Brian @ HLS

Brian Aune ‘10

My name is Brian Aune and I am running for Student Government President.  I know that everyone at this school is incredibly busy, so in the interest of not wasting your time, I will attempt to keep this statement concise.  There are three reasons I hope you will vote for me.

1.  If you talk with anyone on the Student Government, I think they would agree that I was the driving force behind much of what the organization accomplished this year.

For the past year, I have been the Student Advocate.  In that role I have seen every email that comes in to the Student Government, sent nearly every one that has gone out, and been in charge of the blog.  Outlined below is some of what I’ve accomplished in that role.

• When the new grading system was announced, I created the email to 2Ls to solicit their views on how it should apply to them.

o Compiled the feedback and, along with David Kessler, presented it to Dean Kagan.

• When OCS was considering starting OCI earlier next year, I created the email to all the students to solicit their views.

o Compiled the feedback, and presented it to Assistant Dean Mark Weber.

• Based on student input, I advocated for and got changes at Hemenway that included getting one of the squash courts back and increasing the availability of free sweat towels.
• Arranged for News@law to list the next day’s upcoming events in addition to the current day’s events, so that students can better plan for early morning events.
• Arranged to have classes taped on Election Day
• I worked extensively with Restaurant Associates and the Administration to get:

o Harkness Commons to reopen for basic service from 2:30 – 5:00 PM

o Toasters for the free Monday bagels

o A second microwave in the tunnels

o Improved vegetarian options and labeling

o Improved consistency of options at coffee stations, e.g. tea, hot chocolate, soy milk.

o And of course…Heinz instead of Hunts ketchup!

• Via email and blog comments, I solicited concerns and questions about Exam4 and presented the feedback to the Registrar.
• Composed all of the Unofficial Course Evaluations

2. I have a reputation for diplomacy. I have already forged strong working relationships with Dean Kagan, Dean Cosgrove, Mark Weber, Leslie Sutton-Smith, and others.

3.  I am excited to continue my involvement with the Student Government so that next year it will continue to play an integral role in representing student views and opinions, and to increase involvement in other areas.  Some of what I think the Student Government can do next year:

· We will need to work closely with the new dean to ensure that the student voice is represented and to maintain all the great things that have been done under Dean Kagan.

· Work with ITS to improve myPlan and myHLS and make them more integrated.

· The Student Government can and should have more events of an academic, community interest, or even purely social interest.

I could say a lot more, but have tried to err on the side of brevity.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email or Gchat me at aunebrian@gmail.com or call me at 808.783.5610.