Archivist Note: Originally published on the Elections wordpress site. Sep 18, 2015 @ 01:20. “CANDIDATES STATEMENT September Elections: Haverford College Representatives”
Rina Patel & Maria Minaya:
Rina Patel rppatel@brynmawr.edu
Maria Minaya mminaya@brynmawr.edu
Position: Haverford Representative
We are interested in the position because we truly love the amazing relationship that exists between Haverford and Bryn Mawr. As well as having strong relationships here at Bryn Mawr, we have also established meaningful connections with members of the Haverford community. This position is of great importance as it requires our regular participation in meetings that will help solidify the connection between Bryn Mawr and Haverford. In order to succeed in this position, we will need a certain set of skills. Some of these skills include excellent organization and communication. Interacting with others in the bi-co is necessary to maintain the close relationship that already exists. Even before coming to Bryn Mawr, Maria was quite familiar with the bi-co due to multiple High School connections. Maria used to be a participant in the Mentoring and Student teaching (MAST) program at Haverford as a junior in high school. Rina this past year was a student teacher with the same program at Haverford. Additionally Rina fully utilized the customs cousins relationship, she was making weekly visit to her “cousins” which helped her feel comfortable taking many courses at Haverford her first year. Through our connections, we have been able to closely observe the ways in which both colleges interact and communicate with one another.
Due to a lack of communication between the Haverford and Bryn Mawr dining services, we were not aware of the new meal plan being implemented at Haverford. Because of this, we allowed first years to bring guests to the Erdman Dining Hall. Thanks to Maria’s connections, she was able to find out that the new meal plan did not include guest passes. Although the relationship between both colleges is well-established, both institutions sometimes forget to keep each other apprised of the changes occurring. As Haverford College Representatives, we will work to keep the student body on both campuses aware of events and new policies. One thing that would make the position stronger would be to have at least one conjoined SGA meeting in which the Haverford and Bryn Mawr community could come as one and talk about the bi-co relationship and ways to make the connection as strong as it can be.
Rina has been involved with SGA throughout her Bryn Mawr Career. From being the Rockefeller first year dorm rep and being a member of the Plenary committee Rina truly loves all things SGA. With our shared knowledge of the Bi-College system we will be able to expand on our current contributions to the SGA and hopefully foster more dialogue between the two campuses. For example we hope to have more communication about Haverford and Bryn Mawr’s plenaries. There is a lot of potential for both campuses to collaborate and expand on each others resolutions to improve campus life. Maybe even start dialogue for shared resources such as the Blue bus , 360s, the choir and dining services. With this dialogue we can find an avenue for both campuses to share their input on what they would like to see more of and what they would like to see changed. We are so excited to take on this role !