When Rohan Goswami ’15 receives a text, friends say it is not long before he replies with advice or suggestions. His communication skills and accessibility are what supporters feel make him the ideal candidate for secretary of the Yale College Council.
“The role of secretary is really focused on communication and distribution of information,” Goswami said. “I feel the YCC secretary has the capacity to be a moderator, going between students and administrators.”
Described by his campaign manager, Arash Fereydooni ’15, as “a factory machine that produces ideas,” Goswami said his platform focuses on academics, extracurricular work and student services.
Three of Goswami’s eight outlined goals deal with academics, specifically increasing student flexibility and grading transparency. Goswami hopes to start a Grade Cover initiative, already in place at John Hopkins and Princeton, which allows students to “hide” grades in two of their courses on their transcript. He plans on including final grade distributions for classes on Yale Online Course Information (OCI) and having professors release midterm grade distributions.
Goswami also plans to improve the online system for room reservations and increase access to Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee funding.
“I’m in a lot of science classes, so I definitely appreciate his efforts with the grading policies,” said Ilana Scandariato ’15, who created Goswani’s campaign Facebook page. “Also being involved in a lot of clubs has made me feel his ideas for making room reservations easier is really good.”
His proposed student services policies include launching Durfee dinner swipes and extending HBO GO to Yale.
This year, Goswami has served as a YCC representative on the dining and events committees. He was on the Ezra Stiles Class Council for the past two years, an experience Goswami credited with motivating his YCC bid, as he wanted to see how the college fits into the larger picture of student government and student life.
“He’s really involved in the Yale community, and I think the different activities have given him a keen awareness of what he needs to do to help improve the Yale experience for everyone,” Stilesian Obssa Bizuwork ’15 said.
Outside of his work with student government, Goswami works as a Master’s aide in Ezra Stiles, sings a cappella, debates with the YPU and participates in YIRA events.