Baala Shakya, Photography Editor

This summer, Alex Chen ’28 took the helm of the Yale College Council Senate, becoming the first sophomore in recent memory to become its speaker.

The speaker’s role, outlined in the YCC Constitution, makes Chen the presiding officer of the 28-member Senate. The speaker designs agendas, moderates meetings and conveys Senate concerns to the Executive Board. Chen told the News he is focused on reforms to earn the trust of the student body.

“Leadership in student government doesn’t have to be merely a figurehead or a talking piece or a resume climber,” Chen said in an interview. “I want my speakership to be the boldest, most involved tenure in YCC history.”

His first proposed change, which Chen calls “auto-matching,” would ensure that senators who pass legislation meet directly with the Yale administrators responsible for the policy area in question. That process would prevent passed bills from stalling due to unresponsive or indifferent administrators, he said.

“I will spend the time to match senators with the relevant administrator to at least have a conversation,” Chen said.

He also said he planned to introduce a formal rules package to structure Senate debate. In the past, Chen said, discussions often faltered without ground rules.

Chen’s third reform would make use of the constitutional provision allowing the speaker to invite administrators to attend Senate meetings. He said administrators should attend more regularly to hear student concerns and answer questions directly.

“The only way for Yale administrators to understand how we think, how the student body thinks, is if they’re coming to field questions from us, to engage in dialogue,” Chen said.

Chen sees the three reforms as ways to improve the YCC’s reputation. In past years, students have criticized the YCC for focusing on formals and cookie-fueled study breaks instead of tackling issues like mental health, dining accessibility and water filtration. Some have also admitted to not understanding what the council actually does.

Born in Philadelphia to Chinese immigrants, Chen traces his political interests to his family’s history. His parents’ escape from communism for the United States instilled in him a commitment to “give back to a nation that has welcomed my family,” he said.

“And that begins in my campus community,” he added.

Last fall, Chen served as a Morse College delegate, a position students can earn after attending two Senate meetings and receiving confirmation from the Senate. He chose not to run for the First-Year Class Council, seeking a “more policy-oriented” forum rather than one focused on “event planning,” he said. In the spring, he secured a Senate seat, representing more than four hundred Morse students.

Over the summer, Chen worked with the Democratic staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security.

Chen said he wants his term as YCC Senate speaker to be defined by trustworthiness, reform and honesty. He said he planned to work closely with YCC President Andrew Boanoh ’27 and Vice President Jalen Bradley ’27 to ensure students see their representatives as effective.

“I hope I can prove that I tried my best to be a good public servant, to engage, to fulfill the promises that I made, not only to my 27 member senators, but to the six and a half thousand undergrads,” Chen said.

As the first official act of his speakership, Chen has relocated Senate meetings from Rosenfeld Hall to the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning in Sterling Memorial Library — a more central location, he said.

The Senate will meet there in a glass-walled room, a move that Chen said symbolizes transparency and will encourage students walking by to observe YCC proceedings.

“Everyone will be walking through and seeing us,” Chen said. “That’s very important. And I encourage everyone to come stop by.”

The YCC Senate will convene Sunday for its first meeting of the semester.