Between April 13–15, Student Assembly members attended the semi-annual NESGov Conference, a convention where the student governments of various NESCAC schools come together and discuss common problems they face and their potential solutions. This year’s conference was hosted by Middlebury College.
Student Assembly Members Jordan D’Addio ’20, a Class of 2020 Representative, and Gianni Hill ’21, the Class of 2021 President, helped organize Hamilton’s attendance at the conference. Julian Perricone ’20, the current Student Assembly Vice President, and Gillian Mak ’18, the current Student Assembly Secretary, also took the trip to NESGov.
The conference consisted of different small group discussions about important topics in NESCAC student governments. First, the groups discussed diversity and inclusion. Hill said his group focused on better ways to build connection with international students, including offering Driver’s Ed resources. Other groups discussed blind funding processes for transportation to and participation in marches and protests to encourage more diversity of thought on campus.
The second topic discussed was collaboration and communication between Student Assembly and the student body. Hamilton leaders addressed the challenges of having students read the minutes because of the large number of emails that students receive on a daily basis. Other schools have started posting all professors’ office hours on their Student Assembly websites, as well as creating a platform for students to start petitions for their school so that they can become more involved.
The third topic discussed was wellness and safety. Other schools were reportedly impressed with Hamilton’s various mental health initiatives. Hamilton also shared information about the new Wellness Center and the work being done to get more parking for Griffin Road and Rogers Estate residents. Other schools discussed their ‘pop-up’ wellness days, where the college president will cancel classes suddenly during periods of high stress.
Hamilton Student Assembly members were also able to attend a breakfast with the President of Middlebury, Laurie L. Patton, during this conference. Patton discussed with Hamilton students how to make Town Hall events more successful in the future, as well as discussing how themed housing at Middlebury has helped build community and connection despite a similarly a sprawling campus
Attendees of the Conference brought back many new ideas to Student Assembly. Some changes they are considering include implementing iClickers to get statistics from SA meetings, implementing positions on SA for international students and January-admit students, themed meetings, and displaying statistics about progress on initiatives SA has pursued in public spaces.
“I left with a list of projects that I would like Hamilton to take on, and although it’s the end of the school-year, we are having conversations about what we can try to get done,” Perricone said. He went on to add that Hamilton’s Student Assembly not only gained knowledge but gave it out as well.
Perricone continued: “That all being said, I also felt a lot of confidence leaving NESGov. Some of our SA’s most basic practices had never even been considered by our peer institutions, such as distributing minutes to the entire College, or having live coverage of our meetings. Many other Hamilton practices seemed to stand out, and when we spoke about the way we do things here, other schools quickly took up a pen to take copious notes. There is always room for improvement and SA will always take strides in that direction, but it was at least comforting to know that we are on the right path.”
Hamilton is planning to host the NESGov conference next fall. D’Addio summarized the benefits of the conference, saying, “We hope to bring to Hamilton a few action items that specifically target our own Student Assembly’s communication with the student body. Additionally, we plan to host this conference in the fall and are looking at ways to make the conference we host as productive as possible.”
