This year, Choate’s Student Council has forgone tradition, embarking upon an entirely new project that extends into more facets of the Choate community than ever. Form representatives have been attending the meetings of a wide range of clubs and organizations on campus, having conversations with club leaders, members, and faculty advisers, all to gain insight into Choate’s many communities — and see where Student Council might focus its efforts to improve campus life.
Julian Yau ’18, Vice President of the Student Council, said (using his organization’s nickname), “StuCo has never done this before. We’re doing it as a more effective way of reaching out to students.” Dilibe Iloeje ’18, Fifth- and Sixth-form Day Student Representative, added, “The goal is to better understand their perspective because we are aware that there are many micro-communities on campus, each with a unique perspective on Choate life.”
Yau said, “I’ve found that student council usually approaches initiatives thinking about the student body as a whole. As a result, we overlook important issues present in minority groups. It’s important to see Choate in all its facets.”
Topics discussed on these listening tours, and who they are actually discussed with, vary as greatly as the different clubs and organizations themselves. Yau volunteered to interview the Hispanic-Latinx Forum, and his questions included whether or not students felt their voice was being heard on campus, and whether or not they feel at home. Meanwhile, questions for COSA included “’How can the students better approach the club making process?’ ‘Should COSA have more of a presence on campus?’ ‘How can school policy be changed to better club life?’” Sharma had different experiences with the different groups he toured: “I have reached out to the Muslim Student Association, and will later reach out to the CALM club and the head prefects, to discuss their goals and their concerns.”
Zara Harding ’18, President of The Body Project, explained, “It’s important for Student Council to understand what’s going on in certain clubs because it’s a great way to understand students’ perspectives. Many clubs are spaces for students to air grievances or relate to one another about their experiences here.”
Student Council is also are striving to pinpoint and address specific problems group leaders and members have that they cannot easily communicate to the rest of the school. About his listening tour experience, Yau said, “Conversations involve finding issues that people see on campus and coming up with possible solutions. Topics can range from something as small as more napkins in the dining hall to something as large as changing the school curriculum.”
Vikram Sharma ’20, Fourth-Form Representative, said “In a conversation a council member had with the Gakio-Walton Scholars, for instance, we discussed ways to better handle new students experiencing culture shock.”
He continued, “When I interviewed the leaders of the Muslim Student Association, they brought up the fact that Ramadan was coming closer and closer into the school year, and as a result, students would have to have access to meals very early in the morning. This issue has gone to the council and will be addressed soon.”
Sharma went on, “We take note of these concerns and bring them to the council, where we will attempt to address them. If we are unable to address all the problems, we can pass the information on to certain members of faculty. The listening tour is essentially something that will help us shape our goals as a council based on the specific issues of students in various groups.”
“In the end our goal is for all of the student council members to bring their findings to our last meeting of the term so that we can evaluate the information that has been gathered. This in turn will give a better sense of the problems that are most prevalent on campus so that come winter term, the student council can turn our attention to specific problems,” said Iloeje ’18. “Additionally, the problems that will be addressed as a result of the listening tour will be ones that students want us to address, increasing people’s confidence that their concerns are heard and that the Student Council is accessible and willing to help.”
Student Council hopes to continue this project and consistently foster communication between clubs all over campus and the Council. Said Sharma, “This is the first year we have done this, but we hope that the tour continues into the following student councils.”
