Advocacy Agenda

Students regularly face challenges in identifying which administrative office to direct time-sensitive questions about financial aid. These issues worsen when students learn of cuts to their financial aid, despite experiencing no changes in family finances. Unstable financial aid commitments threaten student well-being and the University’s long-term reputation, accessibility, and diversity.

USG will work with the Office of Financial Aid and Office of the Provost to make financial aid bureaucracy more legible. USG will collect broad-based data to better understand the extent of aid rollbacks and produce resources through the Student Advocate’s Office to assist students as they navigate financial aid appeals.

While the current Odyssey Scholar package and other programs cover tuition and cost of living during the academic year, low-income students remain unable to fully engage in the University community and its opportunities. For example, many students struggle to afford housing during summer internships.

USG will work with the Office of the President and the Office of Enrollment and Student Advancement to direct additional funding for low-income students that provides full financial support to students, especially during the summer quarter.

Since 2018, the Center for College Student Success (CCSS) has seen a dramatic reduction in resources, offerings, staff, and mission. USG will work with the College to reinvigorate CCSS and provide additional resources for students. For example, USG will work with the Office of Campus and Student Life to provide laundry subsidies and eliminate event space fees for CCSS, allowing CCSS funds to be spent on direct improvements to student resources. USG will also work to make its Emergency Fund application more accessible.

Pell Grants only cover a fraction of the tuition they once did when created as a federal program. USG will join the University of California’s Student Government in its #DoubleThePell initiative to ensure that financial aid improves across the nation.

In February 2020, the University announced the adoption of the “Roth Report”, which outlined a shorter academic calendar with reduced Reading Periods and more frequent evening and weekend exams. The aforementioned survey found that 94% of students felt that the new calendar did not give them enough time to prepare for finals, 88% of students felt that they would learn more if they had more time in the quarter, and over 90% of students anticipated a negative impact on their performance due to out-of-hours exams.

USG will work closely with the Dean of Students in the College, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the President, and the Office of the Dean of Students in the College to address specific elements of the Roth Calendar and reevaluate the calendar in totality.

At peer institutions like Princeton, Stanford, and Yale, cultural centers play a critical role in allowing students of color to build community and pool resources and experiences. USG will work towards the establishment of separate, ethnicity-based cultural centers for students of color to find community and safety. USG will do so by engaging existing institutional resources to find the most effective plan for the centers' establishment.

Access to quality WiFi is crucial to student success in the twenty-first century, yet remains consistently inconsistent throughout campus. USG will work with IT Services to better report outages and optimize network connectivity and consistency in key student spaces.

Maroon Dollars are an important way for students, particularly those receiving financial aid, to access a greater variety of dining options. UChicago Dining has agreed to approach Nella, TeAmo, Insomnia Cookies, and PleinAir regarding Maroon Dollars. USG will work to further expand the program to afford all students the opportunity to enjoy an off-campus meal with their friends — particularly those who depend on Maroon Dollars. USG will also continue efforts to allow the use of Maroon Dollars to cover printing services.

To ensure safer and more accessible transportation options for students, whether they are traveling within Hyde Park after class or downtown for a summer internship, USG will work closely with the Office of the Provost, Office of Campus and Student Life, and Office of Transportation and Parking Services to expand safe transportation options. Programs include commuter rail passes, free Lyft rides, and summer downtown shuttles.

The lack of Greek Life accountability at UChicago prevents adequate reporting, enforcement, and support practices from fraternities when faced with sexual assault allegations. Survivors routinely feel unsupported, especially given the double-standard of being told that fraternity misconduct occurred “off campus”, despite the University’s proximity, marketing, and alumni connections with Greek Life organizations.

USG will establish a Greek Life taskforce under the Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Committee to develop better sexual assault prevention measures and accountability plans in Greek Life. The taskforce will also strive for Greek Life recognition as a long-term goal by conducting research on a variety of models for recognition.

Sexual misconduct is pervasive in all areas of University life, including Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) and Residence Halls. Current training offered by the University is not effective at engaging students, centering scenarios within RSOs or Residence Halls, or encouraging bystander intervention. For example, no training is provided on how RSO power dynamics can play into sexual misconduct; limited guidance is provided by the Title IX Office for student leaders to support survivors within their RSOs.

USG will work with the Title IX Office, Office of Campus and Student Life, Housing and Residence Life Office, and Center for Leadership and Involvement to identify alternative trainings for students in an engaging in-person, dorm-centered, RSO-centered format. Trainings should be in-person, allowing students to engage more meaningfully with concepts like consent, bystander intervention, and survivor-focused and perpetrator-focused education through discussion, Q&A, and expert guidance.

In addition to deep physical and mental tolls, survivors face significant financial costs. It is critical to reduce financial barriers that survivors might face in seeking trauma-related resources, including legal costs and mental health support.

USG will work with the Phoenix Survivors Alliance, Title IX Office, and Office of Campus and Student Life to create a fund more accessible to survivors and their experiences. The fund will exist within the USG Emergency Fund and be created with the guidance of the Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Committee. USG will provide initial funding.

For over a decade, predecessor student governments and other student organizations have pushed for University divestment from fossil fuels on a variety of grounds. As the Earth’s environment worsens, fossil fuel investments become a greater risk to both our planet and our University’s investment security. Hundreds of schools nationwide, including Harvard University this past September, have recognized this risk — and acted to divest.

USG will work with the Office of Investments to release a public report on the potential merits and feasibility of financial divestment from fossil fuels. USG will also work with the Office of the President to take tangible steps towards making safer, sustainable investments.

In Spring 2020, the University of Chicago announced an emissions reduction goal of 50% by 2030. While this is a step in the right direction, climate change demands greater action, the likes of which many of our peer institutions have undertaken.

USG will continue to collaborate with the University of Chicago Environmental Alliance, University Facilities Services, and the Office of Sustainability to actualize the 2030 50% reduction goal. USG will also engage the Office of the President and other administrative decision makers to commit to a more ambitious carbon neutrality goal.

While the Office of Sustainability publicizes dashboards on the University’s broad-level environmental impact, large swaths of sustainability data on water, energy, and food waste are concealed, limiting the ability of broad-based examination, research, and independent consultation on improving University sustainability. Moreover, currently confidential data suffers from a lack of frequency in collection and specificity, limiting internal analysis.

USG will work with the Office of Sustainability and other administrative stakeholders to push for investment in metering individual buildings for water and energy usage, enabling more accurate data collection. USG will also work with the Office of the President to increase data transparency — improving assessments of potential policy interventions.

Over the past several months, administrators within the Office of the Provost have taken significant strides to centralize University environmental resources in the UChicago ECo program. USG will pursue a blueprint for a central, autonomous, and on-campus sustainability office that will augment environmental resources and collaboration.

USG will continue its efforts over Summer Quarter to institutionalize a Student Advocate’s Office (SAO) that provides free casework services to students facing disciplinary action or undergoing administrative procedures. USG will continue to work with the Office of College Community Standards, the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of the Dean of Students in the College, and the Office of Campus and Student Life to fully establish the SAO. The SAO will aim to reliably assist students with conduct and housing issues by the end of Fall Quarter; and Financial Aid appeals by the end of the academic year.

Students have long felt excluded from even basic interactions with University administrators at all levels. While many applaud the concrete steps the University has taken under the tenure of President Alivisatos to better engage students, USG is wary of the risk that student-administrative relationships will deteriorate over time, as they have following previously. Only strong, long-term relationships will foster a reliable trust between students and administrators that will allow the University community to thrive.

USG will organize, at minimum, quarterly town halls to connect the student community with high-level administrators. To ensure that student perspectives are incorporated proactively into University policy, USG will continue to push all offices for student involvement on administrative committees and governing bodies.

Students at the University of Chicago benefit immensely from the vitality and hospitality of the Southside community. The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly taken its toll on small businesses and nonprofit organizations in Hyde Park and the broader Southside community.

USG will source student talents and services that can help re-energize, scale, and increase the reach of Southside businesses. USG will connect Southside businesses and organizations with student organizations with social media expertise, website design skills, consulting services, and more — and offer additional funding to participating student organizations.

While the University has long depended on Blueprint as a hub for Recognized Student Organization (RSO) management, deployment of a central RSO events calendar has failed. To make RSO programming more accessible and foster a more active undergraduate community, USG will continue to collaborate with Information Technology Services over the design and implementation of an all-RSO events calendar. USG will refine the LiveWhale calendar currently under development and push for a 2022 launch.