Kendall Vining for SA President

So, the SA President is a role that does not have unique pre-requirements (unlike SA Treasurer, for example).  I think that the huge benefit to this is that it encourages students to run for the role regardless of their “official” work in the Student Association, and so it better enables students to choose who they truly want as their President. However, there are specific qualities, skills, and experiences I possess that make me the best candidate for this position, and I want you to know about them:

 

1. I have made tangible efforts across and beyond campus

 

I want you to know about these efforts because I feel that if you know the various ways I’ve made real differences campuswide, you can trust me to continue to make them and support others in their work as your SA President. Even if you don’t know me  you might know of, engaged in, or benefited from some of the policies, events, or ongoing-conversations that I’ve helped enact (or are currently working on) on and around campus. 

 

What I have DONE (or still am doing):

 

ADVOCACY

• Successfully advocated for academic accommodations in Spring 2020

• Co-authored Resolution #2 to supplement the academic accommodations provided in Spring 2020

• Called out the unfairness of RUPD ticketing students for parking while we were forced to move out in Spring 2020

  • Helped to secure a clear way of petitioning tickets obtained during this time

  • Fun fact: I worked on this after seeing a student’s testimonial on Twitter (which is one of the things that makes me miss having Twitter)

• Prompted discussion and research into the Expansion of the RESP Program 

• Worked with the SA Executive team and Communications team to advertise and clarify the process for reporting professors 

• Called out Rice administration’s poor response to acknowledgement of  student advocacy efforts to remove Willy’s Statue

• Highlighted the necessity and importance of culture and connection as we were first thrown into virtual college

 

ANTI-RACISM

• In my run for SA Internal Vice President, I said that “CTIS should be expanded and include allyship and diversity education.” Well, with the help of Dr. Byrd, Catherine Clack, Shelah Crear, Taylor Crain, and others, I am currently co-developing a future graduation-required orientation course on diversity and cultural understanding, including topics like race and sexuality!!!

  • Helping to oversee the ongoing pilot program

  • Created one of the lesson plans

  • Spearheaded recruitment of student volunteers for the ongoing pilot program

  • Will teach the last class

  • In sum, I’ve been heavily involved in this from the start (October 2020), and I hope to see the course established by the end of senior year

• Organizer for the 2020 summer fundraiser that raised $93,362 in donations in just 24 hours to support several Pro-Black Houston groups

• Moderated and co-organized the 2020 campuswide Rice Black Experiences Panel

• Co-organized the 2019 Rice Black Experiences Panel at Martel

• Ensured the Continued Discussion and Acknowledgement of Blackness at Rice

  • Co-authored a conversation-sparking document and collected responses from Black students for it to amplify voices and declare that inaction would not be an option

• Established the Pro-Black Task Force

• Encouraged solidarity between the colleges by asking college presidents to post an acknowledgement of and pledge of support to Black students on the frontpages of their college websites

 

1. Since I was previously the SA Internal Vice President, I know the intricate ways in how the SA works (and doesn’t)

 

There are the obvious things that the SA struggles with, such as receiving decent student voter turnout--and then there are the problems that you only see if you engage frequently and intimately within the SA’s logistical functioning. I want you to know that I can identify these challenges, and because of my experience, I understand why they exist:

 

• The SA’s Standing Committees take on many of the projects (like promoting/hosting events, updating Rice websites, creating programs on campus) and research (like SAS questions) that create change on campus--but their effectiveness is extremely variable from year-to-year

• The NSR role is not well-defined enough 

• Senator-NSR mentoring varies considerably

• Bill-Writing is confusing and most students do not understand the process

• Senate is not engaging

  • Too legislation-focused

• Senate does not attract enough students

• The Executive Team’s roles, as defined by the constitution, have responsibilities that are not well-proportioned

• There is not enough continuity of projects and research--too much valuable information has been lost over the years because we don’t have an efficient system 

 

about the things I’ve done to enact structural change or spark important conversations within the SA leadership cohort. 

 

What I have DONE (or, still am doing)

 

ADJUSTMENT

• Helped to update the social media guidelines for the SA to better ensure a safe environment

  • This was inspired in direct response to the nasty reaction non-Rice affiliates had to the publication of the Tangible Ways to Improve the Black Experience document (they were leaving hate comments on the SA and BSA’s social medias)

• Created a Committee Chairs Guide

  • Before, there was no document that listed extensively what the chairs are expected to do, so it made it more difficult for those who weren’t members/involved in the SA to jump into their roles

  • This guide is something that all future SA IVPs will be able to expand upon and edit to perfection

• Created a Shared Google Team Drive for SA Standing Committees

  • This will ensure continuity so that future committees have easy access to previous years’ work and contacts

• Reduced the number of NSRs per college from 3 to 2

  • Overall, this change was extremely positive and I have recommended this to the future IVP via the IVP transition document 

• Placed all NSRs into their 1st choice committees

  • Before, NSRs were spread between committees and used as member-fillers, which was a huge contributor to committee ineffectiveness

• Allowed NSRs to switch committees at any time during the year

  • Before, NSRs were encouraged to stay in the committee they initially picked

• Heavily included SA Senators and Presidents in the NSR Application and Recruitment Process

• Establishing Transition Documents for NSRs and Committee Chairs

  • There was not one in the past, so I created documents that will be utilized by future NSRs and Committee Chairs that will be updated every year

  • This will ensure that future NSRs and Committee Chairs have a document created by their positions, for their positions with practical and personal advice so that they transition easily into their roles

  • Committee chairs are on board with this, but still trying to see if NSRs would be interested in this

• Continued the IVP Transition Document

  • The previous IVP did not leave me with a  transition document, nor did they point me to the collaborative one that was started by other IVPs

  • I eventually found it and have added and edited it so that the next IVP will have a smooth transition into their role

 

1. I’ve done what I can to physically and mentally ensure that I am ready for the role as swiftly as possible

 

WHAT I’VE DONE

• Worked with the current SA President

  • Through observation and working on senate agendas, I’ve been exposed to a lot of the main duties the SA President has

• Regularly Attended Senate

• Talked with the current SA President about the role

• Read through the SA President transition document 

• Made and thought about plans to pursue next year (Read about them in the How We Will Do This tab of this website!)