Special Business
Secretary Confirmations
Student Assembly Senators confirmed seven secretaries for the Cabinet. SA President Zoe Wang ’25 MPP ’26, SA Vice President Matt Swenson ’26, Chief of Staff Esma Akram ’26 and Chair of the Senate Sen. Mayer Tawfik ’27 selected the candidates. Secretaries were confirmed by roll call vote after the senators’ brief period of questioning.
The Secretary of Data & Analytics is Andrew Kramer ’28. The Secretary of Finance is Elizabeth Rekate ’26. The Secretary of Outreach is Sabina Mohanty ’27. The Secretary of University Policy and Student Rights is Katelyn Yen ’27. The Secretary of Academic Affairs is Peerawut Ruangsawasdi ’26. The Secretary of Student Experience is Ian McCann ’27, and the Chair of the Independent Elections Commission is Sophia Hoffman ’26.
Media Council Representative
The Chamber also elected a senator to represent SA on the Media Council. The Media Council is a supervisory body that oversees student publications at the College of William and Mary. The senator chosen for this role maintains the relationships between Media Council and Student Assembly, which funds the council. Law School Sen. Brooks Alderman J.D. ’26 was nominated and elected by the chamber by unanimous consent.
New Business
The University-Wide Committees Comprehensive Review Resolution
Arts and Sciences Graduate Sen. Morgan Brittain proposed a resolution to address inefficiencies in University-Wide committees at the College. There are 26 University-wide committees tasked with addressing various issues that affect all the schools of the College, such as the Parking Appeals Committee and the Admission Policy Advisory Committee. Committees provide guidance on official school policy and hear grievances from students, faculty and staff.
Brittain’s bill aims to address inefficiencies of these committees.
“Multiple recent Student Assembly conversations and measures have revealed the inactivity of committees, including the Parking Appeals Committee and Committee on Sustainability,” the bill states.
If passed, a task force headed by Ruangsawasdi would be created to investigate which committees are currently active and how efficient they have been in enacting policies. Recommendations from this task force would be completed by January 2026.
Graduation Cap Decorating Act
Class President Matthew Hwang ’25 introduced the Graduation Cap Decorating Act, which aims to provide space and resources for graduating seniors to decorate their graduation caps. The bill allocated $460 from the Student Assembly Reserves to fund this event.
However, Hwang voiced concerns regarding funding for this event. Since it is a special event for seniors, support may come from a fund reserved for events for graduating seniors. Hwang said the amount left in this fund may not be enough for this event.
“This might not happen because I still need to discuss with Anne (Director of Student Leadership Development Anne Arseneau ’89 MA.Ed ’92) regarding our senior funding,” Hwang said.
Old Business
The Codifying “Going to the Grads” Act
All committees were unanimous in favor of Brittain’s bill which would codify the Going to the Grads Act in the Constitution of the Student Assembly. As this bill creates a constitutional amendment, it must stand for review for an additional week before being voted on.
The Voting Procedure Reform Act
Debate continued over The Voting Procedure Reform Act, sponsored by Brittain.
Brittain argued that the proposed method would help reduce “cluster voting,” where senators vote based on the majority opinion of their class. The bill cites that most senators vote unanimously by class on the majority of bills.
Hwang and other senators expressed support for clauses II, III, IV and V of the bill, which would stipulate that senators’ votes during committee meetings would be made more transparent, and would also replace the term “abstain” to “present.” The bill also states that SA would explore electronic voting in the future.
Class President Nico Giro-Martin ’27 opposed clause I of the bill which would require senators to vote in alphabetical order by last name, as opposed to social class order.
“My real issue with alphabetical, and my sentiments are not alone, is that I feel like it is a band-aid to a larger issue,” he said.
An unfriendly amendment to remove clause I was introduced by Giro-Martin, which did not pass. After further debate, the entire bill passed with 14 “Yes’s,” six “No’s” and two abstentions.
Executive Updates
Wang announced that she will be attending the fourth and final board of visitors meeting of the academic year. She will also be pushing the student body to sign the You Belong Resolution, which urges BOV to affirm diversity, equity and inclusion programs and offices at the College.
