timeline
- April
- Reach out to and speak with every student group on campus to get input on goals and priorities for next year
- Hold 5 Office Hours in various locations across campus (Blue Room, SciLi Lobby, Andrews, and more) to get input from the general student body
- Push out the Anonymous Reporting Survey to garner consistent and continuous feedback from students
- Collaborate with current UCS president and administration to finalize goals for next year
- Meet with committee chairs for updates on initiatives and being planning and working for the semester
- Create concrete goals with each UCS Eboard Member and a timeline for the summer
- May
- Finish up projects started as UCS Chair of Campus Life
- Continue communications with the Office of Residential Life and Facilities Management to secure funding and install Hydration Stations in all dorm buildings.
- Push for institutionalization of the University Break Shuttle Bus by working with the Student Activities Office and securing future funding outside of UCS and UFB budgets, and form a relationship with the Brown Approved Bussing Service
- Meet with Leah Van Wey and other relevant administrators to get the ball rolling on the project for relaxation and restoration spaces on campus
- Meet with ResLife and ResCouncil to see where the Summer Project Fund will be allocated and work to prioritize dorm renovations and accessibility improvements
- Work with Clean Break to source and shelve hygiene closets in each residential hall
- Work with CIS to finalize Brown App and information that will go on the Brown App
- Write and push out a survey to undergraduates regarding perceived effectiveness of current Alcohol, Drugs, and Sexual Assault prevention programs so that we have data to compare with the revised programs
- Finish up projects started as UCS Chair of Campus Life
- Summer: June - August
- Design a system for students with extra meal swipes to donate to students in need to eliminate food insecurity on campus
- Open dialogue with Dining Services to establish what what tangible steps can be taken to implement the meal swipe donation system
- Work with Administration to analyze Food Insecurity data from recent survey and use that data to bolster proposal for Dining Services and Admin
- Create a proposal for the project and present it to both Brown Administration and Dining Services
- Work with CIS and Dining Services to develop a software database and swipe station for students to upload extra meal swipes
- Open dialogue with Dining Services to establish what what tangible steps can be taken to implement the meal swipe donation system
- Work with the Sustainability Office and other student groups to bring back composting in Andrews and expand composting
- Partner with student groups to create composting training to incorporate into first-year orientation programming
- Work with the UCS Chair of Campus Life to create a program to allow students to convert meal swipes into $8.20 in points
- Partner with SMART (Student Marijuana Alliance for Research and Transparency), SSDP (Students for Sensible Drug Policy), Brown Opioid Activists, SAPE (Sexual Assault Peer Education), It’s On Us, and the SHARE Advocates to restructure the First-Year Alcohol, Drugs, and Sexual Assault Prevention Orientation.
- Focus on restructuring the current program to not only incorporate more workshop-based education and more relevant videography to promote and facilitate student conversation regarding these topics but also to expand the focus on drugs other than alcohol, and include input from SMART regarding education and programming to help reduce shame associated with cannabis use, especially for students of color.
- Allow these partner groups to openly collaborate and communicate suggestions and recommendations to improve these programs by acting as a conduit between the Office of Residential Life and the Campus Advisory Board and holding these administrative organizations accountable to provide active and engaged dialogue.
- Develop workshop based community building programming for pre-orientation UCS and student group leaders retreat
- Finalize pilot testing of the Brown App
- Work with DPS and other student groups to create workshops for identity-based and trauma-informed trainings for DPS officers
- Work with Public Safety Oversight Committee and DPS to look at campus lighting survey and work to increase lighting around campus for increased safety
- Pinpoint exact locations for increased lighting and establish a timeline for construction of infrastructure for increased lighting
- Partner with Meiklejohn Advising to improve first year advising
- Work with Health Services to allow for student input in interviewing healthcare providers for greater diversity in healthcare providers
- Establish a designated position under UCS Communications Committee for Social Media Manager and plan publicity for the new position to recruit students interested the position
- Design a system for students with extra meal swipes to donate to students in need to eliminate food insecurity on campus
- Pre-Orientation
- UCS & Student Group Leaders Retreat
- Allow a chance for student group leaders to become better acquainted with members of UCS and form relationships with the goal of promoting the involved-student group model of UCS
- Workshops and debrief from every student organization to allow for community transparency and increased communication between student organizations
- UCS & Student Group Leaders Retreat
- Orientation
- Push out finalized Brown App and allow students access to all information and resources on campus
- Work with Meiklejohn Fall Orientation to host intersectional trainings for faculty and student advisors
- Implement amended Alcohol, Drug, and Sexual Assault trainings in trial-phase for incoming First Years and administer the same survey after the fact to gauge effectiveness compared to previously established programs
- Work with the Office of Sustainability to expand and promote sustainability tours to prospective students alongside general campus tours, STEM tours, etc.
- Implement composting training programing into first-year orientation
- September
- First UCS Meeting: Establish timelines and project rankings with each committee to ensure that their projects are grounded in student interests and that adequate resources are being provided for their initiatives.
- Asses gaps in UCS committee jurisdictions and form new committees for significant goals outside of existing committee structures to be addressed.
- Student Activities:
- Create workshops to allow for greater transparency surrounding allocating funding and resources for clubs
- Host financial signatory trainings alongside UFB
- Streamline SAO (Student Activities Office) event and club-creation processes by working to create greater access to club creation and application documents
- Ensure that student representatives are reporting back to their student organization the information from the Campus of Consent programs
- Create workshops to allow for greater transparency surrounding allocating funding and resources for clubs
- Campus Life:
- Work with various departments to make incorporating restaurants on Thayer into meal plan a reality
- Work with ResLife to establish expedited timeline for getting off-campus permission as a junior
- Academic Affairs:
- Push back S/NC deadline and establish greater equity between courses by requiring at least one major graded assignment prior to the deadline
- Require departments to disclose which new courses each semester will count towards concentration credit
- Expand and develop new alumni mentor programs and increase opportunities for alumni-student partnerships
- Student Wellness:
- Increase the capacity and provide more funding for leave-taking coordinating to put into place their programming and resources
- Include student input in faculty trainings around disability and mental health
- Establish disability spaces on campus
- Work to make every building on campus accessible
- UCS Management Board:
- Meet with admin to establish updated timelines and to increase transparency and communication with student groups
- UCS Executive Board:
- Work with URC to start incremental compensation of student labor
- Work with URC to further lower the Summer Earnings Expectation and making laundry and printing services free for all students
- Create restoration and relaxation spaces on campus for napping, prayer, and meditation
- Establish timeline for need-blind admissions for international students
- Student Activities:
- Begin publicity campaign to recruit elected student group liaisons to the UCS General Body
- Pilot test hygiene closets in Wayland dorm
- Establish student committees in building each DDIAP
- October
- Publicize Fall Poll and work with UCS liaisons to accurately assess the wants and needs of student organizations to ensure accurate representation in Fall Poll questions
- Increase student participation in Brown Corporation meetings
- Work with UFLi Center to establish needs of UFLi students
- Rank initiatives such as fly-in programs, tutoring, and improvements to activities spaces and begin to work on highest priority initiatives.
- Help distribute room decorations and winter clothing donations to UFLi students
- Hire a group of tutors that work specifically in the UFLi center
- Coordinate a fly-in program for UFLi students
- Work with Swearer Center to empower student groups to foster closer relations between Providence students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, and Brown University students.
- Establish a clear protocol for student groups to involve Providence community student on Brown’s campus through a streamlined application process and easy access to all required documents, waivers, etc. for events
- Administer departmental climate surveys to identify and address areas of growth and effectiveness of each DDIAP.
- Develop a sign up system for performance spaces with input from both performance departments and student performance groups to ensure that both organizations can have more equal access to performance spaces
- Work alongside performance departments to map out a plan for events and performances well enough in advance to allow for student performance groups to work around department schedules and make these schedules readily available and accessible
- Have a UCS liaison visit rehearsals and practices for each student organization once a month to be more attune to the needs of performing art groups
- November
- Analyze Fall Poll results and connect with major departments and student groups to address the responses
- Publicize the formation of student committees who will help develop DDIAPs
- Partner with SAPE to begin Campus of Consent trainings by holding a meeting to train not only executive board members, but as many UCS members as possible to help uphold the standard
- Propose the amendment to the UCS Constitution to require that at minimum, all executive board members receive these trainings each year
- Conduct a multidimensional report in partnership with the Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition and the UFLi center to assess the current needs of UFLi students on campus
- Develop a UCS-Endorsed publicity campaign for the Brown Swap to raise awareness surrounding the forum and attempt to collaborate with the Brown Buying and Selling Facebook page to gain their support for the exchange
- Reduce food insecurity by expanding food closets around campus
- Begin a campaign for subsidizing Greek Life dues and work with Greek Organizations to help establish demonstrated student need as well as issues and barriers involved with receiving subsidizing from national Greek organizations
- December
- Publish school wide status report on UCS projects and initiatives
- Work with administration to publish an administrators status report to increase transparency surrounding various departments and offices (ResLife, DPS, Title IX, Dining Services, CAPS, etc.)
- Set up timeline for the next semester
- Table in the Blue Room and SciLi to add and address student input from general student body
- Reevaluate the relevance of modules and information on the Brown App to see if it needs any additional information
- Spring Semester
- Administer departmental climate surveys to identify and address areas of growth and effectiveness of each DDIAP
- Establish a formal process for students to evaluate their advising experience
- Work with URC to subsidize faculty-student luncheons to facilitate relationships, build professor-student dialogues outside of the classroom, and increase faculty support for student initiatives
- 1 year goals
- Incremental compensation for uncompensated student labor through stipends, grants, and meal swipes
- Increase HUG hiring
- Restructure UCS by designating liaisons
- Establish disability cultural center
- 2 year goals
- Push out the meal plan that includes the restaurants on Thayer
- Revamp UCS structure by creating elected representatives
- Start on construction and renovation of disability cultural center
- 3+ year goals
- Compensate all student labor