Election season continues as the Commerce Society (ComSoc) prepares to elect a new executive.
Team RMK, comprised of Presidential candidate, Tara Rezvan Comm ’23, Vice-Presidential candidate (Student Affairs) Amanda Morwick Comm ’23, and Vice-Presidential candidate (Operations) Ethan Kibel Comm ’23, is the sole team running for ComSoc election this year.
In an interview with The Journal, the team discussed their four pillars: community, authenticity, advocacy, and celebration.
Community
Rezvan said Team RMK has aided in rebuilding the commerce image and making “meaningful strides in EDI efforts.”
She added they’re committed to continuing the momentum of the work that has been done and institutionalizing it within their administration.
“We’re looking at building community in the various initiatives. That’s a really big piece that we want to emphasize,” Rezvan said.
Rezvan said accessibility is integral to the team’s platform. They plan to bridge the gaps that exist in student engagement and encourage Commerce students to use available resources.
Authenticity
“Another pillar we really wanted to include in our platform was authenticity, which we want to sort of ingrain through promoting individuality, by reducing barriers, and really encouraging more exploration,” Morwick said.
She added existing rhetoric around Commerce experiences has been too specific and linear, which the team hopes to change to encourage students to create their own path within the faculty.
“We want [to implement] more exposure to all types of industry, industry reps, from lots of different industries, beyond what’s classically been available in the past.”
“We want to have a promotion of open dialogue, so thoughts and opinions can really be shared without fear of judgment or combative responses, just because in order for everyone to be their authentic selves, as well as for ComSoc to be representative of the student body.”
Morwick understands committing to executive positions within extracurriculars can be overwhelming, and RMK plans to expand volunteer positions to facilitate explorative opportunities.
Advocacy
The third pillar in RMK’s platform is advocacy. Kibel plans to increase awareness of ComSoc resources to support students in their future careers.
Kibel is committed to working on financial equity and making sure no student feels they can’t reach an opportunity because of financial difficulties.
Within the scope of EDI, the team is determined to bring holistic perspective into classrooms.
“We really want to integrate that into a modern education approach, or the administration taking note of that and integrate that into our classroom learnings,” he said.
Celebration
“Our goal with this pillar is to really encourage students to take the time to acknowledge all of their unique contributions to the Commerce program into the greater Queens community,” Rezvan said.
According to Rezvan, this includes increasing awareness of burnout and appreciating the extensive work that goes into initiatives—an integral part to creating an environment committed to wellness.
“We’re hoping to introduce a couple of new acknowledgments at the end of the year celebrations for ComSoc that celebrate these students and encourage continued work, hopefully igniting the passion of volunteerism in
our students.”
The team believes the variety in their approaches to problem solving and their experiences will aid them in best serving the commerce community.
“I also want to emphasize that, obviously, we have our platform and we have everything but something that we’ve really been kind of stressing to everyone is that a lot of what we hope to do, we don’t even know yet,” Rezvan said.
“We understand the value and the importance of involving our students to create a clear action plan.”
While a one-year term is “relatively short,” Kibel said Team RMK made sure their four pillars are detailed and reachable in the time frame.
“Our four pillars are very detailed in the approach and targets […] our plan will be something that will positively influence the commerce for many years to come.”
Tags
Commerce, ComSoc, ComSoc elections
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