has countless, equally intense interests. It's a place where your friends will be pre-med with a major in Art History, or looking to earn an MBA but also take a dozen literature courses." He continued, "And that's the great thing about Vassar; you never have to limit yourself."

After nearly three years at Vassar, I couldn't agree with him more. Double majoring is fairly common here. Some people, like me, double major in subjects that are semi-related. Since my first week of my first year at the College, I knew that I wanted to major in both History and Political Science. The two disciplines have obvious overlaps in terms of writing style and subject matter. Often, I will learn more about history in a poli sci course, or more about politics in a history course. They complement one another. Similarly, I know students who are majoring in other related subjects, like Biology/Chemistry, Economics/Mathematics, or Film/Media Studies.

Other, more adventurous students, however, will major in seemingly unrelated disciplines—Economics/Music, Physics/French, Biology/Drama. On average, I would say that each major requires about 12 total courses over your four years (in which you will take a minimum of 32 courses). How you choose to allocate those courses is left to each student's discretion.

I would also add that disciplines that appear on first glance to be unrelated might actually complement each other in exciting ways. My freshmen year, I met a someone double majoring in History and Media Studies. Why? He wanted to work for the History Channel. Consider someone this year majoring in Economics and Chinese. Why? To give himself the option of doing business in Asian markets.

So, getting back to your original question, it is absolutely possible to major in Biology and Economics. Whether you're looking to combine those two disciplines (say, by pursuing a career in the bio-pharmaceuticals industry) or whether you're interested in studying them separately, you will have the option of doing both at Vassar. That said, I would encourage anyone interested in double majoring to review the specific requirements for each department. You might find, for example, that both disciplines require a senior thesis, and doing two theses in a single year might prove very difficult. Those are issues to think over and discuss with your academic advisor once you get here in the fall.

Keep e-mailing me those questions! (brfarkas@vassar.edu)

Watch an exclusive tour of the new Davison House construction

Progress continues in the renovation of Davision House from The Miscellany News.


The Miscellany News is really making a concerted effort to produce multimedia each week to enhance our coverage of the Vassar campus.

Check out the video above, our second tour of Davison House this year. Davison, one of Vassar's nine primary dormitories, is undergoing a $19 million renovation. Walking through the construction site, I could really see a unique blend of old and new. In fact, the Project Manager showed us a fluted iron column (modeled after a Greek temple-style column) that had not been seen since Davison was first built in 1902. Interestingly, high-speed ethernet cables were being installed right behind this antique monument. How times have changed!

For an even longer look at what Vassar's newest dormitory will look like, check out the Miscellany's first video tour of Davison from November.