Class: Class of 2016
College: Branford
Major: American Studies
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Since this week marks the YCC elections on campus, Her Campus decided to talk to one of the women running for President to hear about the campaign process. As a sophomore, Leah has already made herself a leader in countless university organizations, and this year she hopes to add the Yale College Council to her plate. Because she is running for YCC President, and elections begin tomorrow morning at 9am, Leah has never been busier. Nevertheless, Leah excitedly agreed to interview with us and calmly arrived to Blue State for a conversation with HerCampus this morning. As always, Leah was eager to answer questions about anything, which ranged from her hometown, chosen major, the initiatives she’s taken on YCC, and her not-so-secret obsession with Ashley’s. Read below to find out more.
Favorite Class: Writing the Family History (Calhoun College Seminar)
Late night snack: Eggplant Wenzel
Favorite teacher: Jane Levin
Favorite New Haven Restaurant: Thai Taste
Favorite City: Paris, where I studied this past summer.
Best Yale tradition: YSO Halloween Show
Favorite TV Show: House of Cards….just kidding! Gilmore Girls and Arrested Development
Favorite study spot: A and A Haas Library
HC: When did you first get involved with Yale College Council and why?
Leah: I first became involved in YCC my freshman year by being a member of the Freshman Class Council. I’d been involved in student government in high school and I genuinely thought YCC had the ability to make the most positive change in our community. I wanted to be a part of that.
HC: Why did you decide to run for YCC President?
Leah: I actually had not been planning to pursue this role of President for a long time; it hadn’t been my long-term plan. It was only after spending a year on the council and really getting to see what the Executive Board does. I was in a unique position of being able to understand both sides of what we do and see why students feel so disconnected from YCC in general. Then, I started thinking critically about what the roles of President and YCC as a whole on campus should be, and only then did I decide that I had the skills and personality to start changing the way that YCC and the student body interact with one another. It was about midway through this semester that I knew I wanted to be YCC President.
HC: What has been the hardest part about running for such a coveted YCC position?
Leah: For me, the hardest part has been the aspect of self-promotion. I strongly feel that this shouldn’t be a political campaign, it shouldn’t be about me as an individual, but instead should focus around my specific ideas and what the student body itself wants.
HC: How has the rapport between candidates been during campaigning?
Leah: I am not concerned about any of my friendships with the other candidates being damaged. With Ben in particular, I have been texting him more than almost anyone else. We are all going through a very similar process right now, so it’s great to draw support from one another whenever we can.
HC: How did you feel coming out of the YCC Debate this past Monday?
Leah: Relieved! As someone whose main extra-curricular has been YCC, and not debate, it was an interesting change of pace for me. I really enjoyed getting to present my ideas publicly, though, and then answer questions from the students who came.
HC: What has been the most exciting part of your campaign?
Leah: The most exciting part of the campaign has been working with so many individuals who have given me such a great deal of support. I have an amazing campaign team who really keeps me going and reminds me to focus on the job. They’ve helped me look beyond the campaign. The fact that my campaign team, and supporters in general, believe in me so strongly, that I am the right person for this job, has been truly amazing and exciting. Creating my website, hanging up fliers, wearing pins and T-shirts, creating my video, and sending me the most supportive messages on a daily basis are just a few things my team has done. I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am to so many individuals.
HC: What do you think one of the things distinguishing you from the other Presidential Candidates is?
Leah: I think the most important idea distinguishing me from the other candidates is my concept of secondary constituencies, which would mean having 24 different residential college representatives each also represent another community on campus. It’s the idea of trying to break down our large multi-faceted community into 24 different subsets; in this way, each college representative would attend open meetings of each student organization, so that all undergraduate groups have a YCC representative attending their meetings. The other thing that sets me apart more personally is my ability to work very well within the Yale College Council itself. A lot of the people who are going to be on the Council next year are current FCC and YCC representatives, and of those who have chosen to endorse candidates, about 75% are supporting me. I hope to be someone who is very approachable, able to listen, and sit down with anyone in this community. That is something I will continue emphasizing throughout my campaign and also the rest of my time on YCC.
HC: Any initiatives you are most excited about implementing over the course of your remaining time at Yale?
Leah: Absolutely, so many! The first thing that needs to get done is Gender-Neutral Housing for sophomores. With the new Dean, we have a wonderful opportunity to implement many changes and set the tone for interaction between YCC, the student body, and the administration for perhaps the next 20 years. Gender-Neutral housing needs to be the first task accomplished because, in order for it to go into effect for the next school year, it must be accomplished within the first few months of fall semester. We cannot wait until November to get the ball rolling; it needs to happen as quickly as possible. Another priority important is to continue working with the administration and with leaders in Greek life on alcohol policy, which includes ensuring alcohol remains a safety issue on campus. Other important issues include getting Credit/D/Fail to be applied to distributional requirements, pushing for minors, working to find realistic solutions to issues with financial aid (such as: indexing student income contribution to the rise in on-campus minimum wage), moving forward Fossil Fuel-Free Yale after the referendum, and providing clear routes to the administration for student opinion on sexual assault and mental health.
HC: What else are you involved in on campus?
Leah: For the past two years, I have been a staff writer for Weekend at the Yale Daily News, a Branford master’s Aide, and this past fall, I became a tour guide at the Yale University Art Gallery. I also work for Laurie Santos’ Canine Cognition Lab and co-host a radio show with Carly Lovejoy called “Psychology of Sound.” I’ve been involved with many different communities on campus, but I am ready to entirely commit myself to YCC when elected as the student body’s new President.
HC: What do you do with free time on campus (if you have any!)?
Leah: I spend a lot of time at the Yale University Art Gallery; it is such an amazing resource and I have so many “oh my gosh, I’m here!” moments when I am looking at our Picassos and our Polloks. I also spend lots of time walking around campus with friends or running to east rock.
HC: What did you do last summer?
Leah: This past summer, I took L3/L4 French, which was one month in New Haven and one month in Paris. It was so amazing and humbling to see that wherever you go in the world, your Yale identity comes right along with you. I could hang out with lots of Yalies in New York, New Haven, and Paris alike – but I promise I did also make an effort to meet Parisians!
HC: What is your favorite Yale memory so far?
Leah: It is so hard to pick only one favorite moment, but an experience that definitely sticks out to me is the Freshman Holiday Dinner. After only a few months at Yale, I was sitting in Commons looking around at the faces of my classmates and realized that even in the short time we had been together, the individuals I was looking at had become my family. It was an amazing realization, and there was so much love from the staff. It was one of those “I am so lucky to be here moments” that occur almost every day, but it was special.
HC: What is something people probably don’t know about you?
Leah: I have been a vegetarian since I was three years old.
HC: What are three things you cannot live without?
Leah: My family (which includes my friends and dog, Pepper!), coffee, and a library card.
HC: Where do you hope to be in five years?
Leah: Somewhere warmer than here!