The Student Senate is the governing body of Dickinson’s students. Consisting of 40 voting members, the Senate has an executive committee consisting of the Student Senate President, Chief of Staff, Director of Club Finance, Director of Financial Strategy, Director of Academics, Director of Inclusivity, Director of Campus Life and Initiatives, Director of PR and Marketing and the Parliamentarian. Each member of the executive committee sits on an All-College Committee and heads a subcommittee within the Senate consisting of class senators.
According to Chief of Staff Nora Stocovaz ’25, the primary role of the Student Senate is “supposed to be a representation of student concerns and desires. More practically though, Student Senate is a conduit for student concerns and ideas to move higher up to staff and administration… through things like all college committees and lunch with President Jones.” “It’s like a direct line” she said.
Initiatives can be brought before the Student Senate by any Dickinson student. The formal proposal for an initiative is called a resolution. Recently, the Senate has passed a resolution to limit the use of plastic bags in the bookstore and the Devil’s Den. Last semester, the Senate passed a resolution to help fund putting menstrual products in campus buildings.
Stocovaz described the importance of the Senate’s role in managing clubs, “It is a huge role of Senate” she says. Recently, the club recognition process was changed. First, a club must become a campus recognized club, which is overseen by the Parliamentarian, currently Elena Vergara ’25, in collaboration with Campus Life staff. A club may stop the process once receiving campus recognition, or it may apply for Student Senate Recognition and funding.
Student Senate recognition means a club can apply for funding. The process of Senate recognition is overseen by the Club Finance Committee and the Director of Club Finance, currently Hana Vu ’25. In order for full recognition by the Student Senate, the club must get majority approval by both the Club Finance Committee and Senate overall. Once they have been approved, the club will receive a provisional $100 from the Senate to fund events and other initial activities.
Each year representatives from the Student Senate, consisting of Director of Club Finance and Director of Financial Strategy, representatives from Sports Club Council, MOB and Media Board meet with the Student Senate Bookkeeper, Robin Merrick, to divide funds to each respective group. There are two types of funds allocated to Student Senate: funds that the Senate then gives to clubs whose budgets are submitted, edited and approved, and funds that are then used by Student Senate for either standard expenses involved in its operation, or the funds are used in the myriad of Senate initiatives.
Over my years at Dickinson College I have found that there are aspects of campus and of the Dickinson experience that students are unaware of. This lack of knowledge, I feel, limits the abilities of students to fully be a part of the Dickinson community because they do not know basic information about how the campus operates. The purpose of this column is to help explain the basics of how Dickinson runs, from Student Senate to meal plans and more. I hope to shed light on how the microcosm of Dickinson College grows. If you would like to suggest a topic please email [email protected].
