Alan Kennedy-Shaffer
College/Year: Davenport ’06
Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Penn.
Major: Undeclared
If things don’t change, Alan Kennedy-Shaffer ’06 sees a sad future for the Yale College Council.
“Students don’t care anymore about YCC,” Kennedy-Shaffer said. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.”
For this reason, Kennedy-Shaffer said he has focused his campaign on personal relationships and reaching out to students. In order to implement change, Kennedy-Shaffer has proposed a two-step system designed to directly impact student life and also broaden the YCC’s influence within Yale and New Haven.
His first phase is to implement changes that affect students immediately, such as extending party hours, giving dining hall chefs more autonomy and improving the minibus system.
Kennedy-Shaffer’s second phase aims to extend the YCC’s scope, so it pushes for an improved dialogue between the YCC and the Yale administration. He said he would like to discuss issues such as Yale’s unions, the New Haven community, and long-term student goals with the administration.
Nirupan Sinha
College/Year: Morse College ’05
Hometown: Boxborough, Mass.
Major: Political Science
Nirupan Sinha has no tricks up his sleeve. “The [Yale College Council] is not magical like Harry Potter,” Sinha said. “But it can be a big help in voicing concerns to the administration.” Sinha — current Morse College YCC representative and vice president of the Yale College Democrats — said as YCC vice president, he would like to concentrate on improving student services and reforming the YCC. Sinha said he would like to implement a group under the YCC called the Yale College Student Activities Committee, which would organize campus-wide social events. He added that a Student Activities Fund, separate from the UOFC, would fund this new Yale SAC. Sinha said he would like to help students by improving the mini-bus system, student dining options, YCC support of student organizations, and the relationship between residential colleges. He said he can do this by creating Yale-wide community service activities, a program other universities, such as Columbia, have already implemented. — Jessica Tom