In the Spring of 2001, the Senate instituted the Executive Officer position of Student Advocate on the Board of the Senate. This was done to direct our committed effort at serving an increasingly greater role in representing student concerns to the administration, faculty, Deans and various offices of Yale. The Student Advocate is the Chair of the Student Advocacy Committee, which receives student concerns from the Senators of each school and investigates these issues toward resolving them. If you have concerns you would like to considered by the Advocacy committee, please contact the Chair of the Advocacy Committee.

Student Advocacy Committee
Chair: Anna Stirgwolt

Recently, the Senate Student Advocacy Committee has accomplished the following:

– In collaboration with the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) and the Yale College Council (YCC), we have improved and expanded the Yale Shuttle Bus routes to provide a more efficient service on campus.

– Organized a committee to study security issues in the Nursing School area.

– Obtained ID privileges for non-married heterosexual domestic partners on Yale campus.

– Distributed a student survey, analyzed the data, and used these results to direct our activities and better inform those of the administration to improve student life at Yale.

– Investigated sexual harassment policies at the University level and helped to ensure the coordination of these policies across the schools.

– Investigated the possibility of a dental plan and worked with the Yale Health Plan toward providing students dental care (a dental plan is now in place, as of Fall 2002! Click here to download the dental form.)

– Working on developing off-campus high-speed Internet access, a consolidated campus-wide alumni contact database, a streamlined parking process for commuter students, an online database of TA positions available to professional students and a comprehensive online list of courses at Yale to facilitate cross-registration.

– Working toward providing free anti-retroviral medication for all Medical, Nursing & EPH students potentially exposed to HIV and other viruses via needle-sticks.