Current Projects

Committee for Investor Responsibility

The Wesleyan Committee for Investor Responsibility (CIR) is an initiative led by the WSA aimed at addressing ethical considerations related to the university's endowment. The CIR consists of students, faculty, staff, and alumni who advise the university's Board of Trustees on ethical matters pertaining to the endowment. As student representatives, individuals appointed to the CIR will have the opportunity to shape the group's projects and direction. Previous initiatives undertaken by the CIR include advocating for divestment from oil and fossil fuels. The committee is authorized to carry out proxy votes and file shareholder resolutions on behalf of the university, although it does not hold fiduciary responsibility, which lies with the Board of Trustees. Instead, the CIR seeks to promote transparency and engagement with respect to the university's endowment assets, aiming to represent and empower the Wesleyan community in these matters.

Student Activities Fee Referendum

Following a successful referendum, the Student Activities Fee was raised in alignment with inflation, increasing the funding capacity of the Student Budget Committee (SBC) to support various clubs across the Wesleyan campus. With increased funding available through the SBC, student-led initiatives, events, and projects will have greater opportunities for realization and impact.

FLTA Support

The Foreign Language Teaching Assistants are visiting students assisting in the instruction of foreign language classes at Wesleyan. While not all language programs have FLTAs, there is a gross disparity among how the FLTAs are treated by the university. Under their J-1 visas, FLTAs may only work a maximum of twenty hours per week, but are in fact given a workload which far exceeds this federal restriction. In addition, the FLTAs struggle with food insecurity and affording the rent of their pre-assigned Wesleyan apartment. This year, the WSA is committed to working with Graduate Student Services, the Provost, and other offices to meet the needs of the FLTAs (and visiting students more broadly) and guarantee that they have the same rights as full-time undergraduate students.

See this letter to the editor for context: http://wesleyanargus.com/2023/04/24/a-few-words-before-leaving-from-the-2022-2023-graduate-fltas/

American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Solidarity

Last semester the WSA passed Amendment 9.44: Establishing an AAUP Subcommittee of the AAC (Academic Affairs Committee). Now housed under AAC, the AAUP Committee will have meetings with Wesleyan’s chapter representatives. The goal of the committee is to better understand faculty needs, including but not limited to: tenure, salary, and administrative transparency. Members of AAC will collaborate further with Wesleyan’s AAUP leadership this semester to build a comprehensive plan on how students can better support the needs of the faculty writ large.

Workers Rights Document

Especially in light of the several new Unions on campus in the past several years, there are numerous problems and inconsistencies with employment on campus, and much of that is enabled by a lack of a substantive hub of information for students to consult. The Student Employment Advisory Committee (SEAC) and the Gordon Career Center (GCC) are working on a handbook for employers to set standards, expectations, and best practices. We hope this year to generate a similar document for all student workers on campus to reference in order to better students’ ability to advocate for themselves.

Work-Study Match Program

Many students, especially first-years, find it hard to secure employment on campus within the first few weeks of the semester. It is imperative that students find jobs early on so that they can fulfill their work study allotment while working at a comfortable pace. To help mitigate this tension, the WSA will explore the possibility of a work-study match program, which will match new students with jobs so that they can begin working upon their arrival to campus.

University Organizing Center Task Force

The University Organizing Center (UOC) Task Force will work with the WSA and representatives from groups that regularly use the student-run activist space located at 190 High Street to figure out how to revitalize the space! We want to come up with a complete mission and vision statements, improvements to the space we’d like to see, as well as some concrete goals for next year. 

Menstrual Equity Project

Currently, free menstrual products are available in limited locations on campus (the RC, Usdan, CFA, WsWell). This year, CoCo and WSA senators will work with ASHA, the RC, and the JCCP to run a cohesive campaign for menstrual product expansion on campus, called the Wesleyan Period Project. With RC, JCCP, and WSA funding, we will work on expanding availability of menstrual products on campus, starting with our priority locations of Exley, Olin, Freeman, and Fisk.