[HSU-CoordBoardInternal] Facilitation Training

[Dina Spanbock]

I joined what turned into the HSU via the creation process that began  
3-4 years ago. I joined that process because I had served on Community  
Council, seen that fail, and was hopeful and excited for what a  
Hampshire student governance system could be. I believe in student  
voice and shared governance, a value I have held for a long time but  
was brought to the forefront after joining Re-Rad, a student group  
dedicated to keeping Hampshire true to its roots, in my first week of  
attending Hampshire. I joined the Coordinating Board really because I  
was interested in helping co-coordinate the Scope Group on Academics,  
which then needed a representative to CoordBoard, and not so much  
because I was interested in CoordBoard itself. My interest in  
academics as an issue about which to be active in the Hampshire  
community stems from my own experiences, my position on the EPC  
(Educational Policy Committee), and my involvement in Re-Rad movements  
that addressed academic issues.

I hope that by the end of this year, the HSU will be fully functional.  
This does not mean that there will be no kinks, but rather that we  
will have a way to address those kinks as they come up and still  
accomplish our purviews (much of which CoordBoard more or less has  
been, by continuing to put on Town Meetings and direct  
individuals/proposals to scope groups). The issue has not been (in my  
view) that we do not get these things done. While it is true we could  
do a better job of what we do, the main issue, in my mind, is that  
doing these things is a very unpleasant experience. I would like for  
people to want to come to meetings and be involved, which of course  
will only happen if the meetings are at least semi-enjoyable (unlike  
now), so my goal is to improve the meetings and get more students  
involved. I also hope that I can leave the HSU and Hampshire (as I am  
graduating this May) with the belief that it will move forward and is  
in good hands. I want to feel okay leaving it, and not that I will end  
up watching it burn to the ground as an alum.

-Dina

Quoting Brittany Wilson <bnw12 at hampshire.edu>:

> Hi folks,
>
> We haven't talked about this in a while, but as you know, the facilitation
> trainers from UACT visited Town Meeting. They stayed until about halfway
> through our debrief, and have a lot of feedback for us. They think they can
> offer us a lot in terms of community building; working together to make the
> HSU and Coordboard a more intentional community. They also have a lot of
> ideas for helping us with outreach.
>
> They had a question for each of us: Why did you join HSU? WHat do you hope
> to accomplish? If you could all think about that, and email me back, I'll
> pass that along.
>
> Here's the link to the doodle poll for November:
> http://doodle.com/e3fzhqmi673v36mk
>
> Brittany
>
> --
> Brittany Wilson
> 609.351.9173
> @brittwilson24
> www.fallingwhistles.com
>
> "Go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a
> living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable." ? Kurt
> Vonnegut