Wheaton Wire

Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: News

NEASC committee member, Debra DeMeis, and members of the Wheaton community discussed issues involving residential life and other aspects of campus life during the reaccreditation meeting.

Media Credit: Olympia Sonnier '10 / Editor in Chief

In an open dialogue session, to which the entire student body was invited, NEASC member Debra DeMeis and Dean of Students at Wellesley College, received feedback regarding Wheaton's self -study report that was completed and released earlier this year.

The NEASC reacreditation committee was on campus from Nov. 9- Nov. 12 during which they met with various groups on campus, held open discussions, and met with faculty to discuss Wheaton's future.

First DeMeis asked attendees, which included members of the SGA Executive Board and other interested individuals, if Standard 6, the bulk of which evaluated the Office of Student Life, accurately portrayed the Wheaton student.

Educational Council Chair, Jonathan Wolinsky '10, thought that the perception was "spot on."

DeMeis wanted to hear about student concerns, and the present members brought up issues that they felt needed to be addressed on campus. One of the major issues repeatedly brought up was Residential Life.

Wolinsky said, "Student Life is not as strong as it should be."

"In Student life there is no one you can directly talk to, and in the long run it has hurt students," echoed Emily Firment '11, "It is hard to go to them and say 'I need help.'"

SGA President Gabe Amo '10, also agreed that there was room for improvement. "We do a lot of team acting and team thinking, but sometimes we just need one person.... we need to start having point people instead of people referring you to other people."

In the self study, the authors of the report found that the Office of Service, Spirituality, and Social Responsibility (SSSR) was one of the most inclusive and engaging facets of a Wheaton student's experience.

DeMeis wished to know what made that office so successful.

All who were present applauded SSSR for their work with all the different groups on campus.

Wolinsky said, "Dean Vereene is providing a place for these students to do what they want."

Amo added, "They [SSSR] does a lot with a little, and it is student driven," helped add to the success of the office.

Those in attendance found it difficult to define a potential Wheaton student to DeMeis when she wanted to know a profile of students on campus.

This was, in the most part due to the fact that current students do not limit their interests, but prefer a multifaceted college experience.

Secretary of the SGA, Alex Schibanoff '12 said, "I feel like they are looking for leaders and overall well rounded students."

Firment added that most Wheaton students, "did things other than just go to school and do their homework."

When DeMeis prodded the participants to tell her what diversity means at Wheaton, no one considered diversity at the college to be limited solely to racial or ethnic identification, although those aspects were included.

Amo said, "it's not just about numbers," a thought agreed upon by the other members of the board.

Wolinsky, who is also a tour guide for the school, said, "it is frustrating when parents ask for the numbers... it is limiting to think of it [diversity] in a statistical way."

Finally DeMeis had participants describe their classroom experiences at Wheaton.

Schibanoff said, "Professors are the most important part of my education... they are there for you and to help you succeed."

Wolinsky agreed with her saying, "the faculty are beyond words, they come here to teach, and that has an amazing impact."

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