2023 Cohort
5
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Our SSCS get surveys from the students on their top 4 courses that they want to take for the next semester. Also, SSCS takes surveys from the faculties about their available time for lectures, and by combining these two, SSCS finds the optimal schedule that both minimizes the course conflict and fits the possible schedule of the faculties. Programming the approximate scheduling algorithm is expected to be the most challenging part of this project, but convincing faculties and administration offices can be possible obstacles as well.
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color:#ffffe0;">'''Strategic Priority #9.1 (Emma Lang, Angie Kwon 2023): Non-academic community spaces'''</span></span></span>
Most of the community spaces on campus are academic based (ie. most of the lounges that exist are for department students). There are not many opportunities/spaces for students to relax and organize student life around. There should a dedicated prominent space just for student life/engagement where students can develop community rapport without the academic pressure. Currently a student center is being built out of the old Sharples building, and we can strive to truly make it a student space and maximize the space's potential.
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color:#ffffe0;">'''Strategic Priority #9.2 (Emma Lang, Angie Kwon 2023): Utilizing our diversity'''</span></span></span>
Swarthmore has a highly diverse student body, but institutionally and systematically it is still prominently white and upper-middle class. Though this may not be a significant problem on its own, nonetheless it should be rectified and supplemented with other opportunities and offices to ensure true diverse development on campus. There is already the Inclusive Excellence Fellows initiative that works to promote diversity, equity and inclusion on campus, but programs such as this should be advertised to incoming students more publicly and their achievements published to the entire school. The college as a whole should also strive to diversity goals in all departments, including the athletic department, which could benefit from diverse recruitment. The academic departments as well could enhance their programmings for minority students, such as for women in STEM fields, POC in STEM and social science fields, etc.
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