"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:
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