Hillier wants better committee structure

Name: Scott Hillier

College: Silliman

Year: 2010

Hometown: Nevada, Missouri

Major: Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Scott Hillier ’10 said a more permanent committee system on the YCC, more executive involvement in affiliated councils and more useful Web sites would be among his aims if he is elected secretary of the YCC next week.

“We don’t need to create a larger bureaucracy and bring in more ideas,” he said. “We should improve the current committee structure — it should be a committee structure that stays throughout the year, with permanent chairmen and specific objectives.”

Currently, YCC committees are appointed on an ad hoc basis to deal with specific issues or events as they come up.

Maintaining strong ties with campus publications and more executive oversight over groups affiliated with the YCC are two important goals, Hillier said.

“The executive board needs to have a bigger role in subcommittees like YSAC and FCC,” he said. “It would be fantastic to have a big, solid umbrella organization.”

Hillier, who is a Silliman College representative on the YCC, currently works with the council’s Executive Board to interview and select students to serve on Dean Salovey’s advisory board.

In addition to his involvement with YCC, Hillier is a copy assistant for the News, a representative on the Silliman Activities Committee and a student deacon for the University Church. He also volunteers at New Haven Reads.

— James Smithy

Narotsky: YCC needs to evolve

Name: David Narotsky

College: Saybrook

Year: 2009

Major: Biology/Pre-med

Hometown: New York City

David Narotsky ’09 said he would use his experience working as a YCC representative for Saybrook College to help the YCC grow and evolve over the next year in the role of secretary.

“Yale is internationalizing, expanding in size and becoming more environmentally aware,” Narotsky said. “The YCC needs to keep up with these changes.”

In addition to his service on the YCC, Narotsky currently serves on the board of the Yale Emergency Medical Services. He is also on the executive board of the Yale Record and was captain of Saybrook’s IM basketball team.

He said the YCC needs to widen its scope in order to more directly improve the student experience.

“The YCC needs to work more with student groups, and it needs to be a mechanism for giving Yalies a more encompassing, international experience,” Narotsky said. “It needs to help make the Yalie a more complete person.”

To facilitate communication between the YCC and campus organizations, Narotsky said, he would seek to create a student ambassadors’ council composed of leaders from a range of groups who would express their needs and concerns to the YCC.

Narotsky also said that if he were elected, he would strive to make resources available to students interested in pursuing international experiences.

— Ben Beitler

Iturbe touts his experience

Name: Diego Iturbe

College: Trumbull

Class: 2009

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Major: Political Science

Diego Iturbe ’09, the Trumbull College representative on the Yale Student Activities Committee, said his experience as Spring Fling co-chair has prepared him to carry out the duties of secretary for the Yale College Council.

“It’s the one of the most important and definitely the most tangible project that YCC runs,” he said. “I’ve established strong relationships with the administration; they know me by name.”

As Spring Fling co-chair, Iturbe helped select the rapper T.I. and the bands Sister Hazel and The Format to perform at this year’s event, to be held May 1.

In addition to his connections to Yale officials, Iturbe said, his strong ties with campus media outlets would be of great value if he were elected secretary.

In his post, Iturbe said, he would work to increase communication between various student bodies, including cultural groups and student government groups.

“At the moment, these groups are too independent,” Iturbe said. “We have to create more interchange, either through direct contact or standing committees.”

Outside of his involvement in student government, Iturbe holds a part-time job and mentors a local 11-year-old through the Yale chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

— James Smithy

Schechner seeks to bridge gaps

Name: Daniel Schechner

Residential College: Morse

Class Year: 2010

Hometown: Short Hills, N.J.

Major: Undeclared

Currently in his second term as YCC representative for Morse College, Daniel Schechner ’10 said his communication skills and experience would support him in his job as secretary.

“I think I’d be a good candidate because I like to interact with people,” Schechner said. “I pay attention.”

Schechner, an active Morsel who captained the the college’s Relay for Life team and Freshman Olympics contingent, said he would be particularly adept at facilitating interaction between various campus groups.

“I’ve worked a lot with the YCC secretary, and I understand the secretarial position,” he said.

If elected, he said, he would seek to bridge the gap between the YCC and undergraduate organizations, as well as gaps within the YCC itself. He said he is irked by the fact that many students are relatively unaware of the YCC’s plans and activities.

“I want to close the divide between the YCC and the rest of campus,” Schechner said.

As a member of the YCC in the fall, Schechner organized a forum on hate speech in response to flyers insulting to Muslims that were posted on campus. He said he plans to continue to advocate events of this kind to facilitate communication among students on contentious issues.

Although he admits the secretary’s tasks are difficult, Schechner said he is willing to make the effort. He has succeeded in demanding missions before, he said, having led the restoration of a greenhouse at his high school.

“The things I’m presenting are not castles in the sky,” Schechner said. “They are effective and can be implemented. I believe I can do it all with hard work and dedication.”

—Ian Walker

Ng stresses communication

Name: Kristen Ng

College: Jonathan Edwards

Class Year: 2010

Hometown: New York City

Major: Undecided

Kristen Ng, an executive vice chair of the Freshmen Class Council, said her passion for communicating with others would serve her well in the position of YCC secretary.

Ng, a JE representative on the FCC, has served in several leadership positions for the council. In the fall, she chaired the FCC’s communications board, moving up to executive vice chair during the spring semester. She also sat on a racial sensitivity subcommittee during the spring semester.

“I enjoy putting together events and tackling issues,” Ng said. “I’m especially attracted to the secretary position because it’s a communicator position, fostering dialogue between the YCC and other groups, between the YCC and students.”

Ng said that if she is elected, she will seek to improve transparency within the YCC in order to make its activities more visible to its constituents. She would also strive to foster greater communication between the YCC and other student organizations, she said, working to inform Yalies about the resources available to them through the YCC.

During her freshman year, Ng participated in the Yale Christian Fellowship. She also works for the Yale Catering Company and as a marketing research assistant for the School of Management’s Economics Lab.

—Ben Beitler