Archivist note: Originally published on the Elections WordPress site. Mar 6, 2014 @ 03:25, “Emergency Election Candidates’ Forum”
[Due to the nature of the recording, some statements are not transcribed word-for-word. Ellipses inside brackets indicate instances where portions of the recording were not clear enough to transcribe what was said.]
Molly Mac Dougall ‘16: Hi everyone, welcome to Candidates’ Forum. Can the candidates for Treasurer come up? Please speak loudly, since we don’t have microphones. Let’s start with introductions.
Madalaine Dubin ‘16: Hi, my name is Maddie Dubin, class of 2016, and I’m running for the position of Treasurer.
Nicole Soohoo ‘16: My name is Nicole Soohoo class of 2016, and I’m also running for Treasurer.
Namita Dwarakanath ‘15: Namita Dwarakanath, 2015, Treasurer.
Molly Mac Dougall ‘16 So you know, we will be recording this Candidates’ Forum for minutes. Alright, anyone with questions?
Syona Arora ‘15: Why are you running for this position, and what skills do you have that you think will be exemplified by this position?
MD ‘16: I am running for this position because during the past year I have become very involved in SGA. I have started attending Representative Council meetings regularly. I am now a member of the Constitutional Review Committee, which has spent the past academic year revising the Constitution, so that it hopefully reflects the functioning of SGA more accurately. And I am currently the treasurer of two different clubs on campus, so I understand how the SFC by-laws work.
NS ‘16: I am running for Treasurer because I want to be more involved in SGA, and I think I’m qualified for the position. Because, I have been on the Student Finance Committee for almost two years now, since 2012, September 2012, during my first year here. I have been through multiple budget seasons, so I have a good idea of what goes into the budgeting process, and reimbursements, and all. And I’ve also been managing finances for ASA […].
ND ‘15: I’m running for this position because I think that SGA is at a really critical crossroad right now, and I think it’s really important that we start looking at the directions that it’s heading in, and more specifically, understanding why so many changes seem to be happening surrounding SGA and the attitudes surrounding SGA. And I think that specifically surrounding monetary issues, there have been a lot of feelings towards it as a kind of like bureaucratic abstraction and things like that. But I think the treasury side of SGA needs to be just as based in Self-Government, and based in the Honor Code as everything else, and I hope that I will be able to bring that to the larger community, so that they can feel like the monetary side of SGA is as representative of them as everything else. In terms of skill sets, I’m currently a Dorm President which means that I’m on the representative council and regularly attend SGA meetings. So, I have been a part of these discussions, and I have been trying, hopefully, to contribute to these discussions, ideally positively, but who really knows. On top of that, I’m currently Head Traditions Rep of Rhoads, so I have leadership roles in that capacity. So as Dorm President there’s a lot of budget stuff that goes on – the ability to manage budgets, to look at finances, and things like that.
Alexis De La Rosa ‘15: How will you make sure you hold members of the SFC accountable?
MD ‘16: I have, before I came to Bryn Mawr, I was in charge of fundraising and allocating over $3,000 for a trip for my senior class in high school. And I had to work with a committee to complete this task, so I am very good at communicating with people and making sure they are doing their jobs well, and remaining in contact with them throughout the entire process, and I feel very comfortable continuing in a role such as this.
NS ‘16: I think the main problem with the SFC right now is that we always meet in the SGA House on Sunday nights. That’s really far away and inconvenient so I think I want to move the meeting [somewhere else that would be more convenient for more people] And I know all of the members of the SFC because I’ve been working with them…so I’m familiar with them and last semester I was Culture Show Co-Head, and I also organized the Asian American Heritage Week in November, so I managed a committee of eight people.
ND ‘15: I think that accountability is a huge problem, especially if money is involved, and I think that a critical part of that a big part of that is to separate your business from your professional self, which I like to think I’m well-equipped to do. I’ve spent a lot of time in leadership positions, particularly in high school, having be very mean on occasion and apologize later in hushed whispers, but I think that it’s important to be able to distinguish those parts of yourself and I think that I have the ability to do that, and to say “this is your job right now as an individual in this position, and separate from that, I’ll have a relationship with you.”
Michaela Olson ‘15: What are your specific goals for the position?
MD ‘16: I want to make the budgeting process more accessible to the general student body, because right now most people don’t understand how the budgeting process works. And, when people earn or are allocated or not allocated a certain amount of money, there is a lot of people who are upset, don’t understand what happened, and when things go wrong, everyone is confused. So my goal is to make the process more clear and accessible to all students, and, hopefully, the entire student body will understand how budgeting works and what the Treasurer specifically does.
NS ‘16: I want to maybe create a kind of advising for clubs in terms of budgeting, so that we can kinda like help them make their budgets so that they can get more of what they want. And have like a more set layout for how to do breakdowns of the actual budget proposals, I know that’s a problem when we’re reading budgets, and it’s kind of confusing how people just have lump sum amounts, and you don’t know what it’s for. And, I want to continue using the SGA funds for things that will benefit the whole Bryn Mawr community.
ND ‘15: One of my biggest goals is transparency, and I think that Amy did a really good job of starting to move SGA Treasurer position towards a trend of transparency, and I want to continue on that, but I also want to make that more accessible. I know that sometimes when finances are presented at SGA meetings – that’s kind of when everyone zones out and like really gets their homework done, but I want that to be as much of a part of the conversation as everything else, like I said before. On top of that I think that it’s important that SGA is looking at where other funding sources are outside of SGA and keeping track of those as well so we have a better sense of what’s really going on, where clubs are really getting money. Because I know, Pensby Center’s giving money, separate departments are giving money, and keeping a better record of that will help us better understand budgeting in the future and keep the kind of record for the future and that can really be transmitted through different years.
Charlie Bruce ‘16: In addition to managing the different clubs’ budgets, you also need to do interviews in which you’re expected to defend the decisions you’ve made. What would you do in a situation where you’re accused of colluding to favor one club’s budget over another?
MD’16: I understand the question and I think it’s a very important question. In the past, with many organizations that I have run, I have been put in this situation, where people have questioned me, told me that I was being too strict, and it is the Treasurer’s obligation, I think, to defend and explain very clearly why they cannot give a certain amount of money or why something was cut. And I think that everybody, or I think that the treasurer should be able to communicate this clearly and effectively without becoming hotheaded during the process, especially in ten minute interview slots, which are very short.
NS’16: This semester the interview process has changed more to like Haverford’s style, where before we make the official cuts we will interview the groups and ask them to tell us more about the events. In the case that we think that we need more elaboration to cut [or give the money] at all, and I really like this process because it’s, there’s more communication between the SFC and the groups to understand the budget and cut in a more informed way. So, I think that is a really good change that has already been made, but the Treasurer would be [responsible to still make cuts without] bias. I think it would be good to have a forum to sort out group differences. Also, in my case, because I’m treasurer of ASA currently, if I do become Treasurer of SGA, I’m thinking of stepping down from being treasure of ASA so I don’t have that bias, so I’m not involved in creating ASA’s budget when I’m the one allocating the funds.
ND’15: I think this is a very valid question, and I think that it is a question that can often come up with affinity groups, this is where it becomes a more sensitive issue. And I think that what’s really important to keep in mind is offering other sources of funding to those groups, of saying. Like I said before, I think it’s really important that SGA reaches beyond that, saying “We don’t have the funds right now to give you this” so working through specifically the by-laws of that, and explaining why that, but also being aware of those resources and communicating those resources to them as best as possible as a means of saying “well, the SGA supports you, even if we don’t have the financial capacity to support you as fully as we can right now, but these are sources of funding that we think you can get, and we can help you along that process.
Emily Garcia ‘14: Being treasurer takes a lot of time, especially at the beginning of the semester when budgets are due and you’re doing interviews. What other commitments do you have and how do you plan on prioritizing this position?
MD’16: In the past I have always been involved in six or seven different groups at once as well as maintaining my academics, so I don’t see this becoming a problem, personally. I am able to prioritize what needs to be done very efficiently, and I feel comfortable taking this position as well as staying on in my other clubs, although not as treasurer, to avoid a conflict of interest.
NS’16: Like I said, I’m treasurer, I’m currently treasurer of ASA, but if I do become Treasurer of SGA, I plan on stepping down. And I think because I’m currently on the Student Finance Committee, I know what the amount of time that has to go into kind of like being Treasurer of SGA and doing the budget process and everything, so I think I’d be able to get that done.
ND’15: Most of my commitments are SGA related or otherwise Bryn Mawr centric that will end at the end of this year, and I think that working as Treasurer, I could adapt my commitments and pick them selectively. I tend to be a pretty good gauge of what I can and cannot handle, and I feel like because this is the primary thing I would be doing, I could figure out what I would need with respect to it, but this would definitely be a primary obligation.
Syona Arora ‘15: Moving away from the role as Treasurer and more to the Exec Board. How do you see yourself working as a member of the Executive Board, making decisions with four other people?
MD’16: I don’t feel that I can make can make decisions for other people without first communicating clearly with them and hearing what everybody has to say. So, I would try my best to talk with as many people as possible, find out their opinions on decisions that have to be made, and then make decisions based on primarily what’s best for SGA, and secondarily on what the general student body would like to see happen.
NS’16: I understand that being on the Exec Board and making lots of important decisions is a really big responsibility, and I think having all of the Exec Board members to kind of like collaborate with and discuss with to see both sides of the situation to make decisions is really important. And l think I’d be able to do that well.
ND’15: I’m really excited about the direction SGA is headed right now, and I definitely think the Exec Board has become this force of trying to involve more and more of the community, which I’m very excited about, and I would be excited to participate in that. There are definitely times when tough calls need to be made, and you can’t always get all of the input you ever want ever. And in those situations, I’m really happy with the Exec Board, and I, I’m pretty strong with my decision-making capabilities and once I make a decision, I tend to stick with it, even if it takes a little bit to get there. But definitely, I am more than willing to collaborate and work with the other Exec Board members to make the most informed decision possible and to understand the possible repercussions of it.
Swetha Narasimhan ‘15: Being SGA treasurer is stressful and probably really busy and crazy. If things get stressful for you, where do you turn for support?
MD’16: At Bryn Mawr […], I have a very strong group of friends that are always there for me to support me and I know they will always be here whenever I need help. And, generally, my habits when I get into very stressful situations are to sit down, and, I won’t sleep for days, until I finish what I need to do. Maybe it’s not the most healthy of habits, but it’s what I do, and I will always get the job done.
NS’16: I also have a really good support group, and I think that I would work to build a really strong bond with the other Exec Board members, and they would be support as well, because they would know about all of the pressure, I guess. And, as for the other SFC members, I think they’re really reliable and I could get them to do sort of things that I wouldn’t be able to do on my own.
ND’15: I think that the E Board is a tremendous source of support in stressful situations, and I think they very much understand what’s going on and because of that I think that they’re a tremendous resource. Aside from that, I think that Bryn Mawr supplies a lot of resources for people in stressed-out situations and I think that it’s really okay to utilize those resources, even if it feels like you have to be in this position of power and things like that. Generally, I’m pretty okay about stress, but if need be, I think Bryn Mawr has a lot of safe spaces.
Charlie Bruce ‘16: Part of being on the executive board is having a lot of confidential information and juggling that along with your personal life. If you have to know something super secret about someone close to you, how would you make an informed executive decision without letting your personal ties influence you?
MD’16: I consider this one of my personal strengths. I don’t feel the need to divulge information to anybody if I feel that its not, or if I feel that this is important information that cannot be revealed to anybody, I will keep that information and I will not let personal relationships affect my decisions in that capacity.
NS’16: I think I have experience with this because I’ve had to deal with all the budgets. All of the information for the release. And, also, we basically, we recently, as the ASA board, chose someone to be kind of like a social chair for the committee to coordinate social activities, and I think I was really able to step back from my connections with the applicants and kinda think about what would bring the best perspective to our committee.
ND’15: This is definitely a real issue as well. I think that the most important thing is again to separate your business life from your professional life and to understand that your relationships with people and the things that people do are separate from their personalities so I think that generally a good trait to have as a person is being able to look at a person and be like “I appreciate you as a person, but what you do may be separate from that.” And I think that I look at people already in that way. So in terms of confidentiality, and maintaining information about people, and not letting that conflict with SGA duties is a skill set I have.
Syona Arora ‘15: If elected to this position, what is one thing that you’d be the most scared to do?
MD’16: I would be the most nervous about … probably about having to disappoint different clubs and organizations by not being able to fund them fully because I really want every club on Bryn Mawr to be able to like have like their full list of activities that they’ve planned, and I really hope in the future that this can be more, that this can be more well informed and students can know about the different resources that they have. But I would be the most nervous to have to cut large amounts of money.
NS’16: I think I’m most scared about just being responsible for such a large amount of money. But, I think the experience will be really rewarding and it will be really great to see what goes into all the higher level like [work.] So…
ND’15: I feel really nervous about this. But aside from this, I feel like I would be most hypothetically nervous about, like Maddie said, about having to explain why people didn’t get the funding that they expected to and justifying that. But at the same time, I feel like as long as I made my decisions in an informed way under the jurisdiction of the Honor Code and SGA, and self-governance, and all of that, I would be able to in the end.
Charlie Bruce ‘16: What is your favorite fruit?
MD’16: I really like lychee.
NS’16: Apples and Asian pears
ND’15: Pomegranates? But I also like mandarins, I don’t know.
Molly Mac Dougall ‘16: Is there anything that would prevent you from completing your full term?
MD’16: There is nothing that I can foresee that will prevent me from completing my term
NS’16: I previously didn’t run for Treasurer, even though I knew I was qualified, because I had made plans to study abroad in the Spring. But, after the previous Treasurer stepped down, I was informed that there has been special elections in the past where when the position, the person in the position goes abroad, they elect someone to take the place of them. I hope I, I hope that if I get elected, I could train someone, because I have experience, I could train someone to take my place and so for after I go abroad.
ND’15: I’ll be here
Molly Mac Dougall ‘16: Any more questions? … Alright, thank you all so much! This concludes Candidates’ Forum.