Greetings on Behalf of Undergraduate Students
John Gardner had once said that “the ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursing his own education. This will not be a widely shared pursuit until we get over our odd conviction that education is what goes on in school buildings and nowhere else.”
Good afternoon everyone! My name is Shailejeya Shukla and I am the chair of the Undergraduate Student Senate. Our philosophy on education at Sarah Lawrence has been one of choice. We, here, get to choose exactly what classes we take; what disciplines we combine; what internships or experiences we get to explore. And we also chose to be a part of this community. One of acceptance and freedom, where we can tackle the more difficult conversations that need to be navigated. But we cannot maintain our independence from traditional academia without strong leadership. So I encourage you, Cristle, not only to support our efforts to debate the norms of gender, race, and sexuality. But to also facilitate discussions on the issues of safety, accessibility, and sustainability, both inside and out of the classroom. Join us in our pursuit of learning and together we will show Sarah Lawrence as a truly unique community. Thank you.