Hey Colby! We, Leslie and Athul, the current 2011 Class Presidents, are running to be your SGA President and Vice-President. We want your support and here's why:

The SGA Presidency and Vice Presidency is a very influential position that, if utilized properly, can move our beloved school in a direction that best serves the interests of current and future students. The scope and depth of our involvement at Colby within, and more importantly, outside the SGA has given us an understanding of the various issues facing the student body and the general direction that we believe our school should take.

Athul: My fantastic running mate Leslie is from Virginia, and served as the Dorm President of Averill before serving as the Junior Class President. As a sophomore, she restarted the Four Winds Club (Indigenous American Alliance) and has served as the president since its reactivation. Leslie has also been a CCAK mentor and volunteered with Waterville Junior High School after-school program.

Leslie: I could not be more excited to be running with Athul. Having spent this year serving as his co-president, I know he is a dedicated, reliable and energetic partner. Athul is from India, went to high school in China, and has served on the SGA for two years as the 2011 Class President. He is also the president of the International Club and a member of the JV squash team. He works with ITS and as a research assistant in the government department.

Both of us have also had significant experience with multiple all-college committees, ranging from Financial Priorities and Security Advisory to Admissions. Serving on the SGA, as Pugh Club Presidents, and programming events for the Class of 2011, we have a comprehensive understanding of the ins and outs of the school and the administration.

We support challenging the status quo. While we adore Colby and all the excellent opportunities and resources it provides, we maintain that there is always room for improvement. Despite widespread cynicism, we firmly believe that, when effectively managed, SGA has the power to actually take on problems that concern the student body. We want to make the SGA a more viable organization by making it matter to the student body, instead of focusing on the illusion of mattering to the student body.

Therefore, we are determined to tackle some very important issues. We believe that every student at Colby has the right to feel safe and comfortable at all times. With this in mind, we started work on changing the way Colby recognizes gender by adding a third gender option to be included in all college documents. We believe that this change, when implemented, will create a more welcoming environment for students who identify outside the traditional notions of 'male' and 'female.' Another project that we are currently working on with Jess Boyle is creating a club that addresses issues of class at Colby. This club will act as a resource center for materials and information that will help alleviate the burden of many college-related expenses. On a similar note, we are interested in bringing learning disabilities at Colby to the forefront of discussion. How prevalent are they? How can Colby better accommodate the needs of students with learning disabilities? Can we create a service like the Writers' Center that offers tutorials to students who have trouble adjusting to the academic climate at Colby? These are questions we intend to explore.

We also plan to make physical safety one of our top priorities during our Presidency by working very closely with Security to offer and publicize more self-defense classes. We understand that the relationships between students, Security, CER and Community Advisors are often vague, and students are unaware of the exact prerogatives of these positions of authority. We don't want this to be the case any longer. We will work on reforming and publicizing the protocol and making these relationships transparent and legitimate.

Finally, we also believe that the issues of the student community can be better addressed if we maintain consistent contact with various student groups across campus including sports teams, Pugh Clubs, a capella groups, theatre groups and other student organizations. Thus, we want to restart and emphasize the Student Leadership Consultative Committee to address issues at Colby more comprehensively and swiftly. We dream big and we have a vision for Colby. If elected, we will dedicate our last year at Colby to making our vision a reality.