Better, together!
Hello Middlebury! My name is Roni Lezama (he/him), a first-generation, Mexican-American, junior at the college who is deeply invested in making Midd a better place for all, especially for those from marginalized backgrounds. I am the current SGA Vice President and I am asking YOUR support to become the next SGA President! My top priorities for this upcoming year are going to be uplifting DEI on campus, advancing Anti-Racism, and reforming mental health resources so that everyone can feel like Middlebury is both a safe space and home for them.
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I hope to count on your vote on election day! If you have any thoughts or questions please feel free to reach out to me, Meg, or Charice. We want to do this work together and care about what you have to say. Let’s do it better, together <3
Middlebury deserves an SGA that collaborates, responds to campus issues immediately, and delivers. Both actions and words.
Choose empathy, care, and action on election day.
Election day is 4/15! If you want to endorse anyone on the team head to go/endorse and support our campaign :)
Immediate Commitments
We are committed to ensuring that change happens on our campus...
there is no reason why we should wait!
We have 8 projects/initiatives that we will complete by the end of this SUMMER :-)
Set up a Student Emergency Fund (upwards of $50,000) for meeting the needs of students as they return home from campus
Begin working on a summer Black Lives Matter (BLM) fundraising campaigning with the Office of Advancement
Meet with key stakeholders to find out what is needed to get counselors that specialize in LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and QTPOC support, and set the foundation for hiring those counselors
Work with the Dean of Students and other administrators to create student advisory groups that will ensure marginalized voices are included on big campus decision (comprised of non-SGA peoples)
Create a SGA Mental Health Committee that will expand resources on campus, challenge the current policies and services offered, and uplift MHPE and other peers that do work regarding mental health
Begin archives of advice for marginalized and low-income students of Middlebury
Address and expand upon new Title IX policies to facilitate a culture of greater inclusion and anti-discrimination policies within student organizations and campus life
Work with the administration to ensure that all returning students for Fall 2021 can receive access to a vaccine (especially international students that may struggle to get one abroad)
Vision and Priorities for 2021-2022
We are making DEI, Anti-Racism, and Mental Health our top priorities. Here are some of our anticipated projects:
1. Expanding Access to Class Materials (Financial stipends for art supplies, class supplies)
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2. Diversifying the Curricula: Promote diversity of academic experience centering around, courses, professors, and amendment of distribution reqs.
3. Pronoun Usage: Advocate for regularly using pronouns during all campus events and communications (for those who feel comfortable sharing).
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4. Changing the Outlook on Academic Support: Less stigma for taking academic extensions, destigmatize ADA support.
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5. Financial Accessibility for Middlebury Programs: Work with Study Abroad, Language School, and Middcore to increase amount and access to aid
6. Creating Emergency Funds for Students every semester ($50,000) so that they can get access to stipends to meet their financial needs.
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7. Accessibility on Syllabi: Higher standards on syllabi beyond ADA standards, including but not limited to financial, physical, mental accessibility.
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8. Holding the College Accountable for Anti-Racism Work: Admin communications on the possibility of upcoming anti-racist work, mandatory bias training for all staff & faculty, etc.
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9. Re-imaging New Campus Traditions: Supporting student organizations, especially affinity groups, to get them funding for recurring events.
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And there are so many more!
The TEAM
It's always better to do things together.
Choose an SGA executive team that will get it done!
SGA Vice President
Charice Lawrence '23
(she/her/hers)
Charice Lawrence
instagram: @chry.bby
SGA President
Roni Lezama '22
(he/him/his)
Roni Lezama
instagram: @ronilezama
SGA Vice President
Meg Farley '24
(they/them/theirs)
Meg Farley
instagram: @meggfarley
SGA PRESIDENT
Roni Lezama '22
(he/him)
Roni is a first-generation, Mexican-American, junior majoring in International Politics and Economics with an Anthropology and Education Studies double minor. Home for him is New York City, Queens. Being the SGA Vice President has been a highlight of his Middlebury career but he knows more can be done. He has been a part of the SGA since his first-year at the college, dedicating most of his time to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus. Aside from SGA, he is a research assistant for the Economics department and the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He was a part of JV soccer and Oratory Now, where he won the Spencer Prize in 2019 for a speech dedicated to his undocumented father who immigrated to the United States in hopes of giving Roni access to a better education.
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As the SGA President, Roni wants to both reduce inequities and barriers that are harming BIPOC, low-income, and other marginalized students. He believes in meeting the needs of the community while also pushing the institution to go further in supporting students. His approach to SGA has been one of delivering on promises. While he is proud of what he and his fellow Senators and Directors have achieved, he recognizes that we must consistently find ways to uplift those who have been marginalized by the College. He hopes to help lead next year’s SGA to ensure that DEI, Anti-Racism, and Mental Health are the top priorities of the organization.
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Let’s do it better, together!
Experience
2018-2019
SGA DEI COMMITTEE MEMBER
2019-2020
CO-CHAIR OF COMMUNITY COUNCIL
2020-2021
SGA
VICE PRESIDENT
2021-2022
SGA
PRESIDENT ?
Past Initiatives!
Because actions speak louder than words.
Experience is useful. But it's not what position you held. It's what you did with it.
Here are some of my favorite initiatives, collaborative projects, and accomplishments.
Past Projects​
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1. Raising $140,000 for Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through JusticeProjects (w/ Ellie Thompson ‘22 and Maggie Connolly ‘23)
2. Allocating Student Activities Fee Reserves to the Student Emergency Fund ($80,000) due to COVID-19 (w/ John Schurer ‘21 and Rodney Adams ‘21)
3. Annualizing ResLife Training
in Support of Transgender &
Gender Nonconforming Students (w/ Meg Farley ‘24, Karina Martir ‘24, & Lu Mila ‘24)
4. An Act to Support Accessible and Equitable Learning (w/ Mistaya Smith ‘21.5)
5. Adopting Middlebury Money to Stimulate Local Economy and Ease Financial Barriers (w/ Henry Ganey ‘22 and Daniel Gutierrez ‘23)
Past Projects​
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​6. Replacing the Pass/D/Fail Grading Option with the Current Credit/No-Credit Grading Option (w/ Kenzo Okazaki ‘21 and Priya Kaur '22)
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7. Student Ambassador Program Funding (w/ Maya Gee ‘22)
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8. Ideas for a Better Middlebury (w/ all of the current SGA)
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9. Fundraising upwards of $50,000 for national and local Black Lives Matter organizations (w/ John Schurer ‘21, Sophia Lundberg ‘21.5, Alice Hudson ‘21, Mason Olmsted ‘21, and Abbott LaPrade ‘21)
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There is so much more that goes beyond projects and initiatives! Being Co-Chair my sophomore year and Vice President my junior year has allowed me to work with administrators with regards to the safety and wellbeing of students during campus emergencies/situations :)
SGA VICE PRESIDENT
Meg Farley '24
(they/them)
A current First-Year Senator from the Western suburbs of Chicago, Meg is absolutely thrilled at the potential of continuing their work with the SGA as a Vice President. Between their background in climate justice work and identity as a queer student on campus, Meg is grounded in justice and equity and driven to do the necessary work to uplift the voices and meet the needs of underrepresented students, especially LGBTQIA+ individuals. They have a love for inclusive consent and sex education, the Green Mountain National Forest, Proc apples, dance parties, and Vegemite. They hope to become an Education Studies and Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies double major but are currently undeclared.
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Meg hopes to work to uplift inclusion and accessibility initiatives; anti-discrimination work; and mental health efforts and access. More specifically, Meg is interested in working with others to increase the number of mental health counselors who hold underrepresented identities; expand student, staff, and faculty consent, anti-harassment, Anti-Racism, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion trainings; standardize closed captioning on all Middlebury Zoom meetings; and push Middlebury College to have its dairy providers sign on to Migrant Justice’s Milk With Dignity Program. They are beyond stoked to continue their work with the SGA and hope to earn your trust and respect while doing so.
SGA VICE PRESIDENT
Charice Lawrence '23
(she/her)
Charice is a sophomore double majoring in French and Education. She is from New York City, involved in both her community here and at home, and is very excited at the prospect of being SGA Vice President. Having worked with children and others throughout her entire life, she is well versed in being able to be a voice and advocate for many. On campus, she is a part of Residential Life, Co-President of the cultural organization Womxn of Color, “WOC,” and has been working hard on Anti-Racism work at Middlebury since the fall of her freshman year. At home, pre-COVID, she worked in classrooms with children, teaching them how to read. She plans to dedicate her life to helping those around her. Extracurricularly, she enjoys sewing her own clothes, tap dancing, playing guitar, and so much more!
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In a VP role, Charice plans to uplift the voices of those who need it or are often overlooked in social, academic, and all other spaces on Middlebury’s campus. She plans to continue to devote time and effort to Anti-Racist research, hoping to make it accessible for all, regardless of current involvement in Anti-Racist efforts. She also cares deeply about the mental health of students, as well as making sure we, as a community, hold faculty and administration accountable.
