Hey Colby! We, Morgan Lingar and Kareem Kalil, are running to be Student Government Association (SGA) president and vice president because we believe that we have the passion and drive needed to bring Colby together.

Morgan is a women’s, gender and sexuality and math double major from Danville, N.H. She served as a dorm president as a sophomore and is currently SGA’s parliamentarian. In her time with SGA, she has focused on addressing dorm vandalism and creating an athletic department honor code. She is a member of the cross-country and track teams, and enjoys sharing her love for running with high school students by working as a camp counselor during the summer. She hopes to attend law school after college and is planning to pursue public policy.

Kareem is an economics and urban education double major from Southborough, Mass. He came to Colby after spending his freshman year at the University of Maryland, and after a year of serving in Boston’s inner-city schools with City Year. He is a Colby Cares About Kids (CCAK) mentor, a Colby Outdoor Orientation Trip (COOT) leader, founder and leader of Students for Education Reform and a member of the Colby basketball team. He hopes to follow these passions beyond Colby, aspiring to one day become a high school principal and basketball coach.

From our experiences in different parts of this school, we have noticed the rift that exists between different types of students on campus. We were all shaken by the allegations of sexual assault that rocked this campus in the fall, and by the fact that people did not feel safe at Colby.

The progress being made in addressing these issues has been exciting. We support and believe in the power of a Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, which is making great progress. As this program is implemented, we will serve as your voice in providing feedback on successes and necessary improvements. But we believe that Colby can do more to integrate our campus.

As leaders of SGA, we would make it a priority to implement a multiculturalism requirement that would bring controversial issues to the discussion table for all Colby students in an environment that is fair for all parties involved. Our current diversity requirement is tedious and misses the point. It fails to address the issues that divide people on campus and in our world—gender, race, sexuality and social class, to name a few.

We want a stronger, more cohesive student body, and the best way to do this is to start talking about subjects that are now thought of as off-limits. If this happens, we will create a better environment on campus. Students would feel safer. Differences would be bridged. We believe that if a multiculturalism requirement is implemented in place of our current diversity requirement, we will resolve many incidents before they ever reach the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. Colby-Waterville relations have faced some challenges this year. However, the work of the Colby-Waterville Alliance has been a high point in this relationship. Beyond continuing to support this organization, we will help students residing off-campus establish better relationships with the Waterville community. We will strongly encourage representatives from each off-campus house to meet with Colby’s head of security and the Waterville police chief at the beginning of the year to learn their rights and responsibilities as town residents.

Additionally, we will work to strengthen the campus social scene. We have noticed that there are too many roadblocks to holding events like registered parties. By serving as a liaison between student groups and administration, we hope to educate students on how to successfully host events and streamline the registered party process. We will continue to decrease student host liability and work to increase the quantity and quality of safe and fun campus-wide events.

Outreach and transparency are two of our highest priorities. We believe that every member of this college has important ideas to contribute, and we will take the initiative to act on those ideas. We also believe in the importance of sharing our thoughts and plans with you on a consistent basis. We will report frequently, honestly and efficiently about our successes and failures, and by leading a transparent SGA, we will ensure that you have the information you need to provide us with valuable feedback.

As leaders, we recognize that roadblocks will arise throughout the year. We know that we are ready to tackle these obstacles and make changes that will lead to a stronger and more unified Colby.