College/Year: Morse ’04

Hometown: Lancaster, Pa.

Major: undeclared, but likely political science

Ryan Sheely ’04 says the problem with the YCC is communication.

The Lancaster, Pa., native is making a bid for YCC secretary because he thinks he can help fix the weak links among students, the council and the administration.

“When I joined the YCC [as Morse College representative] in January, I realized that the YCC has lots of potential,” Sheely said. “But it’s not being met.”

The candidate, who is a section leader in the Yale Precision Marching Band, said he aims to improve communication “going both ways” between students and their YCC representatives.

He proposes the creation of a weekly YCC newsletter, which would feature news about the council’s latest activities and contact information for all representatives, associates and officers. The newsletter would be distributed to all campus dining halls, Sheely said.

“I want students to come to meetings of their own accord, not just because someone urged them to be there,” he said.

If elected, Sheely said he would appoint a student to maintain the YCC Web site, which he said has not been updated regularly since September.

To ensure representative accountability, Sheely said he would begin enforcing the council’s attendance rules, which he said has not been strictly enforced under the current council.

“Lots of people don’t know what the issues are about,” he said, “and that needs to change.”

— James Collins