Plugging Away

Hello, and welcome to the UC Advocacy Blog!  In the Undergraduate Council, we are aware that it is difficult for many people to know what the UC does.  This blog is meant to serve as a place to get information about all of our advocacy projects and committee work, as well as a place for people to leave comments, questions, criticisms, or suggestions.  The best advocacy is done in collaboration with other interested students and student groups, so we hope that this will be one way to improve the work we all do to improve our community.

In terms of background, the UC is made up of 35 student representatives- 2 students who are elected for each upperclass house, a student representing Dudley House, eight freshmen from the Yard, and a popularly elected President and Vice President. Each student works in either the Finance Committee or the Student Affairs Committee.  The Finance Committee funds student groups through revenue from the student termbill- giving out nearly half a million dollars to student groups and House Committees each year!  The student affairs committee works on coordinated and individual advocacy efforts that are important to students, working on improvements such as a 24 hour Library a few years ago, Calendar change in 2007, or Amnesty Policy improvement and Mental Health resources this year.

The advocacy that the UC works on is done primarily through a whole host of committees.  There are certain Student-Faculty Standing Committees that the UC appoints students to every year.  The three main Student Faculty Committees are:

The Committee on College Life (CCL): Deals with issues of student group resources and student events, social space

The Committee on House Life (CHL): Works on all aspects of House and Residential Life

Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE): Examines aspects of undergraduate study.

The other committees that the UC appoints students to each year are:

– The Standing Committee on General Education

-The Standing Committee on Writing and Speaking

-The Standing Committee on the Library

-The Standing Committee on Pedagogical Improvement

-The Standing Committee on Athletic Sports

-The Standing Committee on Advising and Counseling

-The Student Advisory Board for Arts and Humanities

-The Student Advisory Board for Social Science

-The Student Advisory Board for Science

-The Commission of Inquiry

-The Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility

-The Educational Policy Committee

-Advisory Committee to the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response

-Campus Safety Committee

-Harvard University Dining Services Student Advisory Committee

-College-University Health Services Committee

Additionally, the Student Affairs Committee routinely appoints students to other Ad-Hoc committees that come up for specific purposes.  This year we have appointed students to the following committees that are currently meeting:

-Two Student Subcommittees on House Renewal

-Amnesty Subcommittee of the UHS committee

-University Committee on Public Service, as well as a UC Ad-Hoc committee on Public Service

The main feature of this blog is that it will feature posts and updates from the students who are sitting on all of these committees.  All together, these student representatives number more than 60.  Most of the students are non-UC members, but some are, and all of them are dedicated to representing student concerns to committees of faculty and administrators.  We hope that you will leave comments and questions here that will assist all the students in doing the best job possible on these committees!