On Oct. 30, members of Student Assembly (SA) met with Dean of Students Terry Martinez and College President David Wippman for a home-cooked meal and a conversation about the state of Hamilton’s student body. Informal meetings between the Dean of Students and members of the student body like these are common.
Whether it’s inviting smaller groups to her house for dinner or joining a group of students in Commons, Dean Martinez says she is constantly thinking of ways to interact with students and better understand the issues and conversations of the student body as a whole. Formally, she meets with the President and Vice President of SA weekly and with the Student Affairs committee on a regular basis. Informal meetings with representatives and other student leaders also occur semi-regularly
While SA acts as the official representation of the student body, Dean Martinez says she encourages all students to voice their issues or concerns with her. She believes that some of the disconnect between the administration and the student body stems from students either not feeling comfortable reaching out or not knowing how easy it is to sit down and have a conversation outside of a Town Hall or other formal setting. Still, she says lapses in communication are inevitable as ways in which people are comfortable communicating differ. Some avenues may be more effective than others, but Martinez said she doesn’t want people to refrain from speaking up out of fear that their ideas will be shut down or met with heavy resistance.
To wit, in an episode of Associate Dean of Students for Student Engagement Travis Hill’s podcast
Life on the Hill
released Oct. 6, alumna Meg Bolger ’11 described how surprised she was when working with Residential Life to create a more gender-inclusive housing policy. Originally, she and her friends were hesitant to even talk to the administration because they “expected [Res Life] to say no.” However, Bolger said they were instead met with enthusiasm and found it was relatively easy to get the administration on board with their proposals.
Though this example highlights a specific example, Martinez says the overarching message is that there is no harm in at least starting a conversation with her or any other members of the administration because you may be met with more support than you expect. She said initiatives like the Bundy Cafe came from students voicing their concerns and subsequent action being taken.
Speaking about the importance of student input, Martinez said, “Sometimes we get the best ideas from students because they have a unique perspective on student life.”
First-year and senior representatives have had individual meetings with Dean Martinez, and she says she plans to meet with representatives from the other two class delegations in the near future. She is currently working with first-year students to organize a formal dance for their class.
