Getting Involved: Commons Leadership
Hey guys!
If you saw my last blog post, you may remember me writing about my recent appointment as the Fifth Floor Representative for Stambaugh House. If you haven’t read it, you should. It’s here. Thanks. In today’s post, I’d like to talk a little bit more about some of the amazing opportunities available to freshmen at Vanderbilt to gain leadership experience and really get involved with how the Commons and the wider University is run.
Each of the Houses on the Commons has a student President, Vice President, PR Chair, House Service Commissioner and a Representative for each floor. Under the guidance and support of a Faculty Head of House and the Resident Advisors, these students make up the House’s Advisory Council (HAC). The role of the HAC is to represent the interests of the residents of the House, liaise with the Faculty Head of House, promote the community standards and values of the House and organize House and Commons-wide events. The HAC has a meeting each week and all members are required to attend.
In addition to HAC meetings, members also attend weekly Commondores Leadership Council (CLC) meetings. At these meetings, all of the HACs from each of the 10 Houses meet to share updates, discuss issues and organize events. Afterwards, the members break off into working groups, focussing on their particular project or issue for the semester. I have only been to two CLC meetings so far but I have loved meeting lots of new awesome people and I am really looking forward to working with them for the rest of the semester.
One of the big projects that the House Presidents have been recently hard at work on is the Commons Ball. The Commons Ball is one of the biggest events of the year and attracts students from all the classes and schools at Vanderbilt. You can check out a blog on last year’s Harry Potter themed ball here. This year’s theme is ‘Vandy Ever After’ aka Disney, and the Ball is TONIGHT! I’m super excited.
Another big event that the HACs are involved in organizing is the Commons Mix Up. Every House holds one Mix Up each year and residents from all the other 9 Houses are invited. We’ve had some really great themes so far such as Hank’s Grease event and North’s ‘Crash the Wedding’ party – check out what Gabi, my fellow blogger, wrote here. My House, Stambaugh, will be holding the last Mix Up of the year in a few months’ time – saving the best for the last, right? The theme has yet to be publicly announced but I am very excited to be involved with organizing it, and y’all should watch this space for more details soon!
If you have any questions or just want to chat about Vandy, please feel free to email me at Ishani.pabari@vanderbilt.edu – I really like hearing from y’all, it makes me feel loved.
Hope you guys have a lovely weekend, and as always, Anchor Down!
Ishani