Welcome back! We’d like to take a couple of minutes to give you an update on the Student Association (SA) and the initiatives and activities we have been working on this year.
The SA agenda is set directly by students every Spring through the Student Issues Poll. While we’re best-known for sponsoring the TGIFs, social activities are just one part of the Student Association. The SA was established “in order to actively enrich and broaden the experience of the student community at HBS, both in and out of the classroom.”
You may have already read in The Harbus about some of the SA’s most recent initiatives, like formalizing the club approval process; providing feedback to the administration on the Aldrich wireless network and the new my.hbs site.
In addition, the SA has actively worked to improve conditions for international students and the first-year class generally. In November, the SA sponsored a panel designed to help first-year international students manage the HBS academic workload.
The SA has also reached out to officers in the new RC class, adding a first-year class president to the weekly Senate meetings to make sure that RC-specific issues are addressed.
Finally, in a bid to aid all students during this tough job-search year, the SA and Career Services co-sponsored a poll to identify additional companies that students would like to see recruiting on campus.
Those initiatives were in addition to the SA Senate’s weekly business, which ranges from addressing malfunctioning vending machines to working with the University-wide Harvard Graduate Council on cross-campus issues.
In addition, the Senate’s committees have been very active. Here’s an update on some of the initiatives they’ve been working on:
Social
On the activities and social front, the academic year started with the largest HBS first-year orientation ever. The School coped with the simultaneous arrival of 11 sections’ worth of students-a major change from the previous two-cohort system. Orientation events included all the favorite traditions: the boat cruise, an evening at Big City and of course, everyone’s favorite, the orientation show.
From there the social committee took over with welcome parties, movie nights in the Pub and, with a little help from some very pleasant New England autumn weather, the highly celebrated TGIFs on the Spangler Lawn. The social committee rounded out the fall semester in a big way, with the largest Holidazzle celebration ever!
Communication
Most incoming students are faced with challenges associated with moving to the Boston/Cambridge area. To help ease this transition the SA has helped develop a housing website, which includes information about available housing on and off campus as well as information regarding local neighborhoods. The SA has also worked to increase communication with current students via regular articles in The Harbus and the SA website at sa.hbs.edu.
Campus Services and Facilities
This year an online facility-scheduling tool was introduced and expanded to include the Spangler conference rooms. After requests from students a deluxe cable package was purchased for the Grille, offering a wider diversification of sports and movie programming. In light of world events, safety concerns weighed heavily on students minds. To ensure a safe campus, a number of new procedures were implemented, including limiting access to the tunnel system and campus buildings at night.
EC Class Selection
Working with the Academic Committee, new add/drop guidelines were outlined, easing the process for EC students. Also available to facilitate the class selection process is a newly integrated online course and professor evaluation information. The days of assembling stacks of papers on your desk to search for the optimum schedule are permanently a thing of the past.
Recruiting
As a result of student input, Career Services, hired additional resources to assist students with their job searches, especially students interested in international opportunities. The SA continues to work closely with Career Services to identify new opportunities for students as well as streamlining the online processes.
As well as continuing to work on the issues mentioned and many others, we have a number of things to look forward to this semester.
The SA will sponsor a Thought Leadership Speakers Series, offering students the opportunity to hear faculty discuss current research initiatives.
The SA is hoping to unveil a 2002 Class Gift initiative, offering students in the class of 2002 an avenue for leaving their mark at HBS.
The SA in conjunction with the Alumni Affairs Office is working to create a Class of 2002 video, highlighting the class and their accomplishments and plans are well underway for the Class of 2002-Class Day Ceremony.
2003 Classwide Officer elections will take place in February.
We will continue giving you our very best efforts this semester as we work to implement the remainder of the initiatives ranked as high priorities. We hope you will help us to serve you better by continuing to provide us with your advice, opinion, and support. If you have any questions or concerns please email us directly at sa@hbs.edu.
