Community, Transparency, and the S-CAR Student Association

What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.”
The “counterculture’s novelist” has many things to teach us as students at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and world citizens, but this particular Kurt Vonnegut quote is the most poignant for us. A sense of community as we enter, grow, and prepare to leave S-CAR is of paramount importance in quelling the loneliness of academic writing, job searching, and finding our place within the field.

We would like to help fulfill this desire for a strong, coherent sense of community in our academic life and career trajectories. Throughout February, we have campaigned, staged, and completed an election of an Interim Executive Committee. This group, consisting of a President, MS/Certificate Liaison, PhD Liaison, and a Treasurer, will oversee a Constitutional Committee that will lay the framework for an accountable, transparent, and fully functioning Student Association in Fall 2014. We have official school recognition and funding to support students. Most importantly, we hope we have your trust and buy-in to create a community to deal with the challenges present at S-CAR, in Washington DC, and in the field.

Your newly elected officials are Alexandra Schaerrer, Van Schmidt, David Younes, and myself. As a first year PhD candidate and international student, Alexandra is very aware of the concerns of her cohort, particularly access to advisory options, dissertation processes, publishing opportunities, and funding availability. As the PhD Liaison, the hope is that she is able to set a precedent in access and unity of information to aid incoming classes.

Van Schmidt is not only a second-year MS student but also a previous certificate student. He has experienced the challenges involved in starting and working through both programs. As the MS/Certificate Liaison, he would like to be a source as well as a collector of information that leads to an institutional knowledge to aid students in both programs.

David Younes is a second year MS student who brings a wealth of knowledge from his time in the Peace Corps and the Department of Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General. In his role as treasurer, David will emphasize fiscal responsibility, effective oversight, and complete transparency in dealing with funding provided by GMU to the Student Association.

As a former undergraduate alum and a current second year MS student, the need for community has gained urgency as I have come to realize the importance of a strong Student Association as the basis for a strong Alumni Network. In my role as President, I hope to marry this knowledge of S-CAR with my position as the Chief of Media Relations and Strategy at USAID’s Center for International Development to ensure that students are aware of the Student Association and engage because they realize it exists to serve them and their needs.

From picking classes to writing a thesis or dissertation, a community like the Student Association should be able to provide information about publishing and support students through funding. This support and service, we hope, will incorporate a strong Alumni Network that can guide students through grants, writing, and area expertise.

The learning process and need for community continue past our time as active students at Mason.
 As we strive to provide a foundation for future incoming students and ourselves as alumni, we hope you will engage with us to tell us what your wants, needs, and expectations are. With this sense of community, we can confidently move forward in the "many things" we should be doing with our lives. Feel free to talk to each of us individually or write us: [email protected] or https://www.facebook.com/scarsagmu?fref=ts.">[email protected] or [email protected] or https://www.facebook.com/scarsagmu?fref=ts.">https://www.facebook.com/scarsagmu?fref=ts.