SLC elects student co-chair

Benninghoff first student to co-chair faculty committee

Professor of Politics Chris Howell and senator junior Chapin Benninghoff were elected as interim co-chairs of the Student Life Committee (SLC) on Thursday. The election marked the first time the SLC has consented to be governed by co-chairs.

According to Secretary of the College Bob Haslun, Benninghoff is the first student to co-chair a faculty committee.

The vote was four to zero, with two abstentions by the candidates.

Although a student has never before assumed a committee chair position, the committee knows of no rule prohibiting a student co-chair. "If it's not legit by the rules, we'll have to get rid of it," Stankard said. Howell and Benninghoff were both elected to interim positions pending the General Faculty's approval of the structure.

The committee has not had a chair since the beginning of this semester, largely because faculty attendance has been poor. Committee member senator first-year Nathaniel Stankard said, "Basically we had a lot of student attendance to meetings and a lot of faculty had missed meetings."

A female student first proposed electing a student and a faculty member as joint chairs of the committee. "[Assistant Dean of the Conservatory] Ellen Sayles and I both said that seemed like a very good idea," Howell said. "Intuitively it makes a huge amount of sense."

According to Howell, the new structure will ensure that one co-chair is always present to facilitate meetings. In the past, the absence of the chair necessitated the appointment of a substitute chair from the committee.

Many committee members felt the inclusion of a student co-chair was particularly suited to SLC.

"The committee funnels issues of student interest and importance to the General Faculty," said Howell. "If you have both student and faculty co-chairs you have closer collaboration. It's easier to work out issues of frustration with faculty governance."

"A student co-chair will be beneficial," Stankard said.

"It wasn't an intense showdown," Stankard said of the meeting. "The objections were fairly minor. Cole expressed some concern, but she didn't raise a big ruckus."

"There were some people that had objected to it on grounds that with co-chairs there would also be bureaucratic difficulties," Stankard said. According to a member of the committee who wished to remain anonymous, some members objected to the plan as a violation of tradition.

The vote was unanimous.

Neither Howell nor Benninghoff expect major changes to occur as a result of the change in structure.

"Being chair of a faculty committee is really not a big deal," said Benninghoff. "The chair is a glorified gofer charged with collecting an agenda, keeping minutes and making photocopies. A committee will do whatever it would normally do regardless of who's chairing it."

"There is room for student voice at Oberlin," Benninghoff said. "You just have to learn to speak loudly and clearly."