Student Organization Spotlight on CSG with Mars Touloumes

A new school year is the perfect time to start thinking about what student organizations might align with your passions, interests, and hobbies and luckily Chatham has plenty. To kick off Fall 2020, we’re catching up with student organizations and their leaders to learn more about their 2020-2021 aspirations and what students can look forward to if they join. We’re starting with Chatham Student Government, the organization that ensures a civically-engaged Chatham, advocates for student needs, and unifies student organizations. Join us as Executive President Mars Touloumes, Political Science and Communications ‘21 takes us through the highlights of participating in CSG—

Executive President of CSG, Mars Touloumes

What are your responsibilities as the executive president of CSG?

Mars Touloumes: I oversee the Chatham Student Government senate [which includes individual governing boards for each class]. My goal is to guide all the classes in the right direction. Each class has a class project. If they have any questions on who to go to for certain things or how to accomplish them, I can be that resource for them. I like to be very present in the Chatham community. I try to attend other student organization meetings or events on campus where I can talk to students to see what their needs are. I bring these conversations back to CSG so that we can find solutions. I have a lot of meetings with administrators, department chairs, and people on campus in order to be that representative [for the student body].

What types of initiatives does CSG oversee on campus?

MT: A big thing is that we work with other student organizations to bring more students together and fight for change when it is needed. It's really important to come together when fighting for something because it reinforces the fact that it's affecting everybody. One initiative we’ve been working on is improving food insecurity and dietary restriction accommodations on campus. We have a food committee that meets with Parkhurst staff to figure out what needs to be changed and what needs to be added to the menu. CSG also works to create clear communication channels between students, faculty, and staff because sometimes there can be a lack of transparency. We work to get rid of that divide to make sure students are getting the tools they need on campus. We’ve realized that during a pandemic, there are going to be a lot more issues than normal. Our goal is to work with student organizations to help facilitate whatever they may need. The Black Student Union had a great list of demands that they brought forward to administration. CSG is standing in support of BSU and making sure that they get the spotlight that they deserve.

What are the benefits of being a member of CSG?

MT: You get to be an active member of your community. Some people join CSG to meet new people or to address some issues they have been facing. But as a result, they end up being great leaders and representatives of their community. There are so many different people on CSG that come together to share different perspectives. It's really important.

CSG Members hand out class t-shirts

What skills can you hone while participating in CSG?

MT: A big one is listening. Sometimes you have to take a step back and just listen to the concerns of others. I've learned really good communication skills. You have to be able to communicate with not only the senate members but people outside of CSG like students, faculty, and staff, and ensure that the communication is clear for everybody.

Can you give some examples of what a class project might be?

MT: Typically, we have town halls once or twice per year, where we ask students to tell us about issues that they find on campus. From there, each class picks a problem, finds a solution, and works on that throughout the semester. Last year, the first years noticed a divide between athletes and non-athletes. They worked to create a student section and to host an event where athletes and non-athletes could come together to participate in relay races and other fun activities. The Class of 2022 worked on getting the Cougar Statue in place so that students could decorate it to show school spirit. 

My own class (2021) is working on an inclusivity video to help new students, returners, faculty, and staff understand why pronouns are important. It explains the different terms that are used on campus, why we have all gender bathrooms, and why instead of saying co-ed, we say, all gender. This will help demonstrate how students and faculty can be inclusive members of the community.

If a student is on the fence about running for CSG, how would you recommend they learn more about it?

MT: Come to our meetings! Meetings are open to the public and they take place every Thursday at 11:30 am on Zoom. You can see how they're run, what we talk about, and the kind of vibe we have on CSG. We also have a website that we created: chathamstudentgovernment.com. It shows the members, what the initiatives are, and it features all of the other student organizations on campus. We have videos on each student organization that you could potentially join. We also have an Instagram account (@chathamstudentgovernment) where we post about different events and Chatham information.

I think it's important to note that even if you’re not interested in running, it’s good to attend meetings. We invite different guest speakers like President David Finegold, Vice President of Finance Walt Fowler, the Parkhurst Dining Staff, and more. We want students to come to ask questions and bring up their concerns or to share things that they like and want to see more of.

What initiatives are you most looking forward to in the new school year?

MT: I'm looking forward to working on the food [initiative]. I know Parkhurst has been working hard to listen to our concerns and change their menu. They've been doing a really good job. Building community is also really important to me. I went into this year thinking it would be really awesome, and then the pandemic hit. But now we just have to think differently and be creative. We have an awesome Senate that can come up with unique ideas to build community and bring people together during this time. I'm really excited for that.

Thanks to Mars for chatting with us about the ins and outs of Chatham Student Government. Want to learn more? Check out their website.