Tuesday, May 2, the College of William & Mary’s 330th Student Assembly held its last meeting of the 2022 Spring semester. SA confirmed four nominees of the Cho-Martinez administration and passed three bills, including one which funds new equipment for WCWM, the college radio station.
Administration Confirmations
SA confirmed four nominees of the Cho-Martinez administration. Each nominee had a chance to introduce themselves and answer questions from the Senators. The Cho-Martinez administration has filled fourteen positions in the Cabinet, Review Board and Independent Elections Commission before the summer break.
Review Board member Robby Drake JD ’24 is a first-year law student who graduated from Arizona State University where he was president of the Student Alumni Association.
“I have kind of spent my entire life since I began working doing this kind of thing,” Drake said, “which is interpreting rules, figuring out what they mean, and then applying them to situations and figuring out exactly what should be done.”
Secretary of Health & Safety Emma Herber ’23 studies history and economics and has experience on campus as a Wellness Ambassador and as an Undersecretary of Mental Health & Wellness.
“I have a lot of ideas for next year, including an initiative to bring awareness to the new suicide hotline, which is 988,” Herber said.
“We all know about the new Supreme Court decision,” Herber said, referencing the recent leaked draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito which would overturn Roe v. Wade. “I think that’s going to take a person who’s ready to listen to the students in the fall and be able to be there for them and help reflect their needs, especially with potential changing conditions in initiatives that we already have, like the Plan B Bill…we need someone who’s ready to listen to what the students need.”
Chair of the Independent Elections Commission Cameron Curtis ’23 studies math and economics, and spoke about his experience as a member of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) this year.
“I got involved in student assembly kind of on a whim…but it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience for me,” Curtis said. “It’s been a way to be involved with student assembly in a way that I think fits some of my skills. I served as a member…of the IEC this year and it was a great experience. I got to see how the process really worked… when John asked me if I would be willing to take over, and I couldn’t say no.”
Member of the Independent Elections Commission Theodore Geis ’25 studies economics and has experience as a poll watcher, elections official and at a non-profit that helped increase voter turnout in the midwest.
“I really think that we have to have free and fair elections, everything everywhere and including here at school,” Geis said. “I think the elections commission is here to make sure it’s conducted freely, everyone has their fair chance to vote and any complaints of intimidation or any malpractice with voting can be taken up seriously and consequences can be given to those who try to interfere.”
Old Business
SA passed the WCWM Software and Hardware Optimization of Equipment Act, sponsored by Sen. Sean Nguyen ’25, in a vote of twelve to five with three abstentions. The act allocates $6,015.90 from SA reserves, and covers funds to help the WCWM radio station purchase new equipment in anticipation of its move to the Sadler West expansion.
SA unanimously passed the A Dance to Remember Act, sponsored by Sen. Vicky Morales ’22, Sen. Cody Armstrong ’22, Class President Suhas Suddala ’22, Sen. Hank Hermens ’22, and Senator Jahnavi Prabhala ’22, which allocates $2,700 from the SA reserves to “ be used to make up any potential shortfall due to the increase in catering costs and low estimations from last year’s EAC budgeting,” according to the act’s language. The Senior Dance will be held in the Sunken Garden on Wednesday, May 18 from 9p.m. to midnight and is open to all Class of 2022 students.
Finally, in the last passed bill of the Spring 2022 semester, SA passed the The Chalk Art Competition Act Part 2, sponsored by Class President Mia Tilman ’24, Sen. Gloriana Cubero Fernandez ’24, and Sen. Regina Chaillo ’25. The bill allocates $1,600 from SA reserves to financial support the W&M Chalk Art event, which will be held on September 3, 2022, and will be part of the “My First W&M Weekend” event series. The Muscarelle Museum of Art is hosting the competition along with co-sponsoring the event with William & Mary’s Office of Student Leadership Development (SLD), Student Transition Engagement Programs (STEP) and SA.
SA’s funding will go towards beverage stations, facilities management charges and a DJ for the event.
Also at this week’s meeting:
- Sen. Morgan Brittain, a graduate student in the American Studies department, requested support on a possible new initiative. “We are awaiting word on a COLA which is a cost of living adjustment for graduate students who are funded through the college right now,” Brittain said. “I just want to say briefly, we haven’t seen a cost of living adjustment in four years. In that time, faculty and staff have had cost of living adjustments. So it’s something I’d be interested in bringing forward with undergraduate support from some of you all in the future. It is a sort of resolution to support cost of living adjustments for graduate students because we are workers being tied to those staff and faculty adjustments. So if anyone would like to partner with me on that going into the next year, please let me know.”
