The Queer Students and Allies has chosen to endorse the Bowman|Hysen ticket for President and Vice President of the Undergraduate Council. Below is their endorsement message:
—
Dear friends,
The Harvard College Queer Students and Allies (QSA) is delighted to endorse
Johnny Bowman and Eric Hysen for UC President and Vice-President. The vote
was unanimous amongst members present at the planning meeting today – our
enthusiasm for the Bowman-Hysen ticket speaks to our confidence in their
commitment to collaborate with queer groups and advocate for top-priority
queer issues at the College.
We encourage all friends and allies of the queer community at Harvard
College to vote for Johnny Bowman and Eric Hysen. You can vote at
http://uc.fas.harvard.edu – voting opens tomorrow (Monday, November 16) at
12:01pm and closes on Thursday, November 19 at 11:59am. To find out more
and get involved, visit http://bowmanhysen.com/.
The decision was based on the responses to a questionnaire drafted by the
QSA board. We would like to thank both the Bowman-Hysen and Hayward-Zhang
tickets and their teams for taking the time to respond; both tickets’
responses are attached to the email for your perusal. The time that these
candidates took to think about queer issues is reflective of not only their
comprehensive efforts to understand the College, but also the fact that
inclusion and access to resources are fundamental rights relevant to all
students, not just the queer community.
Strong points that distinguished the Bowman-Hysen ticket’s response include
commitments to:
- involve the TTF and QSA in the position paper and future decisions
regarding gender-neutral housing
- publicize gender-neutral housing options through the Student Relations
Committee, instead of relying solely on efforts of the TTF and QSA to
publicize a policy important for all students
- fully support the TTF and QSA to make preferred name fields and gender
marker changes available to gender non-conforming students, with meetings
involving the TFF, QSA, UC, and the Registrar
- investigate future steps with College administration to advocate for a
LGBTQ center and/or a professional staff member dedicated to LGBTQ issues on
campus
We encourage the Bowman-Hysen ticket to consider the following points going
forward:
- maintain a relationship with the Student Community Center Foundation
that is contingent on a sustainable operating model (financially or
otherwise) – it is crucial for the UC to invest in initiatives that are
sound, transparent, and student-centered
- lead efforts to maximize use of the SOCH by bringing about regulations
friendly to large-scale social events and fair allocation of office and
other spaces
- ensure that College resources for the queer community are at the
forefront of priorities through the tumultuous economic period and beyond
Please direct any questions about this endorsement to QSA Co-Chairs Marco (
mchan at fas.harvard.edu) or Christian (cgarland at fas.harvard.edu).
Best,
–
Marco Chan
Harvard College ‘11
Co-Chair, Harvard College Queer Students and Allies (QSA)
