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How do students make the change they want to see on campus? Carleton’s decision making structure is divided into several layers which can roughly be divided to Local Community, Carleton Student Association, College Councils, and Board of Trustees. Each has different realms of responsibility, and each is responsive to students.
Local Community
The first level of governance is the floor or house, where a community of students lives together and works with a Resident Assistant or House Manager. These communities are great opportunities for local governance.
Important for:
- Organizing small events
- Residence issues like noise
- Conflict with neighbors
Carleton Student Association
A brief video about the CSA in action
The Carleton Student Association represents students in a variety of ways. It uses its budget (which totals about $400,000) to fund a huge variety of events on campus, usually through the myriad of groups which are formed through the CSA. Students can write proposals and request funds from the CSA at the weekly Budget Committee meetings.
The CSA also represents students by endorsing resolutions. Students can petition the senate to support a resolution simply by contacting president Fleming. Administrators take resolutions seriously, as they represent the widespread sentiment on campus.
Important for:
- Large student run events
- Expressing the sentiment of the student body
- Appealing to faculty and administrators
College Committees
The College Committees, which are composed of students, administrators, and faculty, make many of the core policy decisions on campus. CSA works with these committees not only by approving resolutions on policy issues, but also by appointing students to serve on them.
Important for:
- Decisions regarding academic or college policy
- Distribution of the college budget
- Long term projects such as construction
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is a group of 44 individuals who are ultimately responsible for policy-making and financial decisions. In practice, the Board delegates much of this authority to various on-campus organizations, primarily the College Committees. The Board of Trustees is responsible for managing the college and its public face on a macro-level.
Carleton is changing its graduation requirements for the first time in 40 years. The changes will not affect requirements for a major, but they will most likely reorganize some of the “distro buckets”, the categories of distribution credits every student needs to graduate.
In winter ’07, faculty groups submitted 3 proposals for new requirements. The Education and Curriculum Committee (ECC) will now be focusing the discussion onto points of disagreement.
Most of the discussion will likely focus on a few key issues such as the Recognition and Affirmation of Difference (RAD) requirement, Ethics in the Curriculum, and the Writing Portfolio.
I am newly appointed to the ECC, so if you have any questions I would be happy to talk with you. martirob@carleton.edu
See also the Moodle discussion page, which has all three requirement proposals.
Carleton is currently investing in several huge construction projects which will radically alter the face of campus. The most important projects currently under way are the new dorms being built next to Watson Hall, and the Arts Union.
New Dorms
Construction began Spring ’08 on two new dorms which will be located opposite the Language and Dining Center. They are due for completion just in time for the 2009/2010 academic year. One will be rooms and the other suites, and the two buildings will be connected by an underground tunnel.
Webcam
Arts Union
The Arts Union is the ambitious project to remodel the Northfield Middle School into a comprehensive center to integrate the arts and sciences. The Arts Union will house Art History, Studio Art, Cinema and Media Studies, English, Dance and Theater. The project has been delayed due to the financial crisis.
For more information see the Carleton Campus Plan (2005) and the awesome website maintained by Facilities.
See discussion of the Campus Climate Survey for an introduction to discrimination on campus.
Discrimination against minority students is an issue that the college has been struggling with for years. Although there are many minorities facing discrimination on campus, prominent are African American students and LGBT and Women’s Issues.
African American Students
African-American students at Carleton are less likely to graduate from Carleton than other students. The graduation rate for black students was recently measured at 70%, and drew criticism from the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
Among the nation’s colleges and universities that are commonly rated as selective, the lowest black student graduation rate occurs at Carleton College in Minnesota. Currently only 66 percent of the black freshmen who enroll at Carleton College go on to graduate.
President Oden lists two major initiatives of Carleton has undertaken to address this problem. The first was in joining Posse, a program designed to encourage students from a variety of backgrounds and cultures to attend first rate universities.
The second initiative was founding the Diversity Initiative Group (DIG), a college subcommittee which will assess the climate on campus and offer recommendations. In spring of 08, it organized a community-wide survey, with the results to be presented in Fall of 08.
Women and GLBT Issues
Carleton is a very open community, but concerns about discrimination and sexual violence are common on campus. The Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) is an institutional resource for those struggling with women’s and GLBT issues. They offer support and counseling as well as hosting events to bring attention to these issues. Student groups include Sexuality and Gender Activism (SaGA) and more recently One In Four.
There is a thriving movement at Carleton to fight global warming and climate change, both with advocacy and by reforming the policies of the college. Forbes Magazine lists Carleton as one of the ten greenest colleges in the nation.
Students interested in helping the cause should attend a meeting of Students Organized for the Protection of the Environment (SOPE). They meet in Sayles at 9PM every Wednesday. The Carleton Student Association Senate also works with the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC).
Green Initiatives on Campus:
The Windmill generates renewable electricity
One Stream Recycling means that all recycled materials can be thrown out together
The Sustainability Revolving Fund (SRF) encourages green projects which pay themselves back
See also:
Carleton Association of Outdoor and Nature Enthusiasts (CANOE)
Shrinking Footprints
Carleton College is an amazing place. Students from across the country and around the world gather to study everything from molecular biology to renaissance art. But Carleton is more than series of classrooms. Carleton students, faculty, and administrators are all part of a thriving community. On any given day there are dozens of meetings and events taking place all across campus.
It can be difficult to keep track of all the issues and events on campus, and that is why I have created Carl Me. I want to make it easier for students to keep informed about events on campus, and to help them get involved when they find issues that are truly important to them.
Please feel free to email me, martirob@carleton.edu
Robert Orion Martin
