The full platform

Community life at UChicago is crucial to our experience as college students, and some parts of it still need work. Two places to start are the spaces where we spend time outside class and the rules about who we can host in our dorms. Especially during the first few weeks of school, we are limited to who we can hang out with and where on campus. It can be difficult to find areas inside to hang out with friends you make from other dorms. The 2 guest policy specifically limits us from hanging out with friends from other dorms inside our living spaces, forcing us to find other spaces outside to congregate, or leading to the hassle of bringing in other members of our dorm to scan people in.

This problem is especially relevant to underclassmen. Upperclassman that live off campus are able to support apartment gatherings where there is no restriction on friends who are able to congregate together indoors. For underclassmen, where do we all meet together to hangout outside of the libraries, classrooms, or outside? When we go out to fraternities (where we can all hang out in theory), there is the added risk to safety when getting back home. At other Universities, dorm parties are more prevalent and safer alternatives than strictly outdoor hangouts. Our dorm culture is already strong, and alleviating the issue of finding a place to hang out with friends from other dorms can be alleviated with the following fixes.

• Improve and expand third spaces, the places that aren't class, the library, or your own room, where students can gather. Current projects in Ida Noyes are already working to push for this change. This can be expanded to other buildings, however. Around campus, there are many hallways that feel empty or bland. There are many spaces that feel like you are only meant to pass through, not linger. Adding more furniture to these spaces and encouraging third spaces in underutilized spaces will help to alleviate the current lack of third spaces.
• Raise the dorm guest limit from 2 guests to 4. According to the Housing Website, "Residents may host no more than two guests at a time, regardless of guest affiliation. To request an exception to this policy, the host is responsible for ensuring that the Guest Exception Request Form is completed at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the visitation period." While this makes sense for overnight non-UChicago guests, UChicago students should have the ability to have 4 UChicago-affiliated guests. Increasing the limit from 2 to 4 will help to ensure that you can meet and hang out with friends from other dorms more comfortably, with less stress of safety concerns of outdoor spaces at night, or being pressured to only socialize with non-dorm friends at places like fraternity parties.

What USG can do directly: survey students, write and pass a resolution, and publish the results. Earlier this year, USG removed preregistration requirements for UChicago-affiliated guests. It's clear we're moving in the right direction to strengthen our community by making it easier to meet with friends in dorm halls. We've seen changes be made to make dorm spaces more accessible for friend groups, so we know that USG has the power to influence the ease of entry for UChicago-affiliated guests. I believe that increasing the guest limit from 2 to 4 UChicago guests will be a feasible next step.

What needs the administration: changing space use and hours, and changing the guest policy. I'll bring student data and a written proposal to the Housing & Residence Life Department, and advocate to administration using student polling. With the introduction of these policies, we have to commit to continue adhering to University housing policies, especially regarding noise complaints and room capacities. However, when we look at the alternatives of groups meeting together, we find that they can be less safe, such as Meeting together after hours around campus or Hyde Park, or environments of fraternity parties. Introducing new and upgraded third spaces to socialize as a group, and introducing policy to increase the number of University-affiliated guests from 2 to 4 are policies I believe the administration can actualize and improve the community experience for all of us. If administration still pushes back against a flat increase, a compromise could be made to increase the University-Affiliated guest limit to 4 during daytime and evening hours. Many large lounge spaces already exist across campus to help support larger hangouts, and more third spaces will help to facilitate fellowship outside of the dorm halls.

Done by Spring Quarter.

• Autumn: survey students and map existing spaces.
• Winter: submit proposals to the administration.
• Spring: changes start to take place.

• The guest policy change is published.
• 10 new or improved gathering spaces are open to students across campus.
• A follow-up survey shows many are satisfied.

On many fronts, students face issues with access to necessities. Printing, laundry, and menstrual products are small costs that add up, and they weigh most on students with the least financial cushion.

Currently, laundry costs students $3.00 per cycle ($1.50 to wash, $1.50 to dry). This cost quickly adds up, and for some students this can be more of a burden than a basic necessity. The $15 Emergency Laundry Fund is a great step in the right direction, but is still limited. To use the service, you have to wait to get access to the funding, and you have to articulate that you "...anticipate running out of money to do laundry before the end of the quarter." Some students do not have the means to allocate funds to laundry each week, when they have to pay for other necessities like course readers, textbooks, laundry detergent, food outside of dining hall hours, and more. Similar to the $15 laundry support program, CCSS supports free printing of up to 75 pages at their office. Again, this is a great step in the right direction, but making it more accessible around campus and not just in their office will help to alleviate the financial stress of students who need printing. Some students in dorms like South, for example, have to walk far to find their gendered bathroom, as some coed floors only have single-gendered bathrooms.

• Introduce more robust and accessible financial assistance programs for printing and laundry. This includes a recurring $15 laundry support card every 2 weeks for students who qualify for laundry financial support, and up to 75 pages of free printing at any printer on campus for students who set up an account with CCSS.
• Extend Maroon Dollars so they can be used for laundry and printing.
• Include menstrual products in dorm restrooms as part of wellness needs in each dorm bathroom.
• Re-evaluate placement of gendered bathrooms in dorms to be more accessible to everyone.

What USG can do directly: gather cost data, collect student support, and fund or run a pilot if the budget allows. Efforts to expand Maroon Dollars have already been made through USG, and I would be building upon the foundations of USG initiatives already being worked on. University administration already knows that USG is pushing for this to happen. Let's finally make this a reality. Free Menstrual Products already exist on campus, but students have to go out of their way to get them. Just like we don't pay for toilet paper, menstrual products should be readily available in dorm bathrooms as well. We see that efforts to ensure the well-being of students have been made through the free condoms in each house. The next step is to make menstrual products the next readily available free item by creating a petition through USG, re-evaluating wellness and facilities funding, and working with administration to make free menstrual products in dorm bathrooms a reality.

What needs the administration: changing how Maroon Dollars work, laundry and printing services, and restroom supplies. I'll bring the data to the Housing & Residence Life department, as well as Dining, and propose a pilot in a few dorms if a full rollout isn't possible at first. At South specifically, gendered bathrooms are all the same no matter the gender, so re-evaluating placement of gendered bathrooms to make them less of a burden through Housing and Residence Life is entirely within reach.

Done by Spring Quarter.

• Maroon Dollars are accepted for laundry and printing.
• Menstrual products are stocked in most dorms.
• I publish how many students use the assistance programs each quarter.

How are USG and the University spending their money? Where does tuition money go? Students pay for both and deserve clear answers.

The current website has a simple breakdown of the attendance at this University. "Tuition" is a single-line entry with no split among instruction, financial aid, student services, facilities, security, or administration. The "Student Services Fee" doesn't have an explanation for how it's spent, and no mention for if UPASS can be waived if you choose not to go into the city. The site also doesn't provide a history that breaks down how tuition has changed over time.

• Provide an online one-stop-shop to publicly view receipts for all Student Government Finance Committee purchases.
• Introduce a more in-depth online cost of attendance breakdown that articulates how money is being spent.

What USG can do directly: Earlier this year, USG published a website that shows how much each RSO receives in funding.I want to build off of this website to include receipts for ALL SGFC purchases, and breakdowns for how money is being spent per RSO through a requirement of how RSOs spend their budget for them to receive funding. I plan to also showcase how we plan to spend SGFC funds, as well as breakdowns to justify why RSOs were paid what they were paid. It's clear that in recent years, USG has made commendable efforts to make SGFC more transparent. I hope to continue building on this trend to make sure that each UChicago student is aware of USG operations.

What needs the administration: publishing a detailed tuition breakdown. I'll make the case with student support, the Financial Aid Department, and the Office of the Bursar to introduce a site similar to the USG FGFC RSO funding website that displays how our cost of attendance is broken down and used to fund our time here at the University.

Done by Spring Quarter.

• Receipts are posted within 72 hours of each Finance Committee purchase.
• A tuition breakdown page is live and linked from the USG site.