The Colby Echo

Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Election

To the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Colby College, our names are Julie Achenbaum and Michelle Graff and we want to represent the class of 2010 as members of the Student Government Association. Michelle is a coxswain on the Colby Women's Crew team and is interested in international studies and psychology. Julie, in addition to being pre-med, is currently on the Colby Women's Tennis team, a participant in Colby Cares About Kids, and a volunteer for the Colby Admissions Office.

We became interested in student government as a result of our desire to be more involved in the events and activities at Colby College. As first-years, we want to take advantage of every opportunity to explore and test the extent of student influence on Colby College's campus. We plan to work with the Alumni Office, Dean of Students' Office, and the Office of Student Activities, as well as various other student-run organizations such as the Goldfarb Center for Civic Affairs and Public Engagement and Student Programming Board, to further class participation and enthusiasm. Our primary goal is to facilitate relationships within the class of 2010 and between the class of 2010 and all other members of the Colby College community (and the greater Waterville community).

Julie plans to serve as a voting member of the President's Council as a legislative representative of the class of 2010; whereas Michelle hopes to serve as a class council chair that will plan various class events and will discuss class recommendations with Julie, the voting class representative. In order to play a significant and reliable role in the SGA, it is our pledge to take into account the collective concerns of the class of 2010; however, our principal objective is to listen to individuals' opinions so as to come to a communal decision. This is not to say that we do not expect differing priorities amongst the students of our class, yet we think the best way to come to the most unified and effective conclusion is to gather as many view points as possible. Thus, as the class legislative representative, Julie will frequently inquire in order to acquire the common concerns of the class of 2010. This will allow your class representatives to raise the worries of the class of 2010 during student government meetings and establish noteworthy changes that would enhance the Colby College environment.

Various modifications that we are personally committed to changing include environmental, social, and political concerns. One of our top priorities is to work closely alongside organizations such as the Environmental Coalition to educate and facilitate an environmentally friendly campus. We are also devoted to fostering dialogue about political and world issues in order to increase acceptance and tolerance throughout the campus. We plan to accomplish these goals by hosting events, which will work in conjunction with the departments' speakers and thereafter holding student-led discussion forums that will enhance student and faculty's understanding of the issues at hand. We want to amplify Colby's role in making our generation more socially responsible.

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