Student Union President Jason Gray wants every student club to include a community service component.
For example, the debate team could teach public speaking at a local school. An a capella group could sing at a local shelter. Your club can play chess or knit at a nursing home, shoot hoops at the Boys and Girls Club, cook a holiday meal for those in need, or organize a talent show at the YMCA. The opportunities are endless.
This is huge. Imagine if we pull this off. What a way to actualize our ideals.
Jason talked about the budget crisis at the University – said that the Brandeis community should be able to give input to the budget. I think he was implicitly saying something along the lines of “Hey University? Remember the Guns decision? Remember how you cut us out of that process? Well we demand to be at the table when you make budget decisions that affect us.”
Jason has the credibility with the administration to pull this off, I think.
Jason also put a big focus on Rights and Responsibilities. The impetus for the Student Bill of Rights may have been the struggle between the Student body and the Administration, but Jason ran with the concept after SODA disbanded, and he’s still very cognizant of the fact that Student Rights and Responsibilities is “heavy on the responsibilities, light on the rights…”
Here’s an interesting tidbit:
Online, you say? A place where an online place where brandeis activists and club leaders could bounce ideas off each other and strategize… Sounds like us, actually. Or what Innermost Parts would like to be.we hope to revamp club collaboration by creating an online forum for club leaders to easily communicate with each other in the idea-generating, strategizing, and event-planning processes.
Here’s a big deal: “Revitalizing old rooms in Castle and Usdan.”
Thank you!
The biggest news was still the call for every club to have a community service component. Awesome.
There is no service requirement being added to clubs, or being considered. Rather, Jason is suggesting that clubs could get involved in the community in their area of interest, and is pledging Student Union support to those that are interested.
The community service component idea is a sure way to diminish participation in many clubs. I’m guessing most people in clubs like debate barely find the time to compete, much less practice. Adding the service requirement will further tax their time.