The Yale-NUS Student Government (StuGov) was formed to give the student body a unified voice when engaging with the College’s administration. It gave the students a collective influence, representing student opinion, rather than individuals having to approach administration to discuss issues separately. It also served to arbitrate and attempt to resolve disputes between students, provide feedback on academic maters, help manage student organisations and plan College-wide events.
The StuGov represented the Yale-NUS student body, while following three core principles: transparency, effectiveness and efficiency.
Dean of Students Dave Stanfield describes the Yale-NUS Student Government.
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The hopefuls running for office in StuGov produced some imaginative posters in their campaign materials.
The role of the StuGov developed over the years as circumstances changed at the College, with the growing student population, the move to the new campus, new academic courses and many other day-to-day issues.
The StuGov had to adapt in order to represent the student community’s ever evolving needs, especially through major events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the announcement that the College would close in 2025.
The ESC (Elected Student Committee) was elected in May 2014 by the College’s inaugural cohort in order to help form a student government. The committee, consisting of seven members of the Class of 2017, organised meetings for students to discuss the creation of a student government and the drafting of its constitution. They also held a survey so students could vote for the kind of organisation they wanted to represent them.
Read more in an article from the student newspaper Panopt.
A vote on ratifying the Student Government constitution was held on 20 and 21 November 2014.
An Election Forum was held in January 2015 where the candidates running for the first StuGov could share their ideas and priorities with the student body.
On 6 February 2015, students voted to elect 11 of their peers to represent them on the first StuGov.
The elected group consisted of one representative from each Residential College, two representatives each from the Classes of 2017 and 2018, and four representatives-at-large to represent the student community as a whole.
The StuGov constitution was reviewed at the end of their first term in February 2016. This review introduced a more hierarchical structure, with a President, Vice-President and Directors responsible for specific subjects such as Student Life and Academics. It also expanded the number of representatives to cater for the growing student body. The new constitution also allowed for more oversight, with a judiciary of nine students who would sit in meetings.
Read more in an article from the student newspaper The Octant.
President of the third StuGov Saza Faradilla (Class of 2018) stated this goal while promising to tackle issues such as academic grading and the promotion of a campus culture of community service.
The main focus of Director of External Communications, Hebe Hillhorst (Class of 2020), was improving the StuGov website, “making it more of an information hub and something that students engage with.”
With the election of the fifth StuGov in September 2018, it was time for some major changes and a new direction for Student Government. A Senate was established, consisting of representatives from each class, but with the intention of expanding in future to include various identity and advocacy groups. According to Chair of the Senate, Jiang Haolie (Class of 2021), this new Senate would have “the power to direct the actions, policies and visions of Student Government as a whole”.
The StuGov also expanded its scope to include issues of diversity, inclusion and sustainability, as part of an effort to reconceptualise StuGov as more than just an intermediary between students and administration, but rather as a leading player in student activism and representation.
New initiatives included the introduction of Senior Week, a series of events and activities for those graduating the College. Held in the week after graduation, this innovation was led by Class Representative Helena Auerswald (Class of 2019).
The sixth StuGov focused on two main issues: accessibility and sustainability.
They worked with the Admissions and Financial Aid Office to improve the efficiency and transparency of the financial aid system, and with the Athletics team to encourage access to the Fitness Centre.
Director of Finance, Rachel Juay (Class of 2020), created initiatives for a more environmentally-friendly campus, such as persuading event organisers to go sustainable and single-use-free, and promoting the use of digital solutions such as e-coupons to reduce waste.
Of course, 2020 saw the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the StuGov played a leading role in supporting the student body through this difficult time, helping to set up an urgent cash fund, providing storage solutions for those who had to leave campus and supplying care packages.
COVID-19 continued into the 2020–21 academic year, with the new StuGov issuing an online FAQs document to enable students to ask the College administration questions about housing, travel and other issues. They also increased the available storage facilities for students who had to return to their home countries, and extended the storage for those unable to return to Singapore after the summer.
One of the aims of the seventh StuGov President, Nur Hazeem Bin Abdul Nasser (Class of 2022), was to engage with similar organisations at other universities in Singapore, a process that was only completed during the eighth StuGov with the formation of the Inter University Network (IUN).
Here, he talks about the process of building relationships with other universities’ student organisations.
As Vice-President of Student Activities in the eighth StuGov, Ayyappan Madhumitha (Madhu) (Class of 2023) was involved in bringing the IUN to fruition. By linking up the student governments of Singapore’s five autonomous universities, the IUN was able to give a more powerful and all-inclusive voice to the country’s undergraduate population.
—Ayyappan Madhumitha
The ninth StuGov was the first to be elected after the announcement of the College’s closure in May 2022, prompting a rethink and organisational restructure. The reduction in student numbers led to a streamlining of the organisation, with some roles that had a specific portfolio being replaced with more flexible and responsive positions. StuGov also worked with faculty to ensure that all students would be able to complete their academic requirements.
They also kept communications channels open through facilitating Town Halls and creating the ‘Kingfisher Chirps’ Telegram channel where students could learn about the latest developments on campus and respond directly to the StuGov team. Another important role was to foster relations with the new NUS College (NUSC), through events such as the Community Circle where both communities could meet, find common ground and come up with ideas for collaborations.
With a shrinking student body over the College’s final years, the tenth StuGov considered whether the Student Government was still necessary. After consulting the community, they concluded that the majority of remaining students would prefer to handle any issues that occurred themselves. As a result, it was decided to not continue StuGov into the College’s final year.
Read more about the last year of Student Government with Nadia Suhaimi (Class of 2025) as she explains her experiences as the final StuGov President, including the decision to bring the organisation to a close.
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