03/23/2017
These are the notes from the coordinate and commencement conversation last night in Coxe 8. Note that all are statements and ideas from those who attended the meeting.
The overall context of the meeting was about the voting on seating for 2017 commencement- what it means for students, the institution as a whole. There were different views on this topic.
Coordinate and Commencement Conversation
Coxe 8
8-9PM
Attendance:
8 seniors
5 underclassmen
-I think that it’s important to unify both colleges. Embracing community. There is value in the combination. We should share
-As a Hobart student, I’ve spent 4 years with women. They’re my best friends, in my classes, and go to the same events and walk the same street I have more of a connection with WS, love to be side by side.
-Separate seating is weird, old, archaic, reinforces the binary. My non-binary friends, where do they sit? The middle?
-The scissors by the library represents cutting the separation
-There are a lot of traditions and a lot of them suck
-Everyone I talk to wants it together
-I think the whole student body should vote
-I like our traditions to branch off but we should always come back together as HWS
-Name recognition, Hobart more recognized than William Smith
-In the fall of 2013, I matriculated as a William Smith student in a separate matriculation than my Hobart counterparts. My experience at Hobart and William Smith Colleges has been an overwhelmingly positive one, and my identity as a William Smith student has been a crucial part of that. I would not have had the opportunities that I have had if it were not for the coordinate system, as it has helped me strengthen my identity as a strong woman, leader, and student. Commencement is a time to celebrate that. We should celebrate the diverse and unique opportunities that Hobart and William Smith students have by going to a school that functions both as a single-sex and co-ed campus. If changes are going to be made, it should start with the matriculation and be reflected in graduation, and should then take place with incoming students, not those whose involvement on campus has reflected the separate but together mentality that the Colleges' offers.
-WS outranks Hobart, Women are proud of that.
-Hobart Degree value and market recognition VS William Smith Degree
-An identity can be maintained still by sitting together
-I did not realize WS was separate until last month, I even requested to have a Hobart degree
-As an institution we should decide how we want to present ourselves to current students and incoming students
-Tradition doesn’t always equal good or progression. Tradition doesn’t have much meaning anymore
-Why does the future have to be prisoner to the past
-Men live on the hill, women live in sherrill and on the quad
-Joint seating has happened before starting in 1972
-This is not to get rid of the traditions of either school, we can maintain tradition while moving forward
-This eventually becomes a need, especially for non-binary and transgender students
-Tradition argument is propaganda tool
-It’s an irony, you choose your preferred pronoun and then are told to go to one side either Hobart tent or William Smith tent
-As a Hobart student or William Smith student you’re still getting your same diploma and recognition, just want everyone to sit in alphabetical order
-We have co-ed class, we’re one community
-If you want to be a feminist that's equality for all, why not sit together?
-“Proud William Smith sentiment is trans exclusive and not inclusive racially”
-Sisterhood is only felt during Moving Up day, that’s it
-Both sides lack school spirit
-Opinion all depends on what you’re surrounded by
-The sisterhood started when there were fewer WS students in the past, they stuck together
-There needs to be dialogues on this topic, both sides and understanding one another
-Our school would be stronger if we were one unified community
-There’s some people that don’t care--they just want to get in and get out (graduate)
-Let’s get more involved, more people should show up and talk, more people should vote
-We want everyone to be informed
-My experience has been defined by Willaim Smith and I’m for separate seating
-I want to graduate with women who have been through the same experiences as me
-I have not received support from Hobart or HWS, only William Smith
-The small things have impacted me on an individual level as a William Smith student
-There’s a symbol act of sitting separate and of sitting together
-Hopefully joint seating will move us forward, bring us together, and make a more inclusive environment
-People should feel comfortable leaving this school-- we should be inclusive (physically, emotionally, and ideologically)
-This will eventually have to change morally and legally
- “We had gender neutral bathrooms before we had gender neutral graduation”
