The Woods

By Laura Kempton
Student Senate Secretary

This semester has gone by quickly! Even though we only have about a month left, Student Senate is still working hard for you.
We heard that many students, especially juniors, are unhappy with the current co-presenter policy for Ring Day which states that only graduates of The Woods who wear the ring are eligible.
So, we set about trying to change it. We circulated a petition, which received 142 signatures, and wrote up a proposal. Cathleen Flynn also designed a button that those who signed the petition received.
Despite our efforts, we were told that the policy is to remain as it currently stands for Ring Day 2012. However, we haven’t given up! We will try again next year, building on what we have done. We want to ensure that the concerns of the students are being properly heard and addressed.
This year, Senate tried something new with Relay for Life. We partnered with other groups on campus to create an SMWC Student team with subgroups for the different clubs that participated. Music Therapy Club partnered with Senate to make this happen.
Through this collaboration, organized the Pie the Person fundraiser a Spa Day at the relay, with massages, manicures, pedicures, and soap-making.
Student Senate would like to thank everyone for their support our Relay for Life team, with a special thank you to Music Therapy Club for their partnership.
Student Senate is putting together forums for commuter students and resident students to hear concerns, and feedback on how we can better serve the student body. Please keep an eye out for these upcoming forums and be sure to attend so that your voice is heard.
With the end of the year quickly approaching, Senate has scheduled elections for the following organizations: Student Senate, Sophomore-Freshman Council, Junior and Senior Class officers, and Judicial Board.
Intent to run forms are due on Wednesday, April 4 with elections being held on Wednesday, April 11 through Thursday, April 12 during lunch, dinner, and snack. If it is necessary to have run-off elections, they will be held on Friday, April 13 during lunch and dinner. Be sure you have your student ID with you when you come to vote. We wish everyone the best of luck!
Remember that our meetings are always open to everyone who would like to come.
We meet every Tuesday at 12:15 pm in the Woods Student Center. Feel free to email us at senate@smwc.edu, stop a Senator when you see her, or stop by our office on Mondays and Thursdays from 9:00-9:45 pm.
We would love to hear from you!

Popularity: 14% [?]

By Sherry Bube
Student Senate President

True leadership consists of contributing to worthwhile endeavors while enabling and empowering others to do the same. Each of us is called to leadership in its many forms. Be it from spearheading the fundraising committee in a club you are a member of to organizing an activity night for your dorm wing, leadership does not necessarily entail holding an office or being involved in everything. Instead, leadership requires collective collaboration with others, as well as humility to have others help you and to listen to and utilize their ideas.
On Jan. 21, Student Senate hosted a leadership summit entitled Leaders Under Construction. As the governing student body on campus, Senate firmly believes that not only is each one of us an integral part of the Woods community, but we also are important members in helping to lead and shape the world around us. Therefore, a leadership summit that could help hone and cultivate these skills was perceived as a need for the student body.
Because leadership entails many different aspects and at different levels, the summit was based on the idea of providing opportunities for developing and forming essential building blocks of leadership in an interactive way. Sessions ranged from how to run a meeting without stealing the show to what style of leadership one possesses.
Attendees were able to gain and improve necessary skills regardless of the level of leadership one possessed. Leaders from our own Woods community, along with the Terre Haute community, came together to provide this experience.
As a leader in her own field and community, Kimberly LaGrange, from Prime Resources, Inc. of Terre Haute, IN, was the keynote speaker. She shared with us ways to build that strong foundation in order to achieve excellence in leadership. In all, this summit focused on engaging and empowering students of the Woods.
Because leadership is not simply holding a position on a committee or an office, here are a few tips to get involved and become a leader:
Find a cause or group with which you are passionate or interested about or in
Utilize your talents and abilities in an invested role with that cause or in that group
Get others involved – who else is interested in that topic or cause? Think of ways to get them invested as well and how to utilize their abilities in conjunction with your own
Can’t find something? Start it! Find a current club or organization that shares a similar focus or begin something new!
Leadership is leading the way, being the way and showing the way. How are you being a leader today? And how will you be a leader in the future?

Popularity: 10% [?]

By Sherry Bube
Student Senate President

In the last couple of weeks Student Senate has brought new things and events to the campus community, including the long awaited coin machine, and has updated students on recent developments like the first annual Leadership Summit.
On Nov. 9, Student Senate finally unveiled the new coin machine, which was in the works for about six years. Senate held a ribbon cutting ceremony where they served cookies and about 20 people attended. The coin machine will exchange 1, 5, 10, and 20 dollar bills to quarters and is located in the basement of Le Fer Hall by the ATM.

Photo by: Emma Campbell/ The Woods

The commuter branch of Student Senate’s Forum Committee held the first Commuter Lunch Forum, which Student Senate may make a monthly event.
This will help keep commuters in the loop of what is happening on campus and give them a chance to get to know each other and share their concerns. At the lunch commuters were given an update of the Board of Trustees meetings and shared concerns including being escorted on upper floors in Le Fer Hall and about meal tickets for the Senior Dinner.
Nicolette Cisarik spoke to commuters about how to get more involved on campus. The lunch was in Sullivan Parlor, Le Fer Hall, where nine people attended.
Student Senate’s first Leadership Summit, titled “Leaders Under Construction,” will be on Saturday January 21, from 10a.m. to 3p.m. Attendees will take a leadership assessment quiz to learn more about their own leadership styles and will choose sessions to attend to help them develop their skills.
There will also be an etiquette lunch where students will practice keeping calm while discussing some controversial subjects and making polite conversation, as well as learn which forks, spoons and glasses to use when.
Keep on the lookout for more information!

Popularity: 26% [?]

By Sherry Bube
Student Senate President

Changes are occurring all around us! Not only have we begun to notice changes in the weather and scenery here at The Woods – we also recently experienced a change in leadership by the Inauguration of our College’s 16th President, Dr. Dottie King. Regular newspaper columns by Student Senate is another change you might have noticed this year, and we hope you will utilize these columns to learn more about the role of Senate in your student experience, and to receive updates on our event planning, legislation, College interactions, and other happenings around campus.
One of the ways that Student Senate represents the student body is during the Board of Trustees meetings. On Thursday, October 20, 2011, the Board of Trustees held their fall meeting on campus. Student Senators have the opportunity to sit in on the various Board committee meetings, as well as their General Session, in order to provide a student perspective and feedback to the Board of Trustees.
During the General Session, it was concluded that the College’s current challenges and priorities include: student enrollment, finding a marketable identity, financial stability, and the creation of a sports and wellness facility. It is believed that an increase and stabilization of enrollment of students who “fit” the College and uphold its reputation for excellence can influence the other priority areas most. To this end, the Office of Admission, under the advisement of new Assistant Vice-President for Enrollment Beth Terrell, has partnered with a company called “Fire Engine Red” to develop more complete, effective, and fruitful recruitment strategies. There are surely exciting things ahead in these times of change!
Since the Board of Trustees meetings, Student Senate has continued our planning efforts for the Leadership Summit to take place on campus on January 21, 2012. We are drawing on community and College resources to craft the best experience possible for women who are finding their voices. In addition, we are working to establish better, more consistent communication with commuter students by holding regular luncheons during which they can voice concerns and receive personalized updates and feedback. We are still waiting to hear the delivery date for our long-awaited new coin machine, which will take $20, $10, and $5 as well as $1 bills, and you will know more information as soon as we do!
If you have any questions regarding these updates or general concerns, do not hesitate to contact us at senate@smwc.edu. We welcome your inquiries and hope to be a continual aid in your educational and leadership journey!

Popularity: 7% [?]

By Laura Kempton
Column by Student Senate Secretary

Student Senate has been keeping busy these past few weeks. We have hosted elections, had our Fall Retreat, set up our new office, and had our first student forum of the year!
Our first action of this new school year was to host elections for Judicial Board, Sophomore-Freshmen Leadership Council (SFLC), and Student Senate. We had a great turnout at elections. Thank you to everyone who used your voice to vote!
We want to congratulate those who were elected: Lauren Sutton to Judicial Board; Alaura McKemie, Serenity Sample, Heather Davis, and Samantha Reed to SFLC; and Mingyue Fan (Vivian) as International Representative, Victoria Goetz as Commuter Representative, and Alexis Dawson and Emily Black as Freshmen Representatives to Student Senate.
On the Saturday following elections we had our annual Fall Retreat. Our first activity of the day was to volunteer at the Multiple Sclerosis Walk on campus. We had a blast cheering on the walkers and bonding as Senators.
We then proceeded to brainstorm and set goals of things we would like to work on and accomplish for this year. We have a lot of exciting ideas and can’t wait to see them come to fruition!
One of those ideas is our new office located in the basement of Le Fer in Room 20, right by the Oakley Student Center (OSC). The office was officially opened on Monday, Sept. 19. We appreciated seeing all of you who stopped by to say hello.
We have our regular office hours on Monday’s and Thursday’s during snack from 9:00-9:45 p.m. Come check out our office if you haven’t already! We are there for you to hear your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, ideas, etc on what we can do to better serve you.
We also had our first Commuter Forum of the year on Thursday, Sept. 22. It was a great success, and we received a great deal of positive feedback and comments from all who attended.
We meet every Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. in the Woods Student Center and as always our meetings are open to everyone. Feel free to email us at senate@smwc.edu, stop a Senator when you see them, or stop by our office on Monday’s and Thursday’s from 9:00-9:45 p.m.
We would love to hear from you!

Popularity: 9% [?]