The Triton had the special opportunity to get an inside look at Seventh College’s Student Council (7CSC) through an interview with Council President Ian Fosth, a third-year at Seventh College who is double majoring in Neurobiology and Global Health.
As Council President, Fosth represents the 7CSC in the larger UCSD community and manages a team of executives. One of Fosth’s goals for this academic year is to see a high voter turnout in student elections for 7CSC in a way that heavily involves the Seventh College community.
“That’s sort of a passion project for me,” Fosth said. “All of our student leaders can feel supported but also feel impactful. That helps to engage the community in a way that encourages us all to care about things like student elections and the voice that we, as students, have on campus.”
Student councils at UCSD are run by students, with the guidance of and are associated with their respective colleges’ administrations.
“In a most basic sense, councils revolve around a weekly meeting structure,” Fosth said.
According to Fosth, the majority of the 7CSC meets every week of the academic year, in addition to the programming committees and executive committee—which are largely composed of elected positions—that have separate meetings to help “facilitate [their] collective success.” These meetings are attended by every 7CSC member, except for members who are dedicated to programming such as the spirit board and events board, who also meet weekly to plan out their own projects.
An important purpose that these meetings serve is engaging with the community to determine what issues are the most important to the students in Seventh College and how the 7CSC can best address them. One of the most prevalent issues among the Seviies—a term referring to members of the Seventh College community— is the malfunctioning elevators.
“Something that has been growing through the last couple weeks and will grow throughout the winter quarter is advocacy related to the state of Seventh [College] elevators,’’ Fosth stated.
Seventh college elevators have broken down within the residential buildings. Fosth explained that the elevator situation “either disrupts and inconveniences [students] or completely disenfranchises student experience.” Posters advertising petitions to Housing Dining Hospitality (HDH) regarding the maintenance of elevators have been affixed to many of Seventh College’s buildings. In fact, the 7CSC authorized the Elevator Special Committee for Advocacy and Petition (ESCAP) in November of 2022 to help fix Seventh College’s elevators. Students can join the committee to have the chance to advocate for elevator repair.
Overall, Fosth stated that student government provides “an enrichment experience,and a leadership experience, for the students who choose to invest their time and dedicate their time to the college council.”
Seventh College students are able to attend weekly council meetings in-person on Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
On a day-to-day basis, the work that the 7CSC does affects constituents in a variety of ways. For instance, the 7CSC offers a range of activities for Seviies, including Welcome Week programs, holiday-related games, resident council meetings, and more. Seviies can find more information about the times and locations of these activities on Seventh College’s Instagram: @seventhcollegeucsd.
Student councils are tasked with upholding the principles of their colleges. While Seventh College only has a few years under its belt, 7CSC has taken action on highlighting its theme, which revolves around confronting the challenges of a changing planet.
“We, as a council, bring the student perspective on the changing planet with regard to a whole host of issues,” Fosth said. “We act [by] recognizing and working to adapt within the changing planet by talking about it.” Fosth also stated, “We are in the unique position of less so upholding those values and more so creating those values.”
Specifically, the 7CSC helps to foster a sense of environmental progression in the Triton community.
“…As a student and also a member of Seventh College Student Council, [I am] really excited to take our perspectives, our thoughts, and the lessons that we’ve learned about coming to University and being in a new college,” Fosth said. “While we are meant to serve first and foremost the Seventh [College] community, we are also excited to help mentor and support our Eighth College friends when they join us next year.”
Meg Barrett is a News writer for The Triton.