October 20, 2011
Student life at Hamilton is directed in part by a number of boards that promote campus-wide events. These boards are run by students under the guidance of at least one faculty advisor. Over the course of the semester, organizations like Campus Activities Board (CAB) and Independent Music Fund (IMF) bring us Acoustic Coffee Houses, special concerts and social events. Students definitely benefit from the hard work and collaboration of these boards, but confusion sometimes arises about the number of boards and the specific function each organization serves.
This week, students received a campus-wide email announcing the development of the Sadove Programming Board. Since the opening of the new Student Center last fall, the Student Activities Office has attempted to make Sadove the location for a new set of programs. However, Sadove Student Center remains somewhat foreign to students not involved in the organizations housed in the building, such as WHCL and student media publications.
I went to the inaugural meeting of the Sadove Programming Board this past Monday, hoping to get a better sense of the goals of this organization. The purpose of the board is to create a more active, engaged environment within the Sadove Student Center, making the building a convening point for all students to study, hang out and meet new people.
Brainstorming led to a host of new programming ideas, such as movie marathons, gingerbread house making, videogame tournaments and cooking events in the Sadove basement’s kitchen. The organization of the board itself was under discussion, with ideas to fragment programming into separate councils for videogames, performance, television viewing and food preparation.
Obviously, such events would enrich student life and bring new energy to the student center. Still, I cannot help but wonder if there is a strong need for yet another programming body. My limited involvement with the Sadove Programming Board has brought me to consider the state of bureaucracy that already exists within student life at Hamilton. Where does Student Assembly end and CAB begin? Who organizes late nite events? And where does all the money come from?
The issue at hand here is transparency. I do want to recognize that Student Assembly sends out minutes, as well as encourages attendance though open meetings. But I believe that the specific roles of each of these organizations need to be more obvious, even if only for the sake of students who are looking to get more involved. Instead of a bunch of acronyms, organizations should take care to vocalize their role in community on a larger scale than just the small print on a promotional poster.
In the case of the Sadove Programming Board, I think it might be helpful to avoid the formation of a specific body. Instead, the organizing body should be fluid. An open, regular meeting each month would encourage all students to attend, ensuring that all ideas for programming are heard and that funding goes towards many different areas of student interest.
Though the board is well intentioned, it reflects a larger problem in our community. Though this new board might increase student participation in organizing programming, the institution may just exacerbate the lack of transparency that leads to limited involvement. I hope that adopting a town-hall-meeting style, perhaps monitored by one existing organizing board, will bolster involvement and interest in Sadove programming so that the building can meet its potential as a central feature in campus life.