December Student Council Progress Report

Dear classmates,

It’s truly been a great first semester with you all. I have met and interacted with so many new people on a level that I’ve never experienced before.

I am a firm believer in pursuing what interests you, and,  for me, StudCo has been one of these interests. But it is discouraging to often see classmates oblivious to what we do, and at times, I question the merit of what I do. Transparency and student interest in StudCo are extensively discussed topics, but in recent years, projects have ceased to address them—whether it be because past projects have failed, or because these problems are seen as intrinsic. But if we are doing nothing about it, when we could be choosing to do something, are we not perpetuating the problem? Can we still call ourselves “Student Council” if our work is unbeknownst to the very audience we are striving to represent and advocate for?

This article is the first of, hopefully, many future monthly installments, with the purpose of updating you all on our progress.

Sincerely,

Ray Shang
Sophomore-At-Large

December Reflection

Project Name: Periodic Updates
Project Leader & Members: Ray Shang, Srivinay Tummurakota, Kiersten Lofton, Kaushal Gumpula
Purpose: To ensure that the student body is aware of the work done by StudCo, as well as to inform students on issues relevant to IMSA.
Progress: Periodic Updates, with the help of Acronym, has published their first monthly StudCo progress report. The team has sought and has been given approval to use the projector screen in the Old Cafe for any future projects.
Future Plans: The team plans to increase awareness about the Universal Submission Box (USB) and the Counselor Submission Box (CSB) by creating informational posters, with the help of GIMP, that will be placed in areas with heavy foot traffic. Additionally, Periodic Updates is interested in utilizing the Old Cafe’s projector screen to display weekly project updates and placing a whiteboard with weekly survey questions in the space.

Project Name: Course Evaluation Guide
Project Leader & Members: Srivinay Tummurakota, Ray Shang
Purpose: To help students make well-informed course selections by creating an annual guide comprising of student-driven statistics and quotes.
Progress: The format and logistical aspects of the guide have been already determined. The course survey was created, and will be receiving responses until Intersession ends.
Future Plans: After Intersession, the responses will be filtered and organized into their respective courses. A StudCo webpage will be set up for easy access of the Course Evaluation Guide.

Project Name: Quality of Life Survey
Project Leader & Members: Srivinay Tummurakota, Rebecca Xun, Kiersten Lofton
Purpose: To gather students’ opinions on a variety of subjects such as academics, student resources, and student health.
Progress: The survey has been successfully designed and completed.
Future Plans: They plan to release the survey in February.

Project Name: Halls to Teachers
Project Leader & Members: Tommy Nguyen, Radeesha Jayewickreme, Gloria Huang
Purpose: To provide staff and faculty the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the lives of students outside of academia.
Progress: After talking with administration, the project has reformed how RSLs and Hall Senators communicate and plan programming. More emphasis and responsibility will be placed on Hall Senators.
Future Plans: The next step is to execute the project next semester, and have halls actively invite faculty to their events. The team is currently investigating ways to increase the longevity of the project.

Project Name: Teacher Profiles
Project Leader & Members: Surya Cannon, Kiersten Lofton
Purpose: To help students identify the teachers that can help them the best by creating profiles of each teacher containing academic and personal information.
Progress: The logistics of the project have all been finalized.
Future Plans: Each teacher will be interviewed for academic and personal information. The profiles will then be created and published.

Project Name: Faculty Mental Health Training
Project Leader & Members: Surya Cannon, Gloria Huang, Diego Alanis
Purpose: To inform teachers about mental health issues on campus, and train them to be able to support affected students.
Progress: The project team is in the middle of researching how much training and what types of training faculty should receive, as well as how they will execute the training.
Future Plans: After the details of the training are finalized, the project will be proposed to the administration.

Project Name: New Teacher Surveys
Project Leader & Members: Kiersten Lofton, Rebecca Xun, Gloria Huang
Purpose: To improve the relationship and communication between new teachers and students based on student opinion.
Progress: Students’ opinions on new teachers have been gathered, and the team has met with a few administration and faculty members. Several solutions have been proposed, such as an anonymous feedback form and muddiest point assessments.
Future Plans: Several pilot programs will be testing these solutions next semester.

Project Name: Athletes Missing Classes
Project Leader & Members: Sophie Pribus, Darius Hong
Purpose: To help student athletes missing classes with academics.
Progress: The team has decided to create an online database of notes from various classes, so that student athletes may easily refer to information they may have missed without having to inconveniently ask other students. These notes have been compiled by peer tutors, and the website is currently being built.
Future Plans: The website is projected to be released third quarter.

Project Name: Flow Forward
Project Leader & Members: Rebecca Xun, Surya Cannon, Diego Alanis
Purpose: To provide the IMSA student body free menstruation products.
Progress: StudCo has partnered with Aunt Flow, a company that works with institutions to provide free tampons to students.
Future Plans: A pilot program will be implemented second semester.

Project Name: Service Learning Reform
Project Leader & Members: Gloria Huang, Srivinay Tummurakota
Purpose: To redesign the questions on the service learning form based on students’ opinions.
Progress: Data on students’ opinions was gathered, and the questions were rewritten.
Future Plans: As soon as the revised form passes through administration, the form will be implemented.

Project Name: Interdisciplinary Learning
Project Leader & Members: Kaushal Gumpula, Surya Cannon, Gloria Huang
Purpose: To diversify and make learning at IMSA more enjoyable.
Progress: Data was collected on how students felt about their education here at IMSA. The team has met several times with teachers to discuss possible solutions.
Future Plans: Collect more student opinions and help review senior capstone experiences.